The Story
June 9, 2010Chapter Two
Once home again, Angelica tried to put him out of her head. She remembered the long gaze he gave from his piercing green eyes as she walked out the door of the bar. Her skin pricked and the hairs stood straight up as she replayed the memory back in slow motion. What was it about this stranger that made her stomach knot and breath evaporate.
Three weeks earlier she had received the packet of information detailing the profile of her mark. When she had seen him in the photo the first time she had noted his attraction but dismissed it hastily, remembering it was part of her trade. She hadn’t realized how wonderfully created he was until he walked in. What are the odds that he would be at Ellington’s tonight?
She knew every bit of information about him; His social security number, birthday, employer and all the dirty things he did behind closed doors. She knew he was marked to die but something inside her cracked at the thought of taking this life.
A little piece of her numbed each time she pulled the trigger slowly vanishing until nothings was left. She had a shell of a heart with the sympathy of a stone. She tried to convince herself that each person she killed was destined to die for the deeds they had done, she was only speeding up the process, but this time she didn’t know if shed be able to finish the job. What worried her more was that if she didn’t do it, someone else would.
She had to find him
She picked up the envelope that Frank had sent, sifting through birth certificates and fake passports. She pocketed the last of her money and slid on her coat. A burst of wind pushed her back as she opened the back door of her apartment. The mud from the rain caked her leather boots as her heals sunk in making it nearly impossible for her to walk. Was the earth itself trying to hold her back from finding him?
She rushed back to Ellington’s fighting the wind which felt like a semi-truck being driven straight into her chest.
As she reached the bar she tried to enter calmly despite the fact that her heart was beating like a steel drum. Instincts made her count the exits and profile the patrons as she took a seat at the bar. But he wasn’t there. She waved over the bartender and leaned in as she spoke in her most manipulative voice.
"There was a gentleman here about an hour ago, black suit brown hair….Did you happen to notice where he went?"
"Nope, that fella just got up and left not too long after you pranced on outta here. Left a nice big tip though. Quiet. Too quite for my taste. What makes you ask? You know him?"
"You could say that…well thank you for your time sir"
She got up. Disheartened and confused she made her way back to the apartment. She took a shortcut down Harmon Street passing by Sunset Petroleum station when she noticed him at the counter buying smokes. She swiveled her hips 90 degrees as she made her way in his direction.
Ding ding. The heavy glass door announced her entrance as she walked in to the nearly vacant store. A slight grin crept across his face as she came closer to him.
"Breathe!" She reminded herself as she stood beside him at the counter.
"I thought you’d never find me," He said, as his eyes sparked in a playful way.
Did he know she’d been looking for him? Hundreds of thoughts raced through her head as she tried to remain calm.
"I’m staying at the Ashburn Hotel three blocks down if you’d like to get some coffee and tell me why you were so intent to find me"
She was speechless; tongue tied and astonished. "Yes!" she thought as her heart skipped a beat from the magnificence of his smile. She smiled back at him and extended her arm towards the door.
"After you, Parker"
Silence.
Time halted to an abrupt stop as his gaze turned from water to cold hard ice. His smile fell as a confused and angry look swept across his face.
"How do you know my name…?"
