Page 12

Chapter twelve

S team filled the bathroom as Nikita sat on the scorching bathtub. Her muscles ached, and the cut on her back throbbed. Shaking her head, she cursed herself for the fifth time that evening.

“That was the dumbest idea I had all week,” she told herself. “Carrying a grown ass werewolf across Ferguson Park. Of all the locations.”

The man was twice her size. Under the influence of her drugs, he was dead-weight. But he was such a talker. She couldn’t handle another minute listening to him ramble. That was the price to pay for silence. Carrying his ass all the way to the staging area.

She slid further down the tub, massaging her arms.

“It was his fault. Why did he have to touch her? Why can’t she see how dangerous they are? What if I wasn’t around to protect her? She is so na?ve, and the world is so dangerous.”

Nikita knew she wasn’t being fair. Of all the people she encountered, her sister was the most loving person she knew. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. It wasn’t like her to see the intentions of those around.

“How can I make her understand?”

Nikita knew her situation was impossible. Her sister didn’t know about her. Had no idea Nikita watched over her. The only thing Nikita ever wanted was to make sure she was safe.

“Everything I do is for you.”

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Nikita grabbed her phone from the floor and read the message.

“Damn.” She was late.

Nikita jumped from the tub, spraying water all over the floor. Once again, she had lost track of time protecting her sister. Now she needed to rush across town to the Arkansas side to take care of business.

Earlier in the month, a retired teacher, who also was a witch, had hired her. The witch had been a widow for years. After being alone for so long, she remarried a much younger man, against the wishes of her kids. Now she was convinced the man was only after her money and was planning to kill her. Nikita wasn’t sure about the last part, but after tailing him around, the man was a piece of work.

The husband was a drunk and a womanizer. Like many newlyweds, the wife still loved him and had reservations about hiring Nikita. It didn’t take long to change her mind after Nikita delivered several photos of his clandestine affairs. The man wasn’t the smartest one in the bunch, since he liked to keep a pretty set schedule of the people he visited. Nikita had picked this evening to set her plans in motion.

Grabbing a pair of jeans and a tank top, she rushed through her apartment. She had less than an hour to make it to Hope, AR, and take care of the job. The whole situation needed to look like an accident. Considering how much the husband drank, it shouldn’t be too hard. Easy money for her. She just needed to make it there on time.