Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81358 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“Okay. The problem…”
“With our serial killer,” Dev supplied, which helped to deflate the warm and playful mood in the car.
Kai nodded. He put both hands on the wheel, his fingers tightening on the faux leather. This was more important. Keeping Devlin safe was absolutely critical. The rest could wait.
“What did we actually learn on this trip?” Dev started. He held up one finger in front of him. “We visited Mother, and she confirmed that while you’re not super popular, there’s no excessive chatter about you right now. No fresh leads within the assassin community.”
“But that doesn’t rule out another assassin.”
“You think it is?”
Kai didn’t hesitate to nod. “Definitely. The kills are too professional, too clean. The drop sites are also clean. No fingerprints. No fibers. No footprints left behind. Right now, the only link the cops have between the corpses is you.”
Dev jerked upright again, his hands gripping the center console and the arm rest on the door as if he meant to launch himself out of the vehicle. “Are you kidding me?”
Kai reached across and covered Dev’s hand with his own. “It’s okay. You’re not a suspect. You have an excellent alibi for both deaths.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He glanced over and flashed Dev a reassuring smile. “Justin has been hacking into the police files, keeping an eye on the investigation from a distance.”
“Jesus.” Dev sighed heavily, slumping in his seat again.
“It’s okay. The cops are never going to harass you again. I promise.”
Dev turned his hand and threaded their fingers lightly together, leaving his hand open so Kai could easily steal it away to drive, but still linked them together. “Thanks.”
“But as you were saying, Mother is still going to dig around for us, but we have no leads on that front. I fully believe this is someone who is either a professional assassin or someone who was trained in the art.”
The man beside him turned toward him, his head cocked to the side. “I never thought of it as an art.”
“Most sane people wouldn’t,” Kai muttered. “But to be great, it takes a lot of training. A thorough knowledge of weapons, hand-to-hand combat, stealth, improvisation, patience, and…” Kai pulled his hand free and waved it a little in front of him as he searched for the right word. “I don’t know. Just more. Finesse. Pride. Creativity. It is an art. Any hack can just whip out a gun and pull a trigger. But what if it needs to look like an accident? What if—” Kai broke off suddenly to see Dev watching him with a look of wonder. He shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”
“Don’t stop. It’s fascinating.”
“No,” he said, almost snapping. “No more. The less you know.”
“What? The less I know, the less chance I have of not coming to care for you?” Dev snorted. “Too fucking late for that. I told you, I know what you do. I’m not sugarcoating this or going in with blinders. You’re an assassin. You kill for money. And right now, you’re putting your life on the line to keep me safe.”
Kai sighed and captured Dev’s hand again. He lifted it to his lips and pressed a kiss to the knuckles. “Maybe I need to pretend that you’re innocent for a little while longer. I don’t want to think I’ve corrupted the sweet man next to me.”
“Nah, you can blame Justin for that.”
“Good to know. I’ll make sure to stop in Colorado after I leave here.”
Dev laughed and some of the tension uncoiled from Kai’s chest. He wanted to keep Dev laughing as much as possible. “Okay. Fine. The person we’re looking for is likely to be a trained assassin. I’m guessing not a noob?”
“Not a noob.”
“Hey, did you have like an apprenticeship?”
“I am not answering that question,” Kai quickly replied, but it was hard to keep the smile from his voice. Dev was relentlessly curious, and it was a struggle not to give in to all his queries.
“How about someone jealous of your accomplishments? Or maybe someone you’ve stolen contracts from?”
“Unlikely.”
“Why?”
Kai bit the inside of his mouth, trying to figure out the best way to phrase it and finally decided that there was no good way to put it. “I’m the best.”
“What? Wouldn’t that make you more of a target?”
“This isn’t the Olympics or who can build a better computer chip. This is murder, Dev. What do you think happens when someone gets between me and a target? What happens when my life is threatened?”
“Oh.”
“We don’t choose our cute little nicknames. They’re earned. I’m Ghost because I can get to you anywhere. No walls can stop me. I know you view Gabriel as a friend, but he’s called the Reaper for a damn good reason. If what I’ve heard of his kill count is even partially true, he’s taken down far more people than I ever will in my entire life.”