Killing Game (21 page)

“Preparations are already made. He’ll be visiting Eden before he leaves.
One final farewell to all the lovely ladies and his friends.
That’s when the contract is to be fulfilled. As for the redhead, she’s been taken care of... so to speak.”

Cain was astounded by how calm Russ sounded. He’d suddenly lost the panic in his voice and his tone had been confident when he informed him that Sherry had been taken out.

He closed his eyes.

Russ had done the hit—his first loner job.

The thought of Russ finally being out on his own made Cain smile.
He’d no longer have him hanging off his coat tails and he could get on with his work alone. He frowned at how part of him still wanted to do this, still wanted to go out there and fulfill contracts and do recon work. It was the only thing he was good at. He looked back at the open bedroom door and shuddered as a cold chill swept up his spine.

It was so easy to forget her sometimes, especially when he was speaking to another person in his line of work. It was so easy to get lost in it.

So scarily easy.

He could detach himself from reality in the blink of an eye, could see his target as a dead man already so he didn’t have to deal with the guilt of murder, could shut off his emotions and do his job.

Killing was frighteningly easy when you could do all that.

He turned away from the door and sighed into the phone.

“Time?”
His voice was all business.

“Eight, before opening, he’s due to go down and set up... he’s hired the place out for his big farewell,” came the reply from Russ.

“Location?”

“Rooftop, above the entrance.
Alley job.
You know the drill. Hell, you wrote the drill.”

“Anything I should know?” Cain queried, knowing there wouldn’t be but asking all the same.

“None.
Just be as good as you always are.” Russ paused for a second.
“Oh, and Cain... nice work on Mr. Valentino.
Mort says thanks for the impromptu hit.”

Cain tensed his jaw and closed his eyes, burying his frustration over hearing someone congratulating him for cold-blooded murder. “It wasn’t for him, but I’m flattered he thinks it was.”

“I know... he knows... everyone knows about you and the girl. Just don’t let your feelings get in the way of your job or it will be you that winds up dead.
Happy hitting!”

Cain arched a brow at the phone as Russ ended the call. He couldn’t quite bring himself to believe what he’d said.

Happy hitting?

Christ, this guy needed therapy for some misdeed in his life because he was clearly screwed up in the brain department. Either that or this was all a game to him. Cain mused that it used to be a game to him, too, once, and then it became a profession, and now he wished he could just get out. He wondered if all professional killers went through this, their conscience eventually catching up with them and making them want to leave, hopefully to find a good life.

“You okay?” Lily rubbed her hair sleepily as she leaned in the bedroom doorway and watched Cain staring at his phone.

He just looked up at her, his expression remaining pensive. “I’ve got to go... I’m sorry.”

“Go? What about that girl?” Lily suddenly felt a lot more awake as she thought about the weird redhead from last night.

“Taken care of.
I’ll be away a few days, duty calls.” He walked toward her and sighed as she looked up at him. “I wish I didn’t have to.”

“Same here.”
Lily wrapped her arms around him gently and held him as tightly as she could without hurting him. “Be careful.”

Cain pressed a kiss to her forehead, not missing what she’d said and knowing she had a suspicion that he was going away to do something dangerous. Last night, he’d told her the stories behind his scars, all of them, stories from his childhood through to killing Mr. Valentino. She knew what he was capable of, and it made him feel a little easier that she still wanted to be with him—as though there was still hope for them if he came clean and told her what he did for a living.

And he was going to.

As soon as this contract was paid, he was leaving the profession, no matter what the consequences were. If Lily would have him, they could run together and keep running, if that’s what it took. He was clever. They’d never find him, and if they did, he’d kill them.

He’d kill anyone in order to protect his girl.

Lily watched him as he walked past her into the bedroom and got dressed. She could sense a change in him, could see in his eyes and his expression that whatever the phone call had been about, he hadn’t liked it one little bit. Her eyes followed him around the room as he gathered his things and it hit her that he seemed edgy, almost nervous. She’d never seen him like this, never thought she would see him like this. He’d always seemed so confident, now he seemed so unsure.

It scared her.

She didn’t know why, but it did, and she suddenly didn’t want him to leave. If he left, he might not come back. Her heart clenched as she thought about that. There was something in the air, in the atmosphere between them that was making it feel so final, and she couldn’t bring herself to say the words that would make him stay.

He’d told her things last night that she knew should’ve shocked her, but there was something beautiful about how honest he’d been with her and it had left her feeling close to him. She had the feeling that he didn’t talk to many people, and definitely didn’t talk to anyone like he’d talked to her last night. He’d been so open, and in return, she’d been open with him.

It felt freeing, finally letting someone in.

Lily smiled as he slipped his jacket on and gave her a look that said he wasn’t happy about having to leave her. She walked over to him and intertwined her fingers with his as she led him toward the front door.

As they reached it, she stopped him and smoothed down the lapels of his long leather coat, keeping her eyes away from his and buying herself some time to get a grip on her feelings. She didn’t want to make this any harder on him, so she pushed down her emotions and kept a tight rein on the tears that were trying to well up.

When he was out the door, she could cry her heart out and hopefully this feeling of doom along with it, but for now she had to be strong.

Cain raised his hand and gently cupped her cheek. He smiled when Lily looked up at him—a smile to hide the pain. Looking into her green eyes, he wanted to confess all his sins, wanted to tell her that he was sorry for what he was about to do, wanted to let her know just what kind of man he was.

Instead, he pressed a brief kiss to her lips and tried to ignore the way hers trembled slightly, belying the turbulent emotions she was hiding just below the surface of her smile. He knew that she could feel this finality as much as he could. The only difference was that he was used to this feeling whereas it was all new to her.

Every contract he went to fulfill, every hit in every city across the world, had started with this feeling of doom.

You made your bed, and one day you had to lay in it. You couldn’t win every time. One day someone would get the better of you. You just had to hope each time you woke up that today wasn’t that day.

Today hope didn’t get a look in. Today he was praying to anyone listening to bring him back to her.

Lily silently opened the door, keeping her eyes downcast as he stepped out into the hall. When she felt his fingers brush against her cheek, she leaned into his touch and sighed.

“Come back to me,” she whispered quietly, part of her hoping he’d hear it and part of her hoping he wouldn’t.

“I promise, baby, I’ll come back.” He dipped his head and kissed her gently. “I promise.”

Lily just nodded and then watched him as he turned his back on her and started walking down the hall. She waited until he was out of sight and then shut the door, closing her eyes as she leaned her back against it.

“Please... come back to me,” she breathed as she looked up at the ceiling, silently praying that someone up there would look after him.

“Where’s Cain?” Sarah asked sleepily.

“He had to leave... on a job.” Lily wondered just what job he had to do and then decided that maybe she was better off not knowing, just like he’d once told her.

Some things were best left unsaid.

The implications of that were massive now, but when he’d said it, she’d just thought he didn’t have time to tell her there and then because he’d had to leave on business. But now, now she couldn’t stop wondering just why it was best left unsaid. Was he scared to tell her? Frightened of how she would react? She’d shown him last night as she’d listened to the tales behind his scars that she could deal with whatever he had done in the
past, that
she could deal with whatever he did.

She could forgive him.

Did he think that what he did was beyond her sphere of forgiveness?

Beyond anyone’s forgiveness?

“Lily?” Sarah said and then smiled when Lily looked at her. “Want to do something for the rest of the day?”

Lily nodded and threw herself wholeheartedly into entertaining Sarah. It would keep the thoughts of Cain’s job out of her head and she wouldn’t have to deal with trying to figure him out. It was beginning to give her a major headache and she was feeling more confused than ever.

“I’ll grab a shower and then we’ll have breakfast... um...” She glanced at the clock and raised her brows as she saw it was almost three in the afternoon. “Brunch... and then we’ll go out into New York and go up the Empire State.”

“Sounds good.”
Sarah beamed at her, evidently liking the sound of going up the Empire State Building and staring out over the city.

Lily wondered if it was a good idea. Being up there was only going to bring back her thoughts of Cain, and it was so quiet up there that she probably wouldn’t be able to push them away so easily, but Sarah had seemed so happy about it that she couldn’t change her mind now.

* * *

As she stepped out of the shower, Lily wiped her hand across the steamed up mirror and stared at her reflection. She dabbed the water off her face with her towel and smoothed her wet hair back. Her eyes dropped to rest on the toothbrushes and picking her one up, she set about putting some toothpaste on it.

Bringing the toothbrush up to her mouth, her eyes caught her reflection and she paused.

Her necklace was gone.

She panicked and dropped her toothbrush into the sink, her fingers brushing against her bare neck. She frowned at the mirror, wondering where it could be and hoping that she hadn’t lost it.

Since Cain had given her the little diamond heart, she’d been so careful with it, never wanting to take it off and almost growing superstitious about it—as though bad things would happen to her if she didn’t have it on.

She scoured the bathroom. When she couldn’t find it, she slipped her bathrobe on and tied the belt around her waist before walking out into the living room. She searched the room and then the kitchen, and then headed into her bedroom.

It was nowhere.

Her heart beat a little faster.

She couldn’t have lost it.

Cain would kill her.

“Sarah!” Lily hollered and her sister appeared immediately from her bedroom.

“What’s wrong?” Sarah said.

“I can’t find it... I can’t find it, Sarah.” Lily walked toward her sister, her hands waving by her sides as she tried to calm herself down.

“Can’t find what?” Sarah looked confused.

“My necklace.”
Lily brushed her fingers against her neck again, as though it might miraculously appear there again.

“Where did you last have it?”

“I had it on last
night,
I know I did, at the club. I went into the back to get changed...” Lily’s face crumpled in both despair and relief at the same time. “...I took it off, it got tangled in my hair and I took it off and put it down in my locker. I must have forgotten to put it back on when I’d tied my hair up.”

Lily dashed into the bedroom and Sarah followed her. “Where’re you going?”

“To get it back,” Lily said with determination, slipping her jeans on and doing them up.

“But Lily, the club will be closed.”

Lily froze mid-way through pulling a jumper on over her head.

Sarah was right, the club wouldn’t be open yet and no one would be there. Plus, she was risking everything by going back there. She’d promised Cain that she wouldn’t and she knew that everyone would know about what had happened between him and her boss, and that she was the reason behind it.

If she went down now, there was a chance she would find herself in trouble. She finished slipping her jumper on as she came to a decision. She would go tonight. She would go down to Eden at the same time she did each night, just before it opened. She’d not make eye contact with anyone, would just walk straight in and get her things and then leave.

Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at Sarah. She walked over to her sister and smoothed her hair down, continuing to smile as she spoke.

“You’re right, now go get ready and we’ll have some fun.” Lily felt warm inside when her sister gave her a wide smile and hugged her tightly.

Lily closed her eyes and held her.

“You’re sure?” Sarah asked as she released her and looked at her.

Lily nodded.

“It’ll be fine.” She smiled, pushing away from all negative thoughts and trying to convince herself that everything would be okay.

She watched her sister walk to the bathroom to get ready and then looked back at her bed, remembering talking away the night with Cain.

She sighed as she hoped her necklace was where she thought it was and her fingers subconsciously rubbed her neck.

“I’ll get it back tonight.”

Lily pulled her little leather coat tighter around herself as she walked through the darkness towards the club. It was nearing seven now. She’d passed a great day with her sister and felt so much better for it. There had been moments where she’d been worried about Cain and had pulled out her cell phone, wishing he’d call her and let her know he was okay, but they hadn’t spoiled her enjoyment of the day.