Page 29 of Anathema
The Anathema leader.
Chapter 13
Alexis
Thesunhadsethours ago. Flexing my right hand into a leather glove, I left the car roughly half a mile away from the target location and my phone along with it. I didn’t know how Derek always managed to find me, but I figured my phone was a good place to start; it was the easiest thing to track. Leaving my phone behind would make it harder for him to find me while I completed my task; I didn’t need him barging in and fucking everything up for me.
Dressed in all black, keeping to the shadows, and avoiding the bright light of the street lamps, I moved down the empty and silent road. I made sure to travel lightly, only bringing a gun, which was holstered to my right hip, and a knife that hugged my left thigh, secured by a leather belted sheath. My clothing was tight fitting, with no loose fabric that could easily get snagged or caught. The last thing I wanted was to be an easy grab if I wasunsuccessful—which was highly unlikely. I was determined to pass this task with flying colors and zero complications. I was trained for this.
The address Adrian sent me belonged to a manor built on a small peninsula in Maynard Bay. It was a massive five-bedroom home with a light gray, white-trimmed exterior and an all-white interior. I’d hate to be the maid who had to clean up after any gathering that took place here or after tonight’s events; I’m sure a few new stains will need to be worked out of the bright white carpet.
Approaching the manor, I ducked behind a few dark bushes and trees as silently as possible. The breeze from the lake carried a mist of cool water that kissed the exposed portions of my face. It was a refreshing relief after the sprint I had made to get here. Sweat was already making itself well-known under and between my breasts.
There were few lights on inside the manor. A couple on the first floor were dimmed, and only one bedroom was lit on the second floor. It was amazing what I could see from just the outside looking in. It was like living in a glass house. Every side was covered with numerous large windows.
No one could escape prying eyes when living here. If you required privacy, this was the wrong home to live in. Then again, if you could afford this kind of home, you’dwantto show off everything inside.
Snapping from my mindless exploration of the manor, I could hear a woman's bubbly laughter and glasses clinking against each other from one of the nearby open windows. Curious as to which room the sound was coming from, I climbed the tree I was using toshield myself from the light leaking out of the first-floor window, gripping onto a thick branch. My leather gloves protected my hands, and I could feel the rough bark biting into the fabric. I could only imagine what it would have done to my palms.
Once I had made it up the tree a couple of branches high, I peered through the leaves into the second-story window. There, in the massive master bedroom, a young woman sat in the middle of a California king-sized bed.
She wore a tight black cocktail dress and had already kicked her heels off to the side. The woman leaned back on her palms while an older gentleman stood closer to the window, dropping ice cubes into two glasses and filling them with an amber liquid—whiskey, by the looks of it, maybe scotch.
Everything seemed pretty normal, all things considered; however, the contrast in age between the two of them was noticeable. If I could guess, the woman was barely of legal drinking age. What was she doing with a man like him? A sugar baby?
I raised a brow in curiosity, accessing their potential relationship as I leaned further against the trunk to get a better view inside the room. I was in no position to judge the woman’s interests. I preferred older men myself, but this man was… pushing it, to put it nicely.Okay, Old… He was fucking old.
Before picking up both glasses, the man dropped a tiny white pill into one of the drinks, and immediately, red flags fell in front of my face. I sucked in a breath as I continued watching them, waiting for the right moment to announce myself, the wind picking up and blowing the trees’ leaves around and blocking my whole view.
Adrenaline pumped its way through me, my breathing becoming erratic, and my hands starting to sweat as he handed her the glass. Without even hesitating, she downed it as if it were a single shot. The woman must have been well acquainted with him, not even to question the contents of the drink he handed her, leaving me to believe that this wasn’t a simple one-night stand. There goes my assumption that she was a lady of the night.
Biting my bottom lip, I slid my body down against the tree trunk into a crouched position, perching myself on the thickest branch available. The woman stood with a saccharine smile, strode across the room, and placed her empty glass on the vanity before dimming the bedroom lights. As she strolled, dramatically swaying her hips over to him, he rolled onto the bed, resting his back against the headboard, a welcoming position for her to tend to his growing needs.
Moving to the foot of the bed, she stepped up onto the mattress effortlessly and walked towards him, stopping with a leg on either side of his waist. She giggled like a drunk college girl as she bent herself over, gripping the headboard rail on either side of his shoulders. His eyes widened with the perfect view of her deep cleavage. This woman was a grade-A seductress; I’ll give her that. He was eating out of the palm of her hand.
My stomach twisted, making me feel nauseous as I watched them, anticipating the woman’s reaction to the pill he had slipped into her drink. I was certain it was Rohypnol that he dropped into her glass, and she would be out like a light soon if I were correct.
I swallowed the bile that built up in the back of my throat. While spilling blood was nothing, the thought of a defenseless woman being taken advantage of by a man always set me off, maybe because I could relate to the feeling.
My breathing hitched, and I jumped up to my full height, noticing that her body had started tipping slightly to the side.Here it was…
I braced myself, heels digging into the branch where I stood as my eyes searched for another one strong enough that I could use to launch myself through the window. I wasn’t going to let this man take advantage or hurt whoever this woman was in any way. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know her. I wouldn’t let this happen, not tonight, not while I sat outside the window and could stop it.
Sucking in a deep breath, I took a step back and then another, preparing to jump and swing myself off the thick branch hanging closer to the window, when suddenly, I hesitated, hearing a loud, gurgled scream coming from the room.
It wasn’t the woman screaming.
My eyes widened when I saw what had just transpired between the couple I had been watching. The woman had pulled a knife from beneath her dress when she tilted over to the side and sliced open the man’s throat effortlessly.
His blood spilled down his chest and onto the white silk sheets that wrapped around the mattress. He clawed at his neck for a few seconds, attempting to stop the flow of blood, before going limp, his head lolling to the side.
What the fuck?
Not what I had expected. Far from it, actually.
Here I was, thinking my task tonight was going to be protecting a woman from an attempted rape, and now I am witnessing a cold-blooded murder instead? Was she my target? Did he even drug here to begin with?
The woman straightened, staring down at the lifeless body of the man she was supposedly going to fuck—for god knows what. I licked my dry lips, wondering if this was the moment I was supposed to be waiting.
