Page 55 of Pretty Little Assassin

“There are two behind you, Zero,” I whisper, holding the champagne flute in front of my mouth before taking a slow sip. “And one in your immediate conversational crowd.”

She smiles and nods slightly, in response to a joke someone was telling. Actually, it’s in response to me.

Between the four of us, we’ve got the whole room mapped. The Primacy may have declared war on the VEIL, but they are still being secretive. We don’t want to tip them off while we prepare our counteroffense.

Zero talks and listens.

Donnie keeps track of all of us while sitting comfortably inside his tech den offsite.

I weave through the herd, sniffing out the predators.

Viktor stands in the corner with a tray of champagne glasses, watching.

Extraction team on standby.

“You’re the daintiest little thing here, aren’t you?” another alpha says through grinning teeth, as if I am meant to take that as a compliment.

I’d like to punch his teeth. See how it sounds when they splinter from his gums.

“Thank you.” I smile, coy.

A compliment, technically. The alphas are reacting to my synthetics with exactly the idiocy they were designed to produce.

Mission accomplished.

That part of it, anyway.

“Stay,” he says, reaching out a finger to smooth down my bare shoulder. “Let’s talk for a while.”

Viktor breathes audibly into the comms again.

“Maybe later,” I add, winking as I bat my lashes. “I have a few other things I’d like to see at this party first.”

“I don’t think you’ll see anyone more willing to show you a good time tonight than me. Go ahead, pretty thing. I’ll be standing right here, counting the minutes till you walk back to this side of the room.”

I smile prettily at him as I sashay away. He can stand there counting the minutes like a fool. I’m going to continue working in the room and counting the weapons.

Unlike Zero, most of the guests here have their weapons fully visible. Alphas like to show off their hardware, usually in more than one way.

Some of them have blades strapped to their thighs; others have guns in holsters. One guy has both. The crowd is a mix of operatives and elites. And of course, the good little omega guests. I wonder how many are ones my stepfather is holding hostage.

I take deep, calming breaths, widening my eyes and making it part of my awed little omega act. I don’t have time right now to search for whichever omegas my stepfather got to. I have to trust Donnie.

My special invitation dragged me here. Courtesy of the very man I’d like to impale in the side of the neck with the jagged edge of a broken champagne glass.

Funny how some of the alphas don’t give a shit about the possibility an omega might impale them if you’re pretty enough to make their cock hard.

I think of one alpha who seems to be excited that I might impale him, and blush as red as my dress. I do not look in the corner at the huge wraith blending in with the wall.

I have to focus right now.

“Three exits, one potential makeshift exit if we don’t mind getting a bit banged up on the way out. Six Primacy operatives. Possibly seven, if the one by the door is halfway decent at covering his identity. The rest are all just rich, powerful assholes that I would likely be snapping the necks of on a different night. Oh, also five security cameras, twenty-three visible weapons, and a lockdown keypad by the front entryway.”

“Impressive, little assassin. But I think you made a mistake. I only clocked twenty-two weapons.”

I let myself have a grin for a second because it feels good.

“That’s because you didn’t count your own. Try to keep up, Wraith.”