He was so fucking fast. Zayn was running to grab another weapon off the wall, but he already knew it would be too late. Ronin reached Ria, but didn’t hit with the sword. Instead, he slammed into her with his body.
They both went down hard.
And that deadly sword was held against Ria’s throat.
No. Zayn grabbed blindly and pulled a weapon off the wall. He stared at it, the now-unfamiliar weight of a plasma stunner.
A weapon he hadn’t fired in over two years.
“Now what, Ria?” Ronin’s whisper was a taunt. “Show me your killer instinct.”
“No. I’ll show you my survival instinct instead.” She rammed two blades into Ronin’s sides.
The man’s body jerked, but he barely seemed affected. He pressed the sword down and Zayn saw the bloom of blood on her skin. Just a nick, but the trickle ran down her neck in a river of red.
Zayn lifted the gun. His hand shook. The past was a red haze that merged with the red of Ria’s blood. He blinked, trying to concentrate.
Ria. He had to think of Ria and saving her life.
He pulled the trigger.
The blue plasma ray hit Ronin. The assassin’s body stiffened, then slumped forward. Ria pushed him off, her gaze flying to Zayn.
He felt a rush of calm. She was okay. He strode forward and unloaded another stun into Ronin. The assassin lay on the floor, unmoving.
Dead.
Killed by Zayn’s hand.
His vision cleared. He knew he’d done the right thing. Knew he’d do anything to save her.
“Zayn?” She was there, her hand covering his over the stunner.
“I’m okay. Really.” He looked at her, saw the blood still flowing from the cut on her neck. He cursed and jammed the stunner into the pocket in his robe. Then he lifted the sleeve of his robes and pressed it to her injury. “You feel all right?”
She nodded. “It’s not deep. He was toying with me.” She was quiet for a second. “You killed him.”
“You said you’d do anything to save the people you care about.” He lifted the fabric, saw the blood flow had stopped. He pressed a kiss to the skin of her neck. “I would, too.”
Her lips trembled. “Thank you.”
“You never have to thank me for saving you. Or for being completely besotted by you.”
Her lips tilted. “Besotted, huh?”
He fingered a strand of her hair. “Looks that way. Now, how about I show you how to steal a precious treasure?”
She smiled. “I bet there’s a lot I can learn from you.”
“Damn straight. Come on, Ms. Ex-assassin.”
Ria stoodin front of the plain wooden door.
There were no elaborate markings. No huge double doors or carvings. But beyond here were the secret and forbidden areas of the Guild. Off limits to everyone except for the upper echelons.
“This is it?” Zayn pressed a hand to the wood.
She nodded. “No one was allowed in this area but a privileged few. The children are housed here and trained. They aren’t allowed to mix with the adult assassins until they pass their final training at sixteen. The treasure store is in here as well and—” she turned to look at him “—I suspect, the interrogation rooms and cells.”
