"You know what I love most about powerful men?" Aria whispered the words to Minister Kozlowski as his hands fiddled with her dress zipper.
"Tell me," he breathed, his voice thick with desire and smelling of wine.
"They always think they're the predator." She said.
She pressed against the velvet curtain, her ballet-trained body moving smoothly. For three months, she'd studied this bastard. He sold government artifacts to private collectors while publicly championing cultural preservation. His wife was visiting her family. His security waited outside. Perfect practice for her real target.
"I have been watching you all evening," she continued. "Such a commanding presence during your speech."
His ego swelled. "You enjoyed my presentation on cultural preservation?"
"I enjoyed watching you control that room." Her lips traced his ear. "I wonder what else you like to control."
Below them, the orchestra began the third act. Nobody was paying attention to them or what they were doing.
"My hotel suite has magnificent views," he murmured, hands exploring her curves.
"That's too far." She guided his hand to her thigh. "I want you now."
His breathing grew heavy. All his power in parliament meant nothing now. She'd stripped him down to raw desire.
Aria reached into her purse, finding the tiny syringe. An odorless poison that would mimic a heart attack. By the time anyone realized what happened, she'd be three countries away.
Her phone buzzed three times against her hip. The signal she'd waited five years to receive.
Marcus Thorne was in New York tonight. Her real target. The man who'd murdered her family.
Kozlowski's hands pushed up her dress, mouth hungry on her throat. She could complete this kill in seconds. But Marcus Thorne was finally within reach.
"What's wrong?" Kozlowski sensed her hesitation.
"Nothing." She slipped the syringe back. "I just remembered somewhere I need to be."
His face flushed with confusion and anger. "You cannot be serious."
"Very serious." She stepped away, smoothing her dress. "Thank you for the evening."
"I know who you are," Kozlowski said.
Her muscles tensed, but she didn't turn around. "Excuse me?"
"Elena Volkov died in Moscow three years ago. I checked your papers." His voice hardened with control. "So, who are you really?"
She turned slowly. "Does it matter?"
"It matters when someone with false papers tries to seduce me in an opera box." He reached for his phone. "My security will want to meet you."
Aria moved like lightning. Years of ballet gave her perfect balance. Years of assassination training taught her exactly where to strike. Kozlowski collapsed unconscious.
She knelt beside him, syringe ready. She could still complete the mission. But killing him would delay her New York flight by hours. Marcus Thorne, or this piece of shit. Easy choice.
She left him breathing and walked out. By the time he woke, she'd be boarding a plane with a new identity and one mission. Marcus Thorne had five years of freedom. Tonight that ended.
The taxi moved through Prague's narrow streets. Aria changed her outfit in the backseat, transforming from party dress to business suit. Her phone rang with updates:
Target at the Manhattan auction, private party at the penthouse. Light security. Perfect timing.
She typed back: En route.
Marcus Thorne. Thirty-two years old. Tech billionaire worth fifty billion. Built his empire by stealing ideas and murdering competitors. Including her family.
Her parents ran a small but respected art gallery in London, specializing in Russian pieces. Marcus wanted their entire collection for half the market value. When they refused, he had them murdered and stole what he wanted.
Aria was twenty, home for her birthday. She hid in the panic room and watched through cameras as masked men shot her parents and brother Dmitri. They left her alive to send a message:
Cross Marcus Thorne, and everyone dies, but you remember forever.
His biggest mistake.
The private jet waited; the engines were running. As they climbed above clouds, Aria opened Marcus's file again. The photos showed a devastatingly handsome man. Tall, dark hair, sharp features. The kind that made women stupid with want.
That would make her job easier. She'd mastered seducing powerful men. They all had the same weaknesses: ego, greed, and dicks that did their thinking. Marcus would be no different. She'd get close, learn his routines, and make him pay for every life he'd destroyed.
Aria closed her eyes, imagining the moment she'd face her family's killer. She'd pictured it thousands of times. The recognition in his eyes when she revealed who she was. And the fear when he realizes her intentions.
Five years of training had prepared her. Five years learning to kill without feeling, seduce without caring, and disappear without a trace. She wasn't that terrified girl in the panic room anymore. She was a weapon aimed at Marcus Thorne's heart.
Her phone buzzed: He's gorgeous in person. You'll have fun with this.
She deleted it and put the phone away. She didn't care if he looked like a movie star. Marcus Thorne would die for murdering her family. But first she'd make him fall in love with her, then destroy his heart while it still beat.
The plane descended toward New York. Through the window, city lights spread out. Somewhere down there, Marcus lived like he'd never killed anyone. He was wrong.
When the plane wheels hit the runway, Aria felt the familiar calm before a kill. Heart slowing, breathing deepening, every sense sharpening. This was what she was made for. Marcus Thorne would never see her coming.
Customs barely glanced at her passport. Elena Sterling, an art curator from London, is having business meetings. Perfect identity, five years in the making. She collected her bag and walked toward the car that was waiting for her.
Tomorrow she'd start infiltrating his world. Make herself necessary, then important, then indispensable. When he loved her more than breathing and trusted her with everything, she'd take it all away.
The car merged into Manhattan traffic. She'd waited five years for this.
Marcus Thorne had no idea death was coming with perfect legs, a beautiful smile, and a heart full of hate.
But first, she was going to make him beg her to stay.