Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

In less than a heartbeat, the dagger could slice through her throat.

Starting tonight, Ricardo's identity would be thoroughly erased from Stellar Stage Entertainment.

There was no trace of panic on Ricardo's face. To him, taking a life was second nature. His arm tensed to strike, but Aubree's grip on the tip of his ear sent a confusing warmth through him, causing him to shudder and the dagger to slip from his sleeve. This was a grave mistake.

"Clang."

The sound was especially clear in the quiet of the dressing room, where only the two of them stood.

Ricardo's eyes snapped open, filled with murderous intent.

Oblivious to the danger, Aubree stared at the dagger on the ground, surprise flickering in her eyes. She stooped to pick it up and placed it on the makeup table. "Why are you carrying a paring knife around? Aren't you afraid you might hurt yourself?" Both Aubree and Brielle had seen Ricardo kill on the night she was hurt. He seemed to go mad.

But in their view, it was just a reaction of someone driven to temporary insanity by fear. It never crossed their minds that a teenage boy could be the top assassin on the hit list, the chameleon killer.

That world was too far removed from theirs.

When Aubree saw the dagger, she first thought it was used for peeling apples.

The assassination plan failed. Tonight's debacle was enough to pin Ricardo to a pillar of shame. He took a deep breath and managed a smile at Aubree. "Yeah, for apples. Thank you, Aubree. Let me peel one for you."

peel with exaggerated care. This incident could not be known to others. It would be too

what about Aubree?

with feigned wisdom. "Don't worry, I

the sharp blade sliced a long gash across his fingertip. His face turned cold, and

Another mistake.

injury, produced a band-aid with

knew it. Carry a dagger

we should get Bri to hire a personal assistant for you. a

en

so powerless

who was bandaging his

inwardly and let it go. He could tell that, in some ways, Aubree and Brielle

they were incredibly naive and

QUMS

that's it. Let's call it a night and get some sleep." He withdrew his hand and

the band-aid

to a rather secluded

but her