The Hitman's Secret Love Child: Second Chance Romance

by Terry Towers

  “How about once we get Austin to bed we have a long serious talk about that?”

  She nodded, taking the napkin and blowing her nose. She sounded like a foghorn and it made me laugh. Her frown changed to a grin. Good, I never wanted to see her frown again for any reason.

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Robyn

  I was feeling as if there were dozens of butterflies fluttering in my stomach as I waited outside by the pool for Constantine to return from putting Austin to bed. This whole situation was so odd, it felt good and right, but it was happening so quickly. I hadn’t even gotten my divorce and I was in love with someone else – though in all fairness the divorce should have happened a long, long time ago, well before I finally managed the courage to leave. And as I sat and contemplated things, I didn’t think I had ever really stopped loving Constantine.

  But what about Austin? I’d made the mistake of allowing him to consider Gabriel his father and now I was paying the price. What if I allowed Constantine into his life and I found I’d made another huge mistake? What did I really know about this new Constantine anyhow?

  “Penny for your thoughts?”

  I yelped at the sound of Constantine’s voice. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I hadn’t heard him enter the pool area. The man was incredibly light on his feet for a man his size. A blush warmed my cheeks as I looked over my shoulder to see him walk across the patio to me. Reaching my side, he leaned down and gave me a tender kiss on the lips.

  “Fancy a dip in the pool, babe?”

  I’d been eyeing the pool. It had been a while since I’d been swimming even though Gabriel had a huge indoor pool at his place. “I don’t have a suit right now. It’s packed with my stuff.”

  He pulled his shirt off and tossed it onto the lounge chair next to me. My eyes slowly drank in the sight of him bare-chested in the moonlight. “Why would you need a suit?”

  I looked around. His property was completely cut off from any of the neighboring residences aside from the opposite end facing the lake and Austin’s room was on the other side of the house so he wouldn’t be able to see anything.

  I was tempted, very tempted, but there was a lot that needed to be discussed. If we went down the road he wanted, then I seriously doubted much talk would get accomplished tonight. “I thought we were going to discuss a few things.”

  He sighed. The sexy, flirty smile of his that I loved faded and he sat next to me on the lounge chair. I pulled my legs up, wrapping my arms around them and propping my chin on my knees, giving him space. “I know it’s only been a few days, but I feel like there are some very important issues that need to be discussed.”

  “I know. I told you earlier we’d discuss it so, let’s talk.” He placed a hand on my knee next to my face and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  I didn’t know where to start. On the way back home from Six Flags I’d mulled over everything that needed to be said and all the issues that needed to be addressed, but I was coming up blank at the moment on where to begin.

  He stared at me; it was apparent he wanted me to start. Just add to the pressure, Constantine.

  “What do you really do for a living, Constantine? Why did Gabriel hire you?”

  He chuckled, but it wasn’t out of happiness, it was a nervous chuckle. It may have been years, but I could still differentiate between his laughs. “I’m usually hired to get rid of problems.”

  “Problems?” It was starting to become clear and it’s not like it surprised me, but I needed to hear him say it. Was I jumping from the frying pan and into the fire? Maybe this whole thing was some sick game and I was just a pawn in the game.

  “I think you know, honey. I wasn’t hired to go and try to convince you to go back to Gabriel. You’re not a stupid woman, I know deep down that you know that too.”

  I nodded, but it still sent a chill down my spine. “You were sent to kill me, weren’t you?” Of all the ways to die, at the hands of Constantine Bateman would have been my last guess.

  He hesitated in answering, but I really didn’t need him to answer to know I was correct – I could see the look of guilt in his eyes.

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Why didn’t I what?” He ran a hand through his dark hair and looked off into nowhere. Anything to avoid looking at me eye to eye.

  “Kill me. Was bumping into me on the subway an accident?”

  “God, Robyn, why are we putting ourselves through this? You know the answers, why are you making me say it?”

  “Because I need to hear it.”

  He inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled. “I was sent to kill you. The night before I not so accidentally ran into you, I was camped out on the roof of the building adjacent to your building.”

  “Why?”

  “I was up there with a sniper rifle and was planning on shooting you through your window.”

  “Did you know it was me when you took the job?” He couldn’t have. The father of my child would never have gone to the roof of a building and aimed a rifle at me had he known who it was.

  Chapter 20

  Gabriel Salvatore

  “There’s something you need to see, boss.”

  Anger boiled within me. “What do you want?” It had been two days since Chester was murdered. The contract on Robyn’s life was up and I had gotten nowhere. My men were fucking incompetent. “It had better be fucking good. I’m not in the mood for nonsense right now.”

  “It’s about the guy Chester hired to take out Robyn.”

  I straightened in my chair, my interest perked. “What about him?”

  Cain hesitated. Was he trying to piss me off?

  “I went to the café where Chester met with the hitman and convinced the owner to give me the footage from the security camera.”

  “And?”

  “I managed to get a decently clear photo of his face. I then went to a buddy of mine on the police force and had him run the photo.”

  I waved my hand at him, urging him to hurry up and get to the bare bones of it.

  “We lucked out. The man’s identity was in their database.” He stepped up to my desk and presented me with a sheet of paper. The paper contained the man’s mug shot, name and some odds and sods information.

  Constantine Bateman.

  Staring at the man’s photo, my eyes narrowed. It wasn’t the face I recognized, it was the name. Constantine was a rare name. I’d only ever heard it once – Robyn’s high school crush and Austin’s father. She was with him and he took out Chester to keep her safe, which meant his next stop would be me and my men. It’s what I would do.

  Fucking Chester, even dead he was fucking me over. I should have known better than give him such an important task. Now I had a fucking hitman to deal with. And the fucker had my money!

  I wanted to ball the piece of paper in my fist or rip it to shreds. I really needed to find an outlet for my anger. Instead I gathered myself and looked up to meet Cain’s stare as he awaited his orders.

  “Find out everything you can about this man and report back to me. We’re going to end this once and for all.”

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Constantine

  “What if we just ran away?”

  I cocked a brow up at Robyn, as I went through my case containing my sniper rifle to ensure everything was intact and ready to go. I’d gotten a full rundown from Robyn of Gabriel’s routine, which synced up with what I had discovered on my own. It should have been a piece of cake – should be. But even the best-laid plans had a tendency to go sideways on occasion. Especially when I could pretty much count on the fact Gabriel knew I’d turned on him. The contract hadn’t been fulfilled and I’d received several calls on the phone he’d been given to contact me on. If there was a message center activated on that phone I was sure there would be a series of not-so-friendly messages.

  “Just hear me out.”

  My eyebrow raised a little further. This ought to be good.

  “We disappear, try to make a go out of this. I was planni
ng on going into the witness protection program so that was my plan all along.”

  “We’ve been through this.” And we had. Running wasn’t an option. I refused to spend my life looking over my shoulder. And I wasn’t about to leave the life I’d built. Yes, it had been built on the blood of others, but it was mine. New York was my home and it was going to be the home of my son as well. I’d kill whomever I had to in order to make it happen.

  She chewed at her lower lip, wringing the fingers of her hands in front of her. “What if it goes bad?”

  “Bad how?” I wasn’t going to entertain any what ifs with her. The last thing I wanted was for her to worry or question my competence in getting the job done.

  “So much could go wrong. What if you get killed or caught?”

  “I won’t.” Satisfied everything was in good working order and ready to go, I left the closet, the case in my hands and her hot on my heels. “I’ve done this before, sweetheart, and to men a hell of a lot more powerful than your husband.”

  I didn’t have to look over my shoulder to know she was scowling behind my back. I shouldn’t have used the term “husband” – it seemed to put a very sour taste in her mouth and quite frankly with me as well. Maybe it was my bitterness that demanded I lash out at her from time to time, hitting her where it hurt.

  I was an asshole. A part of me was still hurting over what I deemed to be her betrayal and wanted her to hurt too. She said leaving me was as hard for her as it was for me, but she wasn’t the one who was left in the dark. I hadn’t taken anything from her. I was trying hard to see her point of view and put myself into her place.

  Really, really trying.

  It wasn’t important right now. I’d deal with those emotions when all of this was over with. Now that I knew of Austin’s existence I wasn’t about to let him go. It was something I’d decided over the span of the past couple of days. Robyn may or may not come part and parcel with that package – that had yet to be determined.

  “Still…” she trailed off. I waited a moment, but she didn’t say anything more.

  Everything was set to go. Taking a deep breath in I slowly released it. “I’ve gotta go in order for things to go smoothly.” Turning around I saw a frown on her lips and unshed tears rimming her eyes.

  With a sigh, I placed the case on the bedroom floor and cupped her chin in my hand, tilting her head up so she looked into my eyes. “It’s going to be fine. I promise.”

  Robyn nodded. “Uh-huh.”

  She was getting closer to shedding those tears. The heart inside my chest that had been hard for such a long time cracked. “It’ll be a whole new start. For both of us. Is that what you want?” It was what she wanted – I could see the love and hope for a future for us in her eyes. Problem was, I just wasn’t sure that I was able to love her like I had in the past. Didn’t even know if I was genuinely capable of such intense feelings anymore; my life at present didn’t allow for emotions. Looking down into her eyes I felt an impulse to tell her I loved her, but I forced that urge back. Time was needed for me to sort out my head.

  “I’ve got to go.” Kissing her forehead, I picked up my case and left the room. I halfway expected to hear her footsteps running behind me, but I didn’t. Pausing at Austin’s room, I opened the door as quietly as possible and peered in. We’d put him to bed a little over an hour ago. He was sound asleep.

  Walking into the room as soundlessly as possible, I reached the bed and kissed his forehead. Straightening up, a chuckle escaped me. I felt like a family man. House in the suburbs, kid sound asleep by nine and a woman who loved me waiting for me to come home safe and sound from work.

  Wow! Running a hand through my hair, I turned and left the bedroom. I half expected to see Robyn waiting for me by the front door as I reached the bottom of the staircase. She wasn’t.

  I’m not sure why, but I looked over my shoulder as I opened the front door. I didn’t want to leave them. Robyn’s suggestion to just leave and start a fresh new life seemed really good at the moment. Normally, the thought of going out on a job sent an insane high through me. But not tonight. It was something that had to be done.

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Robyn

  If I kept pacing like I was I’d surely make a trail along the center of the carpeted floor. But I couldn’t stop. My heart was beating so hard and rapidly in my chest it felt like it was going to explode on through Constantine was our only chance of getting out of this mess alive. I’d burned my bridges with the FBI, calling agent Truss the previous day and telling him I couldn’t go forward with the deal and was mistaken when it came to the information I could provide – to say he wasn’t happy over my decision was an understatement.

  But what about Gabriel? I had loved him at one time in my life and in the matter of a few hours he’d be dead. There was no doubt he deserved it. He’d ended countless lives for no reason other than they owed him money, or pissed him off. The world would be a better place. Despite that knowledge, guilt and remorse still lingered in my head.

  I had to do something other than pace or I’d go insane. Leaving the bedroom I went to Austin’s room and opened the door. Without entering the room, I peeked in and smiled. He’d been sleeping soundly since we’d arrived here, it was like subconsciously he knew he was home. While he was usually a sound sleeper, many of his nights would be plagued with bad dreams with him tossing and turning on the bed, muttering words I couldn’t decipher. And Constantine was so damned good with him. It was like he had two personalities, a warm-hearted father on one hand, yet a cold-blooded killer on the other.

  Just as I closed the door and backed away I heard the faint sound of footsteps on the lower level – at least it sounded like footsteps. Looking down at my watch, I frowned. Constantine had been gone for two hours now. Surely that wasn’t enough time to do the job and get back home.

  With a shake of my head, I dismissed the feeling that someone else was in the house. It was paranoia, that was all. Despite my dismissing it as my imagination I went back into the bedroom and to Constantine’s closet. Pulling open the double doors to his wardrobe, I knelt and opened the hidden drawer at the back. Inside were several handguns, which Constantine had familiarized me with earlier that day. Grabbing a revolver, I checked to see if it was loaded and then to see if the safety was on – it was and it was.

  One of Gabriel’s hobbies was to go to the shooting range. I’d gone with him on several occasions and knew my way around a gun. Granted I wasn’t the best shot, but at least I had the feeling of security knowing the gun was on me, just in case.

  Despite telling myself that I was paranoid, I refused to put the gun away as I slowly made my way down the stairs. Downstairs was quiet – eerily quiet. But then again, the feeling could be dismissed as my imagination. Too many horror and thriller movies.

  At the foot of the stairs, I made my way to the kitchen. I wasn’t hungry, but perhaps munching on junk food would entertain me and calm my nerves. It had been my go-to in the past.

  Heading to the fridge, placing my free hand on the handle, I was just about to pull it open when I saw undeniable movement behind me. “Constantine?” Despite asking the question, I already knew it wasn’t him.

  Spinning around, I lifted the gun, my finger sliding onto the trigger. Without my so much as thinking, my finger pulled the trigger, the kickback sending me backward against the fridge.

  “Mommy?”

  My eyes widened in horror as the bullet hit its target. “Oh god! What did I just do?”

  Chapter 21

  Constantine

  Dammit! Two hours waiting outside of the club and no Gabriel. His movements usually were like clockwork and rarely without a small entourage. The fact that many nights he had a new hot woman wasn’t lost on me. Yep, he was truly broken-hearted over losing Robyn and the child.

  Change in plans. Either I could go in and take him out point-blank and hope to get out before being caught or I could try his house, which was the equivalent of a guarded fortress. Or,
I could simply try another night. Nope, it wouldn’t happen another night, tonight was the night. We needed to get on with our lives.

  Gathering up my rifle, disassembling it and putting it back into its case, I snapped the case closed and made my way from the rooftop of the adjacent building to my car. Popping the trunk open from my key panel, I shoved the case into the trunk and placed a smaller case on top. Inside the smaller case was a pistol with silencer and an additional clip.

  Did I really need an additional clip? Was I planning on shooting my way through the crowd? Placing the pistol into the inside pocket of my jacket, I slid the extra cartridge into the other pocket. Making my way to the club, I found myself faced with another problem. The club had metal detectors and bouncers doing random searches. There was no way I was getting in the front door.

  There was always the back. It would take some patience to wait for someone to come out so I could slip in, but it was the only way. Walking past the line of people waiting to get in, I rounded the corner of the building when my phone began to vibrate in my jacket pocket, signalling I had an incoming text message.

  My first instinct was to ignore the text, but Robyn was home alone. Maybe she needed something? Pulling my phone from my pocket, I looked down at the screen and froze in the spot. Robyn had called three times and there was a text message. Clicking the open message button I found a short, yet frightening message, which chilled me to the bone:

  SOS!!!! COME HOME! HURRY!

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Constantine

  I’d never been so grateful to not come across a cop in my life as I pushed my Mercedes to the limit heading home. Traffic was horrible. Did people not have a sense of urgency? Fuck! When I finally reached my neighbourhood, I slowed the car to a creep, parking around the corner and killing the engine.

  The numerous attempts I had made to contact Robyn were futile; she wasn’t answering. Anything could have happened while I was gone, from Austin falling into the pool and drowning to Gabriel and his men showing up and taking them both – or worse. How he managed to track me down was beyond me. The only person who knew where I lived was my father. My house was technically in his name. He’d have to find out who I really was and then get the information from Vince before being able to locate me.