Page 40 of Rugger: The Huntress

The pinging of the elevator pulled me from my thoughts. I stepped off in pursuit ofRoom 2490.

I made one turn after the other in the massive hotel until finally, I reached my destination. My lips formed an incredibly small circle. Sound followed their assembly.

Prrrrrr.

Prrrr.

Prrrrrr.

Prrrr.

TheGlock 19slid from my waist with ease. The silencer was still attached but the piece had cooled down. There were no signs of the lives it had taken nearly an hour prior. The keycard I’d swiped from the housekeeper who replenished my towels at noon granted my access.

Like a bouquet of the fresh roses I sat on my mother’s headstone every quarter of the year, the scent of fresh florals and vanilla toyed with the hairs of my nose. She’d been here. There was no mistaking the fragrance she wore.

It was unique. It was rich. It was regal. It was demanding. It was the definition of excellence in a bottle.

I rounded the first corner, following the sound of running water. Vulnerability made the easiest kills. With my gun aimed, I prepared to let off a single round into the body of a white collar criminal.

Eric Shander had a high ticket on his head. As the accountant for the oil tycoon, Evan Carter, he’s successfully stolen eight million dollars over the last six years he’d been employed.Almost. Unbeknownst to him, the money was slowly being deposited back into the account of its rightful owner and his life was about to end because of his transgressions.

The lack of movement from my unsuspecting victim stilled me. Baffled, I pushed forward and closer to the steam emitting from the shower glass that was ajar. In a pool of his own blood was Eric with lifeless eyes and limbs.

The revelation of my discovery rendered me speechless. As much as I wanted to linger on the subject, time was of the essence. I opened the vanity cabinet and removed the carefully packaged solution.

In an instant, I began pouring the acidic liquid onto the corpse. Thick bubbles formed as the sound of burning flesh soothed me. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that DNA evidence belonging to the marksmen responsible for Eric’s death was all over his genitals, underneath his fingernails, and likely in his mouth. I paid close attention to those areas before capping the solution and standing to my feet.

Suddenly, the clothes on my body began suffocating me. My palms grew sweaty and the twitching of my right eye had returned. I put the hotel suite behind me as I situated the black bag on my back, tugging the straps at the very bottom.

Silently, I descended on the elevator. My thoughts were clammy. My head was spinning. The whirlwind of a night I’d had felt miniscule to the pending future. Still, I found myself trying to make sense of it all. Every hour. Every minute. Every second. Every millisecond.

Fuck. My head dropped as I cupped my chin.

The chime of the elevator forced me to straighten my spine and lift my head. The doors opened to reveal the same chocolate skin that coated the woman who was haunting me in her absence.

Same nose.

Same eyes.

Same smile.

The height difference wasn’t as obvious to the naked eye, but to the trained eye it was quite obvious. They shared genes.

Same mother.

Same father.

Same fragran–

She waltzed pass me and into the elevator as I tried desperately to wrap my head around what the fuck was happening around me.

She kills. I surmised.

She cleans. I added.

The duffle in her hand wasn’t filled with clothes for the weekend. I’d bet everything in my bank account on my assumption.

The chips began falling in place. A chuckle left my lips with a shake of my head.

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