Page 10 of Mine to Keep (Bloody Desires #10)

six

haunted

Adelane, AZ—There may be a break in the case of an Arizona judge that was found beaten and murdered in his home.

Cameras show a clean-shaven man with a slight limp leaving the area in a dark sedan, heading west on Marks Road.

The sedan was found ten miles from the scene, engulfed in flames.

The sedan was later combed for evidence, but nothing was recovered.

However, new evidence from the scene has come to light.

A blond hair was recovered, not belonging to Judge Bowers, his wife, Mrs. Maddox—who is currently in a coma post a failed medical procedure—or his daughter, Teresa.

Authorities believe it belongs to the assailant. Police also have a blond man in custody that walks with a limp, who had only recently been seen in the Adelane area after the murder. Authorities say…

I exit the site and slide my phone into my pocket.

Every day since the failed hit, I’ve been checking to see if there have been any leads on the hair that I left on Judge Bowers’s body.

The cameras may have spotted me, but the footage I saw was so grainy, cops wouldn’t be able to distinguish if I was white, Black, Latino or Asian.

I kept my head down, so my features were obscured.

They also couldn’t tell if I had a bald head or if my hair was pushed back from my forehead.

They took the bait, and the heat is off me and Teresa Bowers.

From the reports I got from Peggy, the daughter isn’t a suspect.

She took my advice and stayed in the hospital room pretty much the entire time the murder was going down with her sick mother, only stepping away to use the restroom—when she called me.

Her alibi is airtight and she disposed of the burner phone the way I told her to.

I need to let this go. It’s my first slip-up in years, but not the first fuck-up ever. If I stay in the business, I’ll probably fuck up again. Letting it get under my skin is unlike me.

Pulling in a deep breath, I shake that shit off and put it out of my mind. The job is done and the money is sitting in my account.

The flight from Paris to Toronto is a little over nine hours. It does nothing to help my already fucked-up exhaustion. I’m so tired, I couldn’t even think of more steps for my retirement plan. All I could focus on was trying to stay awake so I could watch my six.

After my flight lands, I catch a cab to the hotel in a city just outside of Toronto, in the opposite direction of Delham. I think the scenery is nice, but it all blurs together behind my scratchy eyes.

Dimly, I remember the city I’m in is close to Waterkilty.

Once I check into my hotel, I’ll catch a cab to Delham, which is only about thirty minutes away. I’ll be able to walk around the town and check out my surroundings. Once I have a lay of the land, I can come up with a plan to eliminate this target so The Void can leave me the fuck alone.

Checking into my hotel room only takes a moment. Once inside, I drop my bags and take a look around, making sure no one is inside and there is no way for anyone to sneak up on me.

Twenty minutes after I arrive and change out of my traveling clothes, there’s a knock at my door.

With a knife tucked behind my back, I open the door and I’m greeted by a young woman with a wide smile. “Knox?” I nod. She slides over a rolling suitcase and salutes me. “See ya.”

I shut the door and lock it behind me, then call Peggy.

She answers with, “You got my package?”

“Yeah. She clean?”

“One of my best. You’re actually her last job before she goes off to college.”

I hum and toss the suitcase on my bed, undoing the zipper so I can go through it.

Inside I find another suit that I probably won’t wear—this hit calls for me to catch my target during a workout—a variety of knives, a Sig Sauer with extra clips, and all the items I need to make a suitable disguise that will fool even the most eagle-eyed person.

Peggy sighs in my ear. “Sorry about this, Knox. I tried to find someone else, but you’re the best with disguises.”

“Whatever. I’m taking another vacation after this job. Jet lag is kicking my ass,” I lie. I really just need a break. I’m fucking tired.

She hums, fingers tapping on her keyboard. “I have a few other assets on rotation, so unless it’s high profile, you shouldn’t be contacted.”

“I shouldn’t have been called this time.” I hang up the phone, irritated.

I’m not mad at Peggy—she’s just the middle man—but I’m over this shit. The Void calls us and we have to show up or die. I’m more skilled than anyone on their roster, but all it takes is one mistake and one well-placed shot, blade or blow and I’m as dead as any number of my targets.

They’re holding my mistake in Adelane over my head, I know it. I’m usually can deny any job I want and they don’t give me shit. With how pushy The Director was, I have a feeling he was flexin’ to show me I was never really in charge, he just let me think I was.

Fuck, I need a shower.

Stripping off my clothes, I walk to the bathroom and turn the water on as hot as it will get. My kill isn’t until tomorrow morning, so I need to get some rest. No repeats of the past.

My shower is long, the hot water cascading down my body. I take one of the cloths and scrub my face. When my face is clean, I toss the cloth and grab another to wash my body, trying to wash away all the sweat and exhaustion.

While I’m letting the water drift down my body, I lower my hand down to my cock, giving it a quick stroke. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten off. Maybe it’ll help me sleep.

After pouring some of the complimentary conditioner onto my palm, I grab my dick and stroke slowly. I think about my last few hookups, but that only gets me a slight twinge, nothing more.

Then my mind flashes to Talon and Javier. The two men I met at the airport. I think about Talon saying how bendy he is, and Javier’s smirk as he looked at him, imagining them both at my mercy. My dick gets hard in less than a second.

I stroke my cock, imagining the three of us in all kinds of positions, me plowing into them as they moan my name, and I blow my load after only a handful of strokes.

I lean against the shower wall, breathing heavily as I watch my spunk float down the drain. Fuck, that was intense.

It almost makes me want to see them again, just to see if my fantasy lives up to the real thing, but I immediately discount that idea. There’s no need, I have nothing to offer them.

After I catch my breath, I wash up one more time and turn off the shower.

I don’t get dressed when I get out of the shower; I just pad back into the room, taking out the Sig and setting it beside me as I lower myself onto the bed.

I pull my tablet from my open bag and flip the cover open, pulling up the email The Void sent me.

I want to look over it one more time before I try to sleep.

My target, Uria, lives in an apartment that’s mostly occupied by older couples and they tend to mind their business.

Every morning, she goes for a walk for about a mile to reach a lake where she does some calisthenics, then heads back home.

I plan to look like any other jogger as I follow her on her workout route, but not directly.

Whoever gathered this intel knows her most common route and has it highlighted for me.

I can follow her stealthily and still get to her apartment before she showers.

Uria is guilty of sleeping with the husband of the family she babysits for; typical jealous wife hit that will be easy to execute. Guns aren’t legal here, so one of the knives Peggy packed will be put to good use.

Uria is a voluptuous woman, a classic beauty with long brown hair, rounded cheeks, and a disarming smile. I can see how the husband slipped up. She’s gorgeous. Too bad for her, tonight’s sunset will be her last.

I toss my tablet to the end of the bed and stretch out, staring at the ceiling.

The Void’s threat doesn’t sit right with me. It sounded too sure, almost a foregone conclusion that I would be retired rather than retiring myself. It’s common for The Void to get rid of hitmen that don’t adhere to the rules. The company doesn’t have a revolving door, but it’s pretty fucking close.

I might be staring my last job in the face. This could be the end of Viper.

Can’t say I’m too upset. I almost have my retirement strategy mapped out. It’s not like I’ll miss having nightmares about the lives I’ve taken.

My debt is paid. I owe The Void nothing. There’s no reason to stay now other than greed. I don’t enjoy killing enough to keep doing it, and I have enough money that I can travel the world for many decades without having to return to this bloody work.

I wish I had brought some of that expensive-ass wine with me. It was surprisingly good, and helped calm my thoughts. Didn’t help with my dreams, but it mellowed me out. I haven’t been mellow in years. Not since Olivia died.

Or was murdered by The Void.

Olivia was on my team, the woman that showed me the ropes in more ways than one.

If I were a normal person without a scarred soul, Olivia would have been my perfect woman; an inch or so shorter than me, cut like she lived in the gym, and with a take-no-shit attitude.

It didn’t hurt that her brown skin glowed in the sun and her naturally coily hair framed her face like a halo.

She was beautiful and deadly, the perfect woman.

She also introduced me to my more dominant side, the perfect girl for her Daddy.

But we were who we were and a relationship was impossible. Besides, she was on her way out the door and didn’t want to be attached to anyone from The Void. She said when she got out, she was cutting ties with everyone and everything, reinventing herself into the image she wanted.

I wish she had seen that day.

I’m not sure what triggered The Void to retire her. One day Peggy had her jacket, the next, her file was redacted, even from Pegs. All she knew was Olivia was gone, dead from an unfortunate accident.