by SE Chardou
The Assassin
A Rough Riders MC Companion Novel
Selene Chardou
The Assassin
A Rough Riders MC Companion Novel
Copyright © 2015 Selene Chardou
All rights reserved.
Cover Artist: Stephanie Nelson (Once Upon A Time Covers)
Publisher: Midnight Engel Press, LLC
ISBN: 978-1-3102-9828-8
License Notes:
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Publisher’s Note:
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without express written permission from the publisher. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, resold (as a “used” e-book), stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental. All products mentioned are not an endorsement from the Corporations owned said product and are meant only to enhance novel realization. They are not an endorsement from the author either.
The Aces MC is the intellectual property of Nicole Jacquelyn; The Hell’s Horsemen MC is the intellectual property of Madeline Sheehan; The Bound For Hell MC is the intellectual property of Needa Warrant. All these clubs have been used with the authors’ permission, and are not to meant to slander or shed any negative light on the authors’ intellectual rights or property.
Blurb
Mira Clarkson has been hired for a specific job.
Kill Fernando Navarro.
The net payoff is over half a million dollars.
What she didn't count on was Pyro, her mentor.
His charm or the effect he would have on her.
In the dangerous world of assassins and hired killers, the biggest sins of all are to underestimate your mark... and fall in love.
This is a companion novel to The Rough Riders MC Series and The Dance With The Devil Trilogy. This should not be read as a stand-alone without prior knowledge to at least one of the series mentioned.
Published Novels by Selene Chardou
The Rough Riders MC Series (Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance)
Ride to Temptation (Cillian & Gisela)
Ride to Chaos (Trey & Kyra)
Ride to Vengeance (Ronan & Naomi)
Companion Rough Riders MC Novels
The Assassin (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense)
The Covet Duet (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Women’s Literature)
Covet
The Lovers Duet (New Adult/Romantic Mystery & Suspense/Contemporary Romance)
Out From Under
In Too Deep
DC Affairs (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Politics)
Book 1
Love Unexpected Series (Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance)
Love TKO (Torin Duffy’s story)
Scarlet Fever Series (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Women’s Literature)
Rock My Heart
The Will to Love
One More Night Trilogy (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Women’s Literature)
Falling Into Lust
Falling Into Us
Falling Into Love
Published Novels by SE Chardou
Dance With The Devil Trilogy (Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance)
Devil’s Prey
Devil’s Pawn
Published Novels by Blanche Hardin
Break Her Trilogy (Dark Romance/Psychological Suspense)
Resist
Novels & Novellas by Elle Chardou
The Ties That Bind Trilogy (Contemporary Romance / Romantic Suspense with erotic and BDSM elements)
Killing Time
Killing Inhibitions (Re-issue Spring of 2015)
Killing Me Softly (Re-issue Summer of 2015)
Seasons of Love & Lust Series (Contemporary Romance / Contemporary Women/ New Adult)
A Summer to Remember
Undertow Series (Contemporary Romance / Contemporary Women / New Adult)
Undertow
The Atonement Series (Contemporary Romance / Contemporary Women)
Atonement, A Novel
Only Love
The Vamp Saga (Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy)
Immortal Lair: A Novella (A Prequel to Mortal Death)
The Hart Family Saga (Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy)
Hart Attack
Superstar Marriages Novella Series (Contemporary Romance)
Lara & the City of Angels
The Supernaturals Novella Series (Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy)
Darkness Rising
The Dawn of Darkness
Darkness Awakened
The Cloak of Darkness
The Theft of Darkness
The Plague (Dystopian Romance / Horror)
Beginnings: Book I
Table of Contents
Cover
Blurb
Novels By the Author
Dedication
The Assassin Playlist
Prologue – Mira
Part One – Preparation
Chapter One – Mira
Chapter Two – Mira
Chapter Three – Pyro
Chapter Four – Mira
Chapter Five – Mira
Chapter Six – Pyro
Chapter Seven – Mira
Chapter Eight – Mira
Chapter Nine – Pyro
Chapter Ten – Mira
Chapter Eleven – Mira
Chapter Twelve – Pyro
Part Two – Execution
Chapter Thirteen – Mira
Chapter Fourteen – Mira
Chapter Fifteen – Pyro
Chapter Sixteen – Mira
Epilogue – Mira
About The Author
Stalk The Author
Future Books By The Author
Dedication
This novel is dedicated to my daughters, my favorite readers and supporters, Lisa Watmough and JJ; my author friends who helped me with my author event including Jamie Begley, Mary Elizabeth, Jessica Prince, Bink Cummings, JC Emery, Erin Noelle, and Nicole Jacquelyn. I would also like to include my author gal pals in WDDR, and my best friends/family: Dusty Rose, Needa Warrant, and Sonja H. Be strong ladies—you already know women can do anything!
The Assassin Playlist
“Suffer It All” – Seether
“Cupid Carries A Gun” – Marilyn Manson
“Jealous (Remix)” – Nick Jonas feat. Tinashe
“All Hands On Deck (Remix)” – Tinashe feat. Iggy Azalea
“Private Show” – T.I. feat. Chris Brown
“2 On” – Tinashe feat. Schoolboy
“Drive” – Sixx:A.M.
“Numb”
– Nick Jonas feat. Angel Haze
“Smoke And Mirrors” – Imagine Dragons
“Two Worlds” – Disturbed
“Fall Of The House Of The Death” – Marilyn Manson
“Erase This” – Evanescence
“The Fall” – Imagine Dragons
“Dark Paradise” – Lana Del Rey
“Wicked Game” – Stone Sour
“Outside” – Calvin Harris feat. Ellie Goulding
“Chains” – Nick Jonas
“Best Mistake” – Ariana Grande feat. Big Sean
“Bleed It Out” – Linkin Park
“Bones” – In This Moment
Listen to The Assassin Playlist on Spotify!
Prologue
Mira
I approached the attractive and charismatic couple with trepidation.
Everyone knew their handiwork and what they could do. Hell, they’d brought empires down to their knees, and neither was older than thirty-two.
I’d watched as another young woman left. She was beautiful in a dark, exotic way. I’d always wished to be one of those gorgeous, sought after women instead of the plain Jane that faced me every day when I looked in the mirror. Or have any sort of features that would proclaim to the world I wasn’t just a pretty, generic-looking white girl with light olive skin, and the most startling blue eyes in a face I tried to hide behind my long hair.
It was my father’s genes. Who knew but they turned out to be stronger than my mother’s—perhaps he was as “pure” as he liked to proclaim.
Along with my fair skin and ice-blue eyes, I’d inherited most of his height. My mother was petite but I stood at just short of five feet, ten inches. My body type was almost boyish and athletic except for the obscene amount of breasts I carried—a thirty-two D cup that looked ridiculous on my slender frame.
The only feature I’d inherited from my mother was her long dark hair. In fact, it almost looked black until I was in the sun and the chocolate striations could be seen in the light.
I wasn’t like my older sister, Loire.
Well, half-sister.
We had different fathers.
She was a talented tattoo artist and co-owned a shop that served rock stars and young Hollywood in general. Loire hadn’t even turned thirty yet but she was already a legend in the tattoo world for her intricate work, trademark design and flawless creations. She even volunteered her time to work on breast cancer survivors by tattooing areoles on their breasts after they received their implants post-op. She was practically a saint compared to me.
I, unsuccessfully, tried to be her assistant for a while but that failed miserably. I could see the looks of disdain. Somehow, I knew they knew whom I was related to and that scared me more than going back to the life I’d come from.
However, there was one young woman I shared a kinship with, even if she was several years’ my senior and grew up in Las Vegas instead of Black Oak. She knew what my father and his band of thugs were capable of; they’d held her captive for twelve years.
I knew I wasn’t even in her league but my half-brother, Jake, had taught me how to handle weapons.
Hell I was stripping and cleaning guns by the time I was eight.
I started cooking meth with my dad when I was eleven.
Nel always tried to pass me off as his brother’s kid because Stella would treat me better but everyone—except her—knew the truth. Nash had a case of the mumps during his teen years and was sterile. However, a drunk Nel wasn’t all that discriminating, despite his Neo-Nazi MC, and the race crap he sprouted. He fucked my mother on the down low for years, and unfortunately, I was the result of one of their hidden trysts.
I shouldn’t have survived. Not with the way my mother used crank like it was going out of style. However, I did, and was born a healthy baby. I had all my wits about me and there was nothing damaged about me what so ever—at least from a physical and health point of view.
Everyone knows the mind, however, is whole other animal, and it was there my demons hid along with scars that would never see the light of day but they remained with me all the same.
My father had always told me I could never be a part of the club, not officially, and I was okay with that. I never wanted anything to do with a motorcycle club to begin with, let alone end up someone’s old lady. There were plenty of takers until they found out I was a “mixed-breed,” and therefore not suitable for marriage.
It didn’t matter to me. I joined Jake on his runs, and later when he added Marian, we all would go. Everyone knew I was deadly with a gun. I was a freak of nature. I could find any weapon to use to protect myself—from a steak knife to a rolling pin. Maybe it was because all my life I had to fight just to prove I was human and worth something—anything—other than what the White Knights MC thought of me.
Hence the meeting today with Max and Mags Gillespie.
My sister’s tattoo shop was amazing but I’d lived my whole life on the edge. I couldn’t settle down, not even if I wanted to. It wasn’t in my blood. Plus I wasn’t exactly comfortable with all the questionable looks members from the Lucifer’s Saints threw my way. Somehow they knew I was the enemy but they had nothing to fear. I wasn’t giving information to my dad’s club. I’d left and just wanted to live my own life, away from them. The stupidest move I could make would be to hand them any ammunition about a rival club—they’d pull me right back in and I would never escape.
Mags held out a hand, which I shook firmly. “Mira Decker?”
“Actually, it’s Clarkson. I had it legally changed because too many people knew who I was up North and I’m not taking any chances now,” I replied as we shook hands firmly.
“I can’t imagine what it must have been like . . . growing up with those monsters.” Max looked away before he sipped from his beverage.
“It actually wasn’t as bad as you might think. Jake kept them all off of me and I love him to death. By the way, a certain little boy is growing up healthy and happy.” I slid the photos over to Mags and she looked through them, her eyes watering instantly.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“I can get them whenever I like. Remember, Jake’s my half-brother. All I do is inquire about my nephew and he sends me photos.”
Mags placed a hand over her mouth and nodded.
“Maybe you’re not the right fit for this job after all,” Max said in a cool voice that belayed little, if any emotion.
I immediately opened my mouth to object before I calmed myself down. Counting was therapeutic and usually brought the Decker temper I’d inherited in check.
I continued in a calm voice, “Why do you say that? I may not have the reputation you and your wife have but I’m good. I’m thorough and my kills are always clean.”
“It’s not that but you can provide my wife with valuable information about her son. If something happened to you then that would no longer be the case.”
My short nails dug into my palms. I could handle the pain; it was much easier than hearing the unfortunate news Max had decided to deliver to me.
“Listen, I can continue to get all the photos you want of your kid but that shouldn’t disqualify me from this particular job. I need it. I’m not artistically inclined like Loire, and I don’t have many other skills that can actually be used in the legitimate world. What exactly do you want from me?” I hated the whiny tinge of my voice but at this point, survival counted much more than pride. I needed this job desperately, and most importantly, I needed the money.
Sure, half a million dollars wasn’t enough for me to live on forever unless I chose a very frugal and undercover lifestyle but I knew if I proved myself to be good at what I did, this wouldn’t be the only job I would land. This would open my whole world to entire opportunities that Max and Mags were privy to. Perhaps they would sub-contract other contracts to me in the near future.
I would never be a career assassin like them but I could do it long enough to make a nice little nest egg and get the fuck out of
dodge. Money was freedom and led to infinite possibilities. I had to convince them I was perfect for this job.
Mags turned toward Max and although neither said a word, I could see the communication happening between them. That must have been nice. I’d never been in love and didn’t trust men easily. No way could I have a soul mate out there that would be as equally twisted and damaged as I was. Living alone and celibate was hard but risking your heart only for it to be smashed to pieces was even more impossibly painful, and a chance I wasn’t willing to take.
“Fine, Mira, the job is yours.”
I opened and closed my mouth like a gaping fish, not sure what to say. My heart leapt with a joyous pleasure.
Max raised his hand to stop me from saying anything. “However, you’re not leaving for Mexico or anything crazy like that. Fernando is here in Las Vegas but even though he’s in the city, you’ll need some proper training. Unfortunately, Mags and I can’t give it to you but we have spoken to Hardy Cox and the VP of the Vegas Saints chapter. They are willing to take you on as long as you adhere to club rules.”
My heart began to thunder in my chest like wild horses. “Hardy . . . he doesn’t trust me. I knew it the first time Loire gave him a tat and I was just there as her assistant. I don’t know how but he knows I’m a Decker.”
“Yeah, we talked all that shit out and you’ll be trainin’ with one of his best men,” Mags continued. “That doesn’t give you free reign at the club. Pyro will keep a close eye on you, and if you ever think about spilling any secrets about the Saints to the Knights then it’s your funeral. We won’t be able to save you.”
“What part of me not having any contact with my family don’t either one of you get?” I snapped as I stood and looked down at the both of them. “Jake and I have to talk in secret. We both have burner phones to communicate with each other. If my father knew where I was, he’d kill me himself. He never trusted me anyway, and if he could do to Keri . . . murder her just because she was dating a rival biker, then what the fuck do you think he would do to me? I’m just some half-breed illegitimate kid. The man is cold as ice. I’m scared of Nel—it’s one of the reasons why I left in the first place.”
