"Did you pack enough clothes for a week? Including my suit?"

"Yes sir."

"Did you pack my briefcase?"

"It's in the car."

"And the hydrogen peroxide?"

"Packed with the rest of your tools."

Aleksandr Ivanov cupped my cheek with his hand. "My Emma," he purred in his faint Russian accent, "what would I do without you?"

"You'd forget your jacket." I replied, shoving said article of clothing into his arms. "Now go. Your flight leaves in an hour."

"First Class?"

"You have a private jet, sir."

Aleksandr clicked his tongue. "Damn. I was hoping I could trip you up."

I stared at my boss for a long moment. He was unfairly handsome, with the features of a Greek god - glossy black hair, chiseled cheekbones, and a brilliant smile, all complemented by ice blue eyes framed by long black lashes - not to mention devilishly charming and incredibly intelligent.

Unfortunately, Aleksandr was also a bit of an asshole.

A really big asshole, actually.

While we weren't a typical boss-assistant duo (how could we be?), Aleksandr still found ways to get under my skin. A chaste kiss or dirty joke to make my heart skip a beat, then an insult to bring me back to reality. That was the normal routine with us.

"Sir. Your flight leaves soon." I said, ducking away from the kiss the man tried to press to my cheek. "The Red Circle wants you gone immediately."

Aleksandr sighed and carelessly tossed his jacket over his shoulder. "Of course they do. They're a bunch of old pidoras." Waving his hand dismissively, he turned and got into his car. It was a solid black Koenigsegg Agera, a car I had never even heard of before coming to work for Aleksandr. It had a pretty price tag - over two million dollars - which was probably the reason he wanted it in the first place.

"Are you ever gonna teach me to swear in Russian?" I called after him. His laughter abruptly stopped when the door slid shut. The engine roared to life and then the car shot off down the winding path that led to the road from Aleksandr's sprawling estate.

I counted to fifteen in my head before groaning in exasperation. "I can't believe I'm working for this idiot." Muttering obscenities to myself, I turned to Aleksandr's house - a four story house built to replicate the Gothic-era castles - and stomped up the stairs.

Inside the castle-house was a clash of technology and medieval decor. Plush red carpet, fake torches, high arching ceilings and ridiculously expensive paintings lining the walls sat side by side with electric lights, modern windows, and surveillance cameras on every corner. Well, the cameras weren't visible. I only found out about them a few months after I had moved in, when Aleksandr called me from Germany to ask why I had slept through my alarm. Paranoid twat.

Still, living with a rich sadist had its perks.

"Andromeda." I called once I reached the kitchen. The smart tablet stationed on the table booted up. "Video call Cory."

"Calling... Cory." Came the robotic reply. I rummaged around in the pantry until I found some chips and grabbed a can of Pepsi from the counter.

The tablet beeped and my friend Cory's freckled face appeared. He was my closest friend since middle school and with his mousy blonde hair and hazel eyes most people though we were twins. "What's up? Did Mr. Hyde finally leave? He's such a creep."

"Mr. Hyde pays my bills, Cory. Watch what you say. We have a project to work on, remember?"

Cory squinted. "Yeah, yeah. Let me see. Did you get the reports from the aquarium?"

"Have I ever been late?" I bent down to grab my backpack. "Aleksandr would kill me if I failed a class anyways."

"Another class." Cory corrected.

I frowned as I set up my laptop beside the tablet. "That physics class so wasn't my fault. Why would a professor make a project seventy-five percent of our grade? It was rigged from the start and you know it."

Cory rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. Whatever you say. Let's finish this project before you fail it too, and drag me along with you."

For the next two hours, we worked on our aquatics final. It was simple enough: choose an animal to create a presentation about. Very, very simple. But, for some Godforsaken reason, Cory insisted on the vampire squid. A fish only one aquarium in all of Wyoming had. So what would have been an easy project over something like a clownfish turned into a three week, last minute project about an obscure creature most people have never heard of if they don't regularly watch Animal Planet.

By the time we finished, I was ready to kick Cory's ass. "I'm gonna be running late all day now." I groaned. "I still have to go to the store."

"Again? Didn't you just go, like, yesterday?"

"If by yesterday you mean last week, yes." I said as I packed up my laptop. "Look, it pays the bills and it gives me a nice place to stay. Plus I'm not selling my body."

"I still don't buy that last part." Cory responded.

I tapped the tablet, imagining I was flicking his head. "I'm not sleeping with him, pervert. I just do the chores."

"Seems too good to be true."

"You have no idea." I mumbled under my breath. "Look, I'll see you tomorrow. We can hang then. Aleksandr won't be back until Thursday at least."

"See you." Cory said, then the call disconnected.

"It's Friday," I muttered to myself, "I'm twenty-one, single, and guess what I'm doing? Not hanging with my friends, that's what." My room was on the first floor, thankfully, so I didn't have to climb up any stairs to get there. Ever-so-brilliant Aleksandr didn't put in any elevators on a four story house when he designed it.

My room was plain. Pink sheets on my bed, a few fiction books on a shelf, and a jewelry box on the dresser were the only personal touches that set my room apart from the other ten bedrooms in the house. I'd probably have more if somebody didn't have a habit of violating my personal space and rummaging through my belongings.

Throwing my laptop bag on my bed, I quickly changed into a pair of black jeans and a plain black T-shirt before tying my hair into a bun. It wasn't very pretty, but it would keep the blood off of my hair. Blood is a bitch to get out of hair and I wasn't really looking forward to spending an hour cleaning up.

My phone buzzed as I was making my way through the hall. A text from Aleksandr. Are you done with your chores yet? After sending a quick 'no,' I decided to hurry my ass up. If he was already getting antsy, he'd be liable to cancel his entire trip to make sure I'd disposed of everything properly.

Tossing a robe over my shoulder, I jogged to the other side of the house. "I've only been doing this for like a year now. Obviously I have no idea what I'm doing." I sighed sarcastically to myself as I came to the stairwell leading down to the basement.

Well... you can't really call it a basement. Stainless steel covered every inch of the walls, floor and ceiling, and shelves held dozens of tools that ranged from medical to something from Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I placed my robe on one of the hooks on the wall that also held lab coats and brushes. And, of course, in the center of the room was a surgery table.

A surgery table that was currently occupied with a dead body.

It was no one I recognized, probably one of the homeless picked up off the side of a highway. His skin was deathly pale. The blood had all been drained from his body and stored away somewhere else. I didn't know where nor did I care to. That wasn't my job. Picking up a circular saw and revving it to life, I began to dismember the corpse on the table, blood and gore splattering my clothes, and remembered the first time I had done it.

Aleksandr stood at my back, hands on my shoulders, whispering into my ear. "It's easy." He had murmured. "Remove the arms, the legs, and the head. Six body parts. You'll throw them in the incinerator and then burn the clothes you're wearing with it. Simple. I'm right here to help you."

My trembling arms could barely lift the circular saw at the time and I had been close to throwing up, but Aleksandr's warm breath on the back of my neck had sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't let him down...

When I had finally finished dismembering the corpse, I really did throw up. Aleksandr, however, looked proud. He had praised me for tenacity and-

The rest of the memory blurred together as I finished the corpse I was currently working on. Six body parts. It was, what, the hundredth body I had done? After a while, it had become easy. Then it turned automatic. Aleksandr needed at least three bodies disposed of a week, every week, ever since I had started.

And this wasn't even the worst of my duties.

The incinerator was inside of a wall, only able to be accessed by voice command. Once activated, a metal panel slid aside to reveal a pit. As I tossed the body pieces inside, it already began to heat up. I stripped out of my bloodstained clothes and threw them in after. No evidence should be left behind. 

I stepped into the robe I'd brought with me before cleaning the saw. No bleach - that was a rookie mistake. Hydrogen peroxide dissolved the blood, then water and soap would clean it. No trace of anything suspicious. I tossed the bloody rags into the incinerator before giving the voice command to start.

Across the room, my phone buzzed again.

"Let me finish this first," I said. Great. Now I'm talking to my phone.

I sprayed the table down with the hose that slid out of another notch in the wall, with the water that drained into a barely noticeable dent in the floor. Aleksandr really loves his secret compartments. One would think he was a secret spy or something, not an assassin.

My phone buzzed once more, this time not stopping. "You're seriously calling me? What the hell did I forget?" I grumbled as I dried my hands and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Did you finish yet?" Aleksandr's distorted voice asked from the other end.

"Just now," I replied as I left the basement. "I'm starting dinner now. Do you have any guests coming over tonight?"

"Change of plans. I'm coming home."

I suppressed a groan. "I see. Why? Did you get thrown out of the airport again?" Aleksandr didn't laugh. My blood ran cold. "Sir? Is something wrong?"

"Lady Acadia is coming over," Aleksandr said after a short pause.

I couldn't suppress this groan. "Are you serious? Why?"

Aleksandr sighed on the other end. "The Circle decided to send someone else on the trip and Acadia happened to be on her way."

I rolled my eyes. "She just happened to be on the way when they decided to cancel your job? You really believe it?"

"Emilia." Aleksandr's voice was sharp. "Just do your job. I'll be there in an hour. Acadia will be there in three."

"Three hours til doomsday. Got it."

"Emilia-"

"I'll finish my work now, sir." I hung up and took a deep breath.

Acadia. Of fucking course she was coming.

Acadia Hanson was another member of the Red Circle, the organization that Aleksandr was apart of. Just like Aleksandr, she was stunningly beautiful. Long, platinum blonde hair, sharp blue eyes, flawless skin, and a body that would make any guy drool. Also like Aleksandr, she was witty and charming, always knowing the exact thing to say.

In short, Acadia was perfect in every way... every way but one. She was a massive bitch.

Like Aleksandr, I suppose.

I stewed over this as I prepared dinner for that night, beef tips and rice. It was plain, but I hadn't planned it for Aleksandr and his lady friend.

"Mr. Yankov!" I called as I pulled out the ingredients.

A rapid stream of Russian words replied and a hunched old man soon wobbled into the kitchen, shouting something in Russian that I didn't recognize. Probably an insult.

Mr. Yankov was an ancient relic of Aleksandr's past. Straight from Russia, most likely illegally, he didn't speak a lick of English and he never intended to learn. Fortunately, he could make a mean apple pie and kept the house clean.

"Pomoshch." I said: 'help' in Russian. It was one of the few words I knew. Mr. Yankov spat something at me before beginning to make the rice, leaving me to prepare the beef.

An hour later, the meat was simmering in gravy and the rice was cooking. Mr. Yankov picked up the silverware and hobbled off to set the table. I took a deep breath and went over a mental checklist. Food... check. Silverware... Mr. Yankov is on that. Wine?

Wine. That's right. Swinging open a cabinet, I scanned the several dozen wine bottles. Beef meant a red wine so... Bordeaux. That would do. Picking up the bottle, I shook my head in disbelief. Not even thirty yet and I already know what wine to pair with what food. I was a couple of cats away from being a crazy cat lady. 

Damn Aleksandr liked his wine, so that was the first thing I learned when it came to preparing dinner.

Down the hallway, the front door slammed open. "Emma!" Aleksandr's voice echoed down the hall. "I hope you've got everything ready!"

"Just about!" I called back. "The dogs haven't been put away yet."

Aleksandr stormed into the room, his handsome face twinged with irritation. I busied myself with cleaning the counters, putting my back to him. "Put them away as soon as possible. I don't need them attacking Acadia-" He stopped mid-sentence. "Emilia. Where are your clothes?"

I felt my face flush. Oh, God. I forgot to change out of the robe. Taking a steadying breath, I resisted the urge to bolt out of the kitchen and summoned every bit of snark left in my body. 

"I just finished with the chores when you called," I replied defiantly. Was it shaking? God, I hope not. "I didn't have time to get dressed."

Suddenly, I felt arms wrap around my waist. "You're such a tease." Aleksandr's voice purred in my ear.

"Sir-"

There was a sharp pain at my neck, two pinpricks, and I felt a rush of euphoria as Aleksandr bit me. It was white-hot and delicious, forcing all the oxygen from my lungs and turning my limbs to rubber. 

Oh, right. I forgot to mention. Aleksandr Ivanov, a billionaire assassin, was also a vampire.