The flight to Greece was short, mainly due to the fact that I slept during the entire thing. I was up all night running the wire transfers through a database and finding out who the accounts belonged to. But unfortunately for me, Nadia had a busy year.

"So why are we here for two days again?" I asked as I walked next to Liam. Like usual, we were dressed formally. My black gown covered my lower back, hiding the newly formed scars that now replaced the stitches.

"Because weddings take too long and are a waste of time." Liam said under his breath as he nodded towards a couple waving at him.

"I didn't know anyone even had a welcome party before a wedding." I said. Now that I think of it, I've never even been to a wedding before.

"The Drakos are... an extravagant family to say the least." Liam said as two men opened the doors to the venue.

The most of the room looked as if it was plated in gold. Massive white pillars lined the outer corners of the room, while in the center was a dance floor. Round tables adorned with white cloth sat towards the back of the room, leading to the massive garden and courtyard. Servers dressed in white gracefully weaved between dancing patrons, offering all kinds of drinks and appetizers. They were all wearing gold masks, decorated with feathers, jewels, and diamonds. The room was filled with laughing and dancing as music from a live band played from a small stage. The entire venue resembled more of a street fair than anything.

"Your masks." A man said as he held a tray up towards us. On them sat two masquerade masks, one white and one black. Like the servers masks, they were detailed beautifully with diamonds that shimmered underneath the lights. Liam grabbed the larger white one, while I put on the smaller black one.

"Enjoy your evening, Mr. Knight." The man said with a small bow before turning on his heel.

"A masquerade, how fun." I said with a small smile.

"I thought you hated these events." Liam said with an eyebrow raised.

"I do. But this one seems tolerable." I said as I grabbed a glass of whiskey from a nearby tray. Liam shook his head slightly before chuckling under his breath.

"Liam Knight!" A man yelled over the crowd. We turned over our shoulders to see a man in a tuxedo walking over towards us, his tie undone and hanging from his neck, his hair disheveled.

"Alexander." Liam said with a smile on his face as he hugged him. "Congratulations, my friend."

"Thank you, thank you." Alexander said, the alcohol on his breath filling the air. "It has always been my dream to get married." He said as he placed a heavy hand on Liams shoulder. After a moment the two men burst out laughing.

Alexander was a built and strong looking man. His blond hair was wavy, and reached his square jawline. His nose was slightly crooked, as if it had been broken a few times. He was a tall man, even taller than Liam and standing at about six

"Oh, I thought you got the memo, no bodyguards." Alexander said as he waved a drunken finger towards me.

"She's not a body guard, Alex, she's my date." Liam said as he placed his arm around my waist.

"Lucky you, you get to date... and be around beautiful women, an-and bring them to things." Alexander slurred.

"Well, it was a pleasure seeing you, but I must do stuff... like avoid my bride to be. So, please have fun, and make sure he relaxes for once in his damn life." Alexander said with a small, drunken bow before he scurried off into the crowd.

"Wow, his fiancé is so lucky." I said sarcastically as I watched him bump into a server, spilling the drinks all over the floor. Alexander raised his hands up, cheering at the glass breaking before stumbling into a group of women, make Liam chuckle under his breath.

We continued walking through the venue, Liam doing his usual handshakes and greetings while I continued downing different whiskeys and bourbons.

"Isabella I'd like to introduce you to Mila." Liam said as he motioned towards me. "Isabella is Alexanders fiancé."

"Pleasure." I said as I shook her hand and gave her a small smile. Her short black hair sat above her shoulders. She was dressed in an elegant looking, white cocktail dress. She was a pale woman, and her dark makeup and lipstick only exaggerated that. She looked unamused, annoyed even, but she still gave me a polite smile as she nodded her head in acknowledgement. She was beautiful, but I could tell she was just as excited about this marriage as her fiancé was.

"So," I said as I attempted to make small talk with Isabella. "Are you excited about tomorrow?"

"I'd rather die." Isabella said seriously as she glared at me. She sat down, crossing her arms as she stared off onto the dance floor.

"Or maybe I'll just kill him." Isabella said as her eyes darted towards her fiancé.

"Well then." I said under my breath with an awkward smile before I drank the rest of my whiskey.

"I could some air, what about you?" I said as I looked up at Liam, who gave me an amused smile before nodding. We politely said our goodbyes before walking out of the venue and into the massive garden.

Rose bushes lined the walkway, leading to a circular maze of hedges. Scattered through the garden were drunk guests, stumbling and fumbling in their own world away from the party inside. Liam and I walked up a large staircase, getting a wonderful view of the garden from a balcony. There were a set of massive, open double doors leading to an almost empty hallway inside the venue.

"Well," I began as I walked towards the railing. "Alexander and Isabella seem like a lovely couple." I said sarcastically. I looked down to see Alexander sitting on a bench, a red headed woman straddling him. His hands were buried in her hair as they drunkenly kissed each other.

"Why are they getting married if they can't stand each other?" I asked as I looked over at Liam.

"It's an arranged marriage, set up for them by their families." Liam said as he stood next to me, he placed his hands in his pockets as he looked towards the gardens beneath us.

"Arranged marriage? I didn't know those were still a thing." I said as I leaned on the railing.

"Unfortunately, they are more common in this world than marrying for love." Liam said seriously.

"So, like everything else, marriage is no more than a business arrangement then?" I asked as I raised a brow.

"Most of them, yes." Liam said stoically as he drank from his glass.

"That sounds terrible." I said with a scowl. "I can't imagine being trapped in a relationship with some stranger."

"Neither can I." Liam said after a moment.

"I can't even imagine you in a relationship." I said with a smirk, making Liam look over at me with a brow raised.

"I've had a few." Liam said with amusement.

"Oh yeah?" I said with a smile. "They didn't work out?"

"Oh yes, obviously." Liam said before he finished the rest of his drink. A server came from inside, taking his empty glass before giving him a fresh one.

"So you've never been in love before?" I asked as I looked over at him. He was silent for a moment, and any hint of amusement had vanished from his face.

"Once, yeah." He said as he looked off into the garden.

"What happened?" I asked as I tilted my head. I remembered what Nova once told me, the rumor that he love his lover. But the thought of him being in love was... shocking to me. This man was borderline intolerable on his good days. Silence stretched between us once more, as if Liam was battling with his own thoughts.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I said softly.

"No, it's alright." Liam said before he gave me a small smile.

"Her name was Olivia." Liam said as he looked over the gardens once more. "Her father was a drug lord, and was one of our top clients. My father and her family frequently did business together, so I saw her often."

"It wasn't long before I fell in love with her." Liam said after a moment.

"But we were dumb teenagers. Her father forbid her to date, but... I saw her anyway. When he found out he separated us." Liam said.

"But that didn't stop you, did it?" I said with a small smile.

"No." Liam said, his own smile stretching on his lips.

"After a few months of sneaking around, he finally caught us. He sent her to live with her Aunt in Mexico and..." Liam said, the small smile on his lips vanishing.

"They were ambushed by a rival and... without going into details, she was killed." Liam said as he stared off into the distance.

"I'm so sorry." I said as I placed a hand on Liam's back. The Liam I knew was strong headed, stubborn... it was strange seeing him so vulnerable.

"It's fine, it happened a long time ago." Liam said as he looked over at me. "I got my revenge, I did my mourning." Liam said stoically as he finished his drink.

"What about you?" He said, quickly changing the subject.

"I thought I was in love once." I said as I leaned up against the railing.

"And? What happened?" Liam said as he looked over at me.

"When I met her, I thought she was perfect. She made me feel wild, and free. But eventually, her true colors started to show and... everything became toxic. She did something that I could never forgive." I said as I looked up at the sky. "And I killed her because of it."

Liam was silent for a moment as he processed my words.

"The other night, when you helped me," I said as I looked over at him. "That's where I went."

"What did-" Liam began, but was cut off by the sound of a familiar voice.

"Liam!" I scowled as I recognized Micahs voice. I didn't even turn to face him.

"Micah, what impeccable timing you have." Liam said with annoyance as he turned on his heel. He walked away from me, thankfully bringing Micah along with him.

I stood there, watching as people frolicked in the garden beneath me. Some drinking, some kissing, one of the couples was even shamelessly fucking in the corner.

I wasn't sure why I felt comfortable around Liam. When I first met him, I couldn't stand him, now here I am, sharing intimate details of my love life with him. I chuckled to myself before I finished the remaining liquor in my glass.

"Mila," A man said from behind me, I turned to see a tall man wearing a red and black mask. His black hair was styled neatly, and his lean physique shown from his tuxedo hugging his every muscle. His gaze was sharp, and his entire demeanor was intimidating and powerful. His voice sounded vaguely familiar, yet I couldn't quite figure out where I've heard it before.

"Shall we dance?" He asked as he held out his hand towards me. I never told him my name, and his question was more of a demand than anything. I looked over to see Liam in the venue, talking to Micah in the corner of the room before I looked back at the man in front of me.

"Or do you have to ask permission first?" He said as he tilted his head. I narrowed my eyes at him before I slowly placed my hand on his extended palm.

We walked in silence towards the center of the dance floor. He placed his hand on the small of my back as we extended out our arms and began dancing elegantly across the floor.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I asked.

"I'm hurt you don't recognize me." He said seriously as he looked down at me. "We've done so many missions together."

My heart sank at his words, and I could help by tense as we continued dancing together. His voice, his demeanor, I should have known, I should have recognized him earlier.

"Hello, Kenji." I said as I looked up at him, my jaw clenched. He gave me a wicked smile in return.

Kenji Sato, an S-Ranked assassin also known as "The Demon". He was a madman, a batshit crazy assassin who could kill you before you even knew what was happening. He stood among the greats in Corporate, rivaling even my sister in terms of completed missions. I've worked with him dozens of times, and each time he surprised me with the sheer level of brutality he displayed. The only think he loved more than killing was himself, and he was known to be extremely vain.

"You've quite a bounty on your head." He said as I glared at him.

"What's it up to now?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes.

"Three million." Kenji said as he twirled me gracefully.

"Oh, it went up." I said with an unamused tone.

"Significantly." Kenji said as he pulled me closer to him.

"Well, if you're going to kill me, hurry up and get on with it." I said, our chest pressing against each other. Kenji held me gaze as a small smile grew on his lips as I mentally prepared myself. Kenji was fast, much faster than I was. Even worse, my back wasn't completely healed from my fight with Nadia.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now, don't be hasty. It's a lovely evening, I wouldn't dare ruin it with bloodshed." He said as he pulled me closer. He dipped me slowly, his hand slowly gliding up my spine. He dipped his head, brining his lips closer to my ear.

"Besides, you and I both know you're untouchable... at least for the moment." He said, his lips caressing my ear. He looked over to his side, glancing at Liam who was now looking over at us. His expression was stoic as he glared at Kenji, then over to me.

"But that protection won't last forever." He said as pulled me upright and we began dancing once more.

"Then why are you here?" I asked seriously.

"As a courtesy." He said as the music began to increase in pace. "Corporate sent me to kill you. And since you were always one of my favorites to work with, I figured I'd give you a professional courtesy that I'll be the one who will end your life." Kenji said before he spun me around once more.

"How thoughtful of you." I said sarcastically.

"Hm. Adorable. He can't keep his eyes off of you." Kenji said as he looked over to the side once more. The music began to end, and we stood there in the center of the dance floor. He lifted his hand, placing it gently under my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"I've heard rumors about him. Heard the man has one hell of a temper. What do you think he would do if I slit your throat right here on the dance floor?" Kenji said seriously.

"It's cute that you think you could kill me." I said as I glared up at him, making him chuckle softly.

"I wonder if he knows who he's protecting." Kenji mused as he tilted his head, inching his face closer to mine. My jaw clenched and a scowl stretched across my face.

"Something tells me you haven't told him yet." He said with a wicked smile. "Would be a shame if he found out."

"Oh look, here he comes." Kenji said as we both looked over to see Liam quickly making his way through the crowd.

"Try not to die before I get to you." He said as he bowed his head. Not even a moment later, Liam walked up beside him, an annoyed look on his face.

"Mila." Liam said as he placed his hand possessively on the small of my back.

"If you'll excuse us, we have somewhere to be." Liam said with a harsh tone as he glared at Kenji.

Kenji simply nodded at Liam, a small smile on his lips as we walked away from him.

"See you soon, Mila." Kenji said, making Liam pull me closer to him.