Dating A Hitman (The Dating Series Book 4)

by Love, B. T.

  He gave me one last squeeze and then let me go. “He’ll be happy to see you; damn, I’m happy to see you.”

  “I’m so glad.”

  He shook his head, still in disbelief that I was standing in front of him. “Wow. Well, where are you staying?”

  “Oh, well, nowhere yet. I’m planning on finding a hotel somewhere close by.”

  “Nonsense,” he said, clapping his hands together. “We have a guest room you can stay in upstairs. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

  I smiled wide, happy to be so welcomed by him. “Thank you. I would really like that.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Troy stood up from the couch. “I’ll take your bag up to your room if you would like.”

  “Oh, that’s okay I can get it.”

  He went over to where he placed it before and picked it up. “I’m on my way up there anyway.” He took off up the stairs and Machete scurried behind him, trying to keep up with his quick pace.

  I turned back to my brother. “So how’s dad doing?”

  “He’s fine.” He motioned to the couch. “Here, have a seat so we can talk.”

  “Okay.” I sat down and he sat next to me, shifting his body to face me. “When will dad be home?” I asked.

  “Not until tonight. He’s going to lose his mind when he sees you.” He leaned back into the couch, his expression soft yet troubled.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” he shrugged. “How’s your mom?”

  “My mom? She’s doing well. She didn’t want me to come here.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think she would.”

  His words confused me. I knew my mom didn’t want me to come see them, but I wasn’t sure how he knew that as well. “Why do you say that?” I asked.

  His eyes studied my face. “Did your mom ever tell you that I wrote to you?”

  “What?” I asked, my mouth dropping open in disbelief. “No. Is that true?”

  “Yes, it is. I wrote you letters and they all came back to me. I even looked your mom up and called her to try and talk to you but she wouldn’t let me.”

  My blood was beginning to boil. Now it made sense why she didn’t want me to come out here to see him; she had hidden from me his communication attempts.

  I put my hand on his arm. “I am so sorry, Eli. I had no clue. You know I would have answered your calls and letters.”

  “I know,” he smiled. “I tried looking you up online and couldn’t find you anywhere.”

  I took my hand away from him and laced my fingers together on my lap. “Yeah, I’m not much into the social media scene.”

  “Obviously,” he joked. “You know, dad wrote you from prison.”

  “Did he?” I asked, my eyes filling with the familiar mist that I knew was going to be a common occurrence during my visit.

  “Yeah. Your mom sent those letters back as well. It broke his heart.”

  “Yeah,” I nodded, “I’m sure it did. I just wish I had known the truth about the whole situation, because my heart was broken too. I thought you guys forgot about me.”

  “No no,” he said, leaning forward. “It was the exact opposite.”

  “I’m glad,” I said with a smile. “It helps dissolve a lot of the negative feelings I had while growing up.”

  “Well it sounds like this visit is going to help heal all of us. How long can you stay?”

  “Oh, well, I planned on a couple of weeks. Not having to pay for a hotel now sure helps a lot.”

  “Well you’re welcome to stay as long as you like; you’re family.”

  Troy came back down the stairs with a pair of aviator sunglasses shielding his eyes. “I have to go to work.” He came over to me and held out his hand. “It was nice to officially meet you, Scarlett.”

  “Likewise,” I said, giving his hand a firm squeeze.

  He smiled and then looked to the top of the stairs. “Come on, Machete,” he called out. Seconds later, the cute little wiener dog made an appearance and flew down the carpeted steps. “See ya later,” Troy told us as he opened the door and left us to ourselves.

  “Such an odd type of dog for a guy like him to have,” I chuckled.

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “Believe me, that’s not his first choice of a breed.”

  * * *

  We spent the next couple of hours laughing and catching up on each other’s lives. It was like nothing had even changed; he was the same Eli I had remembered as a child. Still sweet, still caring and concerned. He grew into such a handsome man as well, and was engaged to a woman a couple of years younger than he was. He was happy.

  He looked down at his watch. “Time to put some meat on the grill. Dad should be home soon.”

  “I’m so nervous.”

  “So am I.” He smiled and stood up from the couch. “You’ll meet Rebecca tonight, too,” he said while making his way over to the kitchen.

  “I can’t wait.” I stood up and followed him into the newly-renovated room. “Can I help with anything?”

  “Uh, sure.” He opened the fridge and pulled out a couple of bagged salads and some produce bags filled with tomatoes and avocados. “Do you want to make the salad?”

  “Sure,” I said, taking the bags from him. “Where’s the cutting board?”

  “Top drawer by the stove.”

  I got out the cutting board and sat it on the kitchen island, grabbed a knife from the knife block, and went to work cutting up the ingredients. As I chopped away I heard the front door open and then close shut once again. Eli and I exchanged glances. I looked back down and continued my task, unsure of what to do.

  “Eli?” A man called out.

  “Yeah?”

  “You in the kitchen?”

  “Yeah, Dad.”

  My heart was beating through my chest as my father’s footsteps came closer and closer to the room I was in. I could see him enter out of the corner of my eye.

  “Who’s this?” he asked, obviously curious as to why a young woman was in his kitchen who wasn’t his son’s fiancé. I sat down the knife in my hand and looked up to meet his stare. His eyes focused on mine for a second as he examined my face. “Scarlett?”

  I couldn’t believe he actually recognized me after all these years. “Yes,” I nodded, my voice cutting out.

  His face transformed into a look of disbelief. “No,” he said with astonishment. He moved around the other side of the island and came face to face with me, bringing his hands up and cupping my face in his palms. “Is it true? Are you my Scarlett?”

  “Yeah, Dad. It’s me.”

  His eyes glossed over as he pulled me against him. “My baby,” he said as wrapped his arms around me and quietly sobbed against my hair. “My baby.”

  I squeezed him tightly and cried with him, the emotion too strong to withhold. “I didn’t know you wrote me; my mom never told me.”

  He gently pushed me back and looked down at my face. He looked just like I remembered him but as an older version of himself. His scent was even the same, which was something I didn’t remember at all until I breathed it into my nostrils during our hug.

  “Your mother was afraid,” he said. “I don’t blame her.” He stood back and crossed his arms. “You’re beautiful. I, I still can’t believe you’re standing here in front of me. I never would have imagined in a million years that you would come find me.”

  “Well, I’m here. And I want to catch up on the last seventeen years.”

  “That’s a lot of life to go over,” he laughed. “But yeah, I would love nothing more.”

  * * *

  I sat across from Rebecca and admired her beauty. She looked like someone out of a fashion magazine, with her large breasts poking out from the low v-neckline of her tight black dress. My breasts weren’t anything to write home about; they were average. And I never dared to show them like she did. But I admired her confidence.

  She took a sip of her wine and then smiled at me. “So how was the plan
e ride?”

  “Oh, fine,” I said. “I’m not too big on flying but thankfully I sat next to a very talkative lady who helped pass the time.”

  “Women like to talk,” my dad joked.

  “That’s true,” I agreed with a laugh. I finished the rest of my wine and locked eyes with Rebecca once again; she always seemed to be looking at me. “So Rebecca,” I began, trying to break the awkward stare we were both partaking in, “what do you do for a living?”

  “I work for your brother.”

  “Really?” I chuckled. “How’s that working out?”

  She brought her hands up and tucked her short bobbed-cut hair behind her ears. “Honestly?” she asked.

  “Sure,” I smiled.

  She leaned forward and cupped her hand by the side of her mouth, as if what she was about to say was something everyone else at the table wouldn’t hear. “I get sexually harassed a lot.”

  We all laughed and my brother put his arm around her shoulders. “That’s right. It’s because you look so good all the time; I can’t resist.”

  “Well I can’t resist you either, baby,” she said, planting a big pouty kiss against his cheek.

  My dad raised his glass of wine. “I have me some good lookin’ kids, that’s for sure.”

  Eli and I smiled at each other from across the table. It was so nice to be back with my family again. I actually felt like I fit in perfectly with them, even more so than I did with my mom.

  I cleared my throat and pushed back from the table. “Well, today was wonderful. Thank you all for your hospitality.”

  “Of course,” my dad answered. “You’re family; you’re my family.”

  I smiled at the look of sentiment he was giving me. “Well, as much as I hate to call it a night, I feel like I need to go get some shut eye. It was a long day.”

  My dad stood up from his chair. “Let me show you your room.”

  I said goodnight to Eli and Rebecca and followed my dad upstairs. My room was the last door on the left, and when he pushed it open the faint glow of a light from outside shone through the window. When he hit the light switch the first thing I noticed was my bag sitting on the end of the queen-sized bed. It made me think of Troy, and I wondered when I would see him again. He had taken off in a hurry earlier.

  “This is nice,” I said, admiring the pricey-looking fluffy bedspread.

  “It has its own bathroom with a shower and a Jacuzzi tub, so you have some privacy. It’s stocked with toiletries so you should have everything you need.”

  “Thank you.”

  He smiled and sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to him. “You know, this used to be your room.”

  “Really? I don’t even remember.”

  “Yeah, and Eli is still in the same room he was as a kid.”

  “He really needs to move out,” I joked as I sat down beside him.

  My dad chuckled. “Yeah well, he grew up here. Your uncle stayed with him here so he could still have a sense of stability. As an adult he just stayed until I came home a few months ago. He might find something of his own one day but for now, I think he’s enjoying having his old man at home with him.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense.”

  He patted my knee with his worn-looking hand. “I want to tell you something, something I wrote you in the letters that you never got to read.”

  “Okay,” I nodded, pulling a leg up on the bed and turning to face him.

  “Well, first off I want to apologize for what happened to you as a little girl. I failed at protecting you, at protecting my family. I was responsible for Jimmy’s anger that night, and I’m sorry that things happened the way that they did.”

  “Oh, that’s okay,” I said honestly. “I don’t even remember too much about it.”

  “Yeah, well, I do. It was the worst day of my life. I thought you were going to die in my arms that night.”

  I brought my hand to his shoulder. “But I didn’t.”

  “No,” he said with a down-turned smile. “You didn’t. But I still lost you because of it. I missed out on seventeen years of your life.”

  “But that was my mother’s fault. She kept your letters from me.”

  “I know. It ripped my heart out every time they were sent back to me. I still have all of them.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. And your brother has his. I’ll have to fish ‘em out and give them to you.”

  “I would love that.” I smiled at him and leaned in, giving him a hug. “I love you, Dad.”

  “Oh, I love hearing those words. And I love you too, Scarlett.” He gave me one more squeeze and stood up from the bed. “Well, do you need anything else?”

  I looked around the room and shook my head. “I don’t think so; I think I’ve got everything I need.”

  “Okay, well, help yourself to the fridge. And there’s a heated pool and a hot tub out back. You’re more than welcome to use them any time of the day or night.”

  “That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. And just punch in the alarm code I told you about earlier if it’s armed.”

  “Okay.”

  He smiled and backed away to the door. “I have to work tomorrow but I will see you when I get home. Hey, you could always come down to the parlor and pay us a visit. Your uncle would love to see you.”

  “That sounds nice,” I agreed. “I might try and recover from the plane ride though,” I joked.

  “Okay, well, whatever you do is fine with me. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight, Dad.”

  Three

  I stared at the ceiling with my eyes wide open. Who was I kidding? I wouldn’t be able to sleep, not with all the excitement from the day’s events. I turned my head toward the window and observed the glow from the pool and the hot tub that was somewhere out back. A soak in the warm bubbling water sounded nice, actually. And maybe if I paired it with another glass of wine I would be able to drift off to sleep more easily.

  I got out of bed and clicked on the bedside lamp so I could search through my bag for my two-piece swimsuit. Once I found it I slipped it on over my already-naked body and proceeded to head downstairs.

  I snuck a glass of wine from the kitchen and went to the back sliding glass door, noticing that the alarm wasn’t armed. I opened the door slowly, being careful to not make much noise. Luckily everyone was asleep and I could be by myself, which was something I welcomed; I needed the time to absorb my thoughts.

  The pool was in-ground and was very large. I expected the hot tub to be beside it but I couldn’t spot it anywhere. As I walked around the side I made my way around the lengthy concrete-covered ground to an area of plush green grass. Right past that were some bushes that had a path in the center of them. I presumed that the hot tub was tucked away in a secluded part of the yard and I followed the path until I reached another small area of concrete with an in-ground hot tub positioned in the middle. It was hard to see—it wasn’t lit up—but as I walked closer to it the form of a man came into my view.

  “Oh my god!” I screeched.

  The man sat up quickly. “Scarlett? Is that you?”

  My hand flew to my chest as I recognized the familiar voice: It was Troy. “God, you scared me!” I huffed.

  He reached out and hit a button on a small panel that was flush with the ground beside the tub, illuminating the water. I could see him clearly now in the glowing bubbling light. His hair was wet and slicked back and he had a cigar between the fingers of one hand. Two glass bottles of beer were sitting on the concrete behind his head, both of them with their tops off and at least one of them presumably empty. But I wasn’t concentrating on those; my main focus was on the three sharp knives that were laid out next to them.

  “I’m sorry I scared you,” he said honestly. “I come out here to relax; the lights make it hard to do that.”

  I took a deep breath to bring my racing heart back down to its normal speed. “That’s okay. I can go back inside if you want; I do
n’t want to bother you.”

  “No,” he stopped me. “You don’t have to go. There’s room for one more. Or eight more, technically.”

  I smiled and stepped down in the water across from him, self-consciously holding my wine glass close to my chest. I didn’t like being in my swimsuit too much because it revealed the three bullet wound scars that were on the front of my body, as well as the two exit wound scars on my lower back from when they had sailed through my stomach and came out the other side. With the light on from the hot tub I was sure they were visible, and my suspicions were right because before I submerged myself in the water Troy’s eyes had focused on each one for a short second.

  He brought his hand back to his mouth and stuck his cigar between his lips as he slid down more comfortably in the water. After a moment of puffing he took the cigar away from his mouth and held it out in my direction while blowing out a stream of smoke.

  “Oh, no thank you,” I said, quickly refusing his offer. “I don’t smoke.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think you did.”

  “Easy to tell, huh?”

  “A little,” he smiled. “You’re probably not much of a drinker either.”

  I held my glass up and smiled. “I’m drinking wine.”

  “You ever drink the hard stuff or are you a lightweight?”

  “I can hold my own,” I chuckled lightly. “I’ve attended plenty of parties in my college career.”

  He put the cigar between his teeth. “Really now?” he spoke around it, his eyebrows raising. “We’ve got ourselves a college girl.”

  “Yep.”

  “What are you going to school for?”

  “To be a teacher, I guess.”

  He took his cigar back into his fingers and leaned to the side, snuffing it out on the concrete. “What do you mean, you guess?”

  “Well, I’m not so sure that’s what I want to be. My mom kind of pressured me into quickly choosing a career path.”

  He picked up one of the knives and my eyes widened. “Is there something else that interests you more than being a teacher?” he asked as he focused his attention back on me. He took notice of my expression and looked over at the knife in his hand. “Oh, sorry; it’s just another way I relax.” He sat up straighter in the tub, the action brining his broad shoulders above the surface of the water, and looked past me at whatever his target was. With the flick of his wrist he sent the knife flying past me.