Page 1 of His To Erase
5 years ago
The phone vibrates against the table, an unwelcome intrusion. I glance at the screen, my jaw locking the second I see the name. No way I’m answering that.
I let it ring out, watching as the screen goes dark. A second later, it lights up again—this time with a text.
Stop ignoring me. Pick up.
My fingers flex, a slow inhale filling my lungs. The phone buzzes again, and this time I answer. “You’ve got ten seconds.”
The voice on the other end is a ghost from a past I buried. “We need you for one last job.”
I exhale slowly, forcing control into every muscle. “I’m retired. You already told me the last three were my last ones.”
“I know,” his tone edged with something I don’t like. “But you’re going to want this one. It’s Calissi.”
The air shifts. My grip tightens around the phone, but I don’t move.
“He’s in Colorado,” he continues. “Figured you’d want to settle the score.”
Calissi. The unfinished job. The mistake I never should have made.
I lean back, trying to steady my pulse. I should say no. A bigger man would let it go. Instead, I hear myself say, “I’ll think about it.” Then I hang up.
The silence in the room is suffocating. My pulse is slow and even, but my mind is already there.
Calissi’son his knees. Sweat drips from his temple, mixing with the blood running down his face, but the bastard still smiles. Like he’s not seconds away from dying. Like he knows something I don’t.
I tighten my grip on the gun, aiming between his eyes. I have him. Finally. After months of tracking, weeks of picking off his men one by one, of circling each other in the dark like animals. Every single step has led me here. To this.
The barrel of my gun is pressed to his skull.
He spits blood onto the warehouse floor, grinning like a man who still thinks he’s got the upper hand like this is all a big joke. Like he’s untouchable.
"You look like shit, Stevie." His voice is all smug amusement, despite the split lip, and the bruises already forming on his face. "What, been losing sleep over me?"
I cock the gun with a steady grip. "Not anymore."
He chuckles. "You really think this is how it ends?"
"Yeah." I flick the safety off. "I do."
A muffled cry cuts through the space and I freeze.
No.
I turn, slowly. Please, no.
Why is she here?
One of his men has her in a chokehold, dragging her forward, her eyes are wide and filled with something I’ve never seen on her face before—fear. Her wrists are bound, and her mouth is taped. Her body jerks as she struggles, but it’s useless.
Calissi sighs, tilting his head like this is some minor inconvenience. "Had a feeling you’d come sniffing around eventually. Figured I should keep a little insurance, just in case."
My heart pounds like a war drum.
"You fucking touch her," I warn, keeping my voice low, "and I will?—"
He just laughs.
