Chapter 6
Ryker
Too often, my thoughts turn back to the night I met Shadow. Her last words, with the threat hidden in them, haunt me.
“I’ll be looking forward to our next meeting,” I shouted to her.
But when I got up off the floor and followed her, as soon as I crossed the threshold of the living room, I knew she was no longer there. It was as if my soul knew I was alone. Without her.
The plan for the meeting with David was very simple. I just had to get the information I needed from him. However, I didn’t expect complications.
Complications in the shape of Shadow.
My first thought was, Who dares to get in my way? followed by, I’ll strangle the bastard. However, something inside me told me to stop, and I listened to my intuition. Only after a moment did I realize that the figure who caught my eye wasn’t a man.
With every second, with every move she made, my interest grew. Until the point where I had to address her; only then did she notice me in the darkness.
Watching her work... It was like a lightning bolt. Suddenly, it dawned on me: I was dealing with an underground legend. Shadow. I had no doubt about it.
She was dazzling in her craft, captivating, mesmerizing. There was something light yet overwhelming about her. Every move she made was precise and deliberate. I couldn’t stop watching her.
And now I can’t get her out of my head.
I try to work. I’m really trying when the guys barge into the office at Feather.
The music thumps beneath our feet. It promises to be another night flowing with dollars.
Their eyes are on me, though none of them has said a word yet. No doubt that will change soon.
Without a word, I get up from my desk, pour us all whiskey, and move the meeting to the couches. I can’t do anything productive anyway.
Because of her.
Eli and Theo sit down facing me. After a tense moment, Eli finally can’t take it anymore. “What the fuck happened to your face?”
I shrug, though once again I have a strange urge to smile. Me. Made of ice and rock.
That’s another thing I don’t understand.
What’s been happening to me lately?
First the girl who robbed Eli, and now Shadow. Both of them have something damn magnetic about them. For years, I’ve had neither the time nor the need to spend time with a woman outside of a quickie in her apartment or a hotel room, and yet...
I won’t even mention aloud that for the first time in ages, my lips did that strange thing commonly known as smiling. First when I saw her at the club and then yesterday evening at David’s apartment. Don’t tell me everything’s fine with me.
“I’m in love,” I say, surprising myself with the words that come to mind.
Eli chokes on his whiskey. He puts his glass down, and Theo, staring at me like a hawk, slaps him several times between the shoulder blades.
I roll my eyes.
Dramatic.
“I’m sorry, what? I must have heard wrong,” Eli gasps between coughs.
“I don’t think so,” Theo adds.
“I said what I said.” Another shrug from me.
“Ryker, can you rewind? Theo and I are currently lost.”
“I fell in love. It happens.”
“Not in our world, Ry.” Eli sips his whiskey and shakes head. “Is he high?” He directs the question to Theo.
“Are you high?” Theo asks, suspicious.
“No, I’m not. I don’t do drugs. What’s wrong with you guys?”
“Us? What’s wrong with us?”
“Okay, okay.” I raise my hands in resignation. “I was going to ask David Baker a few questions about his brother, but when I showed up at his house last night, he wasn’t alone,” I explain, putting down my glass.
“Don’t tell me you interrupted him with some chick.” Eli chuckles.
“No. But I interrupted Shadow’s interrogation.”
After my words, the room falls silent. The guys look at each other and then back at me. Eli crosses his legs as if something is bothering him.
“That Shadow?” Theo’s the first to speak. “I heard he’s not a fan of yours and would love to slit your throat. He’s the best of the best.”
“The one and only. Don’t know anyone else with that nickname.”
“How do you know it’s him? No one has ever seen him. The guy’s like a damn ghost; everyone knows about him, but no one has seen him. The name suits him, by the way,” adds Eli.
“It’s not him. It’s her. Shadow’s a woman.” I lean my head back. It’s nice to see my friends’ shocked faces.
It takes them a moment to get comfortable with this news. I know exactly what they’re thinking right now. I can see it in Theo’s narrowed eyes and Eli’s parted lips.
How is it possible that none of us knew this after being in the business for so many years?
“For a moment there, I was worried you were playing for the other team, but brother—who am I to judge you? What a relief. So, what does she look like?” Eli’s interest doesn’t sit well with me.
This is something new. Why is that?
“I don’t know yet. She had a mask on her face made of something hard that hurt my hand when I hit her. Something similar to what I saw in the movie Mortal Combat.”
“You hit her in the face?” Theo can’t believe it. He’s unusually chatty today.
“Right after she cut me down,” I hiss through my teeth, embarrassed, though I’m also impressed. “What was I supposed to do? Let her beat me because she was hot?”
“I would have,” Eli mumbles and raises a suggestive eyebrow. I give him a frosty look. “Okay, okay, I’ll shut up.”
“It started with us fighting over who got to interrogate the target. She knew I wouldn’t let up and wouldn’t leave until I got what I came for.
I knew she wouldn’t leave anything of him.
Anyway, she’s good. Really good. She can fight.
She’s as agile as a damn gymnast and fast too.
And relentless. Even when I was choking her. Fighting my erection wasn’t easy.”
Eli takes another sip of his drink. “So you met yourself in female form. It’s either going to be a disaster or a sexual earthquake. How did she get out of your grip when you were choking her?”
I’m not ashamed to admit it, even though the guys will have a field day at my expense. “She stuck a throwing knife under my ribs.”
I’m not wrong, and laughter echoes through the office. Even Theo smiles.
“That’s better than last night’s blowjob,” Eli cackles. “No wonder she charmed you. I understand that the bruise on your face is her declaration of love.”
I won’t correct him, but what I’m feeling right now is much deeper. “She kicked me in the face, so if that’s not proof of her devotion, I don’t know what is.”
“And you call that being in love?” Theo becomes a little more serious. “It looks to me like the chick has an aversion to you. But what do I know?”
“It’s just that... David took advantage of the fact that we were busy with foreplay and ran away. And then she vanished.”
Suddenly, I hear my father’s words in my head, saying that he’ll take away everything and everyone who means anything to me in this life. I hear it as if it were happening right here and now...
I’ll never give him that satisfaction. I have to get her out of my head.
I shake my head, trying to get rid of the thought. “I’m joking about being in love. What do we even know about her?”
“Besides the fact that she’s better than you?
She’s a silent killer and is respected in the underground.
I haven’t heard of anyone meeting with her to give her contracts.
Besides, I’ve never needed to find her because our paths haven’t crossed.
I’d have to do some digging online before I say anything. ”
I agree to this. “Do it, Eli. Find out everything you can, but don’t reveal her gender. There’s a reason why this information is being hushed up.”
“I’ll ask around,” Theo adds.
I nod again. “I want to find her.”
“But Ryker...” Eli becomes serious. “You know your interest will draw attention to her, which she’s trying to avoid? You won’t be able to keep this to yourself for long. Your father and the Pact will turn their eyes to her. It could burn her.”
I take a few deep breaths. Of course this could happen.
That’s not my problem, I add in my mind.
“I know what I’m doing, Eli,” I say instead.
Finding David Baker’s mistress isn’t especially difficult. He didn’t hide her very well. Only his wife, as is often the case, was the last person to know about her.
What’s fucked up is that none of her so-called friends brought her this piece of information. It wasn’t my business.
Eve Doughuerty lives in an apartment that David pays for. Apparently, that’s one benefit of giving him ass, and nothing else. If he loved her as he has been assuring her for years, she wouldn’t still be living in that apartment. She would be warming his bed in the house right now.
Two days after my meeting with the guys, I show up at Eve’s place.
My people are watching the building, but there’s no sign of David. Unless he showed up here right after running away from his own home and hasn’t left her apartment since. Considering what a cockroach he is, it’s quite possible.
Therefore, without waiting for a convenient opportunity, I decide to find out for myself.
I love how adrenaline pumps through my veins at times like this. It travels through my entire body, bringing me to life, driving me forward. The nights when I execute my plan to reach my goal give me just that. And it’s damn addictive.
I have no problem getting to the house where Eve lives. The building is unguarded and poorly secured. Also, the door opens right in front of me when some drunk guy comes out of the gate. It’s the middle of the night, but it’s not my place to judge if it saves me trouble.
So I go inside. Eve’s apartment is on the third floor. I won’t use the elevator, even though I don’t see any cameras.
Using the staircase, I run up to the third floor. Before entering the hallway, I put a mask on my face.
Apartment number nine is at the very end of the hallway.
The hallway is dimly lit. A moment later, I’m standing in front of Eve’s door. Using a small flashlight held between my teeth, I get to work.
With a few movements of my hand, I pick the lock. It’s as easy as taking candy from a baby.
I turn the knob and slowly open the door, then walk in like I belonged there. For a long moment I just stand there, listening.
Nothing but the familiar sounds of the street. There’s no sign the owner is still awake. The apartment’s completely dark. Fresh air flows in through the slightly open window in the small living room, and the curtain ripples.
And then a quiet chuckle reach me.
A silenced gun is in my hand in record time.
I take one step, then another, and another... Every part of my body is ready for battle.
Sweet Eve isn’t asleep after all.
The apartment is tiny. The living room is connected to the kitchen. In the short hallway next to the kitchen, there are only two doors. That means I have a fifty-fifty chance of finding her bedroom. The other door must lead to the bathroom.
First, I check what’s behind the door on the right, and sure enough, there’s a micro bathroom.
God, my shoe closet is bigger than this.
When I stand in front of the door, I notice no light coming from under it. Could Eve be having fun with my friend David right now?
A surprise is my choice. I bring my leg up and forcefully kick the door. It opens without the slightest problem, hitting the wall as it does so.
After looking around I enter, however... the room is empty...
My gun drops down and my thumb flicks the light switch. Looking around again, I peek into the built-in wardrobe and under the bed. There’s no one here. And then another giggle, this time much clearer.
Instantly, I locate the source of the sound. There’s a walkie-talkie on the nightstand.
“Hello, Jackal.”
How the fuck does she do it? How does Shadow know I’m here right now?
The urge to punch the wall is strong. I’m not happy that she has an advantage over me. I sit on the edge of the bed and pick up the device.
“Shadow. Hello, sweetheart,” I greet her. “How did you know?”
“I have my ways. I thought I’d surprise you this time.”
Her warm voice affects me in a special way. Whether it’s tinged with anger or fun, it doesn’t matter.
“You’ve certainly succeeded with the surprise,” I answer, and don’t want it to end too soon.
“Appreciate that. But I have bad news for you. You’re late, Jackal.”
“What do you mean? Where am I late?”
A quick glance at the device I’m holding. I can’t be sure, but it looks like one of those that can easily cover a range of several miles. Too far to track her down.
Damn it!
“What I mean is that Eve isn’t there anymore. And she probably won’t be for a long time. On the bright side, I didn’t find her either. My guess is that fucking David took her and hid her somewhere.” Shadow doesn’t sound angry, and that actually makes me wary.
Now I’m sure there’s nothing for me here. I head for the exit.
“Is that why you were laughing when I came? And you have a camera here, right?”
“Oh, just trinkets. Every woman likes to have gadgets. But that’s not why I was laughing.”
“Then why?” I ask, intrigued.
In response to my question, a fire alarm sounds throughout the entire building. The howling is so loud that after a few seconds, I think my eyeballs are going to pop out of their sockets.
Shaking my head at her stupid joke, I smirk. “You’ll pay for this, Shadow.”
Her laughter is infectious.
In the hallway the emergency light is flashing like crazy. A man in a bathrobe jumps out of the neighboring apartment, sleepy and confused. I pass him as though nothing has happened.
After a few steps, my eyes drop and there she is, standing in her unbreakable black mask, looking up. At me.
Following my instincts, I rush down the stairs. Jump down several steps at a time to catch up with her, but when I reach the ground floor, there’s no one there.
Fuck!
“Too slow, Jackal,” she sing-songs, and I press the device to my ear. “Too slow... Maybe next time? Over and out.”
There’s a crackling sound in the speaker, and I have no doubt she destroyed the device. I would have done exactly the same thing. She’s so incredibly similar to me. I’m speechless.
Throwing the walkie-talkie in the corner, I take off my mask, and slip out the back door onto the street.
The sound of fire engine sirens grows closer with every beat of my heart. Still, a stupid smile spreads across my face.