I looked at my watch again as we lay in bed. Charlotte was still asleep. It was Saturday morning and almost five a.m. I rolled over and started tapping her on her shoulder with my finger.“Stop it,” she groaned.I chuckled and started tapping her shoulder again. She shifted away from me and I smiled.“What’s wrong with you?” I moved closer to her and kissed her shoulder.“It’s time to get up,” I said.“Why? It’s Saturday,” she complained and pulled the covers over her head.“Because I said so. I’m the boss of this house,” I said and started tapping her shoulder again.“Blake, I’m going to hurt you,” she said with her eyes still closed.“Promise?” I asked and laughed. I shifted on the bed and hovered over her. “Get up!” I fell down on top of her and started tickling her. She was screaming and laughing at the same time and once or twice called me words that should never pass a woman’s lips.I ducked at the door as Charlotte’s shoe flew past my head and went downstairs. She was awake and
A week later, I was busy packing my backpack as Charlotte sat on the bed with her arms crossed over her chest. “Don’t be mad.”“I’m not mad,” she said but the look in her eyes told a different story.“We talked about this. I can’t tell you everything and you accepted that before we started this relationship,” I said.“I know, but I don’t have to like the fact that you’ll be in Chicago with your ex for the whole weekend,” she said.“It’s not that big of a deal. It’s not like we’ll be alone,” I said.“She’s your ex, Blake. I saw the way she was looking at you, she’ll find a way to be alone with you,” she said.I left the backpack on the bed and sat down next to Charlotte. I took her hand in mine and looked her in the eye. “I’m not a cheater, Charlotte. If I wanted Nataly back, I’d be with her. I don’t want her back, I don’t miss her. I’m here with you and that’s where I want to be. She can try to be alone with me, I still have a choice in what happens and I choose you.”“What if you don
Nataly opened the gate and we all drove into the parking area of her building. We made our way over to the elevators and an old lady was looking us up and down.“Hello, Mrs. Duffard,” Nataly said.“Oh, hello dear.” She leaned in closer to Nataly and looked disapprovingly at us. “You shouldn’t hang around with all these men. What will people say?” I started chuckling and Nick jabbed me in the ribs.“These are just friends from work,” Nataly said.“If you say so, dear,” the old woman said and got off on her floor.“Yeah, Nataly. What will people say?” Charlie quipped as the doors closed again.“Oh, shut up,” Nataly said and laughed.It felt like old times, the team working together, laughing, joking and competing together. It almost felt like Nataly was my friend again. We ordered food and settled down in her living room.My phone vibrated in my pocket and I saw it was Max. “Excuse me,” I said and walked toward the back of Nataly’s apartment and answered.“Hi Max, can I call you—”“Blak
I settled back against the couch in my living room and opened the package from Bo. I took out the two leather casings and I opened one. I looked at the contents and smiled.I thought back to the file Jack had sent me about William’s mother. I had a plan for her as soon as I got back to Iowa. She was never going to be the mother that William deserved and maybe with this, I could make his life a little better.I wiped everything in the leather casing and walked to my bedroom. The tuxedo was in my closet and I put the invitation in my jacket pocket and went to bed.I didn’t sleep well. I had too many conflicting emotions and thoughts that were going through my mind and eventually I fell asleep at five a.m. It was still a restless sleep because conflicting emotions were something new to me.At ten a.m. I was woken up by my ringing phone.“Yeah?” I answered the phone with my eyes still closed.“Where are you?” Jack asked me in a hushed voice.“What time is it?” I asked him.“Ten a.m. littl
“Hi,” I answered my phone.“You clean up nice, little bro,” Jack said and I smiled. His call was right on schedule.“You would hate it. This really isn’t your scene,” I said and he laughed. I could picture him in his dimly lit office in front of his many computer screens, typing away and listening to radio calls and checking camera feeds.“Yeah, I can only imagine the torture of free booze and uninhibited women everywhere. Horrific,” he said as I scanned the room.I saw Lydia walking towards the bar and she glanced at me. Her smile widened when we made eye contact and I smiled back at her.“Is that why you called me?” I asked him.“No. I just called to say that June’s invited you to the kids birthday party on Sunday,” he said.“I’ll let you know. You do realize that I’m already supposed to be alone with the wife,” I said.“Have fun,” Jack said and smiled.I placed our call on hold and I watched Lydia from across the room. I could wait patiently. The perfect timing was when the laughte
“Where have you been?” Robert asked me.“I just closed another deal in Greece. Work never stops and that’s why I prefer to stay at home,” I said and Robert laughed.“You should get out more often, live a little. Don’t you get bored working all the time?” he asked me.“Unlike you, Robert, I like to work. Before you know it, I’ll be worth more than you are,” I said and he shook his head.“I don’t think I’d ever hear the end of that,” he said almost bitterly and handed me a drink from the bar.“Thanks and cheers,” I said and we clinked our glasses together.“Hey, I want to show you something,” Robert said as I walked with him.We went upstairs and walked down the same hallway I had walked with Lydia earlier. Robert stopped in front of their bedroom door and smiled at me. I hadn’t planned on Lydia’s body being discovered so soon.“I acquired this in London last month. Tell me what you think,” he said and opened the door. Robert switched the lights on and we walked further into the room.
We all have that one moment in life, where you think, this is just how things are, then that unexpected twist occurs and it changes everything. Sometimes you can see the change as it happens, and other times it’s in the blink of an eye. That’s how it happened for me.I came home early from an assignment and there it was, that one moment in life that changes absolutely everything. I put my backpack down in the living room and walked down the short hall to our bedroom. The television was on and it drowned out the other noises, otherwise I might have known before I opened that door.It was slightly ajar and I pushed it open. I took in every little detail. She was on top of him, oblivious to the fact that I was standing at the door. I looked at them for a few moments, gyrating together and I wasn’t even shocked. I wasn’t as hurt and angry as I should have been, maybe I was just humiliated.“Nice,” I said and turned around as the shock registered on her face. She had a blanket wrapped arou
I was in an abandoned building scheduled for remodeling and I was looking through the scope of a Barrett M82. It was a beautiful rifle and it could hit a mark one thousand five hundred yards away. I was lying on a wooden work table and my target was Phillip Young, an investment trader from New York, who made his money skimming from his clients. On the side, Phillip liked young boys and cocaine. I received an encrypted file with all the relevant information and images of my target. The rest was up to me, the where and how, unless the how was specifically requested. I confirmed death immediately after and got paid.Phillip Young stepped out onto the balcony of the high-rise apartment building where he was attending a party, hosted by the generous benefactor paying for his death. I adjusted the scope slightly and looked at him through it. He lit a cigarette and seemed to look directly at me. He couldn’t see me though. I exhaled and squeezed the trigger.I saw the cloud of blood as the
“Where have you been?” Robert asked me.“I just closed another deal in Greece. Work never stops and that’s why I prefer to stay at home,” I said and Robert laughed.“You should get out more often, live a little. Don’t you get bored working all the time?” he asked me.“Unlike you, Robert, I like to work. Before you know it, I’ll be worth more than you are,” I said and he shook his head.“I don’t think I’d ever hear the end of that,” he said almost bitterly and handed me a drink from the bar.“Thanks and cheers,” I said and we clinked our glasses together.“Hey, I want to show you something,” Robert said as I walked with him.We went upstairs and walked down the same hallway I had walked with Lydia earlier. Robert stopped in front of their bedroom door and smiled at me. I hadn’t planned on Lydia’s body being discovered so soon.“I acquired this in London last month. Tell me what you think,” he said and opened the door. Robert switched the lights on and we walked further into the room.
“Hi,” I answered my phone.“You clean up nice, little bro,” Jack said and I smiled. His call was right on schedule.“You would hate it. This really isn’t your scene,” I said and he laughed. I could picture him in his dimly lit office in front of his many computer screens, typing away and listening to radio calls and checking camera feeds.“Yeah, I can only imagine the torture of free booze and uninhibited women everywhere. Horrific,” he said as I scanned the room.I saw Lydia walking towards the bar and she glanced at me. Her smile widened when we made eye contact and I smiled back at her.“Is that why you called me?” I asked him.“No. I just called to say that June’s invited you to the kids birthday party on Sunday,” he said.“I’ll let you know. You do realize that I’m already supposed to be alone with the wife,” I said.“Have fun,” Jack said and smiled.I placed our call on hold and I watched Lydia from across the room. I could wait patiently. The perfect timing was when the laughte
I settled back against the couch in my living room and opened the package from Bo. I took out the two leather casings and I opened one. I looked at the contents and smiled.I thought back to the file Jack had sent me about William’s mother. I had a plan for her as soon as I got back to Iowa. She was never going to be the mother that William deserved and maybe with this, I could make his life a little better.I wiped everything in the leather casing and walked to my bedroom. The tuxedo was in my closet and I put the invitation in my jacket pocket and went to bed.I didn’t sleep well. I had too many conflicting emotions and thoughts that were going through my mind and eventually I fell asleep at five a.m. It was still a restless sleep because conflicting emotions were something new to me.At ten a.m. I was woken up by my ringing phone.“Yeah?” I answered the phone with my eyes still closed.“Where are you?” Jack asked me in a hushed voice.“What time is it?” I asked him.“Ten a.m. littl
Nataly opened the gate and we all drove into the parking area of her building. We made our way over to the elevators and an old lady was looking us up and down.“Hello, Mrs. Duffard,” Nataly said.“Oh, hello dear.” She leaned in closer to Nataly and looked disapprovingly at us. “You shouldn’t hang around with all these men. What will people say?” I started chuckling and Nick jabbed me in the ribs.“These are just friends from work,” Nataly said.“If you say so, dear,” the old woman said and got off on her floor.“Yeah, Nataly. What will people say?” Charlie quipped as the doors closed again.“Oh, shut up,” Nataly said and laughed.It felt like old times, the team working together, laughing, joking and competing together. It almost felt like Nataly was my friend again. We ordered food and settled down in her living room.My phone vibrated in my pocket and I saw it was Max. “Excuse me,” I said and walked toward the back of Nataly’s apartment and answered.“Hi Max, can I call you—”“Blak
A week later, I was busy packing my backpack as Charlotte sat on the bed with her arms crossed over her chest. “Don’t be mad.”“I’m not mad,” she said but the look in her eyes told a different story.“We talked about this. I can’t tell you everything and you accepted that before we started this relationship,” I said.“I know, but I don’t have to like the fact that you’ll be in Chicago with your ex for the whole weekend,” she said.“It’s not that big of a deal. It’s not like we’ll be alone,” I said.“She’s your ex, Blake. I saw the way she was looking at you, she’ll find a way to be alone with you,” she said.I left the backpack on the bed and sat down next to Charlotte. I took her hand in mine and looked her in the eye. “I’m not a cheater, Charlotte. If I wanted Nataly back, I’d be with her. I don’t want her back, I don’t miss her. I’m here with you and that’s where I want to be. She can try to be alone with me, I still have a choice in what happens and I choose you.”“What if you don
I looked at my watch again as we lay in bed. Charlotte was still asleep. It was Saturday morning and almost five a.m. I rolled over and started tapping her on her shoulder with my finger.“Stop it,” she groaned.I chuckled and started tapping her shoulder again. She shifted away from me and I smiled.“What’s wrong with you?” I moved closer to her and kissed her shoulder.“It’s time to get up,” I said.“Why? It’s Saturday,” she complained and pulled the covers over her head.“Because I said so. I’m the boss of this house,” I said and started tapping her shoulder again.“Blake, I’m going to hurt you,” she said with her eyes still closed.“Promise?” I asked and laughed. I shifted on the bed and hovered over her. “Get up!” I fell down on top of her and started tickling her. She was screaming and laughing at the same time and once or twice called me words that should never pass a woman’s lips.I ducked at the door as Charlotte’s shoe flew past my head and went downstairs. She was awake and
At two a.m. I got up and got dressed. I moved quietly so I wouldn’t wake Charlotte or William. I left the house and drove to Peosta. I knew where William lived. I had dropped him off a few times. I slowed down and switched my lights off. I parked the truck a block from his house and walked the rest of the way.The back door wasn’t locked and I walked inside the kitchen. There were dirty dishes in the sink and it smelled musty in there. Empty beer cans littered the table in the living room and I could smell the stale cigarette stench.William’s bedroom had a mattress on the floor with one blanket. The more I went through the house, the angrier I became. William had never said how bad it really was. I stood in the doorway of the main bedroom and watched his mother. She was snoring and it smelled like old vomit in the room.I walked back to the kitchen before the urge to smother her with a pillow overtook me. I took my phone out and called Jack.“Do you have any idea what time it is?” he
William was busy setting the table for three when I saw Charlotte’s headlights flash over the driveway as she turned into it.“Be nice,” I said and William grinned at me.“I’m always nice,” he said and I smiled.I walked outside and met Charlotte at her car. I opened her door for her and she smiled as I took her hand and helped her out. She unlocked her trunk and opened it.“Did you bring the whole diner?” She laughed at my question but I was being serious.“Shouldn’t I have?” I took the box from the trunk and saw that it was filled with food. She put another box on top of the one in my hands and grabbed her overnight bag and slung her purse over her shoulder. She closed the trunk and locked her car before following me inside.The dogs went crazy when they saw her and she knelt on the porch and rubbed their ears. She took a plastic bag from her purse and I could hear the scratching of their paws as eagerness overtook them.“Is she moving in?” William asked me seriously and I laughed.
Robert Gold was six feet on the dot. He was in good shape and although he was spoiled, he was funny and a much better person than his father.Robert’s first wife, Claudia, had been a one-time model, but she married Robert before she made it big. He traveled a lot and she started sleeping with her driver. Robert hadn’t known about the affair and his father contacted us to eliminate her.I had taken her out in their house at 2 a.m. while Robert was away on one of his many business trips. The official reports showed that she committed suicide by slitting both her wrists in the bathtub after swallowing half a bottle of sleeping pills that they found next to her on the bathroom floor.I hadn’t known Claudia personally and killing her had been easy. They had only been married for three months at that time. I had called Robert to give my condolences and had gone to the funeral to support him. Fast forward five years later and Robert’s father was ready to get rid of wife number two.Lydia Gol