Page 58 of Targeted By Desire

“Have you told anyone else about the incident?” I asked Isabelle.

“Just mom. She’s on her way over, though.” Raising a brow, she plucked the tiny card out from its stand and read the message printed on it. “Simone: Sorry, I was late. I’ll make it up to you soon. Sincerely, your secret admirer.” She paused, her head craning back in surprise. “Wait, are you seeing someone?”

“Give me that!” I snapped, harsher than I meant, as I snatched the card out of her hand. I read the short text over and over again, replaying the events of the night in search of the missing pieces. I had a faint memory of the seconds before I passed out. Of men dropping like flies. But, it couldn’t have been…

“Isabelle,” I looked up at my sister. “You didn’t happen to see this Good Samaritan, did you?”

“No. I only spoke to them over the phone. By the time I got here, they were gone. I asked the front desk if they left a name or anything, but they said he just dropped you off and left.”

“He?” My brows creased again. “Izzie, what did he sound like when you spoke to him over the phone?”

“All I remember is he had a really deep, smooth voice. We didn’t talk long, but he definitely sounded worried.”

“Did the front desk say what he looked like?”

“They said it was a tall, Black guy. Wore dark clothing. Apparently, he rushed in and out so quickly that they didn’t get a great look at him.” She tilted her head. “When were you going to tell me you have a secret admirer?”

I shook my head at her question, unable to entertain that type of conversation right now. I stared at the array of flowers, the bright colors swirling together like mixed paint.

The man who’s been trying to take my life just saved it.

And I couldn’t, for the life of me, understand why.

THE ASSASSIN

Have you lost your mind? Maria signed, her anger screaming through the silence.

The sight of blood on my clothes already set alarms off in her head, but when I asked her boyfriend who was conveniently sitting beside her on the couch to hack the hospital security cameras and erase the footage of me, she absolutely lost it.

Why the hell would you save her? She continued, her fingers moving as fast as they would go. Those bozos were doing you a favor!

“They weren’t going to kill her,” I said, my voice tight. I could still envision the greed in their eyes and hear the grime in their voices. Killing Simone was the last thing on their minds.

Why did that bother you?

“Maybe he still has some morals,” Miles spoke up. He was sitting on the couch, listening to us argue while he typed away on his laptop. “I mean, he couldn’t just sit back and watch them defile her.”

Maria turned her daggers to Miles.

He flinched under the intensity of her stare and turned his eyes back to his computer screen. “I was just saying…” he murmured.

“He’s right,” I said, offering him a nod in thanks for his help. “I have a tolerance for a lot of terrible things, but not that.”

Or you care about her. Maria stated, her hands unwavering. Admit it: you couldn’t stand the idea of anyone else’s hands on her.

I scoffed. “You’re being ridiculous.”

Am I? Every night this week, where did you go? What have you been surveilling?

“I’ve been working on a-“

A plan? There is no fucking plan! You don’t really want to kill her anymore. You’re stalking her for a different reason now. You’re just too afraid to admit it to yourself!

“I’m not afraid of anything.”

A few hours ago you were. Her eyes softened. And I wish I could tell you it’s alright to care about her. But whether you like it or not, she’ll be a threat to us until she’s dead. You can’t keep stalling on the inevitable. If Ares finds out-

“Ares, Ares, Ares,” I grumbled. “Is that all you ever think about?”