Chapter 6
Jessalyn groaned. Her head pounded. What the hell happened? Her injury wasn’t so bad, that she would pass out from the pain. Hell, she had been shot before, and worse. Trying to pry her eyes open, they felt like they were filled with lead. Her mouth was dry, and she couldn’t move. Realizing that it wasn’t just sleep induced paralysis, she tried to move her arms. Finally opening her eyes, her heart stopped. Right before her eyes, was her husband. Leaned back on the bed, staring at her. Her lips tightened into a grim line as realization hit her that she was tied to a chair. Tears welled in her eyes. Her worst fears were come true. Her life, the happiness she had found, was gone. The anger was plain to see on his face. She had never seen that vein in his neck before. Cheeks reddened, he just glared at her, with a hatred that stabbed at her heart like death.
“Please, let me explain,” she said quietly.
“Oh, explain? Yes, please do. Starting with who you are. Was anything real? Do you make it a habit of getting men to fall in love with you, give you a good life and then destroy them?” He jumped up from the bed and paced back and forth in front of her.
“It was all real. Except my job.” She watched him, wishing she could comfort him.
“Please, untie me, I’ll tell you everything.” He stopped, spinning quickly to face her.
“Untie you? I wouldn’t dare, dear wife. Things are just getting exciting,” he stood next to her, running a finger down her cheek. The caress used to send tingles through her body. Now, it only served to spike her fear.
“It wasn’t all fake. I do love you. I fell in love with you. I enjoy our life together.”
“Really? So, what do you know? Why are you here?” Maybe being honest would help her. She glanced down at her lap, unable to move, to escape, to go anywhere. Though a trained agent would never tell all their secrets, but she wanted to save their marriage. Then again, if it didn’t help, then what leverage did she have to save her life? He would probably get The Lion in here to kill her. Or do so himself. Making a decision, she looked back up at him.
“I’m an agent. My last assignment was to get close to you, because you were the only one who knew the identity of The Lion, and what he looks like.” Simon cocked his head, looking down at her. Something crossed his face quickly, but she couldn’t quite place the emotion. “But I truly fell in love. I do love you. Just seeing your anger and pain right now, kills me.”
“So, you used me, to get close to The Lion?” She nodded.
“Although, after tonight, I started to think you were him.” He smirked, finally dropping back to the mattress.
“Look at that, you actually have a brain in there.”
“Why are you being cruel? This isn’t you, isn’t the man I fell in love with.”
“And you’re not the woman I loved.”
“Touché. So, you are him? The Lion?”
“I have something I need to take care of. Then I’ll be out of your life. You can do whatever it is you Agents do now a days. I don’t really care. I just need you out of the way for now.” He walked behind her, sliding a butter knife that looks like it came from a diner, into her hands. She knew, just as he obviously did, that she’d be able to get out of her bindings with it, it would just take quite a while to do so.
“Let me go with you. I can help, I’m trained in field work.”
“Not well enough. I saw you on the bridge. I shot you. Hell, my contact somehow got into your room and drugged you.”
“I am a little out of practice, you know, with having spent the last year being your wife, and what not. Busy looking up recipes instead of working on my skills.” Her tone belied her anger.
“This,” he held up the small black case from her duffle. “What is this?”
“Black mamba venom. It’s a ring, you wear on the inside of your hand, the pointy end feels like a little prick when you slap someone’s back or shake hands. The venom works quickly, before they even know what happened. Just don’t prick yourself,” she giggled nervously. She moved the knife back and forth against her bindings as she spoke.
“Perfect, I’m taking this.” He shoved the pouch into his pants pocket and leaned down. Kissing her forehead, he backed away.
“You’re not going to kill me?” she asked, her voice shaking.
“No, if you had done any research on me at all, before taking the assignment, you would have seen, that I don’t hurt innocents. Though you’re not truly innocent, you’re not the type of evil I go after.” He backed away from her. “Goodbye, dear wife. By the time you get home, I’ll make sure you have your divorce papers ready. All signed you just will need to sign them and file.” He snatched up his jacket and hat, storming out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. She finally allowed the tears to fall that she had been holding back. He was The Lion. Her husband was the assassin, that the CIA wanted so badly. He was a killer, and he obviously didn’t love her anymore. She sobbed quietly while trying to saw through the ropes. This was going to take forever. He was right. She never really did much research, knowing that her job was only to find and capture The Lion. No one suspected that it was him, that he was the man they were after. As she thought about it, while working the ropes, she went through the list of all hits attributed to the assassin. All of them were evil men. Killers, rapists, worse. The more she thought, the more she realized, he was a good man, the man she had come to love. How could you be angry at someone who was ridding the world of such horrible people? She vowed then and there, she would save her marriage, at any cost.