Page 78 of Mine to Keep
My phone dings with an incoming payment. The last payment I’ll ever receive from The Void.
“Knox did good work,” Peggy says, sounding choked up. “It’s a shame he ‘died’ and there’s a grave in California with his name on it.”
I smile sadly. “Yeah, it’s a real shame, Pegs. Listen, if you ever have a day off, you can come see me. Me, not Viper.”
“I would love to hang out with Koda. But I’ll have my hands full getting this organization back on track. Gotta change up the rules. Did you know that motherfucker was taking out hits on kids? Fucking piece of shit. But yeah, I’ll have to retire some assets that don’t want to accept the new leadership change.”
“Good luck, Pegs.”
“Thanks, Koda. I have one more gift for you. I know who wanted you dead.”
“Yeah? Who?” When she tells me the name, a smile spreads across my face. Oh, this will definitely be fun. “You sure?”
“Yep. I saw the contract and I even traced the bank statements.”
“Everyone pays in crypto,” I say, wanting to be sure I kill the right person.
“Yeah, but I tracked keystrokes on a hunch when I saw the date your contract came in. It’s legit, I swear it.”
Good enough for me. Peggy doesn’t make mistakes. “Good deal. I’ll let you know when it’s done, then I’ll let you do your thing with The Void.”
“I appreciate you and Olivia taking care of that for me. I love you, Koda. Take care.”
“Love you too, Pegs.”
I hang up and drop the phone to the floor, stomping on it before gathering the pieces and sliding them into my pocket. Olivia glances over at me, her eyebrow ticking up. “What?” I ask.
“Nothing. Just weird to know this is your last paying job. How does it feel?”
“Good. I’m glad. Now I can start my life with my boys, free of all this bullshit.”
“Feel that. I’m going home to my Mommy. I miss her and my puppies. Two weeks away is long enough.”
It took a few days for me to recover at the safe house, my injuries more severe than I thought. Olivia made me go to the clinic where she worked and one of her doctor friends patched me up off the books. Since I had a mild concussion, I couldn’t drive, let alone catch a flight out of the country. She made me rest up first before we got to work on the former Director.
While Olivia had been in touch with her Mommy, I hadn’t heard from my boys in all this time. I didn’t want to reach out to them until I was sure all this shit was behind me, so I could come to them clean.
Well, as clean as I could get with so much blood on my hands.
I’ve been thinking about them, though. Pretty much every waking hour has been filled with wondering how they’re doing. I know they made it to North Carolina safely, resting up at Talon’s parents’ house, but I want to know how they’re doing emotionally. Peggy said they looked okay, like they’re making it, but I haven’t seen them with my own eyes.
Now that I’m done, now that my last paid job is finished, I plan to go to my boys and hold them close for the rest of my life.
I look down at the body on the floor. I guess I should thank him. If not for the job he sent me on, I never would have ran into the fast talking chatterbox and his best friend that made me realize what love is.
Nah, I don’t owe him shit. Fuck him.
“Ready?” Liv asks me.
“Yep. Time for us to get back to our lives.”
“If you’re ever in Canada again, hit me up. My wife would like to meet the man that pulled me out of retirement.”
I laugh. “Don’t blame me. Peggy is the one that called you.”
“Yeah, but on your behalf. So you’re still the bad guy.”
Chuckling, I shake my head as we clean up the areas we touched so we can leave the house. “I’ll accept the blame. And I’m sure me and my boys would love to go back. They had a great time. Besides getting shot at, of course.”
