Page 36 of The Hitman
“I want to keep staring at your pretty face,” I mumble, “but I can’t keep my fucking eyes open.”
“That’s a real shame.”
Every stroke of her fingers pushes me closer to a coma.
“Tell me about it.”
A warm chuckle tickles my cheek. “Go to sleep, warden. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Promise?”
She kisses the tip of my nose. “I promise.”
Chapter Ten
Jaxon
Iwatch Leo and Callie play with Nerf guns from the porch of a small rental home I own in Illinois. It’s in the countryside, right on the outskirts of Chicago, and it’s far enough away to be off the grid, while still close to the private rehab facility where Isa will continue her recovery journey for the next month.
My visit with her this morning gave me hope that she’s going to pull through. The scans and bloodwork show incredible improvement, and the doc says she might even wake up as soon as next week. But I have a feeling Isa’s doing so well because of Callie’s brilliant idea to integrate Isa’s favorite things into our day to day.
Though I’ll be thankful to never hear anotherBee Gees’classic again.
Callie sneaks up behind the bushes Leo’s crouching under and pegs the back of his head. He bolts upright, and she takes off like her shorts are on fire.
“Not fair!”
He races after her, blindly shooting at her back, and I pause to dog-ear the page in the book I was reading and watch them play.
The bickering between the two of them, the laughter, and a house with just the basics. This is the life I never let myself dream of, but somehow walked into anyway.
It’s been two weeks since taking down Volkov and officially retiring my Death Bringers. In that time, the killer I was has begun to fade, and the man I’m becoming has taken that space.
We’ve spent blissful mornings eating breakfast as a family, had countless midday Nerf battles, and worked together to get Leo back on his school schedule so he doesn’t fall too far behind.
And late at night? That’s when Callie does her soul work. That’s when her hands explore and heal, while mine memorize every curve like a sacred scroll. We give and take, then take some more.
I’m in heaven, but I’m not naïve. After all the enemies I’ve made, I’ll never live a ‘normal’ life. I still keep the house packed with secret weapons and security cameras just in case, but I don’t obsessively check them the way I used to.
Lately, I’ve been working toward building a foundation—not just in the hopes of keeping Callie forever, but because it’s necessary. The day trading job I used as a cover is real now. It’s my way of cleansing the billions I’ve earned by reaping dirty souls. It’s a fresh start, a new chapter, and a way to prove to the woman I’m falling for that I’m serious about putting this all behind me.
And it’s not just Callie I want to convince, but my parents and Isa, too. I’ve got plans to move all of us off grid once Isa is cleared to travel so we can all move forward together without constantly fearing the worst.
Callie glances over her shoulder and catches me staring. “Don’t look so tense, warden. We’re off duty, remember?”
I crack a smile.
This is her medicine—teasing and laughing at life, even after it’s collapsed around her—and little by little, she’s curing me.
“Easier said than done,” I retort.
While Leo gathers bullets to reload his machine gun, Callie jogs across the yard and climbs onto my lap.
I hum with affection when she hooks her hands behind my neck, and says, “I’ll just have to show you how real this is, then.”
Her kisses are eager and soft. Reverent and grounding.
The connection we’ve been nurturing through the rollercoaster of Leo’s midnight nightmares, my own spikes of anxiety, Waffle Wednesdays, and co-ruling a new Blanketopia pulses between us.
