Page 23 of Deadly Don's Baby Contract

"Let's put it this way: loser does the dishes and cooks tonight," I say.

"Challenge accepted." He smiles.

"I thought I smelled something sweet earlier," I venture, trying not to betray my sweet tooth.

"Ahhh, me lady has attuned olfactory powers," he says with a sneer, and I can't help but laugh at this playful, gentle side of him. I nearly choke on my coffee.

"Are you ok?" he asks.

"I'm fine. You made me laugh," I say, wiping my chin. "Are you always such a goof?"

"Nah. Not much call for it in my...line of work," he answers.

"Too bad. I like it," I say.

"Then I'll save it just for you."

***

The oak and mighty redwoods are breathtaking in their scope. I understand why people come here to find stillness and connection. The different greens and the smell of pure, unpolluted air is heady. I almost feel like I'm getting high as we walk along the Bircher Trail. I'm wearing sneakers, but I can almost sense the soft, mossy grass beneath my feet.

"Wow. You weren't kidding," he says. "Do you work out much?"

"A little, but I really just love walking and running sometimes. It clears my head, you know. It's almost meditative. When I left college, I decided that I wanted to walk the El Camino," I say.

"The religious pilgrimage trail?" he asks surprised.

"Yeah. That was three years ago now."

"I never would've guessed it. You don't strike me as the religious type," he asks almost absentmindedly. It's not a judgment call or indictment; it's just a sincere observation. That's one of the things that draws me to him; he's not like other men in this world, who are filled with secrets and agendas. He says what he means and doesn't suffer fools.

I hear a crunch behind us, and he turns and lifts his fingers to his lips. I freeze, and he indicates with his hand that I should get down quietly. He removes a small revolver from his ankle, and I wonder again about the duality of this man—kind and gentle one moment and cold-blooded assassin the next.

I'm sure that it's just a deer or some other forest dweller, but I also know that I need to listen. It's been a long time since I've had to live like this, and contrary to what people think, it doesn't just come back. Well, maybe it does. I am confident in my abilities.

I stay silent, and he comes over to me. He shows me a small hole in a giant redwood and mimes so that I can make my way to the opening quietly, hide there, and wait for him. I walk slowly and carefully to the opening that is like a little alcove in the tree. It's hidden, just enough to give protection but not so much that I lose sight of him.

I watch as he moves through the growth like a cat stalking unsuspecting prey. He moves a few branches off the trail and creates another trail that leads off into another part of the forest. He strides up the trail like a feral child and hides behind one of the broader bushes.

A man emerges from the undergrowth, and I fight every urge to call out and warn Franco. The man surveys the trail, and for a moment, I consider that he might be just another hiker until he reaches into his jacket and removes a gun.

I open my mouth to scream, but another man moves in front of me, just a few feet away from my hiding place.

I remain still. One wrong move could get us both killed and even if I could warn Franco, he'd never be able to subdue the guy in front and get to me before the other guy found me. I can’t see the one outside, but I can hear him. Labored breathing. They've been following us for a while, and he is trying to conceal his breathing, which is having the opposite effect.

The man in front moves underneath the tree, and Franco jumps out and knocks him out cold. The guy outside my hiding place starts firing, and I look for something to hobble him with, but then a single shot rings out, and I hear him fall to the ground like a giant redwood that's reached the end of its lifecycle. His head is gone.

I watch while Franco pulls the bodies together and burns both men's clothing. He destroys every trace of their identity.

"Turn away," he says to me sternly. He's in full predator mode.

I don't need to look over my shoulder to know what he's doing. The sound of flesh meeting steel is unmistakable.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to make sure that the wolves get to them and soon." We can't risk anyone finding this place again or finding them.

"What do you think they wanted? No one knows we're here." I'm starting to panic. A marriage contract to unite two warring families was one thing, but having a bullseye painted on my back is another.

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