CHAPTER 1
VICTORIA
Ishould start killing more people.
Or at least one with functional neurons. The fucker I’m sitting next to is so brainless, it takes the thrill out of it.
I mean, he should have some, considering he’s responsible for stealing billions from multiple companies in Europe. But somehow, he still doesn’t notice I’ve been holding a gun to his ribs for fifteen minutes, ever since I joined him for a drink at the bar. Well, he probably thinks he “seduced me”, like I’m not the one who orchestrated his presence. God, killing people as stupid as he is doesn’t help my current state.
The lounge buzzes around us, laughter forced through liquor, making it almost impossible to focus on one discussion. A bachelor party group hovers over their drinks, discussing which club in the area has the most potential whores. Another group wonders how the local hockey team lost, again, on their own ice.Same, dude. Same.
A woman in red sits next to us on a vinyl stool, tapping her heel on the sticky floor, trying not to look impatient. It’s not working, since she’s eyeing the door every two seconds. Thebartender serves her a glass of red wine, continuing a second later to wipe down the bar, stained with condensation rings and old cigarette burns. The entire room is designed around the idea of trying—but miserably failing—to look expensive.
Too many people and too much useless noise.
“I have all the right connections, you know?” My target’s voice disrupts my train of thought.Right, he’s still alive.
“I’m not sure I understand,” I reply, with the most delicate smile I can fake.
Pretending I’m interested in him and his sickening personality is easy. It’s not like he can conceptualize that his coffee-stained teeth and his body odor might not charm a woman, not to mention the way he somehow manages to spit on me every time he speaks.
Luckily, I only need to keep this charade going for a few more minutes until Alex gives me the green light to take the target to the kill zone. Just a few more minutes, and I’ll feel alive again.
“It’s too complicated. Don’t waste your pretty brain on it,” he says, and I have to physically bite my tongue to not tell him what this pretty brain can actually do. Like unalive him this very minute and still walk away free or paralyze him with a butter knife and a toothpick.
But in his mind, I’m probably nothing more than a pathetic woman. That’s the problem with men like him. We could have a conversation about quantum mechanics, but it wouldn’t matter. As long as I have a tight dress on my body and makeup on my face, I’m automatically just another stupid slut.
Unfortunately for him, I don’t fuck for money. I kill for it.
“The room’s ready,” Alex calls through the earpiece.Fucking finally.
This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. Time to add another number to my list. All that’s left to do is take him to the room upstairs.
I brush my fingers over his thigh. I let my hand rest on his leg a second too long before I ask the question I know he’s been waiting for.
“Why don’t we take this somewhere more…private?” I whisper, looking him straight in the eyes.Come on, little shit. Take the bait.
On cue, a devilish grin on his face appears, and the hand that was on the table until now suddenly grabs my ass as we walk together through the bar that is getting way too crowded. The proximity of the other people gives him another reason to glue his body to mine, his terrible odor sticking to my skin.
As soon as we get into the elevator and the door closes, his lips are on my skin, on my face, filling the small space with horrible suction sounds. His hands demand more, and I barely manage to push him away enough to breathe for a second.
“There are cameras here.”
This doesn’t seem to be enough to stop him. Not surprising—he probably gets a boner thinking someone is watching. He moves his hands even more vehemently, touching, pinching, and grabbing. “Let them watch us.” And his filthy lips are back on my skin. I’ll vomit any second now.
For him,nois notnounless handcuffs and police accompany the answer. I should have known, considering the three ongoing sexual assault cases. Fucker; I’m doing all women a favor by killing him.
“Please,” I say, pinning my eyes to the floor, but not before I take a quick look in the mirror on the other side to make sure everything is still in place.
The silky black dress drapes smoothly over my body. My perfectly styled hair hides the earpiece that connects me to the team, and makeup covers the bruises I got during the last mission.
The correct facial expressions and my appearance are as much of a tool as the weapons hidden beneath my clothes. Faintly smiling, I act like I’m excited to be here but a little lost, almost like I’m ashamed of myself. I’m playing the role of a fragile girl just for him.
I look like a fantasy, sure, but it’s just camouflage. Let him stare at the curve of my hips and forget the steel in my hands.
If only he knew what was actually going on.
He doesn’t need to know Alex, my handler, turned the cameras off, just like he doesn’t need to know he’ll die in less than five minutes.Five minutes—that’s all I need to wait.