“You’re right. I do know when you’re around, but that doesn’t mean I want you here. I’m just wondering when you’re going to take out your gun and shoot another innocent person.”
“Honey, no one I shoot is innocent. Every single one of them deserves the fate that’s handed to them.” I led her to my car and though I could tell she didn’t want to go, she didn’t fight me either.
“How can you be so callous with life? Everyone deserves a second chance, don’t they?”
“Not the way I see it. Would you give a second chance to someone that kidnaps a child and molests them?”
She stopped and looked at me in stunned silence. But then her nostrils flared and she took a step back.
“Should you get a second chance when you took a pregnant woman hostage and were going to use her to get information on another innocent woman?”
“I would have never hurt her.”
“Why don’t I believe you? Somehow, I think you would do anything necessary to achieve your goals and it doesn’t matter who gets in the way.”
“That’s true in some cases, but when I found out that the man I was doing the job for wanted her killed to prove a point, I took him out.”
“That’s so noble of you.”
“I don’t do things to be noble. I do things that are necessary. Someone has to be the one to pull the trigger.”
“And that’s you.”
We stepped up to my car and I unlocked the door and helped her inside. Spreading my arms between the car door and the roof, I leaned in. “That’s me, and I’m damn good at my job. I could give you another demonstration if you need it.”
“I think I’ve seen enough bloodshed to last a lifetime. In case you didn’t realize this, I help people. I make sure they can live a long, healthy life so they can see their kids grow old. Maybe you should try that instead of living in the dark hole you call a life.”
“I might consider it if I had the right person to share it with. Are you up for the job?” I smirked at the anger radiating off her.
“I wouldn’t attach myself to you in any way, even if my life depended on it. You’re a killer and nothing you do could ever make you a good man.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the front window. I slammed the door and crossed to the driver’s side. I wasn’t sure why I was so upset at her words. I knew they were true and I also knew that she would feel that way, but hearing her say them sliced me wide open. I wanted her to know that a long time ago, there had been something good inside of me, something that a woman like her would want. That if I hadn’t seen all the terrible things I had in this world, I might still be that man, worthy of a woman like her.
It wouldn’t matter even if I told her. She had made up her mind about me and she was right. There was no coming back from the man I had become. I drove her home and took her inside, checking her house out.
“You don’t need to do this. I don’t live in your world where people are constantly lurking around every corner, waiting for the right moment to strike.”
“You might not, but I’m paranoid and it’s kept me alive this long.”
“Well, you can go keep yourself alive somewhere else, and please don’t come back. I don’t know what made you think that I would want you in my life, but rest assured, I would be much happier if you weren’t.”
I stepped into her personal space and let my fingers skim the sides of her body. It was just a small touch, but one that had me aching for more. “Then tell me why you always know when I’m around. Tell me why I can be watching you from across the street and not two minutes later, you’re aware that I’m there.”
I was just a breath away from her lips and I wanted a taste so desperately. Her harsh breaths fanned across my face, leaving me aching for more.
“I don’t know why,” she said, shaking her head. “But that doesn’t mean that I want you.” She put her hands on my chest and pushed herself back. I snaked a hand around her back before she could get too far and pulled her flush against me.
“One kiss. One kiss and then you can tell me to fuck off. I’ll never bother you again. I just need to know.”
I waited as she made her decision and when she gave a slight nod, I crashed my lips to hers, consuming her and filling a void inside me that had been missing for years now. One taste would never be enough. I plunged my tongue in her mouth and took what I sensed from the first moment was mine. As her fingers twisted in my hair, I knew that I was meant to be with this woman. She was the one person that could save my wretched soul.
She broke the kiss quickly and pulled away from me. Her fingers went to her lips and she wiped them as if she was tainted by my kiss. I recognized the look of disgust on her face immediately. Disgust that she had let me kiss her and disgust that she was actually attracted to me.
“Satisfied? You can go now. I gave you one kiss. We’re through.”
“We’re far from through, but I’ll leave you alone. For now.”
I walked out of her house and drove away, back to my new house that just happened to be two doors down and across the street from her where I could keep an eye on her. She didn’t know that I moved in on the same street, and I would keep it that way so that I could watch over her. She would be furious if she found out I was so close and always watching.
My new house was nothing like anything I would ever choose, but it was available and close to the woman I wanted. I had to have Pappy buy the house for me, but since I was paying in cash, the transaction went through quick and easy. All the bills went to Pappy, but I gave him access to an account that had enough money to take care of the property for a few lifetimes. He seemed so shocked that I was actually sticking around that he didn’t even balk when I asked him to do this for me. I couldn’t purchase the house under my given name since that would land me in prison and purchasing under my new name was a great way to have every enemy I ever made come after me.
Walking into my house, I bypassed the unfurnished rooms and headed straight for my bedroom, which was in the upstairs corner of the house with a perfect view of Kate’s house. From my room I could see directly into hers with my telescope. I couldn’t see all angles of her bedroom, but she had wide windows on her house that gave me a good enough idea of what she was doing at any given time.
It looked like she was getting ready for a bath right now and I was sorry that I hadn’t bought the house directly across from her. Still, this view allowed me to keep an eye on her without invading her privacy too much. Not that that was really a concern at this point. I had pretty much crossed the boundary from stalker to psycho.
My phone rang and I answered, writing down the details of my next assignment. This would be a long one and as I hung up the phone, I found myself worrying about how Kate would be while I was gone. Would she go home with the wrong man? Would anyone be looking out for her? It seemed unlikely, so I called Pappy over for a last minute consultation of sorts. When he arrived, I had a whole plan in place.
“You want a beer?” I asked as he walked into my house.
“Gee, I really like what you’ve done with the place,” he said, glancing around at the bare walls, bare carpet, and bare kitchen.
“Hey, I just moved in and I’m not here that often. I’ve got beer in the fridge and a bed. Not much more I need.”
“Then why did you want a house this big? It’s not like you’re ever going to fill the space. And why this neighborhood? You know, I was so shocked when you asked me to buy it that I didn’t even question where you would be living.”
“About that, I have a favor to ask of you. Well, really all of you at Reed Security.”
“Shoot.”
“I’m going out of town for a while on a job and I need some help with an installation.”
“Security?” I nodded. “Uh, you don’t have anything to steal,” he said as he spread his arms as if to show the empty house.
“It’s not for me. It’s for a neighbor. I want to keep an eye on her while I’m
gone.”
“Does this neighbor know that you’re planning to do this?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then, no. I’m not installing security on someone’s house without their knowledge.”
“I need this. I won’t be able to concentrate if I’m thinking about her safety while I’m gone.”
“Who is it?”
I sighed, knowing that he wouldn’t do it unless I gave him all the information he wanted. “Kate.”
“Kate? As in Kate Whittemore? The Kate that helps out Reed Security? The Kate that saved your life?”
“Yes. That Kate,” I said in exasperation.
His eyes widened and he put his hands on top of his head. “Oh shit. You wanted this house so you could be close to her. So you could spy on her. Fuck. I can’t believe I did this. Goddammit. I knew there was something strange about you wanting to live here. Cap is going to kill me.”
“Cap doesn’t need to know. As far as he’s concerned, you bought this house.”
“But you fucking live here. Next to a woman that works for us. And you didn’t fucking say anything!”
“Would you calm the fuck down? It’s not a big deal. I just want to make sure that she’s safe. You can tell Cap that you realized that she was living across from your rental property and you saw that she didn’t have security. Tell him that since she’s been working for him, you think that Reed Security should take extra precautions to ensure her safety.”
“You just got that all worked out, didn’t you?”
“Well, I had to have a plan for when you got here.”
“Hud, I can’t believe you put me in this position. Why are you even doing this? Are you planning on sleeping with her or something?”
I laughed and scratched the back of my head. “I’m the last person that Kate would ever want to sleep with. Trust me. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to keep her safe. She saved my life. The least I can do is keep an eye out for her.”
I hoped that my little plea would work and when he took the beer from the counter, I relaxed a little, knowing that I had gotten through to him. “Fine. I’ll talk with Cap and see what I can do, but you don’t access any of the video footage. That will all be monitored from Reed Security.”
I held my hands up in a sign of surrender. “You have my word. I just want to make sure she’s safe.” It was a total fucking lie.
“I’m going to hell for this,” he said as he took a swig of his beer.
✯✯✯✯✯
My next job was in Pittsburgh, so I didn’t have to be gone from Kate for more than a few hours. My target was a man in his thirties that liked to get young kids hooked on drugs. He had quite the business going for himself and the father that approached me only had a thousand dollars. I told him I’d do the job for free. The last thing Pittsburgh needed was more kids addicted to drugs.
I was scoping out his house when Pappy called me. “What’s up? I’m kind of busy.”
“Oh, well I was calling about Kate, but I can check it out myself.”
“Check what out?” I asked, suddenly not at all interested in the drug dealer.
“There was an alarm tripped at her house, but it could be anything. It was just the perimeter alarm, not the house alarm. I’ll head over there and check it out.”
“Alright. Let me know what it is. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“You got it, man.”
I hung up and went back to my recon, but I couldn’t concentrate. My thoughts were on Kate and if she was alright. What if she was at home and someone was trying to break in? I wasn’t there to protect her. I shook my head and tried to clear my mind. I just had to finish this job and then I could get back to her and make sure she was okay.
I snuck around the back of the house that was so run down, it made me wonder what the hell this guy did with his money. I made my way inside, being sure not to make any noise as I crept toward the back of the house where the man was working at his desk. I pulled my gun and held the gun to the back of the man’s head. I had already confirmed his identity from outside.
“Selling drugs to teenagers is a good way to end up dead, jackass.”
He raised his hands slowly, but I wasn’t about to let him walk away no matter how much he begged. This man didn’t deserve to live. I usually liked to take my time with my kills, but right now, I just wanted to get back to Kate. Just as I fired, my body jerked forward as something pierced my left shoulder. I spun and quickly fired off a shot, hitting another man right between the eyes. The pain was excruciating and I had to take deep breaths to clear the spots from my eyes. How had I missed the second man? He must have entered when I got distracted with Pappy’s phone call.
I stumbled through the house and back out to my car. I had an emergency medical kit that I kept in my car, so I pulled it out and grabbed as many gauze pads as possible and placed them on my shoulder under my jacket. I gritted my teeth and tried my hardest not to yell from the pain. I needed to get this taken care of ASAP. I was pretty sure the bullet had hit bone, so I had a little time, but not much before the pain would make me pass out. There was only one place I could go right now. I just hoped I could survive the drive.
CHAPTER THREE
Kate
I COULD FEEL his eyes on me almost every night as I shut down my practice. I couldn’t see him because he always dressed in black and he blended into the shadows, but my body was tuned into his. I could feel his eyes on me the same way I could still feel his touch.
He had left me alone for a few weeks now, but he was always lingering in the shadows. I didn’t understand why he felt the need to watch over me, but on nights when he wasn’t there, for some reason, I felt very alone. I always knew that as long as he was around, I would be safe. I never worried anymore about leaving my practice late at night and even when I went home, I felt safer. It didn’t make any sense. How could I feel better knowing that an assassin was watching out for me?
I was just closing up for the night, gathering up the lingering notes I had made and filing them when there was a loud bang on the front door. I rushed to the reception area and sighed when I saw Knight standing at the front door. I hesitated, not sure if I should let him in or not, but then he put his hand on the door and it left a red streak behind. Rushing forward, I pulled open the door and just caught him as he collapsed into me.
“Knight. What the hell happened?”
He was shaking and sweating, which was never a good thing. I did my best to pick him up and luckily he was still conscious. “Just a little gunshot wound,” he slurred.
“Come on. I need you to help me. You have to walk or I’ll leave your butt here on the floor to bleed out.”
He staggered as he leaned heavily against me, just barely making it into my exam room. When I got him into a seated position on the exam table, he collapsed backward, luckily in the correct position. I could see blood staining his shirt and assumed that the wound was somewhere on his upper body. Running my hands over his chest, I felt the stickiness of blood, but couldn’t feel a wound. That’s when I saw the hole in the shoulder of his jacket. I rushed to the supply room and grabbed everything I would need to treat him as best I could. I wasn’t a hospital, but I kept most of the necessary supplies on hand in case I had an emergency at the clinic. I was just on my way back to the room when Hunter came running into the clinic.
“Oh, thank God. I saw the blood on the door and I thought something had happened to you.”
“Not to me, but your friend showed up here with a gunshot wound.”
I rushed off to the exam room and set everything on the desk, laying it out so I could easily grab what I needed. Hunter came in behind me and took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves to help. He grabbed the scissors and started cutting away Knight’s jacket and shirt. I had almost forgotten that he was a medic in the military.
“GSW to his left shoulder,” he said as he examined the wound. Hunter helped me roll Knight so that I could see the back of his shou
lder. The entrance wound was lower than the exit wound, which meant the bullet might have ricocheted off bone.
“I need to get an x-ray of his shoulder. The bullet probably hit bone. I need to see what I have to work with.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have a portable x-ray machine would you?”
“Down the hall. Last room.”
Hunter ran off to get it and I took a moment to calm myself. My heart was beating out of control and I worried that it wasn’t because of the emergency in front of me, but the fact that I cared what happened to him. Knight was pretty much out of it now and I took a moment to study him. He still looked deadly, but this time I saw a man that I was drawn to. A man that I couldn’t help but care about, even if he was a stalker and scared the shit out of me.
Hunter came back with the machine and I quickly assessed that the bullet had hit his Acromioclavicular joint. He was going to have at least a six week recovery time and then physical therapy, but he would be okay. I took a deep breath and was surprised that I felt like crying. Since when had I developed feelings for my stalker? I wasn’t even sure what kind of feelings they were at this point. I just knew that it felt wrong to feel them.
“It doesn’t look like there’s anything still in his shoulder, but I can’t be sure. He should be treated in a hospital.”
“You know that he can’t go to a hospital. He would be sent to prison.”
“That’s where he belongs,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure anymore that I really wanted him there.
“You don’t know everything about him. Don’t be too quick to judge.”
“He’s an assassin. Last I checked, it’s against the law to murder people.”
Hunter’s gaze turned to steel, but he kept his mouth shut, obviously not wanting to argue with me about it.
“If you can help me get him out to my truck, I can take him home with-” Hunter ran a hand over his head. “Shit. I have a job tomorrow. Any chance you could take him home with you?”
Knight: A Reed Security Romance (Reed Security Series Book 4) Page 3
