Page 53 of Azrael

“Samurai and Stripes will.”I didn’t mention Samurai’s reluctance.“The rest of the club stays clear.This isn’t their fight.”

“But it’s yours?”The question carried weight beyond its simple words.

Was it my fight?Yeah.Mazida was my mother-in-law, or the closest thing I had to one.

“Someone took your mother,” I said finally.“That makes it my fight.”

Her breath caught at that.“I need you to be safe.Even if you’re taking on more than you bargained for, I need you to keep your promise to come home to me.”

The distant street noise faded as I focused on the faint static on the line and the sound of my own steady breaths as I listened intently to her words.

“I’ve never been safe a day in my life,” I told her, in a rare moment of raw honesty.“That’s not who I am.”

“It could be,” she countered softly.“After this is over.After my mother’s home.”

The possibility hung in the air between us -- a future I hadn’t allowed myself to imagine.A life beyond the next target, the next monster to eliminate.

“One step at a time,” I said, unwilling to make promises I couldn’t keep.“First, we get your mother back.”

“And then?”The question was loaded with possibilities.

I took a slow breath.“And then we figure out what comes next.”

“When do you leave?”Her practical nature reasserted itself.

“Tomorrow.Early,” I said.“The first target is outside Jerusalem.”

“How long?”

“One week to complete all three jobs.”I didn’t tell her what would happen if I failed.She didn’t need that burden.

“I wish I could be there with you.”The stubbornness was back in her voice.

“I need you exactly where you are.Safe.”

“One week,” she repeated finally.“I’ll be here when you get back.With my mother.”

“Yes, you will.”

“Azrael?”Her voice had gone soft again.“Thank you.For doing this.For being who you are.”

Something twisted in my chest.Gratitude wasn’t what I wanted from her, but I wasn’t sure what I did want.Or rather, I knew, but wasn’t ready to admit it.

“Get some sleep, Zara,” I said instead.“I’ll check in when I can.”

“Be careful,” she whispered.“Please.”

“Always am.”It was a lie, and we both knew it.

After we hung up, I straightened, waiting, motionless, staring at the phone in my hand.The mission ahead was clear.Three targets, one week, one woman to save.Simple on paper.But nothing about this was simple.Not the job, not the stakes, and certainly not my feelings for Zara Colton.Somewhere out there, Samurai and Stripes would be preparing, gathering intel, checking weapons.Good men crossing lines they shouldn’t have to cross, because I’d dragged them into my mess.And somewhere, Mazida Quadir waited for rescue, not knowing that her daughter had set an avenging angel on her trail.In one week, I’d either be bringing Mazida home to her daughter, or I’d be dead.There was no middle ground in deals like this.

And if I survived?That question haunted me most.I had no answer.Only the mission ahead, and the nagging feeling that when this was over, I’d be changed in ways I couldn’t yet imagine.

Chapter Fifteen

Azrael

I settled into position on the worn rooftop, the crumbling brick rough against my elbows as I positioned the rifle.Below me, the café buzzed with life -- tourists laughing, locals reading newspapers, waiters balancing trays of colorful drinks.None of them were aware of the death I was about to deliver.I took a slow breath, while adjusting the scope’s focus on my target.Some men deserved to die in the middle of their coffee.This one certainly did.

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