Page 9 of Mine to Keep
“Always.”
I hang up and tuck my phone into my pocket. I sit on the toilet, rubbing my hand over my face. Fuck, I need sleep. Nothing helps, though. Melatonin, Ambien, jerking off. Nothing. Demons dance behind my lids, ensuring I stay awake until I break or until I make an even bigger mistake than Adelane.
Overhead, a disembodied voice announces boarding for the flight to Toronto, and I jolt awake. Fucking hell. I was supposed to get back to my seat in time to slide Talon’s wallet back into his backpack. I’ll have to figure out another way to get it back to him unnoticed.
I exit the restroom and make my way to where they were seated. Neither Talon nor Javier are there anymore. I check my watch and realize I was in the restroom for close to twenty minutes. The unintentional nap I took did nothing to refresh me—in fact, I’m more exhausted now than I was when I stepped inside.
I collapse into my chair, pressing the heels of my hands into my dry and itchy eyes. I need to get back on my game. I’m going to another country to kill someone. I can’t fuck up. Fifty thousand dollars demands I don’t have any slip-ups.
After a few minutes, I rise from my seat, looking around for the corresponding gate for the Toronto flight. It’s only a few gates down, so I jog over, pretending to look around frantically. When I spot Talon, who is searching in his bag with a look of despair on his face, I say his name.
He glances up at me, tears brimming his eyes. “Knox, hey. Did you happen to see?—”
“This what you were looking for?” I hold up his brown wallet that has ‘Bad Motherfucker’ embossed on the back.
Relief floods his face as he nods. “Yes. Thank God. My bag was open and I didn’t even realize. Sorry we were gonna leave without saying bye. Our flight was called. We tried to wait, but these fuckers are relentless. It was really nice meeting you.”
“You too,” I say, though I don’t really mean it. It was definitely an experience meeting Talon, though I don’t know if that’s good or bad. “Have a safe flight.”
“Thanks! God, I can’t wait to get there. I saved enough money to buy all kinds of touristy shit. Cole will?—”
Javier hustles over, grabbing Talon’s arm. “We gotta go, babe. Nice to meet you, Knox,” he says and pulls Talon away.
“Have a safe flight!” Talon says, and they’re gone.
Despite myself, I smile after him, hoping his soul stays pure.
three
make no mistake
The windingand hilly roads of the countryside of Luxembourg keep me on my toes, and my eyes peeled. There are plenty of small lakes and rivers that line the streets, so I have to pay attention to avoid driving into one in the dark. My lack of sleep surprisingly doesn’t affect me as I stay alert, looking for any danger.
I had a hard time staying awake during my flight. Exhaustion dragged me down, the smooth flight almost rocking me to sleep, but I fought against it. If I fell asleep, I feared I’d attack my seat mates, probably be put under lock and key for the entire flight by air marshals, then sent back to the US and put on some watch list and revealing my true identity. Knox Pierce would disappear and my real name would be placed on a no-fly list. That’s not conducive to being an international hitman.
I ordered coffee after coffee in an effort to stay awake—so much that the flight attendant told me to take it easy after my fifth cup and brought me cold water instead. When I switched to an energy drink, she gave me a long look before telling me if I felt ill to let her know.
I felt fine physically. But my brain was swimming with thoughts that had nothing to do with my job and everything todo with my exit plan. Being on a long international flight gave me time to think so I wouldn’t fall sleep.
Ten years of being a contract killer has swelled my offshore bank accounts to a level that I can retire and live comfortably if I don’t spend frivolously. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet—no pun intended—because what would I do if I wasn’t working? Where would I live and how would I ensure that The Void won’t come after me for knowing too much?
They give us a contract that says we could leave whenever we wanted with no strings attached—though my contract with them was a little different—but I’m not sure anyone got out of the life. The one person that I knew personally that retired died shortly after in a boating accident. Or that’s what they told me. She was probably an asset that was deleted when she wanted out because she knew too much.
I’ll probably be working until I’m old and gray or until I’m no longer of any use to The Void. I could try to remake myself, disappear into a sea of people, but The Void would find a way to locate me and put me down.
I spent most of the flight trying to figure out a way to be free of them if I decided to take the retirement route. At present, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get away from them or navigate normal life outside this one. I have no one to get out of the businessfor.
Not anymore.
The lane leading to the safe house is just ahead on the left and I make the turn down the narrow one-way road. There aren’t any other houses down this lane, so no one else should be in this area. The Void vetted and equipped this safe house for that reason—any way to keep what we do as secretive as possible. Since the safe house is at least two miles from the main road, no one can stumble upon this location.
Five minutes later, I pull up to a large stone structure with a slate roof and look out the driver’s side window, locating the cameras that are mounted on the eaves. The farmhouse sits on about three acres of land, with a small barn in the field directly behind the house. The wraparound driveway makes a quick getaway possible, with shrubs planted in the middle. The house appears abandoned and lifeless. It’s the perfect safe house.
I park behind the attached driveway in a lush thatch of grass to hide my vehicle. Reaching under the driver’s seat, I find the Glock The Void had placed there for me, check the chamber, then click off the safety.
Following the directions from Peggy, I go to the back door and press the doorbell three times in quick succession, pause, then press it five more times. With a hiss, the door pops open, the smell of a stagnant house burrowing into my nose.
Before I step inside, I cock the gun and quickly clear the house, making sure no one else is inside.
