Assassin In My Bed

by Samantha Cade

  “This is amazing,” Penny, says, truthfully.

  Nora claps her hands in delight. “I’m glad you like it, and I’m so happy to share this meal with you.” Nora clinks her wine glass against Penny’s. “You are our honored guest. Isn’t that right, Zane?”

  When Zane doesn’t answer right away, Penny hears a thud beneath the table. She assumes Nora kicked Zane.

  “Right. Cheers,” Zane says, lifting his glass. He then tips the wine to his lips, and drains half of it in one gulp.

  Nora shoots her son a sharp glare, before turning back to Penny. “I don’t mean to overstep my bounds, but is that a black eye, dear?”

  Penny’s hand rushes instinctively to her swollen eye. In her emotional distress, she’d forgotten her physical pain, which returns throbbingly to her memory thanks to Nora’s mention.

  “Oh this,” Penny says, stalling while her brain formulates an excuse. She can feel Zane’s eyes boring into her. “I was riding my bike over some train tracks. My wheel got stuck, and it threw me off. That’s why I’m late. Sorry about that.”

  Nora takes a sharp breath in. “Yes, I wasn’t going to mention the tardiness, of course. Are you okay? Do you need some ice?”

  Before Penny can answer, Nora is swatting at her son, saying something in language Penny can’t understand. Zane stands.

  “I’ll be right back,” he says, before heading into the kitchen.

  Nora and Penny are left alone. Nora watches the kitchen door that Zane just walked through.

  “Don’t mind him,” Nora says with a smile. “He has these moods.”

  Penny laughs nervously. “I think we all have those.”

  Nora shakes her head, gazing wistfully towards the kitchen. “His father was the same way. Whenever something was bothering him, he’d just shut down. He didn’t want to deal with it.” Nora sighs deeply. “It takes a lot of patience, and persistence to deal with a man like that. You seem like a strong woman. I think you can handle him.”

  “How?” Penny blurts out. She covers her mouth. She didn’t mean to say that.

  Nora is shocked at first, but her face softens with a smile. She takes Penny’s hand in hers. Nora’s skin is incredibly soft, and smells of onions, garlic, and lavender.

  “Talk to him,” Nora implores. “Plead your case, explain yourself, give him all of the facts. I’ve discovered that my son, and my dear departed husband, are suspicious of what they don’t know.” Nora lays her palm against Penny’s cheek with a motherly smile. “The fact that you’re asking already says so much about your character.”

  Nora is being so kind to her, Penny wants to break down and cry. But she holds back her tears.

  “Don’t give up on him,” Nora says. “Zane’s a good man.”

  Penny nods. “I won’t. And I know.”

  The kitchen door swings open. Zane enters carrying a towel filled with ice cubes. He walks behind Penny, and gently presses the ice against her eye. His hand grazes against the back of her neck in the process. His warm touch fills her with an aching sadness. Maybe she should’ve told him sooner. She fears she’s fucked this up beyond repair. But if Nora’s right, Penny can plead her case. Zane will understand. He has to.

  “That’s better. Thank you,” Penny says.

  Zane resumes his place at the table, and continues to ignore Penny.

  “So, Penny,” Nora says. “What do you do?”

  Penny hears a sound coming from Zane. It’s half groan, half chuckle.

  “Yes, Penny,” Zane says, drinking his wine. “Tell us what you do.”

  “I-uh-“ Penny shakes her head, trying to recover. “I’m a social media marketing consultant.”

  Nora’s eyes brighten. “What an interesting job. I love social media. Does that mean you get to be on Facebook all day?”

  Penny laughs. “Yes, that’s right.”

  “She gets paid for that. Can you believe it?” Zane says. His eyes fall on Penny. “I didn’t believe it at first either.”

  Penny quickly looks away. Nora swats her hand towards Zane.

  “What do you know?” Nora chides. “My son hates Facebook. He’s telling me all the time how bad it is. But it is important, right Penny? Society has grown around it. There’s no need to run from it.”

  “I agree,” Penny says.

  Ahh, I really, really like her, Penny’s screams inwardly. She can picture herself and Nora hanging out together. Nora teaching her how to cook, the two of them going to lunch together. God knows she doesn’t have her own mother to do those things with. Unfortunately, it seems like Nora’s son hates her.

  The dinner continues as awkwardly as it began. Towards the end of the meal, Nora pulls out her cell phone.

  “I want a picture of you two,” Nora says. “Get together.”

  Penny glances anxiously at Zane.

  “No pictures,” Zane says. He turns to Penny with a warning look. “She’ll just post it to Facebook.”

  “I promise, no posting,” Nora groans. “Now, get closer.”

  Zane’s eyes fall dully on the table. He emits a defeated sigh, then moves closer to Penny. He slips his arm around her shoulder. Penny has to fight hard not to fall against him, to grab him, and beg him to go back to the way things used to be. Nora takes a couple shots, then puts her phone away, and reaches for their empty plates.

  “I’ll get the dishes, Mati,” Zane says, pushing her hand away.

  Nora clicks her tongue. “Leave it to me. You have a guest to entertain.” She widens her eyes at Zane in warning, as if to say be nice. “Please make yourself comfortable in our home, Penny. And if you need to stay the night, I don’t mind.”

  Nora stacks the empty plates, then disappears into the kitchen. Penny stares at her hands in her lap, sure that the silence between her and Zane will swallow her whole. There are so many things she wants to say, a million words on her tongue, but she bites them back, deciding to let him speak first.

  Zane rests his elbows on the table. His hands are tightly interlocked. “It’s you.”

  He says this more to himself than to Penny. Penny sits up straight, forcing herself to be brave.

  “What did they tell you about me?”

  Zane turns towards her, his stare piercing into her soul. “Let me guess, it’s all lies.”

  “Yes.” Penny nods enthusiastically. “Whatever it is. Yes. And I have proof.” She pictures the flash drive still nestled in her backpack. But without the report about Ben, will it be enough to convince him? Penny’s desperate to find out. “Do you have a computer somewhere?”

  She’s nearly jumping out of her seat, eager to find a computer and show Zane the proof he needs. But Zane sits stone still.

  “You knew.” The words fall dully from Zane’s lips.

  Penny sinks down in her seat. She can feel the pain in Zane’s voice. He squares his body towards her, reminding her just how large he is.

  “You’ve known this entire time.” Zane’s top lip twitches as he speaks to her. This man has always been intense, but Penny’s never seen him like this. Not only is he angry, he’s angry at her. It’s utterly terrifying. “The day we met, at the lake, you were spying on me. Did you mean for me to catch you? Did you plan to seduce me?”

  “No,” Penny shouts in protest, then lowers her voice. “I mean, yes, I went to spy on you. That’s because I’d just learned they’d hired an assassin to kill me. I was scared shitless. But the last thing I wanted was for you to catch me. And I never expected all-“ Penny pauses, shaking her head. “All this.” On instinct, Penny reaches for him. She clasps her arms around his waist. “This isn’t a lie, Zane.”

  Zane’s muscles relax slightly under her arms. His cold eyes brighten with new fire. “How am I supposed to know who to trust, huh? Who’s the liar here? I spoke with government officials, Penny. They had detailed intelligence about an expected attack. I saw it. I’m supposed to stop it from happening. I’m supposed to save thousands of people.”

  Penny bites her lip to keep a smile f
rom cracking her face in half. She knows exactly what to show Zane. While going through the files in the barn, she’d skimmed a contract between VC Solutions and the US Government. It essentially said that while working with VC Solutions, government officials can waive their oath of office, meaning they are no longer working in the interest of the country and the Constitution. Also meaning, they can outright lie if it suits the objective of VC Solutions. Apparently, the agreement had been tacked on to an arms deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Penny’s never been so happy to have evidence of corrosion of boundaries between the government and private enterprise.

  “I don’t hear you protesting your innocence,” Zane says.

  Zane clamps both of his hands on Penny’s thigh. He leans into her, an intense energy emitting from his muscular torso. It’s petrifying, but also undeniably hot. Penny’s reminded once again of Zane’s physical prowess. A rush of euphoria overcomes her. She’s determined to keep this man.

  “I don’t need to protest. I can show you.” Penny stands confidently. “Where’s a computer?”

  *

  Zane has little need for the laptop he keeps on the upper shelf of his closet. During his glory days, when he had buzz attached to him, he’d spend hours searching for his name online. After he posted to a social media, he’d stare at the screen, watching the likes and comments roll in. He shoves the folded blankets off of the laptop and pulls it out, a relic of his old life.

  Penny grabs it eagerly and fires it up. It’s an older model, so it takes a few minutes to get going. Penny stares at the screen while it boots up, her eyes bright and shining. She seems so sure of herself. Zane hopes she’ll show him something that will convince him of her innocence. He prays silently to some unseen force that Penny’s not the terrorist he was told she is. The alternative, that she’s been manipulating Zane this entire time, is something he can’t bear to think about.

  The computer screen lights up, revealing an old picture that’s set as the wallpaper. It’s a picture of Zane hanging out the window of the very corvette he crashed. He’s wearing sunglasses, and a cocky smirk. A gaudy, gold watch with a huge black face is strapped to his wrist. Gold strands dangle from his neck and wrists. Zane cringes with embarrassment. Who the actual fuck did he think he was back then?

  Luckily, Penny’s too bent on plugging in the flash drive to make mention of that photo. The electronics in the computer grinds as it opens the files on the drive. Penny clicks through file after file like a maniac.

  “I’m remembering seeing it somewhere in here,” she mumbles, mindlessly.

  Zane watches the documents flash on the screen. He repeatedly sees the phrase, FOR AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

  “What is this?” Zane asks, bending to look over her shoulder.

  Penny stares glumly at the screen. “This is why VC Solutions wants me dead. I have all of their secrets. And they are dirty.”

  Zane looks in awe at Penny, her slight figure, the nervous flurry of her movements. Who is this woman?

  “Here,” Penny says, pointing at the screen triumphantly. “While in service to VC Solutions, government officials may waive the oath office that compels them to act in the interest of the the United States and her constitution.” She turns to Zane, giddily. “The suits lied to you, Zane.”

  Zane leans in closer. “Let me see that.”

  As Zane reads, his stomach turns with disgust. The intelligence officials Zane spoke with, the very people that Americans trust to keep them safe, have betrayed their loyalty. Zane, and other brave men and women, have put their lives on the line to protect and defend this country. Whoever conceived of this agreement is a traitor in every sense of the word.

  “That’s just the tip of the ice burg,” Penny says. She clicks a few times. “It seems that anyone associated with VC Solutions can act with impunity. Look at the crimes they’ve wiped under the rug. Remember when I told you about the girl that drowned near my house, and the boy they suspected of doing it? It sounds an awful lot like this report.”

  Zane scans the paragraphs in front of him.

  “Do you know of anyone named Jacob?” Penny asks. “Jacob Townson. He’s one of those boys I told you about. He was the worst one.”

  Zane’s stomach twists even tighter. He always knew there was something off about Jacob. But he hesitates to tell Penny. He doesn’t want to give her further motivation for whatever crusade she’s on. She needs to drop this immediately. Zane slams the laptop shut.

  “Why do you have this?” Zane asks, the color rising in his face. “Why would you go up against a company like that? Are you crazy?”

  Penny turns to him with piercing eyes. “Because VC Solutions told me and my family that Ben died in a terrorist attack. Before the so-called attack, Ben called me, and told me not to trust anything VC Solutions said. They’re covering something up, the truth about what happened to Ben.” Her eyes fill with tears, and she looks away. “How do I even know he’s really dead?”

  Zane’s chest drops to his stomach. He hates to see Penny in pain like this. It kills him to know that she’s been harboring these damaging secrets, and he had no idea.

  “Have you found anything yet?” Zane asks.

  Penny shakes her head, wiping her eyes. “Not yet. There’s so many files.” She clenches her teeth, looking at the screen with determination. “I’ll go through every file if I have to. I won’t stop.”

  Zane sees how steadfast Penny is about finding the truth, and he can’t blame her. But this is just too dangerous. Vincent Connor stands to lose a lot if these revelations come to light. He’ll do anything to make sure that doesn’t happen.

  Zane’s phone buzzes in his pocket. It’s a text from Jacob, a map, with a pin dropped at Penny’s address.

  No time to waste, the caption reads. Tomorrow.

  The blood turns hot in Zane’s veins, and there’s a sharp ringing in his ears. He has to take control. He grabs Penny’s shoulders, and pulls her away from the computer.

  “You have to stop this,” Zane says gruffly. “They won’t stop until they kill you.”

  Penny hardens her face. “No.”

  “Do you think this is a game?” Zane holds up his phone, showing her Jacob’s text. “They want me to kill you tomorrow.” He lurches towards the computer, and yanks out the flash drive. “You need to destroy this. Then you need to get out of here. Go somewhere no one knows you.”

  Penny’s eyes land on the flash drive in Zane’s hand. “I can’t do that, Zane. Please, understand.”

  Zane hooks his arm around her neck, pulling her close to him. “I understand, Penny. I know this is all for your brother. But it’s too dangerous.” He holds her against his chest, waiting for the moment that she relaxes against him.

  But Penny holds her rigid posture. She pulls away from him, her eyes narrowed into slits.

  “How much are they paying you to kill me?” she asks, bitterly.

  Zane grunts in frustration. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to kill you. But they’ll easily find someone else who will.”

  Penny purses her lips, clenching her hands into fists. She’s so defiant, Zane wants to throw her on the bed, and show her who’s really boss.

  “How much?” Penny demands.

  Zane has to quiet the yearning growing inside of him. None of this matters, so he tells her the truth.

  “Seven million.”

  Penny raises her eyebrows. “Is that how much a life is worth to you?”

  A sharp grin slices across Zane’s face. He’s had enough of this. Calmly, he steps forward, grabbing her wrist, which he holds in a vice.

  “Let me tell you something,” he says, in a deep, even voice. “That piece of shit Hussan that I shot in a cave wasn’t worth one cent. Your life, on the other hand-“ He looks her up and down. As his eyes slope over her curves, the stirring in his belly grows stronger. He feels a tightening in his lap. His eyes settle on hers, his nostrils flaring.

  Penny yelps when Zane lifts her up easily,
and throws her onto the bed. He crawls on top of her, pinning her wrists down on the mattress.

  “I promised you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” Zane growls. “And you’ll do what I say.”

  Penny blinks up at him, her eyes deep pools of bewilderment. She seems like such a fragile creature when trapped beneath him. But Zane knows there’s a trove of courage under her slight appearance. He knows that no matter what he says, Penny won’t give up. But he can rip her clothes off and take her, claim her, control her, for as long as he’s hard inside of her. And that’s exactly what he does.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It’s the dead of night. Zane’s arm is heavy around Penny’s waist. He’s breathing softly on the base of her neck. Penny’s been waiting for him to finally fall asleep. He stayed up for hours, watching Penny lie quietly with her eyes closed, but she was only pretending. Penny knows he was watching her, standing vigil, should anyone try to harm her.

  She carefully lifts his arm just enough to allow her to slip out of his embrace. With quiet footsteps, she grabs the laptop, and takes it to a dark corner of the room.

  Soon, she’s clicking through the files again. She can’t allow herself to rest when there’s so much work to be done. She focuses on the computer, forcing her mind not to wander off. She can’t waste time ruminating on the previous night’s events.

  Her phone flashes beside her, breaking her concentration. It’s a text from Em Dash.

  Safe house is ready when you are.

  *

  As soon as Zane wakes up, his eyes fly open. The space beside him is cold. He grapples in the sheets, looking for Penny, his semiconscious brain convinced that someone came in the night and took her. He sits up, whipping his head around the room.

  Penny’s on the floor, in the corner by his window. The laptop is open in her lap. Her head is craned back against the wall. She’s asleep.

  Zane creeps over and glances at the screen. She’s been going through the files again. Zane understands her motives. If he was in her position, he’d want justice too. But he just can’t let her put herself in danger. He stares down at her, rubbing the back of his neck. What’s he going to do?