Page 11 of The Hitman
“No problem.”
My cheeks puff with an exhale as I angle my burning face away from him. First day on the job, and I’m already pining for my boss.Smooth.
“I need to take care of this,” he says after responding to the message with a few eager taps.
He mumbles something about a trade window and deadlines that makes no sense to me, but I stop him before he turns to leave.
“Don’t forget your sandwich, warden.”
I wrap it in a paper towel before handing it over, and when our fingers brush, he goes still. Like he’s short-circuiting, and our touch is the static noise causing it.
“Right. Of course.” He snaps out of it, taking the sandwich with a muttered thanks.
I want to ask him what that was all about, but deciding better of it, I settle on, “Good luck.”
“You, too.” He takes a bite, and I swallow thickly after he licks the crumbs from his lips. “Oh, and I’ll think about what you said… with Leo.”
“Okay.” I smile, even though I don’t quite feel it.
He hesitates, dropping his eyes to my mouth before murmuring, “Okay.”
The room grows cold once Jaxon exits the kitchen. I brace my hands on the counter, replaying our conversation several times before deciding my sanity isn’t worth decoding every look or touch.
Jaxon’s my boss. It’s as simple as that. And while he’s off doing whatever day traders do, I’ll be here with his nephew—a kid who wants nothing more than to set fire to the world and watch it burn.
I take a deep, steadying breath before collecting his plate off the counter.
“Time to go slay a dragon.”
I find Leo holed up in the corner of his room, legs crossed and his thumbs furiously tapping on some handheld gaming device.
He doesn’t look up when I knock, but he doesn’t tell me to bug off, either, so I step inside and sink into the plush rug a few feet from him.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” he mutters eventually.
The blue screen illuminates the tear stains on his chubby cheeks, and my heart swells twice its normal size.
“Talk about what?”
He scoffs in response.
“All right. I may not be the person you want to talk to right now,” I begin, keeping my voice light, “but believe me, I get your frustration.”
Silence. Several dramatic taps on the console.Annndmore silence.
“I brought you something.” I slide the sandwich toward him like a peace offering. “I guarantee it’s better than oatmeal.”
He quirks a brow, looking so much like his uncle when he says, “Thanks, but I’m not hungry.”
“That’s okay.” I lean back on my hands, glancing around his room for something I can use to bridge this gap between us. Then I spot an elaborate Lego castle display, andbingo. “You know, I once got suspended from school for dumping a bowl of oatmeal on a boy’s head. He said girls couldn’t be knights, only princesses. Can you believe that?”
Leo’s thumbs pause mid-press, but he still doesn’t look at me. “Did he cry?”
“Hell yeah, he did.” A ghost of a smile touches his lips, and I pounce on it. “You miss school, huh?”
Leo shrugs. “It’s just… this place is weird. I used to have a normal life. Friends. Soccer. My own bed that didn’t look like a throne from a haunted castle.”
I glance at the black curtains tied to each post and the matte black comforter on his bed.
