by Nikki Rose
The Line
Copyright © 2020 Nikki Rose
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination.
Front cover image and book design by Nikki Rose.
First printing edition 2020
ISBN: 9798671827620
DEDICATION
To my husband and family for always supporting me. And to my readers, without whom none of this would be possible.
Crossing the Line
CHAPTER 1
Hunter
With my hand in my jacket pocket, I rolled the syringe between my fingers, carefully slipping the cap from the needle. I’d tracked my target for the last two blocks holding back just enough to allow a buffer of people between us. Over the past week, I studied his routine until I knew his every move. It wasn’t hard with a control freak like the Ambassador.
My opportunity approached, so I closed in the space between us. The crowd split as we descended down the narrower subway stairs. With everyone rushing and bumping into each other, it would take precision skill on my part. I readied the needle and as I bumped into the Ambassador, it punctured through my jacket and into the soft flab of his triceps.
He rubbed his arm and looked around but by that time I was just another face in the crowd. I slipped the cap back onto the needle and waited for the subway train to come to a stop.
“Help. Someone call 911.” A woman cried out from behind me.
The train doors opened, and I was swept away by the crowd as we loaded the car. I cast a glance back. The Ambassador laid on the platform, clutching his chest with several people crouching around him. He wouldn’t make it until the EMS arrived—not if I’d done my job.
The subway stunk of piss and garbage but that wasn’t as bad as the pungent stench of cheap perfume that wafted from the overly made-up woman standing too close.
I held on as the train sped down the tracks. It wasn’t long before the hairs on the back of my neck prickled with that familiar feeling of being watched. I remained still as I examined my peripherals. I finally spotted a man in the back of the train watching me from over the rim of a book.
Over time I’d developed a talent for spotting one of my kind a mile away. The hat helped shield his identity from surveillance. His loose jacket concealed weapons as did the briefcase at his side. Mid-December’s chill offered a good excuse for the leather gloves gripping the book. Never leave evidence behind, including fingerprints.
All these steps were standard practice but increased your chances of being spotted tenfold. That was why I chose to do the opposite. I went against every lesson in our how-to guide and it made me one of the best.
The car eased to a stop one station before mine. As the doors opened the eager herd of passengers filed out. The movement gave me an opening. I struggled against the crowd like wading across a raging river until I broke out onto the other side. I rested my hand on my sidepiece hidden under my jacket as I slid into the open seat next to him.
I didn’t face him. Feigning indifference, I looked across the car while keeping him in the edges of my sight.
“Nice day we’re having.” I waited to hear if he responded with today’s code phrase. Sometimes it was the only way to know who was on the right side of things in my business.
“I prefer the heat of summer.” He muttered from behind his book. Ding. Ding. We have a winner.
“Do we have a mutual friend?”
“I believe you know my cousin, Frankford.” Frankford was my point man so that got my attention. “You should call in sick today—take in a matinee instead.”
I nodded. “Any show, in particular, you’d recommend?”
As subtle as he was, I caught him scanning the car. “There are lots to choose from.” He handed me his folded newspaper. “I’m sure you’ll find one that interests you.”
As the train shifted to a stop again, the man closed his book and slipped it into his briefcase before standing. He didn’t look back as he disappeared into the crowd.
I opened the newspaper to the movie listings and immediately spotted the ink circling an old showing that started in just half an hour.
I called out of work as I rode the train another two stops before exiting. Without pause, I tossed the newspaper into an old metal trash can fire, adding extra kindling for the three homeless men huddling around it.
I walked two blocks, keeping the brisk pace of the city as to not seem too casual or too hurried. Blending in was crucial.
“One ticket for the matinee, please. Theater seven.”
“That’ll be ten bucks.” An annoyed sounding young woman with dark hair looked up at me from behind her window and smacked her gum.
Ten dollars seemed high for a matinee on this side of town but I wasn’t in the mood to argue. I passed her a ten and she slid me a ticket through the thin opening in her plexiglass fortress.
“Thank you.”
“Uh-huh.” She muttered as I turned to the door.
I bypassed concessions and headed straight for the theater which was almost empty this time of day.
A few patrons scattered the dim rows of seats as I searched for my contact but he was nowhere to be found. Whoever he was, he knew what I looked like. He could find me. Instincts told me to pick a seat at the back of the theater. That way I could see everyone without risking someone sneaking up behind me.
Everyone has basic compulsions. It’s why the majority of people sleep with their heads away from the door. It’s an old, primal instinct from when we needed to keep an eye out for predators. The more on edge a person was, the more likely they followed these base urges. That was why I chose instead to find a seat closer to the middle. No one suspects the guy at ease enough to plop down right in the middle of the theater.
From that spot, it wouldn’t be as easy to keep an eye out for my mystery cohort or possible threats, so I had to rely on my other senses. The lights dimmed and the starting music echoed through the speakers as the movie started with still no sign of my mystery contact.
I sat impatiently for half an hour of that mushy foreign romance shit as my suspicions grew. I didn’t like being sent on a wild goose chase. I liked the idea that this could be a set up even less. Just as I’d made up my mind to leave, a leggy redhead in a gray pencil skirt slipped into the seat beside me.
She leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Forgive me for being late, darling. Traffic was terrible.”
I studied her in the low lights. She was sexy as hell. Definitely not an associate I’d seen before. I’d remember her if I had. “That’s alright, honey. At Least it’s a nice day we’re having.”
“Oh, you know me, I prefer the heat of summer.” So, she was one of us.
We sat in silence a few minutes until any attention from her late arrival turned back to the movie.
“We have a pest problem that needs your attention.” She spoke in a low voice.
I had to fight the urge to turn and implore her to tell me more. I kept my eyes focused on the movie in front of us. “What sort of pest?”
“A rodent.” I found it hard to believe. I needed to know more.
She rested her head on my shoulder as we silently watched the movie. A few minutes later, she turned her face to the crook of my neck. Her breath tickled my skin as she w
hispered in my ear. “Cornell’s gone rogue and needs to be taken out, but he’s given away some sensitive information. We need to find out what he’s told and to who.”
I knew Cornell, he wasn’t going to just hand over information. I knew what she was saying and the dread of it drained the blood from my face. Killing was one thing. Torture was another monster altogether.
I turned to face her, our lips only an inch apart. To others, we looked like two lovers catching an old romantic movie, not plotting the torture of one of our own. “That’s not in my repertoire anymore.”
“For this, it has to be.”
My teenage years as a foster kid bouncing from home to home after being taken away from my abusive asshole of a sperm donor had left me with some major anger issues. There wasn’t any better therapy for a shitty childhood than torturing some pathetic low life until he cracked.
That was until someone made a mistake. I’d spent a week torturing a guy. Brought him to within an inch of his life but he wouldn’t crack. He kept insisting he didn’t know what I was talking about. I’d never seen anyone hold out so long. Turns out it’s easy to hold out on information when you really didn’t know anything. One bad piece of intel changed everything. He eventually died from his injuries.
The next time I went to torture a guy, I couldn’t do it. The pained eyes of that beaten and broken innocent popped into my mind every time. That’s when I was reassigned. Now, they were asking me to go back to that. But, could I do it?
She placed her hand in mine and squeezed. “I know it’s been a while, but we need you for this. A lot of innocent people depend on it.”
‘Innocent people’ Well played.
She ran a finger slowly down my neck putting on a great show for anyone who might be watching. Her voice was a sexy whisper. “Eleven o’clock.”
Before I had the chance to respond, she rose from her seat and inched her way down the row of seats to the open aisle. She glanced back, nodded, and disappeared from sight.
Could I really do this? Could I walk back into the old mill turned interrogation facility? The same mill where I’d tortured that poor innocent man until even our best doctors couldn’t save him. Or maybe they hadn’t wanted to. A dead man is easier to keep quiet than a live witness.
A glance at my watch told me I had about an hour to get to the mill. I’d have enough time to go back to my house and change. I’d take a taxi back. It was much faster than the subway.
I slipped out of the theater and hailed a cab which was easy this time of day. The moment I shut the door, my phone rang.
“Wright.”
“Hello, Mr. Wright. This is Wendy letting you know your car is back from the shop and was returned to your home. I received confirmation of its arrival just a few moments ago.”
Wendy worked for the same people I did but she didn’t work as anything more than a glorified secretary.
“Thanks, Wendy.”
“You are very welcome. Have a nice day, Mr. Wright.”
“You too.” I ended the call and shoved my phone back into my pocket before leaning my head back on the headrest. After almost three days, I’d soon have my car back and could stop with all the public transportation.
I’d dented the back-passenger side when I spun out after a chase to keep from plummeting over the edge of a ravine. I hit the side of the railing moments after my target flew over.
I hated taking the subway and a cab wasn’t much better. I could have easily afforded to hire a car service but I didn’t want to have to try to explain how a trainer at a small gym could afford such luxuries.
I had one hour before my meeting. In my car, it wouldn’t take long to get there. I took a few minutes to clear my mind out on the balcony of my fourth-floor apartment. It wasn’t anything fancy but I’d made sure to splurge on this one feature. The view wasn’t anything spectacular. I got to look over at the side of another building across the street. But I loved to sit out there, even in the cold, and look out at the city. It was peaceful up there.
I took another drink of my beer and leaned my head back. I usually waited until night to come out here and look out at the darkened city but I needed the solace with my trip to the mill looming.
When I went to take another drink, a window opened in an apartment across the street. That apartment had been vacant for almost two weeks. A feminine figure carried in a stack of moving boxes that covered her face. When she put them down, I finally got a decent glance at the sexy brunette. Someone new was moving into the neighborhood.
CHAPTER 2
Addy
“Yes mom, it’s a nice neighborhood.”
“What about the crime rate? I looked it up and it’s higher than it is here.”
“It isn’t that high considering I’m in the city.” I held the phone to my ear with my shoulder as I struggled to move another box from the living room into my empty new bedroom.
“I just don’t like the idea of you all on your own in the big city. It was one thing when Edward was going to be living there with you, but all on your own? Addy, I just don’t like it.”
Leave it to my mom to find a way to bring up my asshole of a cheating ex during our conversation. “Mom, I’ll be fine. And, as for Eddie—”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring him up.”
“It’s okay, but I need to go get some stuff unpacked. I start work at the spa Monday. I’d rather not be digging through boxes to find my clothes.”
“Okay, just promise me you’ll call after work and let me know how it went?”
“I promise. Talk to you later, mom. Love you.”
“Love you too, and make sure to lock your door.” I hung up the phone. My mom could be a helicopter parent, even though I was twenty-five. I’d lived at home through college. This was my first time living on my own so I guess I could see why she was freaked out. The big city is a lot different than our little suburb.
“If I’m going to get anything done around here, I’m going to need some tunes.” I looked around at the scattered boxes in my otherwise empty apartment before scrolling through my playlist to find something upbeat. Before I could start the music, there was a knock on the door.
“Just a minute.” I pocketed my phone and rushed to the door.
Peeking through the peephole, I saw a tall man with rippling muscles bulging from his delivery uniform. The delivery men were finally here with my stuff. I had managed to bring most of my personal items in my SUV, but I didn’t want to bring my childhood furniture with me.
Getting cheated on by my fiancé two months ago sucked. I was just lucky most of what I’d spent on wedding plans was refundable since it was enough notice. Plus, I think most of the vendors felt sorry for me after finding out Eddie had cheated on me. News traveled fast in our little town, especially when that news had to do with the mayor’s son. I wouldn’t miss the whispers and pitied looks. That was for sure.
I opened the door before my mind could wander any farther. “Hi, you must be here to deliver the furniture.”
“What gave you that impression?” He teased.
“Just a hunch.” I tipped my head toward his shirt. Noting the embroidered name on the uniform. Theo.
“Ms. Cole, I presume?”
“You presume right. But, please, call me Addy.” I smiled.
“I just need you to sign this and we can start setting up your new furniture.”
I took the clipboard from his hands and scanned over the item log before signing. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure. I will be back in a few minutes with my partner. He’s down at the truck.”
“Take your time.”
I left the door cracked so they could push it open when they came back with the first piece. I went back to the bedroom to unpack my clothes. I was a third of the way through my first suitcase when Theo’s voice echoed through my apartment.
“Ms. Cole?”
“In here.”
Theo peeked into the bedroom. “We have you
r bed ready to come in.”
“Oh of course.” I slid my boxes out of the way to make room. “Come on in.”
The two men carried the large box like it was packed with feathers instead of an oak bed frame. “Where do you want it?”
“You can just prop it against the far wall. I’ll have to get some tools before I can put it together.”
“We can put it together for you, if you’d like?”
“Really? But the store only said delivery.”
“It’s a slow day. We don’t mind.”
“Not at all” The other guy added.
“Thank you both so much.”
“You’re welcome. This is Mark, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Mark.”
“You too.” Mark smiled and I realized just how much the two men looked alike.
I worked at hanging clothes in the closet while they put together my bed frame.
“So, you’re new to the area?” Theo asked while he screwed in the supports for the frame.
“Yeah. The city is a lot different from my little town. It’s so exciting.” I answered from inside my small walk-in closet.
“You moved out here all by yourself?”
“Yeah. It’s a fresh start.”
“That’s brave. Moving somewhere so different all on your own.”
I’d never thought of myself as brave. I think part of me felt moving away was like running away from Eddie and all my problems at home.
Once Theo and Mark had filled my apartment with a couch, oversized chair, small dining table, and my new bedroom furniture my apartment was finally starting to look like a home.
“Can I get you guys something to drink before you go?”
“No thank you ma’am. We’ll be on our way.”
“Thank you for helping get everything set up.”
“It’s what we do.” Theo smiled and nodded before saying goodbye.
After the movers left, I plopped back on my new mattress and let out a loud sigh. This was my new home. My fresh start away from all the people who still looked at me with pity because my fiancé cheated. Here I was just another girl living in the big city.