Read Online The Dark Duet by Kasonndra Leigh - Free Book Online

in this world of bad blood and debts that’s something worthy of getting your ass kicked over.
    An oily grin crosses his lips and his beady eyes light up. “Yeah, well, I might have a fucked up nickname, but at least I know what I am. What are you, pretty boy? Male, female, or both?”
    Hell, here we go. That point I reach with all men at some point, the ones who want to test the pretty boy dancer who has a face that would make some females jealous if they weren’t caught up in my spell. I’ve narrowed my eyes and can feel the beast inside of me, the animal I found long ago, the one that would protect me against any number of crazed patrons I was sent to entertain on a regular basis.
    “Why, he’s so pretty, Gash, I don’t know whether I should fight him or fuck him.”
    I’m across the room before any of us can blink, my mind focused on my prey. Wrenching Sparky’s right arm around and behind his back, I tremble from the effort it takes to restrain myself.
    “What the fuck?” Sparky gasps, his head bowed toward the floor. “You’re gonna break my fuckin’ arm, man.” I deepen the angle of his arm and he cries out even louder.
    “Tell me, wet boy,” I begin, hissing in his ear, “does it feel as though you are in the grasp of a man or a woman? Answer carefully.”
    “Fuck you, asshole freak!” he hisses.
    “Wrong answer.” I deepen the twist until I hear the muscles crack.
    Up until that point, Gash had been laughing, but I’m almost certain he can tell I’ve entered the zone, that place where all killers retreat into just before they make a claim on their prey.
    “Easy, Belikov,” Gash’s voice says without reaching the part of me that has retreated into the recesses of my mind. “We need Sparky’s arms for our run in a couple of weeks.”
    “One arm should suffice,” I say without looking at Gash. Sparky cries out. “Now. Answer. The. Question.”
    “A man. You’re a man! Fuck!”
    “Belikov!” Gash hisses.
    I release Sparky and run my hands through my hair, grasping fistfuls of it as I close my eyes and focus on the calm I always experience inside the darkness of my soul. No one touches me in this place. I am a memory of myself, a deadly nemesis. I am a phantom.
    A wheezing gasp of a laugh cuts through the silence that follows. Opening my eyes, I turn and find Gash practically bowled over in laughter.
    “Not a damn thing is funny,” Sparky snaps, rubbing his arm and glancing at me. “Crazy bastard.”
    “In this line of work, crazy is a good thing, my friend,” Gash says, placing an arm across my shoulder. I take one look at it, remembering the way he used that arm to punish Gemma for assisting me while we were back in Switzerland, and meet his gaze, pouring every bit of hate I can muster into the look I give him. Right away, he clears his throat, moves the arm, and walks back over to stand beside his partner. “Yes, crazy is good. But there’s nothing like the power of loyalty. Which brings me to why we’re here tonight.”
    “I cannot wait to hear this.”
    “You’re slipping, Belikov. The boss is wondering if maybe you’ve lost sight of the goal. To prep his new assassin, and keep your hands off his goods except for training purposes.”
    “I should think Ms. Ballentine hardly considers herself to be a commodity item,” I respond, holding his gaze, even though he’s now closing the distance between us. “At any rate, I do not feel the need to explain myself. My time belongs to me, not Burkenstein.”
    “I think maybe you’re confused about some things. Last I checked, my boss owned that shiny new building you’re renting. Plus, he’s paying for all of that sexy pussy you love so much. What’s the name of those two redheaded numbers, Sparky?”
    “The Tomzcak sisters,” Sparky answers, grinning wide and cradling his arm. “I hear those two know how to give an unforgettable wax job. Do I still get a taste when this is all over, boss?”
    “Shut up, you stupid