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Sorenson rolled his eyes looking bored and answered me with an exhausted sigh. “Oh for fuck’s sake Lorand. He hasn’t twiddled a minor or so much as kicked a puppy if that’s what you’re asking. This desire of yours to only erase the drab and impure is becoming annoyingly anti-climactic.”
“Perhaps.” Shrugging, I waited for him to elaborate. It wasn’t a good idea to give Sorenson any ammo to use against me.
“You know the mark is an easy one. You can find him right here if you like.” I held up my hand to stop him.
“I’m not interested in those details right now.” My mentor makes a tsking sound. “Always in a rush.”
“I don’t know if I’ll even take the job.”
“I don’t know when the fuck you decided to grow some god damn morals.” He leans over the table sneering at me. “You kill for money, or did you forget everything I taught you? Everything I gave you and made you into is because of me.” It was unlikely I’d ever forget. Sorenson put that first gun in my hand, resting it against a particularly filthy pedophile’s head or so he told me. He forced me to pull the trigger by squeezing my fingers over it feeling the magazine release pop against the skin and bones of my adolescent hand, blood spraying back and hitting my fluttering eyes. Yeah, you don’t forget your first kill. “Since when does Lorand Duvall not take a job? Especially one from me.” Sorenson’s dark eyes filled with rage directed at me. He could be dangerous but I doubted I was worth the effort to him…after all, I did his dirty work.
I tried sarcasm with a casual shrug. “Maybe I won the lottery. A windfall of money would certainly make this all less enticing.”
He doesn’t seem amused in the least and I reminded myself that this man is not kind for any purpose other than his own self-serving ones. “Fine. The next time I come across a pedophile with a contract on his head I’ll be sure to call.”
“Mmm.” Now that was a contract I wouldn’t turn down.
He became serious with his next question. “Are you reneging on you debt?” That damn debt would hang around my neck like a noose until I fulfilled it.
“No. I never said that.” Without having opened the envelope, I pushed it back towards him. I was here to see Jude, I should have told him I was thinking of seriously quitting, but the words never came.
His hand covered mine squeezing and the message is clear in his eyes, I’m not getting out of this contract. “No, take it. I want you to think about it. You won’t get to say no the next time.”
“Fine.” I stuffed the envelope in the breast pocket of my suit jacket hoping to burn the information inside later.
“You’ll regret not taking this one.” It’s my last warning to follow through and he points at me before snapping his fingers for the next drink. “It would have been so easy to make it look like an accident,” he mused. “Blasted fool pilot’s his own small aircraft as a fucking hobby.” Grunting, I let it go. I know there are only two ways out of this profession. I’d prefer not rotting somewhere in the desert outside the Alamo.
“Well, then…if we’re done?” I moved to stand, waiting to be dismissed.
“Aye, we’re done. Read the file and get back to me.” Nodding, Sorenson lets me go and I make my way back towards the bar where Tally waved me over. Her face is pinched, worried looking.
“Where is she?” I asked hoping this night would not be a total loss.
“Upstairs. Seems Miss Parks was invited by a newer member to play this evening, she brought Jude as company.”
“Room?”
Tally taps the earbud she has and listens for a moment before replying. “They were seen going upstairs, St. Andrew’s Cross, third floor.”
“The hell?”
Grabbing my arm she stops me from leaving. “Lorand, you can’t interrupt an established scene.”
“I’ll do my best.” I know the rules, but it doesn’t mean I won’t throw them out the window for Jude. Nodding, she lets me go. Confused as to why Jude would be up there of all places I dart up the stairs trying to look inconspicuous and failing. I roamed the hallway until I get to the room in question. I picked up the schedule and see that it’s occupied for the evening. I stand at the door listening, waiting. Nothing good can come of going in there I tell myself and turn to leave. If this is what Jude wants, who the hell was I to stop her? I had nothing on her, no hold, nothing promised other than my guilt and if she knew me…well let’s just say she would have been running as fast as she could away from me.
Five
JUDE
Nerves settled low in my stomach like bolts of lightning I remembered seeing as a kid jumping from cloud to cloud across the Texas sky. Ella had plied me with several drinks and I dutifully followed along for the pleasurable evening she promised me. “Oh, this is going to be so much fun tonight.” She curled her hand around mine gushing with excitement, pulling me towards the bar. My smile forced.
“Ella, you must introduce me to your lovely friend.” The baritone sounding voice laid his hand on my bare shoulder tracing one of my faint scars that crisscrossed my skin. Clammy finger tips tugged on the strap of my dress before trailing down my arm in a slithery manner.
“Ken, this is Jude.” Ella makes the introductions and he lifted my hand to kiss it, his damp fleshy lips lingering much to long for my liking. He definitely wasn’t the hyper masculine doll little girls played with come to life with moves likes that.
“Pleasure.” He said and I imagined he would have been nodding his head in some fake gentlemanly fashion.
I let Ella do all the talking as my mind wanders absorbing the charged energy of the club. I feel alive but apprehensive and wondering if this was a good idea at all. “Thank you for the invitation to sponsor us tonight. I’ve been looking forward to attending one of these events for a while now.” Lifting my head up I swear I smell that familiar masculine scent that makes my skin zing and tighten in awareness, but it’s gone just as quickly as I imagined it. My chest deflates a little with disappointment. I wonder what my mystery man would think of me here like this.
