Page 49

And then I screamed.

Chapter Fifteen

Vega

I stared at the back of Poppy's head as she slept. I couldn't sleep. I thought I could, but no matter how much I tried to close my eyes, they didn't stay shut. So, I watched her. I watched her subtle movements: her arms as they twitched, her legs as she tucked them tighter, and her head as it moved in soft jerks like she was interacting with her dream.

I reached out and stroked her hair, which seemed to settle her some. She made a low moan and snuggled deeper into slumber. I rolled over and looked up at the stars. They sparkled between the treetops, going in and out as the branches swayed.

The fire crackled. An ambient sound through the dead of night. It lulled me into a solemn state of being. I was just there. There in the forest. There in the Poppy's life. There in this world that I had no joy being in.

But what choice did I have?

Born into an existence I never asked for. Never wanted. Never enjoyed. And yet, I was fucking good at it. To excel at anything took practice. This was in my blood. Practice helped hone my skills, but the viscous liquid flowing through my veins carried my trade.

Poppy twitched again. I glanced over to see she was still fast asleep. A second twitch made her arm jerk up tight against her ribs. I soothed her thoughts with another stroke of my hand over her hair. Poppy settled back to a relaxed breath and calm muscles.

A twig cracked in the distance twenty yards away or less. It was a delicate break. Not the break of an animal wandering through the dark. The break of a man in boots attempting to bestealthy. I knew it instantly. I had spent enough time hunting to know the difference between paws and feet.

Whoever it was was breathing heavily. Far too heavy to be hidden in the silence despite the darkness that surrounded us. Poppy didn't stir. She was stuck in dreamland, running from her own demons.

I glanced to my right in the direction of the steps. A second and a third step filtered through the trees. The crunch of leaves and the rustle of low branches were getting closer. I slowly reached for the knife on my belt and gripped the handle.

My eyes were on the sky, but my ears were wide open, listening to everything all at once. My heart was a steady thump inside my chest. Nothing about this life excited me anymore. No fight made my muscles tingle. No kill sent adrenaline coursing through my body. These battles were no different than cooking dinner to me. They were as mundane as taking out the trash.

The following footsteps came from the tree ten feet away from me. The unknown man was breathing even harder. I didn't think he knew how loud he was actually being. He was either new or just a low-level hitman with no real skill.

He was behind me now, slinking slowly but screaming with every step. The snap of a twig was as loud as a bomb. Leaves swished like water over rocks in a brook. I held my breath, patiently waiting for the living darkness to make its move.

I felt his hot breath against my head. His breathing raspy in my ear. The smell of black powder wafted over my face. He was going to shoot, and this time, he was going to make sure the shot was good.

I was motionless. My eyes were open, but I couldn't tell if the executioner knew I was awake. I held my breath and waited. I waited for the perfect moment to counter-strike. Cold metal pressed against my temple. That was my cue. My moment. The perfect time to make him regret his decision to come after us.

In one fluid motion, I wrapped my hand around the barrel, twisted hard, and yanked the gun out of his hand. I tossed the gun into the woods and pulled my knife. He had no chance. I grabbed his collar, pushing him back against a tree. His eyes were large and bright as the moon.

“How did you find us?” I asked. “How did you find my home?”

His surprised stare turned into a veered gaze. “It wasn't easy, but everyone leaves traces. Even you.” The man smirked and chuckled.

“Wrong answer. How did you find us?”

“That doesn't really matter.”

“Tell me who.”

“You know I can't do that,” he said as his eyes darted around the darkness, searching for a new weapon. “I'll make you a deal, though. Let me do what I was sent here for, and I'll give you a quick ending. I won't let you suffer.”

I chuckled, my voice a whisper. “You won't let me suffer. That's rich. But it doesn't look like you have much leverage here. You do have a knife to your throat if you hadn't noticed.”

“And you have a knife to your stomach. I could gut you right now, and it would make no difference to me.” He pressed the tip of his blade in deeper. The sharp edge burned my skin as he twisted it in. A slow warmth began to moisten the fabric. “Take your pick. A quick bullet to the head or your insides splattered on the ground for the animals to eat.”

I thinned my lips and frowned. “I guess you don't understand who you're dealing with. The only trace I leave is bodies in my wake. And you're next.”

The man attempted to pierce my stomach with his knife, but I was too quick. I sliced his throat. A clean, straight wound opened, spilling blood. It flowed down his neck and soaked into his shirt. He dropped his knife instinctively to grab his throatand stop the bleeding. But I blocked him. I held him in place until his body went limp, and he bled out.

I let his lifeless body drop to the ground. I didn't get an answer from him about how he tracked me down. It couldn't have been from one of the men that worked for me. Could it?

Had I fucked up along the way? Did I leave some sort of trace and not notice. Was I getting sloppy?