Page 31 of Mine to Keep
If I was into scenery and shit, this would be nice. The view is pretty, the hotel overlooking a lake that has ducks and geese swimming along the surface and cormorants flapping their wings. The grass is lush and green, and the air smells fresh.
I take a few deep breaths, allowing myself to relax and pretend to be a regular person, at least for a few moments. Then I call Peggy.
“You know,” she says, sounding groggy, “there is a such thing as time zones.”
“My bad, Pegs.”
“All good. I need to be up anyway. What do you need, babes?”
“I need the dorm assignment and class schedule for someone named Cole. Don’t know his last name. Goes to that local college here. He’s?—”
“Cole Rollands, from Michigan.” I can hear her fingers moving rapidly across her keyboard as she reports Cole’s information. “Was going to school in North Carolina, doing his post grad at Timber Creek University. Was in a relationship with Talon Smith up until three days ago when he was found with an English woman.”
“That’s him,” I say, not surprised she came up with his information so quickly.
“No dorm assignment. He lives in an apartment not far from campus. Looks like he doesn’t have classes today.”
“Send me his address.”
“It’s in your email,” she says as my phone buzzes in my hand. I pull it away just as the email notification disappears. “Anything else?”
“Yeah. I haven’t been paid for the Delham job. I know it got fucked up, but it wasn’t on me this time. The woman is still dead.”
Peggy hums. “Not sure why you weren’t paid. Let me call The Director. He knows what happened, as I gave him theinformation immediately after you called me. I’ll give you a call back when I have something.”
“Thanks, Pegs.”
After we hang up, I pull up my internet browser and find the article about the woman I took out. Since this phone is encrypted, I don’t have to worry about anything being traced back to me because of a targeted search.
Through the search, I find out the crime scene was discovered a few hours after I left, but no suspects mentioned. In fact, witnesses didn’t mention a man entering the building, but they did see the woman that hired me, Elena Wright, running frantically up the stairs. Hopefully, the police conclude that Elena found out Uria was sleeping with her husband and went over to confront her. Shit went down and they killed each other. The Void wouldn’t even need to try to cover it up. The story writes itself.
Though it does irritate my soul that I had two fucked-up jobs in such a short time. I’m Viper. Botching jobs isn’t me.
Sighing, I lean back in the chair, staring up at the sky. If I’m honest, this is my first vacation. Even when I took a month off, I was on high alert, walking my property with a gun in my hand, anticipating someone coming after me or getting an emergency call from The Void. I wasn’t at ease the entire time. But being in a hotel room with two men I barely know has me feeling contentment I’ve only felt with one other person before.
What’s next for the three of us? Talon and Javier will have each other. Once all of this is over, I’ll be on my own again.
Why does that thought make my chest constrict? I know what Peggy told me and what they shared with me. Other than that, they’re strangers. How did two strangers shine a light on how lonely my existence has been? Now, I think about how the brief light they shined on me will go out in less than a week.
May as well enjoy it while I can. If a week is all I get, I’ll soak up every minute so when Iamalone, I’ll have some good memories. I’ll be their Daddy for a week. They deserve it.
I go back inside, order room service, then take a quick shower. After I get out and as I’m brushing my teeth, there’s a knock at the hotel room door.
As I’m bringing in our breakfast, a sleepy Javier steps out of the room, his hair all over his head. “Good morning,” he says shyly, a blush on his cheeks.
“Good morning, baby boy. Sleep well?”
He nods and sits on the couch, tucking his legs under him. “Yeah. Kinda cramped though. Not sure three grown men should sleep in a queen bed.”
“Did you and Talon want to sleep in your room?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.
“No!” he practically shouts. “No.” He lowers his voice to a normal volume. “The three of us can just move into the room with the king bed.”
“That’s a good idea,” Talon says as he exits the room and walks over to lay his head in Javier’s lap. “I felt like I was going to roll off the bed a hundred times last night.” He smiles over at me. “Good morning, Daddy.”
“Mornin’, little one.”
He giggles with delight. “So we’re switching rooms? We’re still gonna sleep together?”
