Page 125 of Hit Man

“Boxes?

“So much money. Dirty money, I suppose. We should contact the Mexican authorities.”

I shake my head, making a mental note to have Hayden send someone to retrieve it. No sense in letting the Mexican police get their hands on it. “Dirty money needs to go to a cleaner cause.”

“I just wish . . . that money would do a lot of good . . .” She stops and frowns. With a long sigh, she climbs through the window.

And just like that, the knot is back inside my throat. My dream of what could be is straight up impossible. But Aubrey’s do-gooder dreams . . . it’s the least I could do for her after the danger she unintentionally found herself caught up in.

I can give her that.

I can leave her with something before I leave her forever.

As I follow her toward the back of the property and toward the gate, I make up my mind. Hayden won’t like it and it’s going to take big balls along with a hell of a lot of persuasive power to convince him. But in our younger years, if an opportunity to better our lives had presented itself, would we be the same men we are today? Or would we be waking up next to the women we love, in a nice home in a quiet town, where danger is something you read about in newspapers?

Aubrey and I reach the gate without incident. That’s what happens when you kill the men you hired to protect you.

I remove my matches from my pocket.

Aubrey bends and removes a key from beneath a boulder.

I stare at her in wonderment.

“Long story.” She pauses and glances up at my face. So beautiful. So fucking beautiful my heart breaks. I’m not a good enough man for her. I’m a hit man. A killer. A man’s worst nightmare. A woman’s naughty dream that in daylight turns into a nightmare. She’s deserves a peaceful life. A quiet neighborhood full of laughing children, happy neighbors, and love evident within every nook and cranny.

“Will you stick around long enough to listen?” she asks. In a short time, she’s grown to know me well.

“Like dynamite,” I respond, grabbing hold of her and tugging her into me. Stealing a sigh straight off her lips. Knowing full well what needs to happen, and hoping that for once in my life, I can sneak off without a rumble.

With the only thing broken being my own jaded heart.

38

Aubrey

Ifeel it in my bones. Tomorrow, Diego’s going to dump me at the airport and drive away. Again. Nothing’s different. Nothing that’s happened has changed how things might be between us. The moments we’ve shared are just that—moments.

The possibility of us seems impossible.

I finish tugging on his oversize sweatpants and a deep blue T-shirt, taking my time to comb my wet hair. Calming my nerves as I prepare to confront him. To ask the hard-hitting question I’m gambling I know the answer to.

He’s looking out his apartment window when I reenter the living room. Two fresh glasses of wine are on the table in front of the sofa. The aroma of basil and spices heavy in the air, a remainder of the meal we’d eaten in near silence.

I settle down onto the sofa and sip my wine.

I’ve had a taste of the quiet life. Predictable. Boring.

Since arriving in Mexico City, I’ve had a steady diet of excitement, danger, surprises. How easy it’d be to retreat back to my old ways. Forget the near-death experiences I’ve been through. Give up on Mexico City, on my housing project. And Diego.

New Year’s is a month away yet it seems it has arrived early for me. Life as I know it is about to change.Out with the old and in with the new, right?

The only problem is, Diego hasn’t yet caught on to how much I want this. How much I wanthim. And not just now but forever.

Courage, Aubrey.

He stealthily approaches. Quiet, like the big, dark cat I always associate him with. I feel the energy of him, my pulse kicking up and my heart thumping wildly as he takes a seat beside me.

He begins speaking, and beats me to the punch. “You have a kind heart. Me? I’m heartless.”