Page 90 of Pretty Little Assassin

Madam and I both stop dead in our tracks as soon as we reach the top of the stairs and stand at the end of that hallway.

I fucking hate this hallway.

Every bad memory I have started in this upstairs hallway.

Apparently, it did for her too.

No matter how many times I set foot here. The visceral reaction is the same. We both stand there frozen in place. The sight of that last bedroom door at the end of the hall is shared tangible trauma.

I left that room. I made it out. I killed the man I was supposed to get sold to that night. I can still perfectly see the red dress I was wearing. The way my stepdad looked me over in it. I can still remember the taste of the red lipstick I slathered all over my mouth before meeting with his alpha “business partner” that night. Before that alpha wound up being my first kill.

That was the first night my relationship with the colour red began.

But for Madam, things ended differently.

She went with the alpha who bought her. She had to claw her way out slowly and then went on to build an entire system, a network—one that came full circle to help me.

“Ahh, my girls. Now this is really where it all began, isn’t it?”

29

VALENTINA

No intercom. No voice echoing through the house.

Just the man himself stepping into view at the other end of the hallway.

Bold.

He stretches his arms out in front of him. The way a father would reach for a hug from his children.

He must have forgotten that we are not his children.

“Valentina, wait!”

Madam’s voice is too late. I’m already rushing down the hall toward him. Mercy in one hand, the other stretched out in front of me and ready to grab him by whatever appendage I can break off first.

Behind me, two Primacy guards. Behind them, two more.

I whip around before they can reach Madam. Mercy lands squarely in the back of the chest and gets pulled out before the next asshole can grab her.

Leverage. It’s all about the leverage.

One heel on the hallway wall lets me flip around and grab another agent from behind. The right angle, and I break his neck.

The third one heads straight for my sister.

Madam might not be a fighter, but she can at least fire a gun. One that she had tucked inside her shirt.

Three down, one to go.

“Valentina, look out!”

I feel the blow to the side of my torso before I can stop it. That one snuck up on me. Pisses me off that he got a hit in. Enough that I make him regret it quickly.

Mercy gets the last word. Not the Primacy jerk who just bruised me.

“Your skills have improved, Valentina,” my stepdad smirks as he walks slowly toward us. “But you’re still outnumbered here.”