Page 11 of Lady Death

“I don’t have that same premonition.” He backed upeven more, and his hands fell away. “But I’ll concede this time. There’s much we have to talk about.”

“Uh, pretty sure we have nothing to talk about.”

He gave her a mysterious smile that irked her. “We’ll see. Until next time, Keres.”

Then he was gone. Vanished like some sort of ghost. Only the warmth of his hand lingered.

****

Of course, he didn’t fully leave. Ronin watched the building from the shadows across the street, trying to figure out the complex woman named Keres. He recognized a panic attack when he saw one, but how does a stone-cold killer succumb to something so basic? And what was the trigger? Him? His little assassin was turning out to be more interesting than he realized.

From his research, he had known she lived with the ex-Marine, Darby Monroe. Other than that, he knew absolutely nothing about her. Not even a last name. The gym closed and the big guy locked up. A moment later, a light turned on in the apartment upstairs. He didn’t think she was leaving that night to commit more death and mayhem, nonetheless, he checked her phone messages. Before she had entered the locker room, he made sure to clone her phone, as well as place a tracking bug so he always knew where she was.

Why did he do this? He wasn’t quite sure. It was a compulsion he didn’t question.

“Blah, blah, blah,” he muttered, noticing she had no friends in her contacts. The only person she ever texted was Monroe. No family, no acquaintances. Her background remained elusive. “Who the fuck are you, Keres?”

He needed answers because he thought she was a calculated hitwoman, but the girl who froze in his arms wasn’t the same person he saw in that damn bar. Only when the lightfaded from her window did he turn and head home.

When he arrived at his loft, he saw the red light above the door was on. He had safeguards in place, like scanners and motion sensors. If they weren’t deactivated in time, the red light above the door told him his fortress had been breached. Holding his gun securely, he cautiously made his way inside, up the stairs to avoid the sound of the elevator, stopping only when he got to his door. He listened intently before kicking the door open and leveled the gun. Ares and Hunter waited for him inside and Ronin lowered his weapon, sliding the safety back on.

“Fuckers, I could’ve shot you,” he grumbled. “Why are you here?”

“Brim’s a little worried that he hasn’t heard from you,” Ares replied.

“Sent us to make sure you weren’t dead or something,” Hunter said. “It’s not like you to be unable to complete an assignment.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m fine. Tell Brim I’m researching something.”

“Well, that’s not cryptic as shit,” Ares muttered.

“Get out of here,” Ronin told them. “I’m gonna be off the grid for a while. Have Ghost pick up my slack.”

Hunter saluted him. “Brim will kick your ass if you wind up dead.”

“I’ll kick my own ass if I wind up dead.”

He watched Ares and Hunter leave, before turning off his warning light and locking up. After showering, he slipped into bed stark naked and scrolled through the data on Keres’s phone once more before shutting it off.

Who the fuck is she?

That was the million-dollar question. Unfortunately, nothing yielded through his scrolling. She remained just as elusive as before.

Chapter Six

For the next couple of days, Ronin would pop into her mind at odd moments. Plus, he seemed to play a major role in her dreams. All of them turning pornographic. She dreamt of him kissing her. Caressing her. How could she dream of sex after what she’d gone through?

Two nights after their locker room meeting, once the gym was closed, she and Darby dressed all in black ready to activate their next phase in the plan. Keres piled her long hair in a bun and then covered it with a black knitted hat. The utility belt she wore held her knives. A holster on the back of her pants held her gun. Darby gathered their equipment in a duffle bag and hoisted it over his shoulder.

“Ready?” he asked.

“More than ready.”

“There’s a chance we may not come back from this.”

She cocked her head. “I’m not afraid of dying. Are you?”

He shook his head. “I’ve got a will in place in case that happens.”

---