I turn my head to look at her. She’s back to being the brutal assassin in a completely different look. I have to assume she’s put on a very good dark blonde wig, her eyes now a bright blue, and her height changed to be closer to mine. She looks like she could be the girl next door, except sporting a gun and wearing form-fitting all black. Her expression is cold, bordering on cruel, her body seemingly relaxed yet alert. She’s a contradiction, but again, I can’t help but marvel at who she’s become.Whatshe’s become.
I guess this is the point of no return. With each passing second, the danger creeps in, its icy fingers slithering down myspine in warning. I have no idea where we are, what I’m stepping into, or what Tatiana and Timur have planned.
The more I’ve thought about it over the last few hours, the more I’m surprised that Timur hired her. If he were going to hire anyone, it’d be my father, especially if he knew that the Chameleon is Tatiana. Like the De Lucas, Timur has little respect for women, and especially women in roles like ours. He feels that we should be falling in line with what the men in our lives want, namely, to bear heirs and dutiful, obedient wives.
The rational part of me reminds me that most have no idea the Chameleon is a woman. She’s very careful about herself and only ever communicates with people through secure channels. Not directly. Those who know her face are dead. Well, most. Up until tonight, I’m not sure if she’s ever left so many people alive who have seen her.
It chills me to the bone. She might just go back and finish the job, but that’s a worry for later. Right now, I need to keep my eye on her in case she’s trying to double-cross me. She might have only been hired to get me here, and whatever bullshit she has planned is nothing more than something to keep me on edge. To fuck with my head.
Yeah, that’s definitely more her style. She gets off on that shit.
She barks a quick order in Russian that has whoever is in the cockpit opening the door instantly. She steps inside, pulls her gun, and fires two bullets in quick succession, her silencer dulling the noise. I don’t have to ask her why; they saw her face. They had to know they were dead the minute they helped her get here in the first place.
It’s cold. Ruthless. And exactly what I would have done if I were her.
When she looks at me, I hold her stare, unflinching. She gestures with her gun toward the plane’s door, and I make quickwork of getting it open. Thank fuck for all those times I paid attention on the planes, otherwise I’d embarrass myself.
The cold air hits me sharply in the face, and I barely manage not to jerk back at the shock of it. Where the fuck are we?
“Move it,” Tatiana orders, the gun pressing into my back. I stiffly walk down the steps, my gaze scanning everything I can make out. The darkness surrounds us.
Then I see it. Hidden in the shadows is a black SUV, no lights on, and no one outside it. Silence fills the space, including the plane’s engines finally having gone quiet. It’s creepy as shit.
I head for the SUV, feeling Tatiana close behind me. Close enough that she’s obviously using me as a shield. Well, I guess that answers that. She doesn’t trust whoever is in that SUV. I’m careful not to let my fingers get too close to my weapons, but I’m acutely aware where each and every last one of them are. I put some of my old skills to work to hide them skillfully in my clothes in case I’m patted down. I’m not sure Tatiana wasn’t watching me on the cameras and knows where they all are, but it’s a chance I have to take.
Halfway to the SUV, and the moment we step into the shadows, I sense Tatiana falling behind, but I don’t dare look back at her. Whatever she’s planning, I have to hope it’s not just to shoot me in the back of the head and be done with it.
When I reach the SUV, the front doors open, and two large men climb out, an inch or two shorter than Alonzo’s six-five. Their shoulders span wide, their chests broad, and even in the shadows, I can see the fabric straining to contain them. I calculate how hard it will be to take them down if I need to, and I already know it’s going to be fucking difficult.
Damn it.
I stay light on my feet as they approach me, eyes dark and assessing. “Who are you?” one of them rumbles, his accent thick and distrusting. “We were told we were meeting the Chameleonto deliver to our boss. Where is he? We have no interest in his whore.”
Charming. Looks like I’m going to be dealing with the meatheads on my own. I don’t know where Tatiana is, but clearly, they didn’t spot her, or else they would already be dead.
If this was the job she wanted me to help her with, I’m going to punch her in the face. I’m also fucking freezing, the cold wind whipping against me with no coat. Is this another one of her punishments? Test if I don’t get hypothermia?
Yeah, definitely going to punch her in the face.
“You’re assuming the Chameleon can’t be a woman?” I ask casually, purposely switching to Russian. I give them a cold smile. The kind I practiced in the mirror for most of my childhood. It slips into place far too easily. Thankfully, I don’t mess it up because both men exchange disbelieving looks. “How short-sighted of you. Sexist too. Keep up with the times, gentlemen. Women have rights now, you know.”
It’s enough to goad them into sneering at me, relaxing their stances. Their first mistake. They don’t believe me, won’t even consider the possibility. “Yeah, right,” the other one scoffs, still speaking in English. “You couldn’t hurt a fucking fly. Whoever you are, you’re not the fucking assassin that everyone’s talking about. So call your handler or whatever the fuck they are to you and tell them we’re tired of waiting. We have orders and shit to oversee.”
“She’s probably nothing more than a pastime for him to fuck when he’s bored.” The other snickers, leering at me. His white teeth flash, and even in the shadows, I can make out he’s missing two of his front teeth, and if I’m not mistaken, his nose is crooked. Looks like someone got into a fight and paid for it.
“She’s definitely pretty enough. Look at those tits. Maybe he’ll let us have a turn, eh?”
“We’d probably have to gag her first. She looks like she’d be mouthy—Ahhhhhh, fuck!”he screeches as the knife I quickly slip out of my waistband flies into his shoulder, sinking in deep.
The other one looks at his partner in shock, giving me the opening I need. I launch at him, taking him down with a hard kick to the gut, thanks to him not being in a defensive position. The force I put into it almost has me falling, but I manage to recover. My training, though rusty, kicks in quickly as the other one lets out an infuriated roar and launches himself at me.
I move fast, adrenaline keeping me going, even when they manage to hit me with their fists and their hard kicks. I refuse to give up, though. If Tatiana gave me to these two fuckers to kill me, then I’m going to make them work for it.
Missing teeth guy manages to get a hold of my hair, yanking me back, and I barely manage not to let a cry slip out. I shut down the pain, twisting myself to slam my elbow into his gut, making him release me, but I swiftly follow it up with a fist to his balls. He falls to the ground, retching, but I don’t slow down.
“I’m going to kill you, you fucking cunt,” the other one pants as he rushes at me, the glint of the bloodied knife reflecting in the light the more we move out of the shadows.
I barely manage to dodge the blade as it comes close to the side of my head, but then I feel a hand grabbing my ankle, unbalancing me, before the one in front of me hits me back and down.
