Just one.
And the sound of it still echoed in my ears.
From the dark corner of the room, I saw the figure rise from the couch though my eyes were glued to the floor where Ray was.
I started to shake as the figure came closer, his steps sounding way louder than they should have.
Ray’s bodyguards were noisy somewhere behind me but I didn’t turn to see how close they were.
The stranger, the killer, was now standing right in front of me, only a dead body separating us.
I was afraid to look up and see his face. Maybe if I didn’t he would let me live. It was bad enough that his black leather gloved hand holding a gun was in my peripheral. And I could even make out what I assumed was some kind of silencer attached to the end of the gun. But it was like my eyes couldn’t help themselves as they roamed up his ink-black suit, over his white shirt, and finally settling on his eyes.
Those eyes.
Two orbs the color of warm, rich hot cocoa that were so familiar.
No, it couldn’t be.
It had been far too long since I’d seen those eyes, but I knew them well.
Memories from my childhood that I tried to push away all this time seemed to come forth, ripping through my brain like an earthquake. The only real love that I’d known as a kid, the kind that made you feel like part of a family.
“Silas?” I whispered.
As sure as I was that those were the right eyes, there was something in them that seemed wrong. Not just the look of age, but something else. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but it was almost cold.
Then he saw me, like really saw me.
And there was a warmth that instantly flooded his gaze.
Then it was like my brain was on overload and decided it couldn’t handle all of this.
I felt the darkness take over and then…
Nothing.
-13-
Silas
She gasped and then her eyes rolled back into her head. I tried my hardest to catch her before her knees buckled and her body hit the floor but I wasn’t close enough. This was not how I wanted any of this to go. Well, my target was dead, so at least something had gone right. But Jessica being here was not part of this.
How had I missed that? And where the fuck was Hunt if she was here? Did he know? My head was spinning with all the damn questions I needed answers to.
Never in a million years would I have thought she’d be here.
Certainly not as I stood across the way a few hours ago and thought how hot the woman walking across the condo in a short, blue cocktail dress was. Even if all I could see was her back. And how I thought I didn’t understand why a woman would be with someone like the now dead guy here.
I didn’t know it was her when I watched them walk to the elevator together like they were leaving for some kind of fancy date.
Not one clue that Little Jessie was right there almost within reach as I stupidly decided to make the leap to the next roof, then hop down onto the balcony.
Yeah, that was not fun.
Jason Bourne, I was not. But really, the two buildings weren’t as far away as they seemed. I think it was more of the height that made it so terrifying. When I landed and just barely clipped my knee, well, I was pretty much thankful that I’d not failed in my stupid move. And the drop to the balcony wasn’t much fun either.
So, yeah, the woman in the blue dress, killer fucking legs, and long blonde hair was the girl that I had been searching for all this time. So long that I figured I was chasing after a ghost by now.
