Ilana Denvers is a ghost—an assassin who lives in the shadows, hunting those who deserve it. But when her latest target is a woman with no known crimes, something doesn’t sit right. Josephine Meyers is the fragile wife of one of the city’s most powerful men, and taking her out should be simple. Yet, the deeper Ilana digs, the more the lines between victim and villain blur. Then there’s Calix Meyers—heir to a fortune he wants nothing to do with. Drawn to Ilana’s sharp tongue and enigmatic presence, he doesn’t realize she’s the danger lurking in his home. She never meant to fall for him, but emotions have no place in her world. As secrets unravel, Ilana discovers the true monster behind the curtain: a man who reminds her too much of the past she’s been running from. With killers on her heels and a heart she never planned to use, Ilana must decide—will she finish the job and disappear? Or will she finally stand and fight for something other than revenge?
View MoreIlana absentmindedly ran her thumb along the wooden handle of her dagger, tracing the carved out initials as she prepared herself for the throw.
She stared at the target in front of her with bold red circles, the colors burning the back of her eyelids.
Thirty five feet. She had never thrown at this distance. She pulled in a breath. She was confident in her skills.
The people around her continued to chatter loudly and she gritted her teeth. There was a time when she had absolutely loathed any and all company while she was practicing. She still hated it, make no mistake, but she had learned to work with it.
Now, she focused on the cold handle of the dagger, finding a rhythm in the even beats of her heart. Her eyes stayed strictly on the target in front of her until, slowly but steadily, the voices around her slowed.
Focus. She whispered. The chatter dimmed down until it was nothing but a vexing buzz in her head, a white noise she could easily block out.
She loved this feeling, the sensation of letting go of every anchor holding her to her painful life, drifting apart from the body adorned with scars of her past yet still being so in control.
It was intoxicating, the command she could get on her mind when she was in her element.
She smiled at nothing in particular, letting go of the handle. It cut through the air, zooming towards the target. She had barely blinked when the dagger found the bullseye, the handle sticking out as if proud of the achievement.
She gave herself a moment to appreciate the milestone.
But then something odd happened.
She felt something solid, something a lot like skin that snaked around her waist.
She froze on the spot. She saw a figure in her head. A looming, terrifying figure. It stalked towards a little girl cowering in a corner. Felt as the figure’s slimy, mud covered hand touched the girl’s cheek.
Her makeshift world shattered around her in shards of glittering, piercing light. Like a flower opening its petals, exposing the sensitive, fragile stamen inside to the harsh environment.
Except there was nothing fragile about Ilana. She was a trained assassin, for god's sake.
She reached for the knife tucked safely in the band around her upper arm, hidden under her long sleeve. It slid out easily.
She spun around as if she were floating, heart thumping wildly and yanked the arm from around her waist. She pressed the sharp blade to the person’s neck and the creep stumbled backwards.
She finally registered the face in front of her, his eyes wide and hands thrown up in surrender.
“God, Ilana,” Nathan muttered. She gritted her teeth, pressing the blade harder against his pale skin.
“What the f*ck, Nathan?” she demanded, staring at her colleague slash occasional hookup partner.
Her heart calmed a little but she felt disoriented, like she would see the figure from earlier walk in any minute now.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to surprise you,” he said, a hint of defensiveness creeping in his voice.
“You do not surprise a girl with a dagger on her. That’s how you get killed,” she hissed, still annoyed at his audacity to actually touch her without her permission.
“You did not had a dagger on you when I grabbed you,” he pointed out and she pressed the one against his neck a little harder, just to prove a point. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Just put it down.”
She rolled her eyes but obliged. She felt the need to get out of here, unable to regain her composure after what he had done.
She pushed past him but then stopped midway, turning around to face him.
“Oh and Nathan, do not, ever, touch me without my permission again. Dagger or no dagger. Or else I'll make sure you’ll regret it,” she said, her voice hard in the way that had brought millions to their knees.
She pushed through the crowd and the sounds - the gunshots, successful yelps of newbees on completing simple tasks or disappointed grunts when a shot missed the target - followed her until the back door swung shut after her.
She took deep breaths, her fists clenched so tight she felt her nails leave half moon marks on her palms.
She'd overcome every single weakness, she had become unshakeable. She had spent her entire life training to be the most ruthless, the scariest in any room she entered.
But this, this particular horror she can never get rid of no matter how hard she tried.
“Cigarette?” a voice asked.
She blinked back her thoughts.
“Can I get one without the company?” she asked, extending her arm anyways.
Helene laughed, handing her lit cigarette to her. Ilana took a long swig, feeling some of her nerves settle.
“I’m sorry but you’ll have to suffer through the company,” she said and Ilana smiled, passing the cigarette back to her.
“What are you doing here, Helene?” she asked. Her boss rarely ever came to their secret practice arena.
Something to do with not wanting to mix with lowlife criminals and killers like her. Ilana wondered how Helene managed to conjure this patronizing authority when she was the one at the top of all this. When she was the one who pulled the strings of most of the people in the arena right now. That these killers and criminals might not have become killers or criminals if it wasn’t for her.
She had concluded that it must come hand in hand with the prerogative of never having to actually get her hands bloody. Of being able to go to bed without the faces of people she’d killed haunting her.
“I wanted to have a little chat with Vincent,” she said. Ilana allowed herself a secret frown.
“I also have a new assignment for you.”
Ilana nodded.
“But there’s a problem.” Helene said and Ilana scoffed.
“Dealing with problems is your sector, not mine.”
“The employer doesn’t have the proper history of the target.”
“The employer doesn’t have information on the very person he wants killed?” she asked, looking at Helene incredulously. “You know how crazy that sounds, right?”
Helene sighed, as if she was very done with Ilana. Ilana braced herself for the potential argument that could ensue.
“The target killed someone close to him,” Helene said as if that was reason enough for Ilana to accept the mission.
“Unprovoked? Just went up and killed the person for no apparent reason?”
“He claims that she’s mentally unstable.”
“Well, then, that solves it. I want proof. Medical reports. Statements from people close to the target.”
“Ilana, come on. If he could get it, there wouldn’t be a problem in the first place.”
“Then, it’s a clear no, Helene. You know this. I’m not killing anyone until I know for a fact that they deserve it.”
It was one of her demands she never swayed away from. Playing underpaid vigilante was no easy task. The horror of killing people was a burden too heavy for Ilana to shoulder anyways. But if it ever got coupled with the knowledge that she’d killed someone innocent or even someone who had stumbled in that gray area between right and wrong, Ilana was sure she would crush under the weight.
She would lose that last shred anchoring her to sanity.
“The pay is great,” Helene tried, even though she knew it wasn’t going to work on her.
“Helene,” she said warningly. Helene relented.
She was, after all, Helene’s best assassin. The fact came handy a lot more than Ilana would have anticipated in the beginning.
“You know my requirements. If they want me, they should comply. Or else, you can find someone else,” she said, leaving Helene alone in the courtyard.
Ilana stared at the messenger for a lot longer than was acceptable.“Miss?” She blinked, her mind drifting back to the present.“Sorry. I… I completely zoned out. What were you saying?”He looked offended but quickly shrugged it off.“Mr. Meyer has asked for you.”“Mr. Adam?” she asked even though she already knew the answer, biting on her lower lip to stop the smile from spreading.“Mr. Calix Meyer.”She wondered why she wasn;t paying attention the first time. This was the kind of thing she’d been waiting for.She nodded, getting up from her desk and following the messenger towards Calix’s office.He dropped her off at the door before disappearing into the crowd. She pulled in a breath and knocked. She had to be careful of her words in front of Calix. The sooner the job got done, the better.She wasn't here to enjoy his company.“Come in,” his gruff voice replied.She walked in and he looked up, that breathtaking smile on his face. She felt her heartbeat pick up the pace. “You call
for her. The words were a sham but they bought comfort. A candle in the dark.A candle with flickering, dying flames but a candle nonetheless. She sought the warmth from it greedily every single time. The flames had grown weaker and weaker with every life taken and she wasn’t sure how much she could give before the candle went out entirely. Until she was left in the dark with nothing to hold onto.She wasn’t sure what would happen when the flame did die. Maybe she would drown in that bleakness. Maybe that’ll be the end of Ilana Meyers.But she stroked the flame now, giving it air to breathe. She needed it to stay strong for a little longer. Ilana wasn’t done right now. She wanted her revenge. Once that was done, she would gladly allow the flame to go out.The darkness would be a welcome respite then. But she had to fight until she had her vengeance.She took in a sharp breath and looked around the room. It was messy enough to depict a crime scene but not enough to give any clues.The
Ilana felt around the wall for a soft edge before she pushed her knife in. She pulled herself up, hooking her left leg on the pipe clip attached to the drainage pipe that ran along the back wall.Once you built the momentum, climbing wasn’t hard. Just one foot after the other. It took a lot of strength but in the end, it was just like walking. Ilana pulled the dagger free and then hooked it into the next purchase she found. She pulled herself up, using the pipe clips to give her some sort of support.She wasn’t even out of breath by the time she reached the window but her palms were red and aching slightly. She put her body weight forward, leaning against the wall as she pulled the lockpicks from her pocket.Lockpicking needed both her hands. She pulled in a breath and tried to stay as still as possible, her chest pressed against the wall. She played with the lock, her fingers working delicately. The lock gave away and she hefted the small window in, pulling herself over the ledge an
“Helene told me you are on an undercover mission near here?” the kid asked excitedly.“Yes.”“That’s so cool. I want to do undercover missions too.”Ilana held back a scoff, letting the moment pass without commenting on it.“So, where are you stationed for this undercover mission? I know it's pretty far away from Knoxville.”Knoxville was the small town where Helene had built their supposed headquarters. That's where Ilana had spent most of her childhood, either with Vincent perfecting her throws or with Nancy learning sleight of hand or with Lily learning history and art and geography.“It is far,” she answered vaguely. “What are you doing all the way here anyway, kid?”“Oh, I'm with Vincent. He said he had business here and Helene insisted for him to take me. And then this mission came…”“Vincent is here? In West Creek?” “Err… no. Not in West Creek. We're in the city. We’re in Nashville.”Ilana frowned. She was also in Nashville for the mission.“What's he doing in Nashville?” she
Ilana got out of her car at least twelve blocks away from the apartment she was supposed to go to and began her walk along the dark street.She usually never drove to her missions. Cars were too risky and the chance of getting caught doubled whenever a car was involved. But today, she felt lazy and a little too confident. She’d been doing this for fifteen years now. She had earned the right for a little rest.The silence around her was thick, pressing onto her ears and she looked around, trying to spot the cause but she saw nothing. Extreme silence had never meant good.There was not a single soul roaming the street. It was only 1 in the morning but there was always someone. A drunk stumbling out of a pub or the whining of a child from an open window.West creek was devoid of life. Ilana bit the inside of her cheek, feeling the familiar rush of excitement wash through her. A fight was coming and she was so ready for it.She mentally counted through her daggers. Two in each arm band ar
Ilana felt unreal, an entity weaved with threads of hopelessness and regret as she walked through the halls of the twentieth floor.She wasn't sure where she was going but she knew she was supposed to meet Calix Meyer. Make him aware of her presence.Her secret was out and now it was time to exploit it.And she would do it without complaints because Helene had said it was important. She had repeated the interaction in her head so many times, the words had stopped making sense. Like whatever happened wasn't real. Just like Ilana herself was not real anymore.It was important. Calix was important to the plan, the mission. He was just a means to an end. Nothing more. Helene had said it was important.Ilana didn't have to pretend when she slammed into someone. At least that had been real.“I'm sorry. I wasn't looking,” she said, keeping her eyes on the ground as she bent down to pick up the papers that had fallen loose from the folder in her hands.She didn't want Calix to see her yet. S
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