Page 12 of Stalking His Assassin

If I wasn't gagged, I would laugh. I can totally see her shipping me to Antarctica. I hold up one finger, letting her know I choose option one. I want to do unspeakable things to her body, but harming her isn't one of them.

She pulls a knife from her sexy-as-sin boot and points it at my throat. "Don't make me regret this."

I nod in agreement. You won't regret it, little wolf. I'll make sure of it.

She quickly slices through the ropes, and I groan as the blood flows unrestricted into my limbs. She takes several steps awayfrom me once I'm cut free. I straighten my legs as much as possible while still on my back in the box. Fuck, that both hurts like hell and feels good at the same time. I remove the gag before trying to get out of the box. I curse as I struggle. I've switched from a turtle on my back to a crab. I can flail my legs and arms, but it's useless in getting me out of my predicament.

I hear a deep sigh of annoyance before Lucy strides into my line of sight again. "Fucking pathetic. You act like you've never been stuck in a box before."

"I don't make it a habit of getting stuck in boxes, little wolf."

She rolls her eyes, then grabs me by the hands. Despite being a tiny little thing, she's able to pull my heavy ass out of the box. I stumble to my knees as my legs fill with a million pinpricks of pain from being in the same position for God knows how long. She quietly waits for me to regain control of my body and stand. Her eyes don't leave me for a second as she twirls her knife in her hand like an extension of her fingers.

"Now what?" I ask.

She shrugs. "Haven't decided yet."

"I'm not going to hurt you, Lucy." Using her real name is a calculated risk. I want her to know that I know who she is, even if it outs the fact that I knew her when her uncle was alive. It's best to hint at that secret before getting too deep into this situation.

"You couldn't if you wanted to. I think I've proven that over the years. And Lucy is dead. Don't ever use that name again," she says fiercely.

I smirk. "You have done a good job of evading me. What should I call you?"

"Nice try. I'm not giving you my name. You can call me Eris if you have to call me anything," she says, annoyed.

I decide to change the subject because pissing her off is not something I want to do. Not when my goal is to make her mine.

"Any idea why Tomas and the Syndicate would send me to you trussed up and locked in a box?" I ask, even though I've already put the reason together based on what Tomas told me in the bar and what I overheard him say to her.

"Nope. The Syndicate isn't responsible for this, though. This was all Tomas. I'd bet my life on it. He's a meddlesome asshole sometimes."

"Retirement must be boring," I say, smirking.

She gives me a hint of a smile. "Definitely. I can't imagine it myself. You?"

I shrug. "Maybe someday with the right incentive."

She opens her mouth to reply, but her words are cut off by a jaw-cracking yawn. "I'll go get you something to eat and some water." She looks around the sparse room and winces. "Maybe a blanket and pillow…"

"You going to lock me in your cell?"

She sucks her bottom lip between her teeth and bites on it while she thinks. "It's the only rational thing to do…"

"I won't hurt you, little wolf. You'll always be safe with me. I swear it."

She stares into my eyes like she's peering into my soul to weigh the truth of my words. I drop any pretenses and let my feelings for her reflect in my eyes. She might not believe my words, but I know she can read people's intentions better than anyone. She blows out a breath and raises her chin defiantly.

"Okay. You can come upstairs. Tomas already knows where I live. What's one more assassin knowing my secrets. I'll just have to kill you both if you betray me," she says calmly, like she's talking about the weather and not killing two highly skilled assassins.

"I would expect nothing less from the great Eris."

She walks past me without a word. I follow her down a long hallway with several closed doors. All of them have palm readersand keypads. I'm curious what's behind the doors that would need so much security. More cells? I don't bother asking because I know she wouldn't answer anyway. She leads me to an elevator that requires her palm print and a security code to open.

"This elevator provides the only access to my floors. As you can see, it requires both my palm and a security code to access. If you were to incapacitate me to use my palm, you would never figure out the security code. Torture won't work on me. I suggest you don't try."

I smirk at how self-assured she is. It's fucking hot as hell. "I'm sort of digging the Beauty and the Beast role reversal. Though, you're too damn gorgeous to be a beast on the outside. Either way, I'm happy to be trapped in your castle, little wolf."

She scoffs, but her cheeks blush a soft pink at the compliment. A slight chink in the armor. I can work with that. The elevator lets us out in front of what I assume is her living space. I can tell right away the door is reinforced, and there's another palm reader. Instead of using that, she presses on the panel and reveals a retina scanner.

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