Page 55 of The Hitman's Secret Love Child

Epilogue

Three months later

Constantine

“It’s okay. Shhhh.” I pulled Robyn into my arms and held her tight to me as she awoke from yet another nightmare. Thankfully they weren’t near as bad as they were a couple of months ago.

Her eyes fluttered open as she clung to me. It took a moment for recognition to register in her eyes. A tight smile formed on her lips and she snuggled her head against my neck and released a barely audible sigh.

“Was it the same as usual?”

“Yeah. Gabriel breaks in and kills you, Austin and then pulls the gun on me.”

Chances were that was what would have happened. To ensure nothing ever happened to her, I also took care of what had appeared to be his closest men. No one would ever come after her. She was safe now.

“You’re safe now. Nothing will ever happen to you or Austin as long as I’m alive.”

“But…”

This was our normal routine. Normally, I would reassure her that everything would be okay and by the time I finished my sentence she’d be softly snoring beside me. Apparently, not tonight. Neither one of us talked about what we referred to as that night. We kept attempting to put it behind us, but it was never behind us – it was the elephant in the room that we both one day hoped would go away.

“But what?” I didn’t want to ask the question; I had a feeling it wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have with her. But I asked anyhow.

“You haven’t stopped, have you?”

“Stopped what?” I knew damned well what. My occupation. Of course it bothered her, it would bother anyone. Well, any normal person.

“Your business.”

I was so fucking tempted to lie, it would be so much easier to tell her what she wanted to hear, but I couldn’t. She deserved the truth. There had been too many lies between us in the past, I refused to have lies between us in the future. We’d been through too much together both in our distant and recent past.

“Yes, I am still taking contracts.”

“How many?”

“Just two.”

She laughed, but it was a hollow sound. “Two lives.”

“They are not good people, Robyn. I get paid for taking out the trash. I’m doing the world a service.”

“It seems so wrong.” She lowered her gaze from mine and buried her face against my neck. Tears began to drip from her eyes and onto my bare flesh.

This was the part where I was supposed to ask her what I should be doing instead and she’d perhaps give me a suggestion. Maybe take over my dad’s bar? I’d thought about it numerous times and just last week Dad suffered a heart attack. I knew it was coming; he was pushing himself too hard to keep that bar up and running. I’d temporarily stepped in and taken over for him; I supposed I could do that permanently. Though I knew I would miss the adrenaline rush of getting a target in my sights. The godlike feeling of taking a life and knowing that the streets were a better place because of it. Yes, I know, I sound like a monster, but it’s the truth.

But I now received a different kind of rush, because of Robyn. The rush of love. The feeing of power knowing someone depended on and appreciated me, not for taking a life, but just for existing. That was a powerful, powerful thing.

Her soft snores took me off the hook for answering, but I thought I had an answer for her. We didn’t need the money. I had a house, bought and paid for. Cars, also paid for. Money in the bank and hidden in the house. Money wasn’t what I needed, but there were two things I did need – Robyn and Austin.

~*~TT~*~

Robyn

It was going to have to be me and Austin or his job. I’d made the decision this morning, after I woke up the previous night from yet another nightmare. Austin and I needed a stable and secure life. We didn’t need money or power, all we needed was a husband and father who loved and took care of us. One I didn’t have to worry about getting killed every night, or who would lie to me about his whereabouts and doings.

I’d been lied to way too much throughout my lifetime.

Today, I spent the day dwelling on my time with Constantine, both past and present. Tonight, Constantine would make the decision. Austin was getting way too attached to Constantine. If we were going to leave, it would best be sooner rather than later.

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