Damien
Fuck my life. I can’t catch a goddamn break.
“Damien…” I pull the barrel back on my gun and point it at the leather-clad brunette sitting in my kitchen.
“Haylee.” I grit out, and she smirks cocking her own gun. “What the fuck are you doing in my apartment?”
Haylee uncrosses her legs and bites her bottom lip, her emerald green eyes raking over me before looking up at my face again. “I was in the area. Thought I’d pop in and …surprise you.” She drawls waspishly. “Missed me, baby?” She adds with a wink.
“Damien, who is this?” Ezra asks from behind me. I keep my eyes on Haylee, who turns her gaze to Ezra and smiles rather bleakly. I know that look, envy, and animosity. Two of Haylee’s traits I loathed while we were seeing each other.
“Ahh, this must be the old ball and chain I’ve heard so much about.” Haylee drawls, getting up to her feet and giving Ezra a slow once-over. “I’m the one responsible for screwing up the adonis standing beside you.”
“I beg your pardon?” Ezra utters, coming to stand beside me. I curse inwardly and grab Ezra’s wrist and yank her behind me. Haylee’s possessiveness has cost more than a few girls their lives.
Haylee laughs and casts a look at me. “Oh my, you haven’t told her about me, have you, Dami?” I cringe at the nickname and take a step toward Haylee.
“There’s nothing to tell,” I tell her bleakly, and she grins up at me and presses her chest up against the barrel of the gun, her eyes locked with mine.
“No?” She whispers, biting her bottom lip. “A three-year-long relationship, and you have nothing good to say about me, baby?”
I glare at her blankly and raise my gun and tilt her head up. “I’m not your baby. You have ten seconds to tell me what the fuck you want, or I’ll blow your head off.”
Haylee moans, her green eyes light up in delight. “Can’t a girl just drop by and see her ex-boyfriend and colleague?”
“Colleague?” Ezra sputters behind me. “You’re an Assassin?” Haylee cast her side-eye look and smirks.
“Why yes sugar,” She licks her bottom lip. “Your husband and I used to be partners in work and life. When we weren’t killing people, we were fucking each other raw.” She declares, turning her gaze to me again. “I took the boy playing bad and turned him into the devil himself. Isn’t that right, Dami.” She smiles challengingly and takes a step back and looks at Ezra again. “So, when he’s giving you the fuck of your life, you have me to thank, honey.”
“Jesus Haylee, that’s enough!”
Ezra shakes her head. “Wow. Hell of a job you did. I bet you’re really proud of yourself. It all makes sense now, why he doesn’t like to be touched, why he has intimacy issues. You took a guy who lost everything, siphoned the life right out of him, and molded him to be just like you...a cold-blooded sadistic killer who gets off on hurting people. You’re clearly too damaged to fix yourself, so you screw up everything and everyone around you because that’s easier, isn’t it?” Ezra says, keeping her eyes on Haylee the entire time.
“Couldn’t find anyone to love you for who you are, so you manipulated him, but let me guess, you couldn’t get him to love you either, could you?” Ezra smiles. “All the great sex, this sexy badass demeanor wasn’t enough. He left you, didn’t he? Broke that iceberg heart of yours.” Haylee’s smug smile from before vanishes, and she takes a threatening step closer to Ezra, but she doesn’t even flinch. “You can change what’s on the outside, but you can’t force someone to love you.” She says, casting me a knowing look.
Little did she know that I do love her. She’s the first and the only one I ever let in.
“Well, little miss know-it-all seems to have quite the opinion. You don’t know shit.” Haylee retorts. I sigh and grab her arm and yank her back to me.
“That’s enough,” I growl, growing exceedingly annoyed every passing second. “What the fuck do you want, Haylee?” I demand, tightening my hold on her arm, and she smiles.
“I spoke to James a few days ago. He filled me in with everything that’s happening. He said you’ve got quite the bounty on your head since you went and married your mark.”
“And this concerns you how?” I ask. “You here to kill us and cash in?” Haylee chuckles amused and shakes her head.
“Not exactly. James thought you might need some help since you’ve already been shot and almost died trying to protect her. You can’t win this battle on your own, Dami.”
“James needs to mind his own damn business. I don’t need your help. I can see this through on my own.” I tell her and lower my gun. Haylee takes a step back when I let her go.
“Don’t be foolish, Damien. You’re in over your head this time. This plan of yours is going to blow up in your face.”
“What plan?” Ezra chimes in. “Damien, what is she talking about?”
I sigh and rub my forehead. “Don’t worry about it,” I utter frostily. She scowls at me in return and shakes her head. “Don’t give me that look. I don’t share shit about my work. You know that.”
Ezra scoffs and looks over at Haylee, “Well, there’s clearly a lot more than just your work that you don’t share with me, Dami.” She snipes back, and I groan inwardly. She’s not going to shut up about this. “You conveniently forgot to mention your psychotic sadist of an ex too.”
“As much as I’m enjoying your marital spat, can we come back to me?” Haylee sigh folding her arms over her chest and watching us both.