Page 50 of Agent vs. Assassin

I believe him. I don’t need the gun, not in this moment, but one wrong comment could change that. He’s not emotional, but he’s so damn cautious, he will never allow himself to be captured. He will never take a risk, not even for an obsession with me.

At this point, I want, no need, to find the real man beneath the disguise so fuck it. I holster my weapon and claim the seat he’s suggested, the island separating us, and his green eyes are now brown, his jawline less sharp and square. He must use some sort of putty, a custom made prosthetic perhaps, if that’s even possible. Not many people would have the skill to make such a thing, and it’s a way to track him down later. Maybe. “Was that you I saw yesterday, the real you?” I ask.

“Do you think I’d let you sketch the real me? Youdidsketch me, didn’t you?”

I pull the drawing from my pocket and unfold it, showing it to him. He reaches for it and shows me his hands, confirming he’s not holding a weapon on me beneath the table. It’s an act of truth. He trusts me. Maybe he is a fool. “Whoever did that is excellent,” he concludes and sets it back on the table, as if it’s nothing to worry over. “That’s badass work.”

“You had nothing on your face. That’s the real you. It has to be.”

He arches one of those extra thick brows. “Was it?”

In other words, I may well have told him my secret, and he showed me absolutely nothing. He’s now got leverage over me. He has to know I can’t allow that to stand but I won’t kill him today, not with an audience outside, and he knows it. Not unless the circumstances were perfect and he will never make the mistake that would require, not with his skill level and experience.

“How long have you been in the house?” I ask.

“I never left.”

I’m not really surprised, but I doubt he was in the actual house with the swarm of law enforcement. He was close. He was watching.

“You think she’ll come here,” I say.

“I think she’s coming after you, which is exactly what you wanted. That press conference was money.Youwere brilliant.”

“I’m only brilliant if it works.”

“It will. We’re a good team, me and you, Lilah. I gave her a reason to come. You made sure she found out and you gave her a living reason to come.”

“But will she come before she finishes the hits?”

“Yes. She will.”

“Why are you so certain?”

“I study my targets. I’m good at knowing what they will do. Just as I knew you’d come back here.”

“So I’m a target?”

“No. You are not a target, Lilah.”

“But I was yesterday?”

“No.” That’s all. Nothing more.

My cellphone rings and I pull it from my pocket and he trusts me enough not to even flinch. Or perhaps it’s not trust. He’s simply arrogant enough to believe his skills superior to mine.

The minute I spy Ellis’s number on caller ID I glance at Ghost. “This is my boss who went after Elsa and disappeared. I need to take it.”

“Understood,” is all he says, his posture unchanging.

I answer the call, and to my shock, I hear, “Agent.”

“Ellis?” I ask, shocked to hear his voice.

“Yeah. It’s me. She’s coming to you and she’s losing her mind.”

“Elsa?” I ask, my eyes meeting Ghost’s stare.

“Yes. I know you know I know her. I tried to convince her to stop this nonsense.”

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