Page 2 of Slay Bells Ring

So I do the only thing I can think of: I race back into my bedroom and hide in the closet. I try to shut the door as much as I can, but it starts to creak, so I settle for curling up into a ball in the farthest corner of the space. I pull my legs up to my chest and bite my lower lip to stop myself from making a sound.

But it’s too late. The door gave me away. The next thing I know, the light in my room is flicked on and the unfamiliar man’s voice mutters a harsh, “Shit. This wasn’t part of the job.”

Job? What’s he talking about? What—

The man approaches the closet, and though I know I shouldn’t move and draw attention to myself, I still flinch when he throws open the closet door and sees me in the harsh yellow light of the room. We meet eyes over the barrel of his gun.

He’s wearing all black, a big man. He even wears black leather gloves. But it’s his face I zero in on, his face I commit to memory, as I wholeheartedly believe it’ll be my last living moments. Dark brown hair. A slightly crooked nose. Icy, cold blue eyes.

His finger is on the trigger. Seconds pass, and a muscle twitches on his face. He lets out a word I’m not allowed to use, “Fuck,” and then he lowers his gun. He grabs the door with his free hand. “You’re going to stay in that closet until morning, kid, and then you’re going to call nine-one-one. You’re going to do yourself a favor and forget you ever saw me here, just like I’m going to forget I saw you, got it?”

The only thing I can do is nod, but that’s enough. He closes the door on me, shuts the light off in the room, and leaves.

When morning comes, I do as he told me. I call the police. I don’t bring him up. I pretend like I woke up and found my parents with bullet holes in their heads and pieces of their brains splattered on the walls.

I lost my parents, I lost everything, but I also gained something that day.

A drive for vengeance.

Chapter One – Holly

It’s hard to believe my parents were killed by an assassin thirteen years ago. Thirteen years. It’s been so long, and so much has changed. I was the sole heir of the family’s fortune, but obviously at ten years old I was far too young to run Cooper Enterprises. My parents’ right-hand man, Howard Giles, became both my guardian and the company’s new CEO—until I turned eighteen, anyway.

I’m twenty-three now, and I’m smart enough to know I don’t have much of a brain for managing a company as big as Cooper Enterprises. It’s why I pretty much leave it to Howard even now, while I occupy my time with training.

I didn’t go to college. I graduated high school only because Howard made me. Ever since that night, the only thing on my mind has been finding out who the assassin was and giving him the same respect he gave my parents.

There was a time in my life when I kept thinking:whoever he is, I’m going to kill him.

Now? After some digging and more than a few bribes here and there, I became my own goddamned sleuth. Now the thought’s more like:Kane, I’m going to kill you.

Yeah, the assassin goes by Kane. That’s it. No last name. Just Kane. He works for a place called the Guild, and from what I understand that place employs a hell of a lot of hitmen. Turns out a lot of people want other people dead. Who would’ve thought?

I’m going to kill Kane, but before I do, I’m going to do whatever I have to in order to get the truth out of him. After all my digging, after all my bribery and blackmail, there’s still one question I haven’t answered, and that’s who the hell paid for the hit in the first place.

Cooper Enterprises deals with a whole host of things. Researching cures to various diseases, finding new and useful ways to gather renewable resources, and even growing genetically modified crops that can withstand long periods of heat, droughts, and high humidity. The company has done a lot of good, but just like any company, it’s all about the profit. I’m sure there are countless of people who have it in for Cooper Enterprises and anyone who might work there.

Luckily, I chased a few good leads, and now I have a plan. I know what I’m going to do. I leave tonight. I’m all packed up and ready to go.

As much as I want to leave early, I can’t, so I force myself to workout at my home gym to kill some time. I might be short at five-foot-one, but I can pack a pretty hefty punch. I have abs, and my ass is killer. Every part of me is toned, strong, and ready for what’s about to come. That assassin has no idea what’s heading his way.

I’m in the middle of a routine on the punching bag when Howard walks in. I don’t stop what I’m doing, which causes the man to get closer and say, “You go at that thing pretty hard, Miss Cooper. One of these days you might just knock it off the ceiling.”

I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. It’s something he’s said a million times before. “What do you want?” A quick glance in his direction shows he’s holding onto a tablet.

Howard is a refined man of sixty years. His hair is short and gray, and his eyes are brown, their corners graced with a few wrinkles. He always wears a suit, regardless of the day and what he’s doing. All in all, the man looks good. He takes care of himself—but that’s not hard to do when you have money.

“I’m aware you’re…” He pauses, as if he’s weighing his words carefully. “Leaving for a holiday trip tonight, and I realized you haven’t signed off on the Christmas bonuses for our execs—”

“Why do they need Christmas bonuses when they’re already getting paid more than enough?” I hit the bag harder after that. I saw the email requesting my digital signature, and I purposefully ignored it. People on the board of Cooper Enterprises don’t need any more money.

“Tis the season and all that,” Howard says dryly.

I hit the punching bag again. “I’d rather give the money to random people on the streets, you know, people who could actually put the money to good use. Maybe I’ll do that—”

“Miss Cooper, that is simply not done. This is how the company has run since its inception, and you know it, yetyou give me a hassle over these bonuses every single year. Frankly, I wonder if you’ve come to enjoy my lectures.”

I would never, ever claim Howard became my second dad, or even an uncle. He’s more like a butler that knows way too much about everything and acts like it.

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