The White Lily

Chapter 4

I did not sleep.

I joined Roman in the garage, where they kept all their military vehicles. Motorcycles and large armored trucks lined the inside of the garage, which was surprisingly spacious. Enzo informed us that we will be walking for this trip, since it is just surrounding the forest the base was located inside.

With one final wave, we took off into the dense woods.

Roman led the way, moving with a quiet confidence that seemed natural to him. Despite being tall, his steps were light and purposeful, his eyes scanning our surroundings with the practiced gaze of someone who knew how to navigate these woods. I kept a few paces behind, my sense on high alert, every rustle in the trees and snap of a twig sending my heart racing with excitement. The forest was thick and overgrown, the early morning mist hanging low, shrouding everything in an eerie calm.

We walked in silence for a while, the tension from yesterday still hanging between us like a storm cloud. Roman didn't look back, his focus sharp, but I could feel his awareness of me, like he was waiting for me to break the quiet. I refused to give him that satisfaction.

After a while, Roman sighed. "You knew it was me who left the food at your door. Why lie to Enzo?"

I smiled as we walked. "I didn't want to give you the satisfaction of knowing that I recognized your kind gesture."

I could feel his eyes roll. "You are something else, little assassin. A huge pain in my ass, for sure"

I laughed. "Yet you keep coming back for more. Something tells me you like it a little."

Roman laughed. "Don't think so highly of yourself. I only stick around because I have to make sure you fulfill your contract."

I didn't respond. We walked for a few more hours.

Eventually we reached our campsite. It was a very small clearing with a little campfire pit. We put our stuff down and pitched our tents.

Roman sighed and stretched. "I'm going to do a small perimeter check. Stay here and get a fire going." He disappeared into the woods.

I smiled and shook my head, leaning down over the bundle of wood in the pit. I lit a match and tried to get the wood to start burning. I heard a twig snap and I quickly swiveled to the sound and threw my knife.

The figure caught it and stepped out from the trees. I recognized him immediately. Ronaldo. Another man stepped out from the trees as well, Claus. I frowned. They were elite from the League, same as me. I hated interacting with them.

"The fuck are you two knuckleheads doing here?" I went back to trying to start my fire. Deep down, I was nervous. Enzo had said he was worried about League assassin's keeping tabs on me. Where was Roman?

Ronaldo grinned and stepped behind me, putting his hands on my waist and pulling me to my feet. He turned me around and pulled me closer to him.

"Little kitty, I've missed you," he said. Ronaldo had brown hair and hazel eyes, his accent very clearly hailing from Spain. He and I had a small fling when I was younger, before I officially became Succubus. I realized how young and dumb I was and officially cut him off many years ago, although he seemed to still think otherwise.

I pulled myself out of his embrace, disgusted. "Again, I'll ask why are you here? Spying on me for the Elders?"

Claus laughed. He was German, light brown hair and blue eyes. "Lucky guess. They were curious why you took a contract with the enemy."

I sighed. "They aren't the enemy. Just a rival organization. I truly don't know why the Elders insist on calling them our enemy when they don't even fight"