THE FIRST KILL

I stared down the black barrel of the rifle. Time stopped.

The assassin's finger tightened on the trigger. I didn't think. Pure, animal survival took over. I lunged from my knees, driving my shoulder straight into his shins. He stumbled backward, losing his balance.

I didn't know how to shoot the heavy handgun in my grip, so I swung it like a hammer. I smashed the solid steel barrel directly into his throat.

The man choked, a sickening gasp escaping his lips as he collapsed onto the floor. The rifle clattered against the marble.

I scrambled backward over the broken glass, my chest heaving. The assassin rolled onto his side, gagging and clawing at his neck, his dark eyes wide with shock. He reached frantically for a pistol strapped to his tactical vest.

I braced for the gunshot. Squeezed my eyes shut.

A deafening crack echoed through the penthouse.

The bullet didn't hit me. The second assassin, still standing near the destroyed balcony, dropped instantly. A massive hole ruined his forehead.

The man on the floor spun, trying to raise his pistol toward the hallway.

Two more shots rang out. Twin cracks of thunder. The assassin in front of me slumped sideways against the marble table, his body going completely limp.

Silence rushed back into the room, heavy and suffocating.

Karl stepped out of the shadows. He looked like a nightmare. His crisp white shirt was unbuttoned, completely soaked in dark crimson. He held his black pistol in a relaxed, steady grip. He kicked the dead man's weapon across the floor and walked directly toward me.

"Are you hit?" His voice was rough, breathless.

I shook my head. Words were stuck in my throat. I held up my hands; they were covered in soot and the dead man's sweat.

Karl dropped his gun onto the dining table and fell to his knees in front of me. He grabbed my wrists, ignoring the mess, and pulled me forcefully against his chest. His heart hammered violently against my ribs. His body radiated a dangerous, protective heat. He buried his face into the crook of my neck, inhaling sharply.

"You fought back," he whispered against my skin. It wasn't a question. It sounded like praise.

"He was going to kill me," I choked out. Bile rose in my throat. The reality hit me like a physical blow. I had just broken a man's throat. The metallic smell of blood filled my nose, making my head spin.

Karl pulled back, his dark eyes wild, stripped of his usual calm mask. He wiped a streak of soot off my cheek with his thumb, smearing it across my skin.

"Listen to me, Julian," he said, his tone absolute ice. "You did what you had to do to survive. Do not let guilt tear you apart. In my world, hesitation equals death."

I looked at the lifeless body against the marble base. "Who are they? Why do they want me?"

"They work for Victor," Karl said, standing up and hauling me with him. He kept one arm wrapped tightly around my waist, anchoring me to his side. "Victor runs the southern district. He's a scavenger. He found out what happened at the club. He knows you're here."

"So he sent killers to your penthouse just for me?" Panic clawed at my throat. I tried to pull away, but his arm was an iron bar across my back.

"He sent them to humiliate me," Karl corrected coldly. "He wants to take what belongs to me. He wants to prove he can breach my fortress."

"I am not your property!" I shouted, shoving my hands against his chest.

Karl didn't budge. His grip tightened painfully. He leaned down, crowding my space until I had to tilt my head back. "You are mine, Julian. The entire underworld knows it now. You marked yourself the second you walked into that dark room. That makes you a target. It means I can never let you out of my sight again."

He let go, grabbed his heavy pistol from the table, and checked the magazine. It snapped back into place with a sharp metallic click. He turned, grabbed my right hand, and slapped the cold metal weapon into my palm.

I tried to drop it. Karl wrapped his large hands around mine, forcing my fingers to grip the textured steel.

"Karl, I can't shoot a gun," I pleaded, staring at the weapon in horror.

"You already know how to use it as a club," Karl murmured, his voice dropping an octave. He stepped behind me, pulling my back flush against his solid chest. He raised my arms, guiding my hands to aim at the shattered window. "Firing it is just faster."

His mouth brushed the shell of my ear. The contrast of his warm breath and the cold steel sent a dangerous shiver down my spine. The fear was there, but beneath it, a dark adrenaline began to pump through my veins. He adjusted my stance, kicking my feet apart with his heavy boots. His hips pressed heavily against mine. The friction was deliberate, grounding me, controlling my panic with his body.

"Keep both eyes open," Karl whispered. His hands gripped mine, steadying the heavy weapon. "Look down the sights. See the target. Squeeze the trigger slowly. If Victor sent two men, he will send twenty more. I can't always be beside you."

"You brought this on me," I whispered bitterly, my chest rising and falling rapidly against his arm.

"I did," Karl agreed, his lips grazing my neck. "And now I'm going to teach you how to survive it. If you want to live through the night, Julian, you have to learn how to pull the trigger without blinking."

The raw power of his body made my hands shake. I hated him for dragging me into this nightmare, but God, I was entirely captivated by the brutal way he protected me.

Suddenly, a sharp beeping sound echoed through the ruined living room.

Karl instantly let go of my hands. He walked over to the dead man on the floor, reached into the tactical vest, and pulled out a heavy satellite phone. The screen flashed a bright green notification.

Karl opened the message. His jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked visibly in his cheek.

"What does it say?" I asked, keeping my finger carefully away from the trigger.

Karl looked up. His eyes were entirely devoid of humanity.

"Victor wants a meeting to discuss peace," Karl said softly, his voice dripping venom. "Tonight. At his banquet hall. And he specifically requested that I bring you."

The blood in my veins turned to ice.

"And if we refuse?"

Karl crushed the satellite phone in his bare hand until the screen shattered into pieces. "If we refuse, he burns the entire city down to reach you."