Top Assassins Call Me The Lady Boss-Chapter 164: Not on his watch

Chapter One Hundred and sixty- Four

"Come to my office now!" the caller barked.

The line went dead before Cole could respond. He stared at

the screen for a second longer than necessary, then let out a slow breath. He

didn’t move immediately. There was no rush.

After all, he had already been standing

behind the apartment building.

The urge came sharp and immediate, to throw the phone against the wall, to watch it splinter the way Marco’s voice had just splintered his patience. His shoulders rose, then deliberately lowered. Fingers flexed at his sides, curling, and uncurling, until the tension bled off in increments. If he went inside this moment, he was sure he was going to point his gun at him.

By the time the pulse in his temple dulled, his expression had gone blank again, smooth as still water. Whatever had flared inside him was locked away, sealed behind practiced calm.

Eventually, he pushed off the wall and headed inside.

His reflection caught in a glass panel as he passed. His

face set, eyes dull, and mouth carved into a permanent line. Had he always

looked like that? Grim.

When was the last time he laughed? Really laughed. He wasn’t

thinking about the hollow exhale people mistook for humor. Not the tight curl

of lips meant to mock someone.

He could not remember.

His thoughts drifted, uninvited, to Matilda’s new friend.

The girl with the loud laugh. The unrestrained, ridiculous laugh that burst out

of her like she didn’t know how to hold it back even if she tried.

What was her name again?

He frowned. He couldn’t remember but he remembered the

sound. How it had startled him. How, for a split second, his lips had twitched

upward before he could stop it.

Cole exhaled sharply.

’Why am I thinking about her?’

Annoyed with himself, he picked up his pace. By the time he

realized it, he was already standing in front of Marco’s office door. He raised

his hand and knocked once.

Marco didn’t bother looking up when he entered.

"Look who finally came to my office," Marco said

immediately Cole entered.

"You called," Cole remarked, his tone devoid of

any respect, fear, or patience.

Marco’s head snapped up. "Don’t act smart with me. You

know why I brought you in. Do you think I let you stay because Asli wanted a

right-hand man? Do you think I watched her train you for herself? ...out of her

generosity?" His voice rose, sharp and venomous. "You’re alive

because of me!"

Cole felt the familiar urge to fold his arms, to settle into

still defiance but he resisted. He stood there, hands relaxed at his sides, his

gaze steady, and unreadable.

Marco continued, pacing now. "Why haven’t you given me

any report? If you’d been effective, I wouldn’t have had to bring that devil

into my Villa. So now you’ll fix it." He stopped, his eyes burning.

"You’ve been assigned to end him. Bring me Markus’ head."

Cole didn’t flinch or react. He only stared at him.

He simply kept looking at Marco as one might look at a man

already beneath them.

"Unfortunately," Cole said calmly, "I don’t

work for you."

Marco froze.

"If you want my services," Cole continued, his

voice even, almost bored, "talk to Asli. Don’t call my line again."

He dipped his head in a brief, mocking bow and turned to

leave.

Behind him, he heard Marco cussing him out and calling his

men to assemble. Probably to issue a death warrant on his head. He didn’t care.

He had never feared death. He’d watch who would dare try to kill him.

Who did Marco think he was? He owned the Villa. He owned the

organization but he didn’t own him. The fck did he have to call him and ruin

his already fcked up evening?

Markus had asked him to meet so he could show him something.

He hoped Markus was lying. But he was meeting him after this.

Cole slowed his steps, the thought settling into his mind

with weight as he remembered the conversation with him. Markus had insisted on

it. He had sounded unusually urgent over the line. He only said one thing... Or

was it two sentences that caught his attention? His tone had been sharp enough

to cut through everything else.

’Asli is in danger. Marco is planning to kill her.’

The words hadn’t landed all at once. They had struck in

stages. First, it was a sharp pull in his chest, like something had hooked

itself beneath his ribs and yanked. His breath had stalled halfway in, lungs

refusing to work for a beat too long. The world had gone oddly distant, sounds

flattening, and his sight even blurring.

Then came the heat. It was not rage. Not yet. It was

something colder, and denser. A pressure that spread through his veins, sinking

into muscle and bone, as if his body had decided before his mind did.

His fingers had curled around the phone so tightly his

knuckles ached. He remembered noticing it, how pain registered and yet it

didn’t matter to him. How everything suddenly narrowed to one name.

Asli. It was then that he realized he had to live. Yes, he still

did not fear death but after realizing Asli could be in trouble, he needed to

live.

Marco’s face had flashed in his mind without invitation. The

smug certainty. The entitlement. The casual way he spoke of lives like assets.

He had thought Asli meant something to his cold heart.

The word had echoed, ugly and obscene, scraping against

something deep and immovable inside him.

Cole had said nothing to Markus at first. Just breathed out

slowly, forcing his grip to loosen, jaw locking as he swallowed the surge

rising in his throat.

If Marco truly believed he could touch Asli, then he would

be mistaken. That would be a big mistake and a move.

A cruel smirk displayed on his lips. The man wouldn’t dare.

Not when he was alive.

He was hoping Markus was wrong. Cole was going to guard her with his life and if Markus was wrong, he was going to kill Marco before that thought crossed his mind.