So this is not the story that had the most votes, it was tied with Tangled in the Great Escape, but this one had gotten the most votes first. :)

Enjoy!


In the shadows, he felt secure. Safe. Powerful. He could watch anyone. Follow anyone. Kill anyone.

But only in the shadows.

And that's where he was. He leaned back in the wooden chair, his face covered by a shadow, but his eyes were a haunting blue in the pale full moon that shone through the small window.

The man that had him brought to this small, secluded room sat across from him. Two tall, strong men stood on either side of him. He reached into his striped blue and white blazer, pulling out a wad of crisp bills.

"One million," he said in a low voice.

He reached for the money, but the Italian pulled it back quickly.

"After she is dead."

Arching an eyebrow, the assassin smirked. "She?"

"She put me in jail. She made me look like a fool and an amateur. She must be taken care of before it happens again. I have very important plans and she must not interfere."

"Why can't you do it?"

"I don't want to get my hands dirty. Will you do it?"

"Of course." He replied without a second thought. "What's her name?"


"Mara Jaffray," Nina Martin hissed warningly on the other line. "I swear if you even think about trying to scare me to death, I will ban you from being my best friend."

Mara laughed lightly, standing on the sidewalk, trying to wave down a taxi. "Nina, when do I ever try to scare you? I don't do it on purpose."

"Yeah, you only get in major trouble because it happens to everyone."

"I'm a journalist. It's a dangerous job sometimes—I've explained this before. And Fabian has as well, I'm sure."

"Maybe once or twice," Nina sighed. "Mara just go straight home, please? Don't get sidetracked."

"I never get sidetracked."

"Unless you've got a story to cover, so don't run into a story. Promise?"

Mara smiled. "Promise. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Alright, if I don't hear from you by eight, I'm calling the cops!"

"Stop worrying," Mara said in amusement, hanging up. She huffed when the fourth taxi she tried to catch skidded right by her. She turned around, about to continue down the street, when she ran into someone. She was steadied by two hands on her shoulders, and she looked up. Her eyes met his and her heart jumped into her throat. "I-I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Jerome Clarke smiled suavely, hands remaining on her shoulders, "Not every day I run into a beautiful woman."

Mara felt a blush climb up her cheeks and let out a breathy laugh in embarrassment.

"In fact, it's entirely my fault." He continued, his hands slipping from her shoulders slowly. He ran a hand through his perfect blonde hair and Mara's knees began to weaken. "I was taking a walk and I saw you across the street. You're breathtaking. I couldn't take my eyes off of you. I hope I'm not out of line."

"Oh, oh, no—you-you're fine." She smiled, tucking a strand of her black hair behind her ear.

His smile morphed into a grin that made Mara's heartbeat increase rapidly. "It wouldn't be too much if I asked you out for a drink, would it?"

She shook her head immediately, not trusting herself to form a coherent sentence at this point. She took his arm when he offered it to her and he led her to the bar a few blocks away.


Mara breathed out slowly as Jerome laid her gently on his bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed down her neck gently. His fingers slipped under the fabric of her white tank top and pushed it up her stomach while he pulled away from her neck. He continued to explore her body with one hand as he used the other to support himself, leaning down to press his lips to hers again.

Jerome clenched his eyes shut tightly; chanting to himself not to get lost in such a kiss as she shyly ran her fingers over his face, leaving his skin burning in her wake. He pushed more into the kiss, but only to distract her, and with a flick of his wrist, he held a sharpened dagger. His grip tightened on the handle when Mara suddenly let out such a delicious sound that he almost forgot why he was straddling her hips in his bed. He twirled the knife in his hand, forcing himself to just do it.

"Wait," she breathed, and his hand froze, the tip of the dagger only inches from her side. She looked up at him and her sparkling brown eyes met his blue ones. "At least tell me who wants me dead and why?"

Jerome blinked. She knew? How?

"Please, just tell me who and why?"

And he was still confused. No one had ever asked that question. Why did she want to know? She was a journalist, so she wanted the story and she was naturally curious, but…why would she want to know if she was about to die? She knew she wasn't going to leave this apartment alive, so why would she want to know such an unimportant detail to this whole thing?

He chuckled suddenly, a malicious smirk curling his thin lips, and chill ran down Mara's spine—and she couldn't decipher whether it was a good chill or a bad chill. "Didn't your parents ever tell you not to talk to strange—?"

His sentence was cut off suddenly when he was hit over the head by the brass figurine Mara held in her hand. His head fell onto her chest and she pushed him off her. He collapsed onto the mattress and she sat up, breathing in and out slowly to calm her heart rate down. She was almost killed. And he really knew how to keep her distracted…

She set the figurine back down on the nightstand and picked up her sweater off the floor. As she was leaving the room, the dagger he held glinted in the moonlight. She picked up the apartment phone and dialed 911.


"Morning, Mara," Fabian smiled as she walked by him to get to her office, and he followed her. "You know Nina's going crazy."

"Oh my, gosh, I forgot to call her." Mara realized, sitting at her desk. "I knew there was something."

"Don't worry about it. I'll handle it." he assured her. "So did you hear about that anonymous call to the authorities last night?"

Mara looked up from her laptop and shook her head silently.

"Someone told the police where to find a murderer or assassin. But when they got there, no one was there, the apartment was empty, and according to one of the employees, that apartment hadn't been lived in for a few months."

Mara thought a moment. "Wow."

"Yeah, so either it was a prank call, or this assassin is good," Fabian said with a shake of his head.

Mara didn't reply, mentally slapping herself for not considering that he was a professional—and that she had never learn his name, she realized suddenly—and a moment later, Fabian had to take a call in his office and left her alone with her thoughts.


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"You'll never know what it feels like til you're there. When love changes, faces appear from nowhere. Where beautiful is ugly or alone. You need me back bad, just can't be on your own." -Cry, The Used

-Rachel