Page 37 of The Assassin
Isabella screeched and ran toward the swing not far away from the three stone tables where they’d set up. She bounced on her heels, jumped on the rubber support and grabbed the chain, holding it with her little hands. Mia wasn’t far behind, rising and following her young daughter to keep an eye on her. That’s how Gabriel always imagined his sister as a mama. Protective and loving, like their own parents.
Gabriel pulled the hoodie of his top down lower on his face and peered out from under it. Summer was starting to set in and the Texan heat pounded down on his back. The park was beside a river, though, and it gave him the perfect reason to have a hooded shirt on. Sometimes it could get cool with the breeze flittering through the trees.
A noise behind Gabriel made him freeze, and the smell of familiar cologne tickled his nose. He didn’t need to glance behind to know who it was.
“How did you find me?” Gabriel asked quietly, stare glued on Mia pushing Isabella gently on the swing.
“Franco. He used your Society tracker.” Ardan stepped up beside him and rolled his shoulders.
“He can’t activate my tracker without the Society’s permission.” Gabriel tensed. He hated having another killer so close to his family, even if there was a part of him that trusted Ardan. The man beside him was still an assassin.
“I promised him I wasn’t going to kill you. You didn’t make it easy, though. You blocked your signal.” Ardan glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “It took him nearly two weeks to break the blocking code. How did you do that?”
Gabriel let out a breath and sighed. “I used to be a spy. We were taught skills that were considered necessary.”
“For the US government?” Ardan’s voice rose in surprise and the emotion was a welcomed sound. Gabriel didn’t often hear anything from Ardan except anger and desire. The man was unreadable, even for someone trained like Gabriel. George had done an amazing job with him.
Ardan was handsome as ever, dark hair curling on his head and short beard trimmed close to his jaw. He had his sunglasses hanging off the V-shape of his red top and his suit jacket was missing, making him appear more relaxed than usual.
“You don’t need to know that.”
“I’m not here to hurt your family.” Ardan glanced toward them. They both stood beside a tree with enough distance between them and the Sannas that they had no idea he and Ardan were there. Additional people had begun to gather too, making the park more crowded which hid Gabriel better.
“If you touch a hair on their heads, I will cut off your fingers and feed them to my mama’s dog, before I put you through a meat grinder while you are very much conscious and able to feel every bit of pain.” Gabriel delivered his threat with seriousness. When it came to his family, he’d do everything to protect them.
Ardan chuckled quietly. “I’d expect no less. Who are they?”
Gabriel glanced at him and noticed the genuine curiosity in his gaze. He pointed out his mama. “My mother, my two brothers are on either side of her, my father’s down the end of the table. The guy sitting on my father’s right is my brother-in-law, and beside him is my cousin and aunt. Everyone else sitting at the table are cousins and other relatives. My sister, Mia, is over by the swing, pushing her daughter Isabella.”
“They think you’re dead,” Ardan said without question.
“I told you the real me is gone.”
“How did he die?”
Gabriel’s fingers curled into fists at his sides and he let out a long exhale. “A military accident gone wrong. A small marketplace in Serbia was blown up. The real me was there with his work partner, having something to eat when a bomb dropped on it. According to the reports, the bomb belonged to the Russian military, who still denies it to this day. The coordinates were incorrect data and it landed in the wrong position.”
“But it got the target it wanted.” Ardan grunted. “I know how the government works. It wasn’t the Russians, was it?”
“Come with me.” Gabriel turned, wrapping his hand around Ardan’s wrist and tugging him in the direction of Gabriel’s hotel, which was four streets back from the park. It was a shabby three-story building that had chipped brick walls and peeling paint. Ardan grimaced when they approached it, but Gabriel ignored the reaction, dragging him up the stairs to his room on the second floor. The inside didn’t look as bad as the out, but it was small and compact, with one single bed, a desk, and small fridge, and a bathroom big enough to fit a cramped toilet and glassed in shower.
“This is a downgrade,” Ardan said, glancing around the room with a frown.
“It’s best to be safe in this town. Too many people know me. Anything seen in this joint… it’s kept a secret. A lot of affairs happen here.” Gabriel fell onto the bed and patted the mattress beside him. “But it’s kept clean, so don’t let your delicate feelings about cleanliness get to you.”
“It’s not,” Ardan said, but his crumpled nose said otherwise.
Gabriel snorted. “Sit down then.”
Ardan hesitated but took the spot beside Gabriel. “This suit costs five grand.”
“Killough can afford another one if you need it, but you don’t.” He stroked his fingers down Ardan’s cheek and along his jaw, making Ardan’s eyelashes flutter. “You’re so fucking hot.”
“If this is your way of distracting me, it’s not going to work.” Ardan slapped his hand away. “So, the US government tried to kill you, but you’re not dead.”
“No, I’m not, but they think I am.”
“What department?”
