wasn’t in bed. She got out of bed and put on her robe. As she was walking towards the kitchen, she heard his voice on the phone. She was about to turn around when the words coming out of his mouth made her listen.
“Why the hell did you have to shoot me?” he was saying. “Plans changed … that’s all. I don’t know what you want from me. I got her here, didn’t I? Yeah… I know… don’t worry about it. I have it handled. No. I told you things have changed. The plan is not the same anymore. Jack, you can’t do that…Youcan’thave her. She’smine… damn you. I told you what I was going to do… all right… soon…” he hung up. “Damn it!” he said to himself.
Sam quietly walked down the hall to the bedroom. She pulled a dufflebag out of the closet. She quietly opened the safe and pulled out all the money. She grabbed her weapons and tossed them in the bag. She pulled a few clothes out of the closet and packed up the bag. “I knew it was too good to be true. How can I trust my heart again? I can’t. I have to live in the moment. Damn. I wanted to forget and move on, but I can’t. I have to … I have to get him … on myown.” She shoved the bag under the bed. “How do I get out of here?” she whispered.
Parker walked into the bedroom. “Oh, you’re getting dressed. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s fine. How’s your shoulder?”
“Sore, but I’ll live, thanks to you,” he kissed her cheek. “So, are we going to scope out the next mark today?”
“Um, you know. I’m not feeling too well today. Do you mind doing it?”
“You’re going to stay here alone? MaybeIshould stay, too,” he said, as he sat on the bed.
“No, that’s all right. Your friend already upped security, right?”
“Yeah, this morning. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I feel sick to my stomach. I think I’m just going lie down for a while. Don’t worry. I’ll be all right.”
He touched her cheek and kissed her lightly on the mouth. She tried to hold her anger and kissed him back. “I hope you feel better. Do you need me to bring anything home for you?”
“No, just be careful. You don’t want to hurt your shoulder any worse,” she said, as she climbed into the bed and covered herself up.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Be well, babe,” he said, as he left the room.
She sat up when she heard the front door close. She got out of bed and pulled out the bag. She put on her jacket and headed towards the front door. “Something isn’t right here,” she whispered. She turned around and headed down the hall towards the workout room.
She opened the door to the balcony and walked out. She looked all around and noticed the fire escape. She placed the bag on her back like a backpack. She took a deep breath and stood on the ledge of the railing and leaped to the nearest fire escape. She took the ladder down to the next one and continued on until she reached the bottom. She headed towards the back alley and hurried to the next street, where she hailed a cab.
She got out on East Fifty-first Street and went inside a nearby grocery store. She bought a cup of coffee and a disposable cell phone. She walked out to the street and looked up and down. Thousands of people running around on the street, trying to get to their destination quickly, however, she knew not was her destination was.
She walked down the street in a great daze of wonder of what her next move should be. Her heart was breaking and she hated it. Parker hadbetrayedher. No, he lied abouteverything. She trusted him and yes, she felt love for him, and it was alla lie.
She walked into the clothing shop and bought a new jacket and hat. She changed quickly and continued her journey on the street. She stopped and sat on the bench and stared out at the abundant traffic jam. Her eye’s teared as she watched the patrol car speed up the street. She carefully sipped her coffee and stared at her new cellphone.
She dialed his number. If anyone could help her, if there was anyone she could trust, it would be him. “Um, Captain Ford please,” she waited until he answered.
“Hello, this is Lucas Ford,” he said.
“Luke, it’s Samantha,” she sighed.
“Samantha? Oh, god. Whereareyou? I haven’t heard from you. I
was afraid you were killed along with Kyle and your parents.” “Luke, I need your help. I’m inbigtrouble and it just got worse.” “Honey, where are you?”
“Can you meet me?”
“Of course, where?” he asked.
“The safe house.”
“Samantha? What’s going on?”
“I’m on the street right now. I can’t really talk. Can you bring
your laptop? It’s very important.”
“Of course, I’ll be there in ten,” he said, as he hung up. Sam stood up and put the phone in her pocket. She hailed
She paced back and forth in the apartment and jumped when there was a knock on the door. She opened it carefully. “Oh, Luke, thank god you’re here,” she hugged him tightly.
“Samantha,” he closed the door and locked it. “Where have you been? I’ve beenworriedsick.”
She dropped down on the sheet-covered sofa. “My life is such a mess.”
He sat down next to her. “Samantha, what did you do?”
“Ikilledtwo people,” she shook her head, as she cried.
“Tell me what happened,” he said.
“I can trust you, Luke, can’t I?”
“Always,” he kissed her cheek. “Tell me. Please.”
“After Kyle died, I was approached by a Parker Carlisle from the FBI. He said I had to work for them as a hired hit woman.”
“A hit woman?”
“Yes. I trained with him and then, I had to prove myself to his boss, Jack Morrison.”
“Morrison? Samantha, do you know what kind of man that is?”
“Yeah, he killed Kyle and my parents.”
“I didn’t know Morrison was involved. Samantha, who is this Parker Carlisle?”
“Ithoughthe was an agent. Luke, I was starting to trust him. I was starting to … fall for him.”
“What changed your mind?”
“I think he’s really working for Jack. I heard him on the phone. For some reason, he wasorderedto getmeinvolved. I’m not sure what they want from me, other than being an enforcer.”
“So, you killed two?”
“Yes, a man named Scott. I don’t know what they did with his body and the other an Alyssa Marshall. Yesterday, I was given orders to do another hit, but I haven’t done that yet. As soon as I heard that Parker was using me, I snuck out of the penthouse when he left.”
“Samantha, what can I do? You justadmitted to killing two people.”
“I know, Luke. I don’t know what to do or who to trust. Parker told me that if I didn’t go along with his plan, that I’d go to jail and Dylan would be unprotected. I can’t let anything happen to Dylan. He’s my brother,” she buried her face in her hands.
Luke opened his laptop and plugged it in. “Are you going to stay here?”
“I don’t have a plan yet, so I guess, at least for now. You and I are the only ones that know about this place, right?”
“Yeah, and we’ll keep it that way,” he tapped on the keys. “Parker Carlisle, you said?”
“Yes,” she said. “What’d you find?”
“Parker Carlisle used to be an FBI agent but fell off the grid about a year ago. Wait, here’s a picture. Is this him?”
She shook her head. “No, that’snothim. Who is the man I know as Parker?”
“I don’t know. Give me a description and I’ll see if it matches any agent in the FBI.”
She leaned back and rubbed her eyes. “Oh, all right. Dark black hair, dark eyes, six foot three, about 190 pounds. Oh, he does have a tattoo of a heart surrounded by swords,” she said, as he typed the description into the database.
“It’ll just take a few minutes,” he lightly touched her cheek. “I’m glad that you called me.”
“Luke, you were there for me when Ed died. You were always there for me. I know, you probably have to report this. I mean, Iama murderer.”
“Sounds like you did it under duress.”
“The hardest part was trying to act so cold when I did it. I had to close my eyes when I shot that woman.”
“Did you leave a calling card?”
“Red nail polish on the bullet.”
“Interestingchoice,” he smiled.
“Yeah, well, I had to think ofsomething. Oh, and Parker knows the calling card,” she said, as the computer beeped.
“Here it is, one match, a Perry Kelvin Lyons. Is this him?”
“Yeah, that’sdefinitelyhim. What does it say about him?”
“His file is flagged as confidential. My guess, it usually means he’s in deep cover or he’s a bad agent.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I don’t get this.”
“Samantha, what did he tell you was the goal of this plan?”
“First, he said it was to bring down Jack and his entourage. However, yesterday, he told me that the goal was tokillall of them. I had to keep doing the jobs until we were invited into his home. I guess that’s when he’s off-guard.”
“Samantha, you hadsexwith this man, didn’t you?”
“At first, it was because he said we were supposed to pose as lovers. You know, we had to be comfortable. Then, yeah, we did. Luke, I’m sorry. I started listening to my heart and I gotbetrayed,” she cried.
Luke gazed in her eyes. “You know,I’llnever betray you.”
“I know. Luke, you’re my best friend in the whole world and I should’ve come to youfirst. I’m so sorry. I just don’t know what to do anymore. My head is spinning and my heart has broken.”
He lightly touched her face. “I’ll take care of you. I promise,” he said, as he lightly kissed her.
“Make me better, like you always do,” she smiled.
“Of course, honey. I’m always going to be here for you,” he took her hand and led her into the other room. “Lie down and I’ll hold you for as long as you need it.”
“Don’t you have to get back to the precinct?”
“I took the afternoon off. It’s just you and me, Love,” he laid next to her.
She leaned up and kissed him tenderly. “I do love you, you know.”
“I know. As I do you,” he kissed her forehead. “If you want more, just tell me. Idoknow you,” he smiled.
She touched his cheek. “Yes, I wantmore.”
“Anything for you,” he said, as he rolled on top of her. “Samantha, are you sure this is what you want?”
“Best friends are forever. Youalwaysknow what I need.”
“I need it, too,” he smiled, as he slowly made love to his best friend. It wasn’t uncommon for the best friends, to have sex, now and then, but to them, it was just another part of their friendship.