“I would have been fine and stayed there until they arraigned me.”
“Hmm doubtful, but if that were true, who would have posted bail for you?”
“Me. I could have posted my own bail.”
She wanted to shut this down. Pain that was old and familiar weighed her down. Hildy wasn’t some loose cannon, going off at the slightest provocation. No, she was a highly skilled recovery expert. Her ability to do her job had nothing to do with her temper. But it was more than that. He played on the fact that she had no family, like she had nothing else better to do than to do the agency’s bidding. True, she didn’t have anyone to go home to, but he didn’t have to take her for granted either.
“Is that so? You could have made bail?” His voice grated on her nerves.
He didn’t believe her and she had to fight the urge to play into his hand. No way was she divulging any more non-essential information about herself. That last bit of information had been too much as it was. Mr. Scott might be a lot of things but stupid or daft wasn’t one of them. Determined to stop this train before it crashed, Hildy put more force behind her words this time.
“Enough with the talking. I’ll take the assignment. Send the details.”
“Good. I thought you’d see it that way.”
A tiny thrill slid through her as the screen of her phone gave her the best news of the day—call ended.
5
Hildy crouched, perched high up on an adjacent building, still as stone. Crisp night air snaked down her throat as she took in large gulps to steady her breathing. The prospect of killing always did this to her. Mr. Scott had done it again, gotten her to take the assignment before knowing what it entailed. Although she was a natural at it, killing never left her in a normal state. It took time to siphon out the finality of death each of her marks tattooed onto her soul.
Cursing herself for being too gullible, Hildy fumed at how he’d played her again. He might be annoying, old and sour, but Mr. Scott’s game was smooth.
Hildy looked down at the top she wore. The material was heavy in the front with more flexible and lighter fabric in the back. The back had an opening to allow for her wings to expand. It had taken her more than a few tries to develop the right kind of top for these missions. With a hook at the neck and then clasps starting at the waist, she had room for her wings, while not having to completely expose her back. A shudder of cold ran through her. One thing that sucked was the amount of night air her back was still exposed to.
The good thing about her look was that in normal form, she looked like any other black girl nerd geek. That was the look she pulled off best.
Here she sat, waiting for her latest mark hoping it wouldn't take much longer. Hildy never got their names when the intel was as solid as it was tonight. He was a pervert and human sex trafficker. Tonight, this would be a natural kill. He needed to feel what it felt like to have forceful hands laid on him for a change. Weapons would be too merciful, too quick.
No, she hadn't brought any guns, ammo, knives, or anything else. Based on what this guy was up to now, she had no problems using her natural skills and ability to end his life. This guy was part of the scum class and she'd provide the service needed to do away with him without hesitation. The mantra instilled in her through her teachers from years of training played through her mind as she prepared to do her job…
Some souls inflicted too much pain on others to continue breathing.
Sounds of a heavy set of reinforced doors opening cut through the night. Eyes, able to see tiny details for miles, located the exact spot as Hildy had allowed only what she needed to complete this job to emerge—her talons and wings. Once again, she pushed back the loathing that accompanied the unleashing of this part of herself. No time to process why she was like this or how to be rid of it. Right now, she had a job to do.
The door she'd been staring at for over an hour opened as a golden light from inside traced its outline. Her mark stepped out, but he had someone with him—two other men and… young girls.
"Hell."
More sounds floated up, pricking her acute hearing. This time it was voices. Cocking her head to decipher them, Hildy shifted through the extraneous background noise of city life to isolate the target. Young feminine voices carried whimpers and cries as he spewed invective at the assembled group. She had to move.
Adrenaline increased making her edgier than was good. Hildy didn’t like it when this happened. She was too invested in this. Mr. Scott had sold her on the assignment when he said the victims were underage teens. The longer her body pumped with aggression, the harder it took to shift back. The last thing she wanted was to scare these kids. It had only taken one time for Hildy to learn that harsh lesson—full humans couldn’t handle seeing her like this. Perched on this corner of the skyscraper, where the wind shear was the most grueling didn’t feel great, but it would do in a pinch to help her get back into her skin.
Hildy watched as the men pushed the young women too hard, forcing them toward a waiting service van. It was now or never, but she hadn't counted on the young women being there as well. With keen eyes, she knew must look more bird than human, Hildy took in the surroundings and recalculated what she'd have to do to take him out. She decided instead of letting him see his demise, she would make use of the shadows in the element of surprise. Hildy looked at the young women and how he now dragged some of them along. She’d make sure he paid for his mistreatment of these young women too.
A shadowed figure caught the corner of her eye as she prepared to descend. No matter, she’d take care of the lookout after this gutless wonder met his maker. All sense of cold left when she stood, balancing on the building ornament to expand her wings. In this full, powerful state, Hildy allowed her body to free fall forward down into a dive.
As she came closer to the alley of the building she angled her body to glide into the cover of darkness. This man was going to meet his worst nightmare in the shadows. Closing in on the ground, she pulled her wings in tight to her body. Aerodynamics came instinctively to her and this was how she could skim the surface of the ground without making too much noise.
When she was within ten feet, Hildy still hadn’t seen or sensed anything out of what she’d already taken in. One of her fighting claws extended out of her foot in preparation. This would be short, quick and quiet. No use exciting the young women any more than needed. As she went in for the kill, someone from behind her clasped a hand on her leg and tugged. She crashed to the ground
“What the hell?” The whispered shock came out before she could catch it.
Hildy made a valiant effort to ditch the figure, striking at it in the darkness. It moved lightning fast, gaining on her to clasp her talon-tipped hands together—inhumanly fast. She gave a determined yank, only to have the grip tighten. Quieting herself to gain the offensive, Hildy looked up to see the figure remove a hood of a jacket. Enticing scents of musk, spicy cinnamon and testosterone fused with her nostrils to play with her senses. It couldn’t be. Only a moment expired before it registered on both of them.
They said in unison, “You—oh God, no.”
Standing here, messing up her assignment was the cute guy that had ruined her pie. This sucked major swamp ass.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, as if he was scolding a child.
“That’s classified. Now get out of my way. You’re obstructing me from my assignment.”
“Your assignment… and what would that be? It seems like it’s getting in the way of others.”
She watched as a distant light caught a fleck of green from his eyes.
Beautiful.
Shaking off that wayward thought, Hildy focused in time to see him take in her talons. The lump that hit the bottom of her stomach reminded her of how hideous she must be right now. Never mind, there was no time. As a matter of fact, time was wasting and she needed to get the mark before it was too late.
“I don’t have time to explain in a way that you can understand. Trust me
though, I have to get going or some innocent people are going to get hurt.” Willing her eyes to soften and shift back from black to their normal deep brown, she continued, “Please let me go. I have an important task to do. If you don’t get in my way, I promise to circle back around and make sure you’re all right.”
And he just smiled. The jerk.
Eying her as if this was a normal thing to see a woman with features like a bird of prey, he released her and nodded. “Go do your thing, but after, we talk. Got it?”
“Got it, now get out of the way, pretty boy,” she said, not waiting to allow him time to do it.
Hildy reached out with her mind to check for vibrations and movements in the air. They were still here. It appeared the girls were putting up a fight. Good.
“Hold on, I’m coming,” she whispered as her wings unfolded in preparation for takeoff.
Her climb was short but fast. Only about fifteen feet off the ground, Hildy made quick work of the distance between her and the van. Thankful the area was next to a noisy patch of Interstate, she used the sounds to cover the flapping of her wings. It never seemed to amaze her at how infrequently people looked up. They were occupied to obsession with what was directly in front of them. This was a flaw she’d used many times to foil a target.
Once she was directly over the target, Hildy locked on to him, digging the curved talons of her feet deep into his back, scraping along his spinal column. The screams he let loose rivaled an operatic soprano in volume, force and conviction.
“Yeah, how do you like it when someone makes you scream?” she asked, allowing herself this one moment to engage the mark. But her assignment was termination and not interrogation.
“Wait! I need to get some information from him,” cute pie guy—she had to get his name soon—called out behind her.
“That’s not my assignment.”
“It’s mine,” he said, staring at the mark like he wanted to kill him too. “Okay, I get it. We’re on opposite ends of a lot of things tonight, but I have to find out where he was to take them.” He looked up at her with a pleading look, locking her in a duel of stare downs. “That’s my assignment.”
“Fine, but make it quick. And, I’m not releasing him.” She didn’t want to risk this one getting away.
“Thanks.” He gave her a quick nod and proceeded to launch a barrage of questions at the guy.
When the mark was hesitant to answer, Hildy dug in a little more. Soon and she’d get to vital organs. This mark was stubborn; she’d give him that. Once cute pie guy had gotten quite a bit of valuable information from him, he gave her another quick nod, then turned his attention to the girls. She could smell their shock and trauma from up here. This bastard had abused them in too many ways for her to count. Opting to make this part more private, Hildy lifted him off the ground, moving him closer to the back of the building.
“Let go of me, you monster. Let go. I’m not the guy you’re looking for. I’m just the transporter. Ask ‘em, you know, the girls. Ask them and they’ll tell you.”
“Is that so? I smelled you on them just now. You perverted piece of shit. They’re kids. How could you? This is some sick shit. You know that?”
Hildy was beyond caring about who was whom. She wanted to get this done and those girls to safety.
“I’m innocent. I’m just here for the money. There’s a shit ton of money. I know, I could give you a cut of my part. Just let me go. No one has to know.”
“But I’d know.” The adrenaline was back. The beast within knew when it had its prey. Her beast wanted to end this dreg of society.
“You monstrous bitch. Let me go. I didn’t do nothing.”
Hildy saw him fumbling for what must be his gun wedged into the back of his jeans.
Time to get to killing.
She heard cute pie guy in the distance corralling the other men, as the girls did what he asked of them. It appeared he must be the liaison the agency had sent to deal with them. She never dealt with the victims when she was in this state. Good, more time to deal with this trash and no need to worry about shifting back to interact with those young women.
Extending the killing clawed talons on both feet, she punctured his back. Warm blood oozed. It was deep in color, the blood used to infuse life force to him. Hildy had pierced an organ. More blood burst out as she dug in deeper. She’d let gravity have a little bit of the retribution too. Pulling up in a vertical assent, Hildy felt the weight of him sagging beneath her. Yes, gravity would help her mete out his end. It would pull on him, straining his ability to breathe as the air grew thinner.
Then they were higher up, but not too high. She had to be more careful than ever. Of late, irritating drones were everywhere, messing up her flight patterns and causing havoc. The bastard was heavier than she had anticipated but with strength and determination she pulled him back up to her perch on the adjoining building. Once she cleared the roof, Hildy dropped the man the ten feet she’d climbed to clear the twelve-story building’s roof and landed. His crumpled form lay still as she swooped back around to make the fatal blow.
6
“Are you going to tell me what you were doing back there?” the familiar, deep voice said behind her.
Hildy had opted to sneak off, finding it better than having to explain who or, rather, what she was after everything was said and done. The bustle of having the cleanup crew come in had given her enough cover to slip out, or so she’d thought.
Swinging around to confront him and gain the offense in this interrogation, she said, “I said it before, it’s classified. Get your handler to fill you in on the details.”
“My handler? Who is that?”
Uh-oh. Wasn’t he with the agency?
“You know, your contact who gives you assignments.”
“I don’t have one of those. What I do have is a lot of questions as to why you were here and what happened to that guy? Been tracking him for months.”
Unable to comprehend all that he said, she had to clarify. “Wait—go back. You said you don’t have a handler? Then who are you? And why were you at this location, getting in the way of a covert operation?”
“One question each at a time, shall we? I’ll go first. My name is Ajax, Ajax Drake,” he said, pointing to himself.
“Ajax… like the household cleanser?” Hildy knew it was rude to make fun of his name, but she had to get the upper hand wherever she could.
“No, like its meaning—strong warrior.”
“Ah, strong warrior, huh? More like public nuisance,” she said, not sure why she was trying to provoke him again.
Not taking the bait, Ajax sped up to walk alongside of her, instead of behind. “I got tired of talking to your retreating back. Your turn. I answered who I am and now you. What’s your name?”
She wouldn’t look at him. Doing that would make her cave. Hildy didn’t want to have to explain anything else to Mr. Scott. Tonight was another nail in the coffin of her career. She couldn’t take doing this much longer. The marks were hideous and still her soul crumbled a little more with each kill. Now this Ajax guy had seen more than he should. If he wasn’t part of the agency, he could be in danger. She had to get rid of him.
“My name? Ah, sweetie, I don’t owe you that. You asked what happened. I told you, it’s classified. End of story.”
“Are you fucking serious?” All charm had vacated the atmosphere as Ajax fought against his outburst. “Pardon me for that. It’s, it’s hard. I’ve been out here trying to make sure this neighborhood has a new start and that guy was one of the last people I needed to deal with. He was selling kids into God-awful things.”
“I know,” she said, interrupting him.
“Then you know I have a right to know what you were doing back there and where he is now.”
Her feet stopped. They stopped without her thinking about it. Well, now she had to make short work of this situation. It couldn’t go much further and he needed to stay out of this. There was no telling why the agency had
targeted that guy. She didn’t want to be the reason why Ajax got on their radar too.
“Ajax, thank you for the help with those girls. You stayed with them until the local authorities could come. They needed you and you stepped up. As for me, forget about me. I’m nobody. What I do is not for public consumption. I’m a player in the background of life, hopefully making it better for others. As for what happened to that guy back there? It’s best you let it be and know that you won’t have to worry about him ever again.” She could sense he wanted to ask a million more questions. Hildy would throw him a little bone for his trouble tonight. “Ajax, my name is Hildy. That’s all I can tell you. It’s been a long day and I want to go home and get the funk of the streets off me. Thank you again for your help. I’m sure your family is worried about where you are. So, I’ll bid you a goodnight.”
Hildy didn’t give him time to respond. She took off as fast as she could muster, rounding the corner and taking flight as soon as her wings fully sprouted from within the folds of her back. Taking larger drafts of wind than normal, she climbed the sky getting above normal eye line. The best thing she could do was to lie low for a while, regroup and emerge in the new year.
“You don’t have any more sweet potato pies?” she asked the bakery clerk.
“Honey, no. Not sure where you’ve been, but there’s been a recent run on those pies. I’ve personally seen folks gather in prayer circles right over there waiting for a truck delivery to show up and I’d heard about a woman and man having a knock-down-drag out fight over one at another store too.
At that, Hildy felt the heat infuse her cheeks. She’d been glad when she’d debriefed Mr. Scott to find out that the agency only found five links to the fight on social media. They’d done what they do and erased all traces of it. Funny thing was, she found herself wishing she could have seen it to get another look at cutie pie Ajax. It was wrong calling him cutie and pie, seeing as he’d destroyed her pie, but she couldn’t help it. Hildy had finally admitted to herself. She had a huge crush on the large, strong warrior, Ajax Drake.
Ajax's Harpy Holiday: Dragofin Mated: Book 1 (A Dragon-Gyphon Shifter Curvy Paranormal-Fantasy-Scifi Romance Series) (Dragonfin Clan Mated) Page 3