by Kelly Moore
“That’s what I said!” he says with a laugh as he motions toward me. His happy go lucky attitude pisses me off more than anything. He has held me captive for two years, tortured me, and threatened my family, but this is all just a good time to him.
“Anyway, let’s eat while we talk about this next case.” Miles motions toward the guard and he sets down a plate in front of each of us.
I take a sip of coffee and watch as he opens a file and hands over a picture.
I pick the picture up off the table and study it. It’s a man that looks to be in his sixties. His graying hair is balding on top. But he has kind blue eyes and a wide smile. He reminds me of my grandpa in this picture. Two young children, whom I assume to be his grandchildren, are sitting in his lap. They all look happy sitting in front of Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World.
“What did he do?” I ask.
His dark eyes study me while a smile plays on his lips. “Nothing.”
I let the picture fall from my fingers. “Nothing?”
He nods. “That’s right. This man hasn’t done a damn thing other than work hard and make a lot of money. His beneficiary is getting impatient.”
I grit my teeth. “So you’re telling me that I have to kill an innocent man so someone can collect on his life insurance?”
He picks up his coffee and takes a sip. “That’s right, John.”
I take a deep breath and shake my head. I knew this was how it was going to go. He’s breaking me in easy. He knew I wouldn’t be okay with killing an innocent person. He could have had any of his other lackeys do this job, but this is my test, just another form of torture.
“And if I don’t do it?”
He lifts one shoulder and lets it fall while picking up his coffee cup. “Well then, I’d say our fun is over. If you can’t pass your tests, you won’t get your key to freedom.”
Fuck. What choice to do I have?
He must see me waiver because he hands me a map. “Your position will be here.” He points to a location on the map. “You’ll be going at this solo. No guards. I have to see if I can trust you to get the job done and come back without being supervised. Do you think you can handle that?”
I bite my tongue and nod once while keeping my eyes on my untouched plate of food. I reach down and take the bullet out of my boot and slide it into my pocket.
“Let’s get to it then!”
I take my place on top of the building and duck down below the ledge. I have to give Miles credit he’s doing everything he can to make this harder with each job. The first was a piece of cake: dead of night, taking out a criminal. This one: middle of the day, busy street, innocent person.
I take a deep breath and peek over the ledge and into the window of my target’s office. He has his back turned to the window as he sits at his desk. This is too easy. He’s not going to expect it, nor will he feel a thing. It will be over before it even started for him.
I aim my rifle at his head and take a deep breath. He’s in my sights, but something is stopping my finger from pulling the trigger. I can’t do this. I can’t kill an innocent person. I pull my weapon back and lean my back against the ledge, sitting down.
I have to do this. If I don’t, I won’t ever gain his trust enough to get away. If I fail, he will go after my family.
Images of Brooklyn, Jake, and my son flash before my eyes. That’s all I need.
I get back up to my knees and aim the rifle at his head. It’s a clean shot, nothing in the way. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, slowly squeezing the trigger.
The rifle fires and I open my eyes to see the man slumped over his desk with blood pooling around him. The computer screen in front of him is shattered and covered in his blood. My stomach rolls and threatens to empty itself… not at the sight of blood, but from killing an innocent man, something I promised myself I would never do. But what choice did I have? I will do anything to keep my family safe. I force myself to pack up my supplies and make my way to the street.
I hop on the bike I was given to complete the assignment and rev the engine, shifting it into gear and peeling out in the direction of my prison, returning like a good little minion.
Job two: completed
“Good job, John!” Miles says as I throw down my bag and sit at the table.
“I need a drink.”
He stands and opens a cabinet. He pulls out a bottle of bourbon and pours it into a plastic cup before handing it over.
I throw the drink back as quickly as I can and motion for another.
He pours a little more and says, “Now, now, John. Take it easy. There’s a reason you did this job in the middle of the day.”
“Yeah? Why’s that? More people to catch me?”
He lets a small laugh fall from his lips. “No, because your final trial is tonight.”
“Two hits in one day?”
He nods as he puts the bottle away and takes his place across from me. “That’s right.” He pulls out another file.
I set my cup down and watch him open the file and hand me a picture. My heart pounds and my anger skyrockets as I see the Polaroid image of the woman.
“Is this some kind of sick joke?” I ask, not taking my eyes off the photo. The woman looks very similar to Brooklyn with her red curls blowing wildly in the wind. Her eyes are closed, but her smile is wide. Her face shape is nothing like Brooklyn’s, it’s more rounded than angular. But it doesn’t make it any easier. I’ve never killed women, especially not one that looks like the woman I’m desperately in love with.
He grins. “No joke. Her name is--”
“I don’t care,” I interrupt. If I have to kill this woman, I don’t want to know anything about her. Knowing her will only make this harder.
“Her name is Stacy and she’s a kindergarten teacher.”
I slam my palm down forcefully on the table, rattling everything on top. “I don’t want to hear it.”
He doesn’t stop. He continues to torture me. “She just got home from her honeymoon. She’ll never see it coming.”
I stand and flip the table on its side. The contents fly across the room and shatter on impact. The guards make a move toward me, but Miles holds up his hand, stopping them while he sits in the chair as if the table is still there. “I watched your every move on that last job. I saw the way you faltered, only deciding at the last minute to do your job.” He stands and walks closer to me. “That’s exactly the kind of shit we don’t need. I need you to be sure of yourself and the job you’re doing. Get out of your fucking head if you ever want to see that little family of yours.” He turns and walks away. “The map is in the file. Don’t make me regret this.”
I lean against the wall and bang my head a few times. I have to get my shit together. I have to get this done if I ever want to be rid of him, if I ever want to see Brooklyn again and meet my son.
After a few quiet minutes of seething to myself. I bend down and pick up the file before moving to sit on the couch. Both guards followed Miles out the paper-covered doors, but I’m sure they’re not far away.
I look over the map and see he has me marked to set up around the corner from my apartment building. The mother fucker is just trying to make this hard for me. He’s giving me more space and getting me closer to familiar things just to see if I will run.
I look closer and realize that the building I’m supposed to perch upon is the bar that Brooklyn and I met that night so long ago. Memories wash over me of that evening: her blonde wig, that sexy-as-hell black dress that I later peeled off to discover her soft, cream colored skin that teases every inch of me to this very day. If I would have never met her, would she have ended up as one of my hits? The thought of her dying at my hands is chilling.
I shake my head, clearing it of the images.
“Just a little while longer, Brook. Please, don’t give up on me,” I whisper.
I hop reluctantly on the motorcycle that Miles supplied me and drive the short distance to the bar. I park in the back alley
, next to a dumpster, hidden away in the shadows. With my bag slung over my shoulder, I dismount and step back to look up at the tall building.
This building has at least twenty floors, but only the bottom level is used as the bar. The rest is just unused space, storage.
My eyes land on a fire escape, but it seems to only be accessible from the third floor - which means that I have to walk through the bar undetected. I kick at the small pieces of gravel and curse under my breath. Miles did this shit on purpose, I’m sure of it.
I walk over to the back door and try the handle, but it’s locked. Of course it’s fucking locked. If I had all my gear, this would be no problem, but Miles didn’t give me anything but a gun.
I kick it with the toe of my boot, annoyed by the situation already.
I walk around to the side of the building and in through the front entrance. The black hat I’m wearing is pulled low over my face, hiding my features as much as possible. I’ve been in this bar so many times, I know exactly how to get to the third floor even though it’s clearly marked off.
The bar is in full swing, same as the night Brooklyn and I met here. Multicolored lights flash through the smoky scene while blissful people on the dance floor sway and grind against each other. The music is loud enough and the lights are low enough, I hope, to let me sneak through the crowd unnoticed.
I make my way through the drove of people and slip down the hallway where the bathrooms are located. At the end of the hall is a door - it that leads to the stairs. I keep my head low as I walk quickly down the long, dark hallway. The handle is locked… I’ll just have to bust through it. It probably will be inaudible over the music anyway.
I take a step back, ready to ram my shoulder into the door when I hear, “John?”
I freeze. I know that voice. My heart slams against my chest as goosebumps rise on my flesh.
“Is that you?” she whispers, warily taking a few small, slow steps closer.
I want nothing more than to throw her against this wall and kiss her like I’ve been dying to for two years, but should I do that? Letting her know that it really is me will open a whole different world for her.
I’m still standing with my back turned partially toward her, but when she places her hand on my shoulder, I lose all self-control.
I spin her around, shoving her against the wall. My fingers tangle into her red locks even though my hand protests in pain. I move my lips to hers. I need to feel her, taste her. The moment we touch, she knows it’s me. She kisses me back fiercely, running her hands over my face like she can’t believe I’m standing right in front of her.
Her delicious scent and sweet taste tease me, making me forget everything else going on around me. I hear a soft moan leave her as I gently bite her lower lip before pulling away.
I pull my head back and hold her to me. “What are you doing here? It’s too dangerous.” I rest my forehead against hers and close my eyes, fully alive in this short moment together.
“The… the text.”
I open my eyes and see hers are brimming with tears. “That was for Jake. Please tell me you didn’t come alone.”
She shakes her head. “No, he’s here with me. We thought you were dead. You’ve been gone so long,” she cries.
“I know. Shh, please don’t cry. We don’t have time. You need to get out of here.” I take a step back, releasing her.
“No! Not without you. How is any of this even possible?” She closes the distance between us again, pulling herself against my chest.
I tilt her head back to look at me. “I can’t. Not yet. Miles is watching me. I don’t have time to explain. I’m here to complete a job. I don’t know what he has up his sleeve for me, but it’s dangerous. I need you to take this.” I slide my hand into my pocket and pull out the bullet. “See what you can find out about it. It’s some kind of nanotechnology.”
She takes the bullet and nods.
I lean in and give her one last long, slow kiss. I let her taste sink into me, knowing full well it may be the last.
Chapter Seven
John
“Go back to Jake. Tell him to keep his phone close by. Get that bullet analyzed. I’ll find a way to call him. As soon as I know it’s safe, I’ll come back to you.” I run my hand down her arm, feeling the electrical current coursing through her body.
“Wait! I have so much to tell you, and a million questions,” she says as her tears finally fall.
“Please, go.” My own words hurt coming out. I need her to get the hell out of here. “Now, Brooklyn!” I bark, instantly feeling like a complete asshole. All I want to do is feel her underneath me, but instead I’m causing her more heartache. I watch her walk off into the darkness of the bar. Every ounce of me wants to go after her, but Miles’s voice resounds in my mind. “I’ll kill your family.”
I step back, then slam my left shoulder into the door. It doesn’t open, but breaks enough that I can jar it open. I rush up the stairs two at a time until I reach the third floor. I sit with my back against the wall under the window, waiting for my heart to slow its breakneck pace. Adrenaline has nothing to do with its pounding this time around; it is entirely from seeing Brooklyn. For a split second, my world was right again. I had her warm body next to mine. I rub my lips together to soak in the taste of her. She is my sole purpose in finishing this mission.
I get up on my knees, assembling my gun with its silencer. I look through the scope for my target. There she stands, sipping a glass of red wine, cutting up vegetables at the kitchen bar. She’s beautiful and looks just like Brooklyn. Her bastard of a new husband is the one who put a hit out on her. She inherited a shitload of money from her family and he wants it all for himself. The file indicated that he was the one that killed her family, but she is entirely naïve about his true nature.
My finger rests on the trigger. She looks up at that moment as if she sees me. My hand trembles and sweat beads down my face. My stomach turns. Sitting back down, I take my hat off and wipe my brow with my forearm. I breathe in deeply a few times to keep from hurling.
I can’t do this. Not even for Brooklyn. There has to be another way. “Think, Goddamn it, think.” I beat the back of my head on the wall behind me. “I’ve got to get her out of there.” I pull my hat on and jump off the ground, putting my gun in the back of my pants. I head down the same way I came in and scan the dark bar. My eyes stop in the very back corner. The lighting is dim, but I would recognize her anywhere. She’s in Jake’s arms crying. I watch her shoulders and head bob slightly in his arms. He’s kissing the top of her head.
I take one step toward them and stop myself. She and my son have Jake. They’ve all survived and they’ll do it again. I have to put a stop to this. “Goodbye, Brooklyn,” I whisper to myself. She looks up at that moment and I could swear her eyes lock on mine, but there is no time for emotions right now. I force myself to look away and make my escape out of the bar.
Once I clear the door, I rush across the street, darting in between cars. Entering her apartment building, I find the stairs and make my way up quickly. My head is throbbing and sweat continues to roll down my face. I make it to outside her apartment door and turn the knob slowly. It’s unlocked.
I walk through the large open living room to the kitchen. She jumps back, holding the knife in the air when she sees me. I raise my hands so that she can see I’m unarmed. “I’m not here to hurt you. Your husband has hired some really bad men to kill you. You need to get out of here.”
“Get out of my house!” she screams and moves toward her cell phone sitting on the kitchen counter.
I pull my gun out, aiming it at her. She drops the chopping knife and it clangs on the tile floor. “I don’t want to hurt you, Stacy.”
“How do you know my name?” her voice quivers and she visibly shakes with fear.
“I don’t have time to tell you everything, but you need to leave now or your life will end today.”
Her body stills and she takes a step toward me. “My hus
band wouldn’t do such a thing.” I watch her hand as it runs across the countertop, moving closer to me. My hand shakes and my eyes blur as the sweat pours down my face. Why the fuck isn’t she running?
“You’re scared,” she says, stepping even closer.
“If you won’t leave, I will kill you. I don’t have any other choice.” I lean my head to one side, cracking my neck, trying to regain control.
“Then you will have to kill me.”
“Just fucking leave! Please… please don’t make me do this.” She stands her ground in front of me. My finger moves to the trigger. I close my eyes for a split second and see Brooklyn’s face. My mind flashes forward to when she learns what I’ve done to get back to her. The disgust and hate in her eyes is more than I can bear. I can’t live with her hating me and I can’t live the rest of my life doing Miles’ dirty work.
I exhale loudly and slam the gun on the counter. “I’m telling you the truth. Your husband wants you dead so that he can have all the money you inherited!” I step backward out into the living room. She grabs the gun off the counter and follows me. “He is the one that killed your family. He made it look like an accident.”
“I know what my husband is up to.” Suddenly she looks nothing like Brooklyn. The innocent face of a teacher has turned into a killer. Her hand is steady as she points the gun at me. “I learned of my husband’s actions on our honeymoon.” She saunters closer. “I guess Miles forgot to change the name in the contract to my husband as the mark. I’ll have to make sure to get my money back.” She spits out the ‘k’ as she speaks.
“Go ahead, kill me. I’m a dead man either way. I deserve to die for the things that I’ve done. I’m no better than the man that employs me.” I drop to my knees and lower my head. “When this is over, you’ll meet a woman named Brooklyn.” I raise my eyes to hers. “Tell her I’m sorry and that I love her more than life itself.”
