Blue eyes… Two pairs of blue eyes look up to me, as if asking permission.
Shaking my head, I turn around. “I thought you were fixing to get attacked by some rabid wolf.” Looking at her over my shoulder, laughing out, my heart returning to its normal pace.
“There is nothing rabid about her.” And as if it knows what Rowan is saying, the dog's tail slaps the gravel ground, as if telling me,‘see’. A puff of dirt filters off in the slight breeze.
“So?” Rowan calls after me.
I don’t stop walking. “I think you already decided.” I smile because I know she has.
“Come,” I hear Rowan behind me before she jogs past the dog right on her heels, following her obediently.
Entering the kitchen, Rowan and the dog are already sitting on the tile floor, a big bowl of water, most of it now on the floor.
“We need dog food and a bed.” She pauses while looking up at me. “Oh, and toys!”
“Okay, baby.” The way her face is lighting up, I can’t tell her no.
Her hand disappears into the dog's mane as she pets her. “You know, I never had a dog.”
I bend down, moving slowly to let it know I’m not a threat, and pet her. “You do now.” I smile at Rowan, and her eyes become glassy before she leans up and kisses me.
Leaving them in the kitchen, I make my way back to the office. Now that we’re back home and everything is semi-normal, that means jobs start back up again.
I’ve thought about leaving that life. I've only ever known that life, and I was bred for it, but something inside me needs that outlet. I need to help bring semblance to others’ lives, to give them the retribution they deserve. Because in every word, I am an angel of Death.
Falling into my office chair, the leather creaking with my weight, as if welcoming me back home, I open my laptop, and I feel the slight shift from Luca to the killer. The need to transform when I’m working is important. Before Rowan, I carried him constantly; now, with Rowan, I’ve learned and am still learning how to shift from both facets.
I’ve kept my father’s rules before me. Never a woman or children. No matter what. Now, are all the men I’ve killed bad guys? No, but that’s not my worry. I’m just doing my job.
My father's assignment was to kill my mother, but he fell in love with his job. And that’s the reason his rule became what it was and still is with me. And it will forever be.
Instead of killing her, he killed him. My family originated from the blood of another man, but I am very lucky because of that. Even if my family disintegrated the way it did, those first twenty-something years were amazing. I was lucky; we were lucky. And I’ll forever cherish those memories.
Before Rowan, I didn’t have anyone. After Rowan, I feel like I have it all because of her loving me. And I’ll forever and always protect her, even with my last dying breath.
I wait patiently while my laptop comes to life, the first time in weeks I’ve opened it.
As I wait for my emails to load, I turn on my burner phone, and notifications ping immediately. Scrolling through my calls, they’re all unknown numbers. I’m recommended by word of mouth. It’s insane how far you can grow with just that. You have to have a reference from a previous client to be able to broach the subject of a job. I vet, because one thing I will not do is to be used and locked away for someone else’s benefit. And that’s why we have rules in place.
Pushing call on a number I know by heart, I wait until the other end picks up.
“Brother,” comes out gruff, and I can tell he has me on speakerphone.
“Off speaker,” I tell Thomas, as I lean back in my chair, knowing he knows better. My interest is piqued.
“Hey. Sorry about that.” I can tell he’s walking by the sound of his words coming out.
“You know better.”
He sighs deeply. “I know. Won’t happen again.”
“Who is she?” I know it’s a woman who has him fumbling, because nothing else would.
His deep laugh comes through the speaker. “Ah, that’s for another day.”
That’s the only confirmation I needed to know it’s a woman.
“Head back in the game, because we’re back in business.”
