Page 14 of His Coveted Obsession

After scanning the basement, there were no other men, so I headed up the carpeted stairs and opened the basement door to the rest of the house. It opened into the kitchen where a man had his back to me, making something to eat at the counter.

I was a ghost, moving closer and closer behind him, scanning my surroundings, so I wasn’t caught by surprise, and then I quickly grabbed him by the neck with one arm, holding him tightly enough to slide my knife into the side of his throat. He fell to the ground, rolling around to keep from bleeding out, but it was too late for him.

After being in the cold and dressed for it, I started sweating with the heaters on, but I kept my jacket and hat on to hide in the shadows better.

I recalled from the floor plans that the steps to the upstairs were on my left, just past the dining room.

While I wanted to take my time, I couldn’t go too slowly before the guards realized they had men missing.

And right on cue…

“Roberto, responder. Respóndeme,” said a man in Spanish, holding his rifle, and talking into his communicationsdevice in his ear. “¡Maldita sea! Luis! Respóndeme.”

I had to hurry and take him out before he notified the others. I pulled out my gun from my holster, which had a silencer attached, and quickly shot him in the head. Guns were not my weapon of choice, but they were perfect when time was limited. I would rather feel my blade dig into flesh and tendons. I loved death when it was close and personal. Their weakening bodies against me as I killed them was gratifying.

Once he was down, I moved him out of the direct line of sight from anyone who walked into the room and pressed forward. I bypassed the stairs on my right and headed toward the security room. I quickly opened the door and shot the guard in the head. He slumped forward as I rushed in.

“I’m in,” I said to Layla.

“Give me a moment.”

I waited as she hacked their system.

A minute later, she said in my ear, “Done. You now have access to their security system.”

I said nothing as I deleted all recordings of Maverick and me. Maverick was in hiding, but you couldn’t be too careful. Once the men were dead, the police would investigate.

Then I scrolled through each camera until I found Juan in his bedroom, pacing and talking on his phone. While I was terrible at reading body language, it was easy to tell the man was agitated.

I kept scrolling, counting how many men I had left to kill.

Two more besides Juan Ruiz.

I carefully stepped outside of the small room and scanned my surroundings. It was all clear, so I continuedwith my mission.

While I’d always been good with knives, it was Khai who trained me to be a stealth ghost in combat, while Sid taught me how to defend myself and shoot guns.

“Are you still clear?” Maverick said in my ear.

“Yes,” I whispered as I made my way up the stairs, twirling the small dagger in my fingers again.

“I see you.”

My feet made no sound as I slowly climbed, keeping my eyes peeled for any threat while maintaining steady breathing and heart rate.

A guard was patrolling the upstairs corridor with his back to me. I quickly jumped him, putting my hand over his mouth, and dragged him down as I slipped the knife in his ear, penetrating his brain before he could throw me off. I pulled him into an empty room and closed the door. Regardless, there was blood all over the cream-colored carpeting. But it wouldn’t matter. They’d all be dead soon enough.

The last man was in a bedroom resting. I eased the door open to find him sleeping, with his rifle leaning against the nightstand.

I walked up to him and stood next to the bed, looking down. The guard was completely oblivious to my presence, reminding me of the night I killed the staff who’d let me be abused for so long. The anger tried to rise from the memory, but I swallowed it back. They were dead now.

I covered his mouth, and his eyes popped open before I slowly dragged the dagger across his throat, completely opening it. He struggled and gurgled as he asphyxiated on his own blood. I held him down and let him thrash, but his life quickly leeched out ofhim. After a couple of minutes, his eyes eventually rolled up into his head, and his body sagged.

Watching someone die because of me sent a thrilling wave through my body. It was one of those rare moments where I felt true pleasure and joy, and one reason I continued to work as an assassin—that and Sid belonged to me.

I left the room and headed toward the upstairs office. The door was closed, but I could clearly hear Juan on the phone, yelling in Spanish. I spoke very little of it, so I couldn’t tell what he was angry about, nor did I care.

I tested the door, and it easily opened. When he looked at me, his eyes turned wide before I simply shot him in the head. There was no drama or excitement. As much as I wanted to slaughter him like I did the other man before him, I needed to focus on the job.

---