Meet Cute the Hitman

Chapter 1

Chapter One

TEDDY

Iimpatiently wait for my best friend to come online.

Okay, she might be my only friend under the age of sixty, but that’s beside the point.

This is the one time of day she can always be online.

The man who keeps her trapped is going out for a few hours.

He has the same routine every day. Where he goes, we don’t have a clue, but one day, I’ll figure it out.

It is my new mission, my first really, but you gotta start somewhere.

I perk up when I see the little green light flick on, telling me that she's online. Quickly I put my headphones on and make sure that I’m connected. Roland sets a Shirley Temple down next to me with extra cherries. My absolute favorite, but he says I call everything my favorite.

What? Can't a girl love a lot of things?

"Do you need anything else?" he asks.

I hadn't even asked for the drink, but I swear Roland can read my mind at times.

He's been in my life since before I could really remember, having worked for my grandmother for decades. I suppose now he works for me, but it's strange to think that. Also sad at times because it’s a reminder that I’m on my own now.

Roland is the closest thing to family I have left.

"I'm good, but thank you," I tell him.

Roland gives a stiff nod before turning to leave. He lives on the estate, and we never have guests except for staff, but still he insists on wearing that butler suit outfit thingy. It appears too stuffy to me, but I’m not the one who has to wear it.

I should zip it on the topic. I'm not one to talk. I never go anywhere, but every day I get up and get ready like I'm going to a tea party. It’s a habit I formed with my grandma, and now I love it. Just like my Shirley Temple. I take a giant sip of it.

"I'm here." Lily's voice comes through the headphones. "He lingered today." I know the he she’s speaking of is her guardian, Tristan.

"What do you mean?" I ask in a low whisper. "Is he on to us?"

"I don't believe so. He mentioned a trip he has to go on for work."

"Really?" That might actually be rather helpful for us.

Tristan does travel often for work. At least that's what he tells Lily.

She checked his calendar one day when she snuck into his office but didn't see any trips scheduled.

We wanted to line up our secret plan with one of them, but nothing had been on the calendar in the following months.

That was actually more abnormal than anything.

"He said it was last minute, and he'll give me more details later, but I think we're still good to go."

I puff out a breath. "Either way, I can hang around until we can strike."

"Strike?" Lily laughs. Strike her up an escape plan.

Lily can never go anywhere without a bodyguard. Tristan believes danger is around every corner. He takes her care to a whole other level. It’s truly insane.

Tristan had taken over as Lily’s guardian a few years back when her parents died. She came home for the funeral, having been away at school. Lily is always away, or she was when she was still in school.

It's how we met. Years ago, we both participated in a summer program and maintained constant contact.

I hated the program. It was about etiquette.

It was to train you for high society. My grandmother was more trying to get me out of the house.

I'd been excited at first, but it ended up the same as school had, an awful experience that I never wanted to repeat.

I was always the target for bullying. School was miserable, and it also took almost an hour to get to, which is why Grandma had taken me out and hired tutors.

When I'd gone to the summer program, it was more of the same until Lily stepped in.

She wouldn't let anyone pick on me. Lily might be tiny, but she's got the mouth of a sailor and the audacity of a man. That’s what Grams would say when she’d hear her over my headphones.

This time it's my turn to save her from being locked away in the gilded tower Tristan has put her in.

Sure, it's not a total jail, but there isn't much of an option for her, and honestly, Lily believes if she does push back, Tristan would put a lock on it.

That's why it's better we just go ahead with our plan and then deal with the fallout. Then she will be back here with me.

Lily might live in the elite society world, but she doesn’t have access to money. That’s where I come in. Apparently, I’m loaded. When my grandma passed away a few months ago, I was left with everything. Though I’d give it all back to have her instead.

She made sure there was a lawyer and financial person that helps keep the estate going. This place is quite big, and there is a whole staff.

“I think we’re good. We have to be. If I don’t get out of here, I’ll lose my mind.”

“We got this.” At least I hope I’ve got this. I’m doing a bit of sneaking out of here myself. Not that I have to, but I don’t want to do a ton of explaining.

If Roland knew of my plan, he’d try and talk me out of it. It’s not hard to get me to back down. A people pleaser, I’ve been called. They say it's a bad thing. I don’t agree. I think the bad thing is the people that abuse it.

“I’m excited to see you. It’s been forever.”

“Me too.” It might be selfish, but I want Lily here.

Sure, I have Roland and a few others, but technically they all work for me. The closest town is an hour away, and I’m not the biggest fan of it. The people that live there are the same ones that bullied me in school. So I stay tucked away here, except I’m not trapped the way Lily is.

“Are you bringing a lot of stuff with you?” I ask. I packed a couple of bags for my trip out to her, and they are overflowing. I’m not even the one moving out, but you never know what you might need.

“No,” Lily says with a finality. “I want him to see that I don't need what he gives me. That’s why I’ll be just fine without him.” That last part she doesn’t sound so confident about. The crush she has on Tristan is still holding tightly to her.

“That will show him.”

“I wish I could see his face when he comes home and I’m just, poof, gone.”

“With all those cameras you told me about around there, maybe you can.”

“Yeah, right. He’s got those on lockdown like everything else around here.” That is the one thing that really worries me.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to slip back through security?”

“I guess we’re going to find out soon.”

"I can't believe it's finally happening."

This is the first time I've been excited about anything since Grams passed. I might present as happy, but that's not always the truth. "Is there anything else we need to cover?"

This is the only place we know we can talk, and no one knows about it. We have a suspicion that Tristan watches her phone.

"Yes. If anything changes, I'll text you in code." We try not to text at all if we can, but things do come up.

I’m sure Tristan will track her down at some point, but it buys us time.

It also lets him know that she has someone on the outside that cares about her and won’t stand for him keeping her locked away.

Wonder how long it would take to put a giant wall around the estate?

This place is massive, so I know it wouldn’t be quick.

Oh, a moat would be cool, but I can’t have an alligator.

Roland would totally shut that down. Can you get fake ones?

That would most likely scare people away. I’ll have to google this.

"Teddy."

My heart jumps into my throat, a small scream leaving me. Roland stares down at me. "Sorry, you scared me," I tell him, hoping he didn't catch any of our conversation.

"My apologies." Always so formal. "Mr. Gem is here."

"Oh." Lame. "Was I supposed to be seeing him today?"

“There was nothing on the calendar.”

He's my grandmother's lawyer—well, he was, so I guess now he's mine.

I don't care for him. I know he's to watch over things, but it feels invasive most of the time. I also get the sense he thinks I'm a dummy. Contrary to what he thinks, I’m not an idiot. I just don’t care about most of the topics he goes on and on about, and I get bored and disinterested.

Sure, I'm not streetwise or great with people, but I know things. I had some of the best tutors out there. I killed it on my testing.

“He’s always showing up there. I don’t like it,” Lily says through the mic. She’s leery of everyone. I think it’s a city thing.

"I better go and see what's up."

“Love you.”

“Love you too,” I say, pulling off my headphones.

What if he got wind of my plan and he's here to shut it down?

Can he do that? I'm not sure. I haven't really tested the boundaries of what I can and can't really do.

Like, can I buy a plane and fly to Lily?

I mean, that's ridiculous, but it might be fun. I’m not sure what all these fancy black credit cards I have can do.

I stand and run my hands down my dress to smooth out any wrinkles before slipping my ballet flats on.

"Where is he?" I ask Roland.

"I left him in the parlor."

"Cool." It’s not cool, but I don't want to be mean. I’ve been on the other side of that and don’t wish it for anyone.

When I make my way toward the door, Minnie hops down off the sofa and stretches before following me. I found her all alone on one of my adventures, as I'd call them when I'd go exploring around the estate.

She'd been scared and crying. I scooped her up and brought her back to the house. Grams had a special vet come out to look her over. He'd told us she was underweight but appeared fine overall—and that she was a lynx.

We ended up keeping her. I don't think we really knew how big she'd get, but she's no normal house cat, coming in around sixty pounds. Rest assured she is no longer underweight.

Minnie's tail flicks when we enter the parlor. She's not a fan of Mr. Gem either.

"Afternoon," I say, greeting him.

"Theodora, you know I don't much care for the cat." He is sneezing already. "Would you mind?" I want to say I actually do, but I bite my tongue.

"Are we going to be that long?" Minnie starts to circle me, rubbing up against my legs.

"You know it's not legal for you to have her.

" A small gasp leaves me. Why would he say that now?

Right in front of her. A low growl comes from Minnie, likely sensing my distress.

She always knows when I'm upset. She stuck to me like glue after Grams passed.

I cried most of my tears into her neck. "I was only letting you know in case you have guests in the future. "

Oh. I marginally relax. "Minnie, get a treat," I tell her. She flicks her tail but doesn't move, her eyes trained on Mr. Gem. She normally always listens. "Minnie," I say, giving her bottom a light tap. A loud huff leaves her before she strolls out of the room.

"So," I say, standing there. If I sit, then it will take longer.

"Are you planning to take a trip?"

Oh, crap.

I'm the world's worst liar, but I give it a go, nonetheless.

This is dedicated to my closest friend. I'll lie to everyone's face if I have to. No one will stand in the way of me leaving to get her. Even if I have to feed him to Minnie.

Joking. She has better taste.