“The Debt Collector would tell me to ‘get the information, get the girl.’
When I was recruited, I was told there was one girl in particular I needed to kill and some I needed to save, but it was up to me to find them. When I failed, he sent the same text.”
“What information? I was shown photos with their eyes covered in a red stripe and a name. That was it.”
He rubbed his head, his body still swaying a bit.
“How many targets have you had?”
I thought back to the unimportant faces on the screen. “Fifty or so?”
His eyes widened, and then he turned a pointed finger to himself. “Fifty-one.”
“I brought you back, whiny ass.” I rolled my eyes. “Want me to try again?”
He looked down at my crossed legs, and I blushed.
“Okay, well, I was given rescue missions more than anything else, and those were always about the church.”
Now, it was my turn to be confused. “The church? Why the church?”
“It’s an occult, Echo. The priest is a fucking whacko. He sacrifices women.” I nearly gasped. That weirdo gave me the creeps, and now I knew why.
He was an occult member.
“An assassin playing savior is whacko,” I said instead.
He rolled his eyes, using the shelving unit to lean his back against, holding his ribcage like it was hurting him.
“I will tell you my story if you tell me yours,” he said, ignoring my insult.
I thought about that, but I flipped my phone to a video in my hidden folder instead.
“Easier to show you.” I quietly handed the phone over to him.
His brows knit together, an expression playing on his face I couldn’t read. My own words echoed back to me from the speakers.
“Blood for blood.”
I waited for him to say something. He didn’t. He just stared at the black screen after the video stopped and the light dimmed.
“That was my initiation. His name was Alex, my ex.”
“What happened? Diamond not big enough?” My body became tense, anxiety setting in. Asher seemed to recognize thechange in my posture, so his expression mirrored mine. “Sorry. What happened?”
“That man was a monster.”
“Echo, I saw this video before. I went through your stuff back at the mansion.”
“You…what?”
“I…I was in your closet one day when you were with Cali Grace.”
Realization dawned on me. That faint scent of mint in my closet…it was him.
“Like what you saw, you peeping twat?” I snorted.
He looked down, his hard-on an obvious sign that he really enjoyed it.