Page 63 of Shifted

"He took my wife and child," I hear him take a shuttered breath on the other line, "I need you to kill Enzo and get my wife and child safely. Instructions will follow." That funny feeling, the one you get after watching a movie with an unsettling ending, when you lie to your parents, but the guilt settles in after they believe you. That’s how I felt right about now, hearing his family was taken and held captive.

"I have a request." I stare out to the living party in front of me that I’d now have to leave right as Reed just got here. He was going to be pissed, and he was already staring at me, slightly annoyed as I stood on the phone.

"Name it." Isaac fretted.

"Amartolós, I need him to do this with me. I won't be able to get your wife and daughter safely on my own." That was the truth; it was a two-person job, and he was the only person I’d ever worked with. Because whoever had them was bigger than the two of us. They stole Isaac's family, and he was not just some guy you threatened.

"We have a deal," he says, and I end the line, tucking the phone into my purse and turning back to the party that evolved as I turned my back.

"Bella!" She turned back to me, stumbling her way over to me. I squeezed her cold hands, and she released them, wrapping them around me.

"I'm married, Hopey!" She squealed, "How am I married?" She implores in realization as I feel a spot on my chest dampen as her drool drips onto me.

"You found someone as crazy as you!" Giggling at my words, Grayson came over to collect her drunken self. "Can I steal my wife?" he asked sweetly, causing Bella’s face to wash over with crimson.

"Yes, but I do have to leave. Work emergency," Grayson frowned, but Bella didn’t even understand what I was saying. Instead, she just did a thumbs-up, dipping her head into Grayson’s chest.

"Congrats, you two, Grayson, take care of my love?" He nods and takes me in for a loose hug. Now, I had to deal with everyone else quickly and quietly. I knew that tonight would be a long one. But I mostly worry about Maria, and sometimes I speculate about whether she knows the truth. I know she's gone to my work when I was 'supposedly' there but finds that I haven't been to the office all evening. One time, she even caught me stained in blood when I came home one evening.

But she’s never further questioned or asked me about it, and I hope Reed never would.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Hope Taylor

I heard footsteps, signaling he was here. He thinks he's sneaking up on me once again, as I have yet to let him know I've recognized his presence. But I just watched the shadow of his hand reach for my shoulder, and I spoke before it could touch me.

"Another day, another failed attempt to sneak up on me," I watch as his hand stops short, and he retreats it back quickly. Now, I’ve probably gone and embarrassed him, but we’ve both done far worse by now.

"That wasn't the goal," He walked around to face me, "You requested my presence through Isaac?" The tables had now turned, and yes, I’ll admit, my ego was bruised. However, the precautions for this mission were more serious, with stakes like these. But I knew he just wanted me to repeat it out loud to him.

"You're really going to make me say it again?" He stands patiently, waiting for the words to leave my mouth like some child. There was no winning, "Fine, I needed your help! He raises a brow.

“Now it feels like you’re just saying it? If you really wanted me, you’d let me know. I mean, I am doing you a favor here,” This man seemed to want to take a mile as I offered an inch. But as he leaned back against the wall, getting comfortable, I was left with no other options.

“Amartolós, please help me rescue Isaac’s family.” That was the goal, to save them. He didn’t need my target because that was my mission. His was to help locate and execute a rescue mission.

"Enzo Petrova's my target? This should be—”

"My target, Enzo Petrova, is my target.” I blurt out quickly, “I was hired for this job for a reason; you will be helping retrieve his wife and daughter unharmed. May I remind you?" Leaning back on the red bricks, he huffs out air in disappointment.

"Let's hope they're not already dead." The thought of Isaacs's family being dead twists my stomach. Though I don't know him, I couldn't even imagine that pain. "Don't say that. Losing your child, let alone your wife is the worst pain I could ever even imagine." I said, removing the safety from my gun and began to move in on the location.

It was an old, run-down house West of the Seaport. Guard after guard could be seen, but most of them were distracted. Two of them were sitting down and playing a game of cards, seemingly bored. So, when the knife stabbed right into one of their skulls, it was a wake-up call to the guy next to him. Before he could scream, a dagger collided with his skull.

"I get Enzo; you get the girls, okay?" Amartolós looked at me, not convinced. He didn't seem confident with the plans. "I'm running this mission. Don't doubt my instincts. Just do as I say." He salutes me and turns away. I find myself squeezing in between a thin wall, and as I poke my head to the other side, I see what I am looking for. Enzo Petrova sat center stage of a card game, and men circled a table.

The mixed scent of cigars and weed fills my nose. A dice is rolled, and I watch Enzo continuously win as if he were cheating somehow. But I knew for sure that death wasn't something he'd be cheating on today.

I hear a gun click behind me and turn to see a guard aiming at me. I raise my hands in surrender and get to my knees, but before he can yell, I go straight for his pocket knife.

I carved the knife into his neck, allowing him to fall back to the floor. I watch as the blood trickles out of his neck as he struggles to breathe. But when I turn back around, I'm left with a sight I wish I could unsee.

All the men's eyes are drawn to me. No woman besides me was present in the area, and in this situation, I knew already that was a bad sign.

"Got room for an extra?" Guns make their way into the air aimed at my face.

"Who the fuck are you?" Enzo demands, staring at me. He steps away from the table and slowly walks towards me.

---