Page 27 of Tainted Wings of Failure

"Wait, you will finally let me tell the boss that you know and are with the man he hates the most?"

"Yes…if that means I get a chance to go look for him."

"I'll see what I can do," Riley says with a long, heavy sigh.

"Thank you." Tears sting in the corners of my eyes, but my lips curl into a smile.

"You know there is a chance the boss will want to talk to you directly on the matter? After all, he's the one who ultimately makes all the final decisions.”

"I know." I sigh. "I'm ready to talk to him…"

I pace up and down the living room, dragging my feet protected by my fluffy socks across the polished wooden floor. The warmth from the floor heating fights the tickling cold in my toes from the nervous chills that run through my body. I clutch my phone in my sweaty palm and wait for the call from my former boss. Riley texted me thirty minutes ago that she had talked to him and that he would call soon.

At the sound of a spoon clinking against a bowl, I look up at Kyle sitting on the sofa, digging into a bowl of cereal. With each crunch and slurp, my irritation grows, grating on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

I'm about to snap when my phone suddenly vibrates in my hand and I jump up, almost dropping it. Quickly, I swipe my finger across the screen, answer the call, and lift the phone to my ear.

"Boss," I say with a nervous tone in my voice.

"Evelyn, sweetheart," his deep, raspy voice sounds from the other end. "It's been a while, how are you?"

"I'm fine," I lie, squeezing my phone harder.

"Is that so? Riley told me something different."

"Everything was fine…until recently."

"She gave me a short run down but left out some information. Tell me what is going on. Even though you don't work for me anymore, you're still a part of our family."

"I need the tickets for the gala this Friday."

"That seems rather unexpected. Why?"

"Because I need them…"

"Evelyn, details please. You know how much I hate having to squeeze every last bit of information out of you guys. I know my men are walking into a trap, but I don't understand how you know that," he urges.

"Because they have my boyfriend…"

The boss on the other end remains silent for a couple torturous seconds before speaking again. "Your boyfriend?"

"Yes…"

He sighs. "How on God's green earth is your boyfriend involved with them?"

"He was hired to kill the new boss."

"Evelyn. Are you telling me you left this line of work behind just to date someone who's in it?" He groans. "I lost one of my favorite girls, which was devastating enough, and now you tell me you didn't leave it all behind like you said? I let you go on the condition that you get as far away from all of this as possible, and here you are breaking that agreement."

"I… He was retired too. He only took this one job because it was important."

Another sigh escapes him. "Who's your boyfriend?" he asks but I stay silent. "Evelyn?"

"The White Dove Killer."

"For fuck's sake, are you kidding me?" He raises his voice at me, and I flinch, squeezing my eyes shut. "Are you trying to tell me that you're dating the bastard who kills anyone who even dares to look at him? How do you know him?"

"That's a long story." I offer him a quiet, nervous chuckle.

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