Long Road Home by Maya Banks
The beating of Manny’s heart and the up-and-down motion of his hand on her back lulled her into a comfortable void. She let it suck her in, gave herself over to the blackness. Damn, it felt good.
She opened her eyes, a peculiar sense of purpose tightening every one of her senses. Manny was gone, and a quick check of the bedside digital clock told her it was time to prepare.
She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She was alert, her senses heightened. She probed inwardly, wondering what she would find. The assassin. One who had a job to complete in a little over twelve hours.
She strained her ears for any sound of Manny. The vague clinking of dishes told her he was in the kitchen. She stood up and retrieved her bag. Inside the lining of the bag, she withdrew a small vial. A potent drug designed to render the victim senseless for at least eight hours. She’d give it to Manny before bed.
She strode into the bathroom and smoothed her hair behind her ears. Examining herself in the mirror, she was relieved to see a cool, poised woman, not a scared, witless waif.
She bent and splashed cold water on her face then patted her cheeks dry with a hand towel. She tucked the vial in her underwear and smoothed the sweats. A quick look in the mirror reassured her that nothing was visible. Now to go find Manny and put to rest any fears he’d need to commit her.
As she thumped down the stairs, she marveled at how composed she felt. Not being a victim to her raging emotions was exceptionally freeing. She had no idea why she’d snapped, but she was grateful she had. Maybe she was going insane. Maybe she was already there. It didn’t matter. As long as she could complete her task.
Manny turned around when he she entered the kitchen. “Jules!” He put down the plate he held and enfolded her in his arms. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” she replied. No lie there. She felt positively wonderful. Who said being a cold, calculating bitch didn’t have its plusses? It sure beat the hell out of the alternative.
He pulled away, and relief shone starkly in his eyes. “Glad to hear it. Are you hungry? You didn’t eat much this morning.”
“Starving,” she lied. But how better to convince him she was a-okay than to shovel down a decent meal?
She sat down at the small table and he set something in front of her that resembled spaghetti. She dug into it with false gusto and forced it down her throat. He took the seat across from her and nodded approvingly as she ate.
They ate in silence for several minutes. Finally Manny set his glass of water down after a big gulp and looked over at her.
“What happened, baby?” he asked quietly.
Her cheeks burned under his scrutiny. How was she supposed to explain something she didn’t know herself? She didn’t try. “I don’t know.”
He reached across the table and laid his hand over hers. He squeezed lightly. “When this is over, Jules, you and I are going to go somewhere. Somewhere you can rest.”
She nodded, mildly surprised his statement didn’t send a tsunami of guilt crashing over her. Yep, she’d lost it. Maybe what she had to look forward to was a psych ward complete with an I-love-me jacket.
She looked down to see most of her food gone, much to her relief. She put her fork down and leaned back in her chair. “Thank you.”
He smiled. “Why don’t you go into the living room? I’ll clean up and join you. We can watch a movie or something.”
Domesticity at its finest. She returned his smile and stood up. “Sure you don’t want some help?”
“No, you go ahead.”
She shrugged and walked into the living room. She sank down on the couch and curled her feet underneath her. The remote to the television was just a few inches away, but she left it, preferring the silence.
Manny arrived a few minutes later holding two glasses of wine.
“I thought we could both use a relaxing evening,” he said as he offered the wine.
She took the glass and sipped obligingly. He sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against his side.
For a while neither spoke. Manny seemed content to simply hold her and sip the wine. She relaxed against him and let her mind soar above her impending preoccupation. These were the last hours she’d spend in his arms.
“Jules, I wanted to talk to you.”
She shifted so she could look up at him.
“This probably isn’t the best time, but time isn’t something we have a lot of.”
She frowned. “What is it?”
He sighed and leaned forward to set his glass on the coffee table. He sank back and stared up at the ceiling.
“I’ve given this a lot of thought. If for some reason…if for some reason things don’t work out with the senator, I want us to go away.”
Her brow wrinkled. What he suggested couldn’t have surprised her more. “What do you mean by away?”
“Out of the country,” he said, turning his gaze from the ceiling to her. “Someplace you’d be safe.”
She shook her head. Despite the fact she could agree to anything and it wouldn’t matter, the mere idea of Manny doing something so contrary to his nature made her ill.
He placed a finger over her lips before she could voice her objections. “It’s not up for debate, Jules. There’s no way I’m leaving you, and no way I’d keep you somewhere you’d be at risk.”
She sighed. She wasn’t going to argue with him on their last night, and certainly not over a moot point. She wouldn’t be around to leave the country, though that was precisely what she planned to do. Alone.
She glanced at the clock and mentally calculated how much time she needed Manny to be out. If she gave him the drug now, she should have plenty of time to leave the townhouse unnoticed.
“Want some more wine?”
“I’ll get it,” he said, sitting forward.
She shoved him back then leaned down and kissed him. “I’ll get it. You stay here.”
She collected his glass from the coffee table and walked into the kitchen. She glanced back to make sure he hadn’t followed her then dug out the vial from her underwear.
She dumped the liquid into Manny’s wine glass and then poured wine on top of it. A flick of her wrist and the liquid swirled around the glass, effectively mixing the contents. She refilled her own glass then returned to the living room.
He took it from her and took a sip. She sat beside him, and he looked at her with warm eyes.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better. You scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
He leaned forward and kissed her before sitting back and sipping his wine again. She relaxed and waited for him to finish. She’d suggest they go to bed soon. After all, they had a big day tomorrow. Their meeting with the senator was to take place in the afternoon. A meeting that would never happen.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jules woke at four a.m. She immediately turned to see how solidly Manny was sleeping. The drug she had given him shouldn’t wear off for a few more hours yet, which gave her plenty of time to make good her escape.
She dressed in silence, donning black jeans and a black T-shirt. She collected the items she needed from her bag—the phone, her Glock and an extra gun clip. Shoving the gun in her waistband, she slipped into the bathroom to check her e-mail once more.
It wasn’t like Northstar to be so coy about her target. She waited patiently as she went through the necessary channels to ensure the security of her connection then clicked on the waiting message.
Her mouth rounded into an “O” of shock when she read the name of the man she was supposed to kill. Senator Adam Denison. What was Northstar playing at? Did he know of Manny’s meeting with the senator? Of course he would. He had been monitoring their movements at all times. Her heart sank. It was further proof of the impossible situation she and Manny were mired in. There was no way out, no matter how hard Manny tried to save her.
She frowned. Manny
She closed her eyes and replayed the last lines of the e-mail in her head.
Don’t think of backing out, Magalie. You wouldn’t like the consequences.
She opened her eyes and looked coldly at her reflection in the mirror. “What are you waiting for, assassin? You’ve got a job to do.”
She left the bathroom then went to the window to see if their babysitters still resided in the spot they had been in when she and Manny had gone to bed last night.
The same unmarked car sat across the street. She knew the two agents would alert Tony and Manny the minute they saw her, so first she’d have to make sure they were out of commission.
In this case, there wasn’t a whole lot of need for subterfuge. So she’d take the direct route and just approach the agents.
She let herself out the front door and walked across the street to the car. The street was mostly dark. The street lights were spaced far enough not to illuminate the entire area, but she could see clearly. The agents were either sleeping or they didn’t think she was a threat. Only when she was staring into the window did they see her.
She drew her gun and pointed it directly at the man in the passenger seat and motioned for him to roll his window down. He looked at her in shock but readily complied.
“Hands where I can see them, gentlemen.”
They both raised their hands.
“The radio, cell phones and any wires you have. Out the window.”
Reluctantly, they reached down and picked up a collection of cell phones, radios and other devices then pitched them out the window at her feet.
She stepped back then motioned with the gun. “Get out. Both of you.”
With exasperated sighs, they stepped out of the car, their hands still in the air.
“We were supposed to be protecting you, not protecting ourselves from you,” one of them said acidly.
“Your mistake,” she said with a shrug. “Now move. Around back.”
She prodded them around to the back of the townhouse. Out of sight of the street, which would be bustling with cars in a few hours. Once they were in the small enclosed backyard, she made them kneel down.
She could see the fear in their faces. Fear that she would kill them. In the past she would have. Would have killed anyone who could compromise her cover. But it didn’t matter. After today, there would be no need for anonymity. Manny would know who had assassinated the senator, and she wouldn’t be safe anywhere.
“Get it over with,” one of the men growled.
She struck him on the back of the head with the butt of her pistol. He slumped forward, unconscious. She registered the surprise on the second agent’s face seconds before she rendered him unconscious as well.
She put her gun away and hurried around front. She wasted no time getting into the agents’ car and starting the engine. She had two hours to collect her clothing and credentials, reach the target location and get set up for the hit. She wouldn’t think beyond that.
Manuel woke with a roaring headache and a swollen tongue. He stumbled from bed into the bathroom and stuck his head under the faucet to wet his mouth. After taking several long swallows, he turned the faucet off and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. What the hell kind of truck ran over him?
A prickle of unease raced up his spine as he processed the fact he had woken alone in the bed. He stuck his head back out of the bathroom to confirm that Jules wasn’t there.
He raced down the stairs, looking left and right into the living room and kitchen.
“Jules!” Damn it, she wasn’t anywhere to be found, and his head felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to it.
He went to the back door and flung it open to see if she was out on the small patio. What he saw made his blood turn to ice.
He ran over to the two men lying on the ground. He placed his fingers to the first man’s neck and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt a strong pulse. After doing the same to the second man, Manuel determined he was alive as well.
After a moment’s hesitation, he ran back inside and up the stairs to retrieve his cell phone. He punched in Tony’s number as he ran back down to the unconscious men.
“It’s early,” Tony complained in a bleary voice.
“I need an ambulance,” Manuel bit out.
“What?” Tony’s voice lost any semblance of fogginess.
“The two agents. They’re out cold in my backyard. And Jules is gone.”
“Oh shit.”
“I’ve got to find her. I’ve got to find out what the hell happened here.”
“I’ll get the ambulance rolling. Sit tight, I’ll be right over.”
Manuel flipped the phone closed and knelt by the agents. He lightly tapped one on the cheek. “Come on, man, wake up. I need you here.”
After a few minutes, the agent stirred and uttered a low groan.
“That’s it,” Manuel encouraged. “Wake up.”
The agent’s eyes fluttered open, closed, then opened again. “Damn, my head hurts.”
“Yours and mine both,” Manuel said with a grunt. “What’s your name?”
“Agent Matthews.” He struggled up and then bent to check on his partner. “Come on, Eddie, wake the hell up.” He shook his partner until he uttered a sound of protest.
“Damn bitch clobbered us both,” Matthews said.
Manuel froze. “What did you say?”
Eddie sat up, rubbing the back of his neck. Matthews helped him to his feet.
“The woman you’ve been shacked up with here,” Matthews said darkly. “She pulled a gun on us, led us back here then cold-cocked us.”
Manuel’s hands began to tremble. A multitude of sensations, all of which were unpleasant, coursed through his body with the speed of a locomotive.
“You both should come in and sit down. I’ve called for an ambulance.”
“We’ll sit, but no ambulance,” Eddie muttered. “Embarrassing enough to be taken by a slip of a girl. Guys at headquarters would never let us live down a trip to the hospital.”
Manuel picked up his phone to call Tony. “Cancel the ambulance.”
“I’m almost there,” Tony said. “The agents are all right, I take it?”
“Yeah, they’re fine. I’ll talk to you when you get here.”
He closed the phone. Then he rammed his fist into the wall. He ignored the explosion of pain and hit it again. Plaster rained down on the floor.
“Hey man, cool it. You’re going to break your hand,” Matthews cautioned.
Manuel turned to glare at the two agents sitting on the couch. “Why the hell didn’t you stop her?”
Eddie glared back at him. “She had a gun pointed at us. What the hell were we supposed to do? I thought she was going to kill us.”
“What did she say? I need to know every detail, no matter how small.”
Eddie gave him a disgruntled look. “We were two hours from the next shift taking over. We were tired. Nothing was going on. Then all of a sudden your girl shows up pointing a gun at the car window. She made us throw out the radios and phones then had us get