Page 25

“So, the hundred grand is your wife’s money, I take it?”
“It’s in a shared bank account but… yes. That’s why this needs to happen soon before she realizes the money is missing. I’m going to be taking the kids for a getaway this weekend so she’ll be all alone. She has a long shift at the hospital but she’ll be home eventually. When that happens…”
“I’ll make it look like a robbery gone wrong. And you’ll get off scot-free. Lucky for you.”
“Don’t judge me. You of all people do not have the right to judge me.”
“I just go where the money is, Jakob. You’re the one who wants to kill his wife and mother of his kids. Those kids are going to grow up without their mom. Just think about that.”
I have no moral code, personally. I don’t give a fuck about Jakob’s kids. I just like giving men like him a hard time. They’re the low of the low. The scum of this earth. At least I’m doing something with my life.
“Just do what I paid you to do,” Jakob hisses.
“You haven’t paid me yet. When I get the hundred grand, I’ll do what you want.”
“Then let’s go out to my car.”
Jakob hands me a thick envelope from his glove compartment. I count the money. It’s all there.
“It will be done,” I promise him.
Jakob and I part ways. Him to return to his wife who he just hired me to kill and me to return to my kidnapped victim. We’re a bunch of fucked up men.
Jakob’s house is cute, if you think things are cute. I never find anything fucking cute. It’s a simple ranch house but you can tell it’s lived in, even from the outside. Planters hang by the front door. Chalk drawings cover the driveway. A basketball hoop hangs over the garage door.
Jakob is going to give all of this up because he wants more money in life. Because he feels inadequate his wife makes more money than him and isn’t as involved as she should be even though she’s a surgeon. How ironic. I’m going to kill someone who saves lives.
I’ve never felt inadequate about anything in my life before.
Until well… Aria. She has a surprisingly good way at getting under my skin. Somehow, it makes me kind of like her. I still want to torture the ever living shit out of her but I also kind of… don’t. She’s so unafraid. She stands up to me. She manages to look me square in the eye. I can respect all of that. Most people run screaming and crying at the sight of me.
I wonder if Jakob’s wife, Marie Anderson, will cry at the sight of me. I wonder if she’ll fight.
I watch her house until she arrives home late from her shift. She looks tired as she gets out of the car. Must be tiring being a doctor. I feel just the tiniest bit of sympathy for her. She’s just an innocent woman living her life, saving lives, and yet, her husband wants her dead.
That’s not going to stop me from killing her though. I never let emotion lead my life. I have a job to do and I’m going to do it.
I pull the ski mask over my face and make sure my gloves are in place before I leave the car. It’s a dark, quiet street. No one will even know I’m here.
Since I have to make this look like a robbery, I break in through the back door by picking the lock. I leave the back door open.
Marie is in the living room, watching TV, but as I get closer, I notice that she’s crying. Crying over what though, I have no idea.
My foot creaks on the floorboards. She gasps and turns to me, then freezes, before she screams. I pounce on top of her and cover her mouth.
“Be quiet,” I snap.
She nods.
I remove my hand and to her credit, she remains quiet. “Now, why are you crying?”
“What?” she whimpers.
“Why are you crying?” Marie is a woman in her forties but for some reason, she reminds me of Aria. A woman getting fucked over by the decisions of men. An innocent woman who doesn’t deserve what I’m going to do to her.
“What?”
I sigh. “Just answer the fucking question.” I get off her but I don’t pull my gun out yet. I’m intrigued by this woman. I want to hear what she has to say.