Predator - A Stand Alone Suspense Romance(69)

“Don’t lock it and leave the keys,” she whispers. “With a little luck someone else will come along and steal it.”

“Really?” I ask like a dumbass. “You think so?”

“This is South Africa,” she shrugs.

As we walk to the entrance an African man waves at us and yells something I don’t understand. Cara waves at him and pushes me forward. “He’s offering to watch the car.”

“How will someone steal it then?” I start to worry, thinking we should get a place to park it where I can cover it up. It will give us more time then.

“Damian, he’s going to go sit on his ass and get drunk. He won’t stop a thief. It’s fine there.”

Cara pays the cover charge and we go in. I’m instantly on guard as I start to search the place for Tom. Tonight is going to turn out shit for me, one way or another. I did lie to Cara, and tonight she might just find out.

I glance at her. She’s just as tense as me. I spot Tom at a table in the back. He’s not alone. I take a deep breath and take Cara’s hand. “Just play along.”

“What?” she whispers, and then her eyes grow huge as I start to walk towards Tom. “You’re just going to walk up to him and kill him in front of all these people?”

“No,” I hiss. “Just look scared as fuck and do what I tell you.”

“No problem there,” she snips at me. “I’m about to piss myself, I’m so scared.”

Tom looks over the floor and to the half-naked women dancing before his eyes finally settle on us. Shock registers on his face and then he waves at the people around them. They get up in a hurry and scatter in all directions, leaving Tom alone at the table.

When we’re close to the table he slams a fist down on it, making the glasses rattle. “Why the fuck did you bring her here?”

“Is there somewhere private we can do this?” I growl, jerking Cara closer. She stumbles over her feet and almost loses her balance, which makes for a good show.

“Yes … yes.” He jumps up. “This way!” He hurries down a dimly lit passage and I check behind us to make sure no one is following us.

Once we’re in the office, I close the door behind us.

I can’t even look at Cara as the words leave my mouth. “Seeing as you want her dead, I thought I’d deliver an up, close and personal service.”

“I thought the deal was off,” he snaps at me.

“Only because she got away from me. But I have her now so it’s your choice - dead or alive?”

“Damian?” she whispers and I just can’t face her. It will totally throw me if I see hurt on her face. Tom has to believe me.

Tom’s eyes flick from me to her, and then he starts to talk and my world crumbles around me. “Sorry, Cara, I can’t have you running around. I thought I could, but they’ll kill me.” He looks around the dingy office. “I’ll lose all of this.”

Disgust wells up in me as I stare the man down. He turns his back on Cara and says, “Just do it quick. I don’t want her to suffer.”

Keeping hold of Cara’s hand I walk to the desk. I grab a pair of scissors and then shove her away from me. I lunge at Tom just as he turns to see what’s happening. I plunge the scissors into his gut and watch him sink to the ground. As I kneel down beside him, I catch his horror-stricken eyes, and say, “I’m a cleaner, Tom, not an assassin. I rid the world of filth like you. You think you’re hiring a hitman, but in the meantime, you’re paying for your own death.”

I yank the scissors out and plunge it back in, right under his ribs, praying I hit a lung. “Fucking hurts being stabbed over and over, doesn’t it?”

He tries to say something, but it comes out garbled, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

I yank the scissors out again and then get up, watching as the light goes out in his eyes.

They say hell is where you relive your worst nightmare, over and over. I fucking hope it’s true for this bastard.



Cara~

I stare at Uncle Tom’s body and I can’t find a glimmer of relief. I feel a strange sadness, as if I lost more than my uncle.

I watch as Damian uses Uncle Tom’s shirt to wipe the blood from the scissors before he tucks it into his back pocket.

My mind can’t get past what Uncle Tom said, that he hired Damian to kill me.

Damian was meant to kill me.

He turns to me and avoiding my eyes, he looks around the office. “Did you touch anything?”

“Kill me? You have to kill me?” I ask, still reeling in shock over that.

“Not now, Cara. You can freak out when we’re a safe distance away.” He grabs my hand and drags me out of the office. He closes the door behind us and then walks down the dark passage, towards the back. He shoves a heavy door open and we slip out.

He keeps walking, just pulling me along, and like an idiot I follow him.

It’s a long walk to the petrol garage. One good thing is that there are no police driving past us, which means they still don’t know Uncle Tom is dead, or the police are taking their sweet time.

When we get to the garage, I have to make the call for a cab. I don’t know how I keep my voice normal as I give the address to the cab company.

When I’m done making the call, I walk away from Damian. I need some space. I need to think.