Page 13 of In God's Name

“Yes, hi sorry,” Lilith begins, “my name is Lilith. I’m John’s sister.” Realization crawls through my mind. So this is how my prey got caught in the web.

The man furrows his brows as he responds, “I’m terribly sorry for your loss. I’m hoping my work can help bring you two closure.” His hand reaches across the table and squeezes Lilith. The nasty feeling of jealousy shoots up my spine, but I quickly push it away knowing no one will be playing with my prey the way I will be. “Anyways, I’ve been able to start digging into The Garden’s higher up employees. For such a large company, their firewall is a joke,” a smirk grows on his face showcasing how amused he is with himself.

“Have you found anything?” Lilith says as she finally removes her glasses. Just as I expected, her beautiful gray eyes are swollen.

“I’ve been able to find quite a few details about the company and the relationship John had with them. It’s definitely stuff they’d want to keep out of the public eye. But

what I can tell you right now is, no one was supposed to be on that plane with him.”

I let my eyes wander over to Lilith as my mind reels with unanswered questions. Apollyon and I had never spoken about the specifics of John’s removal, just that he hadn’t been able to shut his mouth. I knew that The Garden did quite a bit of dirty work, but I never cared to get involved with that side of things. Now I’m left wondering just how deep does this go?

I grab my empty cup, standing up to leave but as I turn to head to the door a small figure rams into me.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry,” Lilith’s voice flows through the air as I look down at the coffee dripping off my coat. She must have also been getting out of the booth. I raise my eyes up to meet hers and instantly regret it. God she is beautiful. Pools of collected tears begin to fill up her cold eyes and a pout forms on her lips, pushing them together as they work hard to conceal the sob building in her throat. God what a fucking masterpiece this woman is. As the first tear slips, I let my thumb out to catch it. She stares up at me in shock as I pluck my thumb into my mouth, savoring the saltiness.

“Don’t worry about the mess,” I smile down at her. She continues to just stare up until the man at her table coughs, breaking our attention from each other.

“Everything okay?” He asks, looking towards me rather than Lilith. He reminds me of a small dog, full of anger but unable to do anything with it.

“Of course,” I smile towards him, “nothing a good wash can’t fix.” I look down at Lilith who’s still gawking at me like a child would the first time they see fire. They know it could harm them but also understand that beauty comes at a

price. I wonder if she’s as infatuated with me as I am with her. If she knows our story has only just begun.

“Have a good day Lilith,” I say, breaking the trance I held on her. She blinks a few times, erasing whatever thoughts had been traveling through her mind, and steps to the side allowing me to pass.

I arrive back to my motel room with anger terrorizing my thoughts. On the drive over all I could think about was Apollyon. He was withholding my money, my future, all because his company had begun to scrabble around him. This has been nothing more than a game to him, and the more time I spend here the more I become a confused little pawn. As if he could hear my thoughts from across the country, my phone lights up with his name.

“What?” I snap, answering the call.

His dry chuckle files through the speaker before he begins, “Hello, Kameron. I was only calling to see where you’re at with the target.”

Rubbing my forehead with my thumb and pointer finger, I quickly rationalize with myself and begin to calm down. “She’s going to be a bit of a complication to dispose of, but I’m still on schedule to have her gone by the end of the week.”

“Complication, how?”

“You can’t hire anyone competent. Between John and your tech guys, you’ve proven to lack the skills it takes to judge someone's character.”

My words are followed by a long pause of silence, and I can almost picture Apollyon sitting behind his desk, scattering through his thoughts, trying to find an explanation to what I just said. I take the opportunity to settle myself down in one of the motel room’s chairs, laughing to myself about how easily this same position had been where another man allowed me to play God. Where I got to watch him beg as I acted out the judge and executioner.

Eventually Apollyon’s voice seeps through my phone, “What do you mean by that, Kameron?”

“I mean the pest has others easily poking holes through your security,” I begin with a lethal tone. “All of The Garden’s little secrets are right in her grasp. And you better hope and pray to your pathetic God that your faith in me hasn’t been another wrong judgment call.”

I end the call as soon as the last words leave my mouth, and toss my phone over to the bed. Apollyon knows he doesn’t have to worry about my skill. The damage I have caused throughout my career has been detrimental to so many, that it would be silly to doubt my abilities. But why not make him sweat a little? Why not make him worry about where my loyalty lies? Apollyon knows I see the world in dollar signs, and I’m determined to dangle this pest in front of his face as though he’s a starved snake with a mouse just out of reach. If Apollyon wants to continue to play this little game, I’m going to show him what happens when someone breaks the rules.

Chapter sixteen

Lilith

After my visit with Leah and her informant, Josiah, at the coffee shop my shoulders feel like the weight is finally being taken off. Everything has felt so heavy since the murder and for the first time since then, it doesn’t feel like the entire world is against me. I have people on my side, people willing to not only believe me, but to fight by my side.

Leah had walked me back over to my building after the meeting, and I could tell it had raised her spirits as well. She talked about the baby with a smile on her face, and her eyes had their sparkle back. By the time we arrived though, she was struggling to keep the food from the cafe down and was ready to rush home. As much as I was enjoying the bliss that came with being around her, I knew it was best that she went home to rest. So I let her leave with no argument, but the silence in my apartment was deafening. While we might be close to catching John’s killer, I still haven’t told anyone about my latest “present”, which was still splattered across my kitchen.

I stare down at the wreckage, willing myself to clean it up, but after a few minutes I settle for promising myself to clean it up this evening. I waltz into my room and begin digging through my closet. Releasing myself from this

chokehold and flinging my thoughts into sex sounds easy right now. I know God wouldn’t want me to use this crutch but my faith has begun to waver. Would an all loving God truly put me through this?

I settle myself into a stool at the bar and let my eyes roam around the club. Upbeat music fills the air while sweaty bodies cling to each other with such promise out on the dance floor. Everyone here is content with having a good time, and I allow their energy to wind its way through me. Here, I was one of them. I wasn’t poor, helpless, Lilith.

---