One last stroke across her pinky toenail, then she sets the polish down and lets herself fall back onto the bed, her feet still propped up on the little stool. The movent lifts her shirt just enough to reveal the black lace panties and the crease of her pubic mound.
It’s a miracle my mind is occupied with other problems right now; otherwise, my vow to never touch any woman other than Veronica again would already be falling apart.
«You killed a Monster Slayer, Jace Lance. The kill order on you has already been issued. And since this area is temporarily assigned to ... I’m the one tasked with killing you,» Kimberly says in an ice-cold voice, her murderous stare snuffing out whatever erotic fantasy I had left in .
But her rigid, threatening expression softens slightly as she keeps talking.
«But like I already told you, I also have a solution. Help kill John Hardley and I’ll make sure the kill order on you gets revoked. Lucky for you, the head of soone like John Hardley is worth far more than the life of a re D-rank agent like the late Mark was, even if I find all of this pretty disgusting.»
«D-rank...?» I repeat. I assu it’s so kind of internal hierarchy in their organization, and Kimberly confirms it right away.
«Long story short, regular HESPARC agents go from rank F to rank B based on their strength and experience. Then there’s rank A, which goes from A5 to A1, and those are the lower officers. Finally, ranks S and SSS are the high officers. Above them, only the director and deputy director. For your information, even though I’ve only been an agent for two years, I’m already a rank B agent,» she concludes with a hint of pride.
Despite the flood of information and the dramatic situation I’m in, a stupid question pops into my head anyway.
«You said the high officers are rank S and rank SSS... so why isn’t there an SS rank?»
«Well, uh... let’s just say nobody — aside from a few isolated agents from HESPARC Germany — was dying to be an SS agent, if you know what I an... so they removed the rank.»
Yeah, I know. But back to the serious stuff...
«Say I agreed to be your bait... how the hell do you think you can take down John and his n by yourself? That wound on your right leg you’ve been carrying for months was inflicted by one of them — the sa one who forced you to run away. So how many chances do you think you have if you face them all at once?»
«Obviously I’m not stupid enough to go in showing my face. I’ll kill them quietly from behind, one by one if possible, sneaking into the villa. But even so, normally I still wouldn’t be able to kill them. That’s why I have an ace up my sleeve.»
«Which is...?»
Kimberly shakes her head.
«Just trust . If I didn’t know I could do it, I wouldn’t even try to attack him — I’m not so suicidal lunatic. Cooperate with and your record will be wiped clean, otherwise... you leave no choice but to obey the orders I’ve been given.»
At this point I only have two options: certain death at the hands of the Monster Slayers, or an extrely high chance of death by acting as bait. What a fucking ss...
Sure, if John got killed, I could finally sleep a little easier. I’m not completely sure, but he probably knows my life better than I do by now, and he could blackmail however he wants.
Then again, Kimberly is an unknown too. She says she can kill John... but what if she’s wrong?
Well... I could just ditch everything and go live with Veronica on the other side of the world, but even then the Monster Slayers wouldn’t stop hunting . And John, if he got attacked by the Monster Slayers, might think I betrayed him by leaking his identity and then disappearing, and he’d definitely want dead too.
Basically, death would be waiting for either way, so if I have to risk my life, I might as well do it for sothing that’s at least worth it. And a world without John definitely sounds better than a world without Kimberly.
«I might agree to help you, but I’ve got my conditions,» I say firmly. «If you manage to kill John, then from now on you’ll be the ones providing my daily dose of blood — the thing John has been handling so far. You can’t expect to starve, can you? Since I’m not allowed to hunt on my own. My second condition is this: that Monster Slayer — who, for the record, I killed only in self-defense — attacked because I didn’t show so paperwork. I want you to personally handle all the bureaucracy to properly register a vampire in your files, and I want none of you to ever interfere with my life again.»
«When you say "none of you"... does that include ?»
I nod.
«If I’d never t you, I wouldn’t be in this ss. I’d rather not get blackmailed again in the future, so once this operation is over, we cut all ties and pretend we never knew each other.»
I know it sounds harsh, but Veronica’s safety cos first. I’ll do anything to keep her from getting dragged into things she doesn’t even know exist.
«I understand. I can’t bla you for that,» she murmurs, a faint note of sadness in her voice. «Alright, Jace, I promise. When John is dead, I’ll disappear from your life forever.»
«Good night, then,» I conclude, turning my back on her — I’m about to head for the door when her voice stops before I can even take a single step.
«Jace... since we won’t see each other again once all this is over...»
I turn my head slightly toward her, waiting for her to continue.
«...I’d like to spend tomorrow with you. Assuming you and the mother of your child don’t have any objections, of course. I don’t have bad intentions — I an it, this ti. I know it might seem strange to ask the woman who’ll probably beco your wife to let you spend an entire day alone with , but by now you should know I’m not that kind of girl. Actually, if necessary I’ll talk to her in person and convince her she has nothing to worry about.»
Veronica works tomorrow, so I don’t need anyone’s permission — but it’s strangely reassuring to know Kimberly really would’ve asked. Still, it would’ve been a pretty funny scene, like:
«But Jace, I said I’d ask your woman for permission, not your mother.»
«They’re the sa person.»
No... co to think of it, it wouldn’t be funny at all.
«Why do you want to spend the day with ?»
But her reaction isn’t what I expected at all. Her eyes start to glisten with tears, her voice trembles, and she begins to sob.
«J-Jace... maybe it’s not clear to you, but this operation has to happen as soon as possible, before one of John’s contacts inside HESPARC finds out. Tomorrow night, no later. I’m risking my life too, and it scares more than it should, considering I’ve been trained for this kind of thing... but the truth is you’re never really ready to die, and tomorrow could be my last day alive. I want to spend it with soone who truly knows , and since you’re living the sa situation, I thought maybe you’d like it too...»
She’s not wrong. But fuck... tomorrow night at the latest? Is she kidding ? I thought we were talking weeks — maybe even months — not this soon!
But in the end I can’t even bla her or get mad at her. After all, the Monster Slayers are the good guys and John is the bad guy. And lately I’ve gotten a little too close to the bad guys.
What can you do — I brought this on myself. Hanging around dangerous people, I finally managed to get myself in trouble up to my neck, and right when Veronica is pregnant with my child... fuck!
All I can do is cross my fingers and hope everything turns out okay...
I give her a smile — forced, empty, since there’s nothing to smile about at all. I feel like a terminal patient who’s just been told he has only a few days left, and honestly it’s not that different.
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