Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Justin laughed and dropped into the car, apparently ready at last to take Gabriel to his home. Gabriel didn’t blame Justin for his precaution. If their roles were reversed, Gabriel wasn’t sure he’d be taking the same risk Justin was willing to take. Which only made him wonder what was running through the other man’s head that he was willing to welcome a known contract killer into his private sanctuary.
Could Justin actually trust him? Well, definitely not question him without reserve, but at least as far as their truce was concerned. Justin trusted him to watch his back. Justin clearly believed he had enough honor to not use what he would learn about Justin’s private life against him. It was a strange feeling, uplifting even to think that this stranger was relying on Gabriel in a way without knowing all the dark, horrible things from his past. He’d looked at Gabriel and had seen something that said he was worth Justin’s trust. It was heady, to say the least.
But why?
What had he seen? Why did he trust him?
Sighing softly, Gabriel laid his head on the headrest and closed his eyes. He was too tired to worry about it. And maybe, he just didn’t care anymore.
Chapter 9
Gabriel had to admit that Justin’s house was nice…and not at all what he’d expected. Not that he exactly knew what to expect since he’d never been in another assassin’s home before. His skin itched and crawled a little as if he were expecting Justin to turn on him at any moment. Sure, it wasn’t the most logical reaction, but when people were constantly trying to kill him, Gabriel had found that it was safer if he always thought everyone had darker motives.
The two-story house was filled with tan walls and comfortable furniture. There were no personal pictures on the walls, but there were plenty of knickknacks and books on the shelves and tables to distract from the fact that they were missing. Of course, Gabriel was more impressed with the array of weapon hiding places that Justin revealed for each room. The man was set if they suddenly found themselves under siege by an invading army.
After showing him to an austere guest bedroom, they stood in the kitchen and slapped together some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Judging by the endless jokes and hasty excuses, Gabriel thought it was safe to assume Justin was embarrassed that he didn’t have more to offer his unexpected guest.
Gabriel wasn’t about to complain. His peer had opened up his home to him, welcomed in another viper. That was a huge thing. And God knew Gabriel had survived on far worse than PB &J for much longer.
With his stomach sated for now, Gabriel made his own excuses and stumbled off to his new bedroom. He placed what few clothes didn’t need ironing in the closet and made a stack of what he’d have to see to tomorrow. Toiletries were placed in the bathroom, and a gun was shoved under his pillow.
Despite his fatigue, sleep was slow in coming. For a couple of hours, he simply lay in bed, listening to the sounds of the house and eventually, Justin’s footsteps as he climbed to the second floor. He seemed to pause in the hallway for a full minute before turning toward his own bedroom. The door closed with a soft snick, and Gabriel released a long sigh.
They were sleeping under the same roof.
For some twisted reason, Gabriel’s mind immediately wondered how Justin slept. Not whether he was plotting to kill Gabriel in his sleep. No, his brain wanted to know if Justin slept in the nude. Or maybe in those boxer briefs he’d seen him in that first night. He didn’t seem the type to sleep in pair of pajama pants.
Well, maybe if they had little yellow ducks on them or some other goofy cartoon character.
It was to thoughts of rolling over and pressing his body to all of Justin’s warm skin that Gabriel managed to fall asleep for a few hours. He was awake again well ahead of sunrise, the feeling of being hunted driving him out of bed. The nightmares were indistinct, but he could feel their cold, sticky grip on his brain. Gabriel couldn’t recall the last time he’d gotten more than five hours of sleep in a single night.
Justin didn’t look like he was in much better shape when he stumbled down to the kitchen just after six, growling like a bear. His hair was sticking up in all directions. He was wearing a pair of baggy basketball shorts and an old T-shirt from what looked to be a concert in 2016.
As the assassin dropped into a seat at the breakfast bar, Gabriel placed a mug full of hot coffee in front of him along with a glass container of sugar and the hazelnut creamer he’d found in the fridge. A low, happy humming came from Justin as he pulled all the items close and immediately started doctoring his coffee.