The Assassin's Allure

Chapter 2: Over before it begins

Ivy

I have to keep going. I’m almost there. Even though I’ve been running for over an hour, I still look around to ensure the guards aren’t following me. They’ll drag me back to him if they see me, and I can’t go back. I won’t go back. My mother may have bought into this place, but I never did. Fortunately, she disagreed with ‘his’ plans and agreed to help me leave. I know that I’m only twelve and that the world is scary, but not as scary as here. Not after we found out what ‘he’ had planned for me. My body trembles as I continue to make my way through the dark, ominous forest. Clinging tightly to the bag containing the only things my mother packed for me, I tread carefully, my bare feet aching and stinging from the scrape of the rough ground and gravel. I wish mom would have come with me, but she said it would only raise suspicion if we disappeared. Frankly, I think she’s more scared of leaving ‘him’ than escaping. She definitely doesn’t get the mom of the year award, but at least she did the right thing at the end and made sure that once I made it out of here, I could find my grandmother. She even gave me money that she managed to smuggle out of ‘his’ vault. I look down at the roughly drawn map my mother drew up and search around the shadowy woods.

According to the map, once I reach the river, the road should be only yards away. Relief spreads through me at the sound of running water. Finding my second wind, I rush to the sound and almost pass out as hope kindles in my chest. I’m almost there. It takes me a couple of minutes more to reach the road. I can hear the sirens going off, making my heart speed up with fear. As I run down the road, tears fall down my face, and I almost stumble when I hear the sound of a car approaching. Is this the end for me? Has ‘he’ found me?

Sitting up in my bed, I clutch my chest, take a couple of deep breaths, and try to settle my heavily beating heart.

It’s always the same nightmare. Even after years, I can still feel the fear radiating through my body. It doesn’t matter how much time has passed because the nightmares are still as vivid as they were the night the actual event occurred. I had a reprieve from these nightmares for years. But when I was kidnapped and almost made a s*x slave, some of my nightmares returned.

As I’ve done every morning since I was rescued, I rise from my bed, wash my face, and push the remains of that nightmare behind me. My life is different now, and there’s no room for past horrors.

Thankfully, the rest of my morning is as monotonous as any other morning. I spend most of it searching through listings for my clients and contacting realtors about their properties.

By the afternoon, I’m ready to meet my friends. I look in the mirror and adjust the strap of my blouse, ignoring my vibrating phone for the millionth time. There’s no way that I’m going to answer calls on my day off. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, but sometimes I need girl time.

As I adjust my jacket, my finger grazes my neck, awakening a hidden memory of a man gripping me by my throat and dragging me into a storage crate. My breathing quickens, and fear threatens to choke me. It has been years since the horrid night that my new best friend Sophia’s boyfriend, Micah, rescued us from becoming s*x slaves, and some of the memories have yet to wane.

I look at my phone as I rush into Sweet Perfect. Maleah gives me a wide smile, passes me a cup of coffee, and gestures for me to take a seat.

“Sorry, I’m late,” I take the cup and give her a grateful smile.

Maleah waves her hand dismissively and chuckles, “It’s fine, Ivy. The girls are on their way, and Jaxon and I had barely woken up an hour ago.”

I smile longingly when Maleah gives me a dreamy smile.

Maleah was recently married and is glowing like the newlywed she is. It makes me a little envious that I still haven’t found the one.

For a while, everyone speculated on my relationship with Asher “Dragon” Cage, but though we circled around each other and felt an attraction, nothing ever occurred. It makes something inside of me hurt to just think about it.

Asher is gorgeous, with golden skin, a ripped body and a brooding expression that melts my panties. We met when he, Micah St. Clair, and several other men rescued other women, including Micah’s wife, Sophia and me, from being sold into s*x slavery. I will never forget how dangerously sexy he looked when he and Micah opened the doors to the crate we were being held in. Asher’s over six feet tall frame is covered in a long black duster, jeans, a black t-shirt and combat boots. He was quite impressive, holding his Katana while he appraised the area for any threats.

Though Micah and the other men are stunning, I only had eyes for Asher, and he seemed to feel the same way.

Unfortunately, most of our encounters over the years were brief because Asher would constantly be traveling, and he lived in London. However, when I saw him, we’d gravitate toward each other until work called and he had to go.

It was a little frustrating because I knew he reciprocated my attraction.

“…Asher is here,” Maleah’s voice disrupts my musings.

“What? Sorry, I didn’t catch that,” I reply.

Maleah snickers, “Geez, girl, wake up. I was saying that Jaxon told me that Asher recently moved to New York. With everything happening regarding Willem Kazik, Jaxon has decided to tighten security and asked Dragon to permanently transfer here.”

My heart flutters inside of my chest at the news. But I don’t let on that I’m thrown by it.

“Oh, Asher’s moving here…good for him,” I mutter calmly.

Unfortunately, Maleah is not fooled by my attempt to sound casual, “Are you serious, Ivy? Are you going to tell me that you’re not intrigued by the prospect that Asher is here? I mean, that man…” she shudders sensually, “…he looks like that really hot actor, Lewis Tan. If I wasn’t married to my own adonis, I’d give him a spin.” She wiggles her brows.

I roll my eyes at her exaggerated gesture, “There’s no doubt that he’s gorgeous, but it’s not like Asher and I were together. He was always too busy running back and forth for anything to develop between us, and let’s not forget the little tidbit about him being engaged.”

That’s another reason Asher, and I never crossed the line. At first, we could not get past a mild flirtation due to his constant traveling. Weeks after Hunter Cohen’s death, I ran into him at a trendy Manhattan restaurant and discovered there was more to our unfinished business. After celebrating a sale, I was walking out of a restaurant when I literally ran into Asher. The look of regret on his face when his uncle announced his engagement was crushing. Of course, he had no choice but to admit the truth since his family was there. I didn’t want him to see how hurt I was, so I gave him an indifferent smile and congratulated him. I later realized that no one other than me knew about his engagement. Neither Micah, Priest, Jaxon, nor their spouses knew.

I pretty much avoided him after that. It was only after my friends began plotting ways to get Asher and me together that I begrudgingly confessed what I had learned.

Mal and the others were shocked but kept the truth to themselves when I made them promise not to tell anyone.

Mal leans back on her chair and puffs out a breath, “Okay, so you say he was engaged. But I don’t think he’s engaged anymore. And he’s definitely not married because Jaxon has never given him a contract, and he’s moving here by himself. “

I grimace, “Regardless of his status, it doesn’t erase what I saw and what he said, Mal.”

Maleah’s brow furrows, “But what if there’s a reason?”

I arch a brow, “Asher and I are ancient history, Mal. It’s pointless to talk about this anymore. Now, can we move on and talk about something else?” I firmly ask.

Maleah looks like she wants to argue, but she concedes my request and changes the topic. Within minutes, Sage, Jade, Sophia and Santana show up, and we turn our conversation to other things. However, as the day progresses, I can’t help thinking about how I will react when I run into Asher again. As soon as the thought rushes through my mind, I have to reprimand myself. I mean, who’s to say that Asher would even care if he saw me again? The thought leaves me feeling dejected.