ABIGEAL

THROUGH THE red haze of anger clouding my vision, I noted that my target’s initial shock had died down and he’d remained calm.

This somehow made me angrier and I backed him into his desk, pressing my dagger into his throat until a small red line formed at the edge of the blade.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now” I seethed.

He didn’t take his eyes off mine as he replied, careful not to move too much “If you really wanted to, you would have already. But your self-control is remarkable”

Wait. Wait a damn minute.

“My self-control?”

He had a sheepish look on his face “I might have been testing your temperament a bit. If I thought I was in any real danger all I had to do was press this button here” he lifted a hand to show me the device in his palm “And security would have come running. I think I’d have been dead by then, though. You don’t play around.” His eyes had the guts to twinkle in amusement.

What sort of man compliments a person on how fast she could kill him?

Anger rose again, but this time it carried hints of embarrassment. I let my hand drop and backed away from him “Fuck you and your stupid job. Never contact me again” I said coldly and turned to leave.

“Abby, wait.”

I gritted my teeth as I turned again, flicking my dagger so it landed on his desk a whisper away from his hand “Call me that again, and I’ll cut your tongue out. How’s that for temperament?”

He didn’t stop me again as I walked out.

I hated being made a fool out of. Who did he think he was, pulling out sensitive information all in the name of some stupid test?

My emotions had gotten the best of me and my plan had failed. But it didn’t matter; there were many ways to kill a man and I’d find another.

As soon as I got off the elevator I locked eyes with Jordan Alonso walking in with two men in suits scurrying after him. The hustle and bustle continued, but it suddenly seemed like people were walking faster and the receptionists got really focused on their screens. Everyone gave him a wide berth and it was clear who the king here was.

What had I gotten myself into?

I’d avoided a direct conversation with him so far and today will not be the day I had one -after all, I’d almost killed his right hand man just now- so when the elevator dinged open and people flocked out, I lost myself in their midst until I was back outside the massive doors. Taking a deep breath, I headed home to devise a new plan.

Later that day I discovered the fridge was almost empty. Anna had taken over grocery shopping so I hadn’t been keeping track. I decided to go out and get it done using the card Morgan had given me. I mean, it counted as job expenses right?

I was halfway to my apartment when I got the sense that I was being followed. Instead of picking up my pace I slowed down until I was just strolling “There are less creepy ways to communicate, you know” I said.

The man stepped out of the shadows the slowly setting sun had created and pulled down his hood. He didn’t waste time asking how I knew “Mr. Soliz was of the opinion that this was more appropriate.”

Of course he was “What do you want?”

“You didn’t give a status update after your interview this morning. I was sent to make sure you hadn’t cut and run”

“Well, you’ve seen me. Goodbye.”

He continued to walk behind me “You still haven’t given an update.”

“I’m handling it.”

“Which means it didn’t go as planned. Mr. Soliz expected you to fail.”

I clenched my fist around the bag of groceries “So he sent you to keep me quiet? Permanently?”

“You have less than 24 hours to turn the situation around. Otherwise we’ll be forced to…consider other options” his footsteps faded and when I turned to look, he was gone.

Translation: kill him or you’re dead.

I kept walking, turned the corner to my street and stopped dead in my tracks. Standing in front of the stairs, somehow looking out of place and completely at ease at the same time, was Blaine Daniels.

Huh. Maybe it wasn’t over after all.

His gaze met mine and he smiled as I walked towards him “No more errand boys to send?” I asked dryly.

“They took off running the second I mentioned you” he replied.

When I did nothing but stare at him he ran a hand through his hair “I wanted to apologize in person, for coming at you like that.”

“Okay”

“I still want you to continue the interview”

“Not a chance in hell” I didn’t want to seem too eager.

He started to say something else when the door to the building open and my landlord emerged, fixing his beady eyes on me as he wobbled down the stairs “You. You thought you could start a fire in my building and I wouldn’t know about it? Wrong. Where’s my money?”

A headache began to throb at the base of my skull “You gave me till the end of the week-”

“Not that. The money to repair the damage you caused.”

“What? I bought that sofa with my own money.”

“And you set it on fire in my building. Pay up.”

“I don’t have that kind of money to throw around.”

“You should have thought of that before setting things on fire.”

Before I could retort, my target who had been silent all this while spoke up “How much for it?” he asked calmly, pulling a billfold out of his pocket.

My landlord named a figure, his eyes fixed greedily on the bundle of notes. I was almost certain he inflated the amount. My target handed some bills to him and he stuffed them in his shirt pocket and eyed me “I’ll be back on Friday to collect my rent.”He grumbled and waddled away.

I hoped he’d get hit by a truck.

Blaine Daniels turned to me “You’re struggling to pay rent and rejecting a job offer?”

He had a solid point “I’m not going to be disrespected just because there’s money involved” I replied stiffly.

“I didn’t mean it like that. Listen, Abigeal, all reports show that you’re good at what you do, and I want only the best. Just show up to the interview. If you feel like it’s not for you, you can quit anytime.”

I was on the verge of agreeing, but I couldn’t help asking “Why do you want me to come so bad? I’m sure you aren’t going after the other applicants like this.”

He smirked slightly, folded his arms “You saved my life twice. That’s a glowing recommendation on its own. So it’s a yes?”

I nodded. His smirk turned into a full blown smile and I had to look away. “Goodnight, Mr. Daniels” I started to walk up the stairs.

“Blaine. Just, Blaine.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

BLAINE

JORDAN WAS waiting for me when I got back. I sighed mentally. I was sure I wasn’t going to like this conversation “Hey.”

“Hey. Where have you been? You didn’t tell me how it went with-” his eyes narrowed as he focused on my neck “What the fuck happened to you?”

“Well, she may or may not have tried to kill me” I began.

“What?” In a flash, Jordan went from ice cold to fury, whipping out his phone and punching a few numbers. Numbers I knew would summon some of the best killers he knew, along with a team of fixers to hide the body.

I put out a hand to stop him “Hold on. It was my fault.”

“I don’t give a fuck whose fault it was. She has to go.”

“Jordan, I baited her with whatever was in that classified file. She had every right.”

“Are you listening to yourself? You almost died! Right under my nose” Jordan looked at me like I was raving mad. Maybe I was, because recounting the events of today had me grinning “I know right? She tried to cut my throat, then threw a dagger at me. It was kind of hot” I admitted.

“Blaine-”

“Jordan, relax. I’m fine, and she’s not a threat. Her classified file was sensitive and I threw the information in her face. Anyone would react in the same way. Even you.”

He still looked angry, but put his phone down “I’ll let her live. But if I see her anywhere near us again, I’ll kill her myself” his tone brooked no arguments.

That was going to be hard, considering I’d already given her the location for Jordan’s screening. But I didn’t think he could handle that small detail right now, so I smiled and said “Sure” while backing away.

He who runs away lives to fight another day.