Last Hit

Summer

We come up to a small white house with barred windows. A chain link fence surrounds the little yard.

Gabriel goes around the back of the house. He tosses his duffle across the chain fence. It hits the ground with a thud. He then turns back to me expectantly. Without a conversation, he swoops me up in his arms as if I weigh nothing. He cradles me like a bride, lifting me up over the fence. He doesn't let me go until my feet hit the ground.

He then places one hand on the metal rail and then easily leaps over the fence.

"Come on," he says, grabbing his bag and leading me to the screened in back porch.

"What if someone is home?" I ask, even though the house is pitch dark and silent.

"The owner isn't due to get home until another two hours. He's on a red eye flight right now."

I don't know why I even second guess this man.

Gabriel uses two skinny pointy tools to get into the locked door. Instead of walking right in, he stops and listens to the empty house for a moment. I assume he determines the coast is clear because he enters the home. I follow behind him, shutting the door quietly.

We enter through what looks like a kitchen, and then cut through the dining room. The house smells fresh and clean with a lemony scent as if someone recently mopped.

We walk into the living room, but Gabriel stops abruptly causing me to bump into his back.

"Gabe, what's the deal?"

A light comes on suddenly and I'm forced to close my eyes at the sudden change of brightness.

"You brought company on a menu?" An unknown voice says from in front of Gabriel.

Glancing around Gabe's wide back, I notice an older gentleman sitting in a wooden chair. A shot gun is across his lap, and a cool demeanor is painted on his face. I squeal before burying my head in Gabriel's back.

"Who's your friend?" The older man asks.

Gabriel doesn't respond. That doesn't shock me, the man hardly ever speaks. However, he isn't the one with a shotgun. We can't ignore this man.

"I'm Summer," I say, still hiding behind Gabriel.

The man chuckles. "Hello, Summer. I'm John Smith, but you can call me by my code name, Gambler."

The name meant nothing to me, but from the way Gabe's back stiffens more, it definitely hit home with him.

"You can relax," Gambler says as if anything about this situation is relaxing. "I only want to talk, Beast."

I let out a deep breath, feeling slightly better about the situation. He only wants to talk. Besides, if he wanted us dead, he could have shot us when we walked in. Stepping away from Gabriel, I go to walk around him. He quickly steps to the side placing himself right back in front of me.

"If you only want to talk then put down the gun," Gabriel says, making a good point.

That's why he's the killer and I'm just the unfortunate victim.

The heavy silence circles the room once again. It feels like two large predators are sizing each other up before they strike. Finally, the silence is broken when the stranger speaks.

"I think we both know why I can't put this gun down. Not only are you part of the Church, but you are the Beast after all."

Beast? His brother called him that name too. I'm assuming it's a nickname or codename like Gambler. Wait, do they work for the same organization? Damn, my brain is working slow as hell tonight.

They have another one of those silent standoffs. I take the opportunity to move around Gabe again. Before I can get too far from him, he grabs my arm pulling me back to his side. The action is quick, and no words are spoken, but I know it's him telling me to stay close.

The older gentlemen's gaze falls on me. A small smile turns his lips up. The lines around his blue eyes are prominent and tell of his age. He looks to be in his sixties although he's in great shape. The black fitted T shirt he's wearing stretches across defined muscles.

"That's how it started for me too," Gambler says before putting his attention back on Gabriel.

Gabe doesn't respond even though the man pauses for him to ask the question.

"How what started?" I ask.

Look, Gabriel may not want the information, but something about this older man intrigues me. None of the other victims tonight saw Gabriel coming, but this guy got the one up on him. That's talent. Plus, I want to know more about this organization they're part of.

"My revelation," Gambler says briefly to me. "I was a little older than you when I met my Maggie."

The moment he says the name, I notice the abundance of pictures. There are framed pictures everywhere. I start with the ones on the mantle. Without thought I walk over to the framed photos. The first picture is a black and white photo of a young couple. The woman has long hair parted down the middle. She's holding up the peace sign giving me hippie vibes. The guy beside her with a look of awe, is the younger version of the man sitting.

Moving to the next photo, Maggie is wearing a white lace dress with bell bottom sleeves. Around her head is a crown of daisies. Again, Gambler is staring at the woman with stars in his eyes.

Often, you hear people talk about being with their soul mate. Looking at these pictures of this couple tells me this is what being with a soul mate looks like. Along the walls, on side tables, and bookshelves are tons of framed pictures of this couple's life.

There are pictures of them everywhere in the world. Pictures of her alone smiling seductively at the camera. Pictures of the two of them, always with him staring longingly at her. I also notice at least four pictures of her with a full belly, yet there are no photos of children.

"What happened to Maggie?" I ask turning to face Gambler.

However, it isn't him that answers the question.

"Dead," Gabriel replies bluntly.

Sadness fills Gambler's eyes. A type of sadness I've seen only once in my life. It was the day my father stood at the door of my bedroom with a gun.

"Breast cancer," Gambler says. "By the time we caught it, it was too late. It has been two months now since we buried her."

"I'm so sorry."

I didn't even know these people, but looking at these pictures made me feel as if I watched the movie of their love life. It feels as if I was a part of it and I truly grasp his loss.

"Thank you," Gambler says looking over at me.

"What does this have to do with me?"

Okay damn, Gabe. I mean I understand he's a little emotionally detached. I've figured that out during our time together, but he could at least pretend.

Gambler chuckles, not seeming to take offense. "I was like you. A dutiful soldier for the Church. I believed I owed them everything. They took an orphaned boy with anger issues, stellar cognitive skills, and made him feel as if he belonged and that he was special." Gambler pauses, his gaze seeming unfocused as if he is reliving something.

Gabriel shifts so slightly toward me that if I hadn't been looking at him, I would have missed it. The movement seems to get Gambler's attention. His grip on the gun tightens.

"That's the thing I loved about the Church," he continues as if he never paused. "The courage and the confidence they give to the youth in the program. But, like anything that has been around as long as the Church, it becomes tainted. I met my Maggie because she was on my menu."

I gasp at that realization. The woman that he looks at with such adoration was supposed to die by his hands. I ignore the hopeful flutters in my belly. Despite that little bit of excitement that tried to sneak its way into my thoughts, Gambler's story is not Gabriel's.

Hell, I don't even want it to be. Do I think Gabe is a great guy? Sure. A little off, but I've met worse. Do I want to travel the world with him and take pictures like the ones surrounding me here? Hell no.

"How did you get out of killing her?" Despite just having that rational conversation in my head, I still ask the question.

For the first time since that light came on, Gabriel takes his attention off Gambler. Those seafoam green eyes turn to me and narrow. I look away, ignoring the heat on the side of my face. It isn't until Gambler starts speaking again that the burning goes away.

"She didn't fit what they told me," he says with a laugh to himself. "Her folder said that she was a death angel. Someone that preyed on the weak and innocent. It painted her as a stone-cold killer that inherited money from her dead victims."

Gabriel doesn't respond, only tilts his head to the side.

This doesn't stop Gambler; he continues with his story. "I watched her from my scope that day, but something about her files just didn't sit right with me. I started watching her and doing my own research. It was then I realized it was all a lie.

"Maggie was the daughter of a man named Jeremiah Smith. The Smiths could trace their ancestors all the way back to their passage on one of the first ships over to this country.

"Their wealth went back even further. I learned that he had put the hit out on his youngest daughter. She'd committed no crimes and had done no harm. The only reason she was going to die, is because her father had the power and the money to get the Church to do it."

"That's not how it works," Gabriel says, his jaw tight and his hands are fisted at his side. "The Church vets everyone on our menus. We don't do hire for kill."

Gambler scoffs. "I thought so too, but they hide it well. I guarantee, 99% of the people on your menu deserved the death you dealt to them. But I'm telling you, not all of them. Me included. They painted my ledger red and told you I committed atrocious acts in order for me to be placed on your menu. The only crimes I committed were for them. They are using us."

Gabriel turns away from Gambler. His eyes are closed so tightly the scar over his brow turns pink.

"And they have been for centuries. They cut us off from society and make us believe they give a shit about us. All the while, the people that are stuffing your pockets are worse than the ones you kill. Half of the men and women that end up on your menu, were once the Church's Allies."

Gabriel begins to pace. He tugs at his hair yanking at the strands. The man bun comes loose, and his golden locs fall around his face and cascade down his back.

"Gabe, what's wrong?" I step toward him, laying a hand on his arm.

He draws away from me as if my touch is fire. Gambler continues to speak, ignoring the frenzy Gabe is in.

"The people they protect would make your skin crawl. They tell you Pope runs the Church, but that's not true. When they broke away from the Catholic Church, they didn't go independent, Beast. They aligned with something much worse."

At this point, Gabriel is losing his shit. He's pacing the room like an angry bull and having those conversations in his head with his mother. Although he has always been terrifying, he seemed more human as the night has gone by. However, now he reminds me of exactly what Gambler has called him—a beast.

"You're lying. Don't say that." He growls, smacking himself in the head. I want to touch him, but I'm afraid.

"It's the truth. I can prove it," Gambler says loudly over the noise Gabriel is making.

"Shut up. You're not helping," I shout down to Gambler. I don't like the calm look on his face.

The man shrugs casually as if all this is normal. "I'm not trying to."

Glass being shattered against the wall turns my attention back to Gabe. He's picking up the picture frames and throwing them.

"Gabriel, look at me." I approach him slowly as if he's a wild animal.

When I'm right behind him, he spins around on his feet, grabs me by the neck and yanks me off the ground. My toes are the only thing still brushing the floor.

"Gabe, please," I croak out, wrapping a hand around his wrist hoping he will let me go.

"You might as well forget it. That red haze got him now," Gambler says as if he's bored.

I don't give a shit what he says. I know my Gabriel is in here. Yes, I started this faux friendship to save my life, but I discovered the real man behind those green eyes. He's still just a boy with mother issues that they trained to kill. He's wounded, just like me. He isn't this Beast they made him.

"Please. Don't," I try again to reason with him.

Though I was initially shocked about his hold around my neck, I realize he isn't choking me. He's only holding me. He drops his forehead to mine for a brief second before releasing me. I fall to the ground hitting it with a thud.

Gabriel goes back to breaking shit. From my viewpoint on the ground, I can see him storm out of the room and down the hall. The sound of splintering wood and shattered glass following him.

"Why did you do this? What do you gain from this?" I ask from my spot on the floor.

Gambler's blue eyes soften as he peers down at me, and I recognize the sadness from earlier. The one that reminds me of my father. His gaze goes to the mantle behind me.

"Because I'm a coward, and I want him to finish what I started."

The ruckus down the hall stops. Gambler's and my head swing in the direction. From our location in the room, we can't see anything down the hallway. Suddenly, without a sound, Gabriel appears at the entrance. He stares down at me; his pale eyes bore into mine.

I don't speak nor make a move toward him. I wish I could read him the way he easily reads the world. I want to know what he's thinking as he looks so intently at me.

"It's time, Beast," Gambler says, drawing Gabriel's attention.

Gabe turns to the man that has yet to get out of the chair. In one swift move, he pulls a gun from behind his back and aims it at Gambler.

"No," I shout, but it's too late.

He fires the gun and the bullet hits Gambler directly in the forehead. The impact knocks his head back. The gun in his lap clatters to the ground, his head falls forward, and his body goes limp. I stare in horror as droplets of blood drip from the wound and down to his shirt.

The memory of my father's lifeless body slumped against my bedroom wall comes into focus. My heart starts to pound faster, and the room spins a little.

Gabriel walks over to the gun on the floor. He picks it up, presses something at the top and lowers the barrel of the gun. With one hand, he tosses the weapon onto the floor.

"Let's go." He turns to me and speaks.

"You killed him."

I'm not stupid. I knew that was the game plan when we walked in here, but he wasn't like the others. He wasn't guilty. The only way I've gotten passed what he's been doing all night, was knowing that the people he killed were bad. This is different.

Gabriel grabs his black duffle off the ground and swings it over his shoulder. He then grabs my arm and lifts me to my feet. Once I'm standing, I yank away from him.

He watches me wearily, but he doesn't say anything. He turns his back to me and makes his way out of the home the same route we took to get in. I follow quietly with my mind racing.

We make it almost three blocks before I refuse to go any further. I stop on the sidewalk. Gabriel is about ten steps in front of me. Yet, when I stop he does too. He turns to look at me.

"You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

He doesn't respond.

I shake my head and cross my arms over my chest. "I thought I could reason with you. I even for a minute thought that maybe you and I had formed some kind of fucked up friendship, but you have no feelings."

He frowns at my words. "I told you what I was. It's not my fault you formed some delusional version of me in your head."

I scoff, but he's right. He's never tried to make me believe he was anything other than a heartless killer. However, I have a hard time believing that. Call me delusional or stupid, but something deep inside me tells me that isn't who Gabriel is.

Shaking my head, I reply, "No, that's not who you are. It's who they made you believe you are."

Those green eyes that are so intelligent narrow at me. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know Gambler was telling the truth. And I know you know it too. Yet you still killed him. You didn't even consider letting him live. You're just a follower and now I know my fate is the same as his. So do it, Gabriel."

I step closer to him, cutting away some of the space between us.

"Get it out the way. Gun me down in the street and leave me here like trash. You're going to do it anyway."

He stares at me, his face not moving an inch. My heart gallops in my chest. Even though I mean the words I'm saying, it doesn't make death any less frightening.

"Keep walking," he says turning his back to me.

My next move can be chalked up to lack of sleep, witnessing the death of Gambler, or hell, you can put it on my drug use. I run up to his back, ball my fist and start pounding away. He doesn't even stumble at my weak blows.

"You're a monster," I shout, feeling defeated. "Just kill me. Just do it."

He turns around and grabs both my wrists in one of his hands. "Stop," his words come out with more emotion than anything else he's said all night.

My chest heaves up and down while he and I have a stare off.

"Gambler had been hidden from the Church for forty-six years," Gabriel says looking down at me. "They had no idea where he was. Two weeks ago, he shows up out of the blue like a beacon on every damn radar they have."

I scrunch my nose trying to figure out what all that means.

"He wanted them to find him." It's a statement, not a question.

Gabriel nods. "There were no bullets in his gun."

I close my eyes and place myself back in the house. He surrounded himself with pictures of his wife. He never tried to run or talk Gabriel out of killing him. The sad look in his eyes that reminded me of my father.

"This was a suicide mission. He wanted to die."

"Yes," he sighs.

I think back on Gambler's last words to me. He said he told Gabe the truth because he was a coward and he wanted him to finish the work he had done. I think he believed himself a coward because he didn't want to remain in this life without his wife. It would explain why he surrounded himself with pictures of her, but not his kids.

The fight leaves my body and I slump against Gabriel. He lets my hands go and allows me to bury my face in his stomach. He doesn't touch me or push me away. I stay there, allowing his warmth and hard body to ground me.

"We have to keep moving, Summer."

Lifting my face from his body, I look up at him. A thought crosses my mind, one I chase away like a raccoon at my back porch. However, it doesn't stop the thought from returning. I wonder what his lips would feel like on mine.

I think about this for so long, I find myself lifting on my tip toes drawing closer to his mouth. He stills but doesn't move. His green eyes move back and forth across my face not focusing on one area too long. When I am only a deep inhale away from pressing my lips to his, the sound of booming rap music has me pulling away rapidly.

This time, I'm not so lucky. Nic's large black SUV comes up beside us. The doors fly open before the Tahoe stops. Nic and five members of his crew climb out of the truck.

"Nic, hi," I say, stepping in front of Gabriel. "I was just coming to see—" my words are cut short when his fist flies across my face knocking me to the ground.

Gabriel takes a step in Nic's direction. The five guys with Nic pull their large guns out and aim them at Gabriel. He stops moving, his head cocks to the side as he stares directly at Nic.

"Imagine my surprise when Jay called and told me you were walking my streets with another dude. How do you think that made me feel?" Nic shouts at me.

I spit the blood from my split lip out onto the pavement before getting on my hands and knees.

"In my defense," I rasp. "I thought you holding a gun to my head meant we had broken up."

Nic grabs me by the hood of Gabriel's sweatshirt and hauls me to my feet. He then draws back and slaps the shit out of me again. This time, I bend at the waist but don't fall to the ground.

Gabriel must've moved again because the guys with the guns move in closer, surrounding him.

"So, you're the bitch ass muthafucker that's screwing my girl now?" Nic shouts. "Tell me why I shouldn't dead your ass on this pavement."

Despite all the guns aimed at him and being outnumbered, not once does Gabriel show any sign of fear. In fact, a slow smirk spreads across his face.

"You think this shit funny?" Nic snaps. "Light his ass up, Benzo."

"Wait," I shout jumping in front of Gabriel.

What the hell are you doing?My inner more rational voice shouts. It's the first time she's made an appearance tonight. "If Nic kills Gabriel you can possibly get away from Nic. You've done it before. Then you'll be free." Rational me made a lot of sense, but I couldn't let him kill Gabe.

He is the first man other than my father to show me kindness without wanting anything in return. Yes, he said he was going to kill me, but he's fed me when I've been hungry. He's given me clothing when I've been cold, held my wig when I was throwing up, and protected me. He may not be normal, I won't deny that, but Gabriel is my friend.

"We're not together. He's just a mark," I turn and look into Gabe's green eyes.

I'm pleading with him to follow along.

"I was going to get him to take me back to his place and then rob him."

Gabe's eyes narrow down at me. The men around us laugh.

"This fool thought he had a new girlfriend," One of Nic's guys taunts, and they all laugh.

"Tonight's your lucky night, big guy. You can keep your money and your life," Nic says. "Bring your ass, Summer."

I look to Gabriel one last time and a sad smile lifts my lips. "You were going to kill me tonight anyway, right," I whisper to him. "Now you don't have to worry about it."

Nic yanks me away from Gabe and toward his black SUV. The thing my rational mind didn't know is that I got away from Nic once by chance. He's not letting me get away again. Once I climb in this truck, I'm good as dead.

"For what it's worth," I shout to Gabriel before Nic can shove me in the car. "I had fun tonight."

"Get your dumb ass in the car," Nic says pushing my head down and into the back seat .

His henchmen climb in too, and the doors shut. I look out of the tinted windows as we pull away from the curb. Gabriel watches me while I stare back at him. We don't look away from each other until I can no longer see him.

With a death grip on my thigh, Nic leans into my ear and whispers. "I'm going to make you choke on this dick before I put a bullet in your head."

Ugh, I'd much rather he shoots me first.