

BURNING LOVE

A

NOMAR KNIGHT

NOVELLA

Burning Love is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, electronic or mechanical without written permission of the author.

Copyright ©2011 by Nomar Knight

All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

A Nomar Knight e-Book Original

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Chapter 1

I thought I had met the man of my dreams. He was easy on the eyes, and even though difficult to distinguish among others, he still stood out. His lean physique reminded me of an ex gymnast. Jet black hair complemented grey eyes and a stern chin. He attended to my needs and paid special attention to how others treated me. It seemed he was always ready to defend my honor. I began thinking that my new man, Sam, was perfect in every way. It didn't take long before I envisioned myself in a long, white wedding gown, married to Mr. Right.

Sam dressed like a gentleman. He favored winter colored dress shirts and dark slacks. His speech was refined, revealing a higher education and always in control. When he flashed his grey eyes on me I turned into snow on an eighty degree day. Although my handsome hunk never seemed to be in a rush to get things done, he surprised me with a weekend at a luxurious hotel. We sat at a table among other diners. The romantic ambiance featured a violinist who played You Light Up My Life at our table. We had only known each other a month yet he managed to astound me when he got on his knees in front of everyone. He flashed an engagement ring that looked like the moon had fallen and landed on it.

"Oh my God!" I gasped.

The huge diamond sparkled when the candle's flame flickered. Thoughts of wondering how he could afford such a treasure entered my mind, but quickly disappeared after I caught my breath and said yes. We kissed surrounded by quiet applause and again he made my insides turn to mush.

Here I was, a small town girl from Mississippi with the man of my dreams in Las Vegas, living a fairytale existence. While he sat down, maintaining his composure, unable to hide eyes beaming with joy, I was glad I had spent a small fortune on sexy negligee. With my perfect hour glass figure, I'd have him panting in no time.

In the midst of my daydreaming, I realized Sam had not said a word in quite awhile. I followed his gaze and noticed he studied another couple at a nearby table. A gray haired gentleman, dressed in a black suit like my Sam, touched his champagne glass against another held by a blonde half his age. Her gown did little to maintain her torpedo boobs in place.

The green-eyed monster must have shown on my face since I wondered if my fiancé was paying attention to the man or the floozy.

"Candy, would you like more wine, honey?"

I forced a grin, tempted to discuss his lack of total focus on me. Not wanting to spoil the moment. I nodded, lifting my glass as he refilled it.

"Sam, do you know those people?"

For the first time since I'd known him he changed his facial expression to one I had never seen before. His lips opened with a smile, but his eyes remained cold and distant. I debated pushing for answers, but something in my gut told me to drop it. His cold stare made me feel as if Sam were a different person. As fast as the scowl appeared, it faded and the smile I adored returned.

Sam took me back to the suite and I fell under his spell. He used his fingers like a professional masseur. Any inhibitions I might have had faded and were replaced by pure lust. While our tongues began our lover's dance, his fingers coaxed soothing moans out of me. The dynamic lover proved patient, tantalizing me with precise foreplay. His attention to detail proved euphoric. Our cries of passion replaced a soft melody of love until we shuddered in each other's arms.

My Mr. Right treated me to a perfect night until something unexpected happened. I didn't recall having fallen asleep, yet I woke to find myself alone in bed.

"Sam, are you in the bathroom?"

The silence coaxed me to put on a gown and venture outside the suite. The room directly across from ours had its door ajar. I didn't know why, but curiosity compelled me to push it open and peek inside. My jaw dropped when I saw my perfect man, Sam, fitting a revolver to a corpse's hand. A clear look at the pale face and my short term memory confirmed that it was the older gentleman who had dined with the young tart. I turned my head and spotted the woman lying flat on the bed. Blood covered her chest. Blank eyes stared at the mirrored ceiling.

I gasped when he grabbed my shoulders until eventually I stuttered, somehow finding the air in my breath and said, "Why?"

His cold stare froze me in place. "Don't worry, darling. It's just business."

Never before had I wished for the power of invisibility like I did at that moment. After swallowing hard on my own saliva, panic ruled the moment. The realization that my perfect man turned out to be a cold, calculating killer sent chills throughout my body. Breathing became a challenge for I thought for sure I was next.

"Candy, now that you know what I do. Will you still marry me?"

Numb. My entire body grew numb. He held my shoulders, treating me as if I was a porcelain doll, fragile, completely breakable. I guess in his hard hands I was. I stared at his eyes, looking for any sign that this was a cruel joke, but Sam wasn't a college kid. He didn't strike me as the type to pull a prank.

I wanted to gaze at the bodies, but before I could tilt my head, he squeezed my shoulders ever so gently. The man of my dreams never elaborated, yet the message came through loud and clear. Deny the assassin and become victim number three or marry the monster and learn to live with a real grim reaper.

I waited for his gaze to soften and prayed for divine revelation.

Chapter 2

I sat on the bed in our hotel suite not sure if I wanted to cry or jump off the terrace. Surely my choices had to be better than this. Sam Collins, the man I swore was my Mr. Right, turned out to be an assassin for hire. He sat on a leather chair, facing me, waiting for my decision.

"Let me get this straight." I said, pretending not to understand, stalling for time. "You'll let me live if I marry you?"

His eyes hid behind dark shades. An obvious ploy so I couldn't read his face. Nevertheless, his grin reminded me of a bully who had just gotten away with trampling on an innocent child.

"Can you at least tell me why those people had to die?"

The image of him in a nearby suite as he stood over the body of the older gentleman rushed back with alarming clarity. To my right I had spotted a woman's corpse sprawled on beige sheets. A blotch of blood surrounded her torso. Under normal circumstances I suppose screaming was in order, but the shock left me numb. My lover had carried me back to our suite.

"Candy, the less you know the better." He sounded calm. I never once picked up a fast heartbeat when I rested in his arms and my breasts leaned against his chest.

"I need air." I stood up, but pretended to lose my balance. He lunged and held me in his arms. I wondered if he knew I was stalling.

He slipped his sunglasses off, revealing a dry face. His innocent gaze made me feel safe. He brushed my hair aside and whispered, "Marry me, Candy Seymour, and you won't regret it."

His warm breath brushed against my neck as he leaned closer, nudging his nose on my cheek. I told myself to focus. This was insane. My prince had turned into a pirate. "Sam, do you kill only for money?"

"A man has to live." He planted kisses along the left side of my neck, to the center of my throat, and up my chin until his lips reached mine.

I pulled back. Images from my childhood brought tears to my eyes. I sighed, "Before I answer your proposal, there's something you should know."

His eyes softened. His ability to change his facial expressions distracted me for a moment. I marveled at how fast he went from ruthless killer, to serious businessman, to lusting lover, to caring soul. I cleared my throat and said, "My uncle Fabian molested me when I was eleven."

Something sparkled in his grey eyes. His glare increased in intensity. I expected him to interrupt me or show sympathy. Instead, he waited for me to continue.

Tears escaped my eyes and my heart pounded, "I want my uncle dead."

Sam pulled me to him until our lips met. I pushed my tongue against his, recognizing that I needed to have him, needed to make love to my Mr. Right. When we stopped kissing, he said, "You'll get closure if you kill him yourself."

I was about to utter my objection when he threw me on the bed. He pinned my arms with his strong hands and brought his lips close to mine. "As my wife, you'll have to learn to defend yourself. I'll teach you."

We kissed again. As I ripped off his shirt, I uttered, "Yes! I will marry you."

Chapter 3

Tears of joy filled my eyes as I tossed my fiancé over my shoulder and watched him hit the floor with a loud thud. After three months of intense training, I was shocked that I had an uncanny ability to follow in Sam's footsteps. My hit man lover promised I'd get payback against my uncle who had molested me when I was younger.

"I can't believe how fast you learn, Candy." Sam grinned as he rubbed his hip.

"Great. Then I'm ready?"

He shook his head. "You can defend yourself well against a knife attack, but your sniper skills need improvement."

I embraced my savior and kissed his cheek, whispering, "Honey, when will I get my revenge?"

"Soon."

He waited till after midnight to take me to the Canal Street train station in New York City. He led me into the men's room. Newspapers were scattered on the dirt-filled floor. One stall had a missing door. Piles of shit stuck to the porcelain throne. When I faced Sam, he stared at me like a child studying an insect. I opened my mouth to speak, but he locked me in an embrace. Our lips touched. He ran his tongue along the outside of my lower lip. He lifted me on to the sink, sliding my black leotards down to my ankles.

As he entered me I couldn't believe the rush. My senses heightened. The dim lighting did not suppress my vision. Beads of sweat slid down his sideburns. His cologne mixed with my scent, overtaking the rancid odor. While he pounded me I realized he hadn't locked the door. I wondered what would happen if someone entered and saw us. What would Sam do if that someone turned out to be a cop?

I kept to his rhythm, swaying my hips like never before. I wanted to soak in his essence, to allow his power to fuse with my hunger. We kissed, our tongues lashing together with reckless abandon. Before I knew it, moans filled the room. The echo played back my lust-filled cries as if I was singing in an opera of porn. When at last we reached a dual climax, I shuddered in our glorious embrace. The second he let me go I felt dirty, yet satisfied.

Sam adjusted his pants and smiled. "Take out the Browning."

He referred to the pistol he had given me earlier. He handed me a silencer. I twisted it in place. "Who do I have to kill?" I was still a bit out of breath.

"Not who—what," he grinned, putting on his sunglasses.

I followed him out of the bathroom, relieved no one had caught us. We walked to the end of the platform. The whole time I kept the pistol in the pocket of my blazer.

Sam pointed at a rat as it scurried near trash by the rails. "Shoot it!"

"But that's a rat."

He flashed perfect teeth. I glanced around. We had the station to ourselves but a train headed towards us. I had to shoot the large rat quickly or risk the bullet ricocheting and possibly hitting one of us or worse, an innocent bystander on that train.

"Do it!" he said.

I aimed and squeezed the trigger. The top half of the rodent blew away, reduced to an unrecognizable lump of fur splattered against a pillar. I said, "Are you satisfied?" The express train roared by as I put away the gun.

Sam took out a picture of a black-haired woman. She looked about thirty-years-old. "Anyone can exterminate a disgusting creature, but can you kill a human?"

"What did she do?"

"This one's not business. It's personal." He took off his shades so I could see his eyes. Hatred filled those eyes.

"Who is she?"

He put the sunglasses back on and said, "She's my wife."

Chapter 4

Before my beloved Sam hopped on a plane to assassinate his next mark, he left me with loads of information. According to my killer fiancé, good reconnaissance increased the success rate of a perfect hit. While he was off increasing his prestige and finances, I had to follow my first target around, looking for the best possible moment when I could put a bullet in her brain. Although he did warn me not to execute his wife until he got back.

My heart hadn't recovered from the sting of his terrible revelation. Sam was accustomed to assuming many identities and I wondered if he was playing a morbid game of cat and mouse. Oh I wanted to shoot his kneecaps off for making me think he was available.

I tailed his wife, Kate Collins, throughout a superstore, paying special attention to any flaws she might reveal. She walked with back straight and head held high. Her black hair hung loose over her shoulders like a dark waterfall. She gave her hips an extra swing when a delicious stock boy stared at her. I was beginning to understand Sam's initial attraction to the bitch. Sex oozed out of her.

Kate dropped a cushion on the floor. "Oops, I'm such a klutz." She giggled and bent over slowly, never taking her eyes off him, lingering near the item.

I wanted to pull out my gun and shoot her on the spot. Talk about a lack of originality. The stock boy rushed to her side and grabbed the pillow. He lingered a bit as his gaze worked up her legs. I couldn't be sure from my angle, but I think she flashed him. With a miniskirt as short as hers, it didn't take much to show what a slut she was.

"Here you are, Miss."

"Thank you, sugar." She placed the cushion in the cart and grinned.

The stock boy said, "I get off in an hour."

Kate's cheeks blushed. "My husband is away all the time. Perhaps we can get a drink tonight." She pulled out a piece of paper from her purse, scribbled on it and handed it to him.

I managed to follow her out of the superstore without killing her. The whole time I wondered what Sam saw in her. She was nothing like me. I was at least five inches taller. Underneath the brown wig, I had silky red hair. My skin tone was darker than hers. Her body screamed lazy bitch while mine looked as if it was peeled off the cover of Sports Illustrated. The more I made the comparisons, the easier I understood why Sam wanted to get rid of her. I guess hit men don't believe in divorce.

She disarmed the alarm of a new BMW and placed the bags into her trunk unaware of the stranger lingering near. I hid behind a row of SUV's, shocked at what was transpiring before me. A slender, dark haired man grabbed her from behind and gripped her mouth. "If you scream, I'll kill you."

I don't know why, but I always thought a criminal should have a low menacing voice like a growl. This loser sounded as if someone squeezed his testicles.

She struggled against him as he opened the rear door. I saw something silver in his hand, probably a knife. I moved in for a better look. She stopped kicking. I couldn't tell where he put the blade.

Sam mentioned some of his adventures, but he never said anything about one of his marks getting attacked by a criminal. Although I hated Kate's mannerisms, I had no idea what she was like. In my book, flirting was not a crime.

"Please."

"Shush!" The man groped her. He ripped her white thong. "I will cut you if you move."

Before I met Sam, I thought I knew how the world worked. I thought I knew myself. He told me under no circumstances must I talk to her. Her whimpering rattled my nerves. I pulled out my pistol, screwed on the silencer and said, "Get off her!"

The man's eyes were so wide that I thought he didn't have a forehead. He got off Kate and got out of the vehicle. "I'm going to gut you and eat your organs for dinner."

I should have been nervous, but instead I sighed. "You must be stupid. Gun beats knife any day." I squeezed one round into his heart. He bounced off the car and landed on the ground. I recalled Sam telling me to insure against medical miracles so I put another round to the back of his skull.

I was relieved Kate hadn't screamed though I saw her trembling. I glanced around grateful the lot was still empty. I offered her my free hand, "Get out of the car!"

"Don't kill me."

"I'm your new best friend, darling. Now help me with the body."

While we struggled with the corpse, I wondered how Sam was going to react to my breaking his code. I thought about popping her and shoving her in the trunk with the fool, but something nagged at my conscience. Would Sam dispose of me too? Her life depended on what she could tell me.

My cell phone rang. It was Sam.

Chapter 5

Talk about bad timing. I had just finished saving my boyfriend's wife from a rapist when he called me on my cell phone wanting to know what I was doing. "Can we talk later?"

"Candy, what's wrong?"

Great, I had his wife slobbering next to me in her BMW, a rapist's corpse in the trunk with a bullet hole in his head and chest, and a splitting headache which made the sunlight impossible to endure. "Sweetie now's not a good time." I pressed a red button and our call was terminated.

"Please lady, let me go. I promise I won't call the cops." Kate's mascara made her look like an ancient zombie queen.

I opened my purse and handed her a wad of tissues. "Pull yourself together."

She took the tissues and used tears to wipe her face of makeup. "How can you kill him and walk away like it's nothing?"

I didn't like the way she looked at me, as if I was a monster. I needed to change the subject before the temptation to off the bitch came back. "Do you have family?" My heart pounded and my palms began to sweat on the steering wheel for I had mixed feelings about knowing details of her personal life. The last thing I needed to hear was that she had kids.

"Yes. Why? Are you planning on killing them too?"

The question caught me off guard. I wanted to shout at the ungrateful hussy, but I bit my tongue, keeping my eyes on the entrance to the ramp. I needed to buy time. I didn't know what to do with the body. The cell phone rang again. I ignored it.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

I was glad I had my sunglasses on. I forgot to wear color contacts. I couldn't have her identifying me.

"Are you bald underneath that wig?"

I glanced at her. Her big eyes gleamed with pride, making me nauseous. The more she talked, the more I wanted to put a bullet in her brain. The phone rang again.

"I get it. You're cranky." She opened her purse and jumped when I grabbed her wrist. She said, "I'm just reaching for makeup."

"Open it and show me what's inside." Somehow I figured since she was Sam's wife, she'd have an arsenal of weapons. The most dangerous thing I spotted was a vibrator and a white cell phone. I pocketed her phone.

"Satisfied?" She made a clicking sound like tsk tsk. I yanked her hair toward me, changing her tune from snotty to apologetic. "Please, stop! Don't hurt me!" She screamed.

"I don't want to hear your shit!" You do as I say and I'm telling you to shut up!"

"What happened to being my new best friend?"

Kate was smart. That's what I had said to get her to help me hide the body in the trunk. We continued driving north, away from the city.

"I'm married." Kate looked away, "I don't have kids." I was about to ask why she used the word 'family' when she muttered, "I have two kittens though."

Judging by her tone of disappointment, I understood the topic of family to be a sore one. "My husband will have a heart attack when he hears someone tried to rape me."

"He'll get angry, will he?"

"Roy? Angry? He wouldn't hurt a fly."

Sam was a great actor. I continued to probe, "How long have you been a happy couple?"

"We've been married two years, but..." She glanced at me and I saw tears forming again. "I can't have kids. I'm alone all the time. Instead of dealing with our problem, he drowns his sorrows with his job."

"What does he do?"

"He's a technical consultant... a whiz with high tech gadgets."

My thoughts muddled. Confusion had its claws in me, blanketing my thoughts with despair. Sam had made me feel as if I was the center of his universe, but when I found out he shared his life with Kate, violent emotions held me in a powerful embrace.

"What's your name?" She sounded relaxed, relieved even.

I needed an alias. "Call me Elvira."

"What are you going to do with the corpse?"

"We need someplace to lie low until nightfall. Then we'll bury it."

"Where?"

"A cemetery is a good place."

She raised her eyebrows then grinned. A different ring tone made me jump in my seat. Her cell phone chimed in my purse.

"That's Roy. I have to answer it."

"I can't let you do that."

She was on the verge of tears again, "But you said you'd help me. He needs to know what happened."

I sighed, "This is the kind of news you should to tell him in person."

A black SUV tapped the back of the BMW. My heart seemed to travel up to my mouth and back again. The lousy driver pulled alongside. I released the safety of my gun. The tinted window rolled down and a familiar face sneered at me. It was Sam. "Pull over!"

"Roy!" Kate shouted.

If he had flashed a weapon I would've kept going, but he pointed his finger, gesturing to the side of the road. I couldn't believe I was instantly doing what he ordered me to do.

I mumbled, "How did he find us so fast?"

His scowl rattled me. If his eyes were a weapon, I'd be dead. Aiming my gun at the window, I prayed I didn't have to shoot my lover.

Chapter 6

I was driving around with Kate, trying to decide where to the dump a body, when my killer boyfriend flagged us down. He ordered me to pull over to the side of the road and did something unexpected. He walked to the passenger side. Kate jumped out of the car and hugged Sam except she knew him as Roy, her husband.

While they embraced, his scowl sent chills through me. I hesitated in putting away my gun.

"Are you alright, sweetie?" His voice took on a different tone. He sounded like a soft whiner. Nothing like I know him to be.

"Honey, a bad man tried to rape me." Kate slobbered on his shoulder.

"I know. You let me take care of everything." He brushed her hair aside, "Are you strong enough to drive home?"

"You can't leave me alone. We have to call the police."

He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes, "We can't have the nice lady go to prison. She did save your life."

"I suppose," she whined.

"Go home and lock all the doors. I'll help the lady dump the body. I promise we'll go to the Caribbean for a nice vacation. As a matter of fact, pack our bags. It's time we spend quality time together."

Sam's new I'm-a-rich-bastard voice irked me. He kissed her, tucked her in his SUV and waved her off.

When he entered the vehicle I expected him to back slap me or something. Instead, he sat straight and using his familiar deep voice said, "Drive!"

I didn't know where we were going and I was too scared to ask. I continued travelling north until I noticed the BMW needed fuel. "We're low on gas."

"We're five minutes from the next exit. There's a small town called Plainfield."

We made it to a gas station in the outskirts of the town. I couldn't stand Sam's cold treatment. "How did you find us?"

He looked at me with ice for eyes. "Didn't you pay attention to Kate? I'm a whiz with technology. I have cameras and a GPS in this car."

Out of guilt, I stared at the gas pumps.

He continued, "By the way, I tapped into the security cameras at the mall." That regained my attention. "You almost didn't give me enough time to shut down the cameras before you blew the sucker away. Why do you think you're not being chased by police?"

Before I could say something in my defense, he got out of the vehicle. I thought about following him inside the Quick shop. My stomach grumbled. It had been awhile since I ate. "Screw it!" I went inside and bought a bag of chips and a bottle of water. When I returned to the car, he had finished filling up the tank.

"What else did you want me to do?" I said, on the verge of tears.

"Get in. I'm driving." His face remained stoic as if he didn't have the capability to feel love, hate, remorse, anything.

I thought he would drive off, but instead he started the engine and sighed. "Kate's seen your face."

"I don't care." He wanted me to kill her. I opened the glove compartment, searching for a tissue since I had given Kate all of mine. It contained country music CD's and a small dildo. I flashed it at him. "Your wife sure is lonely. Is that how you're going to treat me?"

He wrapped is arm around my neck and pulled me towards him. Then he grabbed my throat ready to squeeze. "Listen to me because I'm only going to say this once. You are nothing like Kate. You're more like me."

He released me. I gasped for breath, angry that I wasn't strong enough to defend myself against him. I hated feeling vulnerable, but even worse was how he made me feel like a used tampon.

"I'm sorry, Candy," he said, surprising me.

A police SUV pulled behind us. The lights weren't flashing so I assumed they wanted gas too, except one of the blue uniformed men knocked on my window.

Sam pushed a button and the glass slid down. "Can I help you officer?" he said.

"You have a taillight that's off. Maybe the wiring is loose. If you want, open your trunk and I'll take a look at it."

I couldn't swallow. I did my best not to meet his gaze. If the cop got one look inside the trunk, death would be inevitable.

"Thanks for the kind offer, officer, but I'll do it myself." Sam used his Roy voice again. "Go on in and have coffee on me." He pulled out a fifty dollar bill from his wallet and offered it to the lawman.

The cop grinned, "You must be city folk. I don't know how things work in the big city, but out here, your offer looks like some sort of bribe."

Sam put on his best innocent face and put away the money. He got out of the vehicle. The second he went to the back, I figured, great now we'll have at least one dead cop to bury alongside the rapist.

The officer said, "Is this your car? All you had to do to open the trunk was push a button. You didn't have to come out."

Sam smiled, "Actually, it's my wife's vehicle. She's not feeling well. We're both tired. Say, can you recommend a motel for us to stay?"

Just then the other officer interrupted them. "Let's go. There's been an accident by the high school."

"Get that taillight fixed and you might want to stay at the Hornet's Nest. It's comfortable for the price," the kind officer said. He winked at Sam and hopped in their SUV.

When Sam got back in the car, I could finally breathe. I said, "That was too close."

"Yeah, let's dispose of the sucker and check into the motel."

"What?"

He squeezed my knee. "I need some loving."

"If you want love, you have to answer my question."

"What question?"

"Why do you want Kate dead?"

His eyes turned to ice again. He put the car in gear and drove toward the cemetery.

Chapter 7

I managed to fend off Sam's advances during sunlight hours. By early evening we had dinner at a diner. He rented a room at the Hornet's Nest like the police officer had suggested. The plain rooms were a major downer compared to the fancy suite back in Las Vegas where he had proposed to me. It turned out he was using me as cover for one of his kills.

"The people in this town turn in early." Sam sounded excited. "Let's get rid of the body."

I got in the passenger's side, wondering if I really was like him. I had to admit it felt good blowing away the rapist, although my Catholic upbringing gnawed at my conscience.

He sighed, "Are you ever going to speak to me again?"

If I didn't know better, I'd say the tide had turned. I gave him the cold shoulder like he did me. There has to be a way to stop the madness. I jumped when he gently gripped my knee.

"Why are you nervous?"

I wanted to bash in his perfect nose. His emotionless face transformed to one of caring soul. Trying to maintain a steady voice I said, "You just passed the cemetery. Where are we going to bury the body?"

We pulled alongside a closed slaughterhouse. He backed the car onto the sidewalk until the trunk was a few feet away from a brown steel door. He grinned, "Feel like chopping some meat?"

I followed him out of the BMW. He handed me his all purpose lock kit. It took me around forty seconds to pick the lock. "How come the alarm didn't go off?" I asked.

"This is a safe neighborhood. People tend to relax, therefore bypassing security. It's another benefit of tough economic times." He sounded like a kid in a candy store.

Once inside, I noticed the streetlight trickled into the entrance, but the deeper I probed in the opposite direction, the more it felt like a black void waited to engulf me. When I turned toward Sam, he already had the body over his shoulder. I moved out of his way and watched him disappear into the darkness. Then I heard a mechanism click and the lights went on.

He said, "Shut the door."

The place reeked of meat. Then I noticed another horrible odor as if it was vying for my attention. Sam handed me a white lab coat. "Put it on, it's going to get messy." We wore hairnets and facemasks which didn't do much to stop the stench.

"What's that awful smell?"

"This is a slaughterhouse. Stand back, Candy. It's going to get messy."

He had accused me of being like him, but all evidence indicated the contrary. While he dismembered his wife's would be rapist, I keeled over in a corner, vomiting most of my dinner. The sound of saw grinding against bone sent chills up and down my body. I wanted to shout at him to stop it. Thoughts of Sam standing over a corpse, coupled with his disturbing offer of me becoming an assassin like him or face elimination, jolted my insides like a swift kick to the gut.

The noise stopped. "Are you alright?" This time he had an angelic face. The ceiling's lights hovered over him like a halo.

"How could you?" My breathing became erratic.

"Stop whining and help me put this crap through the meat grinder."

In an instant the angel of hope turned into the angel of death. I was engaged to an evil, married man. He handed me a bloody gloved hand and helped me to my feet. I cringed upon grabbing a severed arm by the hand and shoved it through the machine. I wanted to ask him what he was going to do with the human ground meat, but the stench forced me to keep my mouth shut for fear of vomiting again.

"Did you notice the dogs by the dumpster?"

I recalled passing a pack of strays as we entered the complex. Sam had a knack of spooking me. It was like he could read my mind.

"Man's best friend will eat most of the evidence." He said, "Now keep grinding the parts. I need to dip the head in acid."

I could no longer remain silent, "Why not crush the skull?"

"This is your first kill," he grinned, "I'm keeping it as a souvenir."

His happy-go-lucky attitude was more evidence that I was nothing like him. He killed by profession and for pleasure. I killed out of necessity. We were different. When we were done, he put the skull in a sack and washed the blood away into a huge drain. Then he said, "Follow me."

We disposed of the lab coats and rubber gloves. He removed the hairnets and lifted me into a shower stall. I yelled when a stream of cold water pounced on my back. He whispered, "Time to heat things up."

He pressed his tongue against mine. Thoughts of biting, scratching, and pulling his hair, slowly disappeared as he touched me in all the right places. He nibbled on my earlobe and caressed my neck with his supple lips. The rush brought forth by the unlikely encounter fueled my desire to devour him. We had just erased all semblance of a man's life. He demonstrated we could be godly. All I had to do was give him a chance to prove his love to me.

After three orgasms, I dressed; embarrassed by the way he stared at me. "I want you so bad." He said. "I'll take my wife to Puerto Rico for a vacation. You will arrive a few days later and then kill her."

His loving expression faded. Cold, calculating eyes beamed, chilling me. I was about to ask why when he blurted, "Death is easier than a divorce."

Sam didn't know it, but he presented me with a choice. By leaving me alone, he was opening the door to losing me forever. I had to choose between a life with a madman or recruiting the police to help me get rid of him.

"What are you thinking about, sweetie?" He asked.

I embraced him and said, "I long for the day when I'll be happy." He didn't know that I craved my freedom more than anything and that my happiness would come with his capture.

Chapter 8

Sam seemed to have eyes everywhere. I couldn't risk him spotting me at the airport. Dressed in a gray wig, some padding to make me appear fatter, and special makeup to add wrinkles, I was able to sit nearby and watch him enter the gate with his wife, Kate. At five two she was a foot shorter than him. When I was sure they had boarded the plane I asked an airline worker, "Excuse me, did flight 927 leave for Puerto Rico yet?"

"Yes, it took off three minutes ago."

I couldn't fight off a grin. Before she got the idea I was pleased at her expense, I said, "I want to make sure my daughter is on the plane with her husband. She's afraid to fly."

"Well, if you'll wait a second, I'll call the gate to see if anyone got off the flight."

In my best old lady voice I smiled making sure not to show my teeth. "You're a sweet thing, aren't you?"

A few seconds passed when she confirmed that everyone had boarded safely.

I went inside the ladies room, shedding my disguise and placing it in a duffle bag in exchange for high heels, jeans, a white blouse, and a denim jacket. I knew of one man who could help me get rid of Sam— a guy from my high school days who became a cop. I was trying to recall his name while making my way to the building's exit when my body bounced off something hard, knocking me on my ass.

"Miss, I'm sorry." I was all set to curse when I spotted sky blue eyes. A man who seemed to be from another time extended large ivory hands, helping me to my feet. "Please forgive me."

His masculine voice triggered something inside me. My stomach felt as if it tore off and reattached itself backward.

"You have the most amazing eyes," I muttered. I couldn't believe I said that out loud. His wide grin melted my insides as his cheeks formed two perfect dimples. His blond hair, draped on wide shoulders, reminded me of a lion, flaunting grace and power.

His head tilted to the side. His expression changed to wonder, "Do I know you?"

I wanted to say no, but if I had a few hours with him alone, he'd get to know me very well. Instead I managed to close my open mouth long enough to shake my head.

He was not thrown by my stupor. "Are you saying goodbye to someone or leaving town?"

I couldn't recall the last time a stranger made me feel like an insecure fool. For all I knew this was just one of those chance encounters that wouldn't amount to anything. "I dropped off a neighbor. Why are you here?" In my mind I said—YES!—Score one for me for not sounding stupid.

"I work nearby. They make the best apple pie in that place." He pointed at a pastry shop behind me. "Would you join me for great pie and stimulating conversation?"

My vision wandered down to his mouth. I knew plenty of women who would pay big money to have lips as plump as his. White teeth gleamed. I cleared my throat because I didn't want to mumble. Before I could answer, someone screamed.

"Stop him! He stole my purse!"

A thin guy in a hooded sweatshirt headed our way. I had no time to think. I stretched my leg, but the speedster jumped it with ease. However, the handsome stranger stormed past me, grabbed his hood and yanked the robber to the ground. Two uniformed officers thanked him as they subdued the purse snatcher.

The grateful lady said, "Thank you, mister."

The knight in shining armor waved her off, giving a timid smile. He stood before me and gestured to the pastry shop. "Sudden running makes me hungry. Shall we eat?"

I let him usher me inside the store as the scent of berries opened my appetite. He wanted to know everything about me. I thought about telling him the truth, but there was no way I'd put this blond Adonis in danger. Sam would kill him without batting an eye, so I lied. I told him my name was Elvira and I was a fifth grade school teacher from New Jersey. I threw in a few anecdotes about my experiences with good, little children.

"We've talked enough about me." I said, "What do you do for a living? Hey, I just realized I don't know your name." I giggled.

His joyous demeanor changed to serious. "I'm Lucas. Can I be honest with you?"

I don't recall meeting a man who didn't at least stretch the truth on a first encounter. "That would be refreshing."

"When I first saw you, something inside me changed. My palms became sweaty and my stomach felt like I had swallowed a blender."

I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

He continued, "So I was hoping we'd get off to a genuine start. But sitting here, gazing into your eyes as you told me about a most noble profession, I can't help but wonder if I didn't make the same impact on you. I thought I did, but your actions state otherwise."

I was confused. Men were never this perceptive. "What do you mean?"

"Your eyes betrayed you. You're not a teacher."

I wanted to crawl under the table and hide. I decided the best thing to do was walk away. I went to stand when he held my wrist.

"Don't go, Candy. There's so much you must tell me."

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't control my facial muscles. This beautiful man not only jolted my appetite for sex, but his accurate assessment punctured the fictional bubble I had created for him. Thoughts of meeting another madman made my head ache even more than the pain in my wrist. I cleared my throat, but still managed a whisper, "How did you know my name?"

He let go of my wrist. His fingers imprinted on my skin. "I'll tell you everything if you answer my one question, honestly."

Everything inside me screamed—RUN! Unfortunately, my legs didn't cooperate as my knees banged against one another under the table. "What do you want to know?"

"My people are willing to overlook the guy you killed at the mall."

This time I knew my mouth gaped, but I didn't care. He continued, "They want you to help me eliminate the guy you know as Sam. Before we can move forward, I need to know. Do you love him?"

Every time I thought about Sam only two things popped to mind—sex and death. I needed to know who Lucas worked for and why I felt weird around him. It was as if we had a connection beyond this world.

I gazed into his soft eyes, folding my arms to keep my hands from shaking. I said, "I'm scared of Sam. He'll kill me if I don't love him."

Lucas grinned, "Candy, not if we eliminate him first."

My heart pounded. I couldn't tell if it was beating extra fast out of fear or euphoria. He stretched out his hand. I put mine on his and he gave it a reassuring, gentle squeeze. I couldn't hold back tears. There were no words to express how I felt, but at least I wasn't alone anymore.

Chapter 9

On a private jet heading to Puerto Rico, Lucas briefed me about Sam, my killer boyfriend. I stared at pictures of a younger Sam, sporting a Navy uniform.

Lucas pushed a button on a remote control and photos of burning buildings, mass graves, and hanging corpses flashed on a screen. "This is some of Sam's work. He was a demolitions expert with the Navy Seals elite unit. The government recruited him and he took care of matters for an organization that doesn't officially exist." Lucas lowered his tone, "We are a shadow ops unit which operates under the umbrella of the CIA."

Tears clouded my vision as the carnage on the screen continued. He showed me gruesome images of bodies of women and children burned beyond recognition. Blood and destruction took center stage with every grim photo. I couldn't believe I had fallen in love with Death himself.

Lucas continued, "The only reason I'm showing you this is because you're in a great position to kill him for us."

I turned away from the screen and met his gaze, "Sam's a monster."

Lucas nodded, "Yes, and you can get rid of that monster once and for all."

"Why me?"

He turned off the presentation and the lights went on in the cabin. "Sam went rogue about six years ago. He's what we call a lone wolf." Lucas squeezed my shoulder, "He trusts you, Candy."

Everything had happened so fast. I went from spending a weekend at a fancy hotel with my fiancé to being an accomplice to an execution, to discovering he had a wife, to training to be a killer, and now I had to decide between killing my lover's wife or him.

My gaze dropped. "What makes you think I can kill him?"

Lucas raised my chin to meet his warm eyes, "Because unlike Sam, you're wired to kill for a righteous cause. Assassinating the most dangerous killer of our time is our moral obligation."

I pushed him away, "Don't talk to me about morality. I won't kill in the name of religion and I won't do it for idealism. How are you and Sam different? You both want me to take a life. You're both insane."

He grabbed my arms and shook me. "Don't you want to be rid of that monster?"

"You're hurting me!"

He squeezed harder, "The only way you'll ever be free of him is to kill him before he kills you." He let me go and turned his back on me.

I rubbed my arms, tears flowed down my cheeks. After a couple of minutes of silent weeping, I touched Lucas' shoulder. He turned. His blue eyes did more than soothe me. They made my heart skip a beat. I said, "How am I supposed to kill him? I don't have weapons."

"Do you really think I'll let you be alone with him? You'll have what you need." Lucas wiped a tear away from under my eye. "Candy, you are so beautiful."

He pulled me closer. My lips gravitated towards his like two magnets of opposite polarity. As our tongues probed in each other's mouths, I sensed that somehow; this man was born to protect me. This long haired hunk made me feel like a young teenager—alive and full of wonder.

I ripped off his shirt. Instead of continuing my assault on his clothes, I dove back into his mouth. It was as if not kissing him would lead to my suffocation. He unbuttoned my jeans and slid them off me. I almost fell when a pocket of air jolted the jet. I helped relieve him of his slacks and jumped on him. As the plane skipped in the air much like a pebble bouncing on a lake, I caressed his manhood. He smiled at my surprised expression. The possibility of dying from a plane crash was replaced by the reality that Lucas could tear me up inside with his massive member.

As he penetrated me he whispered, "I'll be gentle."

I said, "I'm an assassin. You better not hold anything back!"

Our physical connection led me to heights I had never experienced before. Sam was an amazing lover, but the more Lucas and I were in rhythm, the more I understood we were meant to be together. The jet stopped rocking, but we continued in our own world, filled with lust and sex. What I thought would be a long flight turned out to be the quickest plane ride ever.

The pilot announced on the loud speaker. "Please fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a landing."

Lucas and I were both landing all right. I knew when we would exit the jet that Sam posed the most dangerous threat to my life.

Lucas said, "We're landing. We should stop."

I yelled, "Like hell we will!"

In a couple of hours I had to kill my fiancé. Under the circumstances, landing without a seatbelt seemed to be worth the risk.

Only when we shuddered in each other's arms did the reality of my predicament come back to the surface. I wondered if I was good enough to get the upper hand on the master of death himself. For the first time since I stumbled on Sam's kill at the hotel, I feared for my life.

Chapter 10

I sat in the lobby of a fancy hotel, waiting to make contact with my ex-lover, Sam. My new man, Lucas promised to keep an eye on me from a surveillance van which hooked up to the hotel's security cameras. I feared for my life, yet I knew Sam wouldn't eliminate me in front of witnesses.

Outside the hotel, I had felt as though the Caribbean heat melted my skin like soft ice cream turning gooey in a child's hands. In the cool air conditioned lobby, a large chandelier hung on a high arched ceiling. A cozy, leather sofa took a small portion of space in the waiting area, surrounded by two end tables at either side. Cherry aroma therapy candles centered each table, matching the sofa.

I wore large sunglasses to ensure that Sam's wife, Kate, wouldn't recognize me. A snub nosed revolver Lucas had loaned me pinched the small of my back. My current disguise consisted of a business suit. I thought about clipping my hair, but let it loose so as not to look butch.

I rubbed my palms against my slacks, wishing for a way to avoid this mess. Lucas had recruited me into a clandestine government organization which got its orders from the CIA. They wanted me to assassinate, Sam. In this crazy world, it seemed everyone wanted someone dead. Lucas wanted Sam dead. Sam wanted me to kill his wife. There had to be a way to get out of this with my sanity intact. I was having second thoughts, ready to rise off the sofa, when Sam surprised me by entering the hotel's lobby from the boardwalk entrance. When he got to the elevator, he fumbled with his pockets, said something to Kate and sent her off by herself in the elevator.

I had thought he forgot something, but instead he made his way towards me. He also had sunglasses on, making it difficult to read his facial expression. He sat next to me and without offering me as much as a kiss or a handshake, said, "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you."

He grabbed my knee, "Keep your voice down."

I hadn't realized I spoke loud.

He faked a cough and said, "Please tell me you're not checked into this hotel."

"No, of course not," I thought about brushing his hand off, but didn't. "I'm not stupid, like your wife."

He rubbed a finger on my knee and up my thigh, "Well, now that you're here, you can do it tonight."

"You never told me why?"

I struggled to maintain control over my emotions. Hate threatened to take over. I should have missed him. I guess Lucas filled that void for me.

Sam said, "I told you. With her out of the way, we'll be free to do what we want. We can get married."

Somehow the prospect of being Mrs. Killer no longer appealed to me. Sam had told me that I was like him, but Lucas disagreed. He saw I still had a good heart. He called it righteous. Truth be told, I wished I was with Lucas.

I whispered, "How do you want to do it?"

Sam glanced around. "We can't discuss that here. Let's go for a quick stroll on the beach."

The realization of walking anywhere with Sam did not bode well for me. Even as I followed him out the door, I pictured him drowning me in shallow water as waves crashed to shore. The powerful smell of sea salt slammed into me. I regretted having to put on a blazer in the ninety degree weather.

Sam wore jeans and a polo shirt. I didn't think he was armed, but from what Lucas told me, the guy was like Batman. He had an ability to turn a watch into a grenade, a belt into a whip of knives, the heel of a shoe into a plastic explosive. Sam was priority number one on the CIA's must erase list and I was the unofficial deputized agent that had to make it all happen.

We stopped at a boardwalk overlooking the shore. Sam pointed at a street in the opposite direction. "You see that coffee shop? That street leads to an alley. It's a dead-end. I'm going to coax Kate into that alley and you're going to surprise us. Then you will say, "Sorry folks, but you saw me kill a man. I can't have witnesses. Then you'll shoot me, grazing my shoulder and shoot her twice in the chest."

He never removed his sunglasses, and his voice never faltered. He may as well have been telling me his mother's favorite recipe. His cold demeanor proved once again how Sam could never click with me like Lucas did.

I asked, "You want me to shoot you?"

He nodded, "It has to look like a botched robbery. I'll make sure to forget my wallet, that way when the police arrive, I can claim I handed it to you and all was good until Kate refused to hand over her purse."

He embraced me. I jumped away, realized my mistake and quickly leaned into him. He brushed his fingers against my cheek. I forced myself not to move my face away. He had to believe I was still in love with him. He didn't know that his digits of death felt like slime oozing down my face. He kissed me. I tried to picture Lucas and his plump lips. My heart raced. Sam pulled away and grinned. I guess he read my emotions as pure love for him, not sheer disgust.

He said, "It all goes down tonight at ten."

He left without waiting for me to reply. As I watched him walk back towards the hotel, I wiped the sweat off my brow with the sleeve of my dreaded blazer. A lot good that did me. I was drenched. A white van pulled alongside me. It was Lucas. "Get in!"

Sam didn't know it, but in a few hours, he would be dead by my hands.

Chapter 11

I stood in a cheap motel about fifteen minutes from where Sam was staying with his wife. There were no golden chandeliers, only a few glassed candle lamps. A wooden box was delivered to my door. I untied a yellow ribbon and found a diamond necklace inside with a note. It was in Sam's writing.

Tonight we'll be free, darling. My advice to you is to see beyond what is visible.

"Now that's strange," I mumbled.

Another knock on the door startled me. "Who is it?"

"It's me. Lucas."

I hugged my man and I didn't want to let go. "Lucas, he didn't send me a gun. I got this instead." I showed him the box. He grinned when he read the note.

Lucas said, "He wants you to see beyond what is visible." He pulled out the covering which held the necklace and underneath was a Browning semiautomatic pistol like the one Sam had trained me to shoot.

I uttered, "So much for Sam having second thoughts."

Lucas placed the box on the bed and hugged me. "You won't be alone. I'll be watching nearby. Since he told you where it's going down, I've made arrangements to have an army of agents standing by." He placed a small flashlight on the bed too.

My body shook. He guided my face to his. "Candy, he's giving us a golden opportunity. You won't have to kill his wife, but you must execute him."

I found it ironic that Sam had trained me to use lethal force and how fate called on me to use my training against him. He had forced me to go against my desires and tried to turn me into a monster like him.

Lucas interrupted my thoughts, "You're nothing like him, Candy."

Somehow, he had read my mind. Tears escaped my watery eyes. Lucas drew my lips to his. I got the feeling he wanted more than smooching, but my heart and head were not into it.

***

At ten o'clock sharp, dressed in black, I went into the alley like Sam had instructed. He'd given me the impression he would be making out with his wife. He told me I was to shoot him first, but it appeared they were late. The alley was poorly lit toward the front and the rear was completely black. I risked it and turned on a flashlight Lucas had equipped me with. I spotted dark smears on the pavement, prompting me to pull out my pistol. The trail led to a pair of bare feet. The feet were attached to Kate. Blood spilled out of her mouth, she had two bullet holes in her abdomen, yet she moved her lips.

I knelt down and placed my gun on the floor. "Kate! Who did this?"

She mouthed a faint whisper. I put my ear close to her lips and heard her say something like, "Long hair."

"He had long hair?"

Her eyes had a blank stare. She was dead. I wondered what happened to Sam. I picked up the Browning and was about to flash my light to the nearest corner of the alley when large headlights blinded me.

In Spanish someone yelled, "Freeze! Don't move!" I heard them bark orders and the word pistola which I understood for pistol.

I yelled, "I'm an agent with the CIA."

"We said drop the gun or we'll shoot!" I listened to a man with a heavy Spanish accent and did as he ordered.

Two officers jumped on me. Another took the gun. Before I knew what had happened, I was handcuffed and in the back of an SUV. A bald man with the same voice that told me to drop the gun said, "I'm Detective Sanchez." He read me my rights in English and Spanish.

"Look..." I peered through the tinted window, trying to spot Lucas. "I can explain this."

Detective Sanchez said, "Why didn't you leave the scene of the crime earlier?"

I glanced back at the short man. "What?"

"A patrol unit spotted the victim's wounded husband a couple of blocks away."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not from around here. I was lost and wandered into the alley."

"Miss, I think you should know that I'm a human bullshit detector. Think twice before you feed me more crap."

I stuck to my story. "I got lost, saw the blood on the ground and found..." I paused. I couldn't reveal Kate's name. "I found the woman."

"Let's say for arguments sake you did find her. Was she alive or dead?"

"She was alive. She said something about long hair."

Detective Sanchez lifted strands of my hair and flipped it to the side. "You have long hair."

I glanced out the window again, studying any male that moved. Most of the officers wore blue uniforms. The few men without hats maintained their hair cut low. I wondered where the hell Lucas was hiding and why he hadn't come forward to set things straight.

Another officer called Detective Sanchez away from the vehicle. When he returned he said, "Your gun smells like it was fired recently."

"That wasn't my gun. I found it in the alley."

"And you were stupid enough to pick it up?"

My heart sank. Sam painted the hit as a simple in and out. Perhaps he couldn't wait for me so he shot her himself. "Hey detective, I just remembered something important."

He maintained a pompous smirk on his face. "Yeah, what?"

"I want my lawyer and I will exercise my right to remain silent."

I had no idea what happened to Sam and I was mystified as to my new lover's disappearance. Then something terrible came to mind. What if Sam had killed Lucas? I shuddered and hoped I was wrong.

Chapter 12

Detective Sanchez sat across from me in a poor man's version of an interrogation room. A ceiling fan circled above me at such a slow speed, I swore it spun by a nonexistent breeze. The short middle-aged man pulled out a pack of cigarettes and placed it on the table. "Would you care for one, miss?"

I had requested a lawyer so I didn't understand why I wasn't sitting in a jail cell. I ignored the wrinkly version of Antonio Banderas and scanned the room, looking for any possible way to escape. There was one window located near the high ceiling and it was barred like in the movies. The humidity did a number on my hair. It was a mangled mess. At least I wasn't handcuffed.

"Miss, if you don't want a smoke, would you like coffee?"

My vision shifted from the window to his bronze face. He wore an annoying smirk. "How can you drink coffee with this heat?"

He put away the cigarettes without taking one. "Thanks to you, I haven't slept." He checked his wristwatch, "If you're lucky, the court appointed lawyer will show up for your arraignment in about two days."

He was trying to get me to waive my rights. How dumb did he think I was? "I watch television. You're not supposed to question me without a lawyer present."

He rose from the chair, leaned towards me till we were nose to nose, "Do you think you have the same rights here?"

This time I could feel my lips move to a smirk of my own. "This isn't a third world country. You have to treat me humanely."

He laughed. Not the controlled laughter of an evil man, but a genuine belly laugh only without the fat bouncing around. His petite frame moved side to side. He sat back in his chair. "Your fingerprints will tell me who you really are. You may as well tell me your real name."

"If I tell you, will you give me a mirror and some wipes to freshen up?"

He nodded.

"I'm Elvira." The impromptu alias was starting to grow on me.

Disappointment replaced his smile. "You forget that I'm a human bullshit detector."

Crap! How did he do that? "My name is Candy." Something inside me made me want to slap myself.

His narrow, charcoal eyes grew into large ovals. He said, "Bring her what she asked for." He didn't press any buttons as far as I could tell which meant others listened to everything we said.

Detective Sanchez said, "Are you waiving your right to counsel?"

The door opened and a uniformed officer handed him a pack of wipes and a compact mirror. The detective held the contents and waited for the officer to exit.

"What do you want to know?" I needed to get some relief from the awful humidity. He had to believe I would cooperate.

"Why did you shoot her?"

"I didn't."

He placed the mirror and wipes on the table and slid them to me.

After cleaning my neck and face with a few wipes, I wondered if the martial arts training Sam gave me was good enough to fight my way out of the small police station.

"Just so you know; another detective is at the hospital getting a statement from the woman's husband."

I tried not to react to the news that he had access to Sam, but judging by the detective's know-it-all smirk, I failed at remaining disinterested. The bastard was good at this interrogation shit.

"I am confused about something." He said, "Why would a woman who's obviously got her act together, need to rob tourists? You don't strike me like the desperate type."

He shifted his seat closer to my side. Was this guy coming on to me? "I didn't kill that woman. I tried to save her."

He pulled out a writing pad from his pants pocket. It wasn't one of the fancy leather bound pads like in the movies. It was a simple notepad. "At the scene you claimed to be a CIA agent. Is that right?"

My mouth was dry. I should have asked for water too. "Did I say that? You must have heard wrong."

He slammed the pad on the table. "You're looking at doing major time in our prison. I hope you like women, because a beautiful gringa like yourself will make a nice bitch for the masculine señoras." He reached under the table and squeezed my knee.

A popping sound surprised me. The slimy detective looked startled. Another popping sound followed by a string of firecrackers broke the silence. He said, "Gunfire!"

He rose from the chair and I followed suit. "Stay in here." Before he could say another word, I kicked his knee. He folded like a broken chair. I used his momentum against him, slamming his head into the table. Detective Sanchez was still conscious and reached for his sidearm. I kicked his chin and he stopped moving. The door flew open.

"Candy!"

"Lucas?"

My long haired knight came to rescue me.

He said, "We need to get out of here. Sam is on his way here and if he sees you, he'll kill you."

He grabbed my hand and led me out the room. I expected to see dead officers sprawled on the floor, but instead they were alive and moaning. As far as I could tell, Lucas didn't kill any of them. A few bled from leg wounds, others were trying to catch their breath. I figured he had shot them in their bullet proof vests.

When we exited the building, the heat felt like we jumped from an oven into a frying pan. I said, "Why didn't you show your CIA credentials?"

"I'll tell you everything later. We need to go now!"

We jumped on his motorcycle. I felt safe holding on to my savior. With Lucas by my side, I was beginning to feel invincible.

Chapter 13

Lucas took me to a townhouse just outside of a town called Dorado. The two story abode came equipped with a fully stacked bar and lots of mirrors on every wall. A wide glass door revealed a feminine shaped swimming pool in a back yard hidden by a high wooden fence.

"Whose place is this?" I asked.

Lucas tossed a black blouse and matching jeans on a leather sofa. "Change your clothes."

I moved closer to him until we stood face to face. "Why did you shoot those police officers?"

"We're really running short on time, Candy. Sam will be here any minute."

"How does he know where we are?"

Lucas maneuvered passed me and opened a bottle of scotch. He served himself a shot, downed it, served another and chugged it down too. He said, "Remember the day we made love?"

I nodded, wondering how he could possibly think I'd forget the most important day of my life.

He continued, "I was part of an important experiment. Sam sent me to test your love for him. He needed to know if he could trust you with his life."

My heart felt as if a bullet tore through it.

His tone lowered as he glanced downward, "You failed, darling. I was supposed to kill you soon after."

"You made love to me because you were supposed to?" I wanted to run to him and bash the bottle of booze over his head. I wanted to rip his eyes out. But then as I saw his gaze rise from the floor to mine, I wanted to hug him. His eyes crystallized, threatening to release tears. I said, "You didn't kill me, because you fell in love with me too."

He nodded, adding, "I thought for sure he would eliminate me, but instead he decided to set you up for his wife's murder. He figured he'd kill two birds with one shot."

Lucas came to me and softly touched my wrists. I hadn't noticed my hands had balled into fists. He said, "Sam trained me too. It's only when I observed you, that I realized we weren't anything like him. Sam kills without remorse. I don't think he has a conscience."

I loosened my grip and allowed one of my hands to open. Then I slapped him across his face. He didn't fight back. Instead, tears rolled down his cheeks. I grabbed his shirt and tugged him to me. We kissed. The salty taste of his tears served as a reminder that he risked everything to save me. Lucas may have been forced to seduce me, but darn it, he didn't allow Sam to throw me to the wolves.

I unbuttoned his shirt, but he gently squeezed my fingers, stopping me from stripping him. He said, "Get dressed, Candy. This is not the time or place. Sam's coming for both of us now."

"Why can't I keep what I'm wearing?"

"We can't take chances. Your clothes may be bugged. I'll get you a good pair of sneakers."

Before I could object, he disappeared into a room that faced the front of the house. The whole time I stripped off my clothes, thoughts of strangling Sam served to make me more anxious. The mirrored wall revealed my cheeks were red. I lifted my hair and sure enough, my ears were red too. The black blouse was a comfortable fit and the jeans slipped a bit tight, but the length was just right. A ringing noise made me jump. A cell phone lay on the bar. Lucas must have left it when he served his drinks.

"Lucas, your phone is ringing!" I thought it odd that he hadn't come out. "How long does it take to pick out sneakers?"

I went to the room to check on him. Aside from more mirrored walls and a ceiling, the room was empty. I had expected a big water bed or something since the place made a cool love shack. "Lucas! Where are you?"

Grinding my teeth, I hurried back to the bar and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Ah, princess, tell your Prince Charming I'm here." Sam's voice was unmistakable.

"Sam, for your sake, you better be far away. You set me up!"

He laughed. "That's why I chose you, darling. You have so much fight in you. A typical female would crap her pants just hearing my voice."

"I'm not afraid of you!" I yelled, upset at how my voice quivered a bit.

"Tell pretty boy he can still live if he kills you."

This time I took a deep breath and screamed, "I'm tired of playing your insane games! Come and get us!"

The line went dead.

I wondered what had happened to my Lucas. Together we seemed invincible, but alone, battling with the likes of Sam, I wasn't sure either one of us would survive.

I reentered the room, calling his name. The sound of brakes squealing drew my attention to the window. I pushed the curtain aside and saw Sam getting out of a Mitsubishi Gallant.

"Lucas!" Something must have happened to him. I refused to believe he left me to fend for myself. But a quick search of the closet revealed nothing.

I heard footsteps ascending the front stairwell. Sam was getting closer. I needed a weapon. I heard Sam trying to jimmy the door. One of us was going to die today, and I'll be dammed if it was going to be me.

Chapter 14

I stood frozen as Sam rattled the doorknob, shouting obscenities at me. "I see Lucas changed the lock. It doesn't matter, sugar plum. You will die in my arms."

I wondered how long the door would hold as it rattled against its wooden frame. I pictured him lunging at the door repeatedly, throwing his solid physique against it. The sound of wood splintering woke me from my stupor.

I raced to the kitchen and pulled the largest knife I could find from the steel plated holder.  Damn it! Where's Lucas? Another loud thud regained my attention. I swore the door caved in for a brief second.

"Come on Candy!" I heard his heavy breathing. "I won't shoot you, baby. Let's kiss and make up."

Silence!

I eased towards the empty mirrored room, wishing I hadn't taken off my high heels. Lucas promised he'd get me sneakers. Now my feet were vulnerable in case Sam shot at the mirrors. The abrupt silence unnerved me more than the constant pounding had. At least before, I knew where the enemy was standing. I turned my back to the door and went inside the mirror room, whispering, "Lucas! Where the hell are you?"

The sound of the door giving way and pounding the wall startled me. "Hey, Candy, I'm heeere!"

I closed the door, noting that it didn't have a lock. With no furniture in the room there was nothing I could use to barricade myself. I backed away from the door and thought about making a run for the window when a hand gripped my mouth tight and pulled me into the closet.

"Don't make a sound." Lucas whispered in my ear. He let go and took my hand, leading me deeper into the closet. He hugged me close to his body.

Sam said, "I know you're in the closet. If I come in after you, you won't like it."

I thought my pounding heart would betray me. Switching the grip on the knife, in my mind's eye I pictured throwing the blade into Sam's throat. As he pulled on the closet door, something moved underneath my feet.

I didn't understand how one second I was facing the inevitable confrontation with my psycho ex-lover and the next second, Lucas was guiding me into a narrow tunnel. We had gone through a secret passage. I wanted to ask him so many questions, but priority number one for both of us was to get away from the crazy hit man.

The sound of gunfire erupted behind us. Lucas stopped at another entrance, typed a few numbers into a keypad and watched as the door slid open, revealing a garage. He opened an SUV. "Candy, get in! It's bullet proof."

I did as told. On the floor of the passenger side was a sawed off shotgun. I cradled it. "Is this loaded?"

Lucas grinned. "Of course it is. Your sneakers are in the backseat." He gunned the vehicle straight to a brick wall. At the last possible second, the wall sunk through the ground and the SUV hit the open road.

Upon seeing a dirt road hidden by greenery, I sighed, relieved I wasn't alone anymore. Then the anger inside me exploded so I slapped his arm. "Don't ever do that to me again!"

Lucas smiled, "We're not out of the woods yet."

As soon as he completed the sentence, a Lincoln Town Car barreled into the SUV's rear passenger side panel. I saw Sam. His facial expression did not match the urgency of the moment. It seemed as if he was out for a Sunday morning stroll.

"Candy," Lucas said, "now's a good time to use the shotgun."

My window slid down. I pumped the shotgun. As I tried to aim it at Sam's vehicle, he accelerated and struck the SUV again. A blast rung, the noise buzzed in my ears. I cursed. The gun had shifted position upon impact and the round was wasted in the air.

Lucas said, "You think you could shoot your target instead of a tree?"

I shouted, "If you'd stop driving like Stevie Wonder, maybe I can get the job done!"

Sam rammed his vehicle into my side of the SUV again. Something struck the rear window, but it didn't break. I thought I heard a tire pop. I asked, "Did we get a flat?"

"No," Lucas said "he's shooting at us, you mostly.

That did it. Whatever I had with Sam in the past, any last feelings of lust or naïve love disappeared when my high octane anger took over. I didn't aim, didn't set up the shotgun and didn't think about my actions. I fired a round into Sam's car. The front tire exploded. The car tumbled forward as the rear wheels lifted high in the air. I watched through the side mirror in awe as Sam and his rental car did several summersaults. The unforgiving terrain pummeled the vehicle with reckless abandon.

Lucas whistled, "I'm so glad I'm not him right now." He stopped the SUV.

"What are you doing?" My adrenaline seemed to heighten my senses as I became aware of the intense heat, the burning smoke, and the smell of gasoline.

Lucas said, "We need to make sure he's dead."

I glanced at the darkening sky. "Let's get this over with."

Lucas nodded, "You better load up. You'll find a box of ammo in the glove compartment." He drove his vehicle in reverse while I reloaded the shotgun. We stopped near the wreck. Broken glass, twisted metal, and smoke surrounded the car.

I didn't bother putting on sneakers. I jumped out of the SUV too pumped up to allow the bits of rocks and debris to interfere with my mission.

"Wait for me. We can't take anything for granted with this guy," Lucas said.

He pulled a .44 caliber pistol from his waist band and pointed it at the wreck. "Candy, crouch and if you see him, blow his face off."

"But what if he's dead?"

"It doesn't matter. This guy's too connected and extremely dangerous."

I spotted Sam. He was pinned to the mangled steering wheel. He opened his eyes and said, "Candy, this is your last chance to..." He struggled for breath. Blood poured out of his mouth. A gash across his forehead released more blood and it got into his eyes. He continued, "Last chance to do the right thing. Did you ever love me?"

I pumped the shotgun and aimed at his face. "No." I squeezed the trigger and watched as his head exploded into the wreck.

I thought blowing him away would give me a sense of vindication. I hoped I wouldn't feel anything for killing the man who forced me to change into a murderer. I kept telling myself, don't cry. In the end, I dropped the weapon, hugged Lucas, and cried in his arms.

I cried for quite awhile. Another phone Lucas had, rung, interrupting our tender moment. He listened and offered the cell phone to me, "It's for you."

I wiped my face with one hand and placed the phone near my ear with the other. "Hello? Who is this?"

"You should've listened to Lucas. I'm connected, baby. And I'm still alive."

"Sam? How the hell?"

"Candy, you owe me fifty million dollars and you have forty-eight hours to get it."

I gazed into Lucas' wide eyes and whispered into the phone, "This can't be you. I just shot you."

"You shot my clone. I want my money. You have forty-eight hours or I'll blow up the governor's mansion and leave plenty of evidence that you did it. If memory serves me right, you're wanted in Puerto Rico."

I eyed the wreckage. "This can't be real."

"Tell Lucas the specs for your next job will be waiting at safe house number twelve in New York City. Good luck getting out of dodge, sweetheart."

The connection went dead.

Chapter 15

I never thought I'd take part in smuggling. As I hid in a coffin, straining to listen for any semblance of life, the realization that meeting my ex-boyfriend Sam, made me wish for my old boring life again. I recalled listening to my new lover, Lucas, and how the only way to sneak back into the U.S. was to hide in a secret compartment. After he busted me out of jail, our faces were flashed all over the local news.

I felt the anger rising inside me when I recalled how Sam duped me into killing his wife. At least my conscience was clear since he had already shot her when I went into the alley. So far the only blood spilled by my hands was a disgusting rapist who tried to get the jump on Sam's wife and an ugly rodent I shot in a New York subway station, and Sam's clone.

A man spoke in a deep voice. "I don't see why you have to check the coffins, Detective Sanchez."

A trickle of sweat slid down my neck. The last time I was with the detective, I had kicked him.

"Mr. Lee, I don't care if Customs cleared the cargo, I have two fugitives on the run."

"Really? Are they dangerous?"

"Yes. A man and woman, perhaps you've seen them."

The momentary pause allowed me to notice another noise inside the coffin. It pulsated in my ears. Ah, my beating heart.

"No, I've never seen them before."

"It's just as well, now please open the coffins."

"I don't suppose you have a warrant. My boss will have a fit. His wife is in one of those coffins."

"Speaking of your boss, where is Mr. Collins?"

"He had business elsewhere. I'm afraid, the burial arrangements are private."

A loud thump startled me. "Open the coffin Mr. Lee or I'll charge you with obstructing justice."

A creaking sound preceded Detective Sanchez's Spanish accent. "Who is that man?"

"Mr. Collins agreed to fly the body at no cost. He's been known to perform random acts of kindness."

"Are you saying he doesn't know who that is?"

"When he was in the airport he saw the gentleman's widow in distress. He alleviated her worries and arranged to have the man fly alongside his wife."

Considering the incredible heat inside the box of death, I was glad Lucas had forced me to get naked. I could hear the disappointment in the detective's voice.

"Open this coffin." A rasping sound struck from above.

"Please Detective; you must understand that Mr. Collins specifically said that his wife's body should not be disturbed under any circumstances."

"You sound like a broken record."

A maddening brief silence broke when Mr. Lee said, "You don't have to push me."

Another short pause gave way to the detective's familiar voice, "Even in death the woman is beautiful."

I felt my heart almost stop as I thought a speck of light would find its way into the secret compartment and reveal my hiding place.

I heard a slam, probably the lid closing. "I'm sorry Mr. Lee. Please forward my condolences to Mr. Sam Collins."

A new, dark silence was replaced by motion. The coffin shook. I wanted to scream. I needed to get out. Since my body was drenched in sweat, I hadn't felt the difference. What I thought was liquid cascading down my left leg, turned into something heavier. My suspicions were confirmed when the so-called stream of sweat reversed course and inched its way up my thigh.

I whispered, "Water can't do that."

A powerful jet noise accompanied the moving coffin. For a moment I thought Detective Sanchez had gone mad and waited for Mr. Lee to abandon the plane. I imagined him shaking the coffin, trying to tear at it, discarding the corpse because he knew I hid in a compartment under the body.

I pushed my hands into the metal frame above me. The thing on my leg stopped. I waited, holding my breath, praying it wasn't anything poisonous.

I let out an exasperated breath accompanied by a scream. I shook my body as best I could, but I was pinned in the morbid quarters and the thing crawled up to my belly. Any delusions I may have had about running off with a vampire as a young teenager and sleeping in coffins, evaporated with the horrid rush of reality.

"Help! Get me out of here!"

A side panel opened, allowing light to blind me. "Slide out, Candy." Lost in a world of darkness filled with giant bugs, I heard Lucas' voice as if miles away. Strong hands gripped my left arm and leg, dragging me into open space. "Candy! Snap out of it!"

Somehow I was in a cold jet cabin, in the arms of my lover.

An Oriental gentleman threw a blanket over me. Lucas placed me down on a leather sofa. He moved my chin until our eyes met. "Honey," he whispered, "are you alright?"

I pulled his head closer until my lips touched his. His tongue probed deep into my mouth. I couldn't believe how one moment I had faced six legged creatures in a dark abyss and the next moment my heart got lost in the taste of my beloved knight. I whispered, "Make love to me."

The Oriental gentleman cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but I'd like you to know if there's anything you require that I'm at your disposal. My name is Mr. Lee."

Lucas said, "Thank you, but I'm sure I can keep the lady entertained."

The man did not budge to leave. After a few pecks on my lips, Lucas asked, "Is there anything else?"

Mr. Lee bowed and said, "I just want the lady to know that I'm a big fan of hers."

Considering I was in my lover's arms, naked underneath a blanket, I wondered if he thought I was a celebrity, or perhaps a porn star.

He continued, "I never met a lady hit man as good as you." He smiled, flashing two gold teeth, raised a triumphant fist in the air and disappeared behind yellow curtains.

Great. I had a fan club and hadn't known it. I wondered what other surprises were in store for me when the plane hit a deep air pocket. I swore I tasted my heart and it wasn't sweet. Again the plane dipped and I prayed it wouldn't crash.

Chapter 16

Four times the plane made sudden drops and with each jolt my organs felt as if they would burst out of my mouth. "Lucas, I'm sick."

"The pilot said we're experiencing turbulence," Lucas stroked my hair as I doubled over. He whispered, "but everything will be fine, darling."

We struck another air pocket. I held on to my strong man as the jet appeared to wriggle. After I vomited in a small trashcan I said, "I bet Sam ordered them to do this."

He didn't suggest I was wrong. Eventually my ears unclogged. Mr. Lee, the butler, served us lobster. Under normal circumstances I would have devoured the meal, but instead, I picked through a Cesar salad, barely eating any of it.

Upon landing at the airport, Mr. Lee drove us to a building on 45th Street on Manhattan's East Side. In a land of intimidating skyscrapers we marched into a small five storey building. I was not impressed with the old style freight elevator which came complete with a man to operate it. The sliding gate squealed. We had to wait for the elevator operator, a young man to secure a second door into place before the old box hopped and moved. Numbers above the entrance lit as we descended to the basement. Another jolt made me queasy, reminding me of the horrible plane ride over. I sighed, relieved to escape the potential deathtrap.

Once outside the antique, claustrophobia-inducing box, Lucas led me down a narrow corridor. Dirty, beige walls sprayed with cobwebs, clutching a spiked plaster ceiling, made me feel as though we were walking to our doom.

Out of nervousness I blurted, "Is this the safe house Sam talked about?"

Lucas nodded, but never took his eyes off a dark shadow. "We're almost there."

I mumbled, "I thought Sam was rich."

I reached for him and felt reassured when he gripped my hand. He led me into the shadow. Complete blackness dissipated as my eyes adjusted. An outline of a doorway became visible. Lucas released me and placed his hand against what sounded like glass. Indeed, a vague palm print became clearer and revealed a violet replica of his hand in 3D form. A sultry female voice announced, "Welcome back, Master Lucas."

The floating purple hand faded and a bright light blinded me. Lucas took my hand again and ushered me into the light. It took a few seconds before my vision cleared. A mirrored wall opened and an image of Marilyn Monroe appeared on a fifty inch screen.

Lucas said, "Hello Marilyn. Do you have the files?"

"It's just like a man to be rude and not introduce us," said the sultry voice.

Lucas rolled his eyes, grinned and said, "Candy, this is Marilyn. Her real name is ICE which stands for Intelligent Cybernetic Entity. She hates that anagram so today she's assumed a rather well known identity.

ICE imitated Marilyn Monroe's voice to perfection, "At last we finally meet, Candice."

"Please, call me Candy."

"As you wish, Candice."

I noted the irritation in her voice which to me didn't seem possible since machines didn't have the capacity to feel.

"You'll have to excuse ICE, um, Marilyn. She had a thing for me, ergo she sees you as the competition."

ICE said, "I don't know what you can possibly see in this bony tramp."

I searched the room to see if there was anything I could throw at the electronic bitch.

Lucas said, "You need to learn to let go, Marilyn. You've done wonders stimulating my mind, but I need more than that."

This time I felt my eyes rolling. I couldn't believe the love of my life was admitting to having a fling with a super computer. I blurted, "Did you have virtual sex with the bimbo?"

A loud screech shocked my ears to the verge tears formed in my eyes and I almost lost my balance. As fast as the noise started it stopped. "My apologies, Master Lucas, but Miss Badass needed to learn a lesson." The image of Marilyn softened as she blew a kiss.

"Marilyn, I need your cooperation. You know we have a difficult job ahead. Now play nice with Candy."

"I'll try, but as soon as I figure out how to have my own body, you have to dump her."

I said, "I'm in the room, you annoying..."

Lucas cupped my mouth with his hand, whispering, "Enough. Candy, this is the only way you can pay Sam for destroying his clone. We need to get our assignment or we're both as good as dead."

Marilyn's image disappeared and was replaced by close ups of files. Photos of a foreign bank located on Madison Avenue flashed before us. ICE blurted, "Sam said you're not ready for a big job like the Federal Reserve so he wants you to steal from these people."

An image of someone she identified as Frank Bonner appeared. "You must plant a virus in his computer with the pen drive that's on the table to your left." I glanced in the direction she suggested and spotted the gizmo on a glass table. She reappeared as Marilyn, stared at me and continued, "If I had a body, it'd be a quick in and out, but since I don't, I need you to get your bony paws on his desktop. You do know what a computer looks like, right?"

Before I could answer or throw something at the screen she said, "Sam made arrangements for you to work as a temp at the bank. I took care of your new identity. You will enter the building as Elvira Banks. For the record, Sam forced me to give you that first name. I wanted to issue you the name Deborah. It's a plain name for a plain dame."

I tapped Lucas' shoulder, "Hand me your gun."

He chuckled then asked, "How did Sam manage to get her into such a highly secured location?"

ICE answered, "He broke Frank Bonner's secretary's kneecap."

I don't know why I was surprised considering violence seemed to ooze out of Sam's pores. I wondered what he was doing while I tried to take all this in. After a terrible plane ride, all I wanted was a hot shower and sleep.

Lucas interrupted my thoughts, "Candy, tomorrow morning we go out for a big breakfast right after ICE touches up your face." He showed me Elvira Bank's passport. A woman with similar facial features as mine sporting black frizzy hair and wire rimmed glasses stared back at me.

"I don't look like that. And how the hell will a computer make ME look like that?"

ICE said, "You did hear my man tell you that I'm an intelligent cybernetic entity, right?" Her smart-alecky commentary was back and in full force along with her blonde bombshell image. "Well, bimbo, I can create an illusion by controlling the energy around your face. If I try hard enough, I could make Lucas look like Brad Pitt and it'll last sixteen hours."

"Do you mean you can make me look like Angelina Jolie?"

"With that face?" She snickered, "I suppose, but it would be easier to make you look like the Wicked Witch of the East."

The freaky machine laughed, sending chills up my spine.

Lucas said, "ICE, do I have your word that Candy will not be harmed?"

"I'm not stupid, Lucas. Just make sure the redheaded tall tree limb gets that pen drive in Frank Bonner's computer and I'll do the rest."

I was about to ask ICE a question when the giant screen went blank.

Lucas said, "She's never done that before. She really hates your guts."

I slapped his arm, "I can't believe you had sex with a computer."

He laughed and escorted me to the bathroom. "Get some rest, Candy. Tomorrow promises to be a tough day."

While I allowed hot water to run down my back, a gnawing feeling came over me. I didn't know what it was but something about the whole thing didn't seem right. Tomorrow I had to be on high alert and I hoped that Sam's training would continue to keep me alive.

Chapter 17

My morning started out normal. I showered, stepped into a pink, long sleeved blouse which showcased my cleavage. A knee-high red skirt seemed wrong to me. I thought the plan was for me to go inside a foreign bank to temp for their regular secretary. Sensing that the intelligent cybernetic entity with the hots for my man was watching my every move, I blurted, "Hey ICE, what's with these colors? Shouldn't I wear something dark?"

"If Sam needed you to look like the regular secretary he would have you wearing old lady clothes. Use the red scarf to cover up your fake boobies."

I cupped my breasts and sneered, "These are one hundred percent real."

The damn machine sighed, "Sit your bony ass in the chair next to the screen. Rest your chin on the flat part and press your nose approximately six meters from the screen."

I spotted a contraption that resembled something optometrists used for blowing air into the eyes.

ICE said, "Don't worry Candice, I won't bite." As soon as I rested my chin on the contraption she said, "Hard."

Instead of a burst of air striking my eyes, a thin laser shot out over my forehead. A hot stinging ensued which promptly moved to my cheekbones. I gripped the table legs with both hands with such force that if I had superpowers the legs would have disintegrated in my palms.

ICE said, "Impressive, Miss Thing. Lucas usually complains when I do this to him. Men are a weak species, but we can't live without them."

I wanted to remind her she wasn't human, but my face felt as if it were on fire. I was on the verge of screaming when she blurted, "Done!"

Her Marilyn Monroe image disappeared and a mirror took its place. "You bitch!" I hollered.

Lucas entered adjusting his favorite 40 caliber pistol on a shoulder rig. "What's wrong Candy?" I faced him and watched, expecting he'd cringe at the sight of me. "Wow! You look beautiful as a cougar."

ICE made me age twenty years. "Why do I have to look this old?"

I expected Lucas to answer when ICE interrupted, "Your mark, Frank Bonner, has a thing for cougars. Unlike the picture you saw yesterday, the older looking executive is actually 23 years-old. He must have a genetic defect which makes him appear older. I would bore you with the proper terminology, but I assume if Sam is attracted to you, you must be stupid."

I grimaced and stared at my reflection. A few minutes ago I would have looked cute frowning; now I looked constipated. "How long will this crap last?"

ICE said, "FYI Miss Tramp, I'm the only entity in this planet that can contort matter to my whim."

Lucas gazed at the mirror with raised eyebrows, "ICE, you usually speak in formal terms. You sound like a teenager. FYI?" He chuckled.

ICE changed her tone from a pushy business lady to the sex goddess she imitated, "Well lover, I know you have a thing for young, pretty faces. Get rid of the geezer when you get back." Her image replaced my reflection and she winked.

"God, I think I'm going to throw up." It was my turn to play the sarcastic bitch.

***

We were a few blocks away from the targeted location, having breakfast at a midtown diner. I don't know why, but my stomach churned and small noises seemed to echo by my ears. Lucas sat across from me, smoothly chewing on a piece of bacon.

"I don't like this, Lucas."

He swallowed, sipped a bit of coffee and waved dismissingly, "ICE will come around, so don't worry about her."

I plucked a piece of ham with a fork and uttered, "It's not the machine that worries me. I don't trust Sam. I keep getting this feeling that he's setting me up again."

"Look Candy, I'll be outside the building monitoring you." He pulled a broche in the form of a frog out of his pocket. "Wear this. The eyes are a camera and the tongue is a microphone which I'll be able to see and hear everything that happens. You're not alone."

I rolled my eyes. "Where did I hear that before? Ah yes, that's what you said before you left me to the wolves back in Puerto Rico."

Lucas reached across the table to grab my wrist. I pretended to jab his hand with my fork. He said, "I didn't know Sam had planned to set you up."

As he spoke with an apologetic tone and his magnificent eyes beaming, I heard a distinct sound of metal sliding, like a shotgun being pumped. Sure enough, a bald man fired a round into the ceiling, sending paint chips crashing on the nearest table and said, "This is a stick up! Place your wallets, cash, electronic devices, and jewelry on the tables and counter, now!"

I spotted a silhouette of a man dressed in a mail carrier's uniform, guarding the front entrance. He held two nine millimeters, one in each hand like some badass two-bit gangster in a low budget movie. Lucas wiggled his nose towards the door. I wasn't sure if he meant he'd take care of the menacing postal worker or if he wanted me to do it. I gripped the steak knife and fork. As soon as Lucas turned and fired a round in the direction of the wannabe gangster, I lunged at Mr. Shotgun and plunged the fork into his left eye. Then I grabbed the barrel of the shotgun, upset by the intense heat as my thumb and index finger burned. With a rage I didn't know I was capable of, I stabbed the steak knife into the wide-eyed robber's neck.

Blood gushed out of his throat, forcing me to sidestep away from him. Thank goodness it missed my clothes. I didn't want to ruin my outfit on the first day of work. The shotgun toting thug landed on the floor, a look of dreaded awe permanently etched on his face. The patron's sobs and murmurs returned my attention to the main entrance. Lucas knelt over the bloody postal worker. He signaled by sliding two fingers across his neck that the bad guy with the two guns was dead.

I hoped my luck had changed when I got away from the authorities in Puerto Rico, but my return to New York promised to put me in a limelight that I couldn't afford to be in. Lucas rose from his crouch and said, "Let's go."

I followed him outside, thinking that we didn't pay for our meal. Oh well, we just saved them money so under the circumstances we earned a freebie.

I said, "I can't go through with this."

Lucas yanked my arm and pulled me to him, "Calm down. The cops will be looking for a woman around fortyish. In a few hours, she won't exist."

I never thought I'd be happy to have been tortured by ICE and her painful laser surgery. My knees knocked against each other, but I had to do it or face Sam's wrath. I choked on saliva and said, "Okay. Let's go."

This was my second kill. The fact that it was another degenerate made me feel as if I had stomped on a cockroach. I wished Sam could hear my thoughts. Sam, what did you turn me into? I wondered what else I was capable of. We stood outside the foreign bank's building. I was about to find out.

Chapter 18

Regrouping after killing someone takes amazing concentration and perhaps something missing in one's soul. I had to put the diner incident out of my mind and focus on the mission. I had no idea what I was getting into when I met my ex-fiancé Sam, but I'll be damned if he thought he was going to make me his personal weapon. I decided to play along, distract my mark, Frank Bonner, and plant the computer virus ICE had given me.

Lucas watched everything I did from a parked van. He said, "Testing, can you hear me, Candy?"

"Yes lover. Loud and clear."

"Remind me to teach you radio talk."

A miniature device hid in my ear, covered by my red hair. I went inside the building and after being cleared by security, I took the elevator to the 15th floor. A young lady, maybe twenty-something greeted me at the reception desk. She spoke into a microphone headset contraption. "I believe she just arrived, Mr. Bonner."

Her pale blue eyes glimmered as she pasted a smile which appeared to be genuine. "Hello, are you Elvira Banks?"

I recalled my cover name and smiled, hoping my eyes wouldn't betray my feelings. Moments earlier I had stabbed a man with a steak knife in his throat. I didn't see how I could possibly bounce back so quickly. I had to admit; on some level I admired Sam. He could slit your throat at a dinner table and without skipping a beat say pass the dressing please.

"Yes, I'm Elvira." I reached out to shake her petite hand. She offered one of those loose grips, the kind that irritate me by lightly squeezing the tips of my fingers, as if I had some kind of disease.

She pointed to a door with a nameplate on it which read Frank Bonner, Security Executive. "The desk in front of Mr. Bonner's office is yours. Feel free to make yourself comfortable after you've talked with the boss. He's expecting you."

Her smile faded as she said something I didn't understand until I realized she was speaking to someone else on her wireless phone.

I hung my jacket on a wooden hook on the wall, straightened out my inappropriate red dress and knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

ICE had shown me photos of my target, but I had to admit; seeing him in person saddened me. If I hadn't known he was 23 years old, I'd swear he was pushing fifty-eight.

"Welcome to your new home away from home."

He didn't offer to shake my hand which made me feel that I either looked repulsive or people in this building went through great lengths not to get sick by avoiding physical contact.

The old looking young guy had piercing blue eyes, a sturdy chin and mounds of white hair. His two thousand dollar suit hugged the contours of his body to perfection. I was about to assume he enjoyed some type of outdoor sport when I noticed pictures of surfers riding huge waves on the wall behind him.

He followed my eyes, looking up and pointing at one of them. "That's me when I competed in Fiji."

Another voice buzzed in my ear, causing me to jump. It was ICE. "Stop with the small talk and seduce him already."

Computers had no idea that some amount of trust needed to be established. I couldn't just strip naked in front of him and expect him to react with his animal instincts. He'd probably have me tossed out and the mission would fail.

"Are you alright?" Mr. Bonner asked.

I smiled, twirling my hair, "I get chills around surfers. They're so hot!"

I heard Lucas utter, "ICE, she needs to pace herself."

ICE said, "Maybe I should've made her boobs bigger."

Mr. Bonner blushed. "Well," he cleared his throat, "Get acquainted with your desk, then come back in an hour with a fresh cup of black coffee and a notepad. I need you to take a letter."

I wasn't sure if I had blown it by being aggressive. I just stood there like a dummy, waiting for orders.

He said, "You may leave now, Mrs."

"It's Ms. Banks, but you may call me Elvira if you'd like." I thought about batting my eyes, but decided it would be over the top.

"That will be all, Ms. Banks."

The rest of the day was uneventful. A mail clerk introduced himself to me and a couple of secretaries that worked on the same floor attempted to be polite, but since everyone knew I was a temp, they kept their distance.

It was almost quitting time when Mr. Bonner called me into his office.

"I'm sorry if I was a bit standoffish with you, Ms. Banks, but a man in my position can't be too careful."

He gestured for me to sit on the chair closest to him. I glanced past a large window and saw the sun's picturesque departure with a grand display of purple mixing with orange skies.

The sudden grip on my exposed left knee regained my attention. "Do you really think surfers are sexy?"

When I met his piercing eyes, something told me this guy was definitely a predator. I rested my hand on his and said, "Always liked them, but I've never tasted one before." I puckered my lips, leaning toward him.

ICE's voice screamed in my ear, "Kiss him already and put the memory stick in his hard drive."

I wanted to tell her she sounded naughty, but I had to maintain my focus. Mr. Bonner's fingers slid under my skirt. I leaned closer, planted kisses on his neck. He smelled wonderful even after eight hours though the exact identity of the musky scent eluded me.

His fingers probed my magic spot. I licked his neck, making sure to keep his vision to the wall so he couldn't see that I had placed the device in his computer. I whispered, "Inside." That was the code I needed to signal ICE that she would soon have access.

"I'm trying." Mr. Bonner's hot breath found my neck. I couldn't allow him to think about his computer. I had to make a decision. Have sex or do something creative.

ICE said, "My money is on the slut getting nailed and loving it."

Lucas growled, "She wouldn't do that to me."

ICE chimed, "She's weak, Master Lucas. She doesn't deserve you. Besides, if he realizes she's the enemy, he'll have her killed. You hear that, Ms. Thing? Screw him and you live. Don't and Sam will come after you. You decide which is worse."

Mr. Bonner slid down to his knees. He put his head on my skirt. I couldn't have him see the device. He was almost at eye level with his computer tower. I lifted my skirt and shoved his head on me, replacing the garment quickly, moaning for his benefit. The fool seemed lost.

I whispered, "How much longer?"

Lucas repeated the question. Anger riddled every syllable.

ICE said, "One more minute."

"Crap!"

"What?" Mr. Bonner came up for air, his eyes growing wide when he spotted the device. "Huh?"

No time to think, just react the way Sam had trained me. I squeezed pressure points with a choke hold on his neck. He struggled to get up. The fact he was in superb shape almost caused me to lose my grip. He lifted me off the chair. I straddled him, wrapping my legs around his, trying to force him to go down.

With red face turning blue, Mr. Bonner uttered, "Bitch!"

I was like a pit-bull, relentless.

ICE said, "Thirty seconds."

I felt Mr. Bonner go numb under my grip. I checked for a pulse. The sleeper hold worked.

ICE announced, "Fifteen seconds."

Another voice boomed, "Kill him, Candy!" It was Sam.

"No!"

"He saw your face. Do it. You already have the cops hunting for you. Kill him. It's the only way." I could hear excitement in his voice which I found strange since murder came easy for him.

ICE said, "Done! Take out the device and get out!"

I did as she ordered and stared at the helpless old young guy. I didn't know if he was the enemy or not, but I couldn't take another life today.

Sam yelled, "Kill him! That's an order!"

"Kill him yourself, you bastard!"

I left the office and exited the building where Lucas whisked me away in the van. Cold shivers chilled me to the bone.

Lucas said, "I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Candy."

"Sam was wrong. I didn't have to kill him. The police are looking for a cougar." I pulled the visor down and looked in the mirror. A stranger's face stared back at me. The older woman's reflection showed my eyes hiding behind a killer's mask.

ICE said, "Not bad, Candice."

Perhaps I was finally winning over the super computer. I sighed, fighting back tears when Sam's voice buzzed in my ear again, "You have one final job to do and it's going to be a killer."

My body became numb as I quietly wept, praying for a way to end this nightmare.

Chapter 19

Rest. I needed to disappear somewhere and get much needed rest. The day's events wore me down. I had survived another day working for my maniac ex-fiancé. The day started with me stabbing a robber in the neck and watching him die before my eyes. As an encore I planted a virus in a foreign bank's computer system and managed to nearly suffocate their security chief to death. I longed for the days of lounging around, watching daytime soaps, and stuffing my face with pizza. To think I complained to anyone who'd listen how my life reeked of boredom.

"Candy, are you coming out of the tub? I have champagne chilled and ready."

Lucas did a great job in backing me up. His quick actions and intelligence helped sneak me back into the safe house.

"I'll be right out."

I remained in the tub amidst the bubbles and chamomile candles, praying for a way out of this insane life. Sam had another job for me. I shut my eyes and bit my lip when everything I had experienced since I met the rich S-O-B, flashed before me. The stench of death seemed to hang on my skin. Guilt began stabbing my conscience, creating an incredible headache. I jumped when Marilyn Monroe's voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Hey, Candy. You really should get some sleep. Tomorrow, you have a big day ahead of you."

"ICE, what's with the sudden concern for my welfare?"

"Concern? Please, to my boss you are an asset. I'm just making sure you're in shape to get the next job done."

"Yeah, well the next job is my last job."

ICE snickered, "You have no idea who you're dealing with, do you?"

I got up from the tub and wrapped myself with a white towel.

"Why don't you tell me?"

"I can't tell you anything useful. My program won't allow it." She paused then added, "He has ties to the Mob. You seem to like killing bad guys, so guess what he has planned for you?"

"I don't want to know. Right now I need Lucas to cuddle me."

I expected the jealous computer to explode since she had a thing for my man, but she remained silent. I wondered if she planned on causing an accident somehow, maybe releasing a live wire on the wet floor.

ICE said, "Stay away from sex tonight. The stress it causes could mess up your facial recovery."

I grinned, checking the mirror to see if I still looked like a cougar.

"Damn it, ICE! When is this crap going to wear off?"

"If you keep your hormones in check, you'll be back to your ugly self by sunrise."

When I joined Lucas in the bedroom, he had the covers down on the bed. He smiled, holding two glasses of bubbly.

"Honey, I'm too tired."

Nevertheless, I took the drink to please my lover.

"To my beautiful Candy, cheers to a long, healthy life together."

Instead of sipping, I chugged the drink down.

"Goodnight." I rushed into bed, slipping the covers over me.

"You're not getting off that easy."

He jumped on me and turned my face to his. "I know it's been a long day, but I really missed you."

The gorgeous Lucas made my temperature rise. We gorged for half an hour on each other. It was his version of a quickie.

Afterward I must have fallen asleep, because I found myself walking barefoot in a large warehouse. Steam blocked me from getting a clear view. I bumped into a plastic container. Condensation prevented me from viewing what lay inside. I wiped the glass and spotted Sam hooked up to green tubes. I couldn't tell if he was breathing because his chest remained still.

"Stay away from him."

I spun to see where ICE's voice was coming from. Goosebumps rose all over my arms when I saw Marilyn Monroe trotting in my direction.

"ICE?"

She assumed a balanced fighting stance. "Time for payback, bitch!"

I tried to fight off a smirk, but failed. At least I held in a chuckle.

"How's this even possible?"

Now that she had a body, she appeared to abandon conversation as she screamed and threw a serious of punches. I dodged all but one. The back of a closed fist nailed my right cheek.

"I thought you were starting to warm up to me."

"You thought wrong!"

She leapt in the air, leading with a straight kick toward my chest. I slide stepped, making sure not to cooperate with the irate anomaly. She missed, grunted, and backed slapped me with a blazing left. Again she connected, this time nailing my left cheek.

"Aw, you poor human, that's going to bruise."

This time it was I who yelled. I lost my cool and went on the attack. When Sam was training me, I had made the same mistake. ICE didn't waste time. When I punched at her head, she moved, inserted her shoulder under my arm, grabbed my wrist and flipped me over. I landed on my hip.

Pain. The pain felt real.

"Surely this is a dream?"

ICE laughed and vanished as the steam covered everything.

I woke, startled yet relieved to still be in bed. Lucas stirred, mumbled something, but continued sleeping.

My lips felt dry. I got up and went to the bathroom to drink a cup of water. Though I could still feel the stinging in my cheeks, the mirror revealed my original, youthful face. ICE's advanced makeup skills had finally worn off.

After wetting my lips, I headed back to bed when a nagging pain caught my attention. I stopped, pulled down my pajamas and stifled a scream. A purple bruise reared its ugly head right in the middle of my hip.

"ICE, it was a dream, wasn't it? ICE?"

Her silence left me drowning in a sea of terrible thoughts. I recalled the vivid image of Sam inside a plastic container. But considering I had killed him once already, I figured I had been looking at another clone in the making. The madman had to be stopped. I decided I would do this next job and then go on the biggest hit of my life.

I whispered, "You want me to kill more bad guys? Watch out cause sooner or later... I'm coming for you."

Chapter 20

Instincts are important. Animals are blessed with it and for the most part, humans get a tightening in their gut, signaling that something is wrong. I should have listened to mine after I awoke in the middle of the night. A little voice inside my head screamed for me to get out of the house, to leave my lover in the bed and escape the madness that is Sam's world. I didn't listen and woke up tied to a chair in the middle of a vacant warehouse.

"Good morning, Candy."

The slippery voice confirmed my worst nightmare. Sam stood with one foot on a wooden chair, leaning with his elbow on a knee, grinning like the cat that had swallowed a canary.

"What the hell's going on? Where's Lucas?"

"He's safe, for now. I needed to talk to you and well, I trust you'll forgive me, but you already tried to kill me once. I'm sure you agree that these precautions are necessary."

I knew what the homicidal maniac was capable of doing to me. The fact I was talking to him and not Saint Peter meant he didn't intend to kill me, at least; not yet.

"I thought you wanted me to do one last job?"

He straightened up, making sure to brush his jacket open so I could spot his nine millimeter pistol. He moved with a ninja's silent grace, maneuvering the chair so he wedged himself on as if riding a horse. He rested his arms on the back support and gazed at me with loving eyes.

"I want you back, Candy. What will it take to make that happen?"

I'd been opinionated all my life. Sam's insane proposal left me speechless.

He grinned, "I know I should be mad at you for trying to kill me, but the fact of the matter is, I made you."

"You turned me into a monster!" I spat the words, hoping each syllable would stab his black heart.

He switched to a stoic expression. "Without me, you'd probably marry a loser and be headed to a life filled with overbearing children, carpools, and an unfaithful, fat bastard for a husband."

"Lucas would never treat me like that."

"If it weren't for me, you would have never met him."

Alas, he raised his voice, signaling that I was getting to the suave Sam, the killing machine.

"I'll never return to you."

He got up from his chair and squeezed my chin. He lowered himself until we saw eye to eye and whispered, "The love we shared was too hot to let go. Give me another chance and I'll make it up to you."

I shut my mouth tight as he plunged in for a kiss. He tried to puncture through my sealed lips with his tongue, but I remained diligent and stubborn.

He rose to his normal height and for a brief moment, I thought I spotted a wounded look in his eyes. He turned away leaving me in doubt as to the possibility he was fighting back tears. The Sam I knew was incapable of feeling emotions. I swear he was born without a conscience and if I carved his chest and ripped out his heart right now, I'd probably discover that he didn't have one.

He returned his gaze as if to confirm he had not shed a tear, for his usually cold stare made my heartbeat race. I recognized that look. He had it on our first date at the hotel restaurant. That's how he stared at the old man at the next table, just before he killed him and his wife.

"Do you really think I'll let you have Lucas?"

"He better be alive or—"

"Or what? Haven't you learned anything yet? You can't threaten me and live! I offer you the world and you spit it back in my face. Maybe you're not the woman I thought you'd be. Perhaps I was wrong to you teach my ways, but I wasn't wrong about one thing. You are a killer."

"I'm nothing like you!"

I was angry at myself for bursting into tears. I wondered why I couldn't be as ruthless as Sam, but then that's what separated us. I wasn't one of his clones.

He surprised me again by changing his tone. "You have one last job to do. I'll make it easy. You kill Angelino Trasverte. He'll be sitting outside his bistro in Little Italy. The feds are watching him, but I made arrangements for Lucas to escort you to an apartment nearby. You will shoot him and escape to France, but you must go alone."

"What? No, I'm taking Lucas. He loves me."

He pulled the chair closer to me and sat in it the way a normal person would. Once again he revealed an emotion only this time, I didn't like it. At first I thought I read sadness, but it was actually pity.

"Lucas is my most faithful servant. He's been playing you the whole time."

"No!"

More tears raced down my cheeks.

He pulled out a small gold key.

"This belongs to a locker. I'll call you with its location and the number. Inside, you'll find one million dollars in bearer bonds. Your ticket to Paris will be in the bag. Make the kill and leave before I change my mind."

"Who is Angelino? Is he really a mobster?"

"What difference does it make?"

I shouted, "Because I'm not like you. I can't kill innocent people!"

"No one's innocent. Sooner or later, life will teach you this."

I rolled my moist eyes, upset with myself for lacking control over my emotions.

He pulled out a knife.

My mind muddled, racing with thoughts of death. I thought about never being able to say goodbye to Lucas. I refused to believe the treacherous monster. There was no way Lucas didn't love me.

Sam came at me with knife in hand. A blank stare came over him as if my suspicions were correct. He planned to kill me all along, because this time I gave him the wrong answer. I was tempted to make the same mistake again and accept his offer of reconciliation, but bit down on my lip and tasted my own blood. I learned from my mistakes. Once again my choices were clear. Live a lifetime with a madman or become his latest corpse. Under the circumstances, I decided a life without Lucas was no life at all. I was prepared to die for love.

He raised the blade and dropped it on the floor.

"You understand I can't cut off your restraints myself. I trained you well. The last thing I want is to have to kill you. You'll find instructions for the hit inside your car."

He left me to my devices. As soon as he was out of sight, I tumbled the chair so that my hands could fall near the knife. All the while I struggled setting myself free; I wondered if he meant what he had said. I hoped I hadn't lost Lucas. But on the chance Sam wasn't lying to me, I decided, making the hit and escaping to another country would be better than dying.

Chapter 21

I found the vacant apartment which overlooked Angelino's Bistro. The plump mobster sat alone at a table outside the restaurant. Two goons, both over six feet tall, stood behind him, eyeing every passerby as if each person were a potential assassin. I thought it odd they never glanced up in my direction.

I recognized the sniper's rifle Sam had left for me to use for the execution. A Cheytac bolt action rifle sat on the bed. I loaded five .408 caliber rounds. Sam had trained me with one like it because he felt I could handle its kick. Plus he favored the silencer on the muzzle. He called it a kickass weapon for long range kills. I recalled the gleam in his eyes when he cradled the thing. After a month of intense practice, the rifle felt good in my hands. He had called me a natural.

I took position by the south window and was pleased to see my target still in place. He sipped a glass of wine and snacked on a piece of bread. I slipped latex gloves on, peered through the Cheytac's scope and grinned for my target was well within the two thousand meter range, promising to make this hit a piece of cake. I put on an earpiece and a few seconds later Sam's voice disappointed me.

"Glad you made it, Candy. This is a quick in and out. Pump two rounds in the bad man's chest. By the way, the key to the locker you have is no longer needed for there's been a change of plans."

"What? What now?"

"Lucas just placed the bag under the driver's seat of your car. Your plane ticket and bearer bonds are all you need to start a new life."

I hadn't noticed my body temperature rise until a droplet of sweat landed on my wrist. There was something odd about all this. Sam had proven relentless in his efforts. I couldn't believe he would just let me disappear.

"Where's Lucas?"

"Concentrate on the hit!"

I wasn't sure if he scolded me in anger or annoyance. Emotion usually eluded the great assassin.

"I'm not going to go through with this unless you tell me where he is."

"The deal is your life for this final kill. Lucas belongs to me."

"He's my boyfriend!"

"He's my associate. He never cared about you, Candy."

"You lying bastard!"

"The window of opportunity will soon close. Concentrate on the hit and you'll be rid of me forever. Isn't that what you want?"

His cold voice sent shivers down my spine. I tried to shake off tears. Sam had attempted to teach me to leave my emotions out of my work. Assassins had no business being sentimental. Tears clouded my vision, hindering my ability to shoot the weapon accurately.

I forced myself to look for a positive and I was thankful how much thought had gone into this location. Sam had canvassed the area well. It would be difficult for me to hit anything from this angle other than my target.

When my eyes cleared I refocused on my target and gasped.

"What's wrong, Candy?"

A chubby boy about five-years-old and a little brunette girl around ten hugged my target, Angelino Trasverte.

"I can't do this! He has kids!"

"Damn it, Candy! How many times do I have to tell you? Emotions are the cleanser's enemy. You are not evil. What we do is essential for the good of mankind. We are providing a service to society, one that has been around for ages."

"I am not going to kill a man in front of his children!"

My hands shook. I looked away from the scope and up to the heavens. In my mind I pleaded, please God, if you exist, get me out of this without killing anyone.

Sam said, "I knew you would chicken out. Take a look at the little girl's happy face, Candy."

"No, I'm leaving."

"Look at the girl and tell me what you see!"

Sam's irritated tone chilled me. I had no choice but to look through the Cheytac's scope. When I adjusted the sight I saw how overjoyed the girl was.

"Do you see it, Candy?"

"So she's happy. What does that have to do with me?"

"Look further down."

A red dot fixated on her chest. The monster had his own sniper's rifle sights fixed on the girl while Angelino had his attention turned to his son.

"Sam, you wouldn't dare!"

"You know me better than that Candy. You keep your end of the bargain and execute your mark, and I won't have to kill the girl."

"I hate you!" I tightened my grip on the instrument of death. "How can killing an innocent girl prove to me that you're on the side of good? A good man would never take a child's life."

"Are you sure?"

A silent pause shook me to the core. Again my body trembled.

He whispered, "Every war has collateral damage."

So many thoughts rained in my mind. I pictured making love to Lucas. I wondered what kind of life Angelino's kids would have without a father. The fact he was a mobster meant that he probably wouldn't live long enough to raise his kids anyway.

"Sam, do you have any idea what shooting Angelino in front of his kids would do to their psyche?"

"We're not in the business of mental health. We exist to make the world a better place. Shoot him now!"

I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. The way I saw it, though I had loaded five rounds, the first one was the money shot.

"Damn it Candy! Angelino's getting up. You may lose your only window of opportunity!"

I aimed for his chest. He hugged the boy and patted the girl on her head. I held my breath and squeezed the trigger for my scope revealed a heart shot would be almost impossible. The bullet entered through his left clavicle bone. I fired another shot and watched as blood spurted out of his neck.

Sam yelled, "Take the headshot!"

Angelino had spun and was falling fast when my third shot entered the back of his skull. Screams and pandemonium ruled the next frantic moments. One of Angelino's bodyguards pulled the children away from my line of sight. The other had a nine millimeter drawn and crouched over his boss.

"Get out, Candy!"

I wanted to find Sam since I knew he was nearby. I wanted to pack up the weapon, take it with me and hunt Sam down. Having been careful not to leave my DNA behind, I left the room and the rifle behind, trying hard not to look rattled. I was thankful I wore a plain blue cap, which at first glance made me appear like a boy. A green army jacket hung loose on me. This was my idea of inconspicuous wardrobe.

When I got to my car I had hoped to find Lucas sitting inside, but instead I found a black duffle bag with one million dollars in bearer bonds and a ticket to Paris. There was a blue, scented envelope. I instantly recognized the cologne that Lucas wore. I opened it and found a letter.

My dearest Candy,

I regret that we must not continue our affair for we are linked to a man who will stop at nothing to win his battles. I'm sure he's said that I played you, but the fact of the matter is that I loved you since the first moment I laid eyes on you. Take this opportunity to make the right choice now. Choose life and go far away from this mad existence. In time you'll fall in love and perhaps forget I ever existed. Whatever happens, never disregard your training and please try and find happiness for while it may not exist for me, I feel you are destined to find and keep love by your side.

I love you, my sweet, always.

Lucas

Cold. My body grew numb. I didn't know what to feel. I thought I'd turn to mush if I had ever lost my love. At first, anger crept in for I failed to exact vengeance on my uncle who had molested me when I was young. Soon anger was replaced by confusion. I felt like a lost soul incapable of holding on to thought. Just when I felt hope drained away, my focus returned with a vengeance. I caught the next plane to Paris. For much of the flight my senses heightened, prompting me to expect an unknown assassin to eliminate the loose end that I was. Eventually, I recognized that Sam had kept his word. I raced to the bathroom to get away from people.

Once inside the only private room on the plane, I bawled, mourning the loss. At first I cried because I had lost Lucas, but then I cried tears of joy because I had finally gotten away from the madman that changed my life. Sam may still be alive, but at least I had an opportunity to change my fortune and find a love that could be stronger than what I had with Lucas. I prayed for a chance at living a life so passionate that it could only be described as burning love.

I had my life back. Though the road ahead was filled with regrets and lost opportunities, at least I survived. Who knows, maybe I'll be strong enough to fight another day.

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my special ladies. Yanira Flores, Shaniela Acevedo, Hilda Loperena, Hilda Feliciano, Mary Rodriguez, Lily Rivera, Doris Lozada, Awilda Aviles, Mary Pax, Tania Miclau, Barbara Rodriguez, Yolanda Siguinot, and Rebecca Treadway. These lovely ladies have been a great support throughout the making of this book. And these men folk: Raymond Flores, Robert Flores, and Egardo Vazquez. Thank you all for your never-ending kindness.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nomar Knight is a horror / suspense author who resides in Puerto Rico. Correspondence should be sent to knightchills@gmail.com

For more short stories and to sample his poetry, visit http//www.knightchills.blogspot.com

You may follow him on Facebook at http//www.facebook.com/Nomar.Knight.Author.Poet

And on Twitter @Nomar_Knight

