said.
Ash returned in plain view and shut off the overhead light.
It took a moment for Hunter’s eyes to adjust to the darkness but eventually they did thanks to the lights of the city that were pouring in through the window, helping her to understand the layout of the room as it emerged in soft gray silhouette.
Ash sat on the bed, peeling a top sheet up from the foot of the bed, then laid down on his back. Hunter slumped down as well until she was flat on her back. Luthor purred between them.
After a long moment, Hunter took a deep breath and finally asked what she had been meaning to ever since Ash had jumped through her window earlier that night.
“Are you some kind of a hit man?”
Chapter Four
Hunter wished she hadn’t blurted out the question, and yet she felt she had a right to know. She had seen him kill. She had watched him do what she couldn’t: protect herself. And if he hadn’t shown up, she would have become a prisoner like she had been all her life. Hunter realized that she didn’t so much care whether or not he was a hit man. Deep down she already knew he was. What Hunter really wanted to ask him was if he would teach her how to be one as well.
“Sometimes,” he responded finally.
There was something seductive in his tone of voice, the way the timbre softened as a result of lying down, that sent a wave of heat rippling through Hunter. She listened intently for him to continue.
“Does that scare you?” He asked.
She could see his silhouette turn. He was rolling onto his side, facing her.
“I don’t know,” she said in a whisper, “I guess.” After another long moment she added, “Maybe it depends on who you kill.”
“You mean like it’s not scary if I only kill bad guys?” he asked as his hand found its way to Luthor. He stroked the cat’s soft fur. Luthor purred in starts and fits, then relaxed, returning to a deep sleep.
“Something like that, yeah,” she said.
“People want bad people dead,” He said. “Have you ever wanted a good person dead?”
“No, I guess not,” she answered, following his logic, but not quite buying the argument.
“I don’t know how bad they are,” he went on. “Or if they’re bad at all. All I know is that someone out there needs them dead. Some people can’t live their lives unless some bad guy out there dies. So that’s what I do.”
Hunter could relate to that easily.
“Do you think this makes me a bad person as well?” he asked.
“No,” she answered after a long moment to consider the question.
He paused, holding his breath, unsure whether or not to say what he wanted to next. He sensed tension between them, one he wasn’t sure he liked. “I need to know if you’re afraid of me.”
“I’m not,” said Hunter.
Relief washed over him the second he heard the words. He believed her.
“How did you start?” she asked through the darkness.
“You mean who was my first kill?”
“Yeah, and why. I mean, how does someone get into that type of work?” she asked, revealing her interest.
“I had a really difficult upbringing that I don’t really like to talk about, but I killed my way out of it.”
As soon as his response landed in Hunter’s ears, she felt an immediate kinship with him. What had his
Ash returned in plain view and shut off the overhead light.
It took a moment for Hunter’s eyes to adjust to the darkness but eventually they did thanks to the lights of the city that were pouring in through the window, helping her to understand the layout of the room as it emerged in soft gray silhouette.
Ash sat on the bed, peeling a top sheet up from the foot of the bed, then laid down on his back. Hunter slumped down as well until she was flat on her back. Luthor purred between them.
After a long moment, Hunter took a deep breath and finally asked what she had been meaning to ever since Ash had jumped through her window earlier that night.
“Are you some kind of a hit man?”
Chapter Four
Hunter wished she hadn’t blurted out the question, and yet she felt she had a right to know. She had seen him kill. She had watched him do what she couldn’t: protect herself. And if he hadn’t shown up, she would have become a prisoner like she had been all her life. Hunter realized that she didn’t so much care whether or not he was a hit man. Deep down she already knew he was. What Hunter really wanted to ask him was if he would teach her how to be one as well.
“Sometimes,” he responded finally.
There was something seductive in his tone of voice, the way the timbre softened as a result of lying down, that sent a wave of heat rippling through Hunter. She listened intently for him to continue.
“Does that scare you?” He asked.
She could see his silhouette turn. He was rolling onto his side, facing her.
“I don’t know,” she said in a whisper, “I guess.” After another long moment she added, “Maybe it depends on who you kill.”
“You mean like it’s not scary if I only kill bad guys?” he asked as his hand found its way to Luthor. He stroked the cat’s soft fur. Luthor purred in starts and fits, then relaxed, returning to a deep sleep.
“Something like that, yeah,” she said.
“People want bad people dead,” He said. “Have you ever wanted a good person dead?”
“No, I guess not,” she answered, following his logic, but not quite buying the argument.
“I don’t know how bad they are,” he went on. “Or if they’re bad at all. All I know is that someone out there needs them dead. Some people can’t live their lives unless some bad guy out there dies. So that’s what I do.”
Hunter could relate to that easily.
“Do you think this makes me a bad person as well?” he asked.
“No,” she answered after a long moment to consider the question.
He paused, holding his breath, unsure whether or not to say what he wanted to next. He sensed tension between them, one he wasn’t sure he liked. “I need to know if you’re afraid of me.”
“I’m not,” said Hunter.
Relief washed over him the second he heard the words. He believed her.
“How did you start?” she asked through the darkness.
“You mean who was my first kill?”
“Yeah, and why. I mean, how does someone get into that type of work?” she asked, revealing her interest.
“I had a really difficult upbringing that I don’t really like to talk about, but I killed my way out of it.”
As soon as his response landed in Hunter’s ears, she felt an immediate kinship with him. What had his
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