Page 9 of Marked By Ink

That woman.

It’s the only way I can refer to her if I don’t want Mr. Red to sense the need hammering through me. After the fight, I almost ran from the bar, taking my chance to get away before the spell of Freya pulled me back in.

I could’ve stayed there all night, getting to know her, growing more and more obsessed.

In a different life, if I were a different man.

If it wasn’t my job to kill her.

“Red,” I growl. “I asked you a fucking question.”

“They didn’t give me a reason,” Mr. Red says, his voice trembling just a little, enough to tell me my swearing has taken him by surprise.

Which is a joke. He hired me to kill a woman.

“Who’sthey?”

“You know I can’t answer that,” he says.

“So you expect me to murder a woman who is probably innocent?”

“How do you know she’s innocent?”

I spoke to her, stared into her young eyes…eyes belonging to a beautiful, sexy, enthusiastic woman who is way too damn innocent to be involved in this life.

There’s something else going on here, something truly twisted if Mr. Red thinks there’s even achanceI’d go through with this.

“I’m a good judge of character,” I say since I’m not going to answer him honestly.

“I’m sorry, Felix,” Mr. Red says. “I know this isn’t how we usually do things.”

“Are you comfortable with it? Killing a young woman and not knowing the reason. Would that sit well with you?”

“My job is to connect you with the client and to keep you both secret from each other. That’s all. It’s not my place to have an opinion.”

“I’m asking you,” I say gruffly.

He sighs. “No, but there’s nothing I can do now. I took the contract. If it’s not you, Felix, it’ll be another operator.”

“Don’t forget killing me,” I snarl. “That’s part of the bargain, too, isn’t it?”

“There’s no reason to go down this road.”

“Red, you must’ve known I was going to tell you to go fuck yourself. Not telling me who the target was was nothing more than a delaying tactic. You must’ve known that I’d tell you I won’t do it the second I laid eyes on her.”

Taking out the other targets was grim, but at least I knew they deserved it.

At least I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life withthem.

“Your last job,” Mr. Red says. “And you’ll throw it all away.”

For her, for Freya.

Yes, I will.

“I’m not killing her. You’re not killing her. Nobody is. Be prepared to lose any operators you send after her.”

“I don’t want to go down this road with you, Felix….”

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