Page 4 of His Coveted Obsession

“Fair enough. I killed my uncle like that. He also molested me. He would drug and rape me.”

I suddenly found myself relaxing and relating to this man, and dropping my weapon, but my finger was still on the trigger. He could’ve been lying and manipulating me, too. I had no way to process it. “Then you understand the rage.”

“Indeed.”

I looked at all the blood and my father, then down at myself. “I’ve ruined my suit. It was my favorite.”

“I’m… sorry.”

With a heavy sigh, I put the gun on the desk and picked up my dagger, my weapon of choice, that had fallen to the ground, twirling it in my fingers. It was soothing, and I was still armed. “Idon’t know what to do now. My rage is gone. My revenge is done. I feel nothing. I don’t care what you do.”

Sid holstered his gun and walked toward me, but I took a step back and held out my knife. He paused and raised his hands again.

“I’m going to leave here, and I don’t want you following me,” I said. Then I looked around Father’s office. “I don’t want his business. It can burn to the ground with everyone in it for all I care.”

Sid took another step closer, and I growled at him. “Back!” He was clearly a killer and more experienced than I, but I wasn’t going to let him get the upper hand.

He stopped again and relaxed his body, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. His head tilted, and he smiled while scanning my face. “You know, if you’re looking for a place to settle down, I’ve created an organization of assassins with another man. Generally, we take in those who are queer and already trained, but I’m sure we can make an exception for you.”

“Why? You don’t even know or care about me.”

“True, but I’d rather take you in and train you instead of kill you. You may think you have the upper hand here, but you don’t. You can learn to kill more cleanly. I can help you improve your knife work and stealth. Hell, we can train you to do whatever you want. We have infiltrators, a swordsman who uses stealth, a marksman, and there’s even a psychopath who loves a bit of gore and mayhem.”

“Why?” I asked again.

“Why take you in?”

I nodded.

He grinned and spread his hands. “Why the hell not? You definitely have potential. I also don’t like killing kids, even murderous ones. What else are you going to do, anyway? You have nowhere to go. If you don’t come with me, either the police will find you or people within your father’s organization will. There will be vultures looking to snatch up his business, and you’ll be collateral damage from that. You’ll be safer with us.”

I looked at him dubiously. “Just like that?”

“Just like that. There are rules, make no mistake, but I think you can find a home and place where you fit.” He looked around the office again and nodded. “Yep, I’m not sure you’ll fit in elsewhere.”

I thought about his offer for a moment. He was right. I had nowhere else to go, and I didn’t want to die at the hands of those who wanted Father’s business. I didn’t kill all those people just to die, anyway. I killed them to escape. “Can I get a new suit?”

He threw back his head and laughed. I didn’t understand what was so funny? “Sure, kid. You can have as many suits as you want.”

Present Day - Vienna, Virginia

ItwasearlyJanuary,just after Christmas and my nineteenth birthday. It snowed a couple of days ago, but the roads were clear as I drove Owen to school. It was his first day back after winter break.

Dalton had to go into work early, and Sid was on assignment, so I had to watch over the six-year-old.

“Did you remember to put my tri… tricorotop… Triceratops stuffed toy in my bag? It’s show and tell today.”

“Yes.”

“What’s for lunch?”

“You have your thermos filled with macaroni and cheese.”

“My favorite! Thanks, East.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Are you going to pick me up after school?”

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