Blind Trust Read online

  “How’d you find out where I live?” I asked.

  “What?” she said as if I had asked her a stupid question, turning up her lip at me.

  I replied, “What?”

  Her face twisted as she turned up her nose. She quickly calmed and said again, “What?”

  I squinted, fixing my mouth to respond but was cut off.

  “What’s keeping you from your bed, Kit Kat?” Reagan came from behind me in one of my tee shirts. That was it—a thin all-white tee shirt, and you could see everything. Her hand slipped under my shirt as she looked out the door. “Who’s she?”

  My mouth twisted into a malicious grin as I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. I was getting ready to play this out. Reagan’s head stopped right under my neck. Looking out at Spirit, I saw she would stop right under my chin.

  “So are you coming?” Spirit asked, probably giving Reagan the wrong idea.

  And since she wanted to play that game… I knew just what to do to get under her luscious skin. Already knowing what Reagan’s response was going to be, I waited for my cue.

  “Where are you going with her, Kit Kat?” she asked on cue, stepping in front of me and rising on her tiptoes. Like I knew she would.

  I looked down at her and moved my free hand to the middle of her ass. “Nowhere. I’m doing something for Janet. You know I couldn’t possibly go anywhere with that.” I kissed her and took a full grip of her ass. I kissed and touched her in a way that would make anybody watching feel me kiss them through her. And by the quick shift of Spirit’s weight and huff of irritation, I could tell it bothered her. Bothered her worse than what she did bothered me.

  Success.

  Spirit grumbled, whipped around, and charged off down the hall. Once I heard her heels clicking down the stairs, I pushed Reagan away from me.

  She punched my chest. “You’re such an asshole, Kyle.”

  I wiped my mouth. “What? You didn’t really think I would kiss you for you, did you?” Absolutely not, it was all for Spirit, just to see if I could draw a reaction from her.

  Reagan’s hand whipped toward my face and I grabbed her wrist. “Go grab a pair of my pants, put them on, and I’ll wait here for you. So you can get your ass out of my crib.”

  “I hate you so much,” she uttered, with an angered squint to her eyes.

  I smirked and pecked her turned-up lips. “You’d love me if it wasn’t for you.” I smacked her butt. “Now hurry up so you can get out. You’re fucking up the ho-free zone I got going on in here.”

  Her hand swung at me and I let it hit me. I deserved that one.

  “I’m sorry, Tulip. You’re not a ho. Just a cheating gold digger.”

  A horn blew loudly outside. Something told me Spirit was about to get a lot more interesting.

  “The nerve!” I slammed down on the horn of Janet’s car again. Kyle was probably too busy with Princess of Beauty to come help his so-called “friend for a while” out of the car.

  God, I couldn’t wait to kill him! He did nothing but make my life more stressful and annoying than it already was. “Yeah. Thanks, Kyle.”

  “Who?” Janet asked, head slumped over, too drunk to open her eyes.

  “And you’re just as bad as him,” I told her, thinking now was a good time to let her know I knew her secret and get away with her not remembering. “How dare you be friends with the guy I have to assassinate and not tell me? I’m sorry, Janet, but you’re going to be one less friend’s friend.”

  Kyle and his perfect Barbie walked from the main door of his building.

  He walked her to her car, helped her in, and leaned over in her window to tell her something. She kissed his cheek and drove off with a smile brighter than she was.

  It was wrong of me to want to smack that smile from her perfect face and knock out her perfectly straight teeth… but I did.

  I breathed, calming down. I think most of my anger was with my life as a whole.

  I just found out I lost my parents, my employer was putting even more pressure on me to kill Kyle’s mother, and all I could think was, if I didn’t want my mom murdered and snatched from me, why should I do it to him. That thought led me to think of how his mother was already sick, but that thought took me to Kyle’s sister and how I wished she’d never come back because before I got the okay to kill Kyle, I had to kill everyone else in his family. And that thought rested hard in my brain and started a headache.

  Kyle flipped the handle of Janet’s passenger door, jarring me back.

  I reached over and pulled up the lock, then got out.

  “If you’re supposed to be her best friend, why’d you let her get this drunk?” he asked, picking up Janet from the car.

  I tried not to check out his arms as they flexed to manage Janet’s weight, or acknowledge his gaze, as he noticeably looked me over. His deep green eyes caressed my body in replace of his hands, igniting a desire to feel him touch me in areas they lingered. They finally met mine and his right brow rose slowly, questioning.

  I looked away from him to the opened car door. Stepping to it, I pushed it closed.

  “I would have gotten that,” he said.

  “Oh.”

  “Look,” he started as I turned back to him, “I don’t know what your problem is with me or what I did to light a fire under your ass, but the attitude is not necessary.”

  My eyes narrowed as my hand raised with my index finger pointed, ready to give him a piece of my mind. “I’m—”

  “You’re what—sorry, thankful, appreciative? Which one is it, because I’ve never done so much for an unappreciative person, ever? I mean you’d think I was—”

  “You were what—rude, annoying, an asshole?” I shot back at him.

  A miffed squint darkened his eyes as a flash of anger sparked in them. It disappeared as soon as it came. He looked down at Janet and adjusted her weight. Looking up at his apartment, he then shot his gaze to me, then back at Janet.

  I assumed he was thinking about taking Janet upstairs because she was probably getting a little heavy for him to continue to hold. But he knew if he walked away, I would be gone if he came back down. And for some dreadful reason he wanted to continue this argument and torture me further.

  “You know what…” He bit down hard on his bottom lip before he concluded, “You’re one of the reasons decent guys turn into dicks.” He passed me as he ambled to his door.

  As he did, I tried to think of a great comeback. Maybe, and you’re the reason assassins like me can’t get their job done stress free. But that didn’t seem nearly equivalent to his insult.

  I forced my already hurting feet to walk back around the car to the driver’s side. I got in, started it, and drove away with my pity and annoyance heavy in my pinched nose and turned up lip.

  I walked into the house, dropping clothes on the way to my room. I didn’t care much about removing my make-up or showering. I just wanted to sink into my mattress and forget about everything.

  As I set the alarm on my phone, the black bar peeked from the top of my screen with an unfamiliar number. I pulled it down to read the message.

  Unknown: Spirit, do you think you can spare me your attitude so I can ask you a question?

  My heart fluttered, dropped, and slowly climbed back up to my chest from my butt. I stared at his text and studied this “Spirit” name he’d decided to call me.

  Me: My name is not Spirit.

  Kyle: I’m aware of that.

  Me: How did you get my number?

  Kyle: I stole it from Janet’s phone.

  Me: ...Stalker...?

  Kyle: Don’t flatter yourself, Spirit.

  Me: Why are you texting me?

  Kyle: Tell me to stop...

  This guy… I typed stop. But my damn thumb wouldn’t let me hit the send. Kyle was playing this game very well and I didn’t like what it was doing to me.

  Kyle: ???

  Kyle: Are you there, Spirit?

  Kyle: Hello...

  Me: Stop.

/>   I forced my finger to tap the word send. I’d never had to fight against a body part before. “Damn you, thumb.”

  I waited for him to text back and he didn’t. I checked my phone every three minutes. I know because of the time that caught my eye each time I woke it up. 1:33, 1:36, 1:39… 2:49. It was as if I was back in high school, impatiently waiting on the cute guy to call me. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking.

  Grumbling, I tossed the phone to the other side of my bed and got comfortable under my sheets.

  Just as my mind blanked, the phone buzzed.

  I jumped up, searching through bundles of covers and corners of pillows. “Where the hell did I put that phone?”

  I leapt to the other side of the bed and looked at the floor. The light was slowly dimming as I dipped down to grab it.

  Kyle: You asleep, Spirit?

  Me: I said stop.

  Kyle: I never said if you told me to stop that I would.

  I smiled, staring at my phone as I lay on my bed halfway on it and halfway off.

  Me: I don't like you. I’d prefer you didn’t text me.

  Kyle: You didn’t need to tell me that. That goes without saying. If you preferred I didn’t text you, you would block me. I needed to prove something to myself. See you in class tomorrow.

  Me: …

  Kyle: Stop.

  “Ugh!” I dropped the phone back on the floor and lay slumped over on the bed. I stayed in that position for the remainder of the night.

  My job had gotten a hell of a lot harder. Now Kyle knew me, he noticed me, he was aware of me. Sitting in American Literature, his eyes continued scoping out for me. It was bad enough I had to kill his mom tonight and I still wasn’t sure how I would manage, now that I knew she was like a mom to Janet.

  I rolled my eyes when they locked with his and he smirked.

  I hated that I got this call. No job I’d ever taken was this hard. My best friend was his best friend. This was so disheartening to me, especially knowing that she’d been lying to me about it. But I couldn’t be mad with Janet, she could be friends with whoever she wanted. Hell, she didn’t know I had a hit out for Kyle.

  My phone buzzed.

  Kyle: Stop rolling your eyes at me. They take on a different color when they look off to the right. It confuses me about who you are.

  Me: Don’t worry about who I am.

  I looked over at him, sitting on the other side of the room. He stared at me. God, and he was so obvious about it. He bent over his desk, propping his chin on his hands, and stared. His face was expressionless, eyes tantalizing, and his macho posture all but screamed he had me.

  I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath, the deepest breath my lungs could handle. He had no idea what I was really up to and his taunting me was making me so much angrier than I’d already been. I just wanted to throw my phone at his head.

  I peeked my eyes open and he was still staring. Dammit!

  Me: Stop looking at me.

  His phone lit up on his desk, but he wouldn’t release me from his stare.

  Me: Please stop, you’re weirding me out.

  His phone lit up and moved a bit.

  I pointed to it.

  He shook his head.

  “You’re doing this on purpose,” I mouthed.

  He smiled and it forced my pumping heart to stall. God, that smile… His lips smoothed out and his bright teeth peeked out from behind them. It was real, causing his eyes to slightly darken as they squinted a bit from his cheeks rising. He slowly nodded as a peeked interest settled in his expression.

  “Stop,” I mouthed.

  He mouthed, “Why? I’m finally starting to like you.”

  I grinned, looking away from him. I tried to hide it, covering my mouth, but feeling my face flush, I’m sure he could tell. My phone buzzed in my hand.

  Janet: I’m crashing at your place. Thanks for looking out for me last night.

  I smiled wider for no reason at all. Maybe if I seemed really into this text, Kyle would stop looking.

  Me: Okay.

  As I closed out that text, another came in.

  Kyle: Boyfriend?

  Me: Yes. He’s just making it back. I'm so happy. I haven’t seen him in months.

  Something slammed onto a table.

  I looked up at Kyle. He had stopped looking at me and was slumped in his chair attention turned to Professor Fletcher.

  I wanted to laugh. Take that!

  Chem was packed. Everyone in the class was loud, and my phone going off with reminders from the agency was more annoying than Kyle’s, Rick’s, and Ron’s laughter. I hadn’t thought Kyle and Rick were going to hit it off this well, but they were getting along better than Janet and I.

  Being cut off from Kyle’s calls and e-mails made me feel left out of his life. I was so deep inside his life and now that he had actually made contact with me… it gave me too many conflicting feelings.

  “Boys, be a little quieter,” Instructor McMenamin said.

  No one was taking any notice of me, or maybe that’s just what I’d been made to believe. I left. Snuck out when I hoped no one was looking.

  I stopped by home to gear up. Lightweight gym shoes, leggings to easily move in, shirt to easily move in, hair in a perfect ponytail, headband over perfect ponytail, leather gloves with the fingers cut. Hey! I love these gloves. Jacket…? Nah, it’s too hot. Phone, pistol, silencer, scope…? Nah, no scope, I don’t plan to be that far away. iPad, hotspot, snack. I’m starving. Maybe I should grab a bite before I go. Eat snack now.

  My phone beeped with yet another e-mail.

  Claudia: You have until sunrise. We need confirmation as soon as you have terminated the Mrs.

  I’d never felt so guilty, so bad about an assignment before. I’d always been able to get in and out, watch my target for a few months to a year, figure out the way to take them out, and then off ’em and be back home the next day.

  Home…?

  The thought that it was no longer existent set me back a little. I shook it off, knowing it was now or never and I needed to get this over with.

  I got in the car and headed over to Kyle’s mother’s house. My trackers, plants, wires, bugs… nothing worked anymore. The tracker I placed in his mother’s truck was saying she was at the market. But as I sat in the car, parked across the street from her house, I clearly saw her there, getting out of her truck nowhere near the market.

  I watched as she walked around to the passenger’s back seat door. Maybe she was at the market and everything was just running slowly.

  She opened the door and…

  “Get the shit out of here? No fucking way!” I wanted to jump out of the car and just fire off my gun in anger.

  It was a kid! A little girl jumped out of the back seat and whatever she did had Kyle’s mom laughing. They grabbed hands and happily skipped into the house.

  Breathing deeply to calm down, I pushed myself into the seat and slammed my hand on the armrest.

  Why does this damn job keep getting harder and harder?

  A good assassin wouldn’t have let this faze her. She would have shrugged, gotten out of the car, walked right up to the door, knocked, walked in, and offed the poor old lady in front of the baby. Then she would have looked at the child in stone silence as she thought about whether this child should be tortured for the rest of her life because she was a witness to seeing her grandmother… murdered? Or if she should take her out too.

  I am not a good assassin. I could never do that. The thought wouldn’t even cross my mind. I couldn’t kill that poor old lady in front of that child.

  My main request, when I took an assignment, was that there were no children involved. I only took families or individuals eighteen or older, and they needed to have done something extremely bad.

  My phone buzzed.

  Kyle: Where are you, Spirit?

  He is out to make my life a living hell.

  I ignored him, left my phone in the car, and headed to the front door of
his mom’s house. I didn’t know what I was about to do. But it wasn’t going to be good.

  “Kyle, can I see you after class?” Winter asked.

  I gave her a quick nod.

  I made plans with Rick to accompany him to some shindig with his crew. Though the thought of going to some shindig was less than appealing, a small part of me was looking forward to it. It’d been a while since I really let loose and I was owed some time off. Going out was a good idea, I tried to convince myself. It would give me some time to get my mind off of Spirit, something I was finding trouble doing at the moment.

  Without thinking, I texted Spirit again. I wasn’t sure what attracted me to her but I loved how feisty she could be. She could be a real bitch and for some odd reason, I found that very fascinating about her. That explained why I always ended up getting hurt. I was attracted to the wrong women. But Spirit… her rejection felt forced. Like every roll of her eyes, the aggravated sway of her hips, the irritated tilt of her head, and that delicious smack of her lips all contradicted what she really wanted and how she actually felt.

  I was going to break her. If not just to prove myself right, I was going to rip her open to see what was really going on behind those hazel eyes. And why in the hell I made her that damn angry. I didn’t know what I had done to that girl. I wouldn’t do anything to jog her away from her boyfriend, but enough to prove she was purposely a bitch and it was unnecessary.

  At four p.m., everyone gathered their things and started leaving the lecture hall.

  “Kyle, don’t forget—nine o’clock. Please come.” Rick grinned deviously. “I got you something.” His smile grew. Whatever it was, he liked it more than I would.

  I nodded, rising my brows. “As long as it’s not you, waiting for me on my bed on rose petals, I’m there.”

  He laughed. “Nope, that’s next weekend,” he called as he left the room.

  I waited for everyone to leave before walking down the stairs to Winter, bent over her desk, looking over a few papers or a book. I didn’t pay close enough attention, becoming distracted when she turned to me.

  She pulled her glasses from her eyes and the clip from her hair, both at once. Her long lashes fanned her cheeks as she gently shook her head, allowing her brown locks to fall around her shoulders.