long-lost sister? Cousin? Niece?”
Raif shrugged as if to say,
Could be
.
“A dro {rifze="-1" fap-dead gorgeous, supermodel cousin. Yeah, sure. Believe me, Raif, she wasn’t family, and she’s
way
out of my league.”
But not Ty’s, obviously. He’d finally met someone better. Beautiful. I’d always thought Tyler deserved a softer woman than me. And he found her. Boy, did he find her. A goddess made of luscious curves, a cherubic mouth, liquid shimmering eyes, and feminine delicacy. For the first time in my life, I found that I was jealous of a woman for being . . . womanly.
“I have a hard time believing he would treat you so carelessly.” Raif pushed himself off the jamb and rubbed the back of his neck. “But it does explain Xander’s gallant mood this morning.”
Please.
The last thing I needed was the King of Egocentric Bullshit coming to my rescue. “Yeah, well, he spies on me more than you do.”
Raif’s brow regained its curious arch, but he could just keep on wondering. The goings-on in my room last night were none of his business and that was one stand-off I would sure as hell win. “He left the food for you,” Raif said and jutted his chin toward my now empty plate.
Wasn’t that big of him. The only thing anybody gave a shit about around here was whether or not I’d eaten. I felt like a fattened calf being prepared for the slaughter. “Are we through discussing my love life so we can get to work? Or do you want to braid my hair while I tell you the rest?”
“Anya has a meeting with Dylan McBride this afternoon to discuss some business matters pertinent to the Crown.” Guess the comment about braiding my hair had done the trick. “Dylan’s office has top-notch security, but what I’m concerned about is getting her from point A to point B.”
That was a given, considering someone had shot her car to shit the last time she’d gone out. “What are we talking, a full-on motorcade? Or are we keeping this nice and intimate?”
“Low-key. One vehicle, with an unmarked escort following.”
“And why would that be?” I left the door open for him to volunteer the information about the bullets.
“Someone opened fire on her Mercedes last week.”
At least Raif had come clean to me. Though I knew there shouldn’t have been any doubt. Raif would never keep secrets from me that would prevent me from doing my job. “Ballistics?”
“A fifty-caliber bullet with a strange marking etched on the casing. Whoever shot at her knew the car was armored.”
“Can I see it?”
“I’ll get you detailed photos of the etchings. I have some people looking into it. Could be relevant to nothing at all.”
I doubted that. Assassins loved calling cards. In an anonymous business, it was the only thing that made us real. Unlike my brethren, though, I never left a calling card. I liked being invisible too much for notoriety. “I have someone who might be able to identify it.” Levi, the part-time bartender at The Pit, was a supernatural encyclopedia. For a few—or rather a few hundred—bucks he could answer almost any question. I didn’t want to use him unless it was absolutely necessary, though. And if Raif was stumped, it was necessary.
“I’ll let you know if we need to bring someone else in on it.” Rai {on In af liked to play things close to the hip. “I’d rather not involve outsiders at this point.”
Outsiders being anyone who didn’t live within Xander’s walls. “Fair enough. When should I be ready to leave?”
“No later than one thirty.”
Perfect. I’d told Asher to meet me and the rest of the team at noon. That gave me plenty of time to lay out a game plan. “You’ll provide the cars?”
“They’ll be parked out front.”
“One more thing.” I wasn’t sure how Raif would react to me adding Asher to my team. I hoped to hell he wouldn’t blow a gasket. “I told you that I wanted Asher, and I haven’t changed my mind. I’m taking him with us.”
“So, you
Raif shrugged as if to say,
Could be
.
“A dro {rifze="-1" fap-dead gorgeous, supermodel cousin. Yeah, sure. Believe me, Raif, she wasn’t family, and she’s
way
out of my league.”
But not Ty’s, obviously. He’d finally met someone better. Beautiful. I’d always thought Tyler deserved a softer woman than me. And he found her. Boy, did he find her. A goddess made of luscious curves, a cherubic mouth, liquid shimmering eyes, and feminine delicacy. For the first time in my life, I found that I was jealous of a woman for being . . . womanly.
“I have a hard time believing he would treat you so carelessly.” Raif pushed himself off the jamb and rubbed the back of his neck. “But it does explain Xander’s gallant mood this morning.”
Please.
The last thing I needed was the King of Egocentric Bullshit coming to my rescue. “Yeah, well, he spies on me more than you do.”
Raif’s brow regained its curious arch, but he could just keep on wondering. The goings-on in my room last night were none of his business and that was one stand-off I would sure as hell win. “He left the food for you,” Raif said and jutted his chin toward my now empty plate.
Wasn’t that big of him. The only thing anybody gave a shit about around here was whether or not I’d eaten. I felt like a fattened calf being prepared for the slaughter. “Are we through discussing my love life so we can get to work? Or do you want to braid my hair while I tell you the rest?”
“Anya has a meeting with Dylan McBride this afternoon to discuss some business matters pertinent to the Crown.” Guess the comment about braiding my hair had done the trick. “Dylan’s office has top-notch security, but what I’m concerned about is getting her from point A to point B.”
That was a given, considering someone had shot her car to shit the last time she’d gone out. “What are we talking, a full-on motorcade? Or are we keeping this nice and intimate?”
“Low-key. One vehicle, with an unmarked escort following.”
“And why would that be?” I left the door open for him to volunteer the information about the bullets.
“Someone opened fire on her Mercedes last week.”
At least Raif had come clean to me. Though I knew there shouldn’t have been any doubt. Raif would never keep secrets from me that would prevent me from doing my job. “Ballistics?”
“A fifty-caliber bullet with a strange marking etched on the casing. Whoever shot at her knew the car was armored.”
“Can I see it?”
“I’ll get you detailed photos of the etchings. I have some people looking into it. Could be relevant to nothing at all.”
I doubted that. Assassins loved calling cards. In an anonymous business, it was the only thing that made us real. Unlike my brethren, though, I never left a calling card. I liked being invisible too much for notoriety. “I have someone who might be able to identify it.” Levi, the part-time bartender at The Pit, was a supernatural encyclopedia. For a few—or rather a few hundred—bucks he could answer almost any question. I didn’t want to use him unless it was absolutely necessary, though. And if Raif was stumped, it was necessary.
“I’ll let you know if we need to bring someone else in on it.” Rai {on In af liked to play things close to the hip. “I’d rather not involve outsiders at this point.”
Outsiders being anyone who didn’t live within Xander’s walls. “Fair enough. When should I be ready to leave?”
“No later than one thirty.”
Perfect. I’d told Asher to meet me and the rest of the team at noon. That gave me plenty of time to lay out a game plan. “You’ll provide the cars?”
“They’ll be parked out front.”
“One more thing.” I wasn’t sure how Raif would react to me adding Asher to my team. I hoped to hell he wouldn’t blow a gasket. “I told you that I wanted Asher, and I haven’t changed my mind. I’m taking him with us.”
“So, you
Similar Books
