“Go ahead and say what you need to say Mr. Barnett.” She said, her voice soft and modulated, no irritation or anger evident.
He looked into her eyes and watched her facial features while keeping the man in his peripheral. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Does the name Lawbreaker mean anything to you?”
He saw it, her eyes flared in surprise and perhaps shock and he took note that the man stiffened, unable to stop his body movement. He was right then, she’d been Lawbreaker’s intended target.
“No Mr. Barnett, should I?” Her voice was hard now, the softness gone.
“Yes, you should, he had a contract put on you, for Dallas. He hired me to take you out.” Haiden said bluntly and watched as her eyes widen, then her face suffuses with anger, her cheeks going red. He held up his hands defensively, letting her see that he meant her no harm.
“Look, I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to warn you. I’m assuming that he hired you to take out Davisson, because he told me to look for you. He said you were stalking Davisson and I was to take you out. He had a grainy picture of you. I had refused, but he paid me a non-refundable deposit of $20,000 to try.”
“Motherfucker.” The man spat out behind the woman, he’d come to stand behind her.
“Look, by me coming to you, I’ve also outed myself as a hitter. We both know I am taking a chance by opening myself to you. But from what I can gather, this guy is trying to clean house. I’m assuming that you’ve done more than one hit. You don’t have to answer, but I think he sees you as a liability or a loose end. In so doing, I will also become a liability. And so, I thought you should know.”
“Then why didn’t you take me out?” She asked.
“Please, what’s your names?” He asked, looking from one to the other. He waited as they both scrutinized him.
“I’m Imani Zakarian and this is Nobu Grullon. So, Haiden, why didn’t you take me out? And why didn’t you just shoot me when I opened the door.” Imani asked him coldly.
“A couple reasons. First, you’re damn good, and I mean that. I had a bead on you, but it wasn’t a clear shot. When you went down, I lost you. I see now that you’re very good at hiding in plain sight.” He grinned, seeing that her eyes narrowed once more.
“Second, I was already paid to hit or not hit. It was a bust and the more I thought about it, the more it pissed me off. Lawbreaker made it seem like you were a stalker, not a hitter. The people who employ us aren’t the most honest, but I would like to think they give us fairly good intel. He lied, and I hate liars. Not only that, he put a hit on a hitter, because he was trying to clean things up, which as I said, I could be next. I’ve not heard from him, and so I wanted to warn you to be careful should he hire you once more. If he tried to hire me again, I’ll let you know.”
“Why should I believe anything you have to say?” She asked, her eyes not leaving him.
“There is no reason for me to lie. I know you felt me watching you. I spooked you and your instincts were right. You might not get a second chance next time Imani.”
“He’s right Ima, that fucker set you up. It wasn’t just being jinky, someone, him, was targeting you.” Nobu said, his hands now on Imani’s shoulders. Haiden saw her face soften and wondered at their relationship.
“Shit.” She hissed low and viscously.
“What should we do?” Haiden asked her.
“We?” She laughed harshly, her eyes a hard brown.
“Yeah, we. I don’t like being used like that Imani, I’m sure you don’t either. This bastard won’t stop, he has a picture of you. It isn’t a good one, but he’s gunning for you. I’m trying to figure out who he is, but I’ve limited resources and connections.” Haiden said.
“Okay, I have the resources and the networking. I think he’s right Ima, I think we need to hunt this bastard down and put a bullet between his eyes.” Nobu said hotly as he came around the sofa to sit beside her.
She looked over at Haiden and then at her friend or roommate, Nobu. It was hard to read her, she’d dropped a shield down, her face once more relaxed. Haiden waited, he didn’t want to push her, he wanted in, and he wanted to help. It surprised him and the only thing that came to him was that he’d found someone like him, someone he could be friends with. Being an assassin was a lonely existence. He saw that she and Nobu were close, so she had him. He had no one, no one of consequence, and until now, it hadn’t bothered him.
Until now, he’d been satisfied with the status quo. But to have someone like himself, someone who understood the life, that was rare. He recognized it.
“Fine. We’ll hunt this piece of shit down and I’ll end him.” She said finally.
“I want in on it as well.” Haiden said, afraid that he’d be shut out.
“Why?”
“You know why. We are a very select few, there aren’t many like us. We’re like tigers, rare and there is a poacher out there. This is personal for me. Besides, we can work together, help each other. I don’t have many friends honestly. Who else can you bitch
