Muffin Top

by Tabatha Kiss

  “Dani…”

  “I mean…” I step into the dorm to face him and point back at Darla. “This part will probably be fine. It’s the other part that’s got me nervous.”

  “You can do this, Dani.”

  “You don’t know that.” I fight the butterflies causing havoc in me already.

  “You’ve done it before.”

  “I’ve shot targets before,” I argue.

  “It’s the same thing. I know how that sounds, but it’s true.”

  I take a deep breath but it does nothing to calm my nerves. “Think she knows any boy prostitutes that look like you instead?”

  “I am not a prostitute!” Darla shouts from the bathroom. “I prefer the term escort.”

  “Sorry,” I say.

  She pokes her damp head out and her short, black hair falls over her eyes. “It’s okay. And to answer the question: No, I don’t know any.” She flicks on her hairdryer and disappears again.

  Fox lays his hands on my shoulders as I heave a thick sigh. “Dani, look at me.” I do as he says, peeling my eyes off the floor. “You can do this. I trust you.”

  “What if I miss?” I ask.

  “Then you try again.”

  “But what if—”

  “Dani—” He moves his hands to my cheeks. “I know you’re scared—”

  “Understatement.”

  “I will not let anything happen to you,” he says, holding my eyes. “Say it.”

  “You won’t let anything happen to me.”

  “Or me!” Darla shouts from the bathroom.

  “Or you,” he says, his eyes flicking towards her once before coming back to me. “You just have to slow him down. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “Let’s just pretend all this goes well,” I say, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “We haven’t really talked about what happens after…”

  He drops his gaze for a brief, but noticeable, second. “No matter what happens, I will get you and our parents home alive.”

  “That’s not what I’m asking you.”

  “I know.”

  The hairdryer shuts off and Darla steps into the room. “How do I look?” She throws up her arms and poses in the doorway. Jet black hair. Cherry red lips. A white bandage across her left cheek to hide the lack of stitches. Just like me in almost every way.

  I nod and force a smile. “You look like Roxie Roberts.”

  She snatches my sunglasses off her desk and slides them up her nose. “Tell me something I don’t know,” she quips.

  “We should get going,” Fox says.

  I look back at him, disappointed that he won’t answer my question but I’m not sure why I ever expected him to in the first place. Honestly, I’m not even sure if I’m prepared for his answer.

  ***

  I lie down on my stomach and press the butt of the rifle into my shoulder.

  “Now look through the scope,” Fox says in my ear. I feel him shift down to the floor beside me on my right. “You should be able to see the bottle pretty close.” He lays a hand on my back and warm goosebumps break out on my spine.

  “I see it,” I say, squinting through the scope. The empty beer bottle sits in the middle of the gravel driveway across the field.

  “Put your finger on the trigger.”

  My knuckles twitch as I lay my right index finger against it.

  “Line up your shot,” he continues, his voice smooth as butter. “Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Fire at the end your breath.”

  The bottle shakes back and forth in the scope. I remember his words and take a long inhale to calm my quaking nerves. I push it out—

  “Slowly.”

  I halt my exhale halfway and force it to back in to try again. His hand moves up my back an inch, shooting fresh warmth throughout my body. I breathe in and slowly exhale until it’s all the way out.

  I pull the trigger and the bullets strike the white gravel several feet away from the bottle.

  “I missed,” I say, frowning.

  “Reload.”

  I grab the bolt and pull back. The empty casing flies free and I push the bolt back in to load a second round. “I remember being better than this.”

  “You’re nervous,” he says. “You don’t have to get it perfect.”

  “I just have to hit a moving target from across a corn field. Yeah, no problem…”

  Fox grips my shoulder and rolls me onto my back towards him. “Dani…” he whispers, hovering over me. “There is no doubt in my mind that you can do this.”

  A gust of cool wind strikes my pink face from the open window of the barn. “I feel sick…”

  “I know but you’re going to be okay.”

  “I’m not worried about me.” He raises his brow. “Okay, I’m a little worried about me — but I’m more worried about you.”

  Fox sighs and traces a finger along my cheekbone. “I’ll be all right, Dani.” He leans closer to me.

  “Fox—” He pauses above me, our lips barely touching. “Don’t kiss me if it’s the last time you ever will.”

  He does it anyway. His lips press against mine; firm and passionate. Desire still lingers on his breath, the same kind I tasted on him last night in his bed. “Dani…” he whispers. “Be brave, for me.”

  I close my eyes, focusing all of my energy on his voice. It’s easy to lose myself in it and it’s all I want to do right now. “I just have to slow him down.”

  “That’s right,” he says. “We have the advantage. They won’t know you’re out here until it’s too late.”

  I take another long, deep breath. “Okay.”

  He leans back and glances across the field towards the farmhouse. “I should get over there. It’s almost noon.”

  My breath knocks around my chest. I’m not ready to let him go yet. “Fox—”

  He takes my hand and brings it to his lips. “Be brave,” he whispers, his breath tingling my fingertips. “And, you know, don’t accidentally shoot me.”

  I laugh even though I shouldn’t. “I make no guarantees.”

  Fox pushes off the floor and slides down the ladder to the ground. He walks out of the barn and looks back at me with a smile.

  Be brave.

  He says it like it’s so easy like it’s just flipping a switch on and off. I never considered myself a courageous person. I’m an actress. I have stunt girls and special effects to make me look cool but none of it is real in the end. It’s all just make-believe.

  I lay my hand on my heart. It thumps against my palm like a pair of hummingbird wings, never ceasing for a moment. It’s all just a machine in there. Machines can be studied and controlled. I’m the master of my machine. I have the will to say whether or not I’m scared or brave.

  I am Roxie fucking Roberts.

  Scratch that. I am Dani fucking Roberts. Fox trusts her. He believes in her and dammit, I do, too.

  I look through the scope and take aim at the bottle with my finger on the trigger.

  Fire at the end of your breath.

  The bullet strikes the bottle and it shatters along the driveway into a dozen pieces.

  Chapter 19

  Fox

  That’s my girl.

  I step across the driveway and kick the broken bottle bits into the grass. No sense in leaving them there for Mercer to see.

  “Well, that was impressive.” Darla slides back and forth in the rocking chair on the porch.

  I nod and glance across the field. “She’s a quick study.”

  She chews on her lip, staring at me over the top of Dani’s sunglasses. “So, turns out… I was completely wrong about you.”

  I smile. “Think so?”

  “This isn’t narcissism at all,” she says. “This is something else entirely.”

  I step up onto the porch and bend over to grab my black duffel off the bench. “Well, go on. Don’t leave me hanging here.”

  “I can’t!” she laughs. “Your issues are way out of my league.”

  “G
ood.” I reach into the bag for Caleb’s revolver and pop it open to reload. “It’ll make it easier for you to forget about.”

  “Forget?” she asks. “Please, I’m going to remember this until the day I die.”

  “Of all people, I don’t think I have to explain the value of discretion to you, Darla.”

  “Oh, of course. You’re a former assassin in love with his super famous stepsister that paid an escort who looks just like her for sex. I completely understand why you wouldn’t want that getting out…” Her voice trails off into a chuckle. “The last person I want to piss off is a contract killer, am I right?”

  “Right.”

  She scans me with nervous eyes. “But you’d never, you know… kill me, right? You’re retired.” I pick up the duffel bag. “Right?”

  I leave the question dangling while her face turns white and I step inside the house.

  Mrs. Clark sits in her chair in the living room with Sammy lingering next to her feet. He doesn’t move from his place but he keeps his eyes on me as I move into the room.

  “He’s not growling,” I note. “I guess that’s progress.”

  “Well, after seeing you beaten and bloodied, I bet he views you quite differently,” she says. “An animal can’t see what’s inside. He can only smell what’s on the outside. Now, he knows you’re as fragile as the rest of us.”

  “I could have told him that,” I joke.

  “He’s a stupid dog. What do you expect?”

  I smile and look at my feet. “I’m sorry about bringing you into this, Mrs. Clark. I had no right—”

  “I’m going to stop you there, kid,” she says, pushing herself off the chair. “I don’t need an apology from you, so save it.” She points a stern finger at me. “You take that energy and you put it to good use out there. Those girls are counting on you.”

  “Thank you. For everything.”

  “You’re welcome.” She pauses, smiling up at me with wrinkled eyes. “And besides… it’s about time this old bird saw a little action.”

  I laugh. “You should get downstairs.”

  “On my way. Come on, Sammy.”

  “And don’t come out,” I add. “Please.”

  She looks back at me and chuckles. “This ain’t my first rodeo, kid.”

  I furrow my brow. “Remind me later to ask you to tell me that story…”

  She leads Sammy into the back of the house. I wait until I hear her feet on the stairs, echoing down into the cellar below.

  “Fox!” Darla calls. “I think they’re here.”

  I go outside and the helicopter comes into view. “Put your glasses on, Darla,” I tell her. She slides them onto her nose with shaking fingers. “Try to relax.”

  “I’m fine,” she says, her voice quivering. “You know, I just realized… We probably should have agreed on payment first.”

  I smirk. “You’ll be generously compensated for your time, Darla.”

  “Good.” She inhales deep and shakes out her arms as the helicopter lands in the field.

  “Come on.” I step off the porch and Darla follows closely.

  The helicopter door slides open and Mercer steps outside. I stop in the center of the driveway and stand over the area where the bottle was. It should give Dani the best shot.

  An agent steps out, his face concealed by a mask and turns back in to grab my mother’s arm. Her hands are tied behind her back and she nearly stumbles to her knees as he pulls from the helicopter. Bennett follows behind her, his own hands tied. A fresh bruise hovers over his eye. I guess he got mouthy.

  Mercer stops several feet away and crosses his arms over his chest. “So, this is… nice,” he mutters, glancing around the farm. “Not my cup of tea but it suits you.”

  I look behind him at my parents. My mother makes eye contact with me, her gaze full of love and relief with a justifiable bit of fear mixed in. Bennett looks more pissed off than I’ve ever seen him, even more so than the night I kissed his daughter under his own roof. Not only did I kidnap his daughter, I chopped her precious, trademark hair off.

  My eyes float to the helicopter again. “Just one other agent, Mercer?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “It’s a simple trade. Never take more men than you need. You know our ways, Fox.”

  I nod. Mercer has a gun strapped to his hip. The other guy has one trained on my mother.

  Something isn’t right here. I have every single one of Snake Eyes’ secrets in my damn pocket. One wrong move out here and their entire organization is revealed… and they only send two guns?

  “I’ve taken out four of your squad, Mercer,” I say. “They didn’t send any replacements?”

  “Fox…” he drones with impatience. “You’re stalling. Let’s just get this over with.” His fingers tap against his bicep, an obvious tell.

  “You’re off the books, aren’t you?” His brow twitches. “The boss would have sent more than this—”

  “Fox—”

  “This is personal, isn’t it, Mercer?”

  “You made a fool out of my squad, Fox,” he seethes. “I trained you. I turned you into the man you are today and how do you repay me?”

  “I guess the boss isn’t as heartbroken as you are,” I note.

  “The boss told me to put a bullet between your goddamn eyes.”

  “But quietly, am I right?” I ask. “I assume executing a presidential candidate and cutting up a movie star on live television wasn’t what she had in mind.” Mercer flexes his jaw in anger. “I’m willing to bet you are in far more hot water with her than I am right now.”

  Mercer raises his gun to my face. “Make the damn trade,” he growls, “and get on the fucking chopper with the file.”

  Now, Dani.

  I wait for the bang of a bullet.

  The masked man pushes my mother forward and Bennett moves in closer. His eyes fall on Darla’s face and he furrows his brow in confusion.

  “That’s not my daughter.”

  Fucking idiot.

  “It’s just the hair, Bennett…” I mutter at him with purpose. Darla slinks a little farther behind my shoulder.

  Take the shot, Dani.

  Mercer takes a step closer to her and squints. “What’s that now?”

  “That’s not my daughter,” Bennett repeats.

  I stare him down. “Yes, it is.” My eyes flick towards the barn.

  He nods at her face. “I don’t know who this impostor is but she’s not my daughter! My Roxie isn’t nearly as… generic.”

  “Generic?!” Darla spits. I deflate as Mercer reaches out and snatches the sunglasses off her face. “Hey—!”

  I glare at Darla and she winces apologetically.

  Mercer’s lips curl but he’s far from amused. “Where’s the girl, Fox?”

  Bennett bares his teeth. “Where’s my daughter, you son-of-a-bitch?!”

  Now would be great, Dani…

  Mercer shifts his pistol towards Darla.

  I grab her wrist and reach for the revolver in my belt while pulling her behind me. “Put it down, Mercer. You’re outgunned here.”

  “Fooooox!”

  Dani’s scream echoes through the field.

  I turn to the barn, feeling a shot of adrenaline charge through my heart.

  Mercer chuckles. “Sounds like my squad is a little bigger than you thought.”

  Chapter 20

  Dani

  You can only see one target at a time through a scope.

  I had him in my sights. I had Mercer’s ugly mug right between the crosshairs. My finger was on the trigger. I just had to wait for the right moment to take the shot.

  I missed him sneaking in behind me.

  His fingers squeeze around my throat.

  “Foooox!” I choke as I dig my nails into his hands. I break skin and he growls in anger but his grip doesn’t cease. I kick my legs up to strike but I can’t reach him. He leans forward to dodge my knees, bringing his masked face closer to mine.

  I reach out and dig my nai
ls into his face, slicing down across his eye.

  He shrieks. As he releases me and falls backward, I keep my grip on his thick, black mask. It pulls off his face and my heart sinks.

  “Smith?!”

  No wonder he was a horrible bodyguard.

  He charges forward and kicks me in the stomach. I double over as the wind hurls out of my lungs.

  Smith steps forward and bends over me. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I heard your damn voice.” He purses his lips and spits at me.

  I heave in a breath, barely able to hold it in, as he reaches down and snatches the rifle off the floor.

  “Get the fuck up,” he growls.

  I roll onto my knees and take a clear breath. My eyes drip with tears. I look out the window and my vision blurs.

  Smith lays the rifle’s barrel against my cheek. “I said, get up.”

  I hold up my hands and stand slowly. We climb down the ladder and walk out into the field together. He keeps the weapon trained on me from several feet behind.

  “You’re in Snake Eyes?” I ask, glancing over my shoulder.

  “Sure,” he mumbles.

  I think it through. Snake Eyes murders Senator Lamb and attacks me to bring Fox out of hiding. They need to keep an eye on me to find Fox. What better way to do that than to plant someone on the inside?

  My skin crawls. He was alone in my apartment with me. “You let Mercer into my apartment, didn’t you?”

  “Just keep walking.”

  “You faked your attack—”

  “Shut up!” He slams the butt of the rifle against the back of my neck, sending me down to my knees. I wince in pain as he grips my arm and pulls me back up.

  I start walking faster, feeling the hard barrel against my back. We reach the driveway and I see them much clearer now. Mercer has them all on their knees, Fox included.

  Fox meets my eyes and they twitch when they fall on Smith. He pieces it together himself and anger spreads across his face as Smith kicks me to my knees in front of him.

  “Let them go, Mercer,” he says. “You have me and the drive. Let’s do the trade and leave.”

  “I think we’re way passed that possibility, Fox,” he replies. “Although, it’s cute you suspected this would end that way at all. What part of secret underground organization don’t you understand?”