I straighten myself and walk out of the villa, and am greeted by Oliver and Josh.
“We have their names and will take care of the rest. Are you going to wait on the cleaning crew?” Josh asks as he closes the back door of his van.
“I will. Talk to you soon.” He nods at me and leaves.
***
After the cleaning crew arrived, I called the Minister of Foreign Affairs and told him the job was done and that I had the information he needed. He also asked me what would happen with the body of Edo. I assured him that all is taken care of and that the news outlets will get the memo that he died of a heart attack. One of my cleaners will bring him to the hospital, and afterward, the coroner will put it in his report that he died of natural causes. I have this whole city in my pocket, and everybody does what I tell them to do—even faking a coroner’s report.
After our call ended, I felt satisfied. Another job well fucking done, and killing that dirty politician calmed me. It also gave me motivation to make this world safer for Lana.
Before I go to bed, I check the monitors in Lana’s apartment. She is eating another lousy dinner, and I make it my mission to give her the best date ever.
She deserves everything good in the world.
18
MIt’s Friday morning, and it’s the big day.
My date with Lana.
If I were to describe myself, it would go like this: controlled, dangerous, and calculated. Almost nothing can get a rise out of me or get me to freak out. Those characteristics are detrimental to a man with a profession like mine.
Today is different, though. I’m scared shitless.
From what I have seen of Lana, she lives a meek life, and I want to make a change in that. God, she deserves everything handed to her.
Flowers? I’ll drive to the Netherlands and cut all the tulips myself.
Food? I’m going to take a cooking course so I can cook for her every day.
Every-fucking-thing I would do for her.
That’s precisely the reason why I’m scared for today. All my bravado from a couple of days ago has evaporated. When I told her I would pick her up today at 7 p.m., I didn’t leave her much of a choice. My knowledge of killing people is extensive, but asking a woman out? Yeah, I don’t know anything about that shit.
I haven’t been on a date, well, ever. In the past, I had many one-night stands, but nothing came of them, and the reason was that I couldn’t commit. I want to say it’s because of my job, but it stems from a fear of what my father did to my mom.
That’s a story for another day, and something I don’t share with people.
Tonight, I have arranged for Lana and me to have dinner at the most expensive and beautiful restaurant in Sarajevo. I know the owner, and he agreed to give us his best table.
Even though I have prepared the logistics, I haven’t prepared emotionally. That’s why I need advice, and I know where to get it.
I dial my best friend.
“M! Where have you been? I miss you!” Alina screams through the phone.
“I missed you, too, Ali. And I’m good, you?”
“Good, good. Irfan and I are chilling at home today. We took a day off from work.”
“As you should. How is my friend?” Irfan is Alina’s boyfriend, and the best guy for my best friend. He is one of the good ones.
“He is amazing.”
“I miss you all. How is your pregnancy? Is everything going well?” I ask her. Alina found out a couple of months ago that she is pregnant with Irfan’s baby, and I couldn’t be happier for them.
“The baby is growing, thank you for asking, bro,” Alina jokes. I grin because she is not wrong about my treating her like a brother. From when we were very little children, I have looked out for her, Irfan, and my other friends in Belgium. We all metin Sarajevo when we were children, and we have remained very close friends.
