The Killer

Nadia They say your first love will always hold a special place in your heart. My first love ripped my heart out and died while still holding onto pieces of it. I watched Alexei die right before my eyes. His blood coated my hands as his betrayal threatened to rip me in two. I make a vow to never love again even when my parents pressure me to enter into a loveless marriage. But when I become the target of a dark game, I might not survive the weight of my fate, until an unlikely foe becomes the one person who can protect me. Maks I am a killer with a body count that would bring most men to their knees. My life is completely altered when I start receiving threatening messages from an unknown source. I am forced to set aside my killer instincts to protect a pretentious woman that makes me question my own sanity. When the lines between enemies and desire become blurry, I start to question if what I felt for her all this time was ever really hate.

Moscow used to bring me such great comfort, now the familiarity only brings heartache. What was once a place where I felt safe and guarded, now fills me with emptiness and dread.

I sigh as we pass through heavy midafternoon traffic on our way back to my family's home. Simon is sitting in the passengers seat, elbow resting on the windowsill as he speaks on the phone with our father.

He glances back at me in the rearview mirror in intervals. I suppose he was checking to make sure I don't attempt to open the door and roll out into the middle of oncoming traffic. Not that I would be stupid enough to do that, but Simon's anxious thoughts are evident on his face every time he looks at me or speaks to me.

I suppose I should be thankful that I have him. Maybe it's a twin thing, but sometimes I think Simon and I share each other's pain. I remember the night I thought I was going to lose him. He had taken a bullet to the chest and I could feel the stabbing sensation of the foreign metal in my chest as though I had been shot too.