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Chapter 11
Martin Stone sat alone on a lumpy bed in a cheap motel room. His clothes were dirty and his normally neatly combed blonde hair was in disarray. The television was on and he was watching the news.
Suddenly, a picture of himself appeared and the anchorwoman began to speak:
“In local news, the police have issued a warrant for the
arrest of Martin Stone, a prominent resident of
In an interview earlier today, Detective Sanford of the Norwich Police Department stated that the evidence they had against Mr. Stone was strong and that they would do everything within their power to track down Martin Stone and bring him into custody and to justice.
The Atlanta Police Department is cooperating with the search for Mr. Stone, gaining a warrant to freeze all of Stone Enterprises assets and to search Mr. Stone’s offices and the small apartment he keeps there.”
So, the little bitch has gone to the police, he thought to himself. Well it didn’t matter. In the grand scheme of things, the police were but a minor nuisance. The only thing that mattered, the only thing that must be done at all costs was to kill Rachel. Only now he would make her suffer. He would make her pay for what she did to him the night before and for involving the police.
He smiled evilly at the television as they flashed a picture of Rachel.
“Yes, my dear, sweet wife. You will pay for that!”
“All attempts to reach Mrs. Stone for comment have failed,”
the anchorwoman continued, “Detective
“If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of
Martin Stone, you are asked to contact Detective Harry Sanford of the
Martin had let his guard slip last night. She had appealed to his humanity, to the man who had loved her once. He had let his guard down, feeling again for her the lust that had driven him to marry her in the first place. But he had paid dearly for that slip. Paid dearly, indeed. She’d gotten away.
Someone had stopped and helped her. A man. Who was this man? How did Rachel get a copy of that cassette? Had the man he hired known as the Hawk tipped her off? If so, why?
Well it didn’t matter, he would kill Rachel and he would kill this Hawk fellow too if he ever caught up with him.
The phone next to the bed rang.
“Yeah,” Martin barked into the receiver.
“This is Tomas, at dee fron’ desk,” responded a heavily accented voice. Martin didn’t answer. “Somebody call here earlier askin’ ‘bout you.”
Martin sat up on the bed. “Did you get a name?”
“No, señor,” Tomas answered. “He no say his name, but he had… un acento… an accent, maybe Italian, but I’m not so sure.”
“You didn’t tell him I was here, did you?” Martin asked suspiciously.
He may have been crazy, but he wasn’t stupid. He would like nothing more than to get his hands on that betraying son of a bitch, but not now, not yet. He needed time to plan – to prepare – to make certain that he had the advantage, for it was becoming clearer and clearer to him.
Somehow, that bitch wife of his had convinced Hawk to not kill her and now he was looking for him. Martin knew that he shouldn’t have gone with a hitman who had a rule against taking hits on women, but he’d heard that Hawk was the best and Martin had wanted nothing but the best.
“No no no, señor, I tell him nuthin’, jes’ like we agree,” Tomas explained quickly.
“Very good, Tomas,” Martin replied. “Thank you and you will let me know immediately if there are any more calls or if anyone shows up looking for me. Remember I’m making it worth your while to stay quiet and to keep me safe.”
“Si, Señor Stone.”
Martin hung up the phone and smiled coldly. He was certain that it had been the Hawk looking for him. The Hawk was not a stupid man, he would find him quickly, and so Martin had to be ready.
Rising to his feet and heading into the bathroom to take a quick shower, Martin began to chuckle as a plan began to formulate in his sick mind. He had much to do. If his plan were to succeed, he must find Rachel.
Stripping his clothes off, his mind began to tick off everything he must do to prepare. He hesitated a moment to stare at his nude body in the large mirror above the sink. He was aroused, his penis jutting out stiff and aching from the patch of dark blonde hairs. Rachel had prevented him from having her last night, but he would have her.
Oh yes, he smiled as he wrapped his hand around his throbbing erection and began to stroke himself vigorously. He would have her alright, he would teach her not to fuck with him. With a sharp intake of breath through his nose, his release shuddered through him, his semen hitting the side of the vanity. A quick jab of rage raced through his blood stream that his orgasm had been wasted on a hand job rather than on placing fear in his dear beloved wife. But soon, he promised himself. Very soon.
Stepping under the hot spray of water, Martin Stone slipped deeper into madness.
~*~
“I don’t know if I can do this, Gabriel.”
He stared long and hard at her, taking in everything, her hands shaking, her eyes flooded with tears. He was trying desperately to shut himself down, to ignore the painful stabbing in his heart, but it was hard, he wasn’t used to dealing with these kinds of emotions.
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t,” he answered simply, his voice a cold mask hiding what he was truly feeling. He needed her, like his body needed air to breathe, he needed her, but he would not beg and he would not force her to accept the man he had become.
Rachel blinked a bit taken back by his response, but then, what had she expected?
Gabriel had lived a hard life, he was a proud man and she would be a fool to think that he would grovel for her affections. She pushed down the sting of his words and forced herself to swallow her hurt as she slowly nodded and rose to her feet.
“Then perhaps we should say goodbye now,” she said and turned to face him.
Gabriel sighed, shaking his head and rose to her feet. “I am not going to desert you now, cara mia.” His dark eyes met hers. “I meant what I said – if you cannot accept me because of my past, then I will not force you – but I will not leave you to face Martin Stone alone either. I will make certain that you and Abigail are safe and then I will disappear from your life.”
Rachel couldn’t answer; her throat was clogged with tears that she knew would escape into a sob if she opened her mouth. How could she doubt him? Why couldn’t she trust in him and know that no matter what – he loved her and Abigail – and would lay his own life down for them both?
“Thank you,” she finally managed after a moment.
And she meant that, too. She hadn’t relished the idea of going at this alone. She only felt truly safe in Gabriel’s presence and the thought of him leaving her there to face this alone had nearly broken her, but she would have survived. It would have been hard, but she would have survived.
Gabriel saw the flash of vulnerability in her hazel eyes and he started to reach for her, but instead he forced himself to move past her. “Come, we cannot stay here,” he told her as he headed for the front door. “Stone may not know you are here at the moment, but it wouldn’t take him long to figure it out. I would rather defend you on familiar ground if it comes to that.”
~*~
Back at Gabriel’s apartment, dinner was a quiet affair with neither of them having much to say, yet a lot was on each of their minds. By the time dinner was finished, Gabriel decided that by morning, it would be over. He had nothing else to lose, so he would rise up early, slip out, quietly end Martin Stone’s life and then leave town and Rachel forever.
Standing up from the small kitchen table, Gabriel started gathering up the dirty dishes. “Why don’t you go and relax, bella? I’ll clean up here.”
Rachel nodded numbly and rose up. Slowly she made her way into the living room, stopping for a brief moment to stare blindly at the wall as she contemplated a life without Gabriel in it. How had he become so important to her in such a small amount of time? Why was it that just thinking about never seeing him again left her feeling as if she couldn’t breathe?
She was a fool and an idiot.
Moving forward, she made her way into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, not bothering to lock it. What would it matter? If Gabriel wanted in, he would get in, just as he had at Buck and Kim’s house. Mindlessly, she stripped her clothes off and reached into the shower stall to turn on the water, letting it get as hot as she could possibly bear it.
Stepping beneath the stinging spray, the dam finally broke and the sob she’d been choking back for the past few hours escaped along with a flood of tears. She wasn’t aware of how long she stood there, wasn’t aware of how long her body had shuddered from the force of her sobs, but suddenly the shower stall opened. An arm reached in to turn the water off then a towel came around her shivering body, wrapping her in its warmth.
“I’m sorry, Gabriel,” she hiccupped, clinging to him as he swept her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. “I’m so sorry.”
“Shshsh,” he whispered as he lay her down on the bed then stepped back to remove his clothes. He was back a moment later, his large warm body settling the trembling in hers.
“Let me love you tonight, cara mia.” His lips lightly brushing against hers. “Please.”
“Yes, Gabriel,” she answered without hesitation, needing this time with him desperately. Even if it ended up being their last time together, she needed to feel him, needed to touch him. I love you, Gabriel, her heart cried out to him. I will always love you!
~*~
An hour before dawn, Gabriel slid from the bed and the warmth of Rachel’s naked body.
Quickly he dressed, the scent of her, still on his flesh, drifted
up to him, causing him to pause and breathe in deeply. He had loved her all
night long, knowing that it would be the last time. She would never forgive
him for what he was about to do, but it wouldn’t matter. Within the hour, Martin
Stone would be dead and Gabriel would be on his way to
Pausing long enough to write her a short note, he laid it on top of his pillow where she would be sure to find it when she woke.
“I love you, Rachel,” he whispered, “you are my world and since you can not live in mine, I will make certain yours is as safe as possible. I hope someday you can forgive me and know that what I did, I did for you and Abigail.”
Slowly, he turned and left the bedroom.
He checked his 9-millimeter once more to make certain it was fully loaded and then quietly left the apartment.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Hitman – Chapter 12