Page 15 of The Hitman

Chapter Eleven

Callie

L eo’s in rare form today, weaving between fruit stands at the farmer’s market like a sugar-fueled pinball. He’s wearing a Spider Man hoodie that’s two sizes too big, trying to convince us to buy ‘mystery meat’ from a vendor who definitely doesn’t have a permit.

Jaxon’s chuckling under his breath beside me, hood up and his sunglasses on. He still clocks every exit whenever we venture out, still scans every stranger’s face. But in our time together since the incident with Volkov, the edges that kept him in survival mode are gradually softening.

A quiet devotion lingers in the way he watches Leo build Lego towers without correcting him, or when his hand skims my shoulder while we cook together.

That same tenderness shows up at night, when it’s just the two of us, and in those moments, I don’t mind that some of his edges are still there. Especially when he touches me like I’m sacred, then ruins me like I asked him to.

Best of all, Jaxon sleeps hard, without twitching or mumbling to himself. Like he’s finally accepting that we’re safe. And when he slips his fingers through mine, exactly as he’s doing now, then brushes his lips against my temple, it helps me accept it, too.

We gather the rest of the food we need before pausing to watch Leo chat with a woman who has a pen full of puppies.

“Think he’s gonna try to convince us to take one home?” Jaxon asks, amused.

“Without a doubt.” I take the bags from his right hand and arch a brow. “And I’m going to put these in the car while you break the poor kid’s heart.”

His flat expression makes me laugh, but I kiss him, anyway.

“Wait,” he says when I move for the parking lot. His eyes shift from me to the puppy pen. “Let me get Leo, and we’ll go together.”

“It’s okay, warden. I’m not going far.” I place a hand on his shoulder, then nod to the gun at my hip, hidden beneath my shirt. “Besides, you taught me how to use this thing, remember?”

“And you’ve yet to hit a target.” He cocks a brow. “Not exactly reassuring.”

“Uncle Jax! Come check this out!” Leo’s got two pups in his arms, grinning from ear to ear as they wiggle and whine while licking his cheeks.

Jaxon appears torn between normal life and his covert operative programming.

“I’ll be fine,” I assure him.

“Come right back,” he says before giving me a swift kiss.

“You know I like it when you use that tough guy tone on me.”

“I do.” He spins me toward the parking lot, his smirk brushing my ear. “Now do me a favor and follow it for once.”

My heart practically glows all the way to the car, and there’s no sense in denying it any longer…

I’m in love with Jaxon Knight.

I let that truth take root deep in my bones.

If I told anyone what’s transpired since I first took this job, they’d be appalled. They’d tell me I was delusional or downright psychotic for falling in love with a hitman, but that’s not who he is anymore.

And I have every intention of telling him how I feel tonight.

I drop the bags into the trunk and slam it shut before making my way back to Jaxon. I take a couple of steps, looking around the lot and the market ahead of me with a sense of unease building in my gut.

I don’t know what it is, but something is definitely off…

My stomach lurches when I see two tall, dark figures stroll through the market.

I hear screams just before a plume of white smoke billows through the crowd. People scatter like mice, tripping over themselves in an attempt to escape as the fog thickens.

“No,” I gasp, running straight into the melee to find Jaxon and Leo.

Gun in hand, I cover my face with the neckline of my shirt and squint my stinging eyes. People gasp and cough, but the smoke isn’t taking anyone down, making me think it’s being used as a diversion.

And I’m not sure which is worse.

“Jaxon! Leo!” I shout as I’m jostled between the hysteria.

Thick, meaty hands lock around my shoulders, sending shockwaves of panic through me.

I’m practically blind, kicking and thrashing against the man who growls, “Gotcha.”

“Let me go,” I demand, still struggling in his hold.

I can’t see his face, but he’s enormous. He laughs at my attempts to elbow his thick torso as he squeezes me to his chest.

The smoke is so thick now, I can’t tell up from down or left from right.

I open my mouth to scream, “Jax?—”

The stranger slaps me hard and snaps, “Shut your mouth.”

Stars blind my vision. Blood seeps between my teeth, and it startles me just as much as it makes me want to rage.

With a frustrated grunt, he hoists me up onto his side, pinning my arms and carrying me like a suitcase.

Then I feel it.

My gun.

It’s still in my hands, but one wrong move, and it’ll slip.

“Who are you?” I grit, trying to distract him as I inch the Glock more firmly in my palm.

“A message.”

“How ominous.”

He jostles me hard. “You think you’re funny, bitch?”

“Not really. But I do think kicking your ass will be hilarious.”

With a feral growl, I latch onto his arm and bite as hard as I can.

He shouts, and the world tilts just before I’m dropped to the ground. My face and swollen lip smack against the unrelenting earth. The gun clatters from my hand, and when I hear Leo’s panicked scream, I blindly scramble for it.

“I’m going to enjoy gutting you.”

The approaching steps of the man who was carrying me has me frantic. I don’t care what they do to me as long as I can spare Leo enough time for Jaxon to find him.

“Yo, boss. I got the kid, but I suggest we get out of here before we finish them off.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” he grunts before kicking my side.

My stomach clenches as I cough into the dirt. I try to breathe and end up inhaling it through my nose before coughing some more.

Leo’s little grunts sound like he’s attempting to fight back, and in my head, I’m screaming for Jaxon despite already fearing the worst.

“What?” The second guy sounds like he might actually shit his pants. “No, that wasn’t part of the plan. We’re supposed to kill these two to fuck with The Reaper’s head. We’ll take him down soon, but if we stay any longer, we won’t make it out of here alive.”

“You and everyone else think this fucker is the boogeyman.” He cracks his knuckles, then his neck. “But I don’t believe in fairytales.”

“Callie?” Leo’s tiny voice breaks through the fog.

My heart thunders with adrenaline, but determination blocks out the pain in my pounding skull.

“Come on,” I mutter, desperately swiping my hand through loose dirt and pebbles for my gun. “Where are you?”

Got it.

I flip onto my back and swing my arm toward the assailant.

Three synchronized safeties click—mine, the stranger’s, and a third.

With my assailant in view, I pull the trigger before tucking in on myself and rolling away from him. There’s a sickeningly wet thud, followed by a groan, and then more gunfire.

Leo cries out, and as the smoke finally starts to thin, the shadows of the men attacking us become increasingly more clear.

“Leo?”

The figure holding him collapses, dropping Leo before falling onto his back. His head lolls toward me, gaze turning glassy and hollow as Leo scrambles on his butt away from him.

The larger man drops next, crumpling to the ground as he clutches his chest. His mouth opens like he wants to speak, but nothing comes out, and I scoot back, stunned, as he lands just in front of me.

Through the fog, another figure empties his clip into the already lifeless body. I flinch at each shot, every blast ricocheting in my ears.

And then, I see him…

Jaxon, in all his fierce glory, glaring down at the dead man like he regrets giving his soul a quick exit.

A sob tears from my chest when he holsters his weapon and turns for Leo. He takes him by the hand, checks him for injuries, and then tugs him over to where I’m sitting.

When Leo reaches me, he drops to my side, clinging to me, and the dirt-caked tears streaking his cheeks rip my heart out.

Hasn’t this little boy been through enough?

“W-why did they want to hurt us?” he sputters, terrified.

I hold him tighter, wondering the same.

This attack wasn’t random. Those men knew exactly where to find us, and that troubles me the most.

“Callie,” Jaxon breathes, tipping my chin up to him. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I—” I hiss when my tender lip splits.

He tilts my face, locking onto my cheek where a steady throb pulses under the surface.

Rage consumes him, cold, cynical. “I swear to you, whoever orchestrated this will have hell to pay.”

I tremble from the force of his promise. “No, Jaxon.”

“What do you mean, no ?” Anger ripples through each word. “Every last one of them will suffer for what they’ve done.”

Our gazes clash. His filled with the promise of bloodshed, and mine with steadfast determination.

But I won’t let him slip back into his old ways. I owe the man I love that much.

Leo whimpers, tucking his face away from his uncle. “I want to go home.”

Jaxon blinks down at him, clearing the fog of revenge for a moment before reaching for his nephew.

I gently block him by touching his hand.

“We’re not going back to that life,” I say firmly.

Warring with himself, he glances back at the bodies on the ground. His jaw clenches, but eventually, the blind fury recedes and his shoulders gradually droop.

“You’re right. But whoever did this can’t go unpunished.”

“And they won’t,” I assure him. “But first, we need to regroup. Together .”

He cups my cheeks before kissing my forehead, then places his hand on Leo’s shuddering back. “Together.”