Her Assassin's Heart - Book 2

Chapter 41

Nickolas shrugged on his shirt, ignoring the pain it caused him. How could he have been so stupid? For one blessed moment, he'd thought they might be able to catch a break. He should have known he'd have no such luck.

Waking up beside Cassandra with the sun rays dancing on her skin had been like heaven. Sitting in the little house with her, eating breakfast with her, well, he'd realized he didn't want anything else from life. He'd gotten a taste of what it would be like to live a normal life, but a taste was all he'd ever get. He couldn't bring her into this.

To think, he'd been about to make love to her. How long had it been since he'd actually wanted to be intimate with a woman? With all the women he'd had to seduce for Granger, he'd learned to shut that part of himself off. Now, in the space of less than an hour, Cassandra had managed to undo years of hard work.

He wanted her. He wanted the quiet life with her. He'd wanted her so much he'd almost let himself believe that they could be together. Who was he fooling? That life wasn't for him.

"I don't understand." Cassandra clambered out of the bed, the blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders as if to keep out some kind of chill. "How did he find us?"

"I don't know." Nickolas replied shortly.

Turning, he opened the middle drawer of the dress and pulled up the false bottom, spewing junk across the floor. Opening the canvas bag within, he began to sort through the weapons he'd acquired over the years.

"You can't mean to meet with him." Cassandra seemed to realize what he was planning.

"If I don't, he'll destroy the village." Buckling on a belt, he turned to look at her. "There are good people down there, Cassandra, people I care about, and I can't let him massacre them."

"You know full well he wants more than just to talk, Nickolas. It's obviously an ambush!" She threw at him.

"Of course it is." He didn't look at her.

"I don't understand. Explain!" She grabbed his arm. "If you know it's a trap, surely, you know you can't go alone! You have to find someone to help you!"

"That's not going to happen. I have to finish this. Julian was the only person who would have been able to help me, and she's gone. Sooner or later, everyone I care about is gone, and I can't see that happen here without doing something." He pulled out of her grasp, pushing past her to the bed and shoving his feet into his boots.

"Then lure him away from here. Nickolas, please, you have to think of something else to do!" She followed him, sounding close to tears. "You'll die."

Nickolas scoffed. "Do you think I care about dying? I have nothing to lose. I can't waste this opportunity."

"You can't just do that!" Cassandra seemed close to stomping her foot in frustration. "It's not right!"

"Look, Cassandra, everything in the world is wrong. I'm wrong. I was an idiot to think anything could happen between us. After this, I'm going. I'm going to take you home, and then I'll disappear. You'll never have to worry about any of this again. It was a mistake to think I could have any of this the first place." He gestured between the two of them.

"You can't do that!" Suddenly angry, Cassandra stomped over to him, her eyes flashing fiercely.

He frowned. "Why? It's what I should have done a long time ago."

"Because!" She threw back, actually stomping her foot this time.

She must have known how childish it was, how silly she looked, but she didn't seem to care. Emotion writhed across her features like a fish out of water. What could bring this on? He'd been nothing more than a distracting plaything for her. Surely, it was like all the other men she'd played the coquette with.