“Sorry, it’s just that we work alone and if what I’ve heard is correct, you two have been glued together for quite some time.” His gaze wandered over to Six, who met him with a glare.
Six crossed his arms in front of him. “Jason needs to keep his mouth shut.”
“Not about why you have this strumpet with you, though. What’s your theory?”
“What was your last job?” Six asked, his jaw ticking.
Five sighed. “Eight. He’s dead.”
“So is Three.”
Five’s eyes popped. Finally someone showed a little more surprise about a death. “Damn. We’re down two?” Six nodded. “Any ideas?”
“A few, but all speculation. Whatever’s going on, it has Jason hiding.”
Five pursed his lips. “Three was the first.”
“First what?” I asked
Five turned to me. “The first of us to die.”
“Ever?” I’d never thought about one of them dying.
“We’ve only been sanctioned for five years.”
Six glared at him. At least Five was talking. It was nice to know things sometimes.
“That’s a long time and a lot of bullets not finding their targets.”
“Firefights are unusual,” Six said, annoyed at the conversation.
“The bullet hole scars in your skin say different.”
He looked down at his covered chest. “Most of those are from my Army days.” He turned back to Five. “When did you get your assignment?”
Five scratched his jaw. “I was in Texas last week finishing up a four-month stint when Jason called.”
“He didn’t know the job, did he?”
“No.” Five shook his head. “How long have you had your little pet?”
Six glanced to me. “I picked her up when I was cleaning Three.”
“That was how long ago?” Five moved to stand next to Six, his fingers lacing in front of him. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you had feelings for the girl.”
Six’s gaze narrowed. “But you do know me, or at least what I am.”
“One of the true sociopaths of our little ragtag group.”
“You aren’t one?” I asked. I’d assumed they were all a variety of psychotic.
“Oh no, darling, I am. Six here just happens to be one of the most emotionless of us all. A great actor if he was able to woo you before he abducted you.” The cadence of his voice was almost lyrical. Smooth and transitioning, an almost feminine quality. Much different from Six’s monotone, masculine one, and somewhat out of place for a killer.
Then again, I could be stereotyping again based on Hollywood. Though, most of the Killing Corps men I’d met fit that box.
“Let me guess…you’ve never been in love either,” I said to Five as I sat down on the edge of the bed. Love seemed to be an off topic for them.
“I’ve loved many women in my time, and many men, but only in the physical sense. An emotional love has no place in a dealer of death.”
Obviously love was not for undercover, cold-blooded, government funded killers.
Good to know.
Bad to learn when my feelings for Six were morphing and growing every day, against all rational thoughts.
It really was true—you can’t change a man. Especially not the crazy variety.
Five crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed next to me. The caress of his eyes could almost be felt, and the small smile on his face should have been reassuring, but instead held a bit of a frightening edge.
Six huffed and headed toward the bathroom, the door slamming behind him.
“He’s going to kill you.” The flippant way Five said the words caught me off guard.
“I know.”
He gave a wistful sigh. “Kidnapped, held hostage, possibly forced into sex, and yet I get the impression you care for him.”
I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter.”
He pursed his lips. “No, it doesn’t, but it is interesting. Stockholm Syndrome, perhaps.” He stared at me again, then took in a hard breath and looked away. “He had a job, and that job isn’t finished until you stop breathing.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I locked down my jaw and blinked them back. “You know, you don’t have to remind me. I’ve lived with this knowledge and the psycho himself for quite some time.”
He nodded. “True.”
Six came back out of the bathroom, zipping his fly as he walked.
“You have quite the interesting pet,” Five said as he stood. “She’s feisty. Care to share?”
Share? My heart stopped for a beat, and I stared at Six. He wouldn’t…would he?
“No.”
“You won’t even consider?”
“No.”
The playfulness drifted from Five’s face, hardening. His spine straightened, and he cracked his neck and shoulders. “Interesting.”
My brow furrowed as I stared at him. The word was lower, deeper, like in those few seconds he’d transitioned between personalities.
“Are you done fucking with her now?” Six asked.
Five shrugged and smirked. “She’s fun.”