Page 12 of The Stallion
The limousine Alec had commandeered from Stardust was rigged for covert operations like this—it was one of the few MUR-sanctioned vehicles at our disposal.
Once secured inside, the targets couldn’t open the doors; someone always had to release them from the outside. This made undercover pickups significantly more manageable.
Rumor has it that the internal door locks were implemented after a target freaked the fuck out and jumped from the vehicle while it was going ninety down the freeway.
Wouldn’t that have been a sight to see?
After what felt like the longest ten minutes of my fucking life, I crawled to the far rear of the limo, hunkering down behind the bench seat in a hidden compartment designed to conceal a single body from view, adding an element of surprise.
There was only so much space in a stretched limo, and even if I were to sit up against the divider between the driver and passenger sections, I’d still be sitting in plain sight of the target.
The goal in hiding was to allow me the advantage of waiting long enough for Alec to get us off airport grounds and then put a bullet in their head before they even had a chance to notice me.
I stared mindlessly at the ceiling as I continued to wait, growing more aggravated with how fucking long this was seeming to take.
Above me was a mesh covering and a mirror that gave a distorted view of the entire interior of the limo. If I focused hard enough, I’d be able to see exactly where the target was sitting and where their attention was directed—another advantage I couldn’tafford to waste.
The audible sound of the rear doors unlocking caused my breathing to still, Alec’s subtle signal that he had the target secured with him, and we were finally ready to get the fuck out of there.
It was a relief to know he had my task in hand, but not enough to relax my nerves completely—at least now I had a fighting chance to take this person’s life and spare Alec from ending my own.There were no higher stakes than this right here.
I could hear muffled voices as the rear passenger door was opened and a dark figure climbed inside, seating itself along the side wall.Perfect.
Alec announced our departure by audibly clearing his throat before slamming the door shut and heading around the car to the driver’s seat.
This was it.
My final test and the chance to prove myself worthy of my status and new title.
I narrowed my eyes and stared intently at the mirror, watching my target closely as I felt the earth start to move underneath me.
Alec had begun pulling us away from the curb.
From this moment forward, timing was everything.
I used my vague knowledge of the roads leading away from the airport to blindly determine when I could pull myself up and take my shot.
I was never trained to memorize something as minor as the major city roads, and in hindsight, that kind of instruction would have been critical in a situation like this. But then again, how oftendid someone find themselves stuffed behind a back seat, waiting to jump out and shoot someone in the head?
With every speed bump along the way, I grew even more impatient. Ready to be done before the nagging portion of my brain took hold—the part that hated the realization that I was taking an innocent life right alongside this one.
The protégé for Heaven Down Under didn’t deserve this, but neither did I—and sorry to fucking say—but I knew what my life was worth, and I wasn’t about to give it up for some stranger in a cheap light-up Halloween mask.
He knew as well as I did exactly what he was getting himself into when he started his initiation—the risks he would take with every set task.
The engine rumbled as the limo started accelerating, and I knew exactly what that meant:Do it. Do it now.
Sucking in a deep breath, I lifted my body upright, raking the gun before aiming and pulling the trigger in a single fluid motion.
No hesitation, no second-guessing.
I took my shot.
I made it fucking count.
Chapter 5
Dallas
