The Billionaire's Assassin [COMPLETE]

File 5: Intel

Santa Barbara

*Eight Years Before-2010*

Maya

Rumor swirled around Maya the moment she set foot in A.J Santiago Academy. Thomaz, or as he liked to be called at school, Rex (T-Rex if you’re nasty), had quite the reputation within its walls and outside as well. Only 17 and he already had a rep sheet. Littering. Speeding. Theft. Gang violence. Public nudity. The list went on. However, it made his popularity soar, and he wore his rep sheet like a badge of honor.

That only doused more gasoline on the burning flame of dread Maya held within her for the impish boy. The boy she’d been studying profusely along with his mother and father for more than a month. By the time he took a seat beside her before being kicked out of Korean class, she already knew what he had for breakfast that morning.

“What happened to Gabe and Jenna being the internal Intel for...Rex?” Maya asked, his nickname burning a hole in her throat. “My assignment is to initially create personalized execution plans to suppress his father's central line of defense and operations. Not making googly eyes at some pretty rich player.”

Kenny ran a heavy hand through his smooth dark chestnut hair, sighing at Maya’s outburst. “Jenna would have been my first choice but, what can I say, the kid has the hots for you.” He peaked over his glasses, analyzing her reaction. For all the years he’s known her, he’d never seen her interested in anyone. And personally, he liked it that way.

Maya crossed her arms, leaning against Kenny’s office door. The school bell would be ringing soon and she’d have to indulge the boy once more. “Apparently, she’s had her fill with him.” She shook her head at the memory of him ignoring Jenna in the halls. Before she arrived, Jenna had the simple task of using her beauty to entice Rex while Gabe would hold the other end as his friend. Unfortunately, they didn’t last long and Rex grew bored, seeking comfort in Olivia Porter’s arms. “That womanizer. I can act like his friend but nothing more.”

Nodding in agreement, Kenny stared at her acutely. Maya was intelligent, pretty, and young--six years younger than him to be exact--and one of his favorite operative agents. He’d been sent to pick her up when she was six and he twelve after her parents and older sister had been murdered in the middle of the night. Her clothes were damp and dirty, holding her knees to her chest with tears in her eyes in front of a closed deli. So small and scared. He remembered that night well, speaking to her gently, offering her a different life to avenge her massacred family. She accepted as he’d been told she would, taking her hand in his. As he stood before her, he still felt the imprint of her tiny palm in his from that night, chilling him.

She’d grown from a frightened little girl to an enchanting, bold woman who now rolled her eyes at the absurdities of childish affection. He applied a hand over his lips to hide his amusement.

“Gabe already has his trust as a friend,” he reminded her, taking a step forward passed his desk. “What we need is someone who has his affection, who can seduce information from him and persuade him in ways Gabe wouldn’t be able to. That’s all.” There was a subtle undertone when he said that’s all, licking at Maya’s spine as she stood straighter against the door. His blue eyes flashed with a warning she could barely decipher before it vanished. A sliver of a grin touched his lips. “Plus, our main objective is to dismantle Micky’s arms of operation and once completed, you’ll be able to get the vengeance you’ve trained for.”

Maya’s hand balled into a fist at her side with the mention of Micky, sparks of the night her entire world had been ripped from her with lead and blood ignited in her mind. Kenny was right. She had to focus on the mission at hand, even if it meant taking up the role of befriending a womanizing rich boy. Micky Henson--or the Red Lightning--would be within her grasp after all of this and his son wouldn’t be the wiser.

But something about him made her chest tightening in a way that made it hard to breath when she even glanced his way. And that frightened her more than anything.

“Of course,” she nodded, leaning off the doorway. The bell would be ringing soon. “I should be heading to class and so should you, Mr. Freyr.”

He smirked at the title, watching her open the door and exit with her messenger bag across her chest. Once gone, he licked his lips, adjusting his cufflinks before shooing away the tantalizing thought of her with a frown. She seemed apprehensive about befriending Rex which was a good sign she wouldn’t be captivated in his lecherous web.

Rex sat in his usual spot, eyes locked on Maya as she entered the classroom. It’s been two weeks and he still couldn’t piece together what he was feeling whenever she entered his frame of mind. The only time he could get his daily fix of her was during class and he was fueling to ask her to be his tutor. Honestly, he could grasp the basic and with a bit of studying, he could pass easily, but his goal wasn’t the class itself.

The moment she took her seat, he leaned over and said, “Maya, I’m in need of a tutor--”

“No.” The word shook him with such momentum, he almost fell over in his seat.

He staggered back, catching himself with a puzzled expression. “Why no?”

A strand of spiraled hair fell in front of her brown eyes when she replied earnestly. “Because I know you’re capable of understanding and applying the basics of the language to pass without me.”

Arching an eyebrow, he leaned closer with an impressed grin. She normally spoke so formally which usually agitated him with others but from her, it only heated his desire to hear her voice. To absorb every word that fell off her tongue.

An ambiguous spark igniting between them. Maya could feel it, recoiling in her seat with a shiver. “Would it be so wrong to ask for help along with my studies?” The bow of his lip rose playfully. “You’re the best in the class.”

She nodded in agreement, never veiling her pride. He liked that about her. She turned to fully face him, the smile on her lips a tease to his loins. “We both know you want my attention for more than just passing a class. However, your reputation highlights your manipulation towards girls here and how you discard them after being sated. I have no interest in being one of those girls. So again, no.”

With a cocky expression, he sat back in his chair, positioning his hands behind his head comfortably. “Word gets around fast,” he muttered to himself. That wouldn’t slow him down though. The rejection only propelled him to her even more.

Throughout the class, Maya mind was a battlefield, conflicted with thoughts of Rex. Her entire purpose being there centered around befriending him and still, the pulsating chill that captivated her body whenever he came near, made that impossible. She’d never felt such a sensation in her life. A chill that froze all her sense and reason, made her heart race, and made her body quake at the sight of him. And she disdained every moment of the foreign feeling swelling inside.

“What would you like as compensation for your time?” he asked in a hushed tone when Ms. Kim’s back had been turned. “Money? A ride in my jag? Make out session?”

She grimaced at his dull offers, keeping her eyes forward. Just tell him you’ll do it, she thought to herself. This shouldn’t be an issue. Her goal was rushing right at her with open arms. Why deny him? Her heart thumped heavily again, making her gulp down her uncertainty. That damn formidable emotion she couldn’t quite pinpoint. What’s the worst that could happen?

“Nothing,” she answered quickly. She waited until Ms. Kim turned her back once more to continue. “I’ll tutor you after school, one hour in the library. No flirting or I’m leaving, got it?”

She didn’t need to witness the victorious sneer dripping off his lips to know of its existence. “Gotcha.” The humor in his tone was evident as well, she noted. “After school, library, no flirting.” Mentally, he was already calculating the loopholes in the agreement.

Throughout each class, all that Rex could think about was how to impress the girl that sent his heart ablaze. She’d be a tough one but she’d crack. They always did under his enchanting spell. When the last school bell rang, Rex was halfway out the door before any of the other students. His movements were joyous and hasty, running through what they’d talk about first, if he’d “accidentally” brush against her hand, what her plump lips tasted like.

Then his phone rang. At first, he wasn’t going to answer, then noticing the familiar number, his jaw tightening. “Hello? Remy?”

“Yo, those dudes from last time just walked into your mama’s shop,” Remy informed him, the wind whistling softly in the background. “And they looked pissed. You need to get over here, man.”

Confliction tore at Rex like lightning splitting a tree. He finally had the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with Maya. But this was his mother. The light of his life. He hadn’t a clue what those men would do to her, only the worse coming to mind. He’d been waiting for them to show up again and ask them why they keep coming around. They weren't your everyday guys just coming to buy flowers. They walked around in dark clothes, sunglasses, and stayed armed. Cursing beneath his breath, jogging out the doors, he knew Maya would have to wait another day.