Page 10 of Savage Assassin

“Hello.” She forces a smile, stepping up to greet me and holding out her hand. “I’m Elena Santiago.”

“Levin Volkov.” I take her hand, and it feels small and warm in mine, her fingers instinctively curling against my palm as if she trusts me already.

The moment I touch her, I’m seized with a not-unsurprising desire to protect her. It’s not as if I didn’t see it coming–Connor was right when he’d said I have a soft spot for innocent women in need of help, even if he’d meant it disparagingly, as if he were calling out a knight’s complex. I’d taken the job precisely because I’d known I would be devoted to doing it well, as much or more so than anyone else.

But as I look at her face, into her soft dark eyes, it feels more like a need than a desire. The thought of her being hurt, of the Gonzalez boss forcing her into marriage, ofanythinghappening to her that I could prevent, feels horrifying.

I’ve failed before, in the past. I won’t fail this time.

“You’re the one taking me to Boston?”

Her clear, musical voice cuts through my thoughts, making me realize I’ve been holding onto her hand for too long. I let go, clearing my throat as I take a step back and nod. “The Irish Kings and their associates sent me, yes. I’ll be escorting you to your sister.”

“Tomorrow evening,” Ricardo speaks up. “If the meeting with Diego goes poorly.”

I frown, glancing over at him. “You have a meeting set?”

He nods. “He asked to meet with me, to have a parlay of sorts. To try to come to terms. I agreed to meet. If we can find a satisfactory way to end this, then sending Elena to Boston might not be necessary. But I’m afraid that it’s a long shot.”

There’s no real reason for me to disagree with him. If he chooses to keep Elena here, it’s a danger and a mission that I don’t have to deal with. But the moment he says it, I feel a knot in my gut, a surge of protective emotion rushing through me as I raise an eyebrow at him.

“That doesn’t sound like a shot at all. Even if Diego agrees to terms that have nothing to do with marrying Elena, how can you expect that he’ll keep his word? You’re better off sending her to where she’s safe.”

Ricardo starts to speak, but Elena cuts him off, looking up at me with a defiant expression on her face.

“Iwant to stay here if I can. So if my father thinks that there’s a possibility,Iwant him to explore that first. If there’s no other option, then I’ll go with you.”

I try to keep my expression neutral, but I can’t help but be impressed by her. It’s easy for me to read others–years of training as a spy and assassin will do that–and I can hear the faint tremor in her voice, see the way her lips tremble slightly. She’s afraid, but she’s not collapsing from it. She’s strong, despite how sheltered she’s been all her life.

If given the chance, she’ll be an incredible woman, if a man like Diego doesn’t crush her.

“Are you finished telling me how to handle my affairs?” Ricardo asks dryly, and I turn back to him as he speaks. “I brought you here to hear the plan, to meet Elena, and prepare yourself to act accordingly. I’ll meet with Diego tomorrow. If he remains on his current course of action and refuses to come to terms, then I will have no choice but to send my daughter with you on a plane to Boston tomorrow night.” He pauses. “In the meantime, you’re welcome here. There’s plenty of room for guests, and I would invite you to eat dinner with us at our table tonight and stay here until tomorrow.”

Personally, I would be more comfortable in a hotel, with absolute privacy and the peace that comes with that. But I’m well aware that I can’t turn down the hospitality without being rude, so I nod, giving Ricardo Santiago a tight smile.

“Thank you. I appreciate your generosity.”

“Well.” He claps his hands together, his expression as tautly pleasant as mine. “If you want to get refreshed, one of the staff can show you upstairs. Dinner is at seven, and we’ll be pleased to have you.”

I know when I’m dismissed. I nod again, turning to walk past Elena. I catch her gaze as she glances toward me, and I see something in her eyes that I don’t entirely understand. Curiosity, maybe, which I can understand. But there’s a flicker of something else, too, an interest that piques mine–and instantly sets me on edge.

I’m curious about her, too, but I shouldn’t be. I don’t need to know anything about her to get her safely to Boston. All I need to do is my job.

I glance at my watch as I walk past her and out of the office, forcing myself to tune out the quiet sounds of her and her father talking as I leave. If I get upstairs and shower soon, I might have time for a short nap before dinner.

This time, with any luck, I won’t dream.

Elena

Ifeel as if I’m waiting for the hammer to fall.

Dinner had been mostly silent, punctuated by my father attempting to make small talk with Levin, who had answered fairly perfunctorily. I can’t get a good impression of him–if this taciturn personality is how he usually is or if he’s uncomfortable being here. I know I shouldn’t really care either way.

His job is to get me to Boston, if I have to go. My father trusts him to take care of that task, so I do as well. But I can’t help but be curious about him.

It had shocked me how handsome I’d found him. I don’t know what I’d expected, exactly. Someone older, maybe? Levin Volkov certainly isn’t ayoungman–though I didn’t see grey in his dark hair, he looks as if he’s been around for a while, with a few lines around his sharp blue eyes, set in a chiseled face.

I tried not to look at him too often as we ate dinner, but all it did was make the tension I felt even more palpable. I didn’t want to stare by accident, but I also wanted to take a good look at him. He’d shown up to my father’s office in grey chinos and a black leather jacket, but for dinner, he swapped it out for more formal clothes–slacks and a charcoal button-down rolled up to expose muscled and tattooed forearms. He seems to be tattooed all over–I’d seen them extending down the backs of his hands and up the sides of his throat, and it made me wonder how much of the rest of his body was inked as well.

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