by Hart, Eve R.
Awkwardly while laying on my side, I brought my binoculars up to my eyes. I couldn’t see much because the damn building across the way was all shut up. And no, there weren’t any windows. Convenient, right? I gave it about twenty minutes and when my target hadn’t walked out, I gave up on trying to see anything.
Deciding it was best to head back to my car and find a spot back closer to the main road that was less suspicious, I did just that.
An hour later, I saw his car drive by, followed by another one.
This should be fun.
But it wasn’t.
Both the cars headed in the same direction. I lost sight of them when they pulled into a private parking deck that belonged to what appeared to be an upscale building that I would have guessed held condos or apartments.
Knowing I couldn’t follow them, I found a spot a few blocks up on the side of the street.
This was going to suck.
I had no clue what this building was.
I scanned my notes again to see if it was one that he owned but I didn’t find it on my list. Maybe Dalton had missed it. But something was telling me that wasn’t it. Because Dalton was good and very thorough, he never half-assed shit, at least not for me. And with his connection to the FBI, I assumed I had as much as they had if not more.
There was something else here.
I just had to figure out what.
But first, I had to figure out where the hell he’d gone.
It was a risky move to try and find a way to look into the building. I could miss his exit and have to start all of this shit over again once I tracked him down.
There was something nagging me in the back of my head that I needed to find out what was inside that building. I’d been in the game long enough to know that I had to listen to that gut feeling.
“If I were a rich, entitled, heroin supplier, where would I buy a place?” I thought out loud not too quietly as my feet carried me up the block.
The top floor.
I mean, I could have been wrong, but it didn’t feel like I was.
I imagined that sort of place had a private elevator or you at least had to have a special key card to access the top floors. No way I was walking in there and getting access.
So it looked like it would be one of the surrounding buildings, if I could even do that much. Most of these places all looked the same. I doubted I’d be able to find one where I could just walk in and make my way up to the roof.
My eyes scanned the buildings. One of them had a sign with balloons attached to it sitting on the sidewalk right outside the front door.
Open House.
Was this my lucky day? It kind of felt like it was.
I was wearing a suit so I didn’t hesitate to walk in the unlocked front door knowing I’d fit right in.
“Can I help you, sir?” the guard in the front lobby asked me right away.
“I was hoping to check out the open house.” I tucked my hand in my pocket casually which I knew would set him at ease.
It worked, and with a smile, he let me onto the elevator and hit the eleventh floor for me. It wasn’t the top but hey, I’d take what I could get right now.
The real estate lady latched onto me the moment I walked through the door. I would have guessed she could smell my money right away.
It worked for me.
I let her shamelessly bat her eyes at me and run her fingers over my arm as I asked her what seemed like innocent questions. This whole thing was taking me a bit longer than I’d hoped but I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
The most important thing I got out of her was that this floor wasn’t allowed roof access, but she did flash me a key card letting me know that she had one available that did.
And the moment her back was turned, I swiped that sweet little card.
“I’ll let you help them. Mind if I look around?” I said once I noticed a couple walk through the door. Thank fuck for that, I was having a hard time shaking her.
“Sure, I’m here if you need anything.”
No, I didn’t miss the seductive way she said that.
I forced a smile and once she walked away to show the couple the kitchen, I smoothly darted out the door.
On the roof, I studied the building that seemed a little too close. I liked my privacy and if I was going to pay out the ass for a place, I didn’t want to be able to tell what my neighbor was eating for dinner.
In fact…
I stopped myself right there.
I was no Tom Cruise. I shouldn’t have even been contemplating if I could jump to the next roof or not.
That would be monumentally stupid.
Or would it be?
I shook away the ridiculous idea and searched the windows across the way. Most of the curtains were wide open and I could clearly see into what appeared to be an office. Two men were talking, one of them was my target, the other I would have guessed as the man that had followed behind him. He looked more like a bodyguard than anything and I wondered why I hadn’t seen him before.
This guy was cocky.
Leaving all his windows uncovered like he had nothing to hide.
I could just end this right here, right now.
Well, I could have if I’d had my rifle on me.
Now was the time to come up with a plan.
I felt it in my gut that this was the place. This would be where I took him down.
I didn’t doubt he’d end up back here at some point, he seemed way too comfortable as he stood right behind the desk. Like he was meant to be there. Like it was his.
Something startled both the men and a moment later I lost sight of them.
From the side I was on, I didn’t regain visual again and I wondered if they were headed out.
There was a plan forming in my head as I scoped out the rooftop, the angles and vantage points mapping themselves out in my head. I just had to make sure I could get back up here.
I’d hold onto the key card for now and hope like hell they wouldn’t somehow lock it out of the system or whatever it was they did. I’d only need it to stay active another day or two. At least that was what I was praying. I was ready to get this thing over with.
Then again, praying never got me very far, and I wasn’t one to go in without a backup plan.
Spotting the emergency stairwell on the backside of the elevator, I knew just what to do. I pulled out my knife and a couple of paper clips. I always kept those things on me. A quick, smooth jerk of my blade and the alarm for the door was cut. As for the paper clips, I opened them up and used them to block the latch hole. I tested the door a few times for good measure. Yep, looking at it, you’d never know anything was off.
I headed down the stairs, scoping for cameras.
There were a few but the angles were so I could slip by and only have my back seen. Good enough for me. There was a chance that no one would even notice. Most of the time, they didn’t keep an eye on this part of the building unless something came up later. And by the time they looked at the recorded feed, I’d be gone.
I let him be for the night, knowing that by the time I made it back to my car he’d probably be long gone.
With any luck, he’d be back soon.
And I’d be fucking ready this time.
Interview
Part 5
“You said that you don’t know what happened?”
“No, I didn’t see anything. He was standing there and then he hit me, that was the last thing I remember before I passed out.”
“You are aware that we found you with a gun in your hand?”
“Yes, but I didn’t shoot him.”
“Then how did he end up dead… with a bullet hole through his skull?”
-11-
Jessica
Play the part.
I kept repeating that to myself over and over in my head. Like, seriously, it was the only thing I could think at this point.
I was scared out of my mind because I was starting to think that I might ha
ve met my match. There was no escape for me. Not that I could see. The longer I waited for Ray to get home, the more the walls started to close in on me.
The day wore on and I knew he’d be back at some point today. That was what Glen had told me and I hadn’t heard anything differently since then. I could see the change in him the more the time ticked on. He watched me a little harder. Almost like he wanted to look like he was doing his job the best he could. That little shift was enough of a clue to tell me that Ray would be coming soon.
All day I was on edge.
I was also still irritated that I hadn’t found a single worthwhile thing during my search that gave me a clue to who the real Ray was. All that wasted time…
And then I was mad.
The kind of mad that made me feel crazy. I didn’t survive all this time just to go down like this. No, come hell or high water, I was going to fight my way out.
I was going to end him before he had a chance to do so to me.
I’d never killed someone before. I might have been rough around the edges but I didn’t think I was a killer. The thought turned my stomach, but I saw no other way.
“How much longer am I going to be stuck here?” I asked the new bodyguard.
Yes, another one had shown up right around lunchtime today. I didn’t know his name, nor did I care to. I assumed he’d come to relieve Glen since I didn’t see him anywhere in sight.
“I’m going to need some groceries soon. Someone ate the last of my yogurt, by the way.” I eyed him knowing it had to be one of them.
He looked at me like he didn’t give a shit.
“There’s enough food in there. You’ll be fine,” he said moving his eyes away from me as if I annoyed him. His attention went back to his phone and it was clear that I’d been dismissed.
“Can you at least let me call Ray? I’d like to know when he’s going to be back so I can make dinner?” It was a lame attempt and I knew it. I hoped he was dumb enough to fall for it.
It was at this point that Glen came walking into the room from the hall. He casually took a seat on the couch and stared at me for a long moment.
I took in his appearance. He was freshly showered and didn’t look the least bit tired like he had earlier in the day. I could only assume that he’d taken a nap here, and then made himself right at home in the guest bathroom. The thought sent a shiver racing down my spine. It was bad enough that these two men were in the condo with me, but something about him seeming so comfortable and breaching the line to the hallway made me sick. He’d been too close to where I slept. I guess it didn’t really matter, either way, I didn’t feel safe.
“I don’t like you,” Glen said to me with a hateful look in his eyes. “I don’t trust you.”
I stared at him slightly shocked.
“I wonder how Ray would take it if I told him you talked to me like that,” I said in an even tone.
His eyes flashed with anger and I knew he’d slipped up. I suspected that his boss wouldn’t take too kindly to him treating me like he was ready to get rid of me. Which made me think that he hadn’t planned on killing me. Not yet, anyway.
“Tell me when he’ll be back and I will forget the whole thing.” I smiled at him. The kind of smile that was sly and said I’d gotten the upper hand here.
“In a few hours,” he mumbled before shifting his gaze to the other bodyguard.
“Great,” I said cheerfully though his answer wasn’t all that helpful. I guess that was the best I was going to get for now. “Then I’m going to make him a spectacular dinner.”
I didn’t give him a chance to reply as I turned and headed to the kitchen.
I didn’t give a shit about making Ray a nice dinner, I just needed something to do. Fuck him, he could choke on this meal for all I cared. The thing I needed was a distraction right now. And to get away from those assholes in the living room.
A few hours was plenty of time to make something. Maybe a little too much considering I had basic cooking skills. There would be no fancy, takes-all-day-to-make kind of meal coming from me. At most, I needed an hour. But I was going to do my best to drag this whole cooking thing out. You know, take my time and make sure I did it right. I hadn’t been born with any kind of kitchen skills. And of course, I didn’t have the type of parents that taught me things like that. Then being on the streets, well, meals were pretty much anything you could get your hands on.
I paused for a moment, remembering how Ellie tried to teach Reagan and me how to cook. She made the most wonderful food. Reagan was better than I was. Well, that was how I saw it but she’d tell you the opposite.
How much of a mess had my life turned into?
I missed them even more now. I missed the MC. That feeling of being protected every day was something I might have taken for granted. I’d give anything to have that back right now.
Shaking my head, I searched through the kitchen trying to make sense of the random things that were there. I had always been bad at grocery shopping. I wouldn’t sit down and plan meals, then head to the store with a list of all the things I’d need for that. I went in and grabbed whatever caught my eye and hoped I could use it somehow. It was a terrible way to shop and I knew it. But I never wasted anything. I learned a long time ago that I should never take the small things for granted. Like food.
Little did I know that the chicken smothered in a cream sauce and topped with swiss cheese that I’d put together would never be eaten. Shame. I’d never know if it was any good.
Because I was informed shortly after I pulled it out of the oven that Ray would be here soon and he wanted to take me to dinner. ‘Wear something nice,’ Glen had said to me repeating the words of his boss.
In the closet, I pulled out the blue cocktail dress that had been sitting there for months. Sometimes, Ray would take me out to a really nice dinner and a while back he’d surprised me with a few nice dresses to wear for those occasions. I’d never worn the blue one, though. I couldn’t tell you why.
I straightened my hair and did my makeup.
All the while thinking of how I could use this opportunity to escape. Ray wouldn’t make a scene in a public place, I was pretty sure of that.
I slid on my heels and waited in the bedroom for Ray to get home. It was the place I felt the safest but that wasn’t saying much. If only we weren’t so high up, I could just sneak out of the window.
I heard steps approaching and I jumped off the bed figuring it was best to not look like I was waiting to go to my own funeral. My legs were unsteady as I walked to the bathroom and pretended to be checking my hair.
“You look beautiful,” Ray said and I looked at his reflection in the mirror.
“Thank you,” I told him and plastered on a smile.
He came closer, every step pounded in rhythm with my heartbeat.
My body was stiff as he leaned down and placed a light kiss against the side of my head. Something that had always seemed sweet and welcoming, but now it just made my skin crawl.
“Are you ready?” he asked and I gave him a nod. “I’m taking you to Cecile’s. I know we’ve been talking about trying it for a while now. I figured there’s no time like the present.”
“I can’t wait,” I told him with the feeling of dread clutching tight in my belly.
No time like the present.
The way he said it made me think that there wouldn’t be a future for me to go there later.
-12-
Jessica
The dinner seemed nice and normal if you were looking from the outside. Two people, sitting together on a romantic date. But something was off, that much was clear to me.
I had been too on edge to really eat my food. I hoped I pushed it around on the plate enough to make it looked like I had tasted some of it.
“I’m sorry I’m gone so much,” he said as he took my hand.
His eyes were on the road ahead as he spoke. I assumed we were headed back to the condo now that dinner was done. I knew his bodyguards were in the SU
V right behind us. Three of them now, since he’d brought another one back with him when he’d returned to the condo to pick me up. There was no getting away right now. There hadn’t been the entire night. From the moment we left the condo, his fingers had been on my elbow as if he were holding me in place. That move was new and it didn’t go unnoticed to my brain. That had been the first hint that something wasn’t right tonight. But deep down, I think I knew tonight was only going to end one way. I wasn’t sure why he kept up the act but I figured it was best if I kept up mine as long as I could.
Something tickled in the back of my head.
No wait, that move wasn’t new, he’d done it to me once before, but it had been gentler then. The night he asked me out. I remembered how he grabbed my elbow to keep me from walking away before he had a chance to get what he wanted.
Strangely, Ray had played it off through dinner, carrying on conversations like normal and asking how my day was.
I thought I might have my chance, but when I’d told him I was going to the ladies’ room, one of his bodyguards came out of nowhere and stood outside of the windowless space waiting for me.
I was stuck.
I knew it.
And his tone now, though his words were a bit sweet, was nothing that made me think this was a good thing.
It was like he knew. He just fucking knew. Something wasn’t right but other than pushing open the door of the car and praying I survived the tuck and roll, I didn’t see a way out.
Even if I tried that there was no way I could outrun all of them. Or a bullet, which I was sure he wouldn’t hesitate to fire at my head.
“I understand,” I told him, knowing I needed to fill the silence with something.
“Did you have a lovely night?”
“I did,” I said to him and forced a smile as I turned his way. “Thank you.”
