The Games We Play

18. Seventeen - X

Seventeen - X

The insidious, muffled pleas reverberating off the metal walls are really grating on my nerves. I want to slit the guy’s throat and be done with this, but Sierra likes to play with the targets. He gives them false hope that if they fess up their sins, we will offer them absolution.

I crack my knuckles as I stand against the wall and refrain from sighing in boredom as Sierra drags the knife along Mr. Bryant’s chest.

What he did, I don’t care.

He’s numbers in my bank account. They all are. But Sierra has this curiosity about wanting to know who they are and what we are killing them for. What kind of sadistic bastard wants to humanize the target? Logically, I know they have families or something of the sort. They all have some kind of sob story about why they should get to live. One bastard used his dying mother as if that would get us to turn a blind eye.

Sierra just laughed and said he never had a mother and took joy in killing him slower than usual .

Maybe that’s why he does it? The kill isn’t enough on its own. He needs an emotional tether for the target to latch onto and slowly take away.

I check my security footage and click through every camera at Puppet’s house. Empty aside from Roxy sleeping on the couch like she always does when waiting for her girl to get home from work. These jobs are getting harder to take when there is so much distance between us. As crazy as it sounds, I miss her voice, her touch, her very essence coating my cock and hand.

I berate myself for letting my emotions slip. This won’t last. I know that. It’s all part of a plan.

I hastily lock my phone and shove it back in my pocket, my cock already stirring at the mere memories of her in the clown house. That was weeks ago, and it still feels like it was just last night when her knife cut through my skin.

“I think there was a diner about fifteen miles back. My treat?” Sierra offers as he wipes his knife along the leg of a very dead Mr. Bryant. I push off the wall and let my shoulders relax slightly.

“You know the rules, and I want to get back,” I state. The rules are simple, really. Don’t tell anyone what we do. Don’t loiter once the job is done, and no outside contact period.

“Come on. We don’t even know who this sadistic man who hired us is. Besides, we’re the best they have. Do you really think they’re going to terminate us for eating a decent meal after securing another target without drawing attention to ourselves?”

I’m shaking my head before he can finish his thought. I’m not spending more time away from her than I have to, and I’m certainly not risking what I have going on here for a greasy cheeseburger and some fries .

“There’s something going down within the agency, and you know it. We can’t afford any screw-ups. More of our targets are being snatched out from underneath us.”

Sierra groans as we climb into the SUV left for us and sends a quick text with our location. A cleanup crew will be here in minutes to ensure there isn’t any trace left of us or who died here tonight.

Mr. Bryant was an easy lift. He was alone at his vacation home in San Diego and with minimal security measures. Made for a short night and thank fuck for that.

Sierra is oddly quiet on the way back to the plane hangar, and I glance at him from out of my periphery. His leg bounces, and he gnaws on his fingers, gross given everything he did tonight, and he hasn’t washed his hands.

“What’s eating at you?” I ask. He’s normally the type of person you pray would shut up, but this behavior is off.

He huffs and runs his palms along his jeans. “Do you ever think about…you know, switching things up?”

I turn onto the highway before answering. “Like having a family or choosing a new preferred weapon?” I joke.

“These targets are escape goats for the real nasty people out there. Either accountants shuffling funds, someone arranging gun smuggling, or that one who was pretending to be royalty to gain access to the Sheikh in Dubai…” He scoffs and leans back into his seat. “I’m losing the thrill, man. I’m itching for something…more.”

I didn’t know that about any of our targets. “You need to stop asking questions. Paint them as criminal as you want and get the job done. You’re just getting in your head. Killing is killing. Money is money, and we’re on top of the food chain. ”

“What if we aren’t?” he asks, barely above a whisper, and I jerk my attention over to him with an arched brow. “I got an invitation for a potential new employer. Someone who needs the best of the best to take care of high-value targets. Like above special ops and terrorist level shit.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Sierra,” I hiss. “You don’t just put in a two weeks’ notice with a job like this. You’re in it for life. Leaving isn’t an option, and you know that. If they even heard you were thinking about something like this, you could end up next on my list. Don’t be stupid, man. Tell the boss about the hearsay and let it go.”

I’ve never been one to have a friend. Every relationship I’ve formed since I took this job aside from one has been tactical. There is no room for emotions or attachments. Attachments equal leverage, and I’ll be damned if anyone finds a connection to use against me.

Sierra doesn’t respond. His eyes seem far away as if he’s actually considering his options. We part ways once the plane lands without so much as a head nod, and I sigh as the leather seat in my car forms around my body.

I pull up the camera at Puppet’s just in time for her to walk inside her house. Her body is sluggish like she’s exhausted, and I run my hand through my hair.

I debate going home or going straight to her. I’ll have to circle a couple of hours, something I’ve trained myself to do just in case I ever have someone tailing me. My dick hardens as if this is even a question of where I want to spend my night. She’s just what I need to work through the tension Sierra just brought on me.

I shift through gears until I’m in sixth and racing down the back roads, drifting around curves and taking the straightaways at dangerous speeds .

I should really recognize just how wrapped around Puppet’s fucking pussy I am. It’s dangerous but oh so fucking delicious.