of longing flashed on Duncan’s face. It was an emotion Blake had never seen before on his friend’s face. Something had happened to him. Blake thought of how strangely he and Brooklyn had acted during the Dublin trip. On the flight back, they barely said two words to each other, but exchanged glances many times. What happened between them? Duncan caught Blake staring at him and cleared his throat.
“Fuck you,” Duncan said.
Blake chuckled. As he stood from his crouching position next to their Jeep, his thoughts turned to Analeigh. His beautiful girlfriend had been on his mind since he’d sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night to catch his flight here. Analeigh was smart and was beginning to pick up on the fact that his career wasn’t all that he’d led her to believe.
A picture of her shimmering chocolate skin, haunting dark eyes, and long raven hair flashed in his mind. This was not good. It was too dangerous for an assassin to be in love. And Blake knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was in love with her.
“You’re really going to tell her about this?” Hunter asked.
Blake sighed and glanced at his friend. “I have no choice. I hate lying to her.”
“What then, mate? Do you expect her to keep letting you kill people for a living?”
“No.”
“At least Sarah got it because she was one of us. This one is a civilian. She won’t understand.”
Blake pressed his lips together. He hated how right Duncan was and therefore couldn’t rebuff him. It was the same argument that had plagued him since he and Analeigh met.
A disturbance in the atmosphere caught Blake’s attention. Dust floated in the air, followed by the crunching of tires. Blake raised the binoculars to his eyes. A motorcade of three dark Hummers with diplomatic flags appeared on the horizon.
“Incoming,” Blake hissed.
Instantly Blake was all business. Their mission was to stop the caravan, which contained an extremist leader, and leave no survivors. On Blake’s signal, Duncan quickly raised the weapon he held and pulled the trigger. The missile entered the grille of the first car, causing it and the second car to explode. The third SUV screeched to a halt. There were only three guards in that one. Not wanting to waste another missile, Blake motioned for them to take care of them by hand.
“You’re really going to tell her about this?” Duncan asked as they climbed into their Jeep and headed for the carnage.
“I don’t know. Speaking of which, you’re invited to dinner.”
In no time, they had crossed the football pitch length of landscape that separated them from the terrorists. Turning the wheel sharply, he braked beside the confused men and took out two with his AK-47 while Duncan took care of the third.
“Dinner, eh?” Duncan said.
“Yep. She wants to meet you.”
Together, they checked the wreckage. Blake pulled out his phone and took pictures to send to his commander as confirmation. It wasn’t a bad way to earn ten million dollars, but maybe it was time to hang up this life. Especially since he promised Analeigh he’d always come home to her in one piece. Some days it didn’t feel like that was going to be possible.
“Can she cook?” Duncan asked.
With a smirk, Blake got back in the Jeep and put the car in gear. “She’s the best.”
Duncan quickly climbed in beside him. “It’s been ages since I’ve had a home-cooked meal. Might be fun.”
Blake drove away from the scene. The high desert winds would cover any tire tracks that his jeep might leave in the sand. Their base camp was at least thirty miles away. The way he drove, he’d have them there by sundown. Yet his mind was already thousands of miles away in Virginia where Analeigh would be starting her new semester of classes tonight. Would a theology professor understand that his job was to kill the “bad people” that the world governments viewed to be too dangerous to exist? Maybe it was in everyone’s best interests if he
“Fuck you,” Duncan said.
Blake chuckled. As he stood from his crouching position next to their Jeep, his thoughts turned to Analeigh. His beautiful girlfriend had been on his mind since he’d sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night to catch his flight here. Analeigh was smart and was beginning to pick up on the fact that his career wasn’t all that he’d led her to believe.
A picture of her shimmering chocolate skin, haunting dark eyes, and long raven hair flashed in his mind. This was not good. It was too dangerous for an assassin to be in love. And Blake knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he was in love with her.
“You’re really going to tell her about this?” Hunter asked.
Blake sighed and glanced at his friend. “I have no choice. I hate lying to her.”
“What then, mate? Do you expect her to keep letting you kill people for a living?”
“No.”
“At least Sarah got it because she was one of us. This one is a civilian. She won’t understand.”
Blake pressed his lips together. He hated how right Duncan was and therefore couldn’t rebuff him. It was the same argument that had plagued him since he and Analeigh met.
A disturbance in the atmosphere caught Blake’s attention. Dust floated in the air, followed by the crunching of tires. Blake raised the binoculars to his eyes. A motorcade of three dark Hummers with diplomatic flags appeared on the horizon.
“Incoming,” Blake hissed.
Instantly Blake was all business. Their mission was to stop the caravan, which contained an extremist leader, and leave no survivors. On Blake’s signal, Duncan quickly raised the weapon he held and pulled the trigger. The missile entered the grille of the first car, causing it and the second car to explode. The third SUV screeched to a halt. There were only three guards in that one. Not wanting to waste another missile, Blake motioned for them to take care of them by hand.
“You’re really going to tell her about this?” Duncan asked as they climbed into their Jeep and headed for the carnage.
“I don’t know. Speaking of which, you’re invited to dinner.”
In no time, they had crossed the football pitch length of landscape that separated them from the terrorists. Turning the wheel sharply, he braked beside the confused men and took out two with his AK-47 while Duncan took care of the third.
“Dinner, eh?” Duncan said.
“Yep. She wants to meet you.”
Together, they checked the wreckage. Blake pulled out his phone and took pictures to send to his commander as confirmation. It wasn’t a bad way to earn ten million dollars, but maybe it was time to hang up this life. Especially since he promised Analeigh he’d always come home to her in one piece. Some days it didn’t feel like that was going to be possible.
“Can she cook?” Duncan asked.
With a smirk, Blake got back in the Jeep and put the car in gear. “She’s the best.”
Duncan quickly climbed in beside him. “It’s been ages since I’ve had a home-cooked meal. Might be fun.”
Blake drove away from the scene. The high desert winds would cover any tire tracks that his jeep might leave in the sand. Their base camp was at least thirty miles away. The way he drove, he’d have them there by sundown. Yet his mind was already thousands of miles away in Virginia where Analeigh would be starting her new semester of classes tonight. Would a theology professor understand that his job was to kill the “bad people” that the world governments viewed to be too dangerous to exist? Maybe it was in everyone’s best interests if he
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