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“I need you to calm down, Travis.”
He draws in a sharp breath, his nostrils flaring in anger. “You’re abandoning me too,” he accuses.
I shake my head vehemently. “No, I’m not abandoning you,” I plead. “But I have to leave town tonight.”
“What the fuck? You said two weeks.” He shows me two fingers.
“I want Zamudio to think he has two weeks to plan my dismissal.”
“What are you talking about?”
I swallow hard. “According to my intel, most of your father’s contractors never make it out alive.” I shrug a shoulder. “Coincidence?”
“You think he’s going to…”
“He’ll try, but I’ll be gone by then.”
“Will he look for you?”
“I doubt it, but even if he tries, I made myself untraceable.” I tug at my light blond hair. My hand lingers on the short cut. “This is usually dark brown, not blond. My eyes aren’t hazel.”
“Is your name even Derek?” he hisses as his face twists into a sneer.
“Yes, but he doesn’t know my last name or how to find me.”
This is yet another reason why I’m thankful I didn’t sign this contract through a middleman. Those assholes would’ve sold me out for a few extra bucks.
“What am I supposed to do without you?”
“We’ll figure out a way for you to escape. You can visit this house. All the utilities are paid for a year. Just remember to be careful when you come here. They can’t know about it, or we’re fucked.”
His eyes look terrified. I want to pull him to me and console him. If I knew he’d be safe, I’d bring him with me, but I can’t.
“D, please… don’t leave me.”
Fear skitters around my skin. This isn’t how I want this to end. I thought we had more time. Leaving him is killing me, but what’s the alternative?
I can’t stay hoping I can kill all Zamudio’s men and leave.
“Sorry, but this might be the only way we’ll be able to get out of this alive.”
“You think he’s going to kill me too?” he croaks.
I shrug, trying to look calm and cool. If he thinks I’m confident that this is just a hiccup, he’ll just go with it. “Your guess is as good as mine. For now, play his game and trust your instincts. You still haven’t remembered shit, have you?”
“Nope.”
“Even if you do, pretend you know nothing. Keep behaving the way you’ve done so far. He sees you as a child he can manipulate.”
“It’s too fucking hard to be that person.” The fury on his face matches his tone.
“Try. I believe in your abilities to play a good dumb game. There’s something in you”—I tap my head and my chest—“Something tells me you’re trained for this kind of job.”
“You think I’m like him?”
I lift my shoulders and slump them, almost saying your guess is as good as mine. “Something doesn’t add up. Maybe your name isn’t even Travis, and you have valuable information that will help him with his business or defeat his enemy. There’s a reason he wants you around.”
“I think so too.”
