Dimpo hugs my legs again, and then she walks with Lekgari to the plane. I watch them board, and before she disappears into the cabin, she turns and waves at me, her smile wide.
Another ray of sunshine in this fucked up world.
I watch the plane taxi down the runway then walk to where Omar is standing by my private jet. As I climb the stairs, he says, “Safe travels.”
I give him half a wave, and stepping into the cabin, I secure the door. “Let’s go,” I tell the pilot who’s been on standby.
I drop down in a seat, and pulling my phone from my pocket, I bring up Hailey’s number. I was surprised when she texted me and wonder what she wants to talk about.
I press dial, and she answers after a couple of rings. “Hey.”
“Sorry, it took so long. What did you want to talk about?”
I place my elbow on the armrest and lean my forehead against my hand. Fuck, I have so much work to do when I get home. I need to make sure Dimpo is safe. I also have to erase any CCTV footage of Dimpo and me. Luckily Africa doesn’t have as many security cameras as the rest of the world.
“Ah… so I have questions. If it’s okay?” Hailey sounds unsure, and it makes me worry she’s going to ask me to remove MJ.
“Of course, it’s okay.”
“I know you’ve told me before, but can you explain again what you do?”
My hand falls away from my face, and a frown forms on my forehead. “I’m an assassin.”
“Yeah, but what do you actually do?”
It only strikes me then that she doesn’t sound closed off. It’s as if she’s nervous about something.
“I kill people.” My frown deepens as I ask, “What’s going on?”
“I spoke with MJ, and she explained things differently to me.”
Christ.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What did she say?”
I’m going to kill MJ if she fucked things up even more.
“That you’re basically the same as a soldier or government agent. You take out the bad and help the innocent.”
“I don’t work for any country, Hailey.” Is she looking for something good in what I do? “I’m a criminal.”
“Carson,” I hear her take a breath, “can we meet?”
She wants to see me? It’s been two months. What’s changed? What did MJ say to her?
“Tell me everything MJ said,” I demand, wanting to know what I can expect from a meeting with Hailey. Every time I see her, it gets harder to walk away. One of these days, I won’t be able to do it. I’ll give in and take her against her will.
“She said you kill bad people, and if there’s a contact on an innocent person, you help them and take out the person who ordered the kill. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“I… I… please can we meet?”
I have to make sure Dimpo is safe first. “I have to take care of something. It will take two days. I can be in Croatia on Thursday.”
She lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“Hailey,” I close my eyes, “Has something changed? Do you just want to talk, or is there hope?”
Because it’s starting to sound a lot like there’s hope, and if there isn’t, it will kill me.
“I can get past the lie, and I understand why you didn’t show emotion when…” her voice trails away, and she clears her throat. “If what you do is basically the same as a soldier, then I think… I don’t know. I’m so damned confused. I need to talk face to face.”
There’s hope.
It washes over me like a cleansing rain.
My heart begins to beat faster, and I can’t stop myself from saying, “I miss you, baby. So goddamn much.”
There’s a tremble in Hailey’s voice as she finally admits, “I miss you too.”
“I’ll finish my work as quickly as possible and come to you.”
“Oh,” the word suddenly pops from her. “Who’s Dimpo?”
“Just a girl,” I answer vaguely.
Then Hailey asks, “A girl you helped?”
“I just made sure she got home safely.”
There’s a moment's silence, then Hailey says, “See you soon.”
“Not soon enough.”
We end the call, and I immediately dial MJ’s number.
“Carson?” she answers.
“Tell me exactly what you said to Hailey about me,” I order.
“That you have honor and don’t kill without good reason. I mentioned you’ll help an innocent person. I might’ve compared it to charity work. I explained how you’re not that different from a soldier taking out a bad guy, and they get paid for it as well.”
All the truth. I can’t fault MJ for that.
“What was Hailey’s reaction?” I ask, my knee starting to jump with pent-up energy.
“She looked shocked but seemed okay when we got to her apartment.”
“I’ll be there in two days.”
“Okay.”
“Take care of my woman.”
“With my life.”
We end the call, and I can’t stop the hope from blooming like a fragile seedling out of the dried cracks in my chest.