Page 11 of The Hitman’s Obsession

He nods slowly. “Good.”

He finishes the glass and walks back to the kitchen. I stretch my arms above my head and fill my lungs with air. But then, as I roll onto my side, I notice something lying on the floor by Roman’s pants. I reach out and grab it and have to clamp my hand over my mouth to silence my gasp.

It’s a photo. A blurry photo…

…of me. And on the back is my address.

And it’s not just any photo of me—something public from social media. It’s a photo of me on my way to work, taken just outside the studio. I can tell by my outfit that it was taken weeks ago too. I don’t have that top anymore. I threw it out after someone spilled red wine on it at one of our mixers.

Why would he have this?

I’m tense as I quietly get to my feet. Roman’s still in the kitchen. I only have a few seconds before he comes back. I creep over to the window and glance out, looking for an unfamiliar car or maybe more guys like him. But what I see scares me even more.

A gray duffel bag on the fire escape. With the barrel of a rifle sticking out.

My heart rate skyrockets. This changes everything.

But does it really? I already knew Roman was a bad man. A dangerous man. He was spying on me from outside. He broke into my apartment. No ‘good man’ does something like that.

But I still wanted him. I mean, I wanted him more.

I look back to the photo of me. But this…why does he have this?

The floor creaks behind me, and I whirl to find Roman standing in the kitchen doorway, his eyes fixed on me. The expression on his face is undeniable. I’ve been busted.

But then again, so has he.

“Why do you have this?” I ask, raising the picture. He pauses. My heart pounds painfully. “Roman?!”

“Your father owes money to my employer.”

Goddamn it.

“How much?”

“Two million dollars.”

The number stuns me, but it all makes sense now. Why Dad’s been gone for days, why he’s been unreachable, why the one time he answered my call he said everything was fine and that I shouldn’t worry. I knew he was lying. I can always tell when he’s lying.

“You know I don’t have that money, right?” I ask.

“I know.”

I’m starting to shake again. That same fear that hit me when I first saw him standing in my apartment is coming back. And I don’t like that. I don’t want to feel that when I look at him.

Not the man I just gave myself to.

“So why are you here, Roman?”

Since he arrived, he’s had his eyes on me. Now he looks away. “My boss sent me here…to kill you.”

His words hit me like a truck. I freeze.

I knew it. Somehow, I just knew this day would come. Dad has fucked up so many times that I knew eventually he’d screw over the wrong person, and he’d pay the price. I guess I always thought he would pay the price, though. Not me.

Maybe Roman’s boss, whoever he is, wants to kill me as a threat. Show my dad what will happen to him if he doesn’t pay up. Or maybe it’s just a way of taking something from him. Incentivizing him to hurry up and pay up or something else will happen.

I may be naked, but rationally, I know I should just turn and leap out onto the fire escape, climb down, and run for my life. But let’s face it, I haven’t been rational at all tonight. Can I really start now?