He starts rustling around in the drawers in the kitchen and finds a roll of duct tape. He tapes my arms behind my back and leaves my feet free. He doesn’t bother with tape over my mouth, because we’re in the middle of nowhere and no one can hear how loud the screams get.
“So, where should I start?” Ethan makes himself comfortable, sitting directly opposite me, and smirks suggestively. “I really do like you, Anna. Maybe before Dad comes in tomorrow we can have some fun.” His eyes darken and he licks his bottom lip. The look on his face is exactly the way Damon looked at me, all those years ago in my room.
“If you think you need to, Ethan, by all means we can have a lot of fun.” My interpretation of fun is very different than his.
“Pearson. What a damn fool he is, falling for an assassin. He’s going to be heartbroken when your body’s discovered down a dirty alley in Minneapolis, but I owe the fucker one for killing my brother.”
Wait, what did Ethan say? His brother died in gun-related crime.
“Ben shot my brother ten and a half years ago when Pearson found him robbing a drug store. Pearson was new to the force and went to check out a B&E, but my brother shot at him and Pearson opened fire. Pearson killed him and they cleared him on all charges. My brother was a fucking strung-out junkie idiot, but he didn’t deserve to die like that. Pearson shot him and got away with it. I fucking hated Pearson from that moment. When the business moved here, it was my chance to give it the green light it needed, by becoming a cop and keeping the Feds away from our property.
“Since we moved the cocaine plant out to the old dairy farm, our drug take increased by ninety percent in just the first year. No one suspected the milk trucks going back and forth. They actually hold the cocaine we process. Pearson’s CI got the artillery haul wrong and inadvertently gave Pearson our milk truck. Thank fuck it was only a small shipment, because I don’t think it would have mattered that I’m Dad’s son. Dad would have killed me for it.” The puzzle was coming together quite nicely. Keep talking Ethan, you idiot.
“Tell me about the bribe.”
“I suppose it doesn’t matter what I tell you. You’ll be dead tomorrow.” He smiles to himself, not before getting up and coming closer to me to plant a wet kiss on my mouth, forcing his tongue inside. “Mmm, Anna, we’re going to have some fun,” he says as he licks the side of my face. He walks over to the fridge to get a bottle of water for himself.
“About seven years ago, just as we were moving our business here, one of my father’s men got in contact with Ben and offered him a large amount of cash to ‘look the other way’ and keep narcotics off our backs,” he says using air quotes again. “But Pearson was too strait-laced to take the fucking money, so we had to send him a warning with his parents.” Shit. “Then I set up an account for Ben he’s totally unaware of and money is deposited into it every month.”
“A hundred and fifty thousand a month.” Finally, every piece is falling together. Ethan’s eyes smile as I say that.
“Yep, I had it set up so Ben is going to look like a dirty cop. But you had to come along and fuck all that up for me.”
“Why do you have four bank accounts collecting the same pay in each from the police department, Ethan?”
“Damn, you’re fucking awesome. I was screwing the fucking pigs while I could. They fucked with me and my family by coming after us, so I’m fucking with them. Of course, the money’s inconsequential, but the more I can fuck with them the better I feel. By the time they’ve figured out what I’ve done, Ethan Martelli will be long gone and I’ll be taking my rightful place as Tony Mancini, Jr., heir to the Mancini family, and no one will know any different because the only witness will be dead.” He’s referring to me. “With a little plastic surgery no one will recognize me and I’ll have pulled off the world’s best con job from right inside the fucking police department.” This man is demented. Royally screwed in the head.
“Why is it so important to keep the cocaine manufacturing here in St. Cloud?” I still need more answers.
“I scoped out a hundred areas for the operation to find a quiet, sleepy place, and St. Cloud fit the bill. You see, we have all sorts of businesses, but this is our most lucrative. Dad owes the Yakuza and this is the only business that turns over the kind of profit we need to keep the payments up. The fucking whores can only fuck so fast, and most of them end up with some disease so we have to fucking kill them, and the guns aren’t moving as fast as we need them to. You know how the Yakuza are, there’s no delaying their payments.”
And there’s all the information I need to know. Ben’s just an innocent in all of this. Other than killing Mr. Deranged’s brother in self-defense, he really is going to be made to look like a scapegoat, all because Anthony Mancini owes the Yakuza and the almighty mob boss can’t get his product out quick enough for their payments.
Which is where I came into it, because Ben’s in the way and Anthony needs to run the shipments free of police interference.
“Anna,” his tongue stays connected to the roof of his mouth as he says the ‘N’ in my name. “What should you and I do? Dad’s due here in your pretty little cabin in around fourteen hours. Which means you and I have fourteen hours to kill. Any suggestions?” He calmly walks over to me and grabs my breasts. He stops and looks at me with a fierce look of fire in his eyes. He lifts his hand and with his entire might he backhands me across the face.
“I really enjoy it rough,” he says as my chair flies over on its side. I don’t dare make a sound, because that’s what Ethan wants. He lifts the chair up and I feel a trickle of blood drip from just above my eye. I wiggle my hands and find the tape’s only slightly dislodged.
“Oh, baby girl…isn’t that what your precious Ben calls you? You’re fucking sexy sitting there with that tiny bit of blood on your face. Let’s see if I can’t make the other side bleed too.” And with that he smacks me on the other side to make the chair topple over in the opposite direction. Again he lifts me, smiling at me, running his tongue over his teeth. There’s no blood this time but I can feel the bruises starting beneath my skin.
“Shit, Anna, looks like I’ll have to try again.” He slams my face with the back of his hand and again I topple over. “Fuck, that’s such a turn on,” he says as he lifts my chair. I have more wriggle room around my wrists. Another few hits and I should be able to get the tape on my wrists undone. “Baby girl, you’re gonna make me come in my pants and I wanna fuck you so bad, so hard. You’ve gotta stop taking it from me and start screaming. I want to hear you scream and tell me it hurts. Come on, Anna, scream for me.”
All I do is look up at him and smile.
“What the fuck are you smiling at, bitch?” he’s starting to get angry and I need to provoke him to hit me again so I can keep loosening the tape around my wrists.
“I’m smiling Ethan, because I’m going to love killing you, and I’ll save a special bullet for your father.” This enrages Ethan and he punches me with all his force in the cheek this time knocking my chair backwards. My hands are almost out. The chair’s unstable and I think one more hit and I’ll be free. But he stops hitting me. He picks my chair up and grabs me out of it. He swings me around toward the table.
“You think you’re going to kill me, you fucking bitch? I’ll fucking show you.” His anger’s out of control. He pulls my pants down and slams into me from behind, bending my body in half over the kitchen table. He rips his pants down and spreads my legs with his own.
One of his arms is pushing my face down on the table as his entire body weight is on my back keeping me firmly in place. “You fucking cunt,” he’s yelling as he thrusts into me dry. “You fucking think you’re fucking something special?” It hurts like hell, but I’m not responding. “Do you know who the fuck I am?” he’s repeating, thrusting with so much force I can feel myself tearing. “You’ll fucking respect me, you fucking whore.” He comes inside me, angry and agitated. “You’re not a fucking assassin, you’re fucking nothing.” He gets off me and
that’s when Ethan’s life changes.
It all happens within a split second. Ethan starts to straighten up and I maneuver my hands out of the tape. I butt him with the back of my head and he stumbles back. As he reaches for the gun he left on the chair I was sitting on, I punch him in his temple with all my force.
Ethan falls to the ground and lays there, unconscious. I get the tape he used to tie me up and I bind his legs and hands together. I check on his vitals. He’s alive…for now.
Now I know Ethan’s secure, I run into my bathroom, kneel over the toilet and throw up a few times. That beast has just violated me and all I want to do is kill him, but I can’t yet. I go into the shower and I clean myself up. I’m bleeding and I’m hurt, but I have a job to do.
After the shower I go back to my car and get my Glocks and the bag that has my phone in it. No missed calls. When I return to the cabin, Ethan’s still out on the floor, but I can see him starting to stir. I give him a swift kick to the ribs to wake him up. He groans and tries to sit up, but can’t. His face is white, full of fury.
“Untie me, you fucking bitch,” he yells at me, spittle flying, and I can see he believes he still has the upper hand.
I stretch my body in front of Ethan. I have one of my Glocks in the back of my jeans. “You see Ethan, I told you I was going to kill you and you raped me. Now I’m just going to kill you slowly. I think I’ll wait until your Dad’s here, or I might do it and leave you gift wrapped for him. I’m not sure, really. I’ll see how I feel. But for now I need a drink.” I turn to go over to the fridge and Ethan starts thrashing around, trying to free himself.
“Ethan, I’ve been doing this a long time. Tonight you’ll have the privilege to watch me work. Admittedly, I’ll be working on you, and you may pass out at some point, but I’ll enjoy every minute of it.” I decide to help him up against the wall so he’s in a sitting position before I go to the fridge.
I grab a bottle of water and an apple and come and sit in front of Ethan. I take my baby out of my waistband and hold it in front of him, just taunting him. His eyes widen and his breath hitches. My beautiful gold Glock with the pink mother of pearl grip is right there, in front of him, teasing him.
“As I was saying, I’ve been doing this a long time. I may as well tell you about me, because let’s face it, you’ll be dead soon. So Ben was supposed to be my 149th Hit, but it appears you’ll be replacing him. I’m not going to kill Ben at all. Matter of fact I’m going to protect him against you and anyone else who comes along.”
“149?” Is the only thing Ethan can spit out, almost breathless.
“Yes, Ethan–or should I say, Tony–149. Do you think you scare me? I’ve done this so many times before. My first kills were on my fifteenth birthday and I’ve been doing this ever since. You see Ethan, this is my territory. I lived here in St. Cloud with my father. The former Police Chief Henry Brookes” I hear an audible gasp and I turn to him.
“You’re Anna Brookes.” It’s not a question or a statement; it’s a realization of who I really am. His face is as white as a sheet.
“So you’ve heard of me then?”
“Everyone thought you were dead. You’re not an urban legend, you are a legend. I didn’t make the connection between you and 15 and Anna Brookes. How’s that possible? You were the girl with the golden aim. So many people, both police and my kind, still talk about you and your accuracy.”
I let out a huge sigh and my shoulders relax. “Then you know what you’re in for don’t you?” Ethan’s head moves in just the smallest way as he nods and he closes his eyes in defeat.
“Seeing as you know you’re going to die, I need to know if I’m the only one hired to take Ben out.”
Ethan starts laughing. “You think once you kill me you’ll be safe? My father will kill you.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “I told you Ethan, after I waste a few bullets on you I’ll be paying special attention to your father. All I need to know is if anyone else been hired to kill Ben?”
“You fucking bitch, like I’m going to tell you.”
I stand and enter the code to my safe room. It houses my weapons, but it’s also a place I can work on Ethan. I use a sheet to cover the few weapons I’ve amassed over the last few days here in St. Cloud, because I don’t want them covered in body fluids and tissue.
There’s not a lot here, but I have ample ammunition and for now, that’s all I need. One corner is clear of weapons, so I go back out and drag Ethan in by his clothes.
He’s heavy, but that won’t stop me. Ethan’s eyes widen as he realizes this is going to be his resting place. I prop him up against the wall. I screw the silencer on my Glock because it will be pretty loud in the steel box once I start working. As I screw it on, Ethan starts to sob. “It’s okay, Ethan, I won’t kill you yet. I need to make sure you suffer first.” And I shoot his left knee.
“FUCKING CUNT,” he yells and I can see he’s hyperventilating. His body’s going into shock. I want to make him hurt, so I can’t have him passing out on me.
“Ethan, I can take my time. Let me get you a drink.” I go get a bottle of water and unscrew it and hold it up to his lips. He’s thrashing his head around, refusing a drink. “Ethan, being dehydrated will hurt more. Take a drink.” He’s refusing and I can’t get any water down his throat. “Well, I’ll be back soon to have some more fun.” I close the door and leave the steel box.
I take my laptop out and get my surveillance going. There’s no disturbance around the cabin yet, and I have a clear picture of what Ethan’s doing in the steel box. He’s not doing much. There’s a huge hole where his left knee’s supposed to be and he’s whimpering like a wounded animal.
I make a call to Agent. The phone rings twice and Agent answers straight away.
“15.”
“Agent I have a problem. I need to know if Hit 149 is anyone else’s target. Have Cleaner and Doctor on standby. I’ll send you my coordinates and instructions when they’re required. ETA on target information?”
“Four hours.” I can hear his fingers tapping away furiously just before I end the call. I send through my coordinates. It’s late now, the sun’s gone down and I need to get ready for the senior Mancini's visit tomorrow. I check on the monitor and Ethan seems to have settled with his blown-out knee. It’s been an hour since I’ve taken it out; it’s time I take the other one too.
I walk into the steel box and Ethan’s not looking too well. “Come on, Ethan, perk up. I have some adrenalin shots here that I’ll be happy to give you. They’ll keep you alive longer so I can torture you more. Now, I’ll have all the information I need within four hours, but I’d prefer to hear it from you. Has there been another hit put out on Ben?”
“Fuck you.” His voice doesn’t hold quite so much hate in it.
“Wrong answer, fucker.” I lift my gun and put a bullet in his right thigh.
“Fuck, just stop!” His screams are falling on deaf ears. I really can tune him out.
“I can’t do that, Ethan. But I can make you hurt so much more though. I’ll give you half an hour and then I’ll come back. Maybe this time I’ll shoot your dirty dick, seeing as you like to rape women.”
I watch from the laptop as Ethan writhes around. I don’t feel anything for him at all. Not one little bit of emotion. It’s time I call Ben. I get to my phone and see no missed calls or messages. Agent hasn’t got my information yet. I dial Ben’s number.
“Anna? Where the hell are you? Are you okay?” It’s been hours since I’ve left his house and he seems quite concerned.
“I’m fine. I need you to stay inside tonight. Please, don’t go out anywhere and I’ll come to you tomorrow. Have you got your weapon on you?”
“What the hell’s going on? Ethan’s car was found on the side of the road, and no one can get in contact with him, you disappeared for the day, and now you’re asking me if I have my service weapon on me? I’m losing my damn mind. I’m thirty seconds from jumping in my car and searching for you.” His v
oice is quivering but stern.
“Ben, I asked you this morning to give me twenty-four hours. I promise you I’ll explain everything, but for now, please do as I ask.” My voice is almost begging him.
“I can’t do that, Anna, I need to see you and make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine, but I won’t be if I need to be worrying about you too.”
“I don’t fucking believe you.” He’s pissed off now. I’m going to have to finish off Ethan and do what I‘ve never done before. I’m going to have to get Ben and bring him back here and explain it all. “I’m going to find you tonight. I’m coming to get you.”
“No Ben. Stay put. I’ll come to you. If you really want this, then I’ll come and get you. You can’t drive your car. Be ready in thirty minutes.” I wait for a few seconds for Ben to make his mind up.
“Okay.”
I go in to Ethan and squat in front of him. He’s really not looking good. He’s losing a lot of blood and he looks like he may have only an hour or so to live. “Ethan, are you going to tell me how many other hits there are on Ben or should I shoot your dick?”
Ethan’s losing his battle with life and he’s struggling to keep his eyes open. But he does manage a, “Fuck you.”
“I’m not going to shoot your dick.” Ethan looks up at me and there’s a glint of relief. In a heartbeat I raise my gun and shoot him in the abdomen. That’ll make him go into shock now, and it’ll be extremely painful.
“Fuck,” Ethan’s trying to scream but it’s coming out like the cry of an animal.
“Now I’m going out for a little while Ethan, so when I come back, if you’re not dead, then I’ll shoot your dick.”
I leave and I drive as quickly as I can to Ben’s. I get to his house in record time and I have my hand on the horn. Ben comes running out and stops as he opens the door and slides in.
The HiT Series Page 13