by Hope Ford
I reluctantly let my hold on him go, and I stand and watch him walk over to the body. He takes his phone out and takes a picture of the dead man and then dials a number. I have no idea who he calls. “Hey. I ran into a snag. I need a clean-up. Kinsley’s classroom.”
He waits for just a second and then thanks whoever he’s talking to before he hangs up.
He holds his hand out to me. “C’mon, let’s go.”
I almost walk toward him but catch myself. “We can’t leave. We need to call the cops. And what do you mean clean-up?”
He shakes his head. He spots my purse and puts it over his shoulder. “There’s no time. Let’s go, Kinsley.”
Now that the shock is wearing off, I tip my head at him. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Fuck, Kins. I know we got a lot to work out, but you’re leaving with me. You’re in danger, and I’m not leaving you behind.”
“Go Colt. I’m not in danger anymore. I won’t tell them who you are.”
He stomps over to me. “This is not some random theft or whatever you think this is. There is a hit on you. There are people that have been hired to kill you. Now you’re coming with me, whether you like it or not.”
I start to argue, but before I can even get a word out, I’m upside down, hanging over Colt’s shoulder.
He walks out into the hallway. “Where is everyone?”
“Kick-off was fifteen minutes ago. They’re all at the game by now. Put me down, Colt. I’ll go with you, but put me down.”
He walks down the hall, all the while I’m begging for him to put me down. We get out the front door, and finally he puts me on my feet. “Stay close.”
He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the edge of the building. “Where’s your car?”
I point to the parking lot, and we start walking. We get ten feet from where I’m parked and see a man standing at the foot of my car. Colt spots him first and pulls me behind him.
“Who are you?” the man asks Colt.
3
Colt
Kinsley puts her hands to my back, and I can feel the fear vibrating off her. I want to comfort her, but there’s no way I can turn my back on this guy. I have no doubt why he’s here and standing in a dark, empty parking lot. “I’m your worst fuckin’ nightmare,” I answer him. No doubt these men thought this hit would be easy, and that shit pisses me off.
The guy smirks and shrugs his shoulders. “It’s nothing to me, I’ll take two for the price of one.”
He barely completes his sentence before he brings his gun up. As soon as I see the metal of the gun from the streetlight, I draw my gun and when the man is hit, he fires too. I don’t wait, I turn and throw Kinsley to the ground, but I wasn’t quick enough. “Shit!”
It stings like a son of a bitch, but I can’t focus on that now. “Kinsley, are you okay? Talk to me, baby.”
She’s lying underneath me, and I can’t stop myself from running my hands up and down her arms. “Look at me. Are you okay?”
She nods, and I get up, dragging her to her feet. She’s speechless, staring between me and the man that is dead on the concrete. She’s covering her mouth with her hands, no doubt because she wants to scream again.
I draw her against my body, and her teeth start to chatter. I pull out my phone. “Another clean-up. South parking lot. I’m going to the safe house.”
I walk Kinsley around to the passenger seat of the car and put her in the seat. I take her purse off my shoulder and set it in her lap. “Find your keys. I’ll be right back.”
She reaches for me and clutches my hand, shaking her head. “Don’t leave me.”
I know I don’t have time for this, but I squat down next to the car. I put my hand around the base of her neck and hold her. I couldn’t look away if I had to. There’s so many things I have to say to her, things I should have told her a long time ago. But now’s not the time. “I’m never leaving you again, Kins. I’m just going to move the guy so we can back out and then I’ll be right back. Find the keys, okay, honey?”
She nods and finally releases her hold on me. I lean up and kiss her forehead before I stand up and shut her door.
Walking around to the back of the car, I take a picture of the man lying there before I lift him and move him. I don’t even attempt to look for a wallet because I know I’m not going to find any type of identification on him. I program the coordinates into the GPS on my phone, get in, and pull out of the college parking lot.
Kinsley is quiet, and I reach over and put my hand on her knee and squeeze. I’m worried about her. She’s never quiet, not like this, and I know this is a lot to take in.
She doesn’t say a word. She only sighs and leans her head against the back of the seat. I drive to the safe house, and it takes close to thirty-five minutes to get there. Well, Rogue was definitely wrong on the twelve hours before anyone else came. My plan to have her hidden and safe before that time was useless. It was more like eight hours.
I call Riggs. “You find out anything?”
“I hear you’ve run into a snag.”
I grunt. “Yeah, if you want to call it that. Two of them, actually.”
“Clean-up has commenced. They are both already being turned over to the authorities.” It’s scary the things we can do. I just killed two men, and there’s no questions asked. It’s all because I’m part of Ghost. People may not talk about who we are, but they know what we do.
“Great. I need information, Riggs. I need to know why this is happening and how to stop it.” I’m trying to ask without putting it all out there. I chance a look over at Kinsley, and she’s staring blankly out the front windshield.
“I haven’t been able to find anything on the hit. What they think she did, or what she has. Nothing. I can’t even find out who took out the hit. It’s been buried, Stone. Whoever put the hit out doesn’t want it known.”
Shit! “I’m going to send you over images of my two snags. See if you can identify them. I’ll be in touch.”
I hang up the phone as we pull into the driveway, and I compare the address on the mailbox to the address on my phone. I hit the code for the gate and drive through to the opening garage door before I park and get out to help Kinsley. “Let’s go.”
She steps out of the car, her purse still clutched in her hands. “Where are we?”
“Safe house,” I tell her and bring her through the door that leads into the kitchen. I grab a bottle of water and lead her into the living room and set her on the couch. She sits down, and she’s shivering, so I pull a blanket off the back of the couch and throw it over her. I run my hands up and down her arms to try and warm her up. Only now am I able to really look at her. Everything since I ran into the classroom and saw the guy holding the gun on Kinsley has been rushed. She still has the light blue eyes and creamy complexion. She still wears her hair long, and now it makes her look even younger with it up in a high ponytail. She’s curvier now but still beautiful. I would think she’s the same woman that I left three years ago, but the way she tenses in my arms I know it’s a lie. I hurt her, and I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me.
“What is going on, Colt?”
I shake my head. “I –“
But she puts her hand on my chest. “Don’t lie to me. You owe me the truth.”
I nod and exhale deeply. “You’re right. I got a call today at work.”
“You still work in Knoxville?”
“I’m stationed there, yes. But I still travel all over.”
She nods, her lips pinched together. “Yeah, that job you’re not allowed to talk about.”
I stand up, determined to put some distance between us even though it’s the last thing I want to do. “Yeah, well, I got a call that there has been a hit put on you.”
“A hit? Is that why the guy in my class was saying something about money? That doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone put a hit on me?”
She’s looking at me for answers, and I don’t have any to give. I’m about to rea
ssure her when she gasps. “Oh my God, Colt. You’re hurt!”
She rushes to me and starts trying to push up my sleeve. I look down and my white T-shirt sleeve is covered in blood. When I flinch, she grabs the hem of my shirt and pulls it over my head. I should push her away, but I can’t. I’ve longed to have her hands on me but never like this. “This needs cleaned out. Colt, you probably need stitches.”
I try to extricate myself from her hands, but she doesn’t let me go. “I’m fine. It’s a scratch.”
“It’s not a scratch. You were hit by a bullet.” I shrug, and she gets frustrated. She grabs on to my hand and pulls me from the living room. We walk down the hall, and she’s turning on lights, checking rooms, until she finds a bathroom. “Sit down,” she says and points to the toilet.
I do as she says because I’d much rather see her like this than scared and speechless like before. “There’s a first aid kit under the sink.”
“How do you know that?” she asks as she reaches in the door and pulls out a huge first aid kit.
I shrug. “Most safe houses have them.”
She stares at me questioningly. “You spend a lot of time in safe houses?”
I decide it’s probably not a good idea to answer that question. “Open it up. You’ll find alcohol to clean it up. And you’re probably right, it probably needs closed. There should be a skin stapler in there.”
Her eyes get big, and when she sways on her feet, I reach out for her. “You okay?”
She shakes her head and straightens her back. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine.”
She goes to work, and I clench my teeth as she cleans out the wound. “This is going to hurt probably.”
I nod. “It’s definitely going to hurt. Do you want me to do it?” I ask her, reaching for the gun.
She shakes her head. “I can do it.”
She takes a deep breath, and I try to walk her through it. “Try and put the skin as close together as possible. It works just like a desk stapler. When you got it where you want it, just pull the trigger.”
She takes another breath and flinches as she starts to count.
I hold my hand up. “Don’t count. I don’t need to know when you do it, just do it.”
She nods and pulls the trigger. I grit my teeth and sit through the pain while she finishes. It takes six staples, and when she’s done, she drops it into the sink and washes her hands.
I inspect her handiwork. “Good work. Thanks.”
She nods and meets my eyes in the mirror over the sink. I can see all the questions in her eyes. Questions that I don’t have all the answers to, but I do know one thing.
“No one is going to hurt you, Kins. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
4
Kinsley
I turn and look at him. He’s my best friend’s older brother, and even knowing that, I still have thoughts about him that I know I shouldn’t have. I’ve been in love with him for what seems like forever, and three years ago I told him. And one night after I was out with friends and needed a ride home, I called him to come get me. It was all planned out. I did it on purpose because I knew he’d come and save me. I told him everything that night. That I loved him and always have. He tried every way to put me off, but I finally convinced him to take my virginity. The very next day, he kissed me on the forehead and told me there was no future for us. That was three years ago, but it still feels like yesterday. I couldn’t take it, so I moved from Tennessee to California and took a job at the university. I had hoped distance would be enough to get him out of my head, but I was wrong. I left and was far from him and the only home I’ve ever known. But missing him hasn’t gotten any easier.
“Kinsley, you okay?” he asks, interrupting my thoughts.
I nod. “Yeah, uh, I know you won’t let anything happen to me. That’s just who you are. But at what cost? You’ve already been hit. Maybe I should just go and talk to them and find out what they want.”
“No!” he says, “Promise me, Kins. Promise you’re going to trust me with this.”
I turn and start cleaning up supplies and putting everything away. I know he’s staring at me in the mirror without even looking up at him. He’s relentless, I know that about him, and I know he’s not going to let this go.
“Kinsley...”
I put the last of the supplies away and turn and walk out of the bathroom. I walk down the hallway and back to the living room with him hot on my heels. “Kinsley!” he says again.
I throw my hands up. “Colt, why did you come here?”
“To help you,” he says without thought.
I laugh, and it even sounds bitter to me. “To help me. Why are you worried about me now? You weren’t worried about me three years ago when you slept with me and then left me.”
He shakes his head, and there’s guilt on his face. “Kinsley, it wasn’t like that...”
I hold my hand up to stop him from getting any closer. “I was there, Colt. It was exactly like that.”
“I couldn’t... I wasn’t able to...”
“What?” I interrupt him. “You couldn’t love me? Fine. But you could have been upfront about it. You didn’t have to fuck me and then just walk out of my life.”
He stalks toward me, and there’s nothing stopping him now. He wraps his hands around my arms to hold me still. “Well, I was there too, Kins. And we didn’t fuck. We made love. You know it and I know it. So don’t try to blow it off like it was nothing.”
I lift my chin. He’s hot, mad, and ready to blow, but I’m not afraid of him. “I didn’t blow off anything. You did. When you left me.”
“You’re the one that left Tennessee and moved across the country, Kins.”
I laugh. “Yeah, after you said there could be nothing between us. I thought living across the country would put you out of my mind.”
His hands slide up my shoulders, and he forces me to look at him. “How’d that work for you?”
I hold my lips tight. It would be so easy to admit to him that I think about him every day, but I know it’s no use. He doesn’t care.
“How did it work, Kins?” he asks again. “Did you get me out of your system? Did you forget about me? Because you are still all I think about. Three fuckin’ years later, and I still can’t forget you.”
I gasp. “You’re lying.”
He shakes his head. “Have I ever lied to you?” He winces as soon as he says it.
I stare back at him. No, he’s never lied to me, at least I don’t think he has, but I still don’t believe him. I can’t. Because doing so is going to let my guard down, and I can’t do that. I can’t let him close again. “How do we get out of this? What about the two guys? Are you going to get in trouble for killing them? Maybe we should go to the police and explain things.”
He sits down on the couch and pulls me down next to him. “Kins, I don’t know who the good guys and the bad guys are at this point. I’m not trusting your safety with anyone but me. And don’t worry about me getting in trouble. The two men will never be connected to me or to you.”
“Really? You a magician now? You can just make it all go away?” I ask him. When he doesn’t answer me, it hits me. “Your job. That’s why. Your super secret job that you can’t tell me anything about. That’s how. Right?”
“Kinsley....” he says, shaking his head.
I laugh. “May told me. She says you work for some secret branch of the government.” I hold my hands up. “Don’t be mad at her. She told me when I was really upset about everything that happened with me and you. She said you were trying to protect me.” I laugh out loud. “That’s funny, isn’t it? She thought you didn’t want me because you were trying to protect me or something. I didn’t want to ruin the image she has of her big brother and tell her no, he just wanted to have sex and then ditch me.”
I jump up, no longer able to sit next to him, but I don’t get very far. He wraps his hand around my waist and pulls me to him until I land in his lap. His arms circle me, and I struggle
in his lap, but he doesn’t let go or even loosen his grasp. When I tire from struggling, I stop and take notice of what we’re doing. His arms are tight around me, and I can feel the steady beat of his heart in his chest against my back. His nose in the crook of my neck as he breathes me in. I calm myself and just for a second enjoy being close to him. I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t, but I physically can’t make myself move right now. “Colt?”
He takes a deep breath, and his chest expands. I start to turn, and he tightens his grip again. “I just want to look at you.”
He loosens his hold, and I turn in his lap so I can see his face. He’s staring at me, and the anguish is clear. Even his voice is strained. “You’re wrong, you know.”
“Wrong about what?” I ask.
“Three years ago I had just taken this job. I was sort of convinced to do it. I was needed and I couldn’t say no. But that was when you were my sister’s best friend. That was it. Yeah, I’d thought about you like that before, but I had it in my mind I’d never act on it. No matter how much I wanted you. The day I started this job, you called me that night to come get you. That’s the night that I took you home and I wasn’t able to resist you anymore. When you told me how you felt, I acted on it. Because it’s what I wanted too. More than anything. After we made love... and that’s what it was, Kins. You can call it whatever you want, but what we did that night was making love. Anyway, I got a text in the middle of the night. My first mission and I had to accept it. I didn’t have a choice. I had to fly out of the country. I didn’t know when I’d be back, and the commander told me in the text you never know when a mission is going to be your last, so tell your loved ones how you feel. I stayed awake all night holding you in my arms. I wanted to quit right then and there. I wanted to tell them they could take the mission and shove it up their asses. But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t. And I couldn’t leave you wondering if I was alive, when I was coming home and all that. I couldn’t do that to you. So I broke it off with you. Told you it didn’t mean a thing. I lied to you that day, Kins.”
