“You’re a hitman?”
“More like a doer of odd jobs. I was promised five thousand US dollars if I killed the foreigner.”
Her heart stuttered. “Promised by who?”
“I don’t know. The message was posted anonymously on a black-market jobs board.”
“And it mentioned my house specifically?”
“No. Just that you might be the last person who saw him. No one mentioned you had a pet tiger.” The hired killer had the nerve to sound affronted, which led to Phoenix huffing hotly and the man squeaking. “Get the furball off me.”
“Not until you answer all my questions. How were you supposed to get paid?”
“Once I posted a picture of him dead, I would have gotten my reward via Venmo. Which reminds me, did I get him?”
“Get who?”
“The foreigner who came inside with you. I know I shot him. Is he dead?”
Had the deep gloom hidden Phoenix’s transformation? “You tell me. You’re the one claiming you hit someone.”
“No way I missed from that close, but I got blinded by the muzzle flash and then didn’t have time to check before your fucking cat pounced me. So, is he dead or not?”
Was he seriously asking? “You didn’t hit anyone.”
“Liar. He must be dead, or you’d be outside trying to bandage him up.”
“No, because there is no man, just me and my tiger,” she lied.
“Lying whore. You’re trying to steal my money.” He directed his angry words at Nadirah, and the tiger let out a warning sound.
“You said someone posted about me and a supposed foreigner. Who else saw it?”
“How would I know?”
A good point. Could be he was the one and only, or at this very moment, did someone watch and wait for their chance to attack?
Nadirah whirled and tried to think. If she’d been targeted as a connection to Phoenix, then neither she nor her grandmother were safe, a point proven when she heard footsteps crunching out front.
A glance at the tiger showed him still pinning the man to the floor, leaving Nadirah only seconds to grab a weapon. The rolling pin on the counter had some heft. She held it up, ready to swing as the door opened and revealed a familiar figure.
“Nenek! What are you doing here?”
“Why did you lie? The toilet is not broken.” Her grandmother took in the tiger pinning the intruder to the floor. “Who’s this? Did you catch a thief?”
“Killer, actually.” No point in hiding the truth.
“Filthy scum,” Nenek spat. “I shall call the police.”
“No, what you’re going to do is return to your sister’s while I handle this.”
“I am not leaving you alone.”
“Nenek…” Nadirah tried to keep the panic from her voice. “Our house isn’t safe right now. This killer was sent here on purpose.”
“But why? Why would anyone want to kill you?”
“Not me, a foreigner. Apparently, someone posted my name and claimed I might be harboring someone they want dead.”
