The man gracefully brought his hand up, hitting the inside of my wrist with the back of his hand. He guided my hand towards his shoulder before he rotated his torso and agilely dodged my attack. I quickly brought my other hand forward and threw a jab directly towards his throat. He quickly gripped my wrist and leaned back as he pulled it forward. My blade completely missed his neck, and he yanked on my wrist, causing me to turn and be pulled against his muscular chest. With my free hand I quickly brought my elbow to my side before swinging it back to stab him in the stomach. He effortlessly gripped my wrist, stopping the blade a few centimeters from his skin.

"Impressive." He said with a lopsided smile. His lips slightly grazed my ear from our position as his grips on my wrist tightened.

His figure towered over me, and he looked down at me as he raised his eyebrow curiously. I quickly dropped my knives and freed my wrist by my waist by rotating my hips and swinging my hand upward. I quickly brought my hand up and reached over my own arm to grab his forearm. I dropped my head and ducked down low as I pushed my hips into him, throwing him over my body.

He tucked his chin towards his chest as he rolled himself into the throw. He quickly rotated his hips and landed on one foot in front of me before he placed a hand on the floor beside him. In one fluid motion he pressed off his hand and foot and shot his other leg up, kicking me in the center of my chest.

"YES! GO SENSAI!" The girl yelled out from the chair as she began hopping slightly, tugging against his restraints.

I staggered slightly as pain shot through my rib cage, and I took a step to the side to regain some balance. My injuries haven't fully healed from my fight with Felipe, and pain radiated from my still healing rib. In the blink of an eye, the man swung his leg down and placed it back on the floor. He quickly scooped up my ankle before he turned and stood up, causing me to fall on my ass roughly.

"Sorry about this." He said playfully. His grip on my ankle began to slide down my calf and towards the front of my knee before he bent down and ducked his head lower, nearly grazing my ear with his lips.

I quickly cocked my arm back and threw a quick jab towards his face, but this man was faster than anyone I've ever seen before. He gracefully caught my wrist, deflecting it before he pressed it roughly against the ground next to my head.

"I gotta look good in front of my student, you know, show off a bit and all that." He whispered; his face hovering inches away from mine. "Hope you don't mind."

I quickly brought my free leg to my chest before I pressed my knee against his torso and straightened my body. He quickly let go of my wrist as I did a backwards roll and landed on my feet once more.

I looked up to see the man looking down at me with that same, stupid smile. His posture was relaxed, and he was light on his feet as he slowly brought his hands up defensively. My fists clenched in anger as I eyed his relaxed stance.

This motherfucker was toying with me.

"You know, you're pretty cute when you're angry, freckles." He said with a smirk as he tilted his head.

Freckles? Really?

I quickly lunged towards him, giving him everything I had as I let my frustration fuel me. I quickly threw a jab, and just as I expected, he brought his hand up to deflect it. I quickly ducked, avoiding his counterattack before I took a step forward and pivoted on my foot and launched a spinning wheel kick. He took a step back and rotated his shoulders, narrowly dodging my kick.

"YOU GOT THIS SENSAI!" the child yelled from her chair. She was pulling so roughly against his restrains that she began to lose balance and started to fall backwards.

The man's eyes shot towards the kid before he quickly took a few steps backwards, closing the distance between him and the child. I quickly used this opportunity to throw a jab at his face, but he circled his head, dodging my attacks once more. As he circled his head, he quickly bent down and caught the back of the metal chair.

"Careful," He said with a smirk on his lips. He gracefully set the girls chair right side up as I launched another right hook towards his jaw. He rotated his body, avoiding my jab and spinning around before he lifted his leg and threw a spinning kick towards my torso.

"Thank you, Sensai!" The kid exclaimed happily as I narrowly avoided his attack.

I lifted both of my hands up towards my chest, but at the last moment, he rotated his hips and brought his shin up to my face. I grunted from the impact before I took a step to regain my balance. I quickly launched a flurry of jabs at him, only to have him block each one with ease.

This man's fighting style was unlike anything I've ever seen before. He was muscular and large, yet somehow had the mobility of a smaller fighter. His movements were fluid, and seemed more like he was dancing rather than fighting. His nonchalant and relaxed demeanor never faltered, and it seemed as though he was amused by our exchanges, as if our entire fight has been nothing but entertainment for him.

I quickly spotted my knives a few feet away from me, and rotated my body before I dove for them. I quickly launched myself forward, gripping the knives as I rolled before I got to my feet and turned towards the man.

He was right behind me, and I quickly rotated my body and swung my left arm across his torso. He stepped back and brought his shoulders forward, avoiding the slash across his chest. I quickly brought my other hand up and launched it forward. He dodged it once more, and I saw him move his arm back before he hurled it towards my chest.

I quickly grabbed his elbow and braced myself for the impact. I pulled his fist towards me, accepting the punch as I brought my right hand up. He quickly moved his head back, but since I was holding onto his arm, he was unable to completely avoid the attack, and my knife grazed his left eye, cutting it from his upper cheekbone to the top of his eyebrow.

"SENSAI! You're bleeding blood!" The kid screamed from her chair.

"Hm." The man said with a small smirk as he brought his free hand up to his eye. His fingers grazed his cheek before he looked down at his hand. "You're very good." He said with a smile.

"I wonder what else you're good at." He said as his chin lowered slightly.

His piercing hazel eyes twinkled with interest and curiosity as they locked onto mine, and for the first time in my life... I felt ...uneasy. It was as if he was looking through my very soul, through my entire being with just one look. It was the kind of look that would melt any woman where she stood. The kind of look that hinted towards only the most impure intentions. I could tell that this was a man who was experienced, not just in hand-to-hand combat, but in other ways as well.

"So are you." I said nonchalantly as I twirled my knife in my hand. This wasn't just unprofessional, but it also just... wasn't like me at all. I've never felt regret for killing a target before, but part of me felt as if I was doing the world and injustice by eliminating this beautiful man off the planet.

It was rare I felt attraction. I would view some men as handsome or women as beautiful, but pure, unfiltered attraction for me was... foreign. Was I attracted to Aiden? Somewhat. Don't get me wrong, he was handsome, extremely handsome. But that attraction was just... never there. At least not on the level that I felt when I looked at this man.

I mentally flinched at my own thoughts. This man was going to kill me if I don't get my shit together, and I was thinking about his looks? I must have hit my head hard enough to give me brain damage to be acting like a hormonal teenage.

"I haven't had this good of a time in years." He said with a laugh as he raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, blood dripping down the left side of his face. "But as fun as this has been, unfortunately me and the kid and I gotta get going. But we really must do this again." He said as he looked at the child and gave her a small smile.

"Sorry, I can't let you do that." I said as I narrowed my eyes. I quickly regained my senses before I lunged towards him.

Was I going to kill the kid? No. I would never, under any circumstance, hurt a child.

Technically there was no reason to kill this man either. But after our first few exchanges, I couldn't let him just walk out of here since he destroyed my perfect mission as well as a large chunk of my ego.

In the blink of an eye, he grabbed my wrist and twisted it with immense strength. He rotated his body and gripped my other hand before shoving both of my wrists behind my back and pushing me firmly against the concrete wall in a way that the girl couldn't see us. This strength was different from what I felt when we were fighting, almost as if....

"You've been holding back this entire time. I'm insulted." I said as I grit my teeth while he let out a low chuckle.

And just like that, the other half of my ego has been destroyed by this handsome asshole.

"Oh, come on Freckles. Don't be like that. I was just trying to give the kid a show." He said playfully as I pushed my back against him, trying to free myself from his grip on my wrist.

He immediately pressed his muscular body against mine, keeping me in place as he pressed me harder against the wall.

"You're way too skilled to be working for Julio. So, who are you? And who do you work for?" He said as he tilted his head and looked down at me. I clenched my jaw as I struggled against him.

"Hm, quiet type huh? Let's see..." He mused, his rock-hard body solid against mine.

"You didn't pull out a badge and try to arrest me, so that rules out any law enforcement. Most of Julios henchmen are incompetent, so you definitely don't work for him." He said, thinking out loud. I glanced behind me for a moment to see him looking up at the ceiling, pursing his lips.

"I already know for a fact that you aren't apart of any Cartels." He began.

"Yeah, and why's that?" I asked defiantly.

"Because they're primitive and don't allow women in their ranks." He said, his tone not changing from his playful demeanor.

"I know!" He said, his hazel eyes lighting up. "You're one of those nine to five Corporate assassins, aren't you?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow. I looked up at him with a deadly expression on his face as I remained silent.

"Ah. I'll take that as a yes." He said with a smirk.

"So, now that I know who you work for, the only question is left is who you are. So, what's your name?" He said, his head tilting slightly. At this point, I gave up fighting his grip on me, and instead just glared at him while my silence filled the air.

"Okay, if you don't want to tell me your name, then Freckles it is." He said with a smile.

"Honestly, it really ruins my day to kill such a skilled and gorgeous woman. What do you say we get out of here, maybe grab some dinner? A movie?" He asked with a charming smile. His voice was slightly hushed, and I could tell he lowered it to make sure the child didn't hear our conversation.

"Are you seriously asking me out right now?" I seethed as I pushed against him once more, making him chuckle.

"A man's gotta shoot his shot, right?" He said as he gave me another large smile.

"You should really work on your timing." I said under my breath. I quickly rotated my shoulders as I pushed against him. I made enough space to rotate my body, and I threw a quick jab towards his face. He immediately caught my wrists and pushed both of them above my head with one of his massive hands.

"I think this is the perfect time." He said as he raised an eyebrow and placed his free hand onto the wall next to my face. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, a feeling I haven't experienced in years. I could tell he knew what effect he had on me, and he let out a small, satisfied chuckle as his smile widened.

"Do you always ask women out on a date after you fight them?" I said as I tilted my head, playing along with his delusion for a moment.

"No, never actually. But you're gorgeous, lethal, and you've tried to kill me. You're just my type. A little too serious, but I can make it work." He said as he gave me a smile.

"Not interested." I said before I gave him a closed lip smile.

"You're missing out." He said as he tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "I'm quite the catch, you know." He said playfully. His piercing, hazel eyes looked down at me as we stood there in silence for a few moments.

"I'm sure you are." I said sarcastically. "Can you let me go?" I said as I raised my eyebrow.

"What's the magic word?" He said playfully as he tilted his head in amusement.

"Now?" I said with annoyance as I gave him a fake smile.

"Oof. Sorry, babe. Wrong answer." He said as he shook his head. "Besides, if I just let you go, you'll just keep trying to kill me." He said as he put his free hand on his hip.

"Well, if you let me go, and I promise to kill you quickly." I said as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Or," he began as he raised his eyebrows and put his free hand under his chin. "Or... Hear me out." He said as he tilted his head and pointed at me. "We can make a deal instead?" He said as his piercing hazel eyes narrowed slightly.

"I'm not interested." I said as I stared up at him. His body was still pressed firmly against mine, and I felt his steady breathing pressing against my chest. His body was so muscular it felt as if I was slammed between two walls.

"Oh, come on Freckles. I think you'll be very interested in this deal." He said as he looked down at me with a smile. "It'll benefit both of us actually."

"And what exactly could you offer me?" I said with an emotionless expression.

"Well, besides the most fun dates you'll ever go on," he began as he leaned in closer. "and mind-blowing sex," he said in a whisper as he raised an eyebrow. "Information that may, or may not, save your life depending on how you use it." He said with a smirk, his confidence radiating from him and he stood up straight once more.

It was the type of bravado that made you swoon and want to punch him in the face at the same time. I knew instantly that he was the type of man who rarely saw rejection, and women probably flocked to him on a regular basis. His confidence was almost bordering on cocky. He was charming, I'll give him that. But these thoughts vanished as quickly as it came, and my expression became serious as I looked up at him while I processed his deal.

"Fine. But if this information isn't useful, then I'm still going to kill you." I said as I raised my eyebrow at him.

"I would expect nothing less." He said with a smile.

"So, what's this information." I said as he slowly let go of my wrists and took a step away from me.

"You probably shouldn't trust your team." He stated as he turned his back towards me and began walking towards the kid in the chair, who was still attempting, and failing, to free herself from the rope around her wrists. "Actually, you reallyshouldn't trust your team."

"And why's that?" I asked as I tilted my head. I watched curiously as the man bent down beside the chair and pulled out a knife from his waistband. He quickly cut the child loose from her bindings before the kid hopped off the chair and rubbed her tiny wrists.

"You okay?" He asked the kid as he stood up. The kid nodded enthusiastically before the man placed his hand on top of the kid's head and ruffled her blond hair. He bent down and placed a hand under the child's chin, lifting up her face and examining the blood that was still dripping down to her chin. For the first time, the mans eyes grew dark. The playful expression that once adorned his features vanished for a moment, and was replaced by a stone cold look of a lethal killer.

"You didn't answer my question." I said impatiently as I narrowed my eyes. The man looked over at me, and just as fast as that deadly looked coated his features, it vanished.

"Oh, sorry about that." He said as he ran his hand through his hair and quickly stood up.

"They're planning to kill you." He said nonchalantly as he looked at me with a smile.