Play Along

“You call this number and they put it into the system anonymously and then they all bid for the job.”

“Okay.” I roll my lips as I walk to the window and pull the curtain back to peer out into the darkness. My mind is racing, but I have been thinking about this all day. I know it’s the only way.

“Are you going to do it?” he asks.

“I have no choice.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“You could spend your life in jail.”

“It will be worth it.”

“Okay, man, it’s your funeral. Call me when you can.”

“Thank you. Goodbye.”

I hang up and dial the number as my heart hammers in my chest.

“Hello,” the male voice answers.

“I would like to post a job, please.”

“Yes. How much are you paying?”

I pause as I try to reign in my nerves. “Thirty million dollars.”

Silence falls over the line. “Who is it?” he finally asks, knowing it’s someone big.

“I want two snipers and they will receive fifteen million each, twenty- four hours after his confirmed death.”

“Who is it?” he asks again.

“Mario Vikinos.”

21

Roshelle sits with her hands linked under her chin. Her big, brown eyes look across the table at me lovingly and I feel my chest constrict. She is, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I have ever known. Every day I fall deeper under her spell.

I smirk to myself, wondering how the hell I got so lucky to cross her path.

“What?” She smiles.

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

She shrugs as she picks up her wine and sips it as she thinks of a fitting answer.

“Like I want to eat you?” I ask with a raised brow.

A broad smile crosses her face. She slips her shoe off and lifts her foot so that it sits on my crotch. I reach down and tenderly place my hand over it.

“Do you?” She wiggles her toes and I squeeze her foot in my hand.