The Accidental Assassin by Nichole Chase Page B

way his eyes flared.
    “You are not turning yourself in, not to anyone.” His words were soft. “Besides, they’re just saying that you’re a person of interest.”
    “I’m weighing you down, Owen.” I sat up and noticed that my shoes were on the floor. Had I taken those off or had Owen, when he put me on the couch?
    “Stop it, Ava.” He closed the computer and sat it on the floor next to him. “Does it look like you’re weighing me down?”
    “Well, yeah, a little. When was the last time you slept?” I adjusted my sweater so it wasn’t twisted around my waist.
    “I’ve slept some each night that we’ve been here.” It was still dark in the room, and the sun wasn’t fully up yet. I watched him in the early grey light of dawn thinking about all that he had done for me.
    “If I turn myself in to the police, they can give me an extra guard and you can slip away. I’ll tell everyone that I managed to evade the other people by myself.” I shrugged. “I’m American. I grew up on action movies. They’ll buy it.”
    “No.”
    “Owen—”
    “No. They can’t protect you the way I can. I realize I’m not exactly the knight in shining armor most women imagine, but I’ve got the skill set you need right now.” He frowned. “Something serious is going on. Big players in the business are disappearing. Some of my contacts are gone. Vanished. No one has heard anything from them for weeks. This is bigger than just you. You’re going to need me to help you get through it. And you’re my best link to everything that’s going on. You’re not the only one on the news. They are reporting about Song and say he was the head of a sex slave ring, but they believe someone else is pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Somehow you’re connected to all of this.”
    “So, I’m a means to an end?” I scrubbed at my face. Made sense.
    “Yes. No. I don’t like it, but we need each other. You won’t last long without me, and I’m not going to get any information without you. If I could, I’d ship you off somewhere remote and make sure you never had to deal with any of this again.” His voice took on an earnest tone and I caught a glimpse of vulnerability in his eyes.
    “It’s not your job to protect me.” I kept my voice soft. He looked on edge.
    “I’ve made it my job.” The words sounded like a gruff promise.
    “I can’t pay you much, but I’ve got some money.” I played with the blanket, afraid to meet his gaze. If he was looking for money, then I could keep him at arms-length. If he was doing it for something else…I was in a whole different type of trouble.
    “I don’t need your money, Ava.” He stood up and looked at me. “I have a hundred thousand quid in that safe and this place is only one of my safe homes.”
    “Why?” My voice cracked. “Why are you helping me?”
    “Because you need it.” His eyes ran over my face. “Because I want to.”
    I wanted to say something, anything, but I didn’t know what. Instead I stood up and folded the blanket and placed it back on the couch and smoothed it out. I turned back to Owen and met his stare.
    “Thank you.”
    “No need to thank me.” He stepped back and bent over to pick up his laptop.
    I watched as he moved over to the small dining table and opened the computer again. Without another word I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He’d bought eggs and milk the night before and I was ready for something other than soup.
    We spent the day quietly, each of us lost in our thoughts. He was busy on the internet, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. It wasn’t until I heard him mention bodies that I asked him to clarify.
    “Are you talking about dead bodies?” I tried to not shiver.
    “Someone discovered eleven dead women in a ware house in Singapore. Normally that wouldn’t make our news, but most of them were from England.” His eyes narrowed. “They’d been raped and drugged. Most of them were