She carefully got out of bed and headed into the kitchen. She walked over to the window and stared out at the night stars. “I can do this. I hope I can do this. I want it over with. I have to get Jack out of my head. Why am I so drawn to Parker? Could thisreallywork out?” she sighed.
“It will,” he said from behind.
“Oh, did I wake you?”
“A little,” he walked over to her. “Sam, tell me.”
She turned around and faced him. “I know we have to be
focused on the job … but …I find myself wanting to focus on you … on us. I know. It’s not professional. I should be worried about getting this job done. All I keep thinking about is you…”
“What do you think about?” he held her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes.
“You. Making love to you. Holding you. Watching you. Being with you. I enjoyed just us sitting on the couch, watching TV. I know it’s weird but I haven’t felt this good in such a long time. I know that tomorrow,” she looked at her watch, “or should I say later, that I’ll have more people to kill, but I…”
He softly kissed her bottom lip. “I’ve been thinking about you, too. I love being with you. I can’t explain what’s in my heart, but I want to continue to explore us. I know that we have this job to do, but when we’re not working, we will concentrate on each other.”
She pulled him close to her. “I’m a little confused. I feel like I’ve known you forever, but we haven’t been together that long.”
“I feel the same. Some kind of connection. If we just feel our way through this, we’ll be just fine,” he placed his hand on her heart.
“I do feel it,” she whispered, as he scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and laid next to her. “Just hold me.”
“Whatever you want, babe,” he said, as he covered them up and wrapped his arms around her.
They woke up a few hours later to Parker’s cell phone ringing. “Hello?” he answered it. “Ten o’clock is fine. You know where,” Parker hung up.
“Jack?”
“Yeah, he’ll be here at ten,” he said.
“Oh, all right. We better get dressed,” she said.
“Hold on, a sec,” he rolled over and laid on top of her. “I just want to kiss you for a little while, is that all right?”
She reached up and pulled his head towards hers and softly kissed him. “How was that?”
“Wonderful,” he grinned.
“You are quite a man, you know that,” she said.
“You’re a beautiful and sexy lady, but we should get dressed.”
“All right, if youinsist,” she sat up as he climbed off of her.
“Later, babe,” he grinned as he started to get dressed. “You get dressed and I’ll make coffee.”
She walked over to the closet and opened it. She stared at all her outfits to figure out which one to wear to a meeting like the one she was about to have. She opted to wear her black jeans and black tank top. She placed her .38 in her ankle holster and put her nine in her back waistband. She put on her leather jacket and walked over to the mirror. She took a deep breath and put on her makeup. She brushed her shoulder length hair and smiled. She placed her fingers on her lips and smiled. “This seems to be happening so fast, but I do so enjoy him, even if it doesn’t last forever,” she said.
She stared in the mirror and gazed into her own eyes. “No, he’s not a replacement. Um, no, he can’t be. Thereisno replacement,” she lightly touched her lips. “Things change and there’s nothing I can do about it. I wish … I wish I could go back…” she wiped her eyes and sighed heavily.
She walked out to the kitchen and smiled, as she watched him flip the pancakes into the air. “I didn’t know yousang,” she laughed slightly.
“Oh,” he turned around embarrassingly. “I didn’t know you were there,” he said.
“You sing quite nicely,” she said. “I thought you were just making coffee.”
“Well, I’m in the mood for blueberry pancakes, how about you?”
“Sounds good,” she said, as she poured them both a cup of coffee.
“So,doyou?”
“Do I what?”
“Sing?”
“Maybe in the shower or in the car, but not when I cook. Actually, I don’t cook too well, so, no, not when I cook,” she laughed.
“Well, enjoy. Don’t worry, babe, I’ll keep you fed well,” he smiled, as he placed a plate in front of her.
“How didyoulearn how to cook?” she asked.
“Um, my Gram. She taught me how to cook and bake.”
“Really? My mom tried to teach me, but I guess I didn’t listen too well,” she laughed.
“You’ll never go hungry with me around,” he said, as he sat down. “Enjoy. Did you want syrup?”
“Yes, please,” she said, as he handed her the pitcher of syrup.
After they finished eating, they stood up, as there was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it. It’s probably him,” Parker said.
“I’ll put the dishes away and I’ll be right in,” she said.
“Take your time,” he kissed her cheek and headed towards the front door. He opened the door and stared coldly at Jack. “Come in.”
He walked in the room and looked around. “Nice place,” he said. “You must have a lot of clients,” he said.
“Why?”
“Looks like this cost a fortune,” he said.
“Not a lot of clients, just good prices,” he said. “Please, have a seat anywhere. Sam will be out in a minute.”
“That will give you and I a chance to talk,” he said, as he sat in the leather chair.
“What about?”
“You and Sam? How long hasthisbeen going on?”
“We met before she quit the force. It didn’t take long for us to get involved,” Parker’s eyes shifted towards the kitchen.
“Don’tlieto me, Parker!” he spat.
“Jack, let it go right now. She’s in the kitchen,” he said.
“Oh, I see. Hmm, you’re in a lot oftrouble.”
“I don’t think so. I got what I wanted.”
“Did she know your type of work when she was a cop?”
“Yeah, and I’m still around, so, obviously she didn’t bust me. What are you getting at?”
“She is a lovely woman.”
“Yes, and she ismine.”
“I understand that things change. Are you a one woman man now?”
“Yes, I found the one I want. She understands me and I understand her. We compliment each other. After I lost the use of my hand, she requested that she take over for me.”
“Why would she go from a cop to anenforcer?” he asked.
Sam walked into the room. “Why don’t you ask me that?” she said, as she sat next to Parker.
“OK, what is the answer?” he asked.
“I was a cop who got tired of watching scumbags get away with rape and the abuse of women. Before I met Parker, I took care a few them. Once I fell in love with Parker and knew what he was doing, he made it sound so interesting. I’m not a vigilante, but I don’t like it when others do wrong to the innocent. That’s why I don’t kill mothers or children. I alsodon’tkill cops. So, if you plan on having any officers of the law eliminated, you can find someone else.”
“Why not? Becauseyouwere one?”
“No, because for good or bad, they protect the innocent. Some times, they are the only option for protection. Our laws suck. So, I will take the name of your target. I will eliminate that person, but on my time and my own way. I also don’t dosloppy.”
“Sloppy?” he said.
“My head shots are always clean.”
“I saw the wound in Scott’s head. Very clean. Very little blood. Is there atrickto that?”
“Yes, but it’smytrick. I have two separate fees. One for the elimination and the other for the removal, if you require that. Also, I need to know whatyourequire for proof.”
Jack pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket. “This has all the information for the person. It also contains the token, which you will take. You do not need to remove the body. It does need to be clean,” he handed her the envelope.
She opened the envelope and nodded as she read the print. “All right, this is in order.”
“What is the fee?” he asked.
“Thirty thousand dollars. I want fifteennow.”
“When will it be done?” he asked.
“In less than 72 hours. I need to get a handle on her schedule. She is not a mother, is she?”
“No, she’s not.”
“Fine. I will contact you when it’s finished,” she said. “Is thatit?”
“What else isthere?” she asked.
“Don’t you want to know why?”
“That’s not my business. It’s one thing if you want to share, it’s another thing for me to ask,” she said. “Oh, but there is one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Tell your men to stop following us.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” he said.
“If they don’t stop following us, I cannot guarantee the completion of the job. My skills and talents are private. I do it alone and donotneed an audience. If I find any of your men or anyone following me, theywillbe killed and I willchargeyou for it,” she said.
“I understand,” he said, as he stood up. “I’ll be right back with the money,” he walked over to the door and opened it. A man, who was waiting in the hall, handed him a briefcase and he came back in. he set the case on the table and opened it. He pulled out large stacks of money and set them on the table. “Fifteen thousand,” he closed the case and picked it up.
“Good. I’ll be in contact,” she said, as he left the penthouse.
Parker took her hand and led her into the bedroom. He removed the painting off the wall and opened the safe. “Six, nine, eight,” he said.
She nodded and went into the other room. She grabbed all the cash off the table and brought it into the bedroom. She carefully stacked the cash and he closed the safe. “So, what do we do with it?”
“It’sours, babe,” he said.
“PK, there’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
“Yeah,” he held her close and whispered in her ear. “We can’t talk here. Let’s go scope out this new mark.”
“All right,” she said, as she curiously watched him grab his coat. She followed him out of the penthouse and to the elevator.