Chapter 16 Georgie
GEORGIE
The next morning, I felt well enough for a shower.
I’d slept like a rock for fourteen hours. After I’d met Nash’s attractive but scary friends, Landon had checked me over.
I’d fallen asleep while eating dinner. Nash had ordered me to bed and tucked me in again.
I shivered. I’d slept my first dreamless sleep that I’d had in weeks, maybe months. The painkillers probably helped.
Stepping into his bathroom, I glanced around. He’d brought all my things from the motel, so now I had makeup and clean clothes. My nose wrinkled. Although a part of me was sad to give up his soft T-shirt.
The bathroom was nice. It was done in a matching, masculine vibe to the bedroom. There was a mix of dark-gray tiles and lighter concrete. The large, glassed-in shower had a huge rain-shower head.
Then I turned and saw myself in the circular mirror above the sink.
Oh God. My stomach dropped. I didn’t look so nice.
I looked like an extra from a horror movie. One side of my face was covered in multiple bruises that were currently a shade I’d call putrid grape. I lifted the shirt and saw the blotchy bruising covering my torso.
Wow. I looked…terrible. There was no way I could hide the bruises. I sucked in a breath. This was only temporary. I’d heal.
And Snyder and Bruno would pay.
I turned the shower on. Nash and his friends said they’d help me take down Snyder and his posse. I pressed my hands to my chest, a flush of hope filling me.
Nash hadn’t confirmed that they were assassins, but I knew it in my gut. They’d been trained to take down bad guys. As much as this felt like my problem to deal with, there was no way I’d turn away from that help.
The renewed hope spread. I had a purpose.
“I’m doing this for you, Viv,” I murmured.
I wouldn’t let her death be in vain.
I stepped under the water, which stung when it hit my bruises.
I winced and adjusted the spray. I was moving slower than I would’ve liked, but I reminded myself that it could have been much worse.
It took me forever to wash my hair, but being clean felt good.
The shampoo smelled citrusy like Nate. A tingling sensation filled my belly.
After shutting off the water, I stepped out. As I grabbed a towel, a wave of dizziness hit.
“Shit.” I staggered, the towel in one hand, while I grabbed at the vanity with the other. I knocked over a can of deodorant, and it clattered to the floor.
“Georgie!” The door flew open and Nash barreled inside.
We both froze.
His eyes dropped to my breasts. I didn’t cover my naked body.
His gaze burned into me and traveled down my body. There were more bruises, and I knew I’d lost weight over the last few months. Self-consciousness crept up like a giddy enemy.
But he didn’t seem to care. Heat flared in his eyes.
“I’m okay.” I shakily wrapped the towel around me.
He looked at me for another beat. “You sure?”
I nodded.
“Get dressed. After breakfast, we’re starting.”
“Starting what?”
“Your training.”
“My training?” God, I sounded like a parrot.
His lips twitched. “Yes. We’re starting with some time at the shooting range. Next time you shoot at Snyder, you’ll hit him.”
Nash turned and strode out.
My chest swelled. He was really going to help me.
He was going to help me kill Snyder.
I wasn’t alone anymore.
The hot sting of tears threatened, but as always, they didn’t fall. Which was fine with me. I had no time for tears. I had to focus on my mission.
I dried off my hair and pulled it back in a damp ponytail. I did my best to cover my bruising. It was a losing battle, but as I stared at the dark marks, they served as a reminder that what I was doing was right.
From my suitcase, I dug out my favorite sage-green leggings, a black T-shirt, and a light zip-up jacket. I wriggled into the leggings. They were the most formfitting things I’d worn in ages.
For a second, I felt like myself again.
My gaze snagged on the bedside table and I sucked in a breath. There was a pretty orchid—this one potted—sitting there. The flowers were a bright, happy yellow.
My throat tightened. Flowers, food, someone looking out for me. Don’t get used to this, Georgie.
“Bagel, cream cheese, and smoked salmon,” Nash said, as I entered the living area. He pointed to the island. “Sit. Eat.”
“You’re bossier than I remember.” I zipped up my jacket.
“If you want to do this, you need to be in top form.”
I sat on the stool. “I want to do it.” I met his gaze. “Does that make me a bad person?”
“What do you think?”
“I think Snyder is going to keep hurting people, unless someone does something.” I studied Nash’s rugged face.
“I think it depends why someone kills. If you kill in self-defense, no one considers that a crime. If you kill because you like it and enjoy hurting people, then it’s wrong.
If you kill someone who’s evil and hurts other people… I think that’s forgivable.”
His blue gaze held mine for a moment, then he nodded. “Coffee?”
I groaned. “Yes, please.”
“Still take it with creamer and one sugar?”
I blinked, shocked that he’d remembered. “Yes.”
We ate and I gratefully sipped my coffee. I realized that I was starving and devoured my bagel. “So where is this shooting range?”
“Here.”
My eyebrows winged up. “At the casino?”
“Yes, although it’s not open to the public. It’s for the security team to use.”
That was so cool. I watched him over the rim of my mug. “So you, Landon, and the others all served in the military together?”
He was quiet for a beat. “No.”
I frowned. “Landon seems like he was military.”
“He was. Army. The others weren’t.” His gaze locked on me. A long, probing look. “I was recruited into…a special program.”
I felt goosebumps cover my arms. “What kind of program?” I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything about Nash.
He lifted his coffee and took a long sip. “When I said we’d all killed, it wasn’t just on the battlefield.”
I suddenly felt cold. “I know.”
“We were sanctioned to kill the enemies of our country.”
“So I was right. You were an assassin.”
“I know what it means to take a life, Georgie. Deliberately. With thought.”
I swallowed and set the mug down. I understood now what Elliot had meant. “Do you regret it?”
“No. The people I killed… We’re better off with them gone.”
I lifted my chin. “Good. That’s how I feel about Snyder, Bruno, and the others. The cops will never be able to stop them. And Snyder will continue to hurt and kill people. You’re what I need, Nash.”
There was a flash in his eyes.
“The others…your friends, they’re assassins as well?”
“We’re all retired. We weren’t all in the same program.” He paused. “We weren’t always sanctioned.”
“Okay, well, you and your friends have the skills that I need. I’m not here to judge.” I pushed my empty plate away. “Now, how about we go to the shooting range?”