My Heroes Have Always Been Hitmen (Humorous Romantic Shorts) (Greatest Hits Mysteries) by Leslie Langtry Page A
Authors: Leslie Langtry
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practically laid out a plan to kill the Council, and I'd rejected it. Didn't he know I was dangerous?
Hmmm…maybe not. Gaul's arrogance had always seen me as his useless little sister. Maybe that was why I'd been able to leave? If that was the case, could I exploit that to my advantage?
And what about the Council ? I needed to warn them. They'd be angry that I hadn't finished him off on the spot. But then, they weren't there. If they'd seen his eyes…
I needed to calm down. And I needed a plan that would be more than just one step…
"Father?" I shouted once I crossed the threshold to the house. There was no answer. I ran through the home, checking every room. Nothing. My heart was pounding. If my brother so much as touched a hair on our father's head, I'd kill him with my bare hands.
" Caspian?" Father emerged from the courtyard, looking bewildered. "Where have you been? I've been worried!"
I hugged him and made sure he was all in one piece . "I had to run out. One of my friends was having some trouble. It's sorted."
Father nodded absently and then said, "Well it's all right now! Come out to the garden—we have a guest!"
I sighed. Company was the last thing we needed right now. I needed to get Father to leave the house for a while until I took care of Gaul. Maybe I could talk him into a little trip—leaving immediately. There were rumors of a zoo in Carthage. I could tell him they have some weird new animal he could introduce into his dioramas and offer to help him pack. Hell, I could make up an animal, and by the time he got there and realized I lied, this whole mess with Gaul would be over. I started to sketch out a creature in my mind as we walked. Something that could spit poison perhaps. He'd like that.
As we walked to the terrace, I tried to come up with excuses for why this guest should leave so I could send Father away. I was working on a doozy of an excuse where malaria was making the neighborhood rounds when I came face to face with my brother. Gaul was standing in the garden, an evil grin on his face.
Father smiled . "It's going to be okay, Cas. I told Gaul about the misunderstanding with the Council. He's going to straighten things out."
My heart stopped beating. Father told Gaul about the Council's edict? Did he tell him I was the one who was supposed to carry it out? This was worse than anything I could've imagined.
" What?" I asked Father. "You told him what?"
He nodded . "We don't have to worry about it anymore. Gaul has assured me that he will explain everything, and things will go back to the way they were. Isn't that wonderful?"
I 'd misjudged my father's mental stability. The man had snapped. And now, he'd helped Gaul move forward with his idea of killing the Council.
This was all my fault. I shouldn 't have told him about the assignment. Bombays had rules for a reason, and now I understood why we didn't tell other Bombays about our assignments. And that reason was staring at me with murder hiding behind his placating eyes. It was all an act. A deadly and evil act.
" So, Caspian," Gaul said nonchalantly. "I guess you had come to warn me, then? That's why you came to find me?"
He said those words, but I knew he didn 't believe them. And I realized that now my Father and I were also on Gaul's kill list.
My brother walked over and casually draped his arm around me with a big smile. I shrugged it off. Who was he trying to fool ? We weren't one big happy family. In fact, very soon, I was going to try to reduce us to a family of two. If I could.
" There's a Council meeting in a few minutes," Gaul said. "Cas and I will just go over there and settle things."
Oh crap. It was the first night of the week. This was the night the Council met to review business. Of course they'd all be there…Grandmother, Athens, Asia, and Syria. Granted, all four were accomplished assassins, but all four were also very old…nearly fifty years in age!
There was no way to warn them. I 'd have to figure
Hmmm…maybe not. Gaul's arrogance had always seen me as his useless little sister. Maybe that was why I'd been able to leave? If that was the case, could I exploit that to my advantage?
And what about the Council ? I needed to warn them. They'd be angry that I hadn't finished him off on the spot. But then, they weren't there. If they'd seen his eyes…
I needed to calm down. And I needed a plan that would be more than just one step…
"Father?" I shouted once I crossed the threshold to the house. There was no answer. I ran through the home, checking every room. Nothing. My heart was pounding. If my brother so much as touched a hair on our father's head, I'd kill him with my bare hands.
" Caspian?" Father emerged from the courtyard, looking bewildered. "Where have you been? I've been worried!"
I hugged him and made sure he was all in one piece . "I had to run out. One of my friends was having some trouble. It's sorted."
Father nodded absently and then said, "Well it's all right now! Come out to the garden—we have a guest!"
I sighed. Company was the last thing we needed right now. I needed to get Father to leave the house for a while until I took care of Gaul. Maybe I could talk him into a little trip—leaving immediately. There were rumors of a zoo in Carthage. I could tell him they have some weird new animal he could introduce into his dioramas and offer to help him pack. Hell, I could make up an animal, and by the time he got there and realized I lied, this whole mess with Gaul would be over. I started to sketch out a creature in my mind as we walked. Something that could spit poison perhaps. He'd like that.
As we walked to the terrace, I tried to come up with excuses for why this guest should leave so I could send Father away. I was working on a doozy of an excuse where malaria was making the neighborhood rounds when I came face to face with my brother. Gaul was standing in the garden, an evil grin on his face.
Father smiled . "It's going to be okay, Cas. I told Gaul about the misunderstanding with the Council. He's going to straighten things out."
My heart stopped beating. Father told Gaul about the Council's edict? Did he tell him I was the one who was supposed to carry it out? This was worse than anything I could've imagined.
" What?" I asked Father. "You told him what?"
He nodded . "We don't have to worry about it anymore. Gaul has assured me that he will explain everything, and things will go back to the way they were. Isn't that wonderful?"
I 'd misjudged my father's mental stability. The man had snapped. And now, he'd helped Gaul move forward with his idea of killing the Council.
This was all my fault. I shouldn 't have told him about the assignment. Bombays had rules for a reason, and now I understood why we didn't tell other Bombays about our assignments. And that reason was staring at me with murder hiding behind his placating eyes. It was all an act. A deadly and evil act.
" So, Caspian," Gaul said nonchalantly. "I guess you had come to warn me, then? That's why you came to find me?"
He said those words, but I knew he didn 't believe them. And I realized that now my Father and I were also on Gaul's kill list.
My brother walked over and casually draped his arm around me with a big smile. I shrugged it off. Who was he trying to fool ? We weren't one big happy family. In fact, very soon, I was going to try to reduce us to a family of two. If I could.
" There's a Council meeting in a few minutes," Gaul said. "Cas and I will just go over there and settle things."
Oh crap. It was the first night of the week. This was the night the Council met to review business. Of course they'd all be there…Grandmother, Athens, Asia, and Syria. Granted, all four were accomplished assassins, but all four were also very old…nearly fifty years in age!
There was no way to warn them. I 'd have to figure
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