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Nyoka "Snake Eyes" Fitzgerald

I held the phone to my ear in turmoil.

"I'm sorry, state the job again?" I asked in confusion.

My boss sighed and then did what he hated most, repeated himself.

"Your next mark is Edward Foxx.

I am emailing you his profile as we speak.

We expect this job to be quick and efficient.

The client has paid top dollar for him to meet his demise.

As soon as the job is complete, fifteen thousand will be wired to your account.

Goodbye, Snake Eyes."

As soon as the line ended in my ear, I tossed the burner phone toward the wall, shattering it instantly.

I felt vomit forcing its way up my throat.

I jumped out of the bed I shared with my fiancé and ran straight to our master bathroom.

With my head in the toilet, I let tears run down my face.

Why God? I questioned the higher power because this had to be a trick or something.

Edward Foxx was the same name as my fiancé. There was only one way to clear what I prayed was a misunderstanding: my work email.

After quickly taking care of my hygiene, I sat Indian-style on my bed with my laptop.

CONFIDENTIAL.

I sighed once I read the subject line of the email.

My nerves were so damn bad.

I opened the attached link and signed into my employee portal.

Big and bold, an alert of a new job was plastered across the screen, so I clicked it.

My heart dropped when I saw Edward's picture on my screen.

His bone-straight teeth showed, and his eyes were slightly slanted from the smile on his profile.

I had seen this exact picture numerous times because it was the same one in a frame on his nightstand. I looked at his empty side of the bed as tears filled my eyes.

I was thankful that he had to go to his office early today.

Being a lawyer was a stressful job for him, and even at times, it had become stressful for me.

I went long hours without seeing him.

I swear I care for him, but as much as I loved him, he had to go.

My signed contract stated that once a new job was given to me, I had to fulfill it, or a bounty would be placed on my head.

It was him or me.

As I scrolled through the details of the job, I knew nobody, but Edward's ex-wife had to be responsible for the contract that I had to complete.

It was all the information about him that the client knew that only a spouse or family member would know.

His daily routine and even his allergies were placed into the details on the job.

Before I came into the relationship, they were on the verge of a nasty divorce.

Edward's walking away with half of her fortune must not have settled well with her, especially since he spent most of it on me.

Edward knew nothing about my killer ways.

Like everyone else, he saw me as the quiet girl who went to work at the library every day.

I kept my head down and got to my money.

I twiddled my fingers as I thought of the easiest way to satisfy my contract.

Once the perfect murder came to my mind, I slowly started packing away my things from our condo.

After killing the same man that I was due to marry in just three weeks, I couldn't see myself staying in our place.

Was I going to be hurt without him? Of course, I would, but I'm not your average female.

In my line of work, feelings can ruin pockets, so I never get too attached. The only reason I ever toyed with the thought of marrying Edward was because something about being married would make me feel like a regular girl.

There was nothing regular about the way I moved or carried myself.

Regular women don't sleep with guns under their pillows or look over their shoulders every three seconds.

I deeply wanted a love that would have me basking in my femininity and embracing my soft girl era, but the walls built around my heart wouldn't allow much of that.

Also, I had made myself accustomed to a certain way of living that I wasn't quite ready to give up yet.

Finding a baller or a well-established man was never a hard task for me.

I just preferred to get it on my own.

As I packed, I thought about how Edward was even able to get me this far off my game.

He had this unfamiliar charm to him that got to me. He made me laugh, had his own money, and our bedroom chemistry was impeccable. However, after this hit, I would need a new start. I never thought I would be the cause of me becoming single yet again.

Packaging all of my things took me a little over two hours.

After pulling my suitcases into my walk-in closet, I headed to the kitchen to cook dinner.

I felt it was only right to serve Edward his last meal.

After baking two lobster tails, making shrimp Alfredo with salad, and pouring two glasses of wine, I waited.

The candles I had lit on our dining room table shrunk in size.

Checking the Chopard watch on my wrist, I realized it was almost midnight.

Where the hell is he? I thought as I sashayed toward our bedroom to retrieve my cell phone.

My long kimono robe glided over the mahogany hardwood floors with each step.

I had put a lot of thought into this dinner, and although I was supposed to kill the man after, I hated how rude he was with his arrival.

I flipped the covers off the bed to find my phone, and when I retrieved it, I saw the face was lit up.

I had four missed calls from an unknown number, with one voicemail.

Figuring that the voicemail had to be from Edward, I listened to that first.

"Hello, this is Shirley from Kings County Hospital.

I am looking to speak to Nyoka Fitzgerald on behalf of Edward Foxx.

It is imperative that you return this call as soon as possible.

I can be reached at…"

My head started spinning.

What could Edward have gotten into that caused the hospital to reach out to me? Worry took over me as I threw on clothes and headed to the hospital.

Being his proxy, I knew it could not have been good whatever the call was for.

Walking into the hospital, I braced myself for whatever news I would get. I didn't understand why because I was plotting to kill him just an hour ago. Once I reached the information desk, I tapped the desk's surface with my long peach-colored nails.

"How may I help you?" a woman behind a computer asked.

"A woman called me concerning my fiancé?"

"Name?" she asked without looking up.

"Edward Foxx."

She hit the keys lightly as she searched for him.

"Sorry, hun, I've got nothing," she said as she chewed her gum.

Now, I was becoming agitated.

"Listen to me, a woman named Shirley called my phone and told me—"

"Shirley? We have a Shirley in the coroner's office associated with this hospital. She's in the E building across the street on the main floor."

Hearing the word coroner sent a chill down my spine. I didn't even thank her. I just exited the building I was in and sped-walked across the street. Funny right? The irony of me panicking over the well-being of someone who I was just about to kill. When I entered the E building, the information desk receptionist had me sit in a waiting area.

"Nyoka Fitzgerald?" a man in a long white coat called out.

"Yes?" I stood and then closed in the space between us.

"Come with me, please," he instructed, then turned on his heels.

I followed him down the hospital hallway. Our trip ended inside an office that had a desk and two chairs. He sat in the computer chair behind the desk and then motioned for me to sit on the other side.

Once I sat in the seat, I cleared my throat. I had intentions of asking him what this was about, but I was trained to see things out before jumping to conclusions.

"I know this may be hard for you, but you were the only one listed who could positively identify this man, so please prepare yourself."

He turned the computer screen my way, and I saw an image of Edward lying on a silver medical examiner's table. His face was swollen with cleaned cuts and bruises, but it was indeed him. Shock took over, and instead of tears, my face went dead cold.

"Yes, it is," I confirmed a little above a whisper.

"Again, I am sorry for your loss. Can you pick up that pen and electronically sign the pad right there? We will need your signature for his death certificate."

I signed my name three times back-to-back before speaking. "How did he die?" I finally mustered up the courage to ask.

"Mr. Foxx was hit by a Mack truck while leaving work."

The man delivering the news hadn't had his course in bedside manner, and it was sickening that a person like him was in the profession that he was in. With no response to what he said, I stood from the chair and prepared to leave.

"Thank you," I replied and then left the room.

I don't even know how I made it back to our apartment, but I did. I didn't have it in me to call Edward's mother, but I knew I had to. Before doing that, I needed to call my boss so that I could collect my payment. The matter was Edward was dead, and that was my job. The phone rang slowly in my ear.

"Snake Eyes… is the job complete?"

"It is…"

"And how was it executed?"

"Car crash, I made it easy."

The line was silent after I spoke.

"I am so sorry that is incorrect. The client wanted him followed at all times and hired someone from our agency to do it, so we know you were unsuccessful with your contract. Please take this as a head start… Goodbye."

The line went dead in my ear, and once it did, panic set into my bones.

"Fuck!" I yelled out as I rushed to my walk-in closet to retrieve my already packed luggage.

Using my phone, I called for a Lyft to take me to the bus station. I needed to get the fuck out of dodge and quick. For failing at making my mark, I had become one. I could figure out how to get my car to where I was going and the rest of my belongings once I got there.

I waited in the hall of my building until the Lyft had arrived. After putting my bags into the car, we slowly eased into Saturday night traffic toward Manhattan. Scrolling through my phone, I thought about where I would go to start my life over. Once my finger slid across my first cousin's name, I called.

"Hello?" She sounded like she was asleep.

"Talia, listen to me. I'm getting on a bus and coming down to spend some time with you."

"Okay, is everything alright? I know you ain't getting cold feet," she said.

"Ummm, something like that," I replied as I stared fixedly out the window at the scenery that passed me by.

"Okay, well, bring ya ass on down here. Text me on your way down so I know what time to come get you from the bus stop."

"Okay, thank you, really."

"No problem, fam. Love you."

"Love you too."

After ending the call, I sighed to myself. I was thankful for my cousin because now she would be my fresh start. Where she lived was far away from home. I'm pretty sure that I could live my life out there and stay off the radar. As the ride I was in slowed toward the bus stop, my heart pounded deep in my chest. I didn't know if it was anxiety or what, but I knew I had to get on that bus.

After paying for a one-way ticket, I found myself a spot, and because it lacked passengers, I was able to put my feet up in the chair next to me. As the bus pulled off, I closed my eyes and slowly drifted into a sleep. Starting over in Winder, Georgia, would have to do.

After sixteen hours and a backache, I was stepping my foot off the bus and onto the concrete of the Peach State.

"Cuzzzz!" I heard Talia's light voice sing as she ran toward me.

I hugged the fuck out of her because it felt good being around the only family that I had. She helped me get my two suitcases from underneath the bus and then walked me over to what I assumed was her car.

"This you?" I asked when I looked at the all-white Lexus.

"Mmhmm, some little overseas ball player got it for me last year when I passed my realtor's exam."

"It's cute," I commented as we put my luggage in the small ass trunk.

"Thank you, cuz."

Talia didn't waste any time. She got straight to it as soon as we were in the car. "So why are we here and not preparing for this wedding? I thought we loved Edward."

"He's dead," I blurted.

"Nyoka, don't tell me you killed him."

Talia knew what I did for a living, and I loved that because I didn't have to put up a front or hide who I really was around her.

"Of course, I didn't," I quickly defended, although I was going to.

"Damn, do you think it was someone trying to get to you?" She had a bit of worry in her voice, and I didn't need her to be uneasy with the thought of me staying with her.

"No, he was assigned to me for me to kill, but he ended up getting in a car accident."

"That's some movie shit," she said lowly as she pulled into afternoon traffic.

We sat silently for most of the ride. I preferred the silence because I had too much shit on my mind. I decided to leave behind my Acura and just get myself a new car. I was lucky that no one from the agency knew Talia as my family member. I wanted the things I had put into storage when I decided to move in with Edward, but the last thing I needed was someone to follow the movers right to her front door. I purchased the bus ticket off an alias I had never registered with the agency. I had already lived a life on the edge, but now knowing that I probably had about a hundred assassins on my ass, my nerves were so damn bad.

When Talia pulled into the driveway of her house, I had to give her props for sure. "Damn, this place is nice."

I knew she lived alone because my uncle, her dad, had died a few years back and left her with everything.

Uncle Marcus was my father's younger and only brother.

He had gone to the Navy and retired.

Talia's mother had left him for another man when she had graduated high school, so he had been raising her as a single father ever since.

When he passed, it was shocking to both Talia and me.

One morning, he just didn't wake up.

Dying from natural causes at the age of fifty-five was crazy as hell.

Although Marcus was my uncle, he was the only father figure I had known.

So, when he died, I didn't take a contract for two weeks and came down here to spend some time with Talia.

I was glad I never disclosed my location to the agency when I took that time off. Had I done it, I wouldn't have had anywhere to go right now.

"Daddy was having this house built right before he died, so I had it finished and then moved in as soon as it was ready. I hope he's proud of how it turned out."

We exited the car, and Talia helped me bring my things inside. I loved a house with high ceilings and hardwood floors.

"Let me show you to your room," Talia stated as she started to climb the curved stairs.

I followed behind her, thumping my filled suitcase up the stairs behind me. The room that she showed me was fully furnished with a queen-sized bed, dresser, television, and nightstand.

"The bathroom is out the door and the next door to your right. I'm really happy you're here, cuz." Talia walked to the door and then looked at me and smiled. "I know after that long-ass ride, you want to get your rest. I'll be around whenever you get up."

"Thanks, Talia."

She just smiled before closing my room door. I took off my jeans and shirt and tossed them onto the plush gray carpet before getting into the bed. I told myself I would unpack and shower when I got up from my nap. Talia was right. The ride had definitely taken a toll on me, and the only thing that I wanted was to sleep. I couldn't get much shuteye on that bus because my nerves were too bad.

I took off the necklace on my neck, held it up, and glared at the pendant for a while before placing it on the nightstand. I sighed because that would probably be the last time that I ever wore it. Now that I was in a comfortable space, I was about to sleep like a newborn baby who had just had its first cereal-filled bottle. I had a lot of shit that I needed to sort through, and I knew there was no way that I could figure anything out with how I was sleep deprived. Once I was comfortable enough in the bed, I pulled the comforter over my shoulder and welcomed the slumber that was taking over.

Adonis

That little one thousand dollars I had when I left Ohio did not go far. I tried my hardest to start my life over on the straight and narrow, but it was hard when family members like Dom were getting to the bag, and here I was with a cell phone that was turned off. The only thing I had to my name was my vehicle, and I was blessed that I had paid it off in full when I got it. Had I not done that, I wouldn't even know how I would have been able to pay for the note every month. The four months I had been in Georgia were rough as fuck, and my hands itched badly for a quick lick that could put me back on top.

"You stuck in ya head nigga. Did you even hear anything that I just said?"

I looked at who Joy said was my cousin and then started to listen back to this whole game plan he was trying to put in motion. Dom had definitely come out to Ohio probably once every summer when we were kids, but most of those times, I was either in a detention center or doing my own thing. I had always been the distant kid of the family, but everyone fucked with a nigga the most. When it came to me and my siblings, I was David Ruffin, and they were The Temptations, and everyone knew it.

"Go ahead, gang, I'm listening now," I said, giving him the attention he needed.

I leaned back in the chair that sat on his front porch and let him get to it.

"Okay, so I got this thorough little bitch that works down at the post office, and she said that when people take vacations, they put their mail on hold. Now, hear me out. I say we run in they crib and do a clean sweep whenever they are on vacation. If we hit the right house, we gone be set for a bit."

I stroked the hairs on my long beard as I listened to him.

"She ain't gone get in trouble for some shit like that?" I asked.

"Nah. I ain't saying we rob every muthafucking house that's on vacation, but just enough. I even got a nigga that can crack a safe real good."

I'm sure he could see the uncertainty plastered all over my face. It did sound good, but I had already done a bid for an armed robbery, and I wasn't too hyped up about participating in anything similar, especially on unfamiliar turf.

"This is the era of Ring cameras, Dom. I don't know about this."

"Man… we can scope the shit out before we agree to anything. This is a dope ass opportunity, and the little bitch on me really bad and don't want shit but dick."

I thought about how I couldn't go back to Lima, so I had to find some source of income quickly.

"Okay, cool… I'm tired of sitting on my ass anyway," I finally gave in.

"Aight, cool. Lemme make that call to shorty and see if she got anything for this week. Labor Day is right around the corner."

I watched as Dom went back into the house.

I had spent my thirtieth birthday broke as shit, and I hated that for myself.

Last week, I spent the entire day in the bed.

This year just didn't seem celebration-worthy to me.

When I was up, I was the kind of nigga that treated my birthday like a national fucking holiday.

I couldn't do my big one this year, but I promised myself that next year, I had all intention of big stepping.

I appreciated the family Joy had put me in tune with since moving to the Peach State.

I didn't have to worry about room, board, food, or any amenities because, as Joy would say, "I'm with family and family looked out for one another." Still, being the man that I was relying on the next nigga for me to eat did not sit well with me.

Still tapped in with the city, I had little bitches from back in Ohio Cash Apping me money from time to time.

That's what had been getting me by, and I couldn't wait to put an end to that shit.

I had damn near five different situationships because of it.

When I didn't feel like being bothered, I turned the Wi-Fi off on my phone so that no one could reach me.

Joy had Dom's number, and that's the only person I cared about who knew if I was okay or not.

Being that I hadn't had my phone on since my birthday, I connected to the Wi-Fi.

As soon as I did, the shit started vibrating in my hand.

I looked down and saw that one of the women who had been holding me down was FaceTime calling me.

I ignored the call and then sat in silence on the front porch.

The area that Dom lived in was medium ghetto.

It was Lawrenceville that was borderline Dacula. Now if his ass lived on the side of Lawrenceville that was toward the airport, I'm more than sure that I would have put a hot one in a nigga my first week down here.

The end game for me is I wanted to live where those big houses were.

At times, when I had a bit of extra gas in my car, I would drive through towns like Dacula, Buford, and Winder just to look at the beautiful houses.

Starting over was some bullshit, but I knew with this minor setback, an even better comeback was on the horizon.

"Aye, bruh, we got one."

I turned around and gave Dom my undivided attention. Damn, that was quick, I thought to myself.

"Are we taking ya car or mine?" he asked.

I already knew I didn't want to use the last of the gas in my car.

"We can go in yours."

"Okay, cool."

He started walking down the stairs and headed to his black Charger. I followed behind him.

"Where are we headed?" I asked once I sat in the passenger seat.

"Winder."

I already knew that if we successfully scoped and robbed this place, we would be set for a little minute.

Before sitting up for my longest bid, I had run in enough cribs to know the basic layout of any house just by looking at the outside. With the two-car garage and the way the front was built, I could tell that the place we were casing had to have at least three bedrooms.

"When are they leaving for vacation?" I asked while we sat back and observed the activity in the house.

"Supposed to be today."

I squinted my eyes when curtains moved in one of the rooms on the upper level.

"I don't see a Ring camera or any cameras for that matter."

"This is gonna be the sweetest lick then," Dom boasted as he rubbed his hands together.

I looked around and checked the surroundings of the neighbors' houses.

Rich people always killed me because they lived too comfortably. I could already tell that the small subdivision that we were parked in had the kind of residents that would leave their damn cars unlocked through the night. I was the kind of nigga that thought about buying a crook lock when I had first purchased my car. My face twisted in disgust when I realized that none of their neighbors had cameras either. This lick would indeed be sweet for us, but I was appalled at how the rich lived. I was ready to get to the money, but something was not sitting well with me.

I felt uneasy whenever it came to doing something that could land me back in the slammer.

"We doing this tonight?" I asked as the nerves started to bubble slightly in my gut.

"Hell yeah. What, you wanna wait until they on their way back from Daytona Beach?"

"How the fuck do you know where they going?" I turned his way as I kept eyeing the way the curtain was moving on the upper level.

"Aye, girl at the post office said that muthafuckas go in there and run their mouth like it's a therapy session."

"Aight, cool… let's go. We have been sitting here too damn long."

I had a weird feeling about whoever was poking out that damn window, and the house that we were supposed to hit was placed in the middle of a cul-de-sac. That one-way-in, one-way-out bullshit did not sit well with me. Dom quickly pulled out of the community.

"You think we need the nigga that knows how to crack a safe?" I asked.

"Nah, ol' girl at the post office said the girl that put the mail on hold is young. She's one of us not to sound like that, but I doubt her ass got a safe in that house. Plus, I don't want to have to split anything else with anybody."

"Aight, cool."

As Dom drove, I thought about just how risky it was to even case out the house in one of our vehicles. Moving forward, we would have to change some shit up about this operation not to get caught up.

"How are we gonna move everything out that muthafucka?"

"Niggas move in the middle of the night all the time, so I'm thinking about using this box truck that I have parked on this lot. I used to move people when I first came here from Mississippi," he explained.

Knowing that we had access to a moving truck, I had all intention of cleaning that house the fuck up. So many times, I would get a bag and fumble it because I just assumed that another one was coming right behind that one. I ain't doing that shit no more. Whenever I got my next big payment, my ass was going to move differently with my funds to ensure that I would never be this down ever again.