Chapter One

It was too easy. The feeling never went away and I was left with many regrets in my life. I wanted something different. Every day was the same thing. I woke up and showered. I put on my clothes and went to work like everybody else did. I saw the sheep moving through life with no purpose and it sickened me.

The bench was uncomfortable, but it was the perfect way to see if I was under surveillance. The police and other agencies had fingered me for certain crimes without being able to follow it up in court. I had a contingent of lawyers ready and willing to do what I paid them for. If they couldn’t, then I could certainly find some other firm that would.

It was a nice day with the birds chirping. The old man sitting near the edge of the lake was feeding the ducks pieces of bread. I wanted to shake the living daylights out of him. Bread was not good for their digestive tract. It would’ve been better had he brought along some rice. He was under the mistaken impression this was good for them or maybe he just didn’t care.

Two things were a constant in life. Death and taxes were something nobody could get away from. I found a way to limit exposure to my revenue by squirreling my money away in tax havens like Caribbean Banks. Nobody asked any questions. Money was king with any accountant worth their salt.

He stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd made up of mostly young mothers and dog walkers at this time of day. His suit was a beacon to others that he didn’t belong. He got some interesting stares on his way over to the park bench I was currently occupying.

He was angry at the world and I could see the chip on his shoulder. It was easy to recognize these traits. I had been a study of human nature for too long not to see trouble when it was coming my way. He got my name from a vast network of underground contacts. It meant that he was in need of my services and was willing to pay a hefty sum to get it.

The man with the dark hair sat back to back with me on the other bench. He seemed rather nervous, but his conviction was never in doubt. The way he carried himself had the air of sophistication and money. It also reeked of desperation.

“I’m gathering you are Scarlet. I seriously doubt that’s your real name. I don’t want to play hardball, but this has to be done my way. Revenge is a dish best served cold.” I was getting this feeling and I was usually pretty good at reading people.

“I got the file and I believe that I can help you with your current situation. It’s going to take a few days. I need to make sure there are no variables unaccounted for. I’ve never failed in the past and I don’t intend to start now. There is the formality of the money. I require half up front and the other half upon completion of the job.” I didn’t take anything more than they could afford. I made sure to check out my clients extensively before even mentioning a price.

“Money is no issue. I’ve tried to let the courts handle this. It became painfully clear his lawyers are better than the system. My sister deserves more than to be forgotten. I blame myself for what happened. I won’t go into lengthy detail and it’s really none of your business.” His attitude was a bit irksome and I felt like he was trying to insert his own dominance. He was going to have to learn the hard way this woman had more bite than bark.

“I’m sending you a discreet e-mail with instructions to send me the required compensation. I believe that I can get my hands on what you want. Try to refrain from mentioning this without some kind of code. There’s no telling if someone is listening in.” The black leather coat hugged my frame and it had been with me for as long as I could remember.

“I did mention this will have to happen my way. I have been through the wringer. I don’t want to make the mistake of trusting somebody to do what I can’t do. I want to see his eyes and I want him to know who’s responsible.” I was a loner. I enjoyed a certain amount of anonymity. The distraction of having somebody with me was going to cause some considerable angst.

“Calvin I understand how what happened has affected you. Everybody deals with grief in different ways. Justice is in the eye of the beholder. The bible states an eye for an eye. This is a concept I can get behind.” The business I was in wasn’t exactly my first choice of vocation.

I actually wanted to be a veterinarian until my whole family was slaughtered in a house invasion. I was only 13 years old at the time and I came home to find them lying in a pool of their own blood. I was traumatized and it sent me down a destructive path of least resistance.

I had been clean for almost 10 years. It wasn’t easy getting the monkey off my back. It was only when I was in rehab that I met a man willing to take me underneath his wing. He was dying and the drugs had helped him to cope with the disease ravaging his body.

This new client was trying to keep my undivided attention.

“I want the same treatment for him. He needs to feel what it’s like to step into the shoes of his victim. I don’t care that it was in the heat of the moment. I want satisfaction. Having a hand in this will finally give me closure. This is one caveat not negotiable.” He wasn’t listening and I was tired of using a softer tone. I tried to keep my composure.

“I’m reminded of a person I used to know. He told me getting personally involved with anything can only lead to heartbreak. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The authorities will automatically finger you as the culprit. You need to have an airtight alibi for your comings and goings.” The blue jeans were a nostalgic trip down memory lane. I learned a long time ago my body could be a weapon.

“I’m way ahead of you and that is one thing you don’t have to worry about. I want my pound of flesh and nobody’s going to stand in my way of getting it. I’m through sitting on the sidelines. You could say that what happened made me fully understand how life can be fleeting.” He was learning a valuable lesson. Others would grieve, but they wouldn’t have the balls to pick up the mantle of responsibility.

“I see that there’s no way I’m going to talk you out of this. I believe you might have to find somebody else to do your dirty work. Lose my number.” I wanted to leave, but I was going to give him one last shot to let the professionals deal with this.

“If it was about killing him then I would have bought a gun and done it myself. I have to put aside by differences with my family over this particular issue. They think I’m all talk, but they don’t know what has been festering inside me.” I could feel the strength of his words and how he felt like people had disappointed him.

“I can’t do this without a considerable bump in pay. If I have to have you tagging along then I need your assurance that you’ll do exactly what I tell you to do. I don’t even know why I’m letting you get underneath my skin. I should tell you to go to hell. I won’t make light of your plight.” I was contemplating how I was going to incorporate him into the mix.

“I need to be the one to put the final nail in his coffin. It gives me no pleasure to end somebody’s life. I think that you can attest to the fact that there are evils in this world. The shadows are ripe with consequences beyond anybody’s imagination.” He was dead set on this course of action. I needed to keep him close to prevent any unnecessary attention coming to my doorstep.

“I’m sending you a preliminary amount. This could change if you make things more complicated than they need to be. I want you to pack up one bag. Come to the address I have attached to the e-mail. You will be living with me under the same roof and I will be teaching you everything you need to know about becoming invisible.” I got up and stretched my limbs with the mirrored sunglasses helping me to survey my surroundings.

“I wasn’t expecting you to say that. I’m not going to question you for the reason why and maybe I don’t need to know. We need to find some way to work together. It’s obvious you like to work alone. This is going to throw a major wrench in your plans.” I glanced over to see his broad shoulders. I purposely made a circuit around him on the way out of the park.

Calvin wore the dark business suit like a shield of armor. His hair was uniformly cut with not a single hair out of place. Even standing, I could see that he was over 5’10 with about 180 pounds of solid muscle underneath his belt. The blue eyes were disarming and the slight fuzz on his face gave him the air of a rebel without a cause.

He was a novice getting in way over his head. I looked down at my phone to see the required amount signaling an end to my hesitation. I was going to have to keep a careful eye on him. It wasn’t hard to spot the kind of man who could attract the opposite sex like bees to honey.

Having him underneath my roof was going to cramp my style. I had a simple way of living and he was going to disturb the monotony of boredom. Quiet and reserved as how my neighbors would describe me. I didn’t socialize, but I tried to emulate pleasant greetings in passing. It made me choke on the very idea of making nice with the neighbors.

Calvin wasn’t the kind of man I gravitated toward sexually. I liked the strong and silent type, but he was opinionated with no filter to limit what he was going to say. It was going to be interesting to live with him. There was going to have to be some ground rules and one of them didn’t revolve around him wearing clothes. I did like what I saw and I had no problem mixing business with pleasure.