She arrived at the restaurant and was seated. She relaxed and drank a glass of house wine. The place was crowded and she listened to the conversations around her. This place was all locals, and not a tourist trap. Sometimes she went to the touristy places, but more often than not, she went to local haunts. The food was usually better and you could be sure to get authentic food.
She pulled her phone out and texted to Nobu.
“Enjoying some wine. Task finished.”
“Sounds good, enjoy some for me too. Wait one and will check for remaining deposit.” Nobu texted.
Her entre arrived and she inhaled the aroma of spices and shrimp and seafood of the paella. Taking her fork, she took a bite and her toes curled in delight. It was wonderful. If she wasn’t in such a public venue, she’d have groaned in pleasure. For her, there were very few pleasures in life more visceral than eating great food. To date, even sex had been a letdown. Though, she had to admit, she’d not dated since leaving the military years ago.
She felt her phone buzz and checked it.
“All good. Have a line on some traffic. Will brief you when you get home. Enjoy the food for me.” Nobu texted.
She put her phone away and dove into the dinner, enjoying each mouthful. It didn’t happen all the time, and though she enjoyed eating, there were times when the food was spectacular, a one of a kind experience. It was those moments she lived for, when the endorphins filled her body and brain. When her brain fired off those delicious neurons that said this is to die for.
Ϫ
Haiden looked up when the elevator opened on his floor, he was fiddling with his MP3 player. He was going out for a run, he had a lot of energy this afternoon. Two men were in the elevator, and he smiled absently and nodded, still fiddling with the player. He was searching for his running file, where he had high energy music that would help him in his run. He was not a happy runner, he never got that runner’s high. He ran because in his profession, you just might need to run for your life.
Woe to the killer that couldn’t run to get away. When the doors opened, he stepped out but moved to the side to let the two men out. He’d half heard their conversation on the way down.
“Why do I have to be your wingman for a date?” The one man had asked.
“Cause I want your opinion and I’m buying lunch so quit your bitching.” The other man had shot back.
The two men passed him and he looked up and followed their progress to the apartment building’s exit. He froze. The slender man walking away had the exact same gait that the woman killer had in Dallas! Jesus Christ! Was she a man? Was that why he’d lost sight of her? Or Him? Was this the one he was supposed to have killed? Living in his apartment building. His brain raced, staring hard into the retreating back of the slender person leaving.
The person turned, looking over her shoulder. Yes, it was definitely a woman. He stared opened mouthed and then realized, he grinned at her and winked. Her mouth turned into a frown and she turned back around, leaving the building. Haiden’s legs felt rubbery and he sat down on a bench by the elevator doors. He watched to doors to the building, now closed.
“Holy shit!” He breathed. He almost laughed hysterically, the women he’d been sent to kill lived in his friggen building. Above his tenth-floor apartment. He knew it was her, he knew that walk, that cat like walk. Yes, it was perfect, a woman, that could also just as easily, look like a man. The perfect killer, innocuous, and depending on what she wore, could be male or female.
“Holy shit.” He breathed once more.
He should have gone after her, run, but his legs wouldn’t let him. Who was the other guy? Was he a roommate? Or, did he live here and she came to pick him up? But no, he had a vague recollection of the same two in other elevator rides. He’d not paid attention, thinking they were two men. But no, she was definitely a woman, he’d seen the soft sculpt of her face in profile as she’d turned to look at him.
He sat forward, his forearms resting on his thighs, lost in thought. Now he was intrigued. What in the hell were the odds of two assassins living in the same building? He laughed out loud, shaking his head. Well, well, I’ll just have to find out who in the hell you are. And maybe warn you that you’ve become a target, he thought. Not that he gave a damn one way or another about a target, but this was a fellow assassin. And somehow, it just seemed a little underhanded of Lawbreaker to have her killed. He wondered what she’d done to piss him off.
FIVE
Nobu hailed a cab and when it stopped Imani got in and Nobu behind her. Her mind was on the man that had been in the elevator. She’d seen him before, he lived on the tenth floor. He was a good-looking man, a little too urban for her, he wore bead necklaces and bracelets. He usually wore his hair in a man bun or pony tail.
“You know that guy, the one in the
