And this just pisses me off. That this stupid thirteen-year-old girl thinks I’m dumb. Of course, I do my best to play dumb, and in fairness, she didn’t catch the show when I snapped the guy’s neck during the daring rescue. So I should cut her some slack.

But nothing about this group makes sense. Nothing about what we’re doing makes sense. If James is after Nick because my father ordered a contract on him like the other assassins, then why all this bullshitting around? I have no idea where Nick is. I’m pretty sure he’s not waiting for us in Palm Springs at this Merc guy’s house. So… “What the hell are we doing?”

“Taking a piss, Harper,” James says as he pulls off the road and into a parking lot and stops the Hummer in front of a place that claims to be a visitor center. There are two cars in the parking lot. Including us. “They have food here too. Next chance is couple hours away.”

“I want food!” Sasha says as she opens her door and jumps out. I open mine as well, and the heat blast is so powerful I almost can’t breathe. All three of us hurry under the shade of the front awning and then sigh with relief when we enter the air-conditioned building.

“Here,” James says to Sasha as he thrusts some cash at her. “Get something for everyone.” She smiles at the bills and then trots away. I’m still watching her, wondering about her story, when James tugs me off in the other direction. We head towards the bathrooms and just as I’m about to pull away and go into the ladies, he ushers me into the men’s with him.

“What are you doing?” I push him off me, but it’s too late. He’s already got both my wrists and I’m being forced back against the wall. “Really?” I laugh. “You’re gonna take me by force in a government building?”

He glares at me, those hypnotic green eyes of his deathly serious. I shut my f**king mouth and stare back. Is this a fight?

“You still think I’m a ra**st?”

“You have a thing for manhandling me,” I snap back. I have lost my patience with this man.

“Why are you with me then, Harper? Because you might not think I know you very well, and that’s probably true, I’ve been a watcher in this relationship so far. And one day a year and three months of stalking barely count. But here’s what I do know about you. You might not be able to kill me outright, but you’d put up a damn good fight. And if you didn’t want to be in this restroom with me, you’d be somewhere else right now.”

I yank my wrists free and push him off me with two solid palms to the chest. He rocks back just far enough so I can slip under his arms, and I turn to stare at him. “You’re right. I would, so what do you want?”

“Your brother is not my hit.”

“The hell he’s not! Even I can figure that shit out.”

“Even you?” James laughs. “Please. Spare me the stupid blonde routine, OK? I know better.”

“You were contracted to kill all the other assassins and that includes Nick, doesn’t it?”

“No,” he says, the clenching of his jaw a warning that I’m beginning to push him.

“You’re lying.”

“So I’m a liar now too? A ra**st and a liar.”

“Don’t forget brother-killer. Or was that a lie too? Is he still alive?” The look I get in response almost makes me piss myself. But it’s too late now, so I take it a step further to see how much James can take. “If you’ll fulfill a contract on your own brother, then what’s to stop you from doing the same to mine?”

He turns away from me, walks to the door, reaches for the knob, and then he twists the lock and turns back. “Loyalty.” And to my surprise, his one-word answer is low, almost a whisper, yet powerful enough to make me pause. “I’m a loyal employee. But I’ve only ever worked for one guy. Myself. My brother broke his word to me. He killed someone I cared about in front of my face. He was about to steal his ex-girlfriend and baby away from a safe home and bring them into a life that would get them both killed in a matter of weeks. So regardless of how you feel about what I did, my brother had to die to save these other two people. It was a call I made in the heat of the moment. I saw a chance to set things right for my niece, to free her from Company life, and I took it. You of all people should understand what that little girl’s life would be like if the Company got a hold of her. If she f**king lived. Because I had a little sister and she sure the f**k isn’t around anymore. So if my little niece was taken, she’d be promised to some old f**k as soon as the next assassin got a hold of Tony. So I’m not f**king sorry. He’s dead. I did it. And it was the right thing to do.”

I hold my breath through that entire explanation and then it comes out in a rush as he finishes. His jaw and fists are clenching in unison, like he’s got so much tension and rage building, he has to let it out slowly and with complete control. Otherwise he might explode. “Who do you work for?” I finally manage.

“Me. I work for me. How about you? Who do you work for?”

“I don’t work for anyone. I’m not a hired killer.” I snarl out the words, but it has no effect on him.

“No, you kill for free. You kill for yourself. So it looks like we’ve got something in common after all.”

I huff out a few incredulous breaths at that remark. “Boy, Sasha is right. You are delusional if you think my escaping a life of sexual slavery with some old man—”

“I’m not that old—”

“Tet,” I cut him off. “You are insane if you think my father was giving me to you. OK? No offense, because you’re hot and I’d go back and do it all differently if I thought you really were the guy I was promised to. But there’s no possible way on earth that’s the case. OK? So yeah, I killed a bunch of people to get away. And I’m not sorry either. I’d do it again and never think twice!”

I bite my lip as my hysterical words echo off the tiled walls for a moment, and then the place goes quiet.

He takes three quick steps towards me and I back up instinctively, but I hit the sink. And then before I can come up with another plan, he’s pressed up against me, standing over me almost. His stare is captivating because everything about his expression, his body language, his breathing—all of it says this moment counts. His hands hover over my shoulders and then he give me a crooked smile.