Page 20 of Dangerous Secrets

He touches and pushes, and nods. “Based on the fundal measurement, I’d say you’re almost twelve weeks. You’ll be showing before too long.” He turns and grabs the ultrasound paddle. It’s not news to me. I knew something was going on a long time ago; I just never said a thing. I hold my tongue as he pushes the paddle covered in lube across my belly. The concentration on his face worries me until it softens and he smiles.

The softwhir,whir,whir, of a heartbeat hits my ears in the sweetest sound I’ve heard in months. Tears burst from my eyes and I cover my face. “Oh god… Oh my god.” I sob and shake my head. “He’s okay?”

“Actually, he’s a she… or at least from what I can tell. It’s still early to determine sex, but within the next two to four weeks you’ll know for certain. I’m usually not wrong though.” He sounds happy and I lower my hands. “Healthy and growing… Your pain is likely just from shock. Your body needs blood and rest. And with a baby on board, you will really need to listen to my directions carefully. Alright?” Chip continues to smooth the paddle around my stomach, and I watch the screen as he does. I see my perfect little one growing inside of me and I melt.

Rome has no idea what he almost did and it’s all my fault. I should have just told him. I need to tell him, but I don’t know how to get out of this pickle I’m in. This rock and a hard place situation is getting worse by the day. How do I decide whose side I’m on before anyone has to die?

13

ROME

Iawaken to a nudge from a boot and pry my eyes open to see through a blurry haze a man standing over me. “You alright, buddy?” Either I’m still very drugged or he’s very drunk, because he sways back and forth like a skyscraper in a windstorm.

“Fine…” I wince as I try to force myself off the sidewalk and feel the pinch of pain in my side. The ground is wet, a puddle of my blood beneath me. It looks like a lot, but if it were that bad I wouldn’t be waking up. L’ombra did a number on me, but she didn’t kill me. I say she because I know now that our little assassin is definitely female. I smelled the perfume again and I know it’s a woman.

“You don’t look so good. Should I call an ambulance?” My drunk friend tries to crouch next to me but falls over and ends up planting the palm of his hand in my blood too.

“I got it… Okay? Don’t call anyone. I’m fine.” I wince again but force myself to sit. My clothing clings to my skin, stuck there and dried in place. I’m not sure how long I was out but it’s not dawn yet, so not that long. The dart she drugged me with lays in the puddle of my blood too. There’s no chance of lifting a fingerprint or any DNA now, but I slide it into my breast pocket.

“Well, I might need you to call me an ambulance,” the man slurs, looking at his hands. “I’m covered in blood.”

It appears my hero is about as intelligent as the lamppost I lean back on. I watch him struggle to his feet and stagger down the sidewalk mumbling something about needing a drink and I reach for my phone. Every injury she inflicted was done to send a message. She had no intention of killing me, though if she knew what was good for her she would have.

It all makes sense now, why the assassin kills with darts or bullets, never a knife or a physical altercation. A woman could never overpower a man in a fair fight. That’s why she drugged me to make sure I wasn’t as strong or coherent. She even waited until I left a bar, where she knew I’d be drinking. This woman is smart, very smart, but I’m smarter. She has no clue the storm coming for her now that I know it’s a woman. It’s no wonder we’ve made zero progress on tracking L’ombra. We’ve been mistakenly thinking it was a man the whole time.

Bracing myself for more pain, I dial Leo’s number and hold the phone to my ear. Dom has too much on his plate with Dad getting sicker, and I need someone who will come straight away. I may not be dying immediately, but I know I will if I don’t get this stitched up, or infection will set in at the very least. I am still too groggy to drive so Leo is my best bet. He picks up on the fourth ring, sounding like I awakened him from a deep slumber.

“Yeah, Rome… Talk.”

“I’m at the bar… Well a block away. I got attacked.” I suck in a deep breath to stave off the worst of the pain as I apply pressure to the slowly seeping wound. “The assassin is a woman. She drugged me and got the jump.”

“Fuck, man…” I hear rustling in the background and know he’s dressing. “Is it bad? How bad? Should I call Brewster?”

A car passes driving a bit faster than is legal. The engine’s roar makes it difficult for me to hear him as his voice cuts off for a moment but I hear him say, “…need stitches?”

“Yeah… call him, but don’t get anyone too worked up. I’m not dying. Just got a good cut.” The phone drops from my shoulder where I pinched it to my head and clatters on the sidewalk. I don’t even have the energy to pick it up. My head still swims with whatever tranquilizer she used to knock me out. I stare down at it and see the time is almost two a.m. I was out for quite a while. No wonder Leo was sleeping.

I rest my head against the lamppost behind me and close my eyes. My right cheek is throbbing now, probably from that boot to the face. That bitch doesn’t know what’s coming to her. It’s personal now. I don’t generally enjoy killing women because they’re the softer part of our species. But this one? I’m going to soak in every second of this kill when it happens. She’s slaughtered dozens of our people over the years and now it’s payback time.

The anger in my chest physically hurts. I’m not sure if it’s my blood pressure or the way that toxin works, but I feel like I need to keep myself calm or I’ll stroke out. I cough hard, jerking and making more blood seep out of the stab wound. It’s like she knew right where to stab me so she wouldn’t hit any vital organs or blood vessels. If I had to guess, I’d say she was raised in the world of organized crime, or close to it. Prepared for this exact duty. No one expects a female. We don’t see them coming.

I don’t see Leo coming either, because I pass out again. But when strong hands grip my biceps and start to hoist me up, I let him know I’m not happy about it. I let out a loud shout of pain and protest his movements, but find myself on my feet, bracing my body against the lamp post as Leo’s fingers tear my clothing.

“You’re right. It’s not horrible, but you have to work with me. You are still bleeding and there’s a giant puddle down there.” He drapes my arm over his shoulder and we start toward the car but I find my right side isn’t working so well. It’s hard to move my leg like normal. I try, but I lean on him hard and limp.

“Fuck’s sake, this is shit.” It’s hard to breathe, hard to move. Pain shoots down my side and into my chest making me take it slow. One step at a time, we make it to his car and he opens the door with a grunt. I collapse into the passenger seat and he shoves a towel against my side.

“Don’t bleed on my shit,” he snaps, but it’s not like I can help it. He’s draped a blanket over the leather seat but it will be soaked through just from me sitting here. I’m drenched. When he climbs in the driver’s seat and pulls away, he says, “I’m taking you to Dom’s. Brewster is there anyway. We’ll get you stitched up but Dom will have questions.”

“Of course he will.” I cough hard and feel blood soaking the new, clean towel. “It’s nearly three a.m. and I’m bleeding out.”

“You’re not bleeding out, okay… But you’re right. He’s not going to understand why a woman got the better of you.”

“Oh, he’ll understand when I show him the dart. The one that took Dimitri out got left on the sidewalk in our haste. But this one—” I pat my breast pocket “—will prove to anyone how she got the best of me. Brewster can take samples of the toxin and find out what it is.”

I lay my head back and rest while he drives, in and out of consciousness the whole time. In my conscious moments I replay the fight step by step as best as I can remember it. The scent of that perfume, the way she was light on her feet—and light in general. She weighs practically nothing. I swear she used some sort of martial arts on me too. I don’t even remember feeling the dart hit the side of my face.

My hand goes instinctively to the spot on my head right in front of my ear where the dart pierced me. It’s numb. I can’t feel a thing there right now, which means she used a powerful anesthesia on the tip of that dart, similar to the way a mosquito numbs its victim before drawing blood. This shadow killer has it all figured out down to the last detail. I can’t believe I never saw her coming.

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