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Authors: Terry Towers

The Assassin and the Girl From the Coffee Shop (9 page)

BOOK: The Assassin and the Girl From the Coffee Shop

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With the money she bought herself a house, a small house in the suburbs and a brand new Ford Shelby Mustang. The mustang was her pride and joy. Instead of going back to work, she decided to go to college; she figured with the house bought and paid for, if she lived frugally, she could pay the tuition in full for the entirety of the program and live without having to work while she attended school.

Life
should
have been good now. But it wasn't.

Every night since leaving the cabin she’d had nightmares of killing the man she'd shot through the window. The vivid nightmares reminded her that it hadn't been Scott that killed that man - it had been her - regardless of what he'd told her. She knew it was self-defence, but that still didn't stop the guilt from welling up within her.

Opening up the newspaper she flipped to the world events portion to read the headlines. One caught her eye.

'Known Columbian drug lord assassinated in home'

She read the article while standing on the porch, and under the watchful eye of her 'protectors'. When she finished reading the article, her instincts told her that it was the man Scott had gone after, and by the looks of it, succeeded in killing. Scanning the tree line to the left and right of her she attempted to see some sign that someone was there watching her to give some back-up to the feeling she had in the pit of her stomach that she was not alone.

"Was this him?" She called out, knowing she must sound crazy to the neighbors but not caring. "He did it! It's over. Tell him I want to see him."

Nothing but the sounds of chirping birds responded.

Frustrated, she ran a hand through her hair and continued to try and catch a glimpse of whoever was lurking out there.

"Please, just come out. Talk to me.
Please
."

She waited, but still nothing.

Anger overtook her and she tossed the newspaper to the porch. "Fuck you all and
fuck him
! And you can tell him that!" she screamed out, with tears in her eyes and threatening to escape. She stormed back into the house and slammed the door behind her.

****

Eight Months Later

"I had a great time Andrew, thank you."

This was her third date with Andrew, the accountant. Andrew was the first man she'd accepted a date from since her time with Scott. He was a pretty decent catch; handsome, loyal, dependable, and as boring as hell. But she needed to get out and start dating since it was apparent to her now that Scott was never going to show up in her life again.

He'd told her she'd never see him again, and he had lived by his word. She no longer felt like she was being watched either; she hadn't had that feeling for a few weeks now. In an odd way, she missed the feeling. When her 'protectors' left, they took with them the hope that she might see him again.

Slipping his arms around her waist Andrew pulled her into a tight embrace and lowered his lips to hers. She went with it, wrapping her arms around his neck and attempting to lose herself in his kiss, but it was useless. She simply didn't feel the spark with him, no matter how hard she tried.

Pulling away from him, she gave him a soft smile. "Good night, Andrew."

He hesitated. Considering it was their third date, she imagined he expected her to invite him inside, perhaps for a nightcap, but that wasn't going to happen. At least not tonight.

"Good night, Lily, I'll call you." Giving her a curt nod, he turned and walked back to his car. After a quick wave, he slipped in, started it up and drove away.

Lily watched until she could no longer see his tail-lights, before turning to unlock the front door. As she slipped the key into the lock, she froze. The door was already unlocked. Her heart accelerated. Giving herself a moment to calm down, she opened her handbag, unzipped the side compartment and pulled out a pistol along with a suppresser. She attached the sound suppresser and turned off the safety.

She took in a deep breath and released it slowly, calming herself in the process. She’d known this day
could
happen and she was glad she was prepared. Whoever was in her house wouldn't take her without a fight.

As silently as possible, she opened the door and crept inside. She didn't turn on the light. Instead, she gave herself a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. The only light in the house was from the moon and the streetlamp at the end of her driveway filtering in around the breaks in the curtains.

She slipped her feet from the heels she was wearing and crept into the kitchen, keeping her back firmly planted against the wall. When she was certain the kitchen was clear, she proceeded on into the living room. Peering in from around the corner she noticed a figure - male, judging from his frame - sitting in her armchair across the room.

"What are you doing with Andrew, Lily? He's not the guy for you."

The voice was unmistakable. She'd dreamed of him every night for the past eight months. Some dreams had been horrific, some sweet and sensual, but always of him. Her body sang out with joy at the thought of him being here, but her anger and resentment posed more immediate forces.

Flipping on the light, she stepped into the room and raised the gun to his chest while she took a good look at him. He was as devilishly handsome as ever, forest green eyes gleaming and his smile, sexy and seductive.

"It's me... Scott." he assured her rising from the chair, his hands spread out, palms facing her in surrender, slightly confused she was still holding a gun to his chest.

"Oh, I know it's you Scott. Why do you think I have the gun raised to your chest?" She took a few steps into the room and stopped halfway to him. "Stay where you are."

"I'm not here to hurt you, Lily, you must know that," his brow furrowed and a hurt look crossed his features. He took a couple of steps towards her and she fired, the bullet embedding itself in the wall to the left of his head.

"Holy fuck, Lily!" His mouth dropped open as he looked at the bullet hole.

"I told you not to move, Scott."

"You could have killed me!"

"Oh, if I wanted you dead you would be already. I've gotten quite good with a gun, Scott. You trained me well, and I rarely miss a day at the range." She shot off another round between his legs, the bullet planting itself in the bottom of the armchair behind him. She raised the gun back to his chest.

He raked a hand through his hair. "You're angry. I get that."

She strode towards him, until the barrel of the gun pressed into the navy button down shirt he was wearing. "Angry. Yeah, I'm a little angry."

"Can we talk?" His eyes looked down to the barrel of the gun pressed into his chest. "Without the gun."

With a sigh, she flipped the safety on and tucked it back into her handbag and then raised an eyebrow at him. "Better?"

Scott released his breath in a loud puff of and raked his fingers through his hair once more. "Much. Thank you."

"I noticed you called off the hounds a few weeks back."

"Yeah, it's over. You haven't needed them for some time now."

She tossed her handbag to the coffee table and crossed her arms over her chest. "Since the day you killed the drug lord?"

Scott let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, since then." He glanced over to the sofa. "Can we sit down?"

The anger was subsiding, slightly. Damn it. She wanted to stay angry, but her curiosity about why he’d shown up today after eight months overrode her desire to be difficult. "Alright," she made her way to the sofa and plunked herself down in the center, tucking her legs under her, the knee length skirt of her white sundress fanning out around her.

He sat next to her, and draped his arm around the back of the sofa, inviting her to lean into him. Despite her wanting to fall into his arms, she refrained. She wanted answers and she wouldn't get them falling for him again.

"I'm out."

"You're out?" she raised a curious brow at him. "What do you mean by you’re out?"

"I gave it up. I walked away. I want to be normal."

Scott took her hands in his and she let him. When she looked into his eyes she saw the real man behind them, the vulnerable man, and it tugged at her heart. She saw his pain, his regret and his frustration.

"Do you have any idea how many times I stood on the doorstep and begged them to tell you I needed to see you? That I needed to talk to you, even just a phone call? Or at the very least assure me that you were alive. Do you have any idea how many times?"

He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "I do. I thought it was better to let you move on. So you'd be safe and could forget about the nightmare I put you through."

"But I couldn't," she interjected. "I even considered going to see a psychologist so I could vent, but what could I say? What could I tell them that wouldn't have me committed to a psychiatric hospital?"

His frown deepened. "I know." He hesitated a moment, but then pulled her gently to him, pulling her onto his lap.

Lily cuddled close to him. She wanted to be angry with him. She wanted to so badly, but she needed him. She needed his hard body holding her tight, and the spicy musk scent of his cologne and the security she felt with him being around.

"I've
needed
you Scott and you left me alone." She felt the tears welling up and fought them back.

He pulled her tighter and kissed the top of her head and then buried his face in her hair. "I'm a horrible man, Lily. I don't deserve you, but God help me I want you. I've done so many horrible things, things that a normal person would never consider, but I don't want to be that man anymore. Those few days with you made me want to be a better person, for you
and
for myself. I want to change and start a new life."

Lily, looked up at him, her eyes locking onto his as her hand stroked the side of his face. The whole situation was crazy, but she couldn't help the fact that she wanted and needed him as much as he needed her. "So what are you proposing? We start dating?"

A grin touched his lips for the first time and he held up a finger, signalling for her to sit tight. Leaning over the edge of the sofa he grabbed something from the floor. When he straightened back up he passed her a dozen red roses. "Well, it would be a start. I think I promised eight months ago that if it were a different place and a different time I'd give you roses and take you to some pompous, overpriced restaurant."

"With the snooty waiters." Lily laughed as she accepted the flowers. She brought the roses to her nose and inhaled, taking in the sweet scent, before placing them on the sofa next to her. A smile touched her lips. "So you think flowers and dinner will win me over?" she teased.

Scott chuckled, slid a hand to the nape of her neck and urged her lips down towards his. "Well a guy has to start somewhere, right?"

Lily gave in to him, grazing her lips across his and feeling the fire ignite within her at the touch of his lips against hers. The eight months seemed to melt away and she once more felt the passion for him every bit as strong as she'd felt it the last time they were together. Except this time, he was really hers. He wasn't leaving her with the possibility of never coming back. He was there to stay.

Normal? He'd said he wanted to be normal and have a normal life with her. She doubted they could ever be 'normal'. But to hell with it... as far as she was concerned normal was highly overrated anyhow.

The End

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