Read Online Chance Assassin: A Story of Love, Luck, and Murder by Nicole Castle - Free Book Online

him talking.  I was beginning to love his voice as much as his face.
    “The way you looked when you told me about your boyfriend.  You showed no sign of concern over what might happen to him if I went over there.  The opposite, in fact.  I could see the bloodlust in your eyes.  I figured you wouldn’t have any remorse for killing someone who nearly killed you.”
    “Why should I feel remorse?” I asked defensively. “He stabbed me first!”
    “Exactly my point.”
    “Last night, you said Charlie wasn’t allowed to kick me out.”
    “All this, him looking after you, taking care of you, that’s his punishment.  He knows I’m pissed at him.  He’s trying to make it up to me by doing what I say.”
    “What happens to me when you’re not mad at him anymore?” I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral.  If I hadn’t had such a huge crush on him, I might’ve been furious.
    As much as I liked seeing how sadistic Frank looked when he talked about forcing Charlie to do something he didn’t enjoy, I couldn’t help but feel that my life was a game to them.  But being a pawn did have an upside.  I was getting room and board during my recovery, even if it came with the occasional verbal abuse from The Warden.
    “Oh, I’ll be mad at him for years over this,” he said.  Then he looked at me and saw where I was coming from.  “No one is forcing you to stay here, Vincent.”
    “Other than my lack of anywhere else to go…”
    “Tell you what,” he said sympathetically, like he was eager to make it up to me, “you stay here, make Charlie’s life miserable for a little while longer, and I’ll see to it that you’re taken care of when this is all over.  Okay?”
    Through the years of foster care, living to service Mark and all the men who followed him, I’d been filled with constant worry over where I’d end up.  It was always there, a reminder that I would never again have the luxury of letting my guard down, that at any moment I could be right back where I started from.
    I’d heard the promise of security before, but coming from him I could actually believe it.  If Frank said he’d take care of me, I had nothing to worry about.  It was an overwhelming feeling, one that I wasn’t sure what to make of.  I trusted him.  “Really?” I asked.
    “Will you stay then?” he asked, that sadistic expression returning to his face. “Play sick for another week or so?”
    “What’s in a week?”
    “My job should be finished by then.”
    I suddenly felt sick.  Ihadn’t even considered the fact that his out of state license plates were going to stay that way.  He was passing through.  Getting out.  And I wasn’t.   “Do you guys move around a lot?”
    “Most of the time,” he said. “Usually we’re in and out in about three weeks.  This job is taking longer than Charlie anticipated.”
    I noticed that he didn’t say it was taking longer than he’d anticipated.  “Because of me?”  I asked, wondering whether Frank was drawing it out deliberately to further piss him off.
    “Partially.  Charlie shouldn’t have been seeking work for me while I was away.  He knows where I’d rather be, so he has to deal with the fact that I’m taking my time.”
    It broke my heart to think that the man he considered his friend would betray him in his hour of need.  Frank was obviously suffering, and Charlie didn’t seem the least bit compassionate.  It was no wonder he looked so wounded.  Charlie had wronged him.  And so had I, even if it was unintentional.  But I was determined to make it up to him, by any means he deemed necessary.  Preferably with bondage and sexual servitude.
    “How’s your friend?” I asked, hoping that showing interest wouldn’t dissuade him from punishing me for my crimes.
    “Better,” he said with a genuine smile.  I could see the relief on his face.  He even looked like he’d gotten a little sleep.  “I talked to her last night.  She is going Paris for