Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
T aken Off Guard
Symphony
Emory Lawson walks through his bedroom door at eight fifteen on the dot. He is a man of routine, making my job easier. I was able to slip into his private estate easily.
His staff moves in sync with his demand for punctuality. All I had to do was move to the beat of their schedule. I danced my way right in.
Mr. Lawson meets all the guidelines Michael set. He is a disgusting man. Children have died because of him. He is responsible for the deaths of many innocents.
He and his company have knowingly distributed medications that would harm the children they were meant to save, all for profit. I guess he never thought about the families left behind to grieve.
My client is a wealthy stockbroker whose son was a victim of Mr. Lawson’s. I wasn’t sure I would take this one until I hacked Mr. Lawson’s company system. The documentation was right there. He knows. They all know.
The data is clear that the medications are more harmful than helpful, especially for humans under the age of thirteen.
“Allison, what’s going on with the lights,” Mr. Lawson calls as he continues to flip the switch.
Allison won’t be answering him. I put her down for an evening nap. When she wakes, it won’t be to shed any light on things.
“It seems you’re in collections,” I say as I step from the shadows.
His eyes grow wide as I aim my gun with the silencer. I put one between his eyes and two in his chest. Quickly, I leave out the way I came.
I follow the path that will ensure I won’t be detected by any of the surveillance. Once I get to the designated location Adriano was to park and wait in, I slip quietly into the car.
“I think I enjoyed that one,” I say to Adriano once I’m back inside the car.
This will be my third assignment since I started a month ago. I am making a name for myself. My clients have been quite satisfied.
Most of all, I’m learning to become better. My kills are untraceable. I get the job done and my clients get results.
I pull out the dance magazine that arrived this morning with me featured on the cover. A smile comes to my lips. As promised, I am doing my best.
Michael
Uri was right, I need some time to clear my head. I don’t know how it happened, but I ended up in Boston. For four weeks, I warred with whether or not to come here.
Annabella has accompanied me, wanting to visit Sim herself. What I wasn’t expecting was to find that Sim isn’t home, and no one can tell me where she and Adriano are. I never should have sent him here with her. I had once thought it wise to leave her with someone closer to her age.
I thought she would be more comfortable with a younger bodyguard. Most of my guys are older. Uri assigned all the guys who started with me.
Adriano is the younger brother of Salvatore. At the time when Sim was fourteen it made sense. Adriano was seventeen and had finished his schooling early. He wanted to join Uri’s crew, and his brother vouched for him.
He had been in training for a year by the time I assigned him to Sim. Uri had been impressed with him. That alone made me decide to trust my wife with him. Uri isn’t impressed by many.
Now, I wish Sim had let him die in Chicago. The thought of him being near her turns my stomach. She should have been here when I arrived.
“Annabella, what are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you and Uri at this time,” Sim says as she enters the sitting room we have been waiting in.
I have my back to her as I stand at the window with a drink in my hand. She would think I am Uri from this angle. Some of the tension leaves my body and a smile comes to my lips.
“Uri couldn’t make it this time, but we wanted to come see you,” my sister says.
“But—”
Sim’s words are cut off as I turn and place my glass down. I give her a smile and open my arms. It only takes a second for the shock to wear off and for her to fly into my hold.
I’m taken by surprise as she leaps up and wraps her legs around my waist. I have to stifle the groan that creeps into my throat. She feels so good in my embrace, and she smells delicious.
I’m growing hard down the leg of my pants. I clear my throat as I squeeze her tightly in my arms. I want nothing more than to cup her face and bring her lips to mine. Instead, I cup the back of her head and hold her close as she trembles against me.
“You are here,” she breathes into my neck.
Then suddenly as if she’s just remembering herself, she drops to her feet and takes a step back. She looks up at me as if in awe.
“Wow, you have gotten so tall since the last time I saw you. I … I thought you were Uri, but you are even taller than him.”
“Come here,” I croon, pulling her closer to me. “I’ve missed you. I wasn’t done with my hug.”
“Oh, I thought I overstepped.”
Tugging her back into my embrace, I begin to chuckle as she inhales deeply as she buries her face in my chest. As I rub my palm up and down her back, she melts into me. I dip my head to kiss the top of hers.
“You have gotten tall as well. You’ve changed a lot,” I say through my laughter.
“I am five-nine, weighing in at one hundred and thirty-six pounds. Although my instructor would like me to come down five or six pounds. I will do my best, but I keep telling him it is all muscle.
“I look thinner than all the other dancers my height. The scale just says differently. They shouldn’t force us to weigh in anyway. They are shaming us,” she says.
My heart swells to hear her voice in person. When she lifts her gaze to mine, I can’t help but smile as she gives me her eyes and doesn’t look away from me. I reach to brush my fingers against her blushing cheek.
The warm purpling hue stands out against her flawless brown skin. Her locs are pulled up in the front, with the rest flowing down past her shoulders. They are as neat and pristine as they were when she first got them.
“You are perfect just the way you are,” I murmur as my gaze drops to her lips.
Fanculo , I want to taste them to see if they are anything like in my dreams. She is perfect. Her legs look long and toned beneath the tight leggings she’s wearing. The zip-up jacket she has on molds lovingly over her full breasts.
My hard-on is raging in my slacks. I have to remind myself that’s not what I came here for. I’m here to spend time with her and make sure she’s okay.
“Um, I should shower and change. I will return momentarily. I’m so happy you are here, Michael.
“We can have breakfast and talk. I will have Chef make us something. Please don’t leave. I will be quick.”
My chest squeezes from her words and the way she glances at me out of the corner of her eye as if I’ll disappear. I pull her to me for one more hug.
“I will be here waiting. Take your time.”
My words earn me a tight squeeze around the waist and a shy smile. I kiss her forehead and release her to go take her shower. I knit my brows as she walks away, flicking at the band on her wrist.
I remember her wearing bands the last time I was here, but I thought it was a part of her outfit. I’ll have to ask about it later. Annabella has informed me that many of Sim’s tics have ceased, or she’s developed new, less severe ones than tearing out her hair.
I feel like I need to learn everything about her all over again, but I have this excitement for it. I’m hoping this time can bring me some clarity and answers. Those dreams are driving me crazy, but I don’t know what to do about them.