“Your Shephard assured Mr. Kragen that you were one of the most discreet and efficient members of his little order of altar boys. I must say, in light of recent events, I’d say that description was a vast over-exaggeration.”
He pulled an envelope from his briefcase and placed it on the lid. “You’ve killed two people who bear no resemblance to Sabrina Samora or Zeus.”
“They were old. The Lord decreed it was their time, otherwise they would be alive.”
“They have family with a long history in the city calling for justice, and guess who was seen driving in their car?”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You’ve confused the purpose of this meeting. You are here to give me the information I’ve requested, and I am here to graciously receive it.”
She held out her hand and he placed the envelope in it.
“Mr. Kragen is concerned. Nothing you’ve requested moves us closer to the whereabouts of his son’s killers. And if you think your father’s acolyte has learned anything, we’ll never know because he is no longer where you left him. Perhaps he’s also lost faith in your ability to complete this assignment.”
Cornelius would have died perched above the road before he willingly left. If he was gone then someone took him, and it was undoubtedly the people who lived on that signal-killing mountain. The tracker she’d put on Lucas’s truck always died when he turned onto the path heading there. This morning he’d left the whore’s house and gone to that mountain, only to leave again a few hours later.
The last time she checked, the tracker’s signal was steady indicating Lucas’s truck hadn’t moved from the location. Delilah had discarded the elderly couples’ car and taken a cab to within a mile of the signal, giving her ample time to approach while devising two courses of escape should one be warranted.
A hundred feet from the signal, Delilah hadn’t been able to locate the truck, but the signal was strong, it had been right…there…emitting from a fire hydrant. She’d known it was a trap when she saw two individuals less than fifty feet from the hydrant who had appeared casual yet hyperaware of everyone moving about.
The whore had tried to set her up, to taunt her with the fact that, though Delilah had attempted to burn her house down, she hadn’t succeeded. Now the whore believed she had Lucas and there was no course of action Delilah could take without a tracker.
“I’m sure you’re right,” Delilah told the Patron’s man as she opened the envelope. “Cornelius was constantly disciplined for losing faith. I, on the other hand, am ever committed. The woman you see before you isn’t the woman they are looking for and in a very short time, this woman will be forever gone. Unfortunately, I find myself without a car and I don’t see any keys in this envelope.”
“I’ve advised Mr. Kragen to limit contact with you until you’ve proven you are capable of completing this job. This will be our last interaction until that time. In the two weeks you’ve been here, Ms. Shephardssin, this Lucas Beaumont hasn’t led to the capture of the murderers. My advice: cut bait, lady, that particular lead is dead.”
The man’s phone rang, and he answered, which gave her time to skim over the latest information on Lucas. There was so much she wanted to know about him, needed to know.
“I’ll inform her,” The man beside her said before disconnecting his call. “It appears that your man in the photos was flagged at SFO waiting to board a plane to Oklahoma with a female companion. I was right, you’ve done nothing but waste time; time your father has been very generously compensated for. When I return to Mr. Kragen’s office, I’ll recommend that he terminate the contract with your father’s order. There is no benefit to us if his son’s killers continue to live free while you indulge your infatuation with the oversized mammoth in the photos.”
His gaze slid over her, as the weight of his derision and sexual interest weighed heavily upon her. It was a look Delilah was all too familiar with—one that gave her a measure of advantage, as simple men were easily led by greedy pleasures. Today would be the last day she tolerated their disrespect. She no longer had to, her commitment to Lucas freed her from that obligation.
Leaning closer to the man, she placed her hand, exquisite with the addition of the watch, on his knee while resting her chin on his shoulder, stroking the damp hairs at the nape of his neck.Disgusting pig. Pulling away slightly she lowered her gaze and touched her tongue to her bottom lip before looking up again and smiling.
“I’m appallingly bad at this hunting people down thing, aren’t I? You’re right, you know, I’m out of my depth. The assignments I usually handle have more to do with pleasure, not all this running around and trying to strategize. I’m sorry to have caused Mr. Kragen—and by extension, you—any dissatisfaction.”
With a flick of her wrist she released the short blade hidden inside the sleeve of her jacket and angled it millimeters away from the area of his neck she’d just stroked. “Let me make it up to you,” she whispered, leaning in again, her other hand caressing from knee to thigh to groin, nudging his unimpressive erection as she skimmed her hand over his chest.
Placing an open-mouthed kiss against his jaw, her fingers inched up his throat, fingertips brushing back and forth over his weak chin before she pushed it back savagely, thrusting the blade through the back of his neck just as ferociously. His only reaction was a widening of his eyes before his body went slack.
Allowing his head to loll back, she rested it upon the bench.
There was blood, that was to be expected, but she liked that particular kill spot precisely because it wasn’t a bloody mess. Picking through his pockets, she took his wallet and the meaningless wedding ring on his finger and placed them inside the briefcase along with her knife and the manila envelope.
“You would have ended my contract? Well, I have terminated your contract with your life, I hope you can appreciate just how effective I can be at my job with the right motivation.”
She arranged his non-functioning limbs so that he appeared at rest on the bench after a hard day of work. “Please enjoy the blessings of this beautiful place before you descend to hell. Perhaps Mr. Kragen’s son has prepared a place for you at the devil’s table,” she said, standing.
“Now I must be off, I have to find the ones responsible for the death of the Patron’s sonafterI find and save my beloved. I have new priorities, you see.” She took the man’s phone and cut off his thumb. Cleaning his blood off her hand, she used the same handkerchief to wrap the severed digit and placed it inside her coat pocket. “May the Shephard’s blessings be upon you,” she said to the Patron’s man before lifting his briefcase.
Her father’s teaching of having something beautiful in one hand while wielding something deadly in the other had always resonated with her. Walking in the direction the dead emissary had come, she again felt as if God had placed her feet on her true path.
All she had to do now was follow it to its destined end.
Chapter 8
Stormy walked down the concourse alone, clutching her oversized purse tightly to her side.What was she even doing here, she thought, turning to look behind her before she scanned the bustling area, wondering if Delilah was out there waiting to throw some mixture of hot piss and acid on her.
It didn’t help that Lucas had been escorted from the security checkpoint by four angry-looking TSA agents earlier, grinningly assuring her that everything was all right.
