Page 75 of Shifted

"I'm not going down for this. I have a life to live, but I'm going to save him," Isaac says, downing the rest of his scotch and then exiting my home.

As I climbed back into bed, I couldn't sleep. Amartolós was taken, he wasn't okay, he could be dead for all I know. And that thought in itself haunted me; I needed to know he'd be fine. I went into Joely's room, and she snored lightly as she clutched her light green blanket. I ran my fingers through her soft curls and placed a kiss against her head.

"Mumma," She mumbled in her sleep.

"Shhh, go back to sleep, my baby girl." I pressed her head against my chest as I held her. My precious girl was my world, "I love you, Joe." I placed her head back on the pillow and kissed her cheek. I wrapped my arms tight around her this time as I took in her scent like it was the last time.

“He’ll take care of you, okay?” I promised her. If I was never coming home, at least I made sure she knew he would be there. It was a scary thought never to be holding her again, but I knew I’d make it back; I had to.

After twenty minutes, Maria arrives at the door in her polka-dot pajamas. She stared at my outfit, but without a second thought, she stepped into my place and stepped beside the door for me to leave.

"I don't know what you're doing, but all I can say is be careful." Squeezing her hand for a moment, she turned and pulled me in for a hug. I hand her my phone and keys as usual. I never kept a spare on me during my missions, in case.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I promise. The door closes behind me, and I swiftly make my way to the parking garage below. There was a black car waiting for me, and it was small and discreet.

I opened the door to see two men in the front driving. I usually would find the place on my own, but it wasn't a place that could be found simply. I didn't know how far the journey would be or how difficult it would be, but I wasn't one to back down from a fight. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the saying goes. Though it's Amartolós's mission to end my life, I've made it my mission to save his.

The car was cold, but not as cold as the two men in the front seat seemed to be. They didn't make any light conversation, but I wasn't attempting to; I was skeptical at first. Isaac confirmed these were the guys. They looked like your average Gas station cashier—intimidating in ways, but not enough to think they'd kill you, but maybe someone you could cry to.

We'd been driving for over an hour at this point. I wish I had my iPod shuffle to turn up in the back of this car right now. I didn't feel like I had a right to ask for the radio. Especially since that would be the first word I'd speak. My thoughts drift to him as we comb through a forest of some sort.

"Do you want to have a baby with me?” I repeated the words in my mind, thinking back on the simple question he asked that would change my life forever.

"Ask me with a ring on my finger and an approved relationship next time." The night following on the beach, Joely was made, not out of spite but out of love. It was an accident between the two of us, one he never knew of.

"Deal." His words rang through my ears like some taunting memory, the words that made my heart flutter. The promise of our future that was soon shattered before it could even begin. But he gave me my daughter, our daughter. She is my little Jolene Windsor, my fighter. She was my biggest accomplishment in my life, and as I think of him. I think of her; I think of who and what he gave me. The most precious gift life has to offer to those who want it.

I don’t know why his words are coming to my mind. The man who I loved left, and maybe it’s because I’m scared. I’m afraid that I might die, and because of that, I think of him. The false promises and the hopeful future, the one we never got.

"Seven minutes out," the guy on the passenger side speaks for the first time in an hour. We are dropping you near one of the walls; the access point is the easiest one to get into." He lifts a screen to show me monitors outside. Guards laced the place, but this spot was blind.

"We'll be watching" I could do a lot of things, most of the time I enjoyed the easy work, it made life less stressful. But it wouldn't be work without having a challenge, and this would be one of them. They showed me detailed plans of the estate, the presumed area Amartolós would be in. All this shit for a guy whose identity I didn't even know. But I felt as if I owed him something when I owed him nothing. But he's saved my ass, so it's only fair. The car comes to a stop, as all the lights within it cut.

"We'll be watching and here," the man points to the rooftop pad. "You bring him here, and the helicopter will get you. But we are back up so call us in if needed." This is what Isaac calls back up? Two guys smushed together in some stuffy car with a computer; maybe I was fucked. If not me, then Amartolós was fucked. This was a joke.

I stepped out of the car, adjusted my mask, and turned back to the door.

"Later losers." I salute, leaving the two of them confused.

Getting in wouldn't be the hard part. The getting out would be. I slid my body through a tight water supply that went through the other side of the wall. After twenty seconds, I made it to the other side, filling my lungs with air. If I were to scale the wall from the top and down, I would've been caught and shot down within seconds. I use the darkness that surrounds me as an advantage, and an open door makes itself available to me as I approach it. A guard watches me and lifts his gun. Before he could think to pull the trigger, I injected a lethal syringe into his neck.

He slowly slides to the ground, his eyes open and wide as they stare at me while life drains out of his body. I swipe his badge, shoving it into my pocket, and turn the corner again. This time, it's clear, not a single soul or sound in sight.

I slowly moved down the hall towards the predicted area, but I stopped short when I heard small chatter in a neighboring room.

"Draw."

It always comes back to these men and their card games. In a way, it intrigued me; it was an addiction in itself. I couldn't lie and say that poker wasn't fun, but that's because I always won so simply, collecting money as if it were candy on Halloween.

"You're bluffing?"

"Royal flush," I hear a man scoff proudly.

"Fuck you, Eros."

The sounds of guns clicking followed. He was in the other room, Eros, my other target of the evening. Rather, my client, according to public records. It wasn't long after I put two and two together. Whoever Eros was, knew who Angel really was. It made me question why he didn't come to collect me himself and put a bullet through my head as a reward.

I was on hundreds of hit lists, but he could've collected me without a second thought. Maybe he was waiting for me, wasting my time with fake cases, wanting to see how long I'd play his game. So, it left Lucas confused as to why I didn't give up on the case.

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