The Assassin's Silence: Wren and Trace

Chapter 5: Invitation

Trace

I think about Wren and her amazing kid as I lie in my bed. After observing Ainsley over the past couple of months and speaking to her earlier, I can tell that she’s special. What kid takes the time to learn sign language so she can speak to someone who can’t hear?

I was surprised when she touched my hand. It was a sweet gesture from a kid who avoided me every time she’d see me. The cat also surprised me. She was pretty grouchy and standoffish until I fed her. It was like she was taken over by the spirit of a nicer cat once she ate because she was suddenly rubbing up against my leg and gazing up at me with adoration.

She even let me pet her, which surprised me, considering how unfriendly she was at first. It was a night of revelations all around.

Come morning, I feel a bit out of sorts. Whenever I fell asleep, I’d dream of a sultry woman with dark hair and eyes, moaning with pleasure as she rode my c**k. The dream was so real that I woke up to find my d**k hard as stone. I guess it beats the alternative of me waking up from a nightmare of my father cutting my throat after murdering my mother.

It was so bad that I had to take a cold shower to calm my body down.

Unlike the night before, I opt to wear a comfortable black sweater, blue jeans and my s**t kickers. I told Priest and Jaxon that I’d meet them for an assignment debriefing this morning. Phantom is meeting me there too.

Just as I’m stepping out of the elevator, I hear my name called. I look toward the door and grin when I see Ainsley. She clutches her backpack tightly and marches toward me, her little face set with determination. It’s cute how she stands before me in her blue polo and firmly pressed khaki slacks.

“Hi Trace,” she states evenly.

I wave hello and gesture to her pack, “Are you going to school?” I sign.

Ainsley nods, “Yeah, I go to a special school….”

Her eyes widen when she realizes what she said as she leans close and whispers loudly, “but I’m not dumb.”

My brow furrows in confusion, “I don’t think you’re dumb. In fact, I think you’re really clever.”

She nods, “People think I’m dumb because I have Aspergers, but mom says that’s not true. She says I’m different in a good way because people who are different make the world a better place.”

My cold heart melts at her impassioned words. I can tell that she’s a little bothered by being different, but she also clings tightly to her mother’s words.

“Your mother is right.” I sign, “I think you’re super special in an amazing way.”

Ainsley’s expression remains even, but I can see her processing my comment and coming to a positive conclusion when she nods.

She startles me when she changes the topic and asks, “Do you want to come over for dinner at our house?”

Reeling back, I try to think up an answer when Wren appears beside us. My body hardens when I see that she’s wearing tight black jeans and a white crop-top with a long flannel shirt. Her flat stomach peaks out as she slides her fingers through her long, dark hair and gazes back at me shyly.

“Hi,” she mutters as a becoming flush crawls up her neck and cheeks.

I wave in greeting before she turns to her daughter and mutters, “Are you ready to go?”

Ainsley shakes her head and looks back at me, “Not yet. I’m waiting for Trace to give me an answer.”

Wren’s brow furrows with confusion when she looks at me, “An answer for what?”

“I asked him to come over for dinner,” Ainsley answers.

Wren’s spine stiffens as she carefully says, “Remember I told you that you can’t just spring stuff like that on people, babe?”

Ainsley nods, her eyes gazing intently into mine, “But Trace is mine and Jinxy’s hero, and we want to show him that we’re grateful.”

Her gaze wavers from mine to her mothers, “You said we should do something nice for those who do kind things. So, I thought it would be nice to have Trace come over for dinner.”

Wren quirks a brow at her daughter’s earnest tone before she inwardly nods and glances back at me, “Ainsley’s right. We’d love to have you over for a “thank you” dinner if you’re available.”

My mouth dries as I gaze into their kind eyes. I really want to say yes, but I know that I am opening the door to something beyond dinner if I do. It would not be fair, considering I can’t stick around.

Jaw tight, I give both ladies a kind smile and sign, “I’m sorry, I have prior engagements and will be busy for a while. But I truly appreciate the gesture.”

I have to resist flinching when Ainsley’s face falls and Wren’s expression blanks.

However, Wren quickly recoups, “Oh, okay. Well, then we’ll let you get to your commitments. See you around.”

My heart sputters with untold emotions when Wren gives me a polite smile as she leads a crestfallen Ainsley away.

The guilt I feel over turning both ladies down overwhelms me throughout the rest of the day, and I don’t understand why.

I’m at the warehouse’s conference room researching new assignments when Phantom walks in.

“What’s up with you?” Phantom asks as he takes a seat in front of me, startling me out of my guilty thoughts.

Blinking back the overwhelming emotions churning inside me, I close my laptop and lean back against the office chair, “Nothing, just waiting for Priest.” I sign.

Phantom’s brow furrows, “Are you sure? You look like you were deep in thought.”

I shrug. There’s no way I’m going to tell Phantom about Wren and Ainsley. I’d never hear the end of it if I did since he’s been dying for me to get laid.

“I’m just tired.” I sign.

Phantom leans back on the chair and sighs, “Alright, well, don’t forget that we’re going out for drinks tonight. I really need to get some action.”

I roll my eyes and sign, “Where are we going?”

His lip quirks, “How about we go to that bar near your building. I heard from that hedge fund guy that lives a couple of apartments from yours that it’s a good spot to pick up women. I don’t know about you, but I seriously need to get laid.”

I give him a half-hearted nod, my thoughts quickly drifting back toward a beautiful woman and her sweet little girl. Man, when did I become so damn sentimental. Perhaps Phantom’s idea is on point? Maybe I do need to get laid.

As the evening arrives, Phantom and I head to the bar. Thankfully, Phantom is a talker, so I can dwell on a certain female without interruption.

It’s after ten, and the bar is already filling up. As we enter the large space with dark walls, high tables, a gleaming pine bar, and pool tables near the back, I glance around.

Phantom leads me to an empty table and orders a round of drinks; his lips curl into a smirk when one of the waitresses eye-f***s him.

While Phantom flirts with any woman who passes by, I ignore any looks thrown my way. I’m about to make excuses when I notice two familiar figures standing near one of the pool tables in the back. My heart speeds up, and my throat dries, appreciating how magnificent Wren looks. Tonight, she’s wearing tight, blue high-rise jeans, a glittery tank top that exposes her bare stomach and shoulders, and high heels that make her legs look miles long. Her hair flutters around her as she takes a sip from her beer and laughs with her friend, Ellora.

It’s only when Phantom snaps his fingers in front of my face that I realize I was staring, “Dude, what are you staring at?”

Before I can divert him, Phantom’s eyes hone in on the women, and his lips tilt into a predatory grin, “Oh hell yeah, look at those two beauties. Let’s go and introduce ourselves.”

My heart sputters with alarm as Phantom rises from his seat and prowls toward the women.

Jaw tight, I take a couple of deep breaths and approach the duo. Wren’s eyes widen as soon as she sees me. But she quickly clears any expression from her face while Ellora gives me a sly grin and waves, “Well, look who the cat dragged in, Wren,” she states with amusement.

I know she’s referencing me finding Ainsley’s cat in my house.

Phantom gives me a curious look before he turns his gaze toward Ellora and extends his hand in greeting, “Hello there, sugar. I’m Clint, and you are?”

Ellora quirks a brow, ignoring his hand before she meets my gaze, “Is this your friend, Trace?”

I nod as Phantom observes our interaction. However, I’m too busy staring at Wren to notice much.

Phantom pats my back and snickers, “How do you know these two lovely fillies, bro?”

I resist shrugging his hand off and try not to look annoyed when I sign, “Ellora and Wren are my neighbors.”

Phantom nods, “So you’re Trace’s neighbors? Sounds good to me. How about we buy you a drink?”

Ellora glances up at him with suspicion before looking back at Wren to see what she’ll say.

Wren shrugs her perfect shoulders, “Sure, we’ll take some refills.”

Ellora waves her empty bottle in front of Clint’s face and mutters, “I like my IPA’s chilled, cowboy.”

Phantom looks at the bottle and smirks, “Sure thing, sugar.”

Feeling uncomfortable, I wait for Phantom to order the ladies’ drinks and approach the table.

“Do you play?” Wren asks, gesturing to the pool table.

Phantom comes back and answers, “Hell yeah, we play. Can we join you?”

Ellora gives him a casual nod before she runs her gaze appraisingly across his muscled form and tosses him the queue stick, “Okay, you’ll break.”

Wren accepts the bottles when the waitress brings them over and takes a huge gulp before reaching for her own stick.

Our hands brush as I’m about to reach for my own stick, making heat spread across my body.

Wren gazes up at me from the corner of her eye and quickly backs away with the stick.

Thankfully, as the game progresses, we begin to relax around each other.

Phantom flirts with Ellora, who ignores him while Wren and I try to communicate.

To my surprise, she knows some basic sign language. When I quirk a questioning brow, she shyly states, “Ainsley wouldn’t let me rest until I learned the alphabet and a couple of words. She’s been hounding me day and night. Thankfully, I have a good memory.”

I try not to put too much meaning into it, but something inside me lightens at the thought.

“So, how long have you and Clint been friends?” she asks.

I look at Phantom, who is blatantly trying to look down Ellora’s top and sign, “Twenty-five long years.”

Her eyes soften while Ellora snorts and glances back at me, “Wow, you been friends with him for Twenty-five years? That must have been an adventure. Did you meet at school?”

Clint’s lips turn down at her question. Like me, Clint didn’t have a very happy upbringing. After being placed in the foster system, we met and survived some pretty harrowing situations together. Whenever they’d separate us, we’d do something that would force us back into the same group home. Once we aged out of the system, we joined the Marines. It wasn’t easy, but we always had each other.

“Actually, we met at a group home. Trace and I are orphans,” Clint curtly replies.

Ellora and Wren instantly soften, which is why I’m sure Clint told them. It’s not like it’s not the truth, but sometimes my best friend uses it to his advantage, and it looks like that’s what he’s doing now.

“I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for you guys,” Wren murmurs gently.

I shake my head and sign, “It was okay because we had each other.”

Phantom interprets before changing the subject, “How did you two meet?”

Ellora chuckles as she wraps an arm around her best friend’s shoulder, “Well, there was this bully in school who wanted to kick my ass because she said I stole her boyfriend. She was about to hammer into me when Wren jumped on her back and pummeled her.”

Phantom chuckles, “Did you steal the girl’s boyfriend?”

Ellora shrugs, “I mean, he did share one of his crayons with me.”

We arch a brow at both women, who break out in laughter.

“We were in kindergarten, guys,” Wren replies with amusement, rectifying our assumptions about the story.

Phantom shakes his head and gives Ellora a smoldering smile, “So you’re saying that you’ve always been a minx? I like that.”

Ellora rolls her eyes and pushes at his chest, “Easy, cowboy, I have a boyfriend.”

Phantom’s expression remains the same, “I don’t care, sugar. He doesn’t need to know.”

Ellora looks at Wren and scoffs, “Can you believe this guy?”

Wren snickers, “I mean, he is kind of cute.”

Phantom gives her a wolfish smile, making me stiffen. The bastard better not be trying to take my girl.

As soon as the thought rushes through my mind, I reel it in because Wren is not my girl.

Just as Clint is about to reply, a group of men approaches the pool table. My shoulders stiffen, and my eyes narrow when they stop at the table next to us and smile at Wren and Ellora.

One of them even gets brave and moves toward Wren, which makes me stiffen further.

“Hey, Ree-Ree, long time no see,” he growls slyly.

Wren places her hand against her hip and scowls, “Not long enough, Lee. What are you doing here?”

My nostrils flare as he moves closer to Wren and sneers. He has sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and a wiry build. He’s not unattractive, but he’s nowhere near my league.

“I like coming to this bar. Does Ray know you’re out partying tonight?” he inquires.

Wren’s dark eyes grow cold as she stands tall and growls, “Ray has no say in any f*****g thing I do, considering we haven’t been together for years. Oh, and let’s not forget the douchebag hasn’t contacted his daughter, Ainsley, in over a year.”

Ellora stands between them, crosses her arms in front of her chest, and says, “How about you f**k off, Lee? You’re ruining our night.”

Lee’s sneer grows slyer as he runs his gaze appraisingly across Ellora’s form before looking back at Wren, “You know you and Ray would have still been together if you had aborted that little retarded kid of yours.”

Everyone stiffens at his words. You can almost feel the air sucked out of the room as Wren clenches her fist and prepares to blast Lee.

Unfortunately for Lee, I beat Wren to the punch when I take the asshole by the neck and ram my fist into his face.

All of the noise in the room dies down as Lee falls back. Blood spatters from his nose as his body slumps to the floor. Clutching his nose, he glances up at me with alarm, “You broke my nose,”

I snicker and sign my response to Clint, who scoffs in reply, “Yeah, this boy’s momma definitely didn’t teach him any manners.”

Lee glares at both of us as he shakily rises to his feet, “Just who the f**k do you think you are?”

I sign again, drawing the wounded man’s attention as Phantom interprets, “He’s the mother fucker who will rip your tongue out if you ever call Wren’s sweet little girl that disgusting name again.”

Lee must find his second wind because he straightens and gestures for his friends to come forward.

Clint’s lip quirks as he ushers the women to a safer spot and stops beside me, making the men flinch back with trepidation when they realize that we’re more than willing to fight them.

At six and a half feet of muscle, Clint and I are no lightweights and let’s not forget that we’re both former Marines who are now assassins. Hoorah!

I crack my neck from side to side as I prepare to fight while Clint, in all his cocky glory, gives each man a predatory grin and mutters, “Either you walk away now, or you limp away once we’re done with you. It’s your choice, boys,” he barks out excitedly.

Lee’s friends must see our deadly intent because they instantly back away.

Lee grimaces, still clutching his bleeding nose, when he calls out, “Where the f**k are you assholes going? This mother fucker broke my nose.”

As the men scurry, I lean threateningly close to Lee and hiss. Jumping back, Lee squeals with fear and runs out of the bar.

Once he has left, Phantom has a quick talk with the bar’s bouncer to ensure no further problems.

The music comes back on, and the patrons continue as if nothing occurred.

Turning toward both women, I give them the once-over sign, “Are you alright?”

Ellora laughs, “I am fine. Thanks for messing Lee up. That dickwad has had it coming for a long time.”

I look at Wren, who turns to her friend and mutters, “I want to go home.”

Ellora takes her hand and frowns with concern, “Hey, now, it’s alright, Wren. Please, don’t let Lee’s words ruin your evening.”

Wren shakes her head, visibly upset as she gathers her handbag and stiffly states, “You can stay, but I’m leaving, Lore.”

She doesn’t wait for a reply as she rushes out the door. Ellora sighs and moves to follow, but I stop her, “Let me talk to her,” I sign.

After a second, Ellora arches a brow and nods, “Okay, but if you do anything to hurt her, I will mess you up.”

Turning toward Clint, I sign that I’m leaving and ask him to make sure Ellora gets home safely. Clint nods reassuringly as he turns his attention back to Ellora.

Rushing out, I spot Wren angrily stomping down the street until she’s walking by our building’s empty alcove. Taking her hand, I turn her to face me and sign, “What’s wrong?”

Wiping at a stray tear, Wren swallows hard and manages to croak out, “I just…I guess hearing Lee say that about Ainsley brings back so many bad memories of Ray and how he’d call her that word. Ainsley is…” she rubs her forehead and puffs out a hard breath, “…she’s perfect, and it kills me that someone would say that about her.”

Taking her hand, I pull her into my arms and kiss the top of her head.

Wren clings to me tightly as she tries to regain control of her emotions. After a minute, she pulls away and looks into my eyes.

Lifting my hand, I caress her silken cheek and slowly sign, “Ainsley is amazing.”

It takes a couple of tries, but eventually, she understands what I’m trying to say. Her eyes shine with gratitude as she places her hands over mine and mutters, “Thank you for standing up for her. Other than Ellora, my mom and a couple of friends, most people think Ainsley’s…odd and treat her like she’s diseased. It makes me so mad.”

I shake my head as her scent permeates my senses, arousing me further.

Wren must see something in my expression because her expression changes from one of sadness to a more sultry and needy one. I know I should move away, but I’m hypnotized when she leans close and nips my bottom lip. Gasping with pleasure, I tighten my arms around her and deepen the kiss. It’s a slow seduction of lips and tongues until the pace becomes unbearable and the kiss becomes more intense. Groaning with pleasure, I savor her tart taste of apples and slide my hands up her spine.

Mewling, Wren molds her chest against mine and wraps her arms around my neck. There are no words to describe how amazing it feels to kiss Wren. It’s only when we hear someone approaching that we breathlessly break apart.

Ellora stomps up to me, her eyes filled with indignation, “Your friend is a bastard!” she growls with outrage.

Wren’s brow furrows, “What happened?”

Ellora releases a disbelieving snort and aggressively points her finger toward the street where the bar is, “Sid came to the bar and got upset when he saw Clint and me together, so I told him Clint was your friend. But Clint, being that asshole he is, laughed at Sid and told him to grow a pair. Sid was so upset that he walked out and told me it was over. And when I reprimanded Clint about it, the dickhead laughed!” she screeches.

My mouth falls open at my best friend’s gall. There’s no doubt that Clint can be pretty abrasive at times. A couple of years ago, he almost came to blows with the now-dead Hunter Cohen. Hunter got upset after he heard Clint flirting with his girlfriend, Maleah. Clint felt like s**t about it after we learned Hunter was killed protecting Maleah and her friend, Sage.

I look at Wren and sign, “I will find Clint and talk to him.”

Wren gives me a resigned smile before turning to her best friend and leading her back into the building.