Page 5 of If I Gave You My Heart
"Joy, I don't know these people," I said as I took the piece of paper with her handwriting on it and looked at the address.
"They are family, and they know you."
She grabbed my face and then kissed my cheek. My brother helped me pack my car up before we all said our goodbyes. Before I knew it, I was riding on the highway heading south.
Chapter 2
Nyoka "Snake Eyes" Fitzgerald
I held the phone to my ear in turmoil.
"I'm sorry, state the job again?" I asked in confusion.
My boss sighed and then did what he hated most, repeated himself.
"Your next mark is Edward Foxx. I am emailing you his profile as we speak. We expect this job to be quick and efficient. The client has paid top dollar for him to meet his demise. As soon as the job is complete, fifteen thousand will be wired to your account. Goodbye, Snake Eyes."
As soon as the line ended in my ear, I tossed the burner phone toward the wall, shattering it instantly. I felt vomit forcing its way up my throat. I jumped out of the bed I shared with my fiancé and ran straight to our master bathroom. With my head in the toilet, I let tears run down my face.Why God?I questioned the higher power because this had to be a trick or something. Edward Foxx was the same name as my fiancé. There was only one way to clear what I prayed was a misunderstanding: my work email.
After quickly taking care of my hygiene, I sat Indian-style on my bed with my laptop.
CONFIDENTIAL.
I sighed once I read the subject line of the email. My nerves were so damn bad. I opened the attached link and signed into my employee portal. Big and bold, an alert of a new job was plastered across the screen, so I clicked it. My heart dropped when I saw Edward's picture on my screen. His bone-straight teeth showed, and his eyes were slightly slanted from the smile on his profile. I had seen this exact picture numerous times because it was the same one in a frame on his nightstand. I looked at his empty side of the bed as tears filled my eyes.
I was thankful that he had to go to his office early today. Being a lawyer was a stressful job for him, and even at times, it had become stressful for me. I went long hours without seeing him. I swear I care for him, but as much as I loved him, he had to go. My signed contract stated that once a new job was given to me, I had to fulfill it, or a bounty would be placed on my head. It was him or me.
As I scrolled through the details of the job, I knew nobody, but Edward's ex-wife had to be responsible for the contract that I had to complete. It was all the information about him that the client knew that only a spouse or family member would know. His daily routine and even his allergies were placed into the details on the job. Before I came into the relationship, they were on the verge of a nasty divorce. Edward's walking away with half of her fortune must not have settled well with her, especially since he spent most of it on me.
Edward knew nothing about my killer ways. Like everyone else, he saw me as the quiet girl who went to work at the library every day. I kept my head down and got to my money. I twiddled my fingers as I thought of the easiest way to satisfy my contract. Once the perfect murder came to my mind, I slowly started packing away my things from our condo. After killing the same man that I was due to marry in just three weeks, I couldn't see myself staying in our place. Was I going to be hurt without him? Of course, I would, but I'm not your average female. In my line of work, feelings can ruin pockets, so I never get too attached. The only reason I ever toyed with the thought of marrying Edward was because something about being married would make me feel like a regular girl.
There was nothing regular about the way I moved or carried myself. Regular women don't sleep with guns under their pillows or look over their shoulders every three seconds. I deeply wanted a love that would have me basking in my femininity and embracing my soft girl era, but the walls built around my heart wouldn't allow much of that. Also, I had made myself accustomed to a certain way of living that I wasn't quite ready to give up yet. Finding a baller or a well-established man was never a hard task for me. I just preferred to get it on my own. As I packed, I thought about how Edward was even able to get me this far off my game. He had this unfamiliar charm to him that got to me. He made me laugh, had his own money, and our bedroom chemistry was impeccable. However, after this hit, I would need a new start. I never thought I would be the cause of me becoming single yet again.
Packaging all of my things took me a little over two hours. After pulling my suitcases into my walk-in closet, I headed to the kitchen to cook dinner.I felt it was only right to serve Edward his last meal. After baking two lobster tails, making shrimp Alfredo with salad, and pouring two glasses of wine, I waited.
The candles I had lit on our dining room table shrunk in size. Checking the Chopard watch on my wrist, I realized it was almost midnight.Where the hell is he?I thought as I sashayed toward our bedroom to retrieve my cell phone.My long kimono robe glided over the mahogany hardwood floors with each step. I had put a lot of thought into this dinner, and although I was supposed to kill the man after, I hated how rude he was with his arrival. I flipped the covers off the bed to find my phone, and when I retrieved it, I saw the face was lit up. I had four missed calls from an unknown number, with one voicemail. Figuring that the voicemail had to be from Edward, I listened to that first.
"Hello, this is Shirley from Kings County Hospital. I am looking to speak to Nyoka Fitzgerald on behalf of Edward Foxx. It is imperative that you return this call as soon as possible. I can be reached at…"
My head started spinning. What could Edward have gotten into that caused the hospital to reach out to me? Worry took over me as I threw on clothes and headed to the hospital. Being his proxy, I knew it could not have been good whatever the call was for.
Walking into the hospital, I braced myself for whatever news I would get. I didn't understand why because I was plotting to kill him just an hour ago. Once I reached the information desk, I tapped the desk's surface with my long peach-colored nails.
"How may I help you?" a woman behind a computer asked.
"A woman called me concerning my fiancé?"
"Name?" she asked without looking up.
"Edward Foxx."
She hit the keys lightly as she searched for him.
"Sorry, hun, I've got nothing," she said as she chewed her gum.
Now, I was becoming agitated.
"Listen to me, a woman named Shirley called my phone and told me—"
