“C’mon man, I told you about my Granny’s tea, it shouldn’t be such a big surprise.”
Pet chimed in, “I was skeptical myself, at first. But that stuff really works.”
“Ya know Pet,” I began. “If it’s a boy, I think Branch would be a great name.” We all laughed.
“What? Like a tree” she teased. But the whole thing made me think about my own future. The money at Ruthless was great, but my job wasn’t exactly cushy.
I certainly never felt safe. Even if I could take three men at once, my muscles weren’t bulletproof. I could disarm an attacker right in front of me, but what about a hitman hiding on the roof, watching me through the scope of a rifle? I had been that guy. And the targets never saw it coming. Maybe it was merciful, it was always over fast. But it made me hyper aware of the possibility of me being watched through a scope.
If something happened to me, it was just part of the job. But it meant I should keep to myself. What if I did have a family, and then suddenly I’m taken out? Who will take care of them?
But then there was her. Princess Fara Madsen, feisty smartass with the best ass I’d ever seen. A scrapper no doubt, but innocent. Out of all her siblings she was probably the least aware of what was happening. All she knew was her father had been locked away. But she carried on with her life. No doubt she was hurt, but she had to keep living. And she made me feel at home.
It was a terrifying thought. Not only was she Larz’ baby sister, but I’m a hitman. Once she’s wrapped up with me, she’ll never be safe. Granted, it would still be nice to have her wrapped around me, but I couldn’t.
But if I did, I’d have to retire. Shit, I should call Rogue, my boss at Ruthless, right now and tell him I’m retiring.
“Why?” He would ask.
“For love.” She was worth it. We could split our time between L.A. and Copenhagen. She would love the beach and the palm trees, perfect for spontaneous photo shoots. Our children could be dual citizens, they could go straight from Gstaad to Harvard. We’d keep the neighbors up all night with our fucking. And probably annoy them during the day.
Suddenly she was sliding the door open with plates in her hands.
“Breakfast is served,” she chirped as she lowered the plates onto the mosaic patio table between the two lounge chairs.
Runny eggs and burnt toast. No salt or pepper in the eggs, and no butter or jam on the toast. Clearly not a chef, but quite pleased with herself nonetheless.
“I thought you said you used to cook for Larz?” I ribbed.
“Well yeah, but I never said I was good at it.” We laughed. I couldn’t help but watch her. It made eating that terrible breakfast taste like a Michelin Star restaurant in L.A.
“So what do you do exactly?” The question was a punch to the gut, and I nearly spat out my food in shock.
“What do you mean?”
“When that guy attacked me, you said you made problems disappear, and that he was a problem. What does that mean?” I forced myself to meet her eyes, and I realized she wasn’t really judging, just curious.
“Look, it’s a long complicated story.”
She shrugged. “Well you said we’d probably be stuck here for a few days.”
I watched her hair blow in the wind. The clothes were almost comically baggy, and they billowed with every strong breeze. As badly as I wanted to pin her on that bed and ravage her until she couldn’t walk straight, I wanted to shield her. Not just from clumsy henchmen, from everything. The blood, the lies, the corruption. Locked in here, I could spend my whole life pleasuring her.
“Well, I took my first job with your dad when I was fifteen. It got a little out of control, and some blood was spilled. But your father was grateful, and he admired my courage. So I worked for him for a while until I took a job at Ruthless Corp in California. My boss Rogue took me on my first mission when I was an apprentice. I didn’t think it would be difficult, I had killed before. I was young and cocky. I got the kill and ran through the streets. I felt so alive. This wasn’t like that business in Amsterdam, this was real. Till I stopped at a palm tree and started wrenching.”
She was quiet, fuck did I say too much? Did I lose her forever? I thought of what else I could say. “Look, it’s not the most morally upstanding career, and I have a lot of blood on my hands…”
“It’s ok.” She whispered. “We do what we have to do. After dad was arrested, I nearly lost my mind. Every time someone looked at me I wanted to pounce on them. And it got even worse after the sentencing. Then when he was locked up... It can’t get any worse than that.”