Page 6 of Body Tox

I made sure that before I left, he saw mysmile through the crowd.

Shaking his head and fingering that damn iris again, another message popped on my phone. Right before I pressed the number to block the asshole’s messages permanently, I involuntarily read the script on the screen.

Unknown: Do you always leave such a mess in your wake? Very vengeful, I see, aren’t you, Little Wraith?

Icouldn’t help but laugh when the ‘unavailable’ strip read across my phone screen. Too bad for the Princess that I’d already hacked my way into her phone.

Whistling, I scrolled through a multitude of vapid messages to her little friends, pathetic boy toys, and finally, her dear old Daddy.

Besides, there wasn’t much to see. She was clearly a wild child who didn’t sit still. I gathered that much by the fact that she drowned the damn mermaid in the restaurant. I had to admit that the encounter was nothing I’d expected. I thought I was going to be guarding some fucking teenage twat who just wanted to shop all fucking day.

Instead, I found a dangerous-edged woman who was dressed like a fucking killer. I had to beat my dick with a menu when she first popped in. Her white hair looked like snow, and the contrast to her icy eyes wasn’t a damn fair combination. Save some fucking beauty for someone who didn’t have a hit on them, why don’t you.

As I flipped through her bank accounts, the amount of zeros this bitch had made me sick. It made sense why her target tag was so high, and after seeing this, I would be asking for much more than I had been offered.

Pocketing the replica of the mark’s phone, I stared at her black and white photo on my screen. One smooth red line slashed over her eyes, erasing them. This was how all the marks were tagged: a photo, a mark of red over their eyes, and a price.

Blood for blood.

A call came through, and I veered off the sidewalk in an area to listen. A distorted voice began speaking. The modulated words made it impossible to distinguish sex, age, and accent.

“Congratulations Asher Ballard. My contacts confirm that you have been approved for the position of the target’s bodyguard. Continue the mission and show proof of kill. Do not fail me.”

The warped tones faded, and I stared at her picture again. Those icy eyes were ethereal—a mystery hidden in the depths alone.

Echo Thea Svenson, what an interesting mark you’ve turned out to be.

I got to my destination and hollered at Tony in the back.

“I need some sausage, my man.”

Tony chuckled and said the same dumbass innuendo he did every time I bought meat from this fool.

“Didn’t know you swung that way, Boy.”

Hardy har har. Great dad joke, ya old fuck.

“I am mysterious. What can I say?”

Tony laughed his belly roll chortle and prepared the thick links. I thanked the dorky butcher and walked back into the streets, the links of sausage dangling from my grip.

I pulled my hood over my head and turned down the alley to the fancy fucking estates. Spotting the massive gate at the entrance, I sighed. There were no usable side holes to squeeze into, and gates were always a bitch to jump and left gashes on my knees.

I took a deep breath and jumped, hiking over the wrought iron metal with the spiky top. As I figured, It ripped the fabric on my leg and sliced into my thigh. Hissing from the wound, I pulled my mask over my face, the scent of my blood dulled.

Not now. Deep breaths. Just keep fucking walking.

I would likely scare any fucking rich asshole who saw me loitering, but I couldn’t chance it. There were too many mask kinks nowadays.

Fucking social media…

It never hurt to be too careful. Making sure I blended in with the night, I walked along the windy little cobblestone paths, chucking the meat from the bag to the frothing dogs on both sides of the invisible fences. There was a total of six fucking guard dogs in this wing, and I nearly ran out of sausages for the fuckers.

Befriending the brutal bitches came in handy when staking out a property of a target. One of the most vicious of breeds charged me, and I nearly lost my damn hand as it snatched the meat and took off.

Fucking hell, Chihuahuas were the devil’s mutts.

I finally spotted the mark’s house. The gate around it was a concrete fortress. Getting inside wouldn’t be easy. Seating my ass in the bushes beside the huge ass mansion, I waiteduntil a gardener was milling about, snipping weeds like his life depended on it.

---