Page 26 of The Hitman's Secret Love Child

“Thanks. I wanted something close to the city, but still a little out of the way. It took six months to find this one.”

“Business must be good. This must have cost a small fortune.”

I looked over my shoulder at her and smiled. “I’ve done okay. Not your former husband good, but good nonetheless. But then again, I have some scruples.”

She scrunched her nose up at me and I immediately regretted my words. And really, did I have more scruples than him? That could be debatable. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

She followed me up the flight of stairs, softly grunting as she pulled the large, heavy suitcase behind her. I would have happily taken it up after I deposited her and Austin, but she seemed intent on doing it herself. At the top of the stairs, I led her down the hallway to the first guest bedroom, which would be for Austin. The house had six bedrooms in all, 4,500 square feet. It was a little bit big for one person, but I liked it.

“This, my little man, will be yours.” I set him down and he immediately ran in.

“This is cool.” He ran to the window and looked out. The window overlooked the small garden and fountain. Had he been in the room across the hall, he would have had a perfect view of the pool and grotto. “Awesome. There’s a fountain, Mommy.”

“Nice.” She smiled as she looked up at me. “Lot of room for your toys when Constantine picks them up.”

“Uh-huh. And look at the TV.” His grin widened as he peered up at the 46” television mounted on the wall. “And there’s a PS4!” He looked directly at Constantine. “Do you have lots of games?”

“I do,” Constantine responded as he pushed Austin’s suitcase into the room. “And after you unpack your stuff, if it’s okay with your mother I’ll show you where they are.”

“Yeah!!!” Austin grabbed the suitcase with enthusiasm and began to unzip it.

“I’m going to show your mom her room and then we’ll be back, maybe get you some lunch.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Come on.” Placing a hand at the small of her back, I directed Robyn down the hall, one door down.

~*~TT~*~

Robyn yawned for the dozenth time since we had sat down to watch the movie. It had been a long day between the move and settling in. It was taking an emotional toll on her, not to mention the lack of sleep. It was a wonder she lasted until 8 p.m. Austin had fallen asleep with the PS4 controller in hand nearly two hours ago, after eating a hearty supper.

“Maybe you should retire for the night,” I suggested.

“No, I’m fine, it’s not even eight yet.” She yawned again and fell deeply into the sofa.

Taking her for her word despite not believing her entirely, I went back to watch the romantic comedy Robyn had selected. Within ten minutes I felt the weight of her slumping against me and soft snores coming from her.

Not sure what to do, I allowed her to remain snuggled against me as I watched her sleep. I suppose some would think me watching her sleep would be creepy and I guess they could be right, but I did it anyhow, my eyes scanning every part of her. Brushing a lock of black and red hair that had fallen over her eyes out of her face, I studied her facial features. Even while sleeping she had worry creasing her forehead.

“I’ll make this right,” I whispered as I stroked her long, satiny hair. If I were to be honest with myself, I’d have to admit that I was part of the reason she and my child were in this mess. If I hadn’t agreed to the stupid idea of robbing that store, I wouldn’t have killed that guy and then she wouldn’t have left me and had our baby behind my back. Hell, if I hadn’t fucked up all those years ago, perhaps we’d be married with a mortgage we couldn’t afford but got anyhow, a few kids and while we may be just getting by financially we’d be happy. And they’d be safe.

I chuckled to myself. What a stupid idea. While that life may work for Robyn, could it possibly work for me? I had my doubts. Fitting me into that type of life would be like fitting a square peg into a round hole – it just wouldn’t work. I’d come to the realization over the years that I wasn’t like everyone else. Wired differently, you might say. I could and did kill men and not feel badly for it. In 99 percent of my dealings I seemed to lack any sort of empathy, but Robyn was the one exception throughout my life who bucked the norm. She was the only person who managed to make me feel anything close to love for another person.

The movie ended without me watching more than ten minutes of it. As much as I was beginning to enjoy the closeness of Robyn, her snoring had gone from soft to the equivalent of a chainsaw roar and I had a plan to formulate to get us out of this little bind we were in.

“Robyn.” I gave her a little nudge.

Nothing.

“Robyn,” I repeated, giving her a harder nudge. All it managed to do for me was have her wrap her arms around my waist, mumble something incoherent and then settle back into a sound sleep.

“Well, damn.” Did I want to wake her anyhow? When we were younger, waking her was like rousting a sleeping dragon. Did I want to take that risk?

Answer: Not really.

Doing my best not to stir her, I slid from the sofa and slipped an arm under her legs while keeping my other arm under her shoulder blades. With one swift movement, I lifted her up and off the sofa, gathering her tight to my chest. Keeping her secure, I made my way to the staircase leading upstairs to the bedrooms.

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