Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten
Zen’s POV
“I need more time.” I paced the full length of my living room, chewing on my nail.
“What? Are you out of your damn mind, Zen?”
I growled into the phone. Yes, you motherfu-
“No, I got interrupted by her fucking guard! Give me until tomorrow!” Dan sighed from the other end.
“Fuck, Zen, you know I don’t make those decisions. Look, I get it. You like to keep your hands clean. If getting caught is what you’re worried about, I’ll send in someone more disposable to do the job. It’s not like she’ll be hard to kill.” I clenched my teeth. This wasn’t going according to plan at all. I didn’t give a fuck about being caught. I didn’t want her dead in the first place!
“Call the payer. Ask them to extend the deadline. I need more time.” I flinched when I realized how desperate I sounded. I knew damn well Dan heard it, too. I had completely surrendered myself to Elizabeth and I couldn’t be without her. There wasn’t going to be anyone else that made me feel the way she did, that’s for damn sure. I was fucking high on her, and refused to come down. I heard Dan let out a deep sigh against the speaker.
“Look, Zen. I think it’s best if you sit out on this one. Get some rest. I’ll give you a week to recover before giving you another hit. Talk to you soon.”
“No, listen to me-“ I looked down to see the call already ended. “Fuck!!” I shouted, throwing my phone against the wall. The screen cracked and went white as it fell to the floor. Shit! I checked the time. Only around three hours ‘til midnight. I was hoping that by waiting to ask for an extension, they would feel more pressured to grant it. Now I’ve just given myself less time to figure out what the hell I’m going to do.
“Damn it, Zen! Why didn’t you just do it? What the hell is wrong with you?!” I knew the answer. Elizabeth had made me weak in every sense of the word. Her mere existence disarmed me. When it came time to finish my job, I choked. Watching her coming beneath me, her eyes screwed shut in the pleasure I was giving her, cracked whatever was left of my filthy fucking heart, and I knew that if I had killed her, I would’ve followed it up with myself. Saving her was saving me; simple as that. She didn’t deserve to die because of her asshole father. She hadn’t done a damn thing to deserve it. I grabbed onto my hair, yanking it in frustration. I couldn’t afford to sit here feeling sorry for myself. I had to move. Now.
I rushed into my closet, stripping myself of the clothes I had worn that day. I threw on a pair of black jeans, a navy blue Polo Brand t-shirt, and a black zip hoodie, along with my boots. I pulled a backpack down from my shelf, clicking open a hidden compartment that revealed some spare cash that I had stashed away. Grabbing a band of hundreds, $10,000, I shoved it in the bag, along with some smokes, a few changes of clothes, and a pistol with a spare clip. I snagged another pistol off the shelf, placing it in my waistband, and replaced the missing knife on my leg. I picked up my keys, leaving the one that I knew for a fact had a tracker in it. I would have to go without a phone, but that was okay, considering it was broke as fuck anyway.
Knowing it would be fucking stupid to walk out blind, I stopped by my security room on my way out. As expected, two of Dan’s men were already stationed outside my door to make sure I stayed inside like a good boy. I didn’t have time to deal with their shit. I checked the balcony camera. The street seemed clear, but it would be risky to descend twenty floors via balcony. I had no choice. If someone saw me, I would be dead anyway.
I slipped out my back door with my bag clipped to my chest. Wasting no time, I swung my legs over the concrete railing and hopped down a floor beneath me. There was a brief stinging in my calves on impact, but it could easily be ignored. Two minutes and thirty two seconds is how long it took me to reach the sidewalk. The streets were mostly dead. I knew I would need a car to make a solid break for it. Something simple that didn’t draw a lot of attention. Of course, all of my cars were out. They were all chipped. Danny really liked to keep his boys in line. I spotted a black four door sedan further down the street. It looked old enough not to draw attention and I could hotwire it with ease.
I had no idea what I was doing, but my feet never stopped moving. Never in my life did I imagine that I would be turning against Dan, but it was happening anyway. The man took me in 8 years ago, but I didn’t think twice before throwing it all away, all for a pretty blonde girl, at that. Thoughts of Elizabeth kept me going; the way she smiled, tasted, and smelled. I was addicted. I had to get there before my replacement did. Otherwise, I would’ve turned on one of the scariest assassin groups in the nation for no damn reason.
It took one minute and six seconds to get the car, and another six minutes and nineteen seconds to arrive at her apartment complex. I tried to remain quiet and calm, pulling my hood over my head when I exited the car. I knew that Dan’s boys would recognize me instantly, so I had to act casual. I quickly glanced around. I saw no evidence of an assassin yet, but that didn’t mean shit if they were any good. I slid against the wall, climbing the small divider that led to her porch. If I wasn’t careful, the security camera would pick me up, and Tom would be on my ass in a heartbeat. For his sake, we had to get out of here before Tom knew we were missing.
For hiring a guard, they sure made the lock on the balcony door easy to pick. Sixteen seconds was all it took for me to get inside. I was just glad that it was still locked when I got there. I entered the moonlit darkness of her bedroom hesitantly, taking in the sight of a ball of blankets and sheets in the center of her queen bed. She looked like she was sleeping at first, her hair loose and wild around her face. I tried to step as quietly as possible, but the damn hardwood floors were making noise. That’s when I noticed the duvet over her trembling. Fuck, she’s awake. I eyed the panic button that I had taken note of when I was here earlier. I could easily get to her first. I saw the corner of her eyes wrinkle and her mouth open.
Shit, she’s going to scream! I lunged at her, covering her mouth before a sound could leave her beautiful lips.
“Shh. Quiet, Elizabeth.”