Page 24 of Power of Shadow

If I hadn’t been standing there and watching so closely, I would never have noticed that slight movement of her wrist.

She laughs again, whispers something in Eli’s ear, gives him a little kiss on the cheek, and walks away toward the dark hallway. Eli’s eyes follow her, and when she disappears around the corner, his eyes find me. The suggestive rise of his eyebrows tells me it’s time to end this charade.

Few minute later I’m downstairs too.

“Did you see her, Ry? God, what a babe! I’m telling you, just looking at her almost made me cum in my pants. She’s—”

“A thief,” I finish for him.

Eli blinks several times, as if I were speaking to him in a foreign language. “What?”

“She’s a thief.” I shrug. “She just cleaned you out, and you didn’t even notice.”

Eli feels his pockets, then puts his hands in them like he can’t believe what just happened. “What the fuck? Where’s my wallet?”

And me? Deep down, I'm satisfied. And something else... because I’ve just found a challenge in my life.

Chapter 5

Ashley

“Old habits die hard.” I shrug and put on an innocent face. “It was stronger than I was. The guy was hot and funny, but he was also a player. You know what I think about guys like that. I had to put him in his place.”

“So you stole his wallet?” Zoe flops down on the couch and bursts out laughing. “You’re something else.”

“What can I say? You can leave the streets, but the streets will never leave you.”

My sister’s face suddenly clouds over as she remembers where we come from. Maybe not literally, but life on the streets... Life by the rules of the streets was a huge part of growing up.

Zoe clears her throat. “So, who’s this poor guy?”

I walk over to her and toss a black wallet onto her lap. She examines it closely. “Not bad. Tom Ford. This story is off to a promising start.” Then she opens it and looks into each section. Pulling out a wad of bills, she starts to count.

“Fourteen hundred. Don’t bother,” I add. “When you have a moment, please check the owner. I don’t want any surprises down the road.”

Her wide eyes stare at me. “Who carries that kind of cash these days?” she asks.

“Looks like a guy named Elijah Montgomery.”

Zoe puts the bills on the table and finds an ID card in no time. She flashes a huge smile, like she’s looking at a delicious dessert. “Well, hello there, Elijah… You look pretty tasty.”

Laughing, I shake my head. “I have something to do. Need to get going,” I say.

Zoe is staring at my victim’s ID and waves her hand in my direction. It’s as though her fate is already laid out.

“Have fun, sis.”

Leaving the living room, I head to my bedroom. There’s a job to be done, a target to find and lure out. A target to kill.

I spent a week observing and the last two nights putting a plan together in my head. The street taught me to always have all entrances and exits covered, to be prepared for any eventuality. Plans have a tendency to go to shit. And I don’t like being surprised.

With each passing hour of the night, my plan took on a more and more realistic shape.

Is it difficult to execute?

Yes.

Could I die doing it?