Prologue
MI want to say it’s been a while since I have gutted someone, but I would be lying. In my job as a hired assassin, it’s a given that stealth is one of the greatest attributes in my arsenal, but not right now. Every once in a while, I like to go haywire and unleash this untamed beast inside of me.
As I’m about to do now.
Because this building is old as fuck, you can hear someone shitting from three doors down. I needed this apartment building to be empty. One call to my man in the fire brigade and the whole building streamed out into the street. They set up cones and engines, lights blinking. The chief took his orders from me—a crooked favor, paid in advance. He promised to keep his men at the perimeter until I gave him the signal. I had an hour. It was enough. And after said hour, I would call the police, and he would work with them from the shadows. But now I’m alone insideherbuilding.
According to my team, he must be asleep right now. Taking his afternoon nap.
I make my way into the building, and now I’m standing in front of his door. The skill of picking locks is one I learned from the age of twelve, so this is child’s play for me.
I step into his apartment, and I want to dry heave. What is this shithole? I put my briefcase down onto a table, and I go farther into the apartment, and there he is.
He didn’t even hear me come in.
I go up to his side of the nasty bed and put a gun to his head. He tries to swat away my gun, probably thinking it’s a mosquito. When he feels something hard pressing against his flesh, his eyes fly open and he puts his arms up.
“Please don’t kill me.” If this one pisses himself right now, I’m going to lose it.
“Get up, sleepy pants, it’s a beautiful day outside.”
“What the fuck?” He is confused, and I can’t blame him, but my patience is wearing thin. Usually, I would be calm, but I need to kill him forher.He gets up and walks before me to the living room. We are now standing in the middle of the room, with me walking toward my briefcase.
“Can I ask you to take one last look at this beautiful city?” I ask this piece of shit. The sweat accumulating at the top of his head is disgusting, if I’m honest. I know it probably sounds weird that a hired assassin is sickened by something like sweat. But I am. I move my right hand from the top of his head to the nape of his neck. My fingers are squeezing the soft tissue, and I’m reveling in what I am about to do.
I step back and let him believe I am letting him go. The sigh of relief that leaves his mouth is almost laughable.
I am not laughing, because this monster tried to take what was mine.
“You’re letting me go?” he asks, while still staring at the city of Sarajevo before him.
“Of course. Just don’t bother her anymore, okay?” The rage that’s coursing through my veins is masked by utter calmness. I’mthatangry. He turns around and sees me standing with my hands out of my pockets.
“So, I can go now?” he clarifies. Yeah, fuck this. I can’t contain it anymore. I let out a belly laugh that can be interpreted as if something funny is happening, but it’s not. This cretin starts laughing, nervously, with me. He puts his hands on his hips to try to hold himself together. He doesn’t know that his house of cards is already falling. The strongest beam in the world can’t support him. I’m the one who will absolutely decimate his entire being.
I turn sideways and focus on the little table beside me. I pick up the knife that was lodged into the apple he was about to eat. People have preconceived notions about little knives. They think that they don’t do much damage, but, in the hands of a trained killer, they can be deadly.
And this one will be.
I lay it back down beside the apple, then I go to the suitcase I brought with me. The black bag has one thing this asshole needs. I place it on the little table where the apple is. When I look at him, I point toward his door, and he realizes really fast why I’m here.
“I swear to God, I won’t ever harass her anymore,” the sack of shit tells me. My fingers are hovering over the locket with the code, and it snaps open when I punch it in. I don’t open the briefcase just yet, and instead, I turn my body to face him. I place one hand on my hip, and the other one is near the knife now. He furrows his brow.
“What are you doing?” he snaps back at me. I fucking hate stupid people. For a stalker, he is pretty oblivious to reading the room. To his credit, he is a bad stalker.
“You believe in God, don’t you?” My question baffles him. He nods his head. I take a breath, and when I open my eyes again, the sun is completely gone, and it’s replaced by the arrival of an early night. Night hues replace the bright beams of sunshine. It hits my face, and I bask in this delight. I usually don’t like to kill people early in the evening, but here we are.
“Exodus 20:7, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” I recite the Bible verse as if I were religious. A big fucking spoiler alert, I am not.
“Why are you reciting a Bible verse?” he observes.
“Just to illustrate how much of a liar you are,” I respond.
“How the fuck am I a liar?”
“Well, you took the Lord’s name in vain. You lied, which is strongly prohibited in your religion.”
“I’m not lying! I will leave her alone, I promise.” His response leaves me shaking my head and pursing my lips. As stated before, I’m not religious, but I respect people whoactuallyfollow their religious beliefs. And not only when it suits them.
