The Assassin's Destiny

Chapter 18: New Venues

Chapter 18: New Venues

Penelope

             “I love the knitted dress you bought. The color is perfect on you.” I tell Lyria as she rests her shopping bags on the couch. Violet slumps beside me on the couch and puffs out a couple of breaths.

After her class ended, she and Violet came over.

             “Yeah, and the sandals are gorgeous,” Violet says as she sorts through the sushi boxes they picked up on the way home. I like hanging out with my friends, yet, I can’t help the aching pit of anxiety that opens up in my gut when I think about what’s going on with Argent. I didn’t like seeing the cut and scrapes that he came home with last night, but it’s something that I have to accept if I want to be with him.

             The men left hours ago, which heightens my anxiety, but I don’t let the ladies see. It’s past eight in the evening, and the sun is slowly ascending in the sky. Argent’s man, Anarchy, opened the door and retreated to Argent’s office as soon as Violet and Lyria showed up.

             Anarchy is another gorgeous Assassin that recently transferred from the Canadian division. With his high cheekbones, deep merlot colored hair, and intense eyes the color of the ocean at dawn, he’s quite a sight to see. We quickly found out that he’s not much of a talker. He’s more the tall, silent type, which was fine by me. We also discovered that he’s uncomfortable with female attention.

             I give both women a wan smile and take a sip of wine. The scarlet liquid sloshes gently across the rim, letting off a fruity scent.

             We’re finishing dinner and having several more glasses of wine when the doorbell rings. I look at Lyria, who gives me a confused frown. “Who do you think it is?”

             I shrug.

             At that moment, Anarchy appears and makes his way to the door.

             I observe as Anarchy strides into the room and opens the door. After a couple of minutes, he steps back into the living room, followed by an intimidatingly gorgeous man. As I said before, the majority of Argent’s men are gorgeous, but there’s something about this man that screams hot serial killer. His penetrating gaze searches the room with every step he takes. His dark chestnut brown hair is long at the top and cut close on the sides and back. His obsidian eyes are calculating, and his square jaw is stubbled. He’s a couple of inches over six feet with olive skin and a trim body, and the dark suit he’s wearing fits him perfectly.

             My brow furrows as Isadora walks in and stands next to me.        Anarchy gestures to the man. “Penelope, this is Voodoo. He came on the behest of Argent. Argent tried to call you, but you weren’t answering the phone. He told me to tell you he and the others are on the way.”

             I search for my cell phone and sigh with exasperation. “Darn it, I forgot to charge it this morning. Thanks, Anarchy.”

             Anarchy nods his head and gestures for Voodoo to follow him. However, Voodoo doesn’t move from where he is. Instead, he comes forward and runs his gaze over us. It’s a little disconcerting. And what kind of name is Voodoo? I know what it means, but I don’t get it.

             Feeling uncomfortable, I shift stiffly in my seat and take a sip of my drink. My movement seems to snap him out of his thoughts because his gaze instantly hones in on mine. I feel trapped by his dark eyes. The man is undoubtedly gorgeous, but his expression makes me uncomfortable.

             Thankfully, Argent and the others show up at that moment. As soon as I see him, I rush to his side. Argent takes my hand and leads me to the men. One of them has dark hair, obsidian eyes, and a muscular frame. He’s definitely what I would describe when I think, tall, dark, and handsome. And unlike the other man who just walked in, he gives me a friendly smile.

             “Voodoo, thank you for coming,” Argent mutters cordially. His gaze traverses over all of the men in the room as he gestures toward me. “Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to Penelope,” Argent mutters. “Penelope, this is Logan, aka Hades, Voodoo, Shadow, and Phoenix.”

             At a loss at what to say, I wave at the men who smile back.

             The tall, dark man, Logan, steps forward and extends an elegant hand. Argent had mentioned him several times, so I don’t feel as intimidated about meeting him.

             “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Penelope.” I take his firm hand and shake it. “It’s nice to mee you too, Logan. Argent has spoken a lot about you. He considers you a great friend.”

             Logan pats Argent’s shoulder with a snicker. “Yeah, Argent and I bonded after he saved my wife, Bella’s, life. Hopefully, you two can meet one day.”

             I nod my head, relieved at his congenial tone.

             At that moment, Voodoo, the man with the cold eyes, clears his throat and snaps everyone back to attention.

             His penetrating gaze hones in on Argent. “I heard you wished to speak to me, Apollo.” There’s no justice in describing the man’s voice as being sensual with its French undertones. By the look on the other women’s faces, I can tell that they felt the potency of his dulcet tone.

             Argent slides his arm around my waist as he runs his gaze appraisingly across the other man.

             Voodoo doesn’t seem fazed in the least by Argent’s scrutiny. Instead, he stands proud and shifts his gaze to mine.

             Argent gives him a respectful nod. “Yes, we do need to speak.”

             I remain quiet as the feeling of discomfort intensifies. It’s just something about the man’s stillness. It’s weirding me out. And the fact that he doesn’t smile makes me wary. I guess the best way to describe it is how someone would feel if they were stuck in a tiger’s cage─you never know when it’ll strike.

             “Voodoo, I’m Logan Blake. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Logan steps beside him and also extends his hand rigidly.

             Voodoo takes his hand stiffly.

             Logan gestures to the others. “You already know Rogue and Phoenix.”

             Voodoo nods as he observes Logan make the introductions. “And this is my brother Ewan, who goes by the handle Shadow.”

             He bows his head in our direction before he faces Argent again. “I’ve heard a great deal about you both. I’m sure you don’t remember me, Apollo, but you and I worked a case together when you were working with the National South African Defense Force. I was CIA at the time, and we were working on a counter-terrorism unit investigating a bombing in a local hospital.”

             Argent’s shoulders lose their rigidity. “I apologize, but I don’t remember you specifically. In my defense, I had just lost my wife and daughter in that bombing.”

             Voodoo’s brow puckers. “No, I should be the one to apologize for bringing it up. I was not aware that you’d lost your family. My condolences.”

             It’s funny, but his remorse looks unnatural. I mean, I can tell that he’s sincere, yet, his response seems awkward, like he’d never apologized to anyone before. This is probably the most emotion that this man has ever shown.

             Argent shrugs a shoulder and tightens his hand around mine. “It’s fine. It’s in the past. Now, shall we get to business?”

              “Yes, we have some pertinent things to discuss with you,” Logan interjects.

             Voodoo nods as the men usher him out of the room.

             Argent gives me one final heated look as he follows behind them.

             “s**t, that was intense. I don’t know about you ladies, but that seriously hot dude totally freaked me out. Seriously, he was fine, but all I could think was, “does this guy ever smile?” Lyria mutters.

             Violet and I nod. “Yeah, it was oddly disconcerting. If I didn’t know better, I’d think that man was not human, and I don’t mean because he was gorgeous.”         

              I chuckle at my friend’s mirrored thoughts. “Oh, yeah, that was a little too intense for me. Well, now that the guys are back home, how about we have another drink?” I mutter in hopes of distracting my friends from the situation as a whole. Neither woman knows about Argent’s choice in career, and for their safety, I want to keep it that way. I just hope that by keeping his secret, I’m not putting my friends in any danger.