Free Assassin Territory [Assassins Book 1] by C.L. Scholey Page B

was feeling better, yet she was fearful of more bones. The two sat in awkward silence, finishing their meal. The eerie groans of the wind whistled with intensity, rattling the cave barrier. The silence between them was becoming uncomfortable. Lando maintained his intense study of her that she found unnerving. She squirmed uncomfortably under his scrutiny. Christy concluded Lando no longer wanted her dead. She wondered if it was her company he coveted. If he wanted to force her to submit to him, he would have already; she was powerless to stop him. She remembered Chad pounced on her eagerly enough. Sometimes painfully, claiming he needed her and couldn’t wait for her to be ready.
    “Why did you want to kill me?” The silence between them had stretched until the intensity reached a climax. “I’m no threat to you.”
    Lando was studying her, she bowed her head and her hands shook from a nervous habit—compliments of Chad.
    “I felt at the time it would be best, under the circumstances.”
    Her head shot up and she glared at him. “I was hurting and alone, and you thought it best to kill me? Don’t you realize how terrified I am of you?”
    “I thought your mind was gone. Those bruises must hurt; they’re nothing short of hideous. I think, from the way you move, one or more of your ribs are broken. I didn’t think you’d make it. A wild animal could’ve got you; you might have frozen to death,” he countered, sounding defensive.
    “A mercy killing?” she spat out. Again she was confronted with a man who would assume what was best for her without even asking how she felt. “You’re all cruel. Assassin or doctor, it makes no difference.”
    “Is that who hurt you?” Lando asked. “Chad? You cried out for him not to hit you. Did he beat you, Christy?”
    Tears began to fall from her eyes, sliding down her cheeks. “He never once threatened to kill me,” she countered.
    Lando stirred the rabbit bones in the pot. He added the remainder of the fish, careful of the tiny bones.
    “Why do you kill people?” Christy asked, she dragged the back of her hand across her wet cheek trying for some semblance of control. She had been hid away for so long. Sam was the first person she had engaged in a conversation in months. She felt if she stopped talking she may never speak again.
    “Why do you take pictures of ferocious animals? Does it give you a rush? Does the fear excite you?” Lando countered almost fiercely.
    “How do you know what I do for a living?” Christy asked, unnerved.
    “Mac, the cop, asked before we boarded. He wanted to make sure you wouldn’t hurt me.”
    Christy’s eyes widened at that. Hurt him? Kodiaks would run in terror from him. “I’ve never hurt anyone in my whole life,” Christy declared, outraged.
    Lando snorted at her statement. “I’ve no doubt you’re completely harmless. You’re sweet, vulnerable, and innocent. Killing you would no doubt be like offing the Tooth Fairy.” He offered her a cheeky grin at the image that conjured.
    “You’re laughing at me. How dare you.”
    “I used to kill. I’ve killed so many men, I’ve lost count. Old men, young men, evil, dangerous men. Men who would make the boogeyman seem adorable and cuddly. Men you’d cower in terror from instead of me.” Lando’s voice had a dangerous edge to it.
    Christy could see his anger build as he became animated. He spoke with gestures, his nostrils flared and his eyebrows narrowed. He stood now. His tirade made Christy retreat back to the far side of the cave; she cowered from him fearfully in shock, ending their conversation. It was too much; he was too much. She waited for him to come after her and her heart pounded. She watched his hands waiting for them to curl into fists. She waited for the foul words bellowed in rage.
    Nothing happened—for a moment. Then real terror struck.
    * * * *
    Lando watched as Christy shrank back fearfully from his outburst, huddling against the back wall. Her chin