Black Belt Anthology

Heartbreakers, Incorporated

Genre: action + thriller

Thea watched, amused, as Brennon kicked a rock. It skidded across the ground, eventually splashing into the lake beside them. In the darkness, the water was an inky black color.

"I take it Remi talked you into this?" Thea asked. She tilted her head toward Remi, who was following a few feet behind them.

Brennon shrugged. "We made a deal--I come tonight, he joins us at the gym tomorrow before work."

She smirked. "He must have been really desperate to make that deal." When Brennon didn't respond, though, she frowned. "Why didn't you want to help tonight? The three of us always do these things together."

"I just don't like the idea." He eyed Thea's clothes to make a point, from the uncharacteristic stilettos to a far more revealing top than normal. Even though he knew they were part of the plan for tonight, they made him uncomfortable.

But Heartbreakers, Incorporated thrived on the uncomfortable. Thea, Remi, and Brennon made their living by breaking people's hearts so their significant others wouldn't have to. It was a surprisingly lucrative job. 

The trio was currently approaching the home of its newest target, Jax Dayholt. Unbeknownst to him, his fiancee, Sophia Boone, had changed her mind on their engagement. She'd hired Heartbreakers, Incorporated to send Thea to the lake house they were staying at and pretend that she was romantically involved with Jax. Even though the man would be clueless, it would give Sophia an excuse to break off the engagement and never speak to him again.

When the trio had first started the company, they never could've imagined how many people would be willing to buy its services. Brennon had certainly lost some of his faith in humanity after several years in the business, but it paid well. And wealthy clients like Sophia Boone were willing to pay practically anything to spare their own images.

As if to prove exactly how rich the young woman was, the trio passed the lake house's private dock on their left. A white yacht floated on the water. It had two stories with metal poles as supports. A floodlight on top bathed the wooden dock in light.

"Ten bucks you won't take it for a spin," Remi offered Thea, nudging her playfully.

She smirked. "Twenty, and you've got yourself a deal."

It was everything Brennon could do not to roll his eyes. They were in the middle of a job, and Thea and Remi were messing around. He huffed and eyed the yacht. Unless Thea was planning on somehow hotwiring the vessel, it wouldn't move without the ignition key.

Brennon looked away, then glanced back toward the yacht. Something had caught his eye. Something had moved.

"I guess I owe you twenty dollars, then," Remi said.

Thea nodded triumphantly before approaching the dock, high heels clicking on the wooden boards.

"Wait," Brennon said. He took a few slow steps toward Thea.

She paused and turned back toward him. "If you're going to try to talk me out of this..."

He shook his head. "Step away from the boat." When she didn't, he spoke again. "I saw something. It looked like metal glinting in the moonlight."

"God, that's so cliche," Thea said. "Besides, it was probably just a reflection off the--"

Shink. Brennon recognized the sound of metal being pulled from a sheath. A throwing knife, he realized with a feeling of dread.

His eyes darted back toward the yacht, where he'd seen something move. And there it was--a figured cloaked in the darkness, pulling their arm back so they could throw the knife they were holding.