Page 28 of Targeted By Vengeance

But there was no body on the ground or gun in sight. The crowd around me continued dancing, not a lick of distress on their faces.

“It’s done,” Maria’s quiet voice rang through my earbud.

I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Dancing with Mateo, I completely forgot about the mission. I’d been so caught up in the fantasy that the gunshot caught me off guard. The realization made me feel stupid. I never got lost in the fantasy of undercover jobs before - and I definitely wasn’t about to start now.

“Copy,” Mateo replied. He released my waist and grabbed my hands. “Come on. We’ll meet her out back.”

“Wait, that’s it?” I asked, jogging on my heels to keep up with his pace.

“Were you expecting something different?” He asked, shooting a raised brow over his shoulder at me.

“I don’t know. I just didn’t think it’d happen so-” I stopped myself as we walked through one of the back exits and reunited with Maria. My eyes widened at the blood and brain matter splattered over her dress and skin. “Oh my god,” I muttered, my stomach turning from the sight.

Maria’s brows pinched at my expression. She looked down at the mess as if it were nothing but lint clinging to her clothes. “Close range,” she murmured with a shrug.

Mateo ignored her appearance altogether and shuffled us along. “Keep moving,” he commanded.

I couldn’t tear my eyes off of Maria as we hurried down the emptier sides of the blocks to get back to the van.

There wasn’t an inch of remorse in her big brown eyes. She strutted down the sidewalk like the popular girls in the movies, her perky chest and curls bouncing with every step. The red stains of her dress and shoulders might as well be body glitter with the way it didn’t affect her confident stride. I bet she didn’t even blink before she pulled the trigger.

Even I had my moments of hesitation when faced with instances where I needed to pull the trigger to defend myself or others. The people on the other end of my gun may have been criminals, but they were still humans - ones whose faces lived in my head for a day or two after I took their lives.

Taking a life wasn’t an easy feat. At least for those with some kind of moral compass.

How broken had theirs become that they were able to walk with confidence after such a brutal execution? How much damage would mine have to face in order to do the same?

As I watched Maria shimmy out of the dress and discard it like trash into a black bag, I didn’t think I wanted to know.

THE ASSASSIN

Simone’s head popped up at the sound of my knuckles rapping against the bedroom door. She was sitting on the bed, her nose in a book, where she’d been since we arrived home from our assignment last night.

The second we stepped through the threshold, she rushed up the steps and hid in our bedroom. Maria frowned at her back, but she didn’t have time to console her. Not with all the blood she still had to wash off of her.

I’d seen the horror on Simone’s face when she saw the evidence of Jules’ death staining Maria’s dress and skin. Honestly, it wasn’t much compared to other assignments we’ve been on. There were times we’ve walked away drenched in another’s blood. I couldn’t imagine how Simone would’ve reacted had this been one of those instances.

I’ve already told her twice that she wasn’t ready for this. A part of me hoped seeing the bloody side of it would help her realize it. Another part was disappointed. She’d been so eager to learn that I’d been excited to teach her - to have her by my side in all aspects of my life.

After entertaining the possibility of adding her to my small team, I didn’t want to dump her back in Baltimore to work a boring nine-to-five. But I would if that’s what she wanted once we went back to the states.

“Put one of your dresses on,” I told her.

She raised a brow. “Why? Are we leaving already?”

“No. Just get dressed.”

“But, Mateo-” I shut the door before she could finish her complaint. I didn’t want to hear it.

“I don’t hear you moving,” I yelled from the other end when I didn’t hear the thuds of her footsteps against the floor.

She dramatically sucked her teeth between the ruffling of the covers. Her feet padded around the room for a few minutes before the door opened again.

One of her blue maxi dresses hung over her body, clinging to her chest and flowing into soft ripples around her legs. Her dark lashes seemed longer, defining the curve of her eyes. Gloss coated her plump lips, outlined with a soft brown. Her short curls had a refreshed shine, the aroma of coconut oil mixing with the amber notes of her perfume.

She put a hand on her hips. “Happy now?”

“Almost.” I held out the blindfold in my hand. “Put this on.”