Chapter One Hundred and sixty- Four
"Come to my office now!" the caller barked.
The line went dead before Cole could respond. He stared at
the screen for a second longer than necessary, then let out a slow breath. He
didn’t move immediately. There was no rush.
After all, he had already been standing
behind the apartment building.
The urge came sharp and immediate, to throw the phone against the wall, to watch it splinter the way Marco’s voice had just splintered his patience. His shoulders rose, then deliberately lowered. Fingers flexed at his sides, curling, and uncurling, until the tension bled off in increments. If he went inside this moment, he was sure he was going to point his gun at him.
By the time the pulse in his temple dulled, his expression had gone blank again, smooth as still water. Whatever had flared inside him was locked away, sealed behind practiced calm.
Eventually, he pushed off the wall and headed inside.
His reflection caught in a glass panel as he passed. His
face set, eyes dull, and mouth carved into a permanent line. Had he always
looked like that? Grim.
When was the last time he laughed? Really laughed. He wasn’t
thinking about the hollow exhale people mistook for humor. Not the tight curl
of lips meant to mock someone.
He could not remember.
His thoughts drifted, uninvited, to Matilda’s new friend.
The girl with the loud laugh. The unrestrained, ridiculous laugh that burst out
of her like she didn’t know how to hold it back even if she tried.
What was her name again? 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
He frowned. He couldn’t remember but he remembered the
sound. How it had startled him. How, for a split second, his lips had twitched
upward before he could stop it.
Cole exhaled sharply.
’Why am I thinking about her?’
Annoyed with himself, he picked up his pace. By the time he
realized it, he was already standing in front of Marco’s office door. He raised
his hand and knocked once.
Marco didn’t bother looking up when he entered.
"Look who finally came to my office," Marco said
immediately Cole entered.
"You called," Cole remarked, his tone devoid of
any respect, fear, or patience.
Marco’s head snapped up. "Don’t act smart with me. You
know why I brought you in. Do you think I let you stay because Asli wanted a
right-hand man? Do you think I watched her train you for herself? ...out of her
generosity?" His voice rose, sharp and venomous. "You’re alive
because of me!"
Cole felt the familiar urge to fold his arms, to settle into
still defiance but he resisted. He stood there, hands relaxed at his sides, his
gaze steady, and unreadable.
Marco continued, pacing now. "Why haven’t you given me
any report? If you’d been effective, I wouldn’t have had to bring that devil
into my Villa. So now you’ll fix it." He stopped, his eyes burning.
"You’ve been assigned to end him. Bring me Markus’ head."
Cole didn’t flinch or react. He only stared at him.
He simply kept looking at Marco as one might look at a man


VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Top Assassins Call Me The Lady Boss