Page 16 of Mine to Keep
Every day since the failed hit, I’ve been checking to see if there have been any leads on the hair that I left on Judge Bowers’s body. The cameras may have spotted me, but the footage I saw was so grainy, cops wouldn’t be able to distinguishif I was white, Black, Latino or Asian. I kept my head down, so my features were obscured. They also couldn’t tell if I had a bald head or if my hair was pushed back from my forehead.
They took the bait, and the heat is off me and Teresa Bowers.
From the reports I got from Peggy, the daughter isn’t a suspect. She took my advice and stayed in the hospital room pretty much the entire time the murder was going down with her sick mother, only stepping away to use the restroom—when she called me. Her alibi is airtight and she disposed of the burner phone the way I told her to.
I need to let this go. It’s my first slip-up in years, but not the first fuck-up ever. If I stay in the business, I’ll probably fuck up again. Letting it get under my skin is unlike me.
Pulling in a deep breath, I shake that shit off and put it out of my mind. The job is done and the money is sitting in my account.
The flight from Paris to Toronto is a little over nine hours. It does nothing to help my already fucked-up exhaustion. I’m so tired, I couldn’t even think of more steps for my retirement plan. All I could focus on was trying to stay awake so I could watch my six.
After my flight lands, I catch a cab to the hotel in a city just outside of Toronto, in the opposite direction of Delham. I think the scenery is nice, but it all blurs together behind my scratchy eyes.
Dimly, I remember the city I’m in is close to Waterkilty.
Once I check into my hotel, I’ll catch a cab to Delham, which is only about thirty minutes away. I’ll be able to walk around the town and check out my surroundings. Once I have a lay of the land, I can come up with a plan to eliminate this target so The Void can leave me the fuck alone.
Checking into my hotel room only takes a moment. Once inside, I drop my bags and take a look around, making sure no one is inside and there is no way for anyone to sneak up on me.
Twenty minutes after I arrive and change out of my traveling clothes, there’s a knock at my door.
With a knife tucked behind my back, I open the door and I’m greeted by a young woman with a wide smile. “Knox?” I nod. She slides over a rolling suitcase and salutes me. “See ya.”
I shut the door and lock it behind me, then call Peggy.
She answers with, “You got my package?”
“Yeah. She clean?”
“One of my best. You’re actually her last job before she goes off to college.”
I hum and toss the suitcase on my bed, undoing the zipper so I can go through it.
Inside I find another suit that I probably won’t wear—this hit calls for me to catch my target during a workout—a variety of knives, a Sig Sauer with extra clips, and all the items I need to make a suitable disguise that will fool even the most eagle-eyed person.
Peggy sighs in my ear. “Sorry about this, Knox. I tried to find someone else, but you’re the best with disguises.”
“Whatever. I’m taking another vacation after this job. Jet lag is kicking my ass,” I lie. I really just need a break. I’m fucking tired.
She hums, fingers tapping on her keyboard. “I have a few other assets on rotation, so unless it’s high profile, you shouldn’t be contacted.”
“I shouldn’t have been called this time.” I hang up the phone, irritated.
I’m not mad at Peggy—she’s just the middle man—but I’m over this shit. The Void calls us and we have to show up or die. I’m more skilled than anyone on their roster, but all it takes is one mistake and one well-placed shot, blade or blow and I’m as dead as any number of my targets.
They’re holding my mistake in Adelane over my head, I know it. I’m usually can deny any job I want and they don’t give me shit. With how pushy The Director was, I have a feeling he was flexin’ to show me I was never really in charge, he just let me think I was.
Fuck, I need a shower.
Stripping off my clothes, I walk to the bathroom and turn the water on as hot as it will get. My kill isn’t until tomorrow morning, so I need to get some rest. No repeats of the past.
My shower is long, the hot water cascading down my body. I take one of the cloths and scrub my face. When my face is clean, I toss the cloth and grab another to wash my body, trying to wash away all the sweat and exhaustion.
While I’m letting the water drift down my body, I lower my hand down to my cock, giving it a quick stroke. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten off. Maybe it’ll help me sleep.
After pouring some of the complimentary conditioner onto my palm, I grab my dick and stroke slowly. I think about my last few hookups, but that only gets me a slight twinge, nothing more.
Then my mind flashes to Talon and Javier. The two men I met at the airport. I think about Talon saying how bendy he is, and Javier’s smirk as he looked at him, imagining them both at my mercy. My dick gets hard in less than a second.
