Eureka

21

A smile pulls at my lips as we walk outside into the summer heat. I take a deep breath of the fresh air and stretch my arms above my head before turning back to Victor who was watching me with an amused expression.

"Let's go, little sister," He says, making me bark out a laugh, "I made note of a couple of houses near this downtown area that may be good options as well. We can stroll through and take in this disgustingly cute town," He says with a scowl on his face. I link my arm through his offered one and lean my head on his shoulder.

"Oh, you know you love it as much as I do," I reach up and pinch his cheek, causing him to grin. We walk in silence for a little while passing cute little shops on the way. "It really is good to see you, Vic. I didn't know how much I missed home until I saw you walking towards me at the café," I say quietly as we continue to walk away from the café.

"You can always come home, you know. Nomad isn't for everyone, as you said. Crawford would be happy to have you close again. I would too," He says.

I snort at that.

"Yeah, then Tahlia would slit my throat in my sleep. Although, I suppose it depends on which Crawford you're talking about. Either way, I'd like to keep living, thanks."

His responding chuckle is strained because he probably knows it's true. Tahlia is a former femme fatale turned makeshift housewife when she decided to take over as the agency's Right Hand. She was obsessed with Old Man Crawford in a creepy daddy-issue sort of way. Everett Crawford, our leader, is more than twice her age. He may still be attractive for a man in his 60's, but Tahlia is barely 24 and was obsessed with him even as a young teenager when we were in training.

Once Crawford's wife passed away she made a point to plant herself very firmly in his sights. He took a liking to her, because, hello, of course he would. He is a man who likes women. Now rumor is she gets crazy possessive of him when other women have to stay at the mansion. Though, I think it's more that she sees them as a threat to her position as the Right Hand, and not as a threat to her man.

If Vic is being fully truthful in Crawford's concern and desire for me to be home, then I would have to watch my back. No doubt Tahlia would be gunning for me the second I made it back to the city.

As a matter of fact, I need to watch the job boards more closely to make sure I don't become a target out of pettiness. She sees anyone who he has any form of interest in as a threat.

"I think I'll take my chances here, but I'll keep it in mind," I say with a smile, looking up at Victor. He lets out a sigh and nods his head. "Just tell Crawford to chill out a little bit."

I really don't want to go to work one day and have Tahlia sitting at my bar ready to have a show down to lay claim over her crusty old man. I mean, I love Crawford like a father, but I'm not into that sort of daddy-daughter relationship.

I could take her, that's not my concern. I just don't want to have the entire agency gunning for me for killing the Right Hand. I doubt Everett would appreciate it either.

Victor chuckles and shakes his head. "It's not just the old man and me. Declan has asked about you, too."

That gave me a slight pause. A chill ran down my spine. I was afraid of this. Maybe Everett is about to pass the reins off to his son after all. It certainly doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy to know that he's been asking about me too. There are only a handful of people in this world who scare me. Declan is firmly sitting at the very top of that list. It is best for me to stay off his radar.

Declan Crawford.

My employer's son and the top assassin in our agency. Honestly, why Tahlia chose Old Man Crawford and not his drop dead gorgeous son, I will never know. Maybe he could sense the crazy on her and knew to stay away where his father clearly failed.

Declan is the heir to the seat when Crawford retires, though I thought that wouldn't happen for many years. Until then, he will likely pop in and scare the daylights out of the rest of us, thinking that we'll be taken out, or brought up for realignment. He enjoys watching us squirm.

I've never had him show up for one of my assignments before, thankfully.

He prefers clean kills. I like mine bloody and painted in red. Our artistic differences would likely pose a problem. I like what I like and I'm good at it so I suppose that's enough for him on paper.

Everett Crawford found me in an orphanage at a young age while he was scouting for fresh recruits. I was fighting with one of the boys at the orphanage and the old man decided I had enough fire in me to be brought into the fold. I was seven years old when I left the orphanage with him. He always said I was scrappy, and he liked that about me. He put me in the barracks with boys my age and began training the next day.

I was trained to kill. I was trained to ignore and inflict pain. I was trained to seduce, to blend in, to torture, and to become merciless.

Declan was already lethal by the time I arrived at the training grounds. He is close to ten years older than me, though, I don't know his exact age. I always admired him and his skills. I know I could take him on in a fight, but I don't know how long I would last before he'd win.

I would prefer to never find out. Victor avoids him like the plague, and Ivy, like me, pined after him as a teenager does for a boy band member.

Surely he doesn't care about little old me.