Chapter 6

Noah

I make sure to lock the door to my office before I walk over to the seating area by the fireplace. I then slump into one of the chairs and watch as Kyle does the same across from me.

"Now tell me why you're actually here, since you couldn't in front of Evelyn," I say, reaching for the pack of cigarettes on the table, lighting one for myself and drawing in a long, deep breath.

"I need your help with something."

I puff out the remains of the gray smoke while keeping my eyes on Kyle, furrowing my eyebrows. Why am I not one bit surprised? In the nearly nineteen years we've been in this business, he's only shown up on my doorstep unannounced when he needed something he couldn't communicate by other means.

"What is it?"

"Remember that guy you took out a few years ago? The one who ran the finance company on the surface, but all the criminal shit in the background?" Kyle asks, and I remember vividly. That whole job was a shit show, causing too much trouble.

"I do. Please don't tell me he came back from the dead. I made sure to cut him into as many pieces as possible." A smile twitches at the corner of my lips at the memory of the night I slaughtered that man. Only on a few occasions, when the pay was high enough, did I take the time to turn my targets into minced meat, and he was one of those times.

Kyle chuckles. "No, that bastard is still dead, but his son has taken over and is in the middle of rebuilding it all."

"And why exactly is that my problem?"

"The man who hired you back then tried to get in touch with you, but since you're out of business, he couldn't find you, so he came to me."

"Why?"

"He is afraid that the son will also try to take over his company as well."

"And what exactly do you need my help for?" I ask, raising the cigarette to my lips.

"You know, this isn't my usual kind of clientele, and I'm not used to their ways. But you are, so I could use your help."

I throw my head back and let out a sigh of frustration. This is an opportunity being handed to me on a silver platter. This isn't fair. "I can 't help you." I tilt my head back forward to look at him.

"Why?" he asks, leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees.

"Because I promised Evelyn I would stop working."

Kyles' facial expression morphs from indifferent to irritated. His eyebrows are furrowed, and deep lines crease his forehead.

"Since when do you let others tell you what to do? Let alone a woman ."

"Watch your mouth." My eyes widen and I shoot him a dangerous glare. "I won't let you disrespect her."

"Sorry," he says, bringing his hands up in submission. "But I really need your help, and there's no one else I can ask."

"What about your father?"

"I've already asked him, but he's dealing with some other business right now."

I raise my hand, covering my face as I massage my temples, trying to rub the tension out of my muscles. I would be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by Kyle's proposal. He offers me the opportunity for a perfect job, an exciting job. If it weren't for Evelyn, I would jump at the opportunity without a second thought and no further questions. But I promised her I wouldn't take any more jobs, and for the first time in my life I'm trying to be a man of my word. However, old habits die hard.

I let out a long exhale, lean forward and stub out the remains of my cigarette. "I'll talk to Evelyn about it. I can't make this decision on my own."

Kyle rolls his eyes. "You've turned into such a pussy since you've been with her."

"Shut up. I don't see what's wrong with wanting to make the woman I love happy."

"Nothing, but you will not make her happy as long as you are not content with your own life. And don't lie to me, I know you. You're sick in the head, I've seen how much you enjoy killing and how much you get your fix from it, and suddenly you're the perfect small-town boy who can do no harm?" Kyle furrows his eyebrows.

I groan in frustration and slump back into my chair, looking up at the ceiling. He's right, I'm like an addict trying to get clean. "I'll figure it out. How much time do you have?" I ask, but my attention remains on the ceiling.

"I was not given a deadline; the client just begged me to get it done as soon as possible."

"And the payment?"

"Twice as much as you got the last time."

I hum in response. That's a lot of money I don't need, I have more than enough for us to live carefree for the rest of our lives, but I never say no to a little extra cash.

"Give me a couple of days. I will call you as soon as I know her thoughts about the whole situation." I turn my head and look back at him.

"Sure thing." He flashes me a stupid grin.

I hate that he's always right about me, but with a friendship that's lasted more than two decades, it's no surprise. We are like open books to each other; there are no secrets and we know everything about the other, whether we like it or not.

"I think I'll take my leave now; I have to get back home and it's a long drive."

"You can stay the night if you want; the guest room is made."

"No thanks. I also think Evelyn would prefer that I leave." I raise my eyebrows in confusion. "I also don't want to witness what you two are up to in the bedroom again. She tried to hide it, but I saw the bruises around her neck, and the bandage on your hand tells me you two are going at it like animals again," he says with a chuckle.

"Too much, Kyle," I warn him.

After kicking Kyle out and making sure the front door is locked for the night, I lean against it and my gaze lands on the stairs leading back up. I raise my hand, and my smartwatch lights up, showing eleven p.m.. Evelyn is most likely still awake; it's rare for her to fall asleep before midnight. And even though I told her not to wait for me, I have no doubt that she would do it anyway.

I push myself away from the door, taking a quick detour through the kitchen to grab a box of her favorite chocolates before climbing the stairs, making sure to turn off all the lights on the way. In all honesty, my mind is spinning with thoughts, and I could really use a moment to myself right now to think about Kyle's offer in peace. But there's no way she didn't hear his car engine.

I pause in front of our shut bedroom door. A flickering light shines through the crack and the muffled sound of the TV buzzing from inside. As expected, she is still awake. I wrap my fingers around the doorknob but hesitate. I need to come up with a solid plan how to talk to her about this, and not do it on the fly. But how in the world am I going to convince her to let me go?

I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with air. Not tonight. I'll give it a couple of days, think about it more before I talk to her. By then, I'm sure I' ll have a good argument.

I turn the handle, push the door open, and walk into our bedroom, and just as I thought, Evelyn is sitting in bed with her favorite show on. In addition to the TV, the lamp on her nightstand illuminates the otherwise dark room.

Her head whips in my direction and a smile spreads across her face. "There you are."

"Kyle just left," I say, taking four long strides to reach my side of the bed and hand her the box of chocolates. "For you." Her face lights up at the sight of the late night treat, her smile widens as she takes the box from me. Doing that little thing with her shoulders, swaying in a happy dance, she immediately begins to unwrap it.

"What did he want to talk about?" she asks, and my stomach twists into a tight knot of guilt. Lying comes easily to me; it always has. But I hate lying to her, and I admit I've been doing it a lot lately.

"He needed some information about a target and advice on how to proceed." I look at her and shrug while taking off my watch and placing it on its charging dock on my nightstand.

Her eyebrows shoot up, her forehead creasing with thin lines. "Only that?"

"Yes. "

"But he has asked you for advice several times while I was present."

"Yes, but this is different.""

"How?"

"It's someone with a high profile; it's better if you don't know anything about them."

I grab the back of my shirt by the neckline and pull it off. The moment it is off, I catch her popping a piece of chocolate into her mouth before her lips purse into a pout.

"Why are you sulking?"

"Because you're keeping yet another secret from me."

"I'm not keeping this a secret; I'm telling you as much as I can right now. As soon as I can, I'll tell you everything."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

With a quick twist of my wrist, the button and fly of my pants come loose and I push them down before climbing into bed beside her. She scoots closer and offers me the box of chocolates.

"Do you want some?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's all yours," I say and wrap my arm around her shoulders.