Ruthless Saints

The bigger one startles when I suddenly appear in front of them. When I stop two steps from them, they begin to frown.

“What do you want?” the bigger one asks in German, his posture turning threatening.

I don’t even think about what I’m doing as my arm darts out, slamming my fist into his throat. His hands fly to his neck as he gags and staggers backward, shock widening his eyes.

My gaze connects with his friend’s, and his hands fly up. “I don’t want trouble. Sorry.”

My body’s tense, ready to react at any given second. I hear Hailey pass by the alley, and then I tilt my head at the two guys and smile.

Let’s do this.

The big guy storms me, and I steel myself for the impact. As his shoulder plows into my chest to take me down, I use him to lift my body and bring my right knee up into his jaw.

As he crumbles to the ground, I land on my feet. I watch him for a second to see if he’s getting back up, but he’s out cold.

Tsk. Weak sack of shit.

My eyes snap to his friend, who seems to be the one with the brains between them because he’s taking a couple of steps away from me.

“I-I don’t want to fight,” he stammers with fear.

“Get the fuck out of my town,” I say, my words coated with the promise of death.

The guy nods and begins to pull his friend down the alley. I watch them for a couple of seconds, then turn around and leave.

Hurrying up the street, Hailey’s figure soon becomes visible in the darkness ahead, and I slow my pace, so she won’t notice me.

With my upcoming job, I won’t be around for one to two weeks, depending on how quickly I get it done, but I’ll make sure those bastards leave so Hailey will be safe.

She glances up at the stars as she saunters down the road. “God, it’s beautiful here,” I hear her say.

So, fucking innocent. She still sees all the beauty in the world.

“It is,” I whisper so she won’t hear me while my eyes remain glued to her.

I follow her to a cabin and watch as she walks to the door. She unlocks it, and stepping inside, she turns on a light. The curtains aren’t drawn, and I can see her move to the kitchen.

Moments later, she heads up the stairs, and then the light in another room goes on.

Knowing she’s safely home, I spend another couple of seconds just staring at her before I begin to walk again.

The silence of the night swallows me, and my thoughts return to my job. That’s all the past three years of my life have consisted of. Contracts.

Tracking. Watching. Killing.

Tonight was the first time a little light shone into my life… all because of Hailey.

Chapter 2

CARSON

The sweat trickling down the back of my neck irritates the fuck out of me, but I don’t move a muscle where I’m crouched on top of a roof.

A drop trickles down my temple as I watch Ramos’ club through the scope of my rifle.

I’m going with a long-distance shot. Quick and clean. If it was Terrero, I’d make the exception for an up-close and personal death. The bitch is a flesh peddler where Ramos only deals in drugs.

Even though I’m an assassin, I don’t take any joy in the kills. It’s purely for the money.

Ramos should’ve been on the move already, and I start to wonder if he’s going to show at all.

The past week he’s always left the club between ten pm and twelve am. Changing it up by a couple of minutes.

Patience, Carson. Get this done so you can get out of here.

My thoughts turn to Hailey, not able to forget her smile. People don’t feel comfortable around me, yet she smiled at me as if we were friends.

As if she saw a man and not a monster.

I can’t remember when last someone looked at me like that… if ever.

Movement grabs my attention, and I focus on the side door opening. Because of the distance, I have to get it right, or the shot will be a miss.

Two of Ramos’ men step out and glance around before they gesture for him to come. Within a second, I take in the breeze, the distance – all of it into consideration, and then I pull the trigger.

One.

Two.

Ramos steps into the doorway.

Three.

Four.

His head snaps back, and I watch him drop. Moving the gun from the ledge of the building I was using, I quickly take it apart and place it back in my backpack. I pick up the discharged shell and shove it inside as well, not leaving any trace that I was here. I shrug the bag onto my back and dart to my feet. Breaking out into a full-out sprint across the roof, I head in the direction of my car. Nearing the edge of the roof, I jump over the space between the two buildings. I land and roll to lessen the impact and then dart up again. I keep moving away from where I took the shot until I reach an apartment building.