Page 6

Chapter six

N ikita analyzed her card one more time. Her opponent was a serious Uno player, and she intended to destroy him before the night was over. Billy took a sip of his beer and smiled at her.

“I’m going to win this hand,” he insisted.

“You better, because you are running out of clothes, dear,” she teased.

“I can’t believe you talked me into playing strip-Uno in the middle of the park with just us two.”

“Were you interested in bringing more people to this party?” Nikita asked.

“That could be fun, but I’d rather not share on my first night.” Billy winked and took a sip from his drink.

Nikita finished her drink and placed the empty cup next to the cards. Billy cracked his neck and slowly rubbed his hands over his arms. The night had turned cooler, and Billy’s nipples were feeling the effect of the weather. Nikita smirked.

“You make it sound like we are in the middle of Spring Lake Park.” Nikita pointed to their deserted location. “We are in a secluded corner of Bringle. Besides, you are the one who said you didn’t want to be too far away from the college.”

“I thought you wanted to go for a night stroll.” He glanced behind him towards the still lake. “Besides, I heard there were crocodiles in these waters.”

Nikita looked over his shoulder, then back at the young man. Billy was in his mid-twenties, with dirty-blond hair and a goatee. He was originally from the Midwest, but his family moved down as soon as Haven was fully operational. His parents had agreed to let him stay at home as long as he was going to college. Billy had changed his major five times and started his third English comp class. Nikita met him at the college library, where he was doing his work-study.

“ Maybe if you spent more time studying and less time chasing girls, you would be done with the degree?” Nikita had told him when they first met.

Billy ignored her inquiry and had asked her to several dates. The strip-Uno was their sixth date, and Nikita learned as much as she cared about him. He didn’t have any ambitions in life, besides the number of women he slept with. Something that made Nikita’s stomach turn. He played the role of sweet, respectable young man, but had at least four girls on the side. Each one giving him enough money to maintain his strange lifestyle.

The world would most likely not mourn Billy. At least once they found out what a lying-two-timing cheating asshole he was.

“Uno!” Nikita shouted, and Billy groaned.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, buttercup,” she gloated. “Pay up. Off with those socks.”

“Why the socks?”

Nikita stood speechless for a moment. “Would you rather lose the pants? You don’t have a lot of choices here.”

“It’s chilly here,” Billy whined. “At least the socks will keep my feet warm.”

“Your clothes.” Nikita made a gesture with her hands for him to hand over the pants.

Billy took a deep breath and shimmied out of his sweats. He was wearing black boxer shorts that reached way past his thighs. Nikita understood the decision. If he had been wearing briefs or even something smaller, he wouldn’t have been so eager to give up the pants.

Billy adjusted himself, giving Nikita a much better view of his package.

Nope, that was definitely not it. He just wanted to show off his friend to me. I really don’t feel bad now, Nikita told herself.

Billy was bigger than most average humans when it came to the family jewels. But Nikita had learned most shifters, especially werewolves were definitely gifted with that. Too bad so many were convinced that made them God's gift to women. She hadn’t met a single one that was worth saving. They all lied, cheated, or tried to get over the system.

“You like what you see?” Billy caught her staring at him.

“Just admiring the view.”

“Good comeback,” he teased her. “I might need to steal that line.”

“Not a line, just the truth. Are you ready for another round?”

“Of course.” Billy leaned over the cards and kissed Nikita softly on the lips. “I still have hopes of winning at least that top off you.”

Nikita grinned. The only thing she had lost in the hour they had been playing was her shoes. She was still rocking her black mini skirt with a turtleneck. At least the shirt wasn’t orange, or she would have given vibes of Velma from Scooby Doo. She left another red hood inside the Z for the night. At the rate she went through those hoods, she should buy stocks in them. But being overly paranoid was the reason she was still alive and safe. Another reason she never drove the same car to two dates in a row. She enjoyed blending in.

This evening, her mode of transportation was a white SUV. Texarkana had a plethora of SUVs all over the place. Nobody was turning their heads for hers. With a slight tint to the windows, people rarely paid attention to her. She couldn’t say the same when she drove the Z.

“Your turn to shuffle.” Nikita collected the cards and handed them over.

“How about one more drink before we start?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Nikita asked, raising an eyebrow. “You look pretty tipsy already.”

“You are just afraid I will end up with whiskey-dick.” Billy stared down at his penis. “Nope, he is still fully functioning.”

“Whiskey-dick? That’s a thing?”

Nikita debated if she wanted to see the culprit as well but held back the demand.

“Of course.” Billy laughed. “Happens more often than not. Granted, this time it would be rum-dick.”

“That would be so disappointing after working this hard to get you naked.”

She poured herself another drink.

“I can prove I’m fine.” Billy jumped to his feet but stumbled once.

“Oh Lord, what do you have in mind?”

“I’m going to perform the sobriety test.”

“Right here?”

“No silly,” answered Billy. “Off the blanket.”

Billy rushed to the edge of the blanket near the lake. Nikita stared, confused, as the young man raised one leg to start his balancing act. His right foot was less than six inches off the ground when he wobbled. Nikita reached out a hand on instinct to help, but it was too late. He lost his balance and fell backwards. His head hit one rock at the edge of the water and Billy rolled into the lake. Before Nikita could process what was happening, Billy was face down in the lake, sinking away.

Nikita crossed her hands over her chest and just stared as the body disappeared under the calm current.

“Well, that was anti-climactic.” She frowned. “Hours of preparation and the fucker kills himself with a rock. Can I claim that as a kill? Nah.”

Shaking her head at the bizarre turn of events. She dumped the drinks, pulled the blanket up with everything else on it, and tossed it over her back. If the rock hadn’t finished him, she didn’t know how long it would take him to drown. She didn’t want to be around when Death stopped by to collect his soul.

Grabbing her shoes with her empty hand, she marched back to her vehicle. Taking a large plastic bag from the back seat, she dropped the bundle in her hand and shoes inside. She glanced one more time towards the lake, then climbed in. There was nothing left to do besides head back to her place.

“Guess I’m done for the night,” Nikita told herself as she pulled out of the lot.

Her phone rang, and she connected the call from the dashboard in the car.

“Mickey, two days in a row,” Nikita told him.

“Just letting you know the package has been mailed.”

“You are the best,” she replied sweetly.

“Also, giving you a heads up, Janet has been looking for you.” There was a pause on the other end. “She is offering a nice sum just for a photo of you. What’s going on?”

“I’m ready to move on and leave the guild,” Nikita replied.

“I told you not to get involved with that group.” The sound of typing came from Mickey’s end of the phone.

“But they pay really well,” Nikita added.

“Yes, but they don’t believe in free agents.” The typing stopped. “Once you join, they want you fully committed or dead. They can’t afford for people to know who they are or the people they work for.”

“Great.” Nikita tapped the steering wheel as she drove slowly towards her apartment. “You know I’m not a commitment type of girl.”

“Who are you telling?”

“If you are done with them, you will need to disappear,” Mickey confirmed her suspicions.

“I’m not done here . . .”

“You are running out of time,” Mickey interrupted. “They already found several of your aliases. How long would it take for them to find you in Haven?”

“I just need a few more days.” Nikita explained.

“I can help.” There was a pause on his side.

“What is that going to cost me?” Nikita finally broke the silence.

“Nothing outside your skills,” Mickey reassured her. “I have a family in Russia that needs some serious convincing.”

“A family?” Nikita made it a point to not kill kids or women. This deal could be hard to keep.

“Nobody outside your normal restrictions,” Mickey added quickly. “Three brothers.”

“When?”

“Before Thanksgiving.”

“Done. What’s your plan?”

“You are the best.” Mickey started typing again. “I can set up a hit and run with no survivors. Enough photos and blood type to convince even the pros.”

“Fine, but make it in New York City during Halloween,” Nikita added.

“Why?”

“They are sure I’m here in Haven, but I promised to head to Salem,” Nikita explained. “I need something totally different that would have them wondering what I was up to.”

“That’s a simple arrangement.”

Nikita smiled at herself as she scanned the rear-view mirror. She needed to be extra careful now that she knew she was being hunted. But Mickey’s aid would cause the distraction she needed to be out of Texas in time.

“I’ll contact you when it’s done and transportation information,” Mickey added.

“Sounds great,” Nikita replied. “Send me the details of the brothers. I might as well start the research while I’m here.”

“You won’t be disappointed.”

Nikita was sure she was going to be disappointed. International assignments never went as planned. It didn’t help that Russia was one of the hardest places to conduct a clean operation. So many spies did business there. Everyone was paranoid.

“Let’s hope they are not government officials. I might seriously be dead,” Nikita told herself. “Guess it will be an early night for me.”

The clock in the SUV read nine thirty-seven. She drove in silence back to her apartment, contemplating her options, and looking for a way to make the guild’s lives a living hell. She had made a deal with their leadership that she would maintain her independence. It seems the message was not passed down to all the underlings.

“A disappointing way to end a partnership.”