Vow of Vengeance

​Getting stabbed on a Saturday night wasn't in my schedule. Neither was running into Axl, the boy who used to steal my snacks in our parents' backyards, now grown up into a hot, walking, smoldering killing machine for the damn Syndicate that framed my father.

​As an assassin, my rules are pretty simple:
Rule #1 - complete the mission
Rule #2 - don't get caught
Rule #3 - definitely don't let your ex-best-friend-turned-mortal-enemy distract you from killing him the first opportunity you get.

But when Axl takes a hit meant for my head and tells me to go to hell, he makes me break all my rules.

​Now I'm nursing a stitched-up stomach, hiding a fucked drive that holds the truth about my father's frame-job, and trying to navigate a double life of college, friends, and party dresses. Cole, my handsome tech-genius best friend, thinks we're just solving some Syndicate mystery, but Axl is out there in the rain with my blood on his hands, a contract in his pocket, and eyes that carry six years of secrets neither of us is ready to face.

​I'm supposed to kill him. He's supposed to bring me to my knees.

​But first, I'm going to finish my pancakes.

•》》》《《《•

​"Some habits die hard, I guess," he murmurs, his gaze dropping back to mine with an intensity that makes the air freeze in my lungs. "Though I thought you were done stealing things you have no right in taking."

​The unspoken words hang heavy between us, suffocating the small space. My chest tightens, but I keep my blade tight, refusing to back down.

​"I'm not leaving without that drive, Axl."

​A dangerous, quiet shadow of a smirk touches his lips as he rolls back his cuffs. "I know. That's what's going to make this fun."