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."

makeup table. Ricardo took the dagger and began to peel with exaggerated

what about Aubree? Should he

the thought crossed his mind, Aubree patted his shoulder with feigned wisdom. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your quirky habit

blade sliced a long gash across his fingertip. His face turned cold, and he clenched

Another mistake.

throbbed as Aubree, startled by his injury, produced a band-aid

it. Carry a dagger

should get Bri to hire a personal assistant for you. a Let them handle

en

had never felt so powerless in

watched Aubree, who was bandaging his finger,

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

in others, they were

QUMS

he didn't understand why Annie suddenly wanted Aubree dead, he wouldn't pursue a mission that had already faced two blunders. "Aubree, that's it. Let's call it a night and get some sleep." He withdrew his hand

the band-aid on his finger and

drove to a

always liked a thrill, but her frequent haunt was always Tequila