Deadly Desires

Schemes

"Will you two be eating tonight?" The waitress asks. I give Nikolai a sharp look and he rolls his eyes at me. 

"Pending, how about you circle back in ten minutes?" He says to her, she nods and walks away from our table. 

We're having a lover's spat. 

"Baby, I don't know what you're asking me to do..." Nikolai says, leaning forward. I shake my head at him, exasperated. 

"I told you to get yourself off the damn case because I will be killing him and that is that," I tell him harshly. 

We went out to dinner and the topic of work came up, we discovered that we were assigned to the same case. Once again, with Nikolai defending a client I need to kill. Last week I let him protect one of Shadowborn's clients at the expense of me being able to complete my mission. 

I told Nikolai my punishment would be a harsh telling-off by Marissa, but that wasn't exactly true. My wrist would prove that. Lotus and Shadowborn have harsh punishments for their assassins, it's how they guarantee flawless killers and satisfactory results. 

Shadowborn comes for family members, Lotus doesn't. Not unless you have continuously bad results. Like I would have if I failed to kill another client. 

"I can't do that, he is one of Shadowborn's biggest sponsors," Nikolai tells me, shaking his head at my suggestion. "Dominic specifically asked for me to protect him and if I fail to do so then my sister-in-law will die." 

"I thought you were a psychopath, you don't even care about the woman." 

"I don't, my brother loves her and he'll be seriously pissed if I let his wife die because you wanted to do a good job to impress Marissa," Nikolai argues and I purse my lips. 

"Nikolai, I have to kill him." 

"Well you can try, but I'm genuinely going to try and stop you." 

"You can't stop me unless you kill me, is that what you're willing to do?" I ask him, taking a sip of my wine. Nikolai goes to answer me but then purses his lips. I hold back a smile. 

Got him. 

"Alright say I let my sister-in-law die, what happens the next time we have this problem? Should I let my entire bloodline die off so you can stay in Marissa's good books?" He questions with an incredulous look. 

I set my glass down on the golden tablecloth with a loud thud, "I don't care about staying in Marissa's good books, this is so I don't get hurt again. So they don't move on to the people I care about." 

Nikolai's face changes from a blank expression to one filled with anger and curiosity. That's often a deadly combination I've found. 

"Hurt again? When were you hurt?" 

"I wasn't, I didn't mean that," I say quickly. But it's too late, Nikolai's eyes have darkened and he flexes his jaw. 

"You and I agreed not to lie to one another, so don't make me ask you again." 

"I don't get a telling off for failing to complete missions, my punishments just affect me and not others. Not immediately anyway." 

"What was your punishment?" He asks me, darkly. 

I shake my head at him, but Nikolai doesn't even blink he just waits. I half suspect he'd wait all night for me to show him. So I might as well. 

I hold my wrist out to him, revealing the burn mark on my pulse in the shape of a Lotus, all assassins are mandated to get it.