CHAPTER SIX

B en screwed the suppressor on the end of his rifle. The AT308 was incredibly quiet, so if he got Xander Tomassi, aka Bob Johnstone , in his sights, then pop goes the damn weasel, with no one noticing a damn thing.

Except, those weren’t his orders.

Still, he loved the AT308. It was a discreet and beautiful piece of weaponry which he could slip under his leather jacket, behind his backpack, so he looked like any old tourist wandering through Rome at night.

Now he sat in the window of Jess and Rico’s condominium—the two humans had decided to go out for dinner after he’d used the ol’ vampire mind control—as he waited.

It had been three days since he’d been able to do any surveillance after starting his new job. Ben wasn’t living at the castle, and he’d been spending most of his spare time reading through intel The Institute sent him and watching the humans’ movements.

Well, that was a lie.

He’d spent most of his time thinking about a curvy blonde and stroking his cock, but semantics.

Ben had let Anna walk out of the stationery room with a million questions still hanging in the air. The pressure of her security guard knocking on the door was one thing, but it had been the anxiety lining her face that had stopped him. She was uncomfortable with his questioning and seemed unable to answer.

He wanted to know why.

A light switched on, and Ben’s trained eyes darted around, taking note of key targets.

Like before, the big pharma executive had security everywhere. Not that the average person or vampire could spot them. But Ben wasn’t average.

Ari was the oldest living being on the planet and had been training soldiers since 523 AD. A fucking long time. So, it went without saying; those he trained were the best.

And Ben was the best of the best.

Which is why he’d spotted the guy sitting on the terrace two houses down, drinking his wine with a 9mm on his knee. And in the distance, a guy lying on the roof with a setup like his. Two cars downstairs, on opposite sides of the road, each had two men ready to move, engines running. No care for the environment, obviously. Douchebags. There were also four men surrounding the property; two in uniform while the other two were undercover doing the leaning thing, smoking cigarettes as if they were just civilians.

The entire setup was strange. It was as if they were ready for an attack every day and night of the week.

Had Tomassi been tipped off? Had his identity been discovered?

Ari’s team was at the top of their game. He’d be surprised if someone had traced their searches. Maybe the guy was just paranoid, given the things he was involved with. And he should be.

Ben sat back, lifted his baseball cap up, and repositioned it.

It was time to get Oliver over here. With all that security, Ben couldn’t get in and out without making a mess he was unlikely to be able to manage on his own. It would require speed to clean up, and the risk of leaving a digital or physical trace was too high.

Because he worked for The Institute, that wasn’t an option.

Ever.

It was time to make the call.

Ben packed up and headed back to his apartment, where he put away his weapon in the hidden vault. Before he shut the heavy door, Ben took stock of the other tools of the trade he had in there; a Remington CSR rifle—which completely broke down for the more clandestine occasions—a handful of 9mm guns, which might not seem like a super fancy assassin weapon of choice, but they were cheap and untraceable if you had to drop them and flee. There was also a range of suppressors and a shit ton of magazines.

Whatever he used, someone would restock when he left. Who? He had no idea. That wasn’t his department.

Before he made his scheduled call, he needed to clear his head.

He unzipped his black hoodie and threw it on the bed. Reaching behind him, he pulled off his black T-shirt and added it to the pile. Next, his black jeans, socks, and sneakers were off, and he turned on the shower. As it heated, he faced the mirror and ran his hand over his left pec.

He was used to training harder than the Moretti lieutenants were asking him to do; not that their regime was for pussies, but Ari was a ballbuster. Though he could no longer blame the ancient vampire: it had long ago become Ben’s adopted routine. And right now, there was nowhere available to him in Rome where he could train. Dammit. He really needed to let off steam.

He was supposed to have been home by now.

Ben stepped into the tiled shower and tipped his head back. The water flowed over his head and down his body. His hands reached up and scrubbed his face, then he palmed the wall and let out a groan.

Anna.

He’d been so close to slipping his fingers under her panties. Goddamn, she was sexy enough without being forbidden fruit. Yes, it made him want her even more, and it made him fucking hard, but there was something mysterious about her situation. They were all hiding something important. Every bone in his body told him there was more going on.

But nothing made sense.

Why did she have security inside the damn castle?

It wasn’t as if she was a threat to anyone. So, who were they protecting her from?

When he’d asked her if she was in danger, her eyes had looked haunted, and that didn’t sit well with him at all. He may be an assassin, a killer, but he had deep protective instincts, and seeing a beautiful female living in fear completely fucked him off.

He wanted to see her dancing, laughing, and preferably lying under him, screaming his name.

Ben had no intention of walking away.

He would have her one way or another before he left Rome, and he would seek out the people trying to hurt her—or those who already had—and make sure she was safe.

He knew he wouldn’t leave Italy knowing Anna was still in danger. Why she was so important to him didn’t really make sense, but he’d reflect on that afterward.

Sometimes, you just had to act.

That’s why he was a perfect fit for The Institute. Ari developed the strategy while Ben and the team of assassins did the jobs no one else could do.

Because no one else could do them. Not even marines.

As vampires, they were faster, stronger, more powerful in all senses, and harder to kill. Their only weakness was the sun.

So yeah, if there was some asshole trying to hurt Anna, Ben was going to stop them. Then he’d fuck her against the damn manila folders and watch as she threw her head back in ecstasy.

As he visualized the moment when he would sink deep inside her, Ben ran his hand up and down his cock. It didn’t take long for him to spill on the shower floor, letting out a long curse.

He had a feeling once wasn’t going to be enough, but he had no time to reflect on that right now. He had a call to make.

Ben set up his laptop on the kitchen counter, plugging in all the security shit, then called through to Seattle.

“Ben,” Ari answered on the third ring, the camera turning on and showing him the others in the room.

“ Ciao from Italy.” He grinned at his colleagues.

“Lucky fucker,” Jason said, giving him the bird. “I got sent to Ohio. Yippy fucking doo.”

Ben laughed.

“Get a job at a travel agency if you’re in it for the passport stamps,” Ari said, rolling his eyes. Ben heard the sniggers.

“Nah, I’m thinking of becoming a travel blogger,” Oliver piped up, smirking.

“Yeah, I don’t think Instagram photos of assassins standing by the Eiffel Tower with their latest body count are currently trending,” Jason replied, rolling his eyes.

Oliver tilted his head. “When you say body count, are you talking about the ladies or my hits?”

Ari shook his head. “Start talking, Ben, before I begin counting myself.”

Ben laughed again. “Okay. Status update. In summary, I can’t get to Xander on my own without a messy clean-up. Oliver, pack your camera. I need you in Rome.”

“Well, fuck,” Jason cursed in the background.

Ben smirked.

“I’m ready to go, my friend,” Oliver said.

Ben and Oli had known each other for a long time and had worked on many jobs together. The male was fast, powerful, and deadly accurate. He trusted him with his life. They also trained together and hung out socially.

Unfortunately, they both liked the same type of females, which meant they were competitive as fuck, and both had the pulling power to attract some gorgeous women.

Some, they even shared.

The thing about being an assassin for a secret organisation like The Institute was that you didn’t technically exist. So, there was no bringing a girl home or dating. You met, you fucked, and you left. If you could do it without even telling them some bullshit name, even better.

The two of them were cheeky sons of bitches, and females loved it.

But they were dangerous males.

Too dangerous.

Behind their grins and dimples lay the desire to exterminate a life. It’s what they had been trained for and what they loved doing. There were dark forces in this world, and Ben had long ago acknowledged his life belonged to The Institute, which worked diligently to stop them.

“Tell Carlos to prepare the jet,” Ari instructed someone in the room he couldn’t see. “You leave in a few hours.”

“Next check-in as scheduled,” Ben said. “Roger Rabbit signing off.”

“Who the fuck is Roger Rabbit?” He heard Jason ask as he laughed and disconnected the call.

Ben stared across the room, his smile fading.

He let out a sigh.

With Oliver arriving, it meant Ben needed to give up his gig with the Moretti’s. He didn’t want to do that. Firstly, because it would be harder for him to see Anna and find out what was going on. Secondly, because he wanted to get a grip on what the royals knew about the exposure of their race. So far, no one was saying much. If only he could bite his fucking tongue and stop reacting to Craig’s taunts, then perhaps he could get closer to that inner circle.

Kurt had recently invited him out for a drink with the guys. Initially, he’d declined, given he’d been busy staking out Xander. But now, he saw it as an opportunity to build some trust and potentially get some intel. Ben decided there and then that would be his next move.

Which meant Oliver would need to be told and convinced it was a good plan. Without including Ari. Something he hoped he wouldn’t regret.

THE NEXT DAY, BEN FINISHED his training session with his team of lieutenants and headed to the Great Hall for a bottle of plasma. As he pulled a bottle out of the fridge, he singled out a voice from the crowd.

He turned and watched Anna walk through the room.

Tight blue jeans hugged her curves, and Ben’s eyes went straight to her sexy ass. His hand had cupped one of those damn cheeks already, and he was dying to do it again.

Would she let him?

She walked to a table, and one of her security guards spoke to her quickly before wandering off. The other—the better looking of the two—stepped closer to her and smiled. Anna blushed and laughed at something he said.

Ben’s jaw clenched. The glass bottle he held, tightly , began to splinter.

Shit.

He grabbed some paper napkins, his eyes darting over to Anna. The male’s hand landed on her shoulder as she sat down, and before Ben knew what he was doing, his feet were leading him across the room.

Beautiful eyes lifted and saw him. Her lips parted.

Ben stopped at the side of the table and shot the security guy a deadly look. He foolishly returned Ben’s stare before eventually stepping back.

Fucker.

Ben’s more senior position and alpha vibes had made the male move away, which was disappointing, as he’d really wanted to use his fist.

Jesus, all his self-control literally vanished around this female.

“Ben,” Anna said, sounding a little out of breath.

He didn’t give a fuck about any rules; he just sat the fuck down opposite her. It felt as if he was staking a claim on this piece of real estate.

1 Anna Drive, My Town.

If he could pop up a sign that said Keep the Fuck Away from Her , he would have. Whatever the hell that was about. Another thing to reflect on another day. Not today.

“Mind if I join you?” he asked, already getting comfortable and giving her a look to let her know he wasn’t leaving.

“Sure. Oh, hey, you’re leaking,” Anna said, handing him some napkins to mop up the plasma running down the side of his bottle. She sat back and stared at him for a moment as he sopped up the mess. “Have you been working out?”

Ben watched her cheeks turn pink. His cock reacted even as he acknowledged the note of discomfort in her eyes. She clearly was weary of him questioning her again, so he was going to play it cool and win her trust.

For now.

“Yup. Do you go to the gym?” Ben asked, taking a long swig of the plasma.

He wanted to say it looked like she did, but that was such a dumb-guy thing to say, and they were vampires, so it wasn’t like she could let herself go. Their metabolisms just didn’t work the same way as a human’s. Strength, on the other hand, was something both species had to work at.

“No, but I used to dance a lot,” Anna replied, her eyes glistening at the memory.

“Dance, huh?” He grinned. “I’d like to see your moves.”

And he totally wasn’t meaning on the dance floor, though he imagined her swaying to some throbbing music, letting go completely, and looking like a fucking goddess was something he would like to see.

Yeah, he needed to see that.

“You are such a flirt, Ben Ferrero.” Anna laughed. “I bet you have a few of your own moves.”

“I think you’ve already seen a few.” He winked.

The other security male dropped a salad and glass of plasma in front of her as she blushed. She looked up and politely thanked him, then the male stepped back and joined toy soldier number one.

Ben lifted his bottle to his lips and watched Anna eat while simultaneously keeping them in his sight. They were keeping their distance, but he had a feeling they would alert someone of his presence.

“I want to take you dancing,” Ben suddenly said without thinking. It had just fallen out. Anna began to choke on her salad. Not the usual response he got when asking a female out. “Was that too forward?”

Anna shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I’d love to. I just can’t leave right now.”

What the fuck?

Ben knew Anna wasn’t making excuses to get out of spending time with him. Her desire for him was clear as day.

“The castle?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. “Can’t, or won’t?”

“It’s complicated,” she replied, continuing to eat her salad even as she looked uncomfortable. Again. “But I’d really love to, so maybe a rain check?”

“Sure.” Ben nodded, resting back in his chair to give her the impression he was totally cool with it. But he wasn’t. Not in the fucking slightest. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was a damn prisoner in this place. So many things weren’t adding up.

Ben was an expert at reading people. He saw beneath the surface to things they were hiding. Little nuances gave away a person more than they realized. The average person could pick up on those things with a sixth sense from time to time.

Ben had been trained to do it, and he was a pro.

What he saw within Anna was a complicated mix of a bubbly young vampire who was curious and excited about life, and someone who had been traumatized. He suspected she’d had a fairly average life but had gotten caught up in something dangerous; and now, the royal family was protecting her. That still didn’t explain why she needed security inside the damn castle.

“Ben,” Anna said suddenly. “Would you do me a favor?”

“Does it involve kissing you again?” he asked in a quiet voice, leaning forward. “Because I am more than happy to help out there.”

He gave her a wink, and she shook her head, laughing.

“Yes, Ben. I was going to ask you whether you could please do me a favor and have sex with me. Hot, raw, wild sex.”

Christ, was she trying to kill him?

He coughed. “Yeah, babe. Did I give you the impression you needed to ask?” He was doing a pretty poor job if he had. “I think we both know my cards are on the table in regard to that.”

And he wasn’t going to be asking; he was going to be taking. Very soon.

“No, I’m pretty clear on that.” She laughed.

Ben’s eyes lowered to the top of her white silk shirt, which was buttoned up to the middle of her cleavage. It hugged her breasts nicely and tucked into her blue jeans. He could rip the silky material and have those jeans off her in about three seconds, spreading her on the table.

His pants tightened.

“So, sexual favors aside, what can I do for you?”

“Would you train me?” Anna asked, looking all kinds of uneasy. “In the gym.”

Whoa. His eyebrows shot to the top of his head.

“To fight?”

She nodded and pushed her half-finished salad away. “Yes. I want to know how to defend myself. Properly. And to get stronger.”

Jesus.

Ben stared into her beautiful, scared eyes full of vulnerability. They both knew she had told him more than she should have with that one question. It was clear to him now; someone had hurt Anna, and he was going to fucking kill them, whether they were vampire or human. He’d use one of his favorite bullets and shoot them in the fucking heart.

If there were more than one, even better.

Ben was more determined than ever to find out what had happened to her and hold the culprits responsible. Well, at least for the thirty seconds before he ended their life.

“You betcha.” He nodded. “When do you want to start?”

“Tomorrow.”

Ben stood and held out a hand, assisting her out of her seat. Then he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “It’s a date, beautiful. I’ll text you the time, and when the changing rooms are empty, I’m fucking you against the shower wall.”

Her little gasp made his cock twitch.

Ben winked at her and left.

As he rounded the corner, he saw Kurt heading in his direction. So, the fucking toy soldiers had alerted them. The thing was, Ben may have been playing it fun and easy with Anna, but inside, he was pissed.

His patience was thin. If Kurt confronted him right now with any of the stay away from Anna bullshit, caging him, it was going to be a big fucking issue. As the vampire neared, he let his feeling show and saw Kurt’s sharp senses notice.

“Everything alright?” the senior vampire asked.

“Yeah, man. Just need to burn off some steam,” he replied, his eyes blazing. “We good?” Which was man code for get the fuck out of my way .

Kurt stared a moment longer before he nodded, leaving Ben to continue on his way.

He had to get out of the castle before he uncharacteristically lost control. Oliver was arriving in a few hours, so he’d be able to spar with his fellow assassin and let off some real steam.

Then he had to convince Oli to go against his own pledge of loyalty to the ancient vampire.

Things were getting way out of hand, but Ben found he was unable to stop following the path he was on.