A.J. Bennett - Hired Gun #3 (The Sicarii) Read online

  His money was on Athena.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite little chameleon.”

  The woman’s head snapped in his direction, her hair floating all around her like a cape.

  His gray eyes burned into her green ones. Neither of them looked away.

  Her eyes flashed with suspicion. “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.”

  Her spine stiffened and she threw back her shoulders. “That’s none of your concern.”

  “Are you following me, Kataya?”

  She vehemently shook her head.

  “Don’t you find it interesting that we keep crossing paths?” Thorne asked, moving closer.

  “Interesting or annoying, take your pick,” Kataya shot back.

  He laughed at her words, taking a step closer. He inhaled the sweet fragrance of her skin before reaching out to touch the side of her face. Gods, he wanted to be inside of her. “I have to say this form is exquisite. And I would love to feel those cupid lips wrapped around my dick, but I still prefer the petite, dark-haired form.”

  She cocked her head and looked up at him. “Why do you always have to be such a jackass? Can’t you have a conversation with a woman without coming on to them?”

  Thorne shrugged nonchalantly. “Not that I can recall.”

  Rolling her eyes, she pulled away and reached over to put her card into the slot.

  His gaze locked on to the swell of her ass. He wanted to grab her by the waist … “I tell you what. Why don’t you go out to eat with me? I promise I won’t say anything about the fact that your pussy aches for me.”

  Kataya sucked her breath in sharply. “You really are disgusting.”

  “But you’re tempted. Admit it.” A grin as big as the Cheshire cat’s crossed his face.

  Her mouth twitched, but just barely. “I’m afraid I have business to take care of.”

  “Blow it off.”

  She bit her lip, thinking about it.

  “Come on, you know you want to.” He wasn’t about to take no for an answer.

  “Let me make a phone call.”

  She walked away from him, talking into her phone. He strained to hear her words, but she must have spelled a hearing buffer because he couldn’t make out anything. When she came back, she looked resigned. “Okay, one meal, no talk of sex.”

  Thorne made the motion of zipping his mouth closed.

  He gave her a cocky smirk as his eyes trailed over her luscious body. “One condition.”

  She looked at him like he had a lot of nerve. And he did.

  “I want you in the form of Kataya Clarke. The one we met in.”

  She nodded her head, but didn’t change. She wouldn’t be able to do that in public.

  “Park your car.” Thorne nodded over toward the parking spots.

  Much to his surprise, she didn’t argue. Once she came back, he handed her a helmet and they took off down the road. He felt her switch forms as they rode off, and her body was much smaller now. In fact, her arms barely wrapped around him, causing a possessive feeling to wash over him.

  8

  They rode for about an hour before he pulled off the side of the road at a mom and pop restaurant. Thorne needed the time to clear his mind and decide how he was going to go about this meeting. He wasn’t sure he could keep his winning personality in check. As it stood now, she didn’t seem to care for him very much.

  Obviously, she wouldn’t have recalled her past lives. Nor him for that matter. However, it was obvious she was also fighting the same pull that he was … even if he repulsed her. Somehow he had to work with that.

  “That was beautiful,” she said as she handed him the helmet and ran her fingers through her wavy brown hair.

  Thorne was so lost in his thoughts he’d barely noticed the scenery. “Yeah, it’s the best time of year to go for a ride with the leaves changing.”

  “Have you been here before?” She nodded her head toward the restaurant.

  “Nope, a first for me. Looks like as good of a place as any, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Works for me. I’m starving.”

  His heart tightened at the thought of her having Laurie’s soul. He smiled down at her. She was so petite she could use an extra burger or two. “Well, then, let’s not keep you waiting.”

  She looked at him skeptically. Not that he could blame her.

  With effort, he was able to pull his gaze away.

  They sat across from each other, Thorne’s back to the wall so he had eyes on the entryway. Last thing he wanted was trouble. He still didn’t trust the woman across from him, but he wanted to. The nagging little voice in the back of his head kept reminding him that even though he knew who she was to him, Kataya had no idea. Most humans thought the idea of a soul mate was ludicrous and would not understand the bond that was formed before coming into their bodies on Earth.

  Thorne ordered a double bacon cheeseburger, and she ordered the club with fries. At least she didn’t go for a salad.

  Gods,’ she was the sexiest damn woman he’d ever laid eyes on.

  She looked up and a faint blush crossed her cheeks. “I don’t believe that, Thorne.”

  Shit, he kept forgetting about her mind-reading ability. Just being near her sent him off kilter. Luckily, Nike had taught him how to drop a shield. He willed the barrier of his mind and it snapped into place. Much better.

  They made some small talk, but once their food arrived they sat in silence for a while.

  “What are your thoughts on soul mates?” Thorne asked, interrupting the quiet. He figured he’d just throw it out there since he’d never been one to beat around the bush.

  Kataya picked up a napkin and wiped the ketchup off the side of her mouth. She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was pulling her chain or not.

  There was a slight hesitation before she spoke, as if she were weighing her words carefully. “I think it’s a myth. There are too many people in this world for there to only be one other person that could make them happy.”

  Thorne took a sip of his drink. “What would you think if I told you that we were soul mates?”

  Her food went down the wrong pipe and she started coughing. When she could finally speak again, she started laughing. “Jesus, that’s the funniest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. Thorne Hollow with a soul-mate. Christ, you’re killing me.”

  “You’re going to tell me you’re not unreasonably drawn to me?” Thorne raised a brow.

  She set her sandwich down. “You’re serious? Of course I’m drawn to you just like every other woman with a pulse. You are sex on a stick for crying out loud. The bad boy our momma’s warned us about. My panties get wet just watching you walk. But then you have to open your damn mouth and ruin everything.”

  Unable to help himself, Thorne laughed. Usually ice flowed through his veins, but being this close to Kataya he could feel his resolve melting away.

  Setting his elbows on the table, Thorne leaned in. “Kataya, you’re mine and there’s not a fucking thing you can do about it. The fates have made it so. From the moment you were conceived you have been trying to find your way to me.”

  She pulled back and stared at him in exasperation and bewilderment. “You have a warped sense of humor, Thanatos.”

  “Maybe so.” Thorne reached for a fry. This wasn’t going very well. His gaze searched her face. “Can you gain access to my memories or only my thoughts?”

  Kataya crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a curious glance. “What the hell is going on?”

  “It’s a simple question.”

  “I can only read your thoughts as you are thinking them. Even then I have to really concentrate, but I still don’t get all of them. And today I’ve gotten nothing from you. You’re locked up like a vault. In theory, I could do a spell to mind-merge with someone if I really wanted to access someone’s memories, but it would have to be willingly and most people would never agree to such a thing. Certainl
y not someone as private as the infamous Thorne Hollow.”

  She had a point. The thought of someone digging through his conscious was not very appealing, but it might be the only way to get her to believe it. Athena had put him in a very tight spot. This woman was not going to fall in love with him overnight. She knew too much about him and his reputation. Plus, he’d been nothing but an ass since they met.

  When he’d met Laurie for the first time it was such an instant attraction that he didn’t have to work at it at all. From the day they had met until she’d died, they’d been inseparable.

  “Thorne, what are you? And Benny, too, for that matter. Oh, there are whispers, but no one really knows your’ origin.” Her expression was troubled.

  “I’m an assassin for hire.”

  “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”

  “Is that what you were hired for? To find out my lineage?”

  Her face went still. Thorne could tell he hit a nerve.

  “What? No, I’m just curious, that’s all.” Her tone was guarded.

  Yeah, right. “Let’s just say we’re a rare breed of castaways and leave it at that.”

  “Castaway? Like a fallen angel?” There was a hint of mischief in her eyes.

  Thorne threw back his head and began to laugh so loud people turned to stare. “Not quite.”

  Her gorgeous face clouded over in confusion. Tough shit, she wasn’t getting anymore out of him. His smile faded. This was going to be a lot harder than he’d expected.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He dropped money on the table and waited for her to rise from her seat. His eyes cast around the restaurant as he walked behind her. When she was near, he felt a strange sense of protectiveness take ahold of him.

  As soon as they exited the building, he reached for her hand and spun her into him. Her chest pressed against his and she looked up at him in exasperation. Before she could get a word out, his mouth covered hers and he kissed her like a half-crazed man. ’Knowing this woman before him was actually Laurie’s soul, he couldn’t help himself … His tongue stroked hers as his hands roamed all over her body. He was unable to get close enough.

  He slid his hand up the bottom of her shirt, cupping her small breast in his hand. Fuck.

  Kataya moaned and her fingers dug into shoulders.

  When he finally pulled back, both of them were breathing raggedly. Her lips were swollen and she trembled in his arms.

  “Thorne,” her voice was a whisper, a caress. A sound that warmed him from the inside out.

  “I’ve got to have you, Kataya. I don’t know what kind of spell you’ve weaved, but if I don’t bury myself in you, I feel like I’m going to drown.”

  She was just as hot and bothered as he was, and obviously unable to think past the moment they were in. She nodded her head in agreement. “Where?”

  Thorne looked around. He’d almost forgotten they were in front of a busy restaurant. He would have taken her right there.

  Reaching for her hand, he pulled her behind the restaurant. In the back was a parking lot with people coming and going. His entire body ached to be inside of her.

  There was a small smattering of woods behind the restaurant. Although there was a chill in the air, it wasn’t about to stop him. Tugging at her hand, he practically dragged her into the woods. Just far enough to be out of eyesight. He was never more grateful for the easy access of skirts in his life. With haste, he pushed her skirt up and tore open the buttons on her shirt.

  Kataya laughed low in her throat.

  With one quick tug her panties easily ripped away and dropped to the ground.

  Kataya’s small hands went for his belt, but he pushed them away. He didn’t have the patience to wait for her to fumble with it. In seconds his pants were down around his feet.

  His cock pulsed; thick, rock-hard, and ready. He couldn’t think as her hands moved slowly up his shaft.

  She was so tiny in her original form. With one hand he lifted her up, and her legs instantly were wrapped around his torso. Grabbing her bare ass tighter, he moved her to the right position and slid her on to his cock. Holy fuck, she was so wet and warm. He closed his eyes at the incredible feeling of their bodies joined.

  Kataya threw her head back and moaned as he thrust deeper and deeper inside of her tightness. Her hips rocked with his, grinding her clit against him.

  Before long her body writhed against him, her head dropped to his shoulder, clutching him as she climaxed. It drove him crazy that he had so much control of her pleasure.

  He leaned down and captured her lips with his, and continued to fuck her nice and slow. Her body trembled beneath his in ecstasy.

  He wanted to hold off his own release as long as possible, but the pleasure was virtually unbearable. The next thing he knew, he was driving himself even deeper into her.

  As soon as he felt her clutch around him he lost all control. They came together, both crying out at the release.

  Her head dropped to his shoulder. “I don’t want to ever move again.”

  Thorne laughed, “I don’t think that would work out too well.”

  Her legs were wrapped securely around his waist. He didn’t want to let her go either, but there were still a lot of unanswered questions.

  Slowly, he eased her body off of him, and her body pressed to his as she slid back to the ground in her bare feet.

  “Thorne, you didn’t believe what you said, did you? About soul mates?”

  Reaching down, he pulled up his pants. “It doesn’t really matter what I believe. What matters is what you believe.”

  He grabbed her heels off the ground and dropped them in front of her.

  “I really don’t like you, Thorne. And I can’t imagine you’re supposed to despise your soul mate, if there really was such a thing. So no, I don’t believe you. And I want to know what would cause you to even say something so ridiculous.”

  “Would you believe it’s a line I use to get what I want?” Anguish swept through him, hearing her words. Maybe Nike had been lying. Screwing with him for some reason. No, he knew the pull he felt for this woman was not normal.

  Kataya took a step back, still buttoning her shirt. Annoyance flared in her eyes. “No, Thorne, I wouldn’t believe that. Because you take what you want, consequences be damned. You don’t have to convince anyone of anything.”

  Well, she had him there. Thorne’s phone buzzed again in his pocket. He pulled out the phone and checked the ID. What the hell was Ragner’s problem?

  “It’s been fun, Kataya, but I’ve got places to go and people to see.”

  She tucked her shirt in and gave him the death stare.

  “We’ll have to do this again real soon.”

  “You’re such an ass.”

  “Let’s get you back to your car.”

  “Don’t bother. I’ll call a cab.”

  “You really are difficult, aren’t you?”

  Thorne glazed wistfully at Kataya as she stalked out of the woods in front of him. She’d come around eventually, but he wasn’t about to beg her to believe him. Athena had obviously lost her damn mind.

  Besides, why would he even need her help? If there was a threat he could handle it on his own. Well, maybe with the help of Benny, but he didn’t need to drag Kataya into the mix as well.

  9

  Jumping on to his bike, Thorne made the long drive back to his apartment.

  Just as he’d gotten home and settled in to relax for the rest of the evening, his phone went off again.

  “Thorne, why the hell have you been ignoring my calls? We were supposed to meet yesterday.”

  “I was tied up and forgot.” Thorne’s gaze shifted to the living room where Nike was watching television.

  “I’m outside of your place. Tell security to let me in.”

  Thorne ran his hand through his hair. Ragner never came to his place, so it had to be important. “Sure, I’ll let them know.” He clicked off the phone and called security.

 
A few moments later Ragner came through the doorway. Instead of his usual cool, confident self, he appeared stressed out. He’d certainly piqued Thorne’s interest.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Are we alone?”

  Thorne debated telling him about Nike and decided against it. He spoke loud enough for Nike to hear him. “Yep. Just me and my cat.”

  “You’ve got a cat? Never mind. There’s something I have to show you. Where’s your computer?”

  Curious, Thorne let him into his study, his cat close by his feet. A faint smile tugged at his lips when he thought of the phrase curiosity killed the cat.

  “Have you heard of Geoffrey Willis?”

  After a moment of thought Thorne shook his head. “No, but his name makes him sound like a pretentious douche bag.”

  “Willis is a U.S senator who is being looked at for a Presidential candidate.”

  Thorne shrugged. “And what does that have to do with me? I’m just a knuckle dragger. Give me a name and I snuff out his life. I don’t ask questions, and I get paid very well. That’s all that matters to me.”

  Ragner gave him a look. “As if you’ve ever wanted for money in your life. You’ve got more cash than the Queen of England.”

  Thorne scoffed. “Like that’s hard to do. What’s she worth these days, about 500 million? Freaking Zuckerberg’s worth over 30 billion. Billion with a B.”

  “How do you always manage to derail conversations? This isn’t time for your sarcasm. I want you to take him out.”

  “Okay.” Thorne had no idea why Ragner was making such a big deal out of this. It’s not like Thorne hadn’t taken out political candidates before.

  “It’s not going to be easy …”

  Thorne rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t have come to me if you didn’t think I could handle the job.”

  “I think you’re the only one that might be able to get the job done.”

  Thorne cocked a brow. “Stroking my ego? How very unlike you.”

  “This isn’t about egos,’ Thorne. You’ll see in just a minute.”

  Ragner clicked through a few buttons, and suddenly a man’s face popped on the screen. He was older and distinguished looking. He certainly appeared as if he could be the next president of the United States. However, none of those things were what caught Thorne’s attention.