Killing Game (8 page)

Cain’s lips broke into a wide smile. Like he’d ever hurt Jack. Not for a million dollars.

“Better,” Jack said and nodded towards Lily. “So, do you want to tell me just what is going on, because your excuse doesn’t cut it
anymore.
Sure, she’s a runaway and you don’t want her to end up like you, but now that I’ve seen her and the way you act around her, you expect me to believe that’s the only reason you’re helping her?”

Lighting a cigarette, Cain bought himself time to think. Jack was ruthless when it came to questioning, and he knew that he wasn’t going to get away with telling him a lie or even a half truth. Jack could sniff out when Cain didn’t tell him the whole truth.

“Fine.”
He held his hands up and gave Jack a look that said he’d won. “It’s nothing emotional. She saw me about two minutes after the alley balls up. I killed the driver, but the cops saw. I’ve been told to lie low, for fuck’s sake. Me! I never fuck up, Jack, you know that, but I fucked up royally that night. When I hit the asphalt, she was there, standing in the pouring fucking rain and damn near freezing to death. I did the only thing I could think of, I grabbed her and dragged her along with me. She thinks I saved her. I think fate gave me a kick in the balls.”

“Well, you stopped her from being questioned by the cops. A girl in a strange city, in an alley at some unholy hour of the morning, they would’ve been all over her with the blame, man. You did the right thing.”

“Yeah, I’m a real hero.” Cain sighed and arched a brow at his glass of bourbon as it dangled from his fingertips.

“Who’s a hero?” Lily said, smiling broadly at him. She placed her tray down on the bar and pulled a thoughtful face. “Um... crap... I forgot... hang on...” She scrabbled about for her little note pad and flicked through it, desperately looking for something. “Here we go. Two vodka lemonades, four shots tequila and a... eww... um...”

Seeing her struggling with the rest, Cain took the scrap of paper from her and frowned at it. The ink had been smudged by her wet fingers and the last two drinks were almost a blur. He squinted as he tried to make them out. “One bourbon rocks, one martini.”

“Thanks.” Lily gave him a sheepish smile and heaved a long sigh as she slumped onto the stool next to him. “I’m pooped.”

Reaching over, Cain pushed a loose strand of her hair back into place. The fine sheen of sweat on her face glistened in the low light.

“You look tired. Just another hour and then I’ll drive you back to your place. You could use some good sleep, but don’t forget about the deliveries coming tomorrow.” He smiled softly. Right now, he felt as though the world consisted of only her, the sounds of the club fading to nothing more than a distant noise.

“Okay. So, who’s a hero?” she said and then pouted as the tray of drinks appeared. “Crap. Guess you’ll have to tell me later. Thanks for sticking around. It’s nice having you here for me.”

With that, she disappeared into the crowd. The noises around Cain came rushing back in, and he heaved a long sigh.

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

A low laugh caught his attention and he turned to look at Jack.

“Yeah, real hero,
purely
doing it to help her,
nothing
to do with the fact you’ve got the
world’s
biggest school boy crush on her.”

“Piss off,” Cain mumbled into his
drink,
suddenly not feeling like the calm, collected killer he was supposed to be. He frowned as he looked into the mirror behind the bottles of liquor opposite him.

What the hell was happening to him?

She was unleashing his feelings, letting them all break free of the restraints he had held them deep down inside with all these years, and he needed to change that. Staring into the mirror, he nursed his drink and thought about everything that had happened recently, and then closed his eyes as he realized what he had to do.

He had to let her go.

If he continued like this, he’d get himself killed, or worse, get her killed. His life wasn’t any place for her, and he wouldn’t be able to protect her from the world if she was anywhere near him. To keep her safe, he had to push her away and get his focus back on the job.

To keep them both safe.

The more time he spent with her, the less he was able to face what he did for a profession, and the less he was able to face himself. He wanted her more than anything, but this wasn’t a movie. He couldn’t just walk into his boss’s office and tell him that he wanted to quit. Being a contract killer was a lifetime job. You could never walk away.

And those that tried didn’t live long.

He’d been responsible for fulfilling enough contracts on ex-hit men, and he knew his boss had made him carry them out so he knew just what happened when you tried to quit.

Looking over his shoulder, he somberly watched Lily as she smiled and weaved her way through the crowd, ferrying drinks back and forth between the bar and the tables.

He sighed as he caught her eye and then looked down at his drink.

Could he really let her go?

* * *

Lily chatted on aimlessly about her night, unfazed by how quiet Cain was as he drove her back to her apartment. She’d never thought that working would be such an experience. The girls who were her workmates were all wonderful to her, helping her settle in and showing her the ropes. The jealousy she’d seen in their eyes at first had gradually disappeared and she knew she was in good hands there.

She smiled as she told Cain all about the drinks she’d served and the people she’d met, and how great the bartenders were and how wonderful his friend Jack was.

Cain just stared at the road ahead, not really seeing it as his eyes followed the motion of the windscreen wipers as they swished back and forth,
cutting
through the downpour. He let her ramble on, letting her be happy and trying to convince
himself
that he was making the right decision. She was better off without him.

He was better off without her.

Pulling up outside the apartment building, he smiled as he looked over at her.

“And it was so hot in there. I got so sweaty and grimy just trying to move about. I mean, how the hell do people cope? I’m dying for a long bath now—” Lily looked at him and stopped talking when she saw how serious he looked. The excitement drained from her face. “What?”

Cain just kept his face impassive as he saw her happiness falter.

“I’m going to be busy for a few days,” he said and swore he caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes but she was so quick to mask everything with a smile again.

“Oh... work?” Lily said, trying to convince herself that this had everything to do with his work and nothing to do with her. Looking over at him, she was amazed by how emotionless he seemed, how uncaring he was about the idea of being away from her. She swallowed her hurt and just held her head high, telling herself that it was fine. It was time she settled into her new life and this was the perfect opportunity. “I’m sure I’ll be busy anyway... with the new job and settling in. I’m going to try and get Jack to let me paint the place... and I’ll be fine... my stuff will arrive tomorrow and I’ll be fine.”

Cain thought she was trying so hard to convince herself that she would be fine, that it was obvious that she was anything but. He chalked it up in his head as another reason to hate himself—hurting a girl that he had feelings for, whatever they were.

“You’ll be fine.” He smiled slightly at her and she nodded resolutely.

Lily suppressed her hurt and managed a smile in return. She told herself that he couldn’t help being busy, work had to come first, she supposed, and she knew in her heart that he’d be there for her if she needed him.

Smiling bravely, she looked into his eyes and picked up her bag, opening the car door.

“Anything happens, I’ll jump right on the line... but I’m sure I’ll be fine.” She struggled to keep her smile straight as it tried to falter, her lower lip wanting to tremble over how everything had been perfect and he’d ruined it all by not wanting to see her.

“Take care, love.”
Cain kept his hands firmly on the steering wheel, resisting his desire to reach out to her and let his fingers run down her cheek. She looked so hurt, her eyes telling him everything her smile was trying to hide.

“You, too.”
Lily looked briefly over her shoulder at him and then stepped out of the car, sniffing back the tears that wanted to fall. She was just tired. This had nothing to do with him, and she was sure a long soak would fix it. Walking up to the building, she opened the door and looked back at Cain, holding her hand up in a little wave before walking in.

Cain waved back at her, watching her disappear into the building and hoping he’d made the right decision and she would be safer without him. In reality, he wanted to stay, wanted to protect her from the world, but in doing that, he wouldn’t be able to protect her from himself.

He sighed as he pulled the car back out onto the road, listening to the water rushing off the wheels as they cut through the sheet of rain that was covering the asphalt.

Heading home, he realized he’d have only a few days to clear her from his system and get things back to how they used to be. He had to do this. He had no other option but to turn his back on her. She’d be fine without him, safe without him. Jack would look after her, and she would be safe in her new life.

He looked at his rear view mirror and her building as it disappeared from view.

Could this be any harder?

Could he really let her go?

Cain scanned the main floor of Club Eden. It was loud, hot and sweaty, and people were far too close to him. Spotting the tall dark-haired bloke he’d been tailing all night, he put his hand to his ear and pushed his earpiece in so he could hear better over the din.

“Target acquired, moving to follow,” he said as loudly as possible without drawing attention to himself.

The owners of this club knew him, they would know why he was here, but the patrons were blissfully unaware of what was happening around them. They were too busy feeling up the waitresses and trying to score, and he wanted to keep it that way.

“Copy.
I have him in sight,”
came
the reply.

Cain watched the waitresses and found his thoughts turning to Club Infinity and Lily. It had been almost two weeks since he’d last spoken to her and he was finally beginning to feel like his old self. He hated having to work as part of a team, but he knew as soon as his boss saw he wasn’t going to screw up again that he would be out on his own—like things should be. He grinned as he lit up a cigarette and sucked his cheeks in slightly as he looked around the room. It was full of the worst type of scum. They were low-life’s that had been scraping the underbelly of this city for years and running the underground that gave it the bad reputation it had for violent crime and murder.

Hell, he was right there with them, with the worst of them.

He just smirked as he looked at the bar manager, his eyes cold and emotionless as his fingers lovingly stroked the Walther P99 concealed under his coat. He loved to scare the people who ran this place.

It gave him power. It gave him the conviction and the darkness he needed to do his job.

Ignoring the way the waitresses were smiling at him, he pushed away from thoughts of Lily. He’d cleansed himself of feelings for her, had spent days just getting rid of everything she inspired in him until his world was cold and grey again, colorless. He’d even avoided speaking to Jack, knowing that whatever his friend had to say there would be a mention of the girl in there somewhere and it would make him falter again.

She still lingered in his thoughts, but he was in control now. He was in control.

Moving slowly through the crowd, Cain kept his focus firmly fixed on his target until a slight blonde caught his attention. His eyes darted to her immediately, his heart leaping into his throat as he struggled to understand what he was seeing.

“Abort. Mission parameters breached,” he said hurriedly into his earpiece.

“By who?”
Came
the faint reply over the receiver in his ear.

“Me.” He moved swiftly towards the girl, and when she turned around, he smiled wide, letting his face echo his disbelief. “Lily?”

“Hey. Thank God you’re here. I need back up.” Lily couldn’t believe he was standing in front of her. It had been almost two weeks since she’d seen him and suddenly he was here right when she needed him.

“Some blokes bothering you?
I thought you were working in Club Infinity?” Cain didn’t hide his confusion over seeing her working as a waitress in a different club and frowned at the thought of guys hitting on her. She was too young and innocent to be working in this dive.

“Nothing new there, they’re always hitting on me. Tonight’s a hundred times worse.
He’s
here.” She pointed into the crowd.

Cain followed her hand with his eyes and realized she was intimating his mark.

The bottom of his stomach dropped out as he looked at him, watching him chatting up the waitresses that were hanging all over him.

“You know him?” He didn’t like the idea of her knowing one of his targets.

“He’s the guy, the one I told you about.”

Cain pinched the bridge of his nose. She’d been involved with his mission—Andrew Connor, Chief Executive of Globalcom. He sighed and straightened up, putting on a relaxed air.

“Want me to take him out for you?” He smirked at her.

“You guys and
your
taking guys out.” She slapped his arm playfully, obviously unaware of the seriousness of his expression. She cracked a wide smile and blinked up at him sweetly. “Would you?”

“In a heartbeat.
Do anything for you.” He pushed her hair behind her ear and sighed.

She looked at him blankly, a distant look in her eyes and a slight smile on her lips. He didn’t know how to react to what he’d said and done either, but if he’d wanted to give her a blindingly clear indication of his feelings, he’d done a damn fine job.