Chapter 549: A Rescue Mission

The blank look on their faces when they realized that the hit mission's target was none other than Josiah Connor's wife, Sandra Hughes, only lasted for a couple of seconds before they were all appalled by the discovery.

"His wife?!" Damien exclaimed, feeling so disgusted about the situation. How could someone call a hit on their spouse? He knew that these things really did happen, but it still came as a complete shock. He loved Katherine so deeply that he could never imagine losing her—and for this person to order a kill? His jaw ticked.

He never thought Connor was this kind of person—a man who had donated millions in charity and was always on the news for helping the less fortunate wanted his wife dead.

Katherine let out a sigh and took a deep breath. She squeezed his hand to comfort him when she noticed how agitated he got. "I've seen this several times, but… this is still shocking."

"It's more common than you think," Gus added, shrugging as if it wasn't a shock to him anymore. "If it's not the wife—it's the husband, the sibling, the parents—the list goes on."

Amelia came forward with her arms crossed, staring at Director Hughes's photo on the screed as she probed, "How sure are you that it's her? Lavender is pretty vague… It could be anyone else?"

Chris was still slightly stunned by the realization, but he composed himself and answered, "I've seen Hughes several times. And every time we met, she would always wear these two pins on her clothes—one is the flag, and the other would be that lavender brooch on her collar. This would be too much of a coincidence. It's gotta be her."

"You know…" Katherine tilted her head. "If Connor is really targeting his wife, then it would make more sense now."

"Mm." Damien nodded, taking a deep breath and clearing his thoughts despite still being pissed. "I think so too. This isn't his first ordered service from Shadow. He must have known Parker before already. Later, Parker knew about Connor's wife and your meeting… As to why he would order a kill, Hughes must know the reason."

Styles quickly tapped his keys, pulling up the files that they were just checking earlier and zooming on the dates stamped on it. "The previous missions were last year and two years before that—all hits," he said, referring to the kind of mission it was—an assassination.

"Who are these people?" Katherine asked.

"Umm… Huh…" Styles paused as he pulled up data from the internet. "Both were once his partner in some investment. Both died in 'natural' causes as per the news articles, but we all know this is Shadow's doing."

"What a sneaky son of a bîtch," Damien cursed. He couldn't help but get mad. If he hadn't known about this news from their search in Shadow, he wouldn't have known how dirty this person was. "He's in it for the money."

"We have to move fast," Amelia reminded everyone who was still absorbed in their thoughts. "Styles, when and were?"

Snapping out of his trance, Styles quickly searched for the information regarding the mission and enlarged the image on the screen as he said, "Oh… It's tonight. At Holiday Harbor Hotel."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah… Hang on." He searched through multiple sites to see what he could find and showed it to the others, "There's a banquet hosted by—of course, none other than Mr. Connor himself. And he wants his wife dead in his own party. Could this get any worse?"

Not only did Connor want his wife assassinated, but he also wanted it to happen where there would be hundreds of people to witness his presence. It was a perfect scheme to get away with being incriminated if things go south.

"I'll try calling her again." Chris walked away, dialing Hughes's number as he stepped out of the room.

Not a minute later, he came back looking dejected and told them that he couldn't get a hold of her. "We have no choice. We need to intercept this mission."

"How are we gonna get in?" Katherine wondered with a concerned look on her face.

"You're not getting anywhere near that place," Damien said with simple directness.

"But Damien, we need to save Hughes—"

"It's too dangerous. This is Shadow's mission—which means an agent or a team of agents would be there. I can't let you." His voice was firm, and his expression was serious. There was no way that he would allow her to be in a risky situation.

Katherine understood what he was trying to say, but the urge to save someone was so overpowering. She had been taunted by the ghosts of her past and haunted by the nightmares that were her sins. If she didn't do anything to try and save this woman, she would forever be regretful.

She clenched her hands so tight until her knuckles turned white. She could feel her heart twist in agony with the thought of turning a blind eye on this matter. Killing so many in the past didn't mean that she was okay for someone to get killed while she just watch on the sidelines.

Damien could see her struggling. He hung his head low and squeezed his eyes shut as he thought things over. He knew what Katherine wanted to do and that she felt the need to save everyone she could—but at what price? Risking her life? He already knew the answer to that even if she didn't ask her himself. She was so selfless that even if she knew Shadow would be there, she would still choose to save someone.

This is one of the reasons why he loved her.

The hand that she clenched so hard instantly relaxed the moment that she felt Damien's warmth and as he threaded his fingers with hers. She turned to face him and saw the worried look on his face, yet his eyes were sharp when he nodded.

"Okay," he said, squeezing her hand as if to give her strength. "But you can't be there alone. I'll go with you. I received an invitation a few days ago, but I declined it. I'll just call Markus to arrange it for us."

Katherine slightly relaxed. She never wanted to against his wishes, but she couldn't live with herself if she just ignored this either.

Styles stretched his limbs and cracked his knuckles as if he was getting ready for a fight. "Well then, let's start planning."

…

Holiday Harbor Hotel at 6 p.m.

The hotel was located on the outskirts of the city—about half an hour away from the center. It wasn't as grand as Damien's Crown hotels, but it was still luxurious nonetheless.

Ever since Katherine worked for Damien, her tastes in quality materials and style had drastically changed. He always lived in excellence, and it showed with the way he dressed himself and the brand and company he represented. Wherever he went, people would always turn their heads to look at him.

This was why although they were five minutes late to the party, the staff and committee who welcomed the guests were beyond nervous when they saw Damien Park enter the premises. They had heard of his late RSVP, and his entrance weakened their knees. It wasn't only the organizers who were conscious about their event; even the hotel staff was on edge. Why wouldn't they? The Resort King had stepped foot in their territory.

Hooked with his arm, Katherine stood tall and confident, wearing a black one-shoulder, long-sleeved evening dress that was gathered at her waist to show off her curves, and had a slit that went up to her mid-thigh. She chose this plain dress to not attract too much attention to her as she didn't come here to party.

However, with her being next to Damien, getting everyone's attention out of her was not that easy. She was already used to the stares that they would get whenever they were seen together out in public, but tonight, she needed to lay low. How was she supposed to do that, though? When this protective man beside her refused to leave her on her own.

"Honey, you need to breathe," Damien reminded as he slightly leaned towards her to whisper.

She took a deep breath and ground her teeth in frustration, squeezing his arm as her way of calming down. "I just want to get this over and done with."

"Relax. We'll be fine. We have the best team tonight."

They discreetly scanned the room while sipping their drinks, meeting the eyes of some of Damien's men from the Alpha and Beta team of Maverick Security.

"Alright, Lady and Gents, I'm in. You guys ready to roll?" Styles spoke through the comms in their ears.

He was inside a trailer van parked outside the hotel with Gus, Felix, and Amelia as a backup—their last resort in case things wouldn't go as planned tonight while Chris remained in the safehouse, listening through their communication system.

The team responded inconspicuously before Damien exchanged looks with Katherine and confirmed, "We're all set."

The familiar tapping of the keys sounded through their comms, and they heard Styles's voice again, "Okay—oh! While you're in there, can any of you grab me some of those tiny sliders and cute little cheesy niblets?"