“Yes, you fucking bastard. The day will come that I will look into your eyes and pull the trigger. The only difference is I won’t be pulling it on your career. I’ll be ending your miserable life.”
Chapter Seventeen
The sun rose like a flower opening, gifting its petals unto the world. Amid the dancing raindrops was the blush of scarlet and the warmth of tangerine. Gazing toward the illuminated clouds, still beneath the ethereal glow, Billy felt at home in a way he never had before. There had been times he’d doubted the life of solitude he’d chosen to live, but when he gazed upon nature’s canvas every morning, he reveled in the choices he’d made. This was where he belonged.
The only place where he could live without having to look over his shoulder with every step he took.
He stomped his feet and shook the water from his face as he ended his early morning run on the wraparound porch of his cabin. Billy never missed his morning exercise routine—come rain or shine. He might have been approaching sixty but he kept as fit and healthy as if he were twenty years younger. As an assassin, he had to. He needed to keep his mind fresh and sharp. He believed the brain was an extension of the body. A healthy body and mind bred success.
The fact that he’d become a millionaire bespoke of that success.
He frowned as he felt the vibration of the sat phone in his pocket. There were only a select few who had access to this number.
“Who is this?" Billy's curt voice cut sharply through the early morning as he picked up the steaming cup of coffee Mongo had just left on the table. He stared out to sea, a vertical line slashing between his brows at the silence in his ear. He grimaced as he took a sip of the hot coffee and it scalded his tongue.
"Have you found her yet?"
Billy’s body solidified. He didn’t recognize the voice, which posed the question where this asshole got the number from. From the question he asked, Billy identified the caller as the one who claimed to be in charge of the SPEONUS. Nesser had told Billy about the Order years ago but he’d made him believe he’d been the one in charge. It was a bitter pill to swallow to realize Nesser had lied to him. Used tall tales to strengthen the level of trust the elusive assassin had with him.
In all the years as a freelance assassin, Nesser had been the only client whose identity he’d known and met face to face regularly. Billy felt betrayed, especially since they went back a long way. He’d believed as much as he kept Nesser’s association with him confidential, he would’ve done the same in return. It made him uneasy as he recalled that this person knew his exact location. It seemed Nesser had ratted him out in more ways than one.
If he wasn’t already dead, he would’ve been Billy’s next target … no matter that he’d believed him to be a friend. Friends didn’t betray each other. Not even for the gain of personal power.
He never had telephonic contact with any of those who hired him and although he knew the answer, he still sneered into the phone. "How the fuck did you get this number?"
"It doesn't matter. I need to know if you found Dancer yet?"
Billy heaved in a calming breath. One thing he’d learned over the years, was to never allow emotions to cloud his concentration. Under any circumstances.
"I'm not a cyber expert and it's the only place Dancer can be found. I have cast out bait and there have been bites but it's a slow process to do proper due diligence to ensure I reel in the biggest fish."
"Keep working on it. I have another target for you in the meantime. Her name is—"
"No. If you got my information from our mutual friend, you know better. You do not give me information telephonically. Send it in the usual format with your offer.” He hesitated for effect. “Then I’ll decide if I'm interested."
Billy cut the call with a curse. This was not how he did business. Red flags surged all around his mind. Whoever this fucker was, he couldn’t be the top executive of SPEONUS. At a guess, that person wouldn’t be this unprofessional. Nesser knew not to rush into a job and never approached the subject by phone.
His pensive gaze shifted over the horizon. Jumping between two jobs was irregular at best, especially by order of the same client. This kind of scenario didn't make good bed partners with a man like Billy Hewitt.
“Problems, Boss?”
“My gut tells me something isn’t right, Mongo.” He sat down at the table where Mongo was laying out breakfast.
“It’s never failed you before. Does that mean you’re going to cut off this client?”
Billy forked a piece of bacon into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
“I’m considering it. I’ll wait and see what intel he sends and then decide.”
“But you're itching for a kill,” Mongo said around a mouthful of eggs and toast. “I can see it in the way you’re prowling around the house lately. It’s been too long since you’ve had a close on job.”
Billy smirked. A close on job referred to killing his target point blank. Where he was able to watch the light die in his prey’s eyes and breathe in the metallic smell of blood as it flowed from the wounds.
“You know me too well.”
“What about it concerns you?”
“Two jobs from one client isn’t uncommon but to jump from the one to the other is. It makes me wonder if they’re not trying to lure me into a trap.”
“They? I assume you’re referring to SPEONUS?”
There wasn’t much Billy didn’t share with Mongo. He had become his confidant over the years and the only friend he had. Not that Mongo quantified their relationship as such. In his mind, Billy would always be his savior and by extension, his employer.
“Yes.”
“Why would they try to entrap you?”
“All the jobs I did were by order of Nesser, who I believed to have been the one in charge of the Order. It seems he wasn’t. What if I’m a loose end they need to get rid of now that Nesser is dead? I knew Nesser since I was a young soldier in the army. He was the one man I looked up to who drove my desire to succeed as a Green Beret. Formidable, strong, and goal driven. I trusted him unconditionally. I don’t know who the fucker is contracting me now.”
“Trust your instincts, Boss. They’ve never led you astray.”
“Yeah, but it might also be my chance to get inside the hallways of SPEONUS. I don’t like the feeling of being hunted, Mongo. One way or the other, I’m going to find a way to worm my way in.”
“To what end? You could get killed.”
“I’m not that easy to dispense of. No, it’s exactly what I’m going to do. If this fucker wants me to take this contract and continue with the other, it’ll be on my terms. I’ve never concerned myself with politics but I have the utmost respect for President Grayson.” He smiled broadly as he popped a sausage in his mouth. “It looks to me like he could do with an ally. What say you? Shall we become our President’s invisible private guard?”
Mongo shrugged. His loyalty was with Billy. Who was in charge of which country didn’t matter to him.
“Whatever you need, Boss, I’ve got your six.”
“Good. Get our kit ready. This time, you’re going with.” He smacked his lips as he finished his second cup of coffee. “Good meal, Mongo.”