Page 23 of The Darkest Hour

“Take you to my boss and get my money.”

I drunkenly wagged my finger, barely able to remain standing. “I can. . . give you double. That’s twenty million.”

She laughed. “Your price tag went up this morning.”

“What?”

“Thirty million, if I bring you back alive. Twenty-five million if I bring you back dead.”

I collapsed to the floor.

Don’t close your eyes. Do not. . .

She walked over, kneeled by me, and took off her mask.

Oh my. . .

She was more than beautiful—she was mesmerizing. A symphony of contradictions—fierce yet alluring, deadly yet captivating.

Smooth dark brown skin with sharp cheekbones and full lips. Her deep brown eyes were brighter and more vivid without the impediment of the mask.

Long thick dreads fell around her face in loose, messy spirals. And they weren’t all black or even brown. Some of the dreads were red and even platinum blonde.

“Too bad you pissed my boss off.” She touched the side of my face and slipped her fingertips down to my lips.

I groaned in pleasure.

“No one told me you were this fine.”

And then darkness enclosed around me.

Bound by Scent

Havoc

Iwoke up groggy, disoriented, and in a strange bed.

My eyes struggled to adjust to the dim room as I frantically tried to piece together where I was.

Where the hell am I?

I blinked my hurt eyes.

Confusion turned to panic when I realized that I had no clothes on, not even boxer briefs.

What the fuck?

Goosebumps prickled my skin.

Then, past events drifted in blurry images in and out of my mind like the hazy fog of a storm-riddled morning.

The female assassin.

I remembered the sharp sting as she shot me with that weird dart. Sudden numbness had spread through my body.

My vision had blurred, but I could still see her sexy figure approaching.

And then, before my consciousness slipped away, she had removed her mask, revealing that captivating face—smooth dark brown skin, sharp cheekbones, full lips, and those striking brown eyes.