Killing Game (15 page)

“Oh.” Her face fell.

It gave him a warm feeling inside that she was disappointed by the fact he couldn’t stay.

She looked hopeful. “Are you gone long?”

“Just a couple of days.”
He stood up, grabbing his coat and his keys.

Lily watched him move towards the door and followed him in silence, feeling the sense of safety that he brought into her life disappearing. She gave him a worried look when he’d opened the door and he sighed.

“Anything happens at the club, let me know, okay?” He cupped her cheek and she leaned into his touch, wishing he wasn’t leaving. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. As soon as I get back I’ll have a word with Valentino and get you transferred back to Infinity.”

“You can do that? I mean, you offered before... but I didn’t think...” She looked incredulous as she thought about whether he could or not.

“I can try. Don’t wear that pathetic excuse for a uniform tomorrow, please, Lily? Any of the guys give you a hard time about
it,
just tell them Cain will be having words when he gets back into town.”

Pulling her into his arms, he held her head against his chest. Lily held him tightly to her and breathed in his scent, memorizing him as she listened to his heart thundering hard against her ear.

“Be careful. I’ll be back before you know it.” He pressed a long kiss to the top of her head and heard her sigh.

“You be careful, too. I’ll be looking for you in the club every night.”

“Then I’ll go straight to the club. I wouldn’t dare keep you waiting.” Cain kept hold of her, not wanting to let her go, not wanting to go to Boston on business. He wanted to stay right there with her, absorbing the way she felt in his arms, the way she smelt and the way she gave him smiles that made his stomach flip. He didn’t want to face what he had to do.

Lily nuzzled his chest and let one hand play on it, her fingers stroking him softly. She felt so safe in his arms, so protected from the world that she was scared to be without him for even a day now. Knowing he was only a phone call away had always reassured her, but now he was leaving town on business and would be too far away to come to her quickly. Closing her eyes, she squeezed him a little tighter and pressed a shaky but gentle kiss to his chest.

Cain felt his heartbeat double up.

“Lily?” His tone was quiet and questioning as he pressed his cheek to the top of her head. Leaving her was starting to become impossible. All he desired was in his arms and had just given him a clear signal that she liked him in the same way that he liked her, and now he was supposed to go to Boston on ‘business’.

“Cain?” She breathed softly, looking up at him.

“I have to go.” He frowned, knowing that if he didn’t leave now he never would.

“I know... wait.” She pulled her keys out of her pocket and unhooked one of them before placing it into his hand. “It’s the spare key to this place, in case you can’t find me at the club.”

Cain stared down at the shiny metal key in his hand and then closed his fingers around it, grasping it tightly. “I’ll be back soon.”

She reached up and cupped his cheek, her fingers playing gently in his hair. He cursed her for making this harder than it already was. He wanted to stay here with her, drowning in the beautiful look she was giving him and savoring the affection she was showing him.

“Promise me... you’ll be careful.” Lily felt her insides quivering with nerves as she locked eyes with him. For some inexplicable reason, she got the feeling that he was going to be in danger.

“Promise, sweetheart.
Get some sleep.” He kissed her forehead.

“Night, Cain.”

“Night, love.”

Leaning against the doorframe, she watched him walk down the corridor and then closed the door, sighing as she put each lock back into place. Turning to look at her apartment, she wrapped her arms around herself. It suddenly looked cold and empty. Her eyes roamed it until they came to rest on something. She walked straight to the phone and picked it up, dialing a number in.

It seemed like it was ringing for forever at the other end.

“Hello?” a quiet female voice echoed down the line to her.

“Sarah? It’s Lily.”

“Lily? Oh my God! Where are you?” The girl’s voice became hysterical.

“New York,” Lily replied calmly, holding the phone tightly to her ear.

“Wow,” Sarah breathed quietly.

“Sarah... you want to come and stay with me?” Her voice was small and unsure as she spoke the words, hope evident in them.

There was a long pause.

“Are you with Andrew?”
came
the cautious reply.

“No...
he
... you were right about him... life’s been... insane... but in a good way, you know? There’s so much to tell you... will you?”

Another long pause.

“I’ll be there tomorrow. I’ve enough saved for a plane ticket.
Dad’s
in LA on business, he won’t know I’m gone until it’s too late. Do you want me to bring some things with me?”

Lily sighed, her heartbeat becoming steady once more.
“Yeah.
Thanks, Sarah. Call me as soon as you know your flight. I’ve missed you.”

“Missed you, too.”

Dropping her gaze to the floor as she put the phone down, Lily heaved a long sigh and thought about her evening, the mixed emotions that had surfaced and how good it had felt to be held tight in
Cain’s arms.
Looking around her apartment, she hugged herself again and thought about him, and how warm her place had felt when he’d been there with her.

“I miss you,” Lily whispered and furrowed her brows.

* * *

Cain unlocked his spare bedroom door and swung it open, steeling himself for a moment before reaching around the corner and flicking the light switch. As the room became brightly lit, he frowned at the sight in front of him and the conflict it evoked.

His eyes scanned the walls. Row upon row of cabinets and drawers lined them. All of them were full of weaponry. His gaze worked around the room. He bypassed every gun until he saw his Dragunov SVD rifle—the one he’d used the night he met Lily.

He frowned hard at it and then ran his eyes over the other guns present, from his favored Walther P99 handguns to his Galil SAR rifle, down to the MP5 SD4 and the MP5 SD5. The sight of them turned his stomach. Tonight’s release of his feelings and the memories of all the people he’d killed made the upcoming job seem like bitter poison to his soul.

As his eyes came to rest on the case containing the weapon he’d be using on the Boston contract, he clenched his jaw, knitting his brows tightly as he struggled for control over his emotions. Standing in the middle of the room, he felt as though he was surrounded by death. They were weapons that he’d killed countless people with, killing machines that he treated like toys.

The thought of Lily and her unceasing interest in this room made his insides swirl, his head aching at the vision it inspired—her, in this room, surrounded by all these weapons and looking mortified at him.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. He could still smell Lily on him, her light perfume scenting his clothes and making him hate himself even more than he already did, if that was possible.

“God, I miss you,” he mumbled down at the floor and then frowned, cursing himself for giving in to the feelings she aroused.

Shaking his head, he tensed and pushed all thoughts of her out of his head as he focused on the job ahead of him.

“So, what do you think?” Lily held the door open and waited for her sister’s reaction to her apartment.

“Snug.” Sarah smiled. “It really has two bedrooms? You don’t mind if I stay? I promise I won’t get under your feet.”

“I don’t mind at all.” Lily pushed a loose strand of long brown hair behind her sister’s ear and smiled softly. “Make yourself at home.”

Dumping her bags down in the middle of the floor, Sarah immediately spread herself out on one of the couches. Lily shook her head and walked into the kitchen to get them some drinks. It felt nice having company, having her sister around again. She hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed her.

She couldn’t believe how Sarah had grown in the past few weeks. She was taller than herself now, but she would always be her little sister no matter how much she towered over her. As far back as Lily could remember
,
Sarah had had long brown hair along with big brown eyes that seemed to be able to get her everything. Their mother had always surrendered the second Sarah had pulled out her puppy dog expression, and now that she’d perfected it through years of constant use, Lily realized that she’d probably be using it on every boyfriend she ever had.

“Lily?” Sarah called out from the living room. “Are you smoking now?”

“No,” Lily said flatly, a frown wrinkling her nose as she pulled two sodas from the fridge.

“Then what’s this?”

Walking back into the living room and placing the cans down on the table, Lily looked at the battered silver Zippo in her sister’s hand. She took it from her and ran her fingers over it, her lips twitching into a slight smile.

“It’s
Cain’s,
it must have fallen out of his jacket last night.”

Sarah raised her brows and sat up, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm.

“That’s the most interesting thing you’ve said since I arrived.” She curled up sideways on the couch and smiled wide when Lily slipped the lighter into her jeans pocket. “So, tell me more about this
Cain
.”

Lily giggled. It had been too long since she’d had the opportunity to gossip with a girl and her sister was the best at it.

“He found me in the alley outside Andrew’s place. I’d just discovered that I’d been more than naïve. It was really late, pouring down with rain and there was a loud bang, like a gun going off. I panicked, and the next thing I knew was this guy appearing from nowhere and taking me to safety.”

Sarah’s eyes widened. “Wow, what happened... I mean, did someone get killed?”

“Yeah.
If Cain hadn’t grabbed me I really think the police would’ve suspected it was me who had killed the guy.”

“Lucky for you Cain showed up.” Sarah wiggled her brows mischievously. “Didn’t he try to, you know... pretty girl... dark alley... all alone?”

Lily’s frown intensified. “No. He was so sincere, and the more I told him about my situation, the more he seemed to genuinely
want
to help me.”

“So, he’s like your guardian angel? Is he a cute guardian angel?”

Lily giggled at her sister’s question.

“Yeah.”
She smiled. “He’s got like, the body of Bruce Lee, just the right side of six foot so I can rest my head against his chest perfectly.” She sighed. “When I’m with him, I feel protected, like I’m safest when I’m in his arms. Last night when he came to the club I work at... he held me so tight, Sarah, I wished he’d never let me go.”

Sarah looked at her with a knowing smile. Lily dropped her gaze, staring blankly at her hands as she toyed with the hem of her jeans.

“You are so totally in love with this guy, aren’t you?” Sarah said.

Lily tried to ignore her sister’s observation and continued as though she hadn’t heard it. “Did I mention he’s British? He’s got the hottest accent, and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen... they’re just... there are no words.”

“Got to love an accent.
He sounds pretty dreamy. When do I get to meet him?” Sarah grinned and Lily gave her a frown that said she wasn’t giving up Cain to her little sister.

“He’s out of town tonight on business, hence the calling in sick to work. I don’t think I can face that club knowing that he isn’t around to come and see me.”

“You’ve got it pretty bad for this guy, Lily. Even when you were dating Andrew, you didn’t go all mushy like this. Is he really that perfect?” Sarah watched her closely and Lily got the feeling that she was being scrutinized.

“I think he’s got the purest heart that I’ve ever known. I can’t fault him.” Lily smiled dreamily as she thought about him and then giggled slightly. “He’s so saintly he’s practically worship able.”

* * *

Cain kicked the door to the room open and scanned it—no
sign
of inhabitants other than rats and cockroaches, and no sign that he was going to get interrupted.

Setting his heavy bags and case down, he moved silently to the window and peered down into the street below him. His position was at least seven hundred meters from the location for the hit but it didn’t worry him. The more time for escape he had, the better. Plus, he was using the kind of gun that wouldn’t be bothered by such a trifling distance. It wouldn’t be bothered by double that distance. Slipping his earpiece around his ear, he heaved a sigh to steady himself, expelling all lingering feelings of doubt and all fear. Russ was supposed to be setting up nearer the main location a few buildings down from him. He should be there by now.

“You in position?”
Cain wriggled the earpiece until it was comfortable, fitting snug inside his ear. He felt as though he was babysitting Russ as he stared down into the street.

There was no need for him to be there. Russ had all the experience he needed to do a hit alone.

He frowned. This was his first out of town assignment since his alleyway cock up, and he wondered if it was the reverse and Russ was babysitting him. Sometimes he wished he had chosen to go it alone and not work for an organization. Choosing his own contracts at his own pace would have been so much better.

“Pretty much.
It’s a nice view from up here, air is clear and I can see girls galore entering the hotel,”
came
the reply from Russ.

Cain shook his head at how unprofessional he was.

“Go silent. You miss, you get out of there. I’ll take second.”

“One thing.”
Russ spoke quickly, clearly hoping to grab Cain’s attention.

It worked.

“What?” He sighed, eyeing the street and memorizing all the possible problems—the fading evening light, the flow of traffic, witnesses,
police
.