Page 79 of Assassin: Part 1

Ireally do love when I shock people. But Ilya? Perfection. Every thought moves over his face, and Oleg and Zakhar gape at me. Right under their noses from the beginning, and they had no idea.

Mostly. I think they’d figured out I’m dangerous, but not to this level.

The realization is hitting hard, and they might just lose their shit and do something stupid. Best to get ahead of that. There’ll be time for questions later.

“I’m many things,” I say, shrugging. “But yes, the order came through to me. It was all I needed to put my plan into motion. I got Aurora, brought you to her, and made sure you had no choice but to hire her.” I give him a wicked grin, remembering our brief time in Canada at his warehouse. I give Rori the same, enjoying myself, digging the knife in a little deeper. “And here you were, face-to-face with your ex-husband, and you never even realized the guard in Canada was him. You’re slipping, sweets.”

Rori’s face twists, and her green eyes shoot daggers. Does it bother me? Not in the slightest. Rori and I have unfinished business, and all I’m doing is pushing her closer to realizing it and accepting it.

Look at me being all therapeutic and shit.

Ilya, however, is focusing on my first statement.

“I knew you were the one who called the cops,” he seethes.

“I did. And you looked so cute rushing out,” I croon, recalling how pissed off he was. Though, maybe that had something to do with having to use his spare plane and not the very nice one I borrowed.

“You were there? Watching?”

I blink at him. Wait, what?

Okay, so maybe he hit his head when he fell. He thought I was watching from the cameras? He glares at me, looking so certain. Okay, yeah, that’s exactly what he’s thinking. Damn it. Worry slithers through, but before I can ask him if we should get him checked out, Rori snaps, “Keep up, dude, she was the woman who brought me to you and then let you know the cops were there. That’s her whole thing. She can become anyone and anything, and you’ll never know she’s there.”

It’s Ilya’s turn to blink, staring at me, but realization dawns.

The moment that little tidbit of why I have the codename Chameleon seals the missing pieces, all three men look at me uneasily. Probably wondering just how often I’ve been around them without them knowing.

They definitely don’t want that answer. They might never sleep at night again.

Trying to lighten the mood, I pout. “Well, that wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for. Seriously, baby, you wound me.”

Ilya’s eyes narrow while the other two glare at me. Yes, that’s more like it.

“How have you not shot her yet?” Rori demands from Mishka. I don’t have to look at him to know he’s enjoying this.

Asshole.

“Because he likes me and appreciates me for who I am, Aurora.” I sniffle. I’m lying through my teeth, but he has to like me somewhat to put up with me this long and not try to kill me every other day. Because I can’t help myself, though I do love the little light of jealousy in Ilya’s eyes, I add, “But don’t worry, I’ve never slept with him. I’ve had my eye on someone else anyway.”

Nothing like making my intentions known. I want there to be no mistake. He might hate me for it, but I’m willing to work to the point where he wants the same. Even if it takes years more. What’s a few more? And I won’t be far away if I can help it.

Though I won’t tell him about that just yet. Why ruin the surprise?

Speaking of ruining the moment…

“No fucking way.” Rori gasps, gaping at me when I turn to stare at her. “You did all of this because of him? In what, some kind of fucked-up way to flirt with him? You couldn’t just bang him and move on?”

“Ewww,” Mila groans, making my lips twitch. “I really don’t want to think about that.” She’s really not going to like what comes next, but first, it’s time to clear a few things up with Rori.

My feelings for her have been nothing short of complicated over the years. I hate her as much as I understand why she’s done what she’s done. The hate has always been stronger though. Even now, looking at her, it wells, sharp and cold, but right behind is pity. Oh, she’ll hate me for thinking it, but I don’t give a damn. She never stood a chance. Perhaps more than the rest of us in some ways.

She’s Pasha’s eldest child. The one who was supposed to be everything he was and more. Sure, he wanted a boy, but I remember him telling me she showed promise and all he needed to do was break her to get her there.

From the moment I met her, I knew it would never be the case. Sure, she was cold, strong, fast, but she was putting on a show. I was a child and saw a girl like me, someone I could maybe trust. Maybe she could help me be the best. When she saw my aptitude, she came to me to ask me to help her take down her father. She would help me. Maybe I fooled myself for a while in the beginning, thinking we could escape that school, that we would be the ones to take it all down, but reality wasn’t far behind.

Being broken time and time again will do that to you. Despite what she might think, Rayea Antonova, before she left and eventually became Rori O’Brien, didn’t have it as badly as the rest of us. Some might lock those memories away completely, but I’ve never forgotten what I felt in those moments.

And what it fueled.