Page 22 of Nasty
A nun.
There was anunstanding in the doorway.
White shirt.
Long black skirt.
Black and white wimple.
Small golden cross hanging on a chain around her neck.
She was young.
Pretty.
Blonde.
And she looked like she was about to fucking kill me.
Fix chose that specific moment to appear through the other doorway behind me, and an instant electrical charge flooded the hallway. He glared at the nun, the woman, whoever she was, his expression thunderous.
“What the fuck, Monica?”
******
Monica was a nun.
Twelve minutes had passed since she’d opened the door to Fix’s apartment, and I still hadn’t been able to wrap my head around the concept that Monica was a nun. Monica, who worked with Fix. Who fielded emails from psychopaths who wanted to pay to have their wives, and their bosses, and their next-door neighbors killed. She was the one who assessed Carver’s reasoning for wanting me dead. She was the one who’d decided I had what was coming to me, had accepted the down payment, and sent Fix off on his merry way with a gun in his hand.
She was a fuckingnun.
Even more shocking was the colorful language that kept spewing forth from her mouth, as she reamed out Fix in the middle of his penthouse. Her face had gone a strained shade of purple.
“Are you fucking insane, Felix?” Monica stabbed a finger in my direction, violently shaking her head. “That’sthe reason you’ve been in the wind the past week?”
“Uhhh…” I held up my hand, the base of my neck growing hot. “I am a person. ‘She’isn’t great, but it’s definitely more flattering than ‘that.’”
Monica didn’t look at me. Didn’t correct herself or apologize. She flared her nostrils, shooting daggers at Fix. “Please explain what this is. Please convince me that you haven’t lost your motherfucking mind. Because right now it looks like you’ve been traipsing around the country with a…aperson of interest…” She trailed off, her eyes growing wide. She looked Fix up and down carefully, then snarled. “Shit. Felix. You’ve been fucking her, haven’t you? You bailed on a job to get your dick wet. I thought you were smarter than that. What in god’s name are you going to do with her when she finds out what you do, huh? She’s going to run as fast and as far as she can, and you’ll have compromised us for a quick, cheap lay.”
Uhhhh……
Nope. No way. Not a chance. The tips of my ears were on fire now, which always happened when I was about to lose my temper in a very big way. Fix’s jaw was clenched so hard, I suspected it was going to be difficult for him to open it again. I stepped in front of him, rolling back my shoulders, and Monica gaped.
“Are you guys married?” I fired at her.
“Just stay out of this. You don’t know what you’ve walked into right now.”
“I’m pretty sure I do. I know you’re not Fix’s wife. I know you’re not his mother. Which means you have no reason to be so angry at him right now.”
Monica let out a scathing laugh. “If you had any idea—”
“I don’t need an idea. I havefacts. Fix was sent to kill me. He takes on jobs thatyousend to him. He hunts people, tracks them down, finds them, and then he kills them. For money. That’s what he does. I already know everything there is to know, so you can quit being so outraged and fucking crazy, and you can calm the fuck down. I’m not going to report him to the cops. And I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not running anywhere either.”
The anger that had been erupting from the woman like lava from a volcano sputtered out. Looked like it had been replaced with disbelief. “You…told her? Everything?”
Fix nodded slowly. He folded his arms across his chest, and for a moment I felt sorry for Monica. I’d never seen Fix look so damn angry. I was really glad I wasn’t on the receiving end of the scathing look he was sending her way. “Couldn’t have given me five minutes to sit down and fucking breathe, could you, Mon. How long have you known me? If I’ve been in a tight spot, I’ve asked for help. If I’ve needed you, I’ve reached out.”
“And? I could tell something was wrong, so I checked in. Simple. And I had every right to be worried.” She glanced from Fix to me, her mouth open, her hands raised in the air.“I’ve never known you to be so reckless, Felix. Since we started this thing, you’ve been the overly cautious one. You’ve never risked our safety like this before.”
