Page 94 of Pretty Little Assassin

Another omega stands beside her. Older. Composed. There is blood on her too, though considerably less of it.

Between them lies a man carved almost beyond recognition.

Alley Cat would approve.

“I came here to save you, but clearly you don’t need saving, little assassin.”

The woman beside her laughs. “Viktor Petrov,” she says. “The Wraith.”

“And you are?”

“Viktor, this is Madam,” Valentina says. “Also my sister.”

“The leader of VEIL.” I lower my gun. “I did not expect to see your face.”

“Very few people do.”

“The kill order?”

“Stopped,” Madam says. “The stand-down went through from Johnson’s phone before the timer expired. Every Primacy team acknowledged it.”

“How many did we lose?”

“We don’t know yet.”

I look between my pretty, little, alive assassin and the head of the organization that tried to kill me. I fold my arms, letting my large biceps and broad shoulders join the conversation.

“Are you ready to explain the contract on me. VEIL had no reason to want me dead. You vet every request personally.”

“A relay I trusted was compromised,” Madam says. “Johnson used my credentials to issue forged directives and read anything routed through that channel. Anything either of you received through it after the breach could have come from him.”

“When did you discover it?”

“I detected irregularities three days ago. I confirmed his involvement tonight.”

“And the protection list?” Valentina asks.

“A separate system. He tortured one of my operatives to obtain it.”

Valentina reaches for Madam’s hand. The gesture is unexpectedly gentle for a woman wearing pieces of her stepfather.

“You should have warned me.”

“Yes,” Madam says. “I should have.”

Her attention shifts toward me.

“Although your refusal to kill each other appears to have worked in everyone’s favour. Neither of you had ever failed to complete a contract before.”

“Our first failed kills,” Valentina says.

I grin at the beautiful assassin, and she smiles back through the blood.

Madam turns to Valentina. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to rescue you before you were sixteen. You were strong enough to rescue yourself. It took me too long. What matters is that you were stronger than me. You have always been stronger than you realize.”

Valentina reaches into her jacket and removes a photograph creased down the middle.

Madam looks at it for a long time.