A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(10)
The rest of his group had wanted to come and take part in the extraction, but he’d left them behind. Some of them were less than subtle, and while there was a time for hitting hard and fast, it wasn’t usually in a built-up neighborhood when you’re trying to be quiet.
Eventually, lights came on in the house, but Elias remained where he was until the darkness had settled, and even then he sat motionless for several more hours. When he finally climbed down from the tree it was 1 a.m., and the neighborhood was silent. He’d purposely selected a weekday for that exact reason: less chance of revelers coming home drunk and catching him, or the occupants bringing home a group of friends who would be passed out on the sofa by now. That was the thing about his job: if he didn’t think of an outcome as possible it was almost guaranteed that it would happen.
He scaled the wooden fence and dropped into the garden. There were lights still on in the house, and the one in the kitchen bathed the back garden in patchy light. Elias easily avoided it as he crept up the garden, unconcerned about the motion sensor for the security lights, which he’d disabled earlier in the day.
He reached the side door to the house and quickly picked the lock, opening the door slightly. He took a moment before he pushed the door fully open and stepped into the kitchen-diner, closing it behind him.
Elias had put on leather gloves before descending from the tree. His prints wouldn’t show up in any database, but he didn’t want to link whatever he was doing here with anything he’d done in the past. Or, indeed, might do in the future. In his mind, it was always better to be safe than sorry.
There were voices somewhere upstairs, and more coming from the living room, and for a second Elias was convinced that his target had brought guests home. He cursed inwardly and ignored the voices upstairs, deciding to deal with whoever was in the living room.
Elias was grateful for the carpeted floor of the hallway softening his footsteps as he made his way toward the front room. He moved silently until the hall turned ninety degrees, putting the stairs out of his view. He paused; if anyone went to the top of the steps, he’d be spotted the second he stepped away from the wall, but there was little choice. He took a breath and moved quickly, hoping none of the floorboards would creak as he moved. He’d checked earlier, and while he hadn’t found any creaky ones, that didn’t mean one couldn’t be discovered at an inappropriate moment. Sod’s law existed for a reason.
Fortunately, the walk remained creak-free and Elias soon found himself outside the living room. He glanced inside, keeping back just in case someone spotted him, but saw no one. The sound had been coming from the TV. Elias cursed himself. It had been necessary but dangerous to check the room out, but even so he was unhappy with the need. He walked back along the hallway and was about to go up the stairs when he heard something in the kitchen. He flattened himself against the wall, moving back away from the stairs and peering through the open kitchen door, where he could see a young woman with long, black hair. She wore a dark blue t-shirt that was clearly two or three sizes too big. She was just over five foot in height and probably weighed no more than half of Elias, and while she wasn’t the target, she was a complication.
The woman stood at the sink, her back toward Elias as she got a drink of water from the tap. Elias moved smoothly into the kitchen-diner, reaching the woman before she even had time to turn around. He clamped a hand over her mouth and brought the knife up to her throat, puncturing the artery and going up through her jaw into her brain, killing her. He caught the glass before it fell from her hand and pushed her head over the sink to ensure the blood remained in one place. He considered going on, but instead tossed his hat into the sink to collect the blood. It was a pity there hadn’t been the time to ask her any questions, not with more people in the house; she might have had useful information.
He stayed there for several seconds, making sure she wasn’t going to fall. When he was satisfied, and with his hat remaining in the sink, he wiped the knife on a tea towel. He took it with him—he might need it again—and made his way back to the stairs, ascending them as slowly as he would allow himself.
“Are you coming back?” a male called out from above, and for a second Elias wondered if he had the wrong house. He thought back to the information he’d been given. No, this was the correct address; he’d been given a map of the area confirming it. Maybe the target had moved? He considered that unlikely, as the information was fresh and people don’t usually apply for a credit card and then move a week later. Something was amiss, though, and he wanted to know what and why.
He reached the landing above as the man began chuckling. “Come on, baby. I’m ready for you.”
Elias walked to the door and stepped inside, enjoying the look of shock on the man’s face.
“Well, now, this is unexpected,” Elias said and took several steps toward the man, whose arms and legs were tied to the bed with colorful silk scarfs. He was naked and had obviously been expecting some sort of sexual liaison.
He opened his mouth to scream, but Elias placed the tip of the stiletto dagger against his penis. “Don’t.”
The man closed his mouth.
Elias removed the dagger and used the tea towel as a gag on the incapacitated man. “I’ll be back in a minute. Just stay there.”
The man’s eyes showed his terror, and Elias left him there, going back downstairs to find the body of the woman he’d killed. After checking that she’d been drained of her blood, he picked her up, threw her over his shoulder, and walked with her to the living room, dropping her onto one of the two small gray sofas that were in there.