Slow Agony (Assassins, #2)(6)

Naomi took a shaky breath. Then her eyes rolled up in her head, and she fell to the ground. She’d fainted.

*

Naomi was wrapped in a blanket, sitting on my couch. She’d let me clean and bandage the cut on her forehead. She seemed fairly calm. She was taking most of this okay. “So, you’re saying that Griffin used to be an assassin.”

“Yeah,” I said. “He worked for a secret wing of an arms corporation. But last year, we shut them down, so I don’t know who this guy was. He said something about jail, so maybe he didn’t have anything to do with Op Wraith. Maybe he was someone who was in jail with Griffin.”

“Griffin was in jail?”

“Yeah, when he was a kid. He robbed a store with a toy gun and got tried as an adult.”

“In jail. An assassin.”

I nodded. Maybe she really wasn’t taking it all that well after all.

“How can you not think you’re lucky to be free of that man?” She shook her head.

I bit my lip. “You want more tea?”

“I want you to explain to me how this relates to me. Why did he kidnap me?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I didn’t get a chance to ask him.”

“Before you blew his head off.”

I looked away. “He was dangerous. He threatened to kill you if Griffin didn’t get in touch with him. I had to do what I did.”

“You could have called the police,” she said. “Why didn’t you call the police?”

“Well, I did, but then they left, and I thought that they hadn’t been much help, so I might as well check it out on my own, and then...”

“And then you killed someone.” She set down her tea on my coffee table. “And you don’t even seem the least bit upset about it.”

“I am,” I said. “I think I’m... in shock.” I hugged myself. I wished Griffin was here. He would know what to do. I had no idea.

“And now you want me to lie about what happened,” she said. “You want me to tell some story to the police.”

“Just tell them that you heard a shot, and you managed to get away, and you ran to my house. That’s all. It’s not that much of a lie. You only don’t know who shot him.” To me, this seemed perfectly reasonable. I looked at her hopefully. “Sisters unite?”

“Fuck you,” she said.

I looked at the ceiling. “If you don’t, I could get in trouble for killing that guy.”

“You did kill that guy.” Her voice broke.

I turned back to her. “I am so, so sorry, Naomi. I thought this was over. Last year, Griffin and I took care of everyone who was after us, everyone who was trying to kill us. If I thought for one second that I wasn’t safe, I never would have become friends with you. If I thought that I was putting you in danger, I swear to God—”

“Leigh, I seriously have no idea what you’re f*cking talking about.”

I got up and sat down next to her on the couch. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This happened to you because of me, and I’m just glad you’re okay.”

She let out a noisy breath. “Well, I wouldn’t be, I guess, if you hadn’t saved me. If you hadn’t...” She turned to me, grabbing my hands. “Did he teach you how to do that? Did he teach you how to kill?”

I knew she meant Griffin. I didn’t say anything.

“He did, didn’t he?” She squeezed my fingers. “He wasn’t a good boyfriend, Leigh.”

I swallowed. “Are you going to tell the police what I did?”

She gazed into my eyes. “I...”

“Please, Naomi.”

“I guess not.”

I hugged her. “Thank you.”

She hugged me back. “Sisters unite.”

We held onto each other for several minutes. Then we broke apart. There were tears in my eyes. I’d come so close to losing her. “I can’t believe this happened to you. It’s because of me.”

“Because of Griffin, you mean. Isn’t that who the guy wanted?”

“Same thing,” I said.

“Are you an ex-assassin? Were you in jail?” she asked pointedly. “None of this is your fault. It’s Griffin’s.”

“You don’t understand,” I said. “It’s complicated.”

“So you keep saying,” she said. She sighed. “But it’s over, isn’t it? You killed that guy, and it’s over.”

“Yeah.” It was over, wasn’t it? “Look, you should stay here tonight. In the morning—”

“That’s pretty much now,” said Naomi, gesturing to the window.

She was right. Outside, the sky was splintered with the dawn. The sun would be coming up in a few minutes. I rubbed my face. “Wow. And here I was, wanting a drink. I guess it’s officially too early, huh?”

“Screw it,” she said. “You got some marshmallow vodka in that freezer of yours?”

“You know it,” I said, getting up and going to the kitchen. I brought back the bottle and handed it to her. “You don’t need a glass or anything, do you?”

She laughed, but it was strained. Unscrewing the cap, she upended the vodka into her mouth, taking a big gulp. She swallowed, made a little face, shivered, and handed the bottle to me.