Page 67 of Exposing Adonis

This wasn’t quite afluffy bunnyact. It was more a play dumb and skeptical act. But maybe it would work. Or he’d get frustrated enough to make a mistake.

Alex shook his head, a cruel smirk over his lips.

“I keep a single hair on the lip of the drawer that holds my laptop,” he said slowly. So slowly that it was distracting and I wasn’t sure what he was getting at. “It was gone when I went in.”

“A hair … was gone?” I scoffed. “First, how many hairs have yo plucked off your head for that trick? And, second, any light breeze could have done that …”

He interrupted, screaming over me. “It’s there to make sure no one goes into my things without my knowing, and it was gone!” He yelled, his breath so powerful that it made the hair around my face fly back.

He was,of course, absolutely correct. I was guilty as fuuuuuck.

When Joe said he was a paranoid control freak, he was completely right. And now, I was going to pay for it. I was going to get a bullet in the head just like my uncle Leopold unless I could think of something.

Stall. Stall until the situation turned. Maybe someone would hear him? Nah, all the guys were gone. Sent back to Scotland in the early morning to give me and my husband a small honeymoon. Who was left?

Joe. I needed Joe. That would be ideal right now.

I slowly raised my hands up my sides as if to surrender.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, or why you’d think I’d go into your–”

“I know you’re the Ferryman you heinous bitch!” His voice was changing. Gone was the American in favor of what I recognized to be Afrikaans. He said he was part of a disgraced South African family. Was he regressing back to that? Code-switching back to his true self?

“I know you’re the fucking assassin! I’ve known all along! Do you think I took you and your brother into my payroll because you’re just such amazing employees that I had to have you? No! I took you so you could kill people!”

Well, I wasn’t expecting a confession so soon. But there it was. He was my employer twice over.

Jason’s gun was trained to the man behind me, and shuffled as I heard Callum’s footsteps.

“Don’t move,” said Jason.

Callum stopped.

“Your issue is with me, buddy.” I cocked my head to Jason. “Do you think he had anything to do with this?”

I waved Callum off as if he was insignificant. The ring on my hand felt tight, and heavy. What had I gotten him into?

“This is all your fault,” the barrel of Alex’s gun shook against my forehead. His face contorted into rage. His cheeks turned red and angry. “If you had done your job and killed Junior like you were supposed to, then I would have Rashid’s money. He would have sent it to one of my allies and I would rule all of Kemet by now.”

“Interesting …” I said slowly, looking sideways at Callum who stood mute, his face unreadable.

I moved away from Callum to divert their attention. Maybe I could give him an avenue to escape. No collateral damage. That was the Ferryman’s way. We had only missed the mark once. And Callum was the unfortunate victim. That wouldn’t happen this time.

I heard the click of a pistol’s slider getting cocked back. I looked to the side, my head remaining forward to the enemy in front of me.

Callum with a beretta in his hand, pointing it right at Alex.

I wasn’t sure if I liked this new development. I wanted him to get out. To get far away from here. I was ready to die. I had been for a very long time. But I wasn’t ready to be a widow.

“Hey, Cal ...buddy… this doesn’t involve you,” I said, trying to dismiss him. “In the time I’ve known you, you’ve been stabbed–”

“By you!” he interjected.

“– and shot. Do you think maybe you can give the hero act a rest?” I looked over at Jason who aimed at Callum’s chest. “Get out of here, this doesn’t involve you.”

“And if I don’t, are you going to stab me again, woman?” He asked.

“No, but I might shoot you, just to change things up.” I shrugged. “Assuming these two don’t get me first, of course.”

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