chapter 1

Analia Rayne ||

Present Time

I whip my head up from the table and scrunch up my nose. That never gets easier, just becomes less painful. I'm tired I could go for some cookies right now. Regular cookies, not drug ones.

"It's not going anywhere, Lia," the brunette says.

"It better not go anywhere I paid a ton of fucking money for this," I say while creating another line of the white stuff.

"Woah, slow down there solider," Charlotte stops my head from going any lower.

"You just sniffed a line, relax," I throw a glare at her. She gives me the 'You do it again and I'll kill you' look.

You wouldn't think Charlotte's scary with her sweet name. Trust me, Charlotte's scary. So I put my hands up in surrender and start to "clean up" the mess I made on my table. As soon as Charlotte turns her back and starts walking in the other direction, I sniff the last line. Oops. My face slipped. It's not like she'll ever know, right?

She'll know when you can't stop talking. Shut up

I swipe the last little bits left off the table. I look at myself in the mirror once more. I'm wearing a very short royal blue pleated skirt, so short if I bend down you get a little peak, also with short blue shorts underneath. Topped with a matching royal blue top piece that shows everything but the money makers. Paired with my 6-inch light-up heels. I decided to go short today on the heels.

The door bursts open. "Girls the shows are about to start let's start prepping ourselves. Especially you, Lia"

Don't you just love it when your boss calls you out?

Yup. I do too.

But Ryle gets a pass he's my favorite person here, sorry Charlotte. I give him a thumbs-up, he nods his head and closes the door behind him. Charlotte runs towards me in her 8-inch heels. How is she doing that?

She grabs my wrist and pulls me towards the door. They always make this line in front of the exit so it can be more organized. It also gives the girls an opportunity to get ready, well at least for me. Charlotte likes being first in line and where ever Charlotte goes she drags me along with her.

I look up and look at the clock next to the door. Exactly 30 seconds till we walkout. Wait.

30 seconds?!

Why did no one warn me? I haven't thought about what I'm gonna do when I walk out. I haven't even calmed myself.

20 seconds.

Oh my god. It keeps going down. Who is in control of this? How do I make them go back 20 mins?

10 seconds.

It's fine I got this. Relax, Lia. You got this in the bag. No need to worry. That's what the drugs are for to relax you, so chill. Right, chill.

5 seconds.

"I'm so excited," says the girl behind me. I could go for those cookies right now.

4 seconds.

"Do my boobs look good, Ash?" says the other girl behind her.

3 seconds.

"You ready, Lia?" Charlotte asks turning around grabbing both my hands.

2 seconds.

"So ready," I say with clear sarcasm. I give her a salute and she turns around.

1 second.

Ryle bursts through the doors and yells "LETS GO GIRLS!". Charlotte walks out first and does her dance. Charlotte involves more eye contact with people in the audience. They call her the cougar, yeah I don't like it either. Makes her sound old. At least Charlotte's pretty and has the body to get their attention. Don't get me wrong, I love my body but Charlotte's is amazing.

She walks off stage and now it's my turn. "You got this Lia. I know you do" says Ryle with a huge grin across his face. This is why he's my favorite.

You got this Lia, damn right I do.

I walk onto the stage and walk to the end of it and give it my all. I don't do what Charlotte does and keep eye contact with them, sorry but looking at these old men is not gonna make shit better. So I just close my eyes and let my body take over. I get a couple of whistles and hollers.

Once I'm done I walk off on the other side and pat myself on the back. Yeah, I did that. Analia did that.

Mhm.

The drugs are starting to hit me as I walk around, and see the strobe lights everywhere. They remind me of my shoes. Oh my god. I forgot to turn them on while on stage. Oh boo. I bend down and turn them. Much better.

Now all I have to do is walk around and look pretty till someone wants to have a private session with me.

This might be a while.

***

Well, that was quick.

Not even 20 minutes later, Ryle comes up to me and tells me the guy in booth 6 wants a private session with me. Usually, it takes a while but duty calls.

I make my way towards booth 6 and when I reach it, man when I tell you this guy is too fine, he's fine.

He has dirty blonde hair and nice blue eyes. He has some sort of stubble going on his face. Oh my god, he just stood up, he's around a good 6'3. He takes out his hand for me to shake.

"Hi, I'm Lincoln," he gives a small smile to seem more welcoming.

And manners? Wow. He's husband material. Wait, he's in a club. Maybe not. However, I won't judge.

Just a little.

"Lia, how may I help you?" I ask shaking his hand back looking up at him.

He makes his way back to the round couch. "How about you take a seat? Lia."

I like how he says my name. I make my way to the couch and sit next to him. I place my hand on his lap as a way to seduce him, I just want this over with. He removes my hand. Oh?

"Let's wait till we get to the room," he moves his legs closer together.

He continues, "For now, let me get to know you."

"And what would you like to know about me? Lincoln," I say mockingly teasing him.

"How old are you?" He says looking straight into my eyes.

What did he just ask? How old am I? No one has ever asked me that.

"I'm 19," I try my best to lie. I'm 17. I'm not very good at lying but I'm not the worst.

One of the bartenders, Marie, walks up interrupting our conversation, handing him his drink. "Here you go." He gives her a small nod and she walks away.

"You're lying," he says as he takes a sip with his eyebrow raised.

Am I that see-through?

"How could you possibly know I'm lying?"

"Because you just questioned me," he says leaning back.

"I questioned you because you questioned me," I say also leaning back. I have to look like I'm not intimidated by him.

You know for a man who wants a private session, he's asking a lot.

He needs to make this quicker, I'm hungry.

"Good point," He stands up and straightens his pants. He grabs the cup from the tab and drinks the whole thing in one gulp.

That was hot.

"Let's get on with that private session, shall we?" he extends his left arm out for me to grab.

Now we're talking.

I grab his hand and get up from the couch, "Yes we shall".

He steps out from the booth and he leads the way. I guess he knows where the room is. On the way I see Charlotte and she mouths "Go, girl". I hold in my laughter as we make it to the room.

"Ladies first," he gestures for me to go in.

I nod and make my way in. I did not expect to see all of this.

I'm greeted with a lady with caramel skin and caramel-colored hair to match, sitting on the couch. Not only is there a lady in the room but there are at least 10 other guys in the room. I pull down my skirt as much as I can, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

I try to back up but I'm met with a hard chest against my back.

I look back and realize it's Lincoln. I whisper "Traitor," loud enough only for him to hear. He snorts a little laugh.

The lady speaks, "Analia Rayne, right? Please take a seat." She gestures to the space next to her. I shake my head.

"How do you know my name?" before you say anything, no one here knows our names especially our full government name, except for Ryle.

"I have an offer for you," she ignores my question and continues.

"It's a job offer. A good job offer, one better then," she pauses, "than this. I promise you won't regret it."

"What are you exactly offering me? You also ignored my question, how do you know my name?" I say walking up to her. Now, I'm getting mad.

"We've been watching you for quite some time. Seeing if you were perfect for this job. We think you are," she pauses and gestures once more for me to sit down.

"I'm good standing. Who are you?" I say crossing my hands across my chest.

"Suit yourself," she picks up the drink next to her and takes a sip before she continues once more. Must this lady be so dramatic and just get on with it.

"I'm your possible new boss. I want you to work for me," she finally says.

"And what do I have to do?"

"I want you to kill people. An assassin."

What did she just say?