“So, we take the woman as a bargaining chip?” Griffen got back to the point.
“It’s a stretch,” Caspien said.
“This whole thing has been though,” I added, “We still don’t know who we are dealing with and if he’s even the right guy. He could be someone used as a diversion,” I shook my head.
I trusted them, I did, but dread curled deep within me. There were too many variables. I wanted whoever tried to take Emmett gone, and I had never felt so much hatred or anger towards another before, not even Nolan. But I couldn’t risk losing any of them on a hunch.
“His features check out,” Caspien said, running his nose along my neck, helping me come back to the present moment and away from my swirling fears.
“I’m sure there are ways to change an appearance,” I muttered, but I let him distract me.
“Let’s go with what we have now,” He whispered, I nodded once and he wrapped his strong arms around me enveloping me in his steady warmth.
“Do you think she would be there again?” Griffen asked Cali.
“She said she knew everyone there.”
“Can it be done?” Caspien asked Griffen. I remember him saying once that Griffen was pretty much his spymaster.
Griffen looked down. His eyes seemed to dart back and forth, and he muttered something before turning his dark gaze back to my mate, “I think so,” He loosed a breath, “But I can’t guarantee it; there are too many variables and no time to work through them all, or even many of them.” He shook his head once, seeming annoyed.
“If you think it can be done, I want safety to be the top priority,” Capien said.
“I’ll do it as safely as possible,” Griffen responded, “But you know the situation. I’ll do it myself.” Griffen nodded once, resolutely.
“Don’t they know who you are?” Cali asked.
“I’ll be there,” Griffen spoke mostly to himself, “Either way, I’ll lead.” He nodded once again before standing up.
“Want help?” Caspien asked.
“I got it, I just need to talk to some people,” Griffen looked at his sleeping mate, “Can you guys watch her?”
“She’s not a dog,” Holden said.
“Well..” Cali replied.
“We can watch her,” Caspien said, and Griffen relaxed a bit before leaving.
“Now we need to figure out what happens after we have her,” Caspien leaned forward a bit, “Let’s finish planning.”
(Caspien)
Cali went ahead of us in a car driven by one of our lead trainers chosen by Griffen personally.
I didn’t trust this guy, this John. But then again, I didn’t trust the Silent Assassin either.
He wasn’t dumb enough to go anywhere without backup. Even though he got his title, titles, for a reason, even an assassin king couldn’t go himself against that many trained warriors alone. There were a lot of people that wanted him dead. Other assassins, family members of those he has killed or have been killed in his name, the long list of those he wronged to get to this position, and me.
I was the one he should fear.
The difference was that many weren’t that stupid to even try. But I wasn’t stupid. I knew exactly who I was facing, and I was ready for it. I let the rage that I had carefully tucked away come to the surface. One thought about what could have happened to Emmett and Atlas pushed forward, demanding blood.
Easy, we will get blood, all of it. I had to reign him in just a bit.
Muffled screaming came from behind me.
“Can you keep her quiet, please?” I growled, “I’m trying to focus.”
“On what?” Griffen asked, sounding annoyed, “She’s already gagged,”
I looked behind us at the woman sitting bound in silver next to Griffen. He had a silver knife pointed to her throat, and even though her mouth was taped shut, she was still screaming, or what I thought might be a scream, she could have been trying to talk. “Are you sure?” I asked Griffen again, but I already knew the answer.
This woman changed even in the past few minutes as we drove closer to the city’s edge. Besides, I doubted there would be many old ladies around that establishment.
I couldn’t put my finger on the change, but there was a shift. Her wrinkles seemed to lessen, or maybe her eyes were sharper.
Her eyes turned to slits at my gaze, and she glared at me but thankfully stopped struggling.
Griffen said he grabbed her outside, or one of our men did. A very straightforward operation despite the messiness and uncertainty of it all.
The thing about these kinds of people was that they had one motivator, well, two. Money was first, then power, and usually, those two things weren’t mutually exclusive.
Operating without a moral code turned people into monsters, thankfully for us, monsters that could be bought. Not all assassins were like that, though. Ezra, who came to me, seemed to want to establish a different life for himself. I knew others who only took jobs against people that could be proven guilty on some level or another.
But the types that were associated with The Silent Assassin weren’t those kinds, and for once I was happy about it.
I didn’t want to know how much Griffen’s men paid to get the information we needed, and I didn’t ask. I knew it was a small fortune to risk the wrath of the assassin king himself, but I would pay it ten times over without blinking if it helped us even get a chance of figuring out who tried to hurt my son.
Cali texted my burner phone with the coordinates, and I sent them to Holden and our team behind us. We had a loose plan. Cali first, then Griffen and I with the hostage. He hopefully cared about this woman enough to talk, or at least enough to throw him off guard. Holden would be behind once we assessed the situation and would stay in mindlink reach with a team. Something he vehemently insisted against. He wanted to be the first to arrive after Cali, but I couldn’t have him ruining this because of his protectiveness. I wouldn’t let anything happen to Cali, no one would, but I knew if it were my mate there, I wouldn’t be able to think straight, and we had one chance.
I told our driver the coordinates. He put it in a handheld GPS that looked like a brick. We weren’t taking any chances of having the coordinates somehow be tracked. Nothing was connected to the internet, nothing that could be traced.
It wasn’t that far from here, probably some innate clearing that was seemingly randomly chosen.
I didn’t like going in blind, and we were.
Cali couldn’t mind link or risk a text to us when she got there. I promised her five minutes before we showed up, but that was more than I wanted.
We had no signal for danger, not one she could give us anyway. I had an uneasy feeling about all this. I wasn’t worried about myself. I wasn’t sure if it was cockiness or confidence, but I didn’t care. I was worried that we wouldn’t get him, that he would escape, and then I had to deal with this fear for longer. Fear of losing someone I didn’t know I had the capacity to care so deeply for.
It was a feeling I was unfamiliar and uncomfortable with.
Fear.
(Cali)
I indicated to the driver to stop. We were close, and I told him I would show up alone. At least that part of the plan I was sticking to.
I slid my sunglasses up, but my hair protested and pushed them back down. I grunted, ripping them off, ignoring the pain of the hair that came out with them, and shoved them in my pocket. The afternoon sun gave way to clouds, and I appreciated the break from the sweltering heat. I was sweating enough internally as it was.
I eased out of the car and nodded to the driver, who pulled off. Even though I knew he wouldn’t be far, my stomach did little flips. I was left on the side of a road with a thin layer of dirt covering it. We weren’t far from the city, but this seemed isolated. The city loomed in the distance, and I had never felt further from it.
I was alone.
What the fuck was I thinking?
I shoved that thought aside. It would do nothing for me. Not now that I had already made my decision, a decision I would choose over again without question.
I settled into my cool, confident facade. One that was a second skin to me now. Even if I didn’t feel calm and collected, I knew full well I could act it, and that others would believe me.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.