Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27799 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
I wait near the entrance, pretending to be engrossed in something on my phone. When my mark walks by muttering about how he was sure he plugged his phone in, I slip his phone into his side pocket and then pretend to trip, knocking the dummy phone out of his hand. I make the quick exchange, say I’m sorry and then leave.
I arrive at the apartment on the Ile St. Louis fifteen minutes later and pull the heavy leather gloves on before letting myself in. “Mercy, you outdid yourself.” The place is in a state of slow renovation with the walls stripped to bare plaster and large plastic sheets separating rooms that are in the process of being painted. I tug the thin wire out of the bottom of my jacket and wait for my mark to arrive.
“He’s just behind you,” Mercy says in my ear. She sounds cheerful. “We have another job right after this one if you want it. It’s easy too. A CEO who has embezzled millions needs to be taken care of quietly.”
“Can’t they send him to jail?”
“You know they don’t like doing that. It craters the stock. Besides, it’s a bank.”
“Send me the details.”
“Is that a no?” Mercy pushes.
“It’s not a no.”
“But it’s not a yes either.”
There are footsteps outside the door. “Gotta go.”
Saved by the mark. He opens the door and then curses. “What the fuck?” He’s expecting a bedroom, not a construction site. I slip behind him and whip the wire around his neck. He struggles, but I’m a professional, and I make quick work of it. I lower his body onto a sheet of plastic and roll it up tightly. The body is heavy when I lift the dark garbage bag over my shoulder, but I manage. Because the place is under construction, no one is around to see me cart the body down the stairs into the basement. According to the blueprints, there’s a tunnel in the far back, which I locate. From there, it’s a short walk to the Seine. I give the mark a good send-off. He’ll float downriver and be discovered in a few days, but by then, I’ll be gone.
Sweaty and tired, I return to the hotel. I pause with my hand on the door of the hotel room. I’ll be gone, but will I be alone?
Chapter
Eighteen
GEORGIA
My heart sinks when I hear the sound of the hotel room door opening. I was sure I’d have more time to get my things together.
As a travel blogger, I try hard to travel light, but a girl can’t be wearing the same thing in every picture. I’ve noticed that views and likes increase when I get dolled up.
“Starlight.” Finn’s deep voice echoes through the room.
I zip up my suitcase as quickly as I can. I’m all packed up finally. I might have taken some extra time to really doll myself up in case Finn made it back before I could make my escape. I wasn’t sure where I was even going. Finn had definitely thrown me for a loop.
For a brief second, I thought of going back home. It could be a nice place for me to heal my broken heart. I quickly pushed that idea to the side, knowing that’s bullshit. The town I grew up in isn’t my home. My mother would be all over me saying I told you so and then pushing a husband of her choosing at me. Dealing with her is the last thing I want to do right now.
A week ago, the idea of settling down and having kids would have sent me running. Then again, I am kind of doing that already. I’m running.
But only because I wanted to get away from my family and see the world. Which I’ve done so much of. All the Instagram stuff grew on its own as a by-product. It can be exhausting, and in the back of my mind, I fear I’m more like my mother than I know. Everything is about people seeing you as perfect. Isn’t that what all this social media influencing has done to me?
I guess the idea of marriage and babies scared me because I only saw it through the eyes of my family. None of them were truly happy in their relationships, and I didn’t want the same for myself.
Grams basically told me to run and gave me the means to do it so that I wouldn’t end up being like my parents. They may act like they live in a fairy tale, but their marriage is a mess when the doors are closed. Pretty sure a few of my siblings aren’t happy in theirs either, but they always went along with what our parents wanted. I never wanted to end up like any of them.
Then there was Finn. He pulled me in and wrapped me in the idea of love and what it would be like if he was the man I married. I let myself have these tiny ideas of what that might look like. Allowing myself to get lost in that fantasy. Hell, I could be pregnant right now.