This isn’t the first time I’ve been on a date with a target. Sometimes the best way to get close enough to poison someone is by going on a date with them. Posing as a waitress or pretending to be a patron are the next best possibilities, definitely the ones that lead to the least amount of suspicion. If the police are called to investigate a death and everyone reports he or she was spotted having dinner with a woman no one can find, then that woman – rightfully – becomes suspect number one. In this case, Silas – or Nicolae – willingly placed himself in my crosshairs, so it seems foolhardy not to seize the opportunity. All that said, I still intend to look my best. The least I can do for him is give him something to admire before he dies. A final glimpse at beauty as he takes his inevitable last breath. Thankfully, I pack for all occasions. I’ve gone with a long-sleeved, turtleneck black thigh-high dress with white satin ribbon travelling in an elaborate stitch pattern down the left s
The drive is short, pleasant, and not remotely uncomfortable. His cologne fills the car with a woodsy aroma with floral undertones that make it warming to the senses. He looks relaxed, with not a care or worry that this is his final night on Earth. In no time at all, we’re pulling up to a dimly lit building, where he parks and gets out handing the keys to a valet standing outside. He walks over, opens my door, and extends his hand to me. I graciously take his hand and get out of the car, smiling as he wraps his arm around my waist while closing the door behind me. With a firm but comfortable grip on me, he escorts me into the building revealing a surprisingly elegant restaurant. The lights all around are dimmed low creating a romantic ambience while a burning fire at the far end of the room offers guests warmth from the harsh Russian cold. The smell of the roaring fire fills my mind with pleasant memories while the scent of food wafting from the kitchen awakens my stomach like a snarl
With dinner paid, he stands and offers me his hand, and I once again gladly take it as I retrieve my purse and sling it over my shoulder. “Would you like to join me for a walk? If you don’t find it too cold,” he clarifies. I hold his hand and hold his arm close, “A walk sounds perfect,” I say softly, smiling up at him. He smiles down at me, but something about it doesn’t quite reach his eyes this time. Nevertheless, he escorts me out of the restaurant, and we begin walking down the streets of Moscow. The air is cold and unpleasant, but his body warmth is acting as a very welcome portable heater. “I’m sure you do this with all the women,” I tease. He shakes his head with a reticent smile on his face, “No, I definitely don’t do this with all the women. You’re different.” Well, I already knew that, but it’s nice to know he knows that. Aside from lying about my name, I’ve been myself all night, and that should unsettle me, but it doesn’t. I’ve never felt so comfortable being myself
I walk through the frigid streets with my hand firmly clutched against my shoulder to stem the bleeding. Part of me hopes the cold is at least slowing the blood down, while the other part of me just wants to get the fuck back to my hotel. By some miracle of the Gods, I see an approaching cab and hail it down. I don’t even wait for the car to come to a complete stop before I dive into the backseat. “Hotel National,” I instruct. The driver glances at me briefly in the rearview mirror and decides to avert his eyes before he turns the car around and begins heading in the direction of the hotel. I lean forward and do my best not to get blood on the backseat of his car - more for the sake of avoiding leaving evidence as opposed to courtesy. The driver never makes small talk and continues to avoid looking at me. It’s one of the things I love about this country. There’s trouble around every corner, so people tend to just keep their heads down and play dumb for their own good. As soon as th
I take a frustrated breath and examine my shoulder once again. It’s still bleeding, just not as much as it would be if not for that bullet. I get up, walk across the room, and open the mini bar, pulling out a baby bottle of vodka, which I proceed to unscrew with my teeth and down the entire bottle in one gulp. I make a face and toss the bottle in the trashcan across the room. I lean against the dresser and take a deep breath as I reflect on the fucking mess I’ve gotten myself into and how my next order of business is to get my shoulder fixed. I walk back to the bed to grab my cell phone when I hear a knock at the door. I quickly grab the dagger from my purse and make my way over to the door. I take a look through the peephole to see one of the hotel staff from the looks of him, and I immediately hope someone hasn’t reported my dishevelled state when I entered the building. “Can I help you?” I call out to the staff member in clear Russian. “I’m sorry to disturb you, ma’am, but there
Time marches onward until I hear a knock at the door, and on instinct, I withdraw my dagger from the man’s dead body and hold it firmly in my palm, ready to use it again on the next person who dares to fuck with me. “Dasha?” I hear the familiar voice call out, and I immediately relax. I get up and go and open the door and look into the concerned face of Vsevolod Zubov. If you’re a member of the criminal underworld and you need medical assistance, Vsevolod is your man. He’s known throughout Europe and parts of Asia and makes a hell of a living off this deadly business, but he doesn’t help everyone, only those who make it worth his time or those he has a soft spot for, like myself. Vsevolod is 67 and looks like a man who has seen things few could ever even imagine. He’s 5’7” with fine lines and creased puffy eyes covering his peach-toned skin. He has dim cerulean eyes, short, thin greying hair that is pure white around the edges of his face, with a grey beard that just manages to hid
“Would you like some more food, sweetheart?” Asks my grandmother with an encouraging smile. “If I eat anymore, I’m going to be sick,” I groan, rubbing my engorged stomach. “Don’t be ridiculous. A growing woman like you who is still healing needs lots of food. You need your energy,” she coaxes me while scooping more food onto my plate. “For heaven’s sake Viridis, stop force-feeding the poor girl, she’s clearly full,” says my grandfather in exasperation. I mouth a ‘thank you’ to him while my grandmother glares in his direction. “Mamma, I think she’s had enough,” adds my mother, while my father sips his drink to stay out of the conversation. “I’m just trying to take care of my granddaughter. Look at her, she’s skin and bones and healing from near-fatal wounds,” grandmother protests, flopping back down into her seat at the table. She and my mother go back and forth discussing my eating habits and my overall health while I sit back in my chair and enjoy the soothing warm breeze of th
“I appreciate the worry and concern for my wellbeing but smothering me and treating me like a helpless child doesn’t make me heal faster nor does it help me in figuring out just how this all came about. So if you would like to be of help to me, rein it in and help me find out more about my former client,” I say, rising to my feet and grabbing my jacket from the back of my chair, slipping it on and untucking my hair as I feel a strain in my shoulder and neck. Yes, things still hurt and ache, and some movements hurt more than others, but I usually just tune it out. Especially around my guardian assassins. “You’re leaving?” Asks my father. “I have had a lovely lunch, but yes, I have to get home and get back to work,” I walk over and kiss my father’s cheek, and feel him affectionately cup the back of my head and kiss my cheek. My mother hugs me and kisses my other cheek as I kiss hers. I quickly hug my grandfather who hugs me back tightly and then hug my grandmother, who stubbornly igno
I tuck my sunglasses into my shirt as I stare at the modest, Brâncovanian style castle before me, its terracotta-coloured stone almost glowing in the light of the afternoon sun. The bees are buzzing as they fly from flower to flower in this charming garden that reminds me of something pulled out of Alice in Wonderland. I expect a deck of cards to pop out with cans of paint to paint the roses red.“What do you think?” asks Silas, coming to stand beside me.I look towards him, his face calm and serene as he looks upon his family home. Home being the keyword. The size and status of this stone structure means nothing compared to the memories he has made inside its walls. This is his home, and I can tell how happy he is to be back.I smile, taking his hand in mine. “It’s not at all what I was expecting, but it’s absolutely beautiful.”“I was hoping you’d like it,” he says, a giddy ere to his voice. He almost looks child-like in this moment, and although it’s a side to him I never even thoug
Topaz eyes watch me with hesitation as Athena and I circle each other slowly, the plastic mat beneath our feet crunching under each slow step we take. I twist my hands around my staff, tightening my grip as I assess Athena’s poor hand positioning.Quickly I strike to the right, and although her body language is tense with apprehension, she successfully blocks my strike, the sound of our two weapons colliding resounding around the room. Without pausing I strike to the left, but she quickly manages to block me again. She has better reflexes than she thinks, but she doubts herself. She’s so focused on anticipating pain and being overpowered that it’s keeping her on the defensive.I hold both ends of the staff and thrust forward, aiming for her torso. She scrunches her eyes tight, pushing her staff out to block me, and though she’s successful her relying on luck to get her through is starting to aggravate me. I shift my hands, grasping the centre of the staff as I swing it down towards he
Sathariel stares at me, skin sickly grey and dripping with sweat, his eyes wide with fury and his body shaking as he leans on the table. “Kill her!” he snarls, deadly intent shining in his eyes. With a serene smile on my face, I tap my finger on the table, then clench it into a fist. A moment later one of Sathariel’s men drops to the floor, the pristine white furniture now redecorated with his brain matter, the other guards looking at his corpse in surprise as he lays on the floor, blood spilling from a bullet-size hole in his forehead. I’m sure the back of his head looks even worse. “Even think of pointing those guns at me and you’ll be joining your friend before you can even lift your arms,” I warn, glancing over at Sathariel’s men. “You might be good, but my guy is better.” They look from Sathariel to me then to the window and after a moment’s pause, they take a step back, lowering their weapons. “Are you crazy? Do your jobs and fucking kill her!” Castor screams, but no one pa
FLASHBACK 3 DAYS AGO “Follow through, and the deal stays. Reneg… and you both die,” Sathariel warns as he gets up and steps back. I roll onto my front, slowly propping myself up on my hand and knees, groaning as I clutch my chest, discreetly untucking my locket from under my shirt and using my hair to shield myself. I quickly open the locket and let the capsule fall into my hand. I take a breath, coughing to mask the sound of my clasping the locket shut as I slowly rise to my feet, swaying a little as the ache in my skull makes my head spin. I slip the capsule between two fingers as I finally lock eyes with Silas, who hasn’t said a word. His eyes are frozen, watching my every step as I slowly stalk towards him. “I bet you regret telling me you trust me now, huh,” I say smugly, earning barely a glimmer of a reaction from him as I try to convey a silent message to him. He said he trusted me with his life, I just hope I don’t let him down. I haven’t had a chance to test this out on a
He reaches up, squeezing my breast firmly as he licks and sucks at the top of my breasts when the sound of a throat clearing interrupts the moment. “What?!” he snaps, turning to glare at one of his men. “Forgive me, sir, but your guest is demanding to come up.” Sathariel takes a deep breath and looks up at me, as he fights against his hormones. “I have a gift for you.” “I can tell,” I smirk as I grind my pussy against his rock-hard cock. He groans, his eyes briefly rolling back before he opens them to look at me. “A different gift, one I think you’ll like even more.” With a curious look on my face, I get up off his lap and smooth out my dress, “This better be good.” He gets up, fixes his appearance, and comes to stand behind me, holding my hips as he presses his cock against my ass. “Trust me, you’ll enjoy this. After this we can celebrate,” he says, biting into my neck and thrusting his cock against my ass. I let out a soft moan as I reach back, cupping the back of his head.
I slowly step into a gorgeous two-story penthouse apartment with a surprisingly breathtaking view of the city skyline through wall-to-wall windows. The sun is almost entirely set, giving the white furnishing a stunning, electric purple and pink glow. As I go to take another step, I’m held in place by my pervy escort. He spreads my arms wide, kicking my legs apart as he begins to pat me down. Overly thorough if you ask me. I glare back at him as his hands cup my breasts. “One needs to be wearing a bra to hide something in it, Einstein.” Fucker couldn’t have done this before we got on the plane? Once satisfied that he’s violated me enough, the chauffeur disappears behind the elevator doors as I step further into the luxurious penthouse only to see a table for two set up just past the living space. I register the popping of a cork as I look towards the open kitchen, only to see Sathariel pouring two glasses of champagne. “I take it your journey here was comfortable,” he greets warmly
Exiting my apartment I’m greeted by a tall chauffeur standing by a luxurious town car. His clothes are immaculate and his demeanour I would describe as friendly, but unassuming. As soon as he sees me, he opens the door to the backseat and holds it open for me. “Miss Aconite, I have been instructed to be your escort for the evening,” he says with a Peruvian accent, tipping his hat politely. “The entire evening?” I query as I walk to the car, tucking my clutch under my arm. “Yes, ma’am. I am to drive you to the airstrip where a jet will fly you to Germany. From there, I will drive you to where you will join Mr Guardian in Berlin for dinner this evening.” Mr Guardian. My mother will love that she was right in picking up on a third alias, but I’m still not sure if Lamar Guardian is Sathariel’s real name, or just another alias in a long line of aliases. While every assassin in our world is made infamous by their work and known by their codenames, Sathariel is a wholly different entity.
The sound of dripping water stirs my senses as I feel myself coming to. My body feels cold, a fact only intensified by an unpleasant draft almost making my teeth chatter. I struggle to open my eyes, my surroundings appearing dark and blurry. I try to move only to groan in pain when I feel my movements restricted. It’s only by the second attempt to move my arms and legs that I realise I’ve been fucking hogtied. My head is throbbing along with a growing pressure in my skull that is making me feel nauseous. I’m pretty certain I have a concussion. I try to think about how I came to be here, but it’s all a blur. As I lay on this cold, dirty – what feels like concrete – floor, I try to get my eyes to focus. Eventually, they seem to adjust, and I can now see Silas, unconscious and hogtied just a few yards away. That’s when the fog seems to lift from my brain, and I remember the men who broke into my apartment. I’ve definitely seen Silas look worse, but he doesn’t look great. His lip is bust
I lower the mask from my face, breathing in – somewhat – fresh air as I lift my goggles onto my head. Carefully I pick up one of the capsules from the tray in front of me, holding it up, admiring it with the pride and joy a mother would have for their child. Over a year of failure after failure has led to this moment, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. One of the things I love about chemistry is that it teaches you how much good can come from failure. Failure isn’t the absence of success, but merely a stepping stone on the path to it. Through my many failed experiments I discovered so many new ways to mix and bind proteins that have now become useful with many of my other poisons. I learned even more about the plants I was working with on a molecular level, and while week after week things may not have gone my way, I never gave up and I’m glad I didn’t because if I had I wouldn’t be holding the future of science between my fingers now. I place the capsule down, remove my gloves and th