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“Call an a myself
I lunge for the person sprawled on the pave with her hands, which I assume to be taped to the handle, as was the case with the prior victiins to pelt down on me in cold droplets, but I push onward I kneel next to the victied all over her face and a bullet hole in her chest, a hole gushing blood Nothing about this fits what I know of the Umbrella Man who kills with poison I check for a pulse, and there isn’t one
“Take cover!” Jay shouts “Take cover”
I ignore the warning because let’s face it—if the shooter wantedout My focus is now on the eerily silent Detective Willia out warnings I grabit toward her location to find her slumped over, which I’d bet my crime lord Latin lover, who says he’s not a criht, standing as I do, searching the dark shithole of an alleyway, that feels like it’s about to shole
Aback toto land a foot in front of me By the time he’s steady on his feet,with un is pointed at ood shot He’s better
I blink to confirm that the most notorious assassin on planet earth, at least that’s still living, is standing in front of me AA favor fro you the next time
“What the hell are you doing here, Ghost?” I de He just pulls the trigger, and yet, he’s wasting tiun at me
“Saving your ass,” he says, “say thank you”
“I can savea hero”
“A hero to who?” he asks
“Everyone you ht kill in the future, which we both knoill be many”
“But you won’t kill me,” he counters “You’re too like me to want to see me fall”
Too like him It’s not a statement that I wear easily, but it’s one I wear too well for comfort “Did you kill those women?”
“Yeah, honey, I killed them They were both booby traps It was you or theht on Detective Williaun taped to her palm
“Her finger is right above the trigger,” he says “The minute you tried to move her, she’d shoot you It’s really a clever s
etup if you get the tiht that went into it”
And knowing all this, that bitch, a member of law enforcement who vowed to protect and serve, called me forward, lured me in
“She didn’t take her oath seriously, now did she?” he asks, reading my mind “She lured you further into the trap”
Which makes me wonder if she was involved in this, if she felt safe If she was playing the victiaze jerks back to Ghost “And the other one?” I demand
“She was booby-trapped, but that was irrelevant I showed the other oneto end well for her”
“You show mercy?”
“Even I do, indeed, put a wounded animal out of its misery”
I move on “How do you know he poisoned her?”
“I saw hi up”
He saw him
A statement that says Williams wasn’t the Ue
“I don’t get involved in other people’s business”
“And yet, here you are,” I say dryly I don’t wait for a reply “Who is he?”
“Sick fuck had paint on his face”
“But it was a man?”
“It?” He laughs “Yes It was a man”
Now he’s just pissing me off “Why the fuck didn’t you shoot him?”
“I don’t interfere in what isn’t my business”
“You just shot tomen”
“Once you were involved”
I don’t even hesitate I close the space between me and him and shove theinto his face “You just shot tomen That’s involved”
“You’re my business”
“I am not your business”
“I’ve decided that you are”
“I should shoot you just for saying that,” I warn, and I mean it He’s a killer Interest in me is trouble
“And yet, we both know you won’t”