Page 3 of Vicious King

I stare at Jade, my coworker, unable to form words.

“Are you going to pass out?” Jade asks.

“Maybe.” It’s a whisper. “Holy fucking shit. We’ve been married for all of five minutes.”

“Or, you know, a month.” She smiles at me. “Honey, you know how babies are made. You’re a nurse.”

“I know.” I swallow hard. A baby. “I know, it’s just . . . I’m only twenty-five, and even though he’s ten years older than me, we have plenty of time, and we weren’t planning for this.”

“But you weren’t not planning for it,” she reminds me with a snort. “The rhythm method doesn’t work, Rina.”

I nibble my bottom lip and then feel my heart start to grow.

I’m going to have a baby.

Carson’s baby. It might be soon, but he’s going to be such a good dad. He wants kids. Lots of kids, so I know he won’t be mad about it.

My eyes fill with tears, and Jade is by my side in a flash, hugging me to her.

“If this isn’t a good thing, you have options, you know.”

“No, it’s good. It’s just a surprise. Oh my God, we’re having a baby.”

I pull back and stare at my friend again, and then I do a little happy dance.

“I’m so glad I waited to test until the end of our shift because there’s no way I could have waited all night to tell him.”

Jade laughs and pats me on the shoulder. “You go on home and celebrate with your husband. I’m happy for both of you. Congratulations.”

I feel like I’m walking around in a happy little fog as I go to the locker room and grab my purse, set my work ID inside, lock it up, and clock out.

I’ve been working nights for the past two weeks. It messes with my internal clock, but Carson works all hours of the day, so it doesn’t really matter. He comes in and sleeps with me during the day. I love being a nurse at this hospital, and being in the ER is never dull. But I’m ready to go home and tell my husband the good news.

He’s going to lose his shit in the best way.

I’ve just stepped out into the early morning light and am walking toward my car, when suddenly a huge black SUV pulls up next to me, the door opens, and before I even know what’s happening, I’m snatched right off my feet and thrown into the back seat.

“What the fuck?”

“Be a good girl and shut up, Rina.” I blink up into cold, evil brown eyes. “We have to go kill your husband.”

One

CARSON

Present Day

My plane touches down in Vegas, and I feel the restlessness creep its way through my shoulders, down my spine, and into my gut.

The only reason I still live here at all is because of my family. My brothers and their wives, our men, our city. I have a life here that needs me. But I also have to get away as often as I can, so I take jobs around the world and travel to get those jobs done.

And by job I mean I kill people. I’m a contract killer. An assassin.

I’m a bad fucking man.

But let’s be honest. They had it coming. The men I assassinate are the scum of the earth. Child and women traffickers, corrupt people who kill innocents, who destroy families and try to take down entire governments. Not one soul that I’ve destroyed was innocent.

Well, just one.