Page 35 of The Assassin
Conall chuckled. “Yeah, he can.” He nodded at Ardan’s face. “Got into a fight?”
Ardan startled. He’d forgotten how bad his face looked because it had become numb around midday yesterday. “Yes, sir. Mancini.”
Conall whistled and crossed his arms, right below his chest. The bar in his nipple caught Ardan’s attention for a second before he glanced back up at his face. “He did some damage.”
“You should see him.”
Conall smirked. “I can imagine.”
“Pet, stop distracting my employee. I’m decent, send him in.” Sloan’s rough voice came from the office, and Conall laughed.
“Impatient arse. Go in.” Conall patted him on the shoulder as he left down the hallway.
Ardan slipped into the room. Sloan sat in his chair now, his hair combed back, black pants and white shirt on as though he’d never had them off and strewn across the floor. He had a bottle of disinfectant and a box of tissues on his desk, and Ardan assumed he’d cleaned up the mess they’d left there before Ardan came in.
“Boss,” Ardan greeted with a bow of his head as he settled in the seat across from the mob boss.
“Ardan. It’s only been a few days. Do we have a dead Italian hitman?” Sloan leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, dark eyebrows raised.
Ardan cleared his throat. “No, sir. I’ve recently discovered new details about our dead customs agents. Mancini was not behind the hit even though we assumed it was his handywork.”
“Really?” Sloan’s mouth quirked. “Do tell me who was.”
“I’m not sure yet, sir. Maybe the Russians.”
“What makes you so sure it wasn’t Mancini?” Sloan cocked his head, bright blue eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Gabriel Mancini is the type of hitman who takes credit for his work. He’s not ashamed of who he kills, or how he does it. This particular attack… he denies being part of it or having any knowledge of it.” Ardan straightened his back, kept his stare on Sloan, the look of a truthful man. When someone looked away while they were delivering news, the chance was that they were lying.
“And you believe him.”
“I do.”
Sloan stroked his chin and nodded. “Fine, if you believe him, so do I. There’s something different about you though. You don’t hate him as much. Did you sort out your issues about Leo Folliero?”
“We did.” Ardan licked his lips, remembering the feel of Gabriel’s mouth against his own, his hands mapping every inch of Ardan’s skin. Fuck. He couldn’t get hard right now.
A knowing look passed over Sloan’s face and he smirked. “Very well. Then your next task is to figure out whowasworking for Toscani.”
“Did you handle the Hansfield situation, sir?”
His eyes darkened and the danger in his gaze made Ardan want to twitch. He grinned and leaned his elbows on the table, hands clasped in front of him. “We found his brother, yes. Both have been dealt with.”
Ardan licked his lips and nodded. “Good. I’m glad.”
Sloan waved at the door. “Go do what you need to. Take a short break and then I want you back in action. We always have problems to handle, Ardan, and I need my best man leading.”
“Yes, boss.” Ardan bowed his head and rose, heading out the door and down the hallway. When he reached the foyer, the front double doors opened and Rourke, a colleague of Ardan’s, stepped through. Rourke was a tall man with short dark hair and a trim, muscular body. He looked harmless, but he was anything but. Ardan and he had been on their fair share of assignments, with Rourke handling the dirtier jobs.
Rourke dusted off his feet on the front doormat and then paused when he saw Ardan. “I thought you were dealing with your favorite Italian,” Rourke said by way of a greeting. He moved forward and shook Ardan’s hand. “How are you, friend?”
“I was, it’s done.” Ardan dragged Rourke into a hug and patted him on the back. He hadn’t seen much of his friend since he took over the Exotic Virtue, a whorehouse owned by the Killough Company. “I heard rumors you’ve got a boytoy now.”
Rourke laughed. “More like a troublemaker. His name is Forrest.”
“Yes, I know. Jamie had fun bitching about it whenever I called in to report. Apparently, Forrest was the top earner and he never had the chance to test the product.”
Rourke rolled his eyes. “That guy is a shit stirrer, Ardan.”
