“Mr. Ross, I must confess that you and your family are already in danger and I am no longer under any obligation to protect you as you are no longer an asset to me the moment you step out of that building,” I said.   “What do you mean by that?” Mr. Ross asked.   I knew he did not like the fact that I was boxing him into a corner where he would feel unsafe unless he revealed whatever secrets he had been keeping. He knew the Contractor, so that already, for me, makes him a suspect in his own kidnap.   “I am sorry, but what I said was exactly what I meant. I need the truth and I need names,” I said.   Before I could delve further into Mr. Ross's awaited response, a young woman burst onto the scene, her footsteps quick

I was thinking about Shantel and her father as I lay on my bed naked when Larry walked in. There was something about him that looked unsettled and worried. I know Larry, his feelings for me were always true and unique. He does not interfere in how I do things but would only suggest, and that is on a few occasions.“What’s troubling you?” I asked him.“First, Cassie put on some clothes,” Larry said.“Why? You have always seen me naked. What changed?” I asked, smiling at seeing him act jealous.“I know what you think, but I am not jealous. I don’t want to lose concentration when talking to you,” Larry said.“So when has my being naked made you lose concentration,” I said as I put on one of his shirts.“That’s my shirt,” he said.I was truly sorry for Larry, what we had was professional, though I knew that sometimes feelings can be involved. He was a good man and a very loyal friend.“What do you have in that sweet mind of yours?” I asked him.“Shantel and her father are going to the UK

As I walked into Marvin's office, a whirlwind of emotions swirled within me. It had been far too long since I had seen Marvin, and our warm hug conveyed the depth of our unspoken connection. His voice was filled with a mixture of relief and curiosity as he welcomed me. I wondered what had happened to him since I left. It has been a week and a few days but it certainly looked like a year."Marvin, it's been so long! I have missed you," I said with a shaky smile, trying to compose myself.Marvin leaned back in his chair, studying me closely. "Cax, you look great. It's been too long indeed or would I say you took longer than expected and I'm glad to see you." He said.I had so many questions to ask him. I asked him about the office, his mansion, who was troubling him, and a lot of other things. You would think that we had not seen in years.He spoke of how smoothly things had been going, but I could not help but feel the weight of what I was about to do. The secretary's call interrupted

It was the weekend and I was lying in the arms of Marvin without worrying if Ken was going to disrupt our togetherness. I was sure he knew about our feelings for each other. Although Marvin said he had kept the attacks and every other information from Ken, I knew Ken would be looking for anything he would take to Uncle Jonah if Ken was working for him.“Marvin, you have not said anything about the financial records I asked you to check. Did you do it? What was the outcome?” I asked Marvin.“Yeah, that, I have been really thinking hard because a lot of things weren’t adding up in the financials, and if you had not prior informed me about it. I would have been in a lot of trouble. I do not understand why the books look cooked up. Though the auditors are working on it, I would love to know what happened. Cax let them finish their investigation,” Marvin said while rubbing my pack with the back of his palms.Marvin's concern about the tampering with financial books only deepened my anxiety

I sat with Larry as we finished one beer after the other. We joked about the past and some stupid jobs we had done. Larry reminded me that the Contractor was supposed to have called me to make me the Number One. It also made me doubt the Contractor’s motives because he could have made me number one when he called to inform me about the complaints of the Matinez Gang.I love Larry in a very special and different way. I love how he thinks and gives you so much information playing out from every possible scenario. I wondered why I did not inform him earlier about Marvin and how I felt about Marvin. I guessed I thought he would be jealous.Larry concluded that if the contractor had not called me then he would have been taking sides with the gang. I told him that it is not how things work for assassins and that there is a code of conduct that allows the Contractor to have all the time he needs to look at the circumstances surrounding the promotion of any Assassin.“Wow! For a lady assassin