by Nicole Fox
Something in the way he said it put her on alert. “Fell doing what?” she probed.
“Umm, just running around.”
It sounded like a cover up, for sure. She’d have to make a note of it in his chart. If she had serious suspicions, there were people she had to contact about it.
Her mind wandered for a moment, back to LA. Sitting in a hospital, watching the doctor look at the bruises on Opal. He’d given her a stern look and asked, “Did you do this to her?”
Vanessa flushed and pulled the boy’s shirt sleeve back into place. “Some Tylenol should help the pain. Be more careful out there, okay?”
The boy nodded, took the pills, and left the office.
# # #
Hunter walked down the hall in the five-star hotel and stopped in front of room 319. He knocked and waited.
“Hunter Perrin?” came a voice from inside.
“Yes,” Hunter said. The door opened and Hunter stepped inside. He shook the man’s outstretched hand. “Jeremy Beale?”
“Yes.”
The man was dressed in a nice suit. Must have money, this guy. To choose this hotel and be wearing that outfit? He could certainly charge him full price without hesitating.
“Let’s get down to it, then,” Hunter said. He sat in the office chair and spun it to face Jeremy, who sat in the other chair. “A few things you need to know up front. My rate is $50k, and I’m worth every dollar, but I don’t kill just anyone. I guess I’m a kind of a hit man with a conscience. I only kill people who deserve to die.”
“Well, no worries there,” Jeremy said. “My ex-wife certainly deserves to die.”
“Ex-wife?” Hunter stood to leave. “I don’t kill women. Sorry.”
“Wait. Can I explain?”
Hunter looked into Jeremy’s pleading eyes. It was worth hearing him out. He’d come all this way, after all. Might as well see why the guy thought his ex shouldn’t live.
Hunter sat back down. “Let’s hear it.”
“We have an eight-year-old daughter, Opal. My ex-wife abused her. It’s been a horrible few years. I can’t tell you how many times I came home from working all day to find Opal curled up in a ball, crying. I’d talk to her and she would tell me things like ‘Mommy got mad and hit me.’ One time she said she threw her phone at her. She yelled at her constantly. You can’t imagine what it was like. At first, I just thought Opal was clumsy. She’d tell me she fell or banged into something. But when I saw Opal flinch when my ex raised her hand to brush her hair, I started to think something else was going on. And I was right.”
Hunter leaned back in the chair. “How often did you find bruises on her?”
“Seemed like every day there was a new one. Sometimes a cut. Opal blamed the neighbor’s cat, but I think it was from her mother’s fingernails. That wasn’t even the half of it, though. My ex is just mean. She was always ordering Opal around, telling her she didn’t do something right or that she was no good. I tried to stop it, but she’d threaten me, too. Said I’d never see my little girl again. So I just had to sit there and watch her treat my daughter horribly until the divorce went through.”
“And now?” Hunter asked. “Why don’t you use the court system to get her?”
“I am. But they take too long. And now my ex has disappeared with my daughter. I’m afraid that she’s going to take all of this out on Opal. That she’ll go too far or get into the wrong circles. I wouldn’t put anything past her. She’s used to living a nice life. I make good money, and I provided for them well. And now she has nothing. She threatened to sell Opal on the streets before when she wasn’t listening. What if she turns around and does something that horrible now to get money? Her coke habit isn’t cheap.”
“She’s on drugs, too?”
“Of course. She was almost always drunk. Then she got her wisdom teeth pulled and came back with fewer teeth, but a new addiction to pain pills. When the pills and the booze weren’t enough, she turned to the harder stuff.”
Hunter shook his head. “Sounds like a nightmare.”
“She’s a complete monster. That’s why I need your help. I have to save my daughter, get her away from her mother before something awful happens. I can’t wait on the courts, and there’s nothing saying my ex won’t just kidnap her and take off again even if I have custody. The only way I can really end this abuse is to have Vanessa killed. Then Opal will be safe once and for all, and will be with me, the parent who loves and treasures her. I miss her so much.” Jeremy’s voice shook as he said it.
He still didn’t like the idea of killing a woman. But this woman wasn’t worth his usual restraint. When Hunter was a kid, being hit by his drunk father every night, there was no one to save him. No one took his parents away or got him out of there. This was a chance for him to save this little girl. To do what he prayed for every night when he was a kid—for the abuse to stop. He could make a difference in Opal’s life. And he’d even get paid for it.
“I think I can make an exception this time,” Hunter said. “You pay me half up front. I find her, I take her out, you pay me the rest. Got it?”
Jeremy didn’t hesitate. He unzipped a duffle bag that had been sitting on the floor by the bed. He counted out $25,000 in large bills, then handed the bag to Hunter.
“How long do you think it will take?” Jeremy asked.
“You have no idea where she is?”
Jeremy shook his head.
“Could take a while then. Give me everything you have to go on.”
Jeremy handed him a folder. Inside were photos of Opal and Vanessa. But that was it.
“Only photos?”
“That’s all I have. If I had any idea where they were, I would have gone there myself to get Opal.”
Hunter nodded. “Then I’ll get to work. I’ll keep you updated on my progress.”
Chapter Two
Vanessa
Vanessa took Opal’s hand. She paused in the front of the school and looked around before walking on down the road. She was always checking, always looking, terrified that one of these days, she’d turn and see Jeremy coming after them.
“Mommy, what are you always looking for?” Opal asked.
“Oh, just to make sure I know what’s around us.”
Opal was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Are you looking for Daddy?”
“Sometimes.”
“What would happen if he found us?”
Vanessa squeezed her hand. “I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“But what if it does? What if I mess up and use the wrong name?” Fear shook her little voice.
“It’ll be okay. You can just say you were playing pretend. Or that you have an imaginary friend named Opal.”
“I want to see my old friends, though. When will I be able to play with Eva again?”
“I don’t know, honey. Are there nice kids in your new school?” She hated that she had to take Opal out of her old school. But what choice did she have? They couldn’t stay where they were.
Opal shrugged. “I guess. I don’t know them.”
“You’ll get to know them.” Vanessa stopped on the corner, waited for the light to change, and continued on. “You’ll make lots of new friends.”
“But I can’t tell them about where we used to live?”
“No. Remember what I said. We came from Georgia where we lived with your grandma until she died.”
Opal nodded. “Grandma Hill.”
“Right. And we came here because we wanted to make a new life in a place that didn’t have sad memories.”
“Maybe I could say that I had a doggy!”
“Okay… What kind of dog?”
“Mmm.” Opal tapped her finger to her lips. “A golden lab. Named Goldie.”
“That sounds nice. Where is he now?”
“Well, maybe he ran away.”
“So, a golden lab named Goldie.”
“Or maybe Sadie. I like the name Sadie, too.”
“Well, pick one. W
hen you make things up like that, you don’t want to change it too many times, or you might mix up your lie.”
Opal swung their hands back and forth between them. “Mommy?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“How come it’s not wrong when we lie like this? Because you said lying is always bad, and I should never do it.”
“Right. You should never ever tell me a lie. We have to say these things for now to keep us safe. But you’re right; lying is bad. This is only okay because we have to do it to keep us safe.”
“Okay.”
Opal seemed to accept this, but Vanessa’s stomach tightened. She hated having to constantly coach Opal to lie, to remind her of the story instead of the truth. What sort of a mother encouraged her child to lie and make things up? Even if it was true that they had to do to stay safe. This was no way to parent.
She worried, too, that her constant anxiety would affect Opal somehow. The always looking around, the way she jumped at loud sounds. Would Opal grow up being paranoid like Vanessa was becoming?
She opened the door to their apartment and stopped inside to listen, like she always did. Not that if someone was in the apartment, he would make noise and be heard, but it had become a habit for her now. Opal ran to the kitchen and yanked open the refrigerator door. While she sucked juice from a box, Vanessa stared at the front of the refrigerator.
A flyer printed on bright yellow paper hung there, advertising a local fair. She had initially blown it off. No way could they go to something like that and be out in the public and in the open like that. But maybe Opal needed some normalcy. Something they would have done in their lives before they fled.
“Hey Katrin,” Vanessa said, winking. “What if we check out that fair tonight?”
“Really?” Opal’s eyes grew wide. “Can I wear my tutu?”
“Sure. But you have to do your homework first.”
After dinner, when the homework was done, they got ready to head out. Opal pulled her favorite tutu—a rainbow tulle skirt—over her black leggings.
“What shoes will you wear with an outfit like that?”
“Rain boots!”
Opal ran back to her room and Vanessa slipped into her own bedroom. In her bedside table, she kept a loaded handgun. She slid it into her purse, then gave her pepper spray a shake. Could never be too careful. She’d taken classes on how to use the gun, self defense classes, and had pepper spray stashed in her car, purse, bedroom, and kitchen. If her ex did show up, she had to be ready. It might not be enough. She might not be able to defend herself and protect Opal in the end, but she would do everything she could to try.
She shoved the pepper spray back into her purse and felt it crunch something in the bottom of her bag. She pulled out the wrinkled paper and saw that it was a photo. An older shot of her and Opal and Jeremy. They looked like such happy family in the photo. But Vanessa remembered the fight that had happened right before the photo was snapped. It had all been lies, then, too. Act happy, act perfect, be a good wife, have a pretty little family. They were anything but.
She’d been miserable with Jeremy from the start. He’d been awful to them both. She’d put up with far too much before she finally left. Maybe he loved Opal, though he didn’t act like it, but he’d likely never loved Vanessa. He might not even be capable of love. And that was why they had to leave. It was one thing for him to make her feel unloved, but she wouldn’t let Opal grow up like that. She would make sure Jeremy never saw Opal again. Even if it cost Vanessa her life.
# # #
Hunter made himself more comfortable in the car. Who knew how long of a wait it might be. Across the street sat an apartment building. He didn’t know for sure if this was right building, but it was a start. With so little to go on, he’d had to jump on the first thing that made any sense. He picked up one of the photos that sat beside him on the car seat and studied it again. He wanted to memorize their faces so he’d know without a doubt when he saw them.
After his meeting with Jeremy, Hunter had gone home and scanned in the photos. He’d then used Google to search the images to find matches. Amazing what even the free software could do these days with facial recognition. He’d gotten a match on an elementary school web site, of all places. Maybe it made sense. She would want to stay close to her daughter to watch her, right? The name listed by her photo was Joanna Hill, but he would assume they would be using fake names. You didn’t just kidnap your child and run, then blow it all by using real names. And obviously, Vanessa was smart enough to know that much.
He’d then searched through the rest of the school’s directory and sure enough, there was a match for a little girl with the last name of Hill also. And this Katrin person looked an awful lot like Opal. Her hair had been cut and was styled differently, and Vanessa had apparently bleached her hair blonde, but he was pretty sure it was them.
Using their new names, he was able to find an address. And that was where he sat now. Across from where Joanna and Katrin Hill lived. Sooner or later, they would leave the building and he’d know for sure if it was them.
He stuck another chip in his mouth and stared absently at the building. People came in and out. It was a large building with a lot of apartments. Easy to get lost in. Easy to avoid your neighbors knowing too much about you. And it would be easy for him to get into the building when he needed to.
He waited for almost two hours before he hit a stroke of luck. The building’s door opened and a woman and child stepped out. The child wore a bright skirt and rain boots, and the woman had that same bright blonde hair flowing straight down her back that he’d seen in the photos. It was even longer than he’d thought from the photos. It nearly reached her perfectly rounded bottom. He watched them walk a few feet, but he was sure. It was them.
Hunter got out of the car to follow them. He walked parallel, catching up slowly so it wasn’t obvious that he was following them. He was closing in on them when a sudden loud noise caused him to spin around. I could have been a gunshot, as loud as it was. A car coming down the street had blown a tire. It was squealing along the pavement, swerving out of control.
He kept an eye on the car, watching it move down the road. Then he watched it move toward Opal. Once glance to her position confirmed it. The car was coming right for her.
Without thinking, Hunter dashed across the street. He scooped Opal up and out of the way. Seconds later, the car slammed into a pole that Opal had been walking in front of moments ago. The pole bent around the car and it finally came to a rest, half on the curb, half in the street.
“Katrin!” Vanessa ran over and put her hand on Opal’s back. “Are you okay?”
Opal nodded, her face shocked and scared.
Hunter took a moment to really look at Vanessa. It was definitely her. No doubt about it. The same round, grey eyes, pouty lips, curvy body as he’d seen in the photos. Yet somehow, her beauty hadn’t been conveyed in the photos. She met his eyes and he froze. For that moment, everything around him stood still, even time itself. There was nothing but her eyes. Her beauty made his heart tight and his brain still.
Vanessa broke his gaze and grabbed Opal out of his arms. She cradled her against her chest, then took off running. He watched them for a second before he realized that they were getting away from him.
Chapter Three
Hunter
Hunter stood there, watching them go. Even from behind, Vanessa looked like an angel. He was completely entranced.
Vanessa stopped in front of a black sedan. When she walked around and opened the door to put Opal inside, he snapped out of it. They couldn’t get away now that he’d found them.
Hunter shook his head, waking himself out of his momentary lapse in professionalism. He needed to think about this clearly.
If he got back in his car and chased after her, it would be obvious that he was after her. Instead, he turned and walked slowly to his car. He got in as Vanessa sped away in her car. He waited until it was almost out of sight, then pulled out as cop cars
flew down the street, heading toward the scene of the accident. If he didn’t get out now, he’d be stuck in traffic and possibly have to give a statement. With her car barely still in sight, he pressed on the gas to stay close to her without being noticed.
They made one turn, then another. Each time, Hunter was careful to keep several cars between them. Vanessa couldn’t think he was any sort of threat. He had to win Opal’s trust if he wanted to have any chance of getting her away from Vanessa so he could kill his mark and return the child to her father. If all went well, this would be one of his fastest jobs ever.
There was just one problem. This attraction to Vanessa could get in his way. He’d never seen someone so gorgeous in his life. In the photos from Jeremy, he knew she was beautiful. But in person, she was something else. When their eyes met, he felt like he never wanted to look at anything else in his life.