Read The Hitman's Last Job Online
Authors: Max Freedom
The Hitman's Last Job (5 page)
the danger they were in and her face was stricken with fear.
“
So…. What now? We can’t just sit here waiting to die!” Anna
shivered and pushed her toes into the floor to try and drive some
feeling back into them. She looked down and saw that they were
turning purple.
“
Well what do you suggest?” Carl asked angrily.
“
Torch it,”
“
What?”
“
Torch the fuckin’ SUV Carl! It’ll be the first thing they’ll
be looking for. Hopefully if they stumble across the burnt out husk
of the vehicle whoever finds us will think someone got to us first.
But at the very least it’ll throw them off track, make them hit a
dead end.”
“
You’ve been watching too much TV,” Carl smirked.
her face that was so sweet and innocent yet had just been so
forthright. She was a real hard ass and could take care of herself
more than he’d given her credit for. And the more he thought about
it the more he realized. Her childhood was a crazy catastrophe of
living the Mob life with a drunken father who treated her like an
animal, who brutalized her and kept her in squalor but she rose
above that with grace.
“
I bet you know what you’re doing?”
“
Er….kinda,” Anna hesitated as she fiddled with a rag she
pulled from the trunk, pushing it into the gas tank. “Right ok…pass
me your lighter,”
over and watched as she expertly set the end alight.
“
Now RUN!” she screamed.
pumped their legs headlong down the empty road. They made it about
200 yards away before Anna had to stop to catch her breath. Her
feet were in tremendous pain from running barefoot and she was
breaking out in a nervous cold sweat. They watched from a distance
as the SUV caught alight. Giant auburn flames grew up into the air
like fiery tendrils that were reaching for the stars.
“
Any second now,” said Carl as he hoped they were far away
enough.
that no one would accidentally stumble on them out there, but she
doubted it. All around her was wilderness and frost. Nobody apart
from them had any reason to be stranded out here.
The two
watched the flames for a moment as if hypnotized by the beauty of
the fire and just as they relaxed into the vision….BOOM! The noise
was deafening and flocks of sleeping birds instantly flew
screeching into the night. The stars were quickly hidden by the
smoke that trailed from the vehicle and the flames grew even taller
as they gained a new lease on life.
Carl looked on
sadly as he thought about all the time he’d spent driving his
prized car, but his and Anna’s life weren’t worth risking over a
heap of metal and glass. He was however glad he’d taken the
precious seconds to grab his trusted backpack. He’d rescued it from
the flames at the last minute as if reaching for an old friend and
that’s what it felt like as it hung from his shoulders. It was his
only remnant of his former life and as the two walked away he began
to wonder what his next life would look like.
“
First thing tomorrow I’m gonna get you some clothes. Promise,”
Carl put his hand on Anna’s back to comfort her.
“
Thanks…” she said weakly. “I’d appreciate that,”
They’d walked
for nearly 4 miles and Anna was on the brink of passing out when
they reached the lonely motel at the edge of St Louis. Carl had
gotten them both a double room with separate beds and as soon as
Anna’s head hit the pillow she fell into a deep sleep. Carl wasn’t
so lucky though, and he wriggled in his bed trying to alleviate the
pain that was striking into his back like a flaming dagger.
He felt like
he needed more than painkillers, he needed a goddamn drink. He
couldn’t believe the situation he had found himself in, but as he
looked over to Anna he felt it was worth it and he’d do it again if
he had to.
Anna’s toes
were poking out from the side of the bed and Carl could see the
cuts and blisters. She was a tough lady though and never complained
once despite the fact she had to walk barefoot in the cold for
miles through the country. But it was probably just a walk in the
park for her and as he thought about all the violence she must have
experienced growing up, he felt angry. So angry, that he began to
swell with pride at the thought of killing her father. Bastards
like him should always get what’s coming to them. His only regret
was not taking his time with him. If he knew what a monster he was
he would have used a knife instead… or his fists.
He flicked on
the TV just to hear some noise. He wanted to feel some normality.
An old movie was on. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he knew
it was something he saw as a kid because it instantly reminded him
of his own parents. He missed them both terribly.
Anna started
to whimper in her sleep and he looked over to see her struggling as
if pinned down by a ghost. She was a having a nightmare and Carl
could guess what was happening. Her whimpering turned to loud cries
and soon enough she started to flail her arms around. She was
petrified and he couldn’t watch anymore.
He tip toed
over to her and whispered. “Hey…. You’re having a nightmare, wake
up,” he lightly touched her arms but it made no difference. He
tried again. “Hey….Anna,” he shook her arm but again it did
nothing.
She looked so
afraid and childlike, so small and frail he couldn’t stand to see
her so upset. He pulled the covers off of her and shook her hard.
“Anna! Wake up!” and he cried louder as her eyes opened.
For a moment
she looked so terrified and confused as she adjusted her eyes to
the surroundings. It seemed as though her thoughts were stuck in
limbo for a few seconds.
“
You’re in the motel remember? We just torched the
car….”
back to her now. The fire, the long walk… the body they left
behind. She looked up to Carl as he sat on the edge of her bed and
felt enormous relief and comfort to have him by her side. She
always woke up afraid in the night, it was normal for her. But now
she felt relaxed and cared for. Something she’d never felt before
in her life.
“
Thanks… For waking me up, I hate nightmares,”
“
I couldn’t watch you cry, could I?” Carl smiled.
“
You look better when you smile you know that?”
awkwardly. He couldn’t remember the last time he was complimented
by a woman.
“
What were you dreaming about? Seemed pretty crazy…”
“
Just the usual,” Anna said flatly.
“
The usual?” he asked but knew exactly what that meant. He
nodded solemnly and held her hand. “He can’t hurt you
anymore,”
“
But his memory can! You know I thought this would be the end
but it’s just changing. The fear’s just evolving into something
different. He’s still got a hold of me!”
“
You have to let him go! He’s not here anymore!”
“
I wish it was that easy,” and she turned away as a tear fell
from her cheek. “Will you put your arms around me?”
request was music to Carl’s ears. He’d wanted to grab hold of her
for hours.
“
Of course, let me in,”
his shoes and shimmied in beside her. She was still cold and so
tiny underneath her coat. As he held her it felt like embracing a
broken doll, one he wanted to fix and put back together.
“
I’m here for you now,” he whispered into her hair. “He can’t
get you anymore, not if I’m here. Not even in your
dreams,”
and saw that she had fallen asleep already. He kissed the top of
her head and closed his eyes.
~
The morning
came too quickly and when Carl awoke he found he was exhausted. But
his heart raced when he looked down to see that Anna was still in
his arms. She looked like a princess as she slept peacefully and
Carl found great comfort in smelling her warm skin and playing with
wisps of her soft hair. She was gorgeous and he hoped that she
wouldn’t wake too soon. He didn’t want her to regret having him in
her bed and he didn’t want to let her go.
But she woke
up as soon as the sunlight flitted in through the window and
caressed her face. Her big green eyes shone like emeralds when she
looked up to Carl.
“
Hmmmm….Good morning,” she stretched her body underneath his
touch.
figure properly for the first time and felt guilty for wanting
more. He wanted to bend down and kiss her stomach. He wanted to
trail his fingers through the space in between her breasts while
kissing her neck. However he did nothing but smile at her and bop
her on the nose.
“
Morning…Sleep well?”
“
Urgh…..yeah,” she grinned. “You’re the best teddy bear I’ve
ever had,”
hear that she was comfortable with him. Maybe she’d like it too if
he were to bend down and gently kiss her. The moment seemed
perfect. He lowered his head and for a brief second their lips were
only millimetres apart. But he couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to
take advantage of her. She was probably only behaving this way out
of some bizarre symptom of Stockholm Syndrome. There’s no way she
could be falling for him so easily. It must just be some primitive
part of her brain responding to being captive, a natural way to try
and survive the situation.
He pulled away
and got out of bed. Anna instantly looked sad and pouted.
“
Hey…it’s cold in here without you!”
the covers over her and tucked her in.
“
You know that’s not what I meant,” she seemed
annoyed.
“
I think you need space to recover,” Carl reasoned. “Try and
get back to sleep,”
and pulled the covers back.
“
Well if you change your mind I’ll be in the shower,” she
blustered and walked to the bathroom.
Carl sat awkwardly on his bed listening to the sound of the
running water. If he wasn’t mistaken she had just invited him in
there with her but how could she? How could she be attracted to a
murderous scumbag like him?
She’s deluded,
in shock, a girl that’s been abused. She doesn’t know what she’s
thinking.
He tried to think
logically.
long while he noticed that the water wasn’t being turned off.
Either she was just hanging out in there for the longest shower
he’d ever known or she was waiting for him. That couldn’t be could
it? He stood up and found himself walking to the bathroom despite
the fact that he knew he shouldn’t. But maybe if he just creaked
open the door… Maybe if he just peeked inside.
He pushed the
door open slowly and watched the steam escape from the bathroom. He
could see a foggy form behind the shower door. If he wanted he
could jump in there and have her but he wasn’t that type of
guy.
“
Anna! Maybe it’s time we go grab breakfast!” he called over to
her.
“
Oh yeah? Or maybe we could just hang out here?”
“
Or…. His voice trailed off as his eyes roamed over her naked
back through the fogged up glass,”
“
What?” she spun around in the shower and faced him.
her naked body in all its perfection, her tiny waist that led up to
large breasts. He needed to feel his hands on her wet skin as he
kissed her passionately. But he just couldn’t, he didn’t want to be
the next man to take advantage of her.
“
I’ll… I think I’m just going to go out and get you some
clothes,” he shouted over the sound of running water. “What size
are you?”
was playing with him now.
“
Anna? What size are you?”
answer. He pushed the bathroom door back open and was shocked to
see that she had the shower door wide open and was standing there
as if waiting to usher him inside.
“
Why are you playing games with me?” she asked. “Are you trying
to offend me?”
for words and he stuttered. “No….I just…. Didn’t want to… you
know….”
“
Didn’t want to what?”
naked body, Carl threw his fleeting morals out of the window.
“
Urgh….Well I tried to be good. Don’t think otherwise,” a
gigantic smile swept across his face as he gave in and tore off his
sweater and shirt.
the muscles in his body ripple and couldn’t wait to be surrounded
by those big strong arms.
“
Christ, you’re taking your time,” she laughed. “Hurry
up!”
to rip off his jeans. He stood awkwardly for a moment in his
underwear unsure if he should take them off or not. But his
erection was showing obviously and there was no use trying to hide
it. Sliding off his underwear he stepped in the shower with a fast
beating heart.
Anna closed
the door behind him and the steam enveloped the two new lovers.
Carl bent down and kissed her gently. She melted under his touch
and leaned into him close, her breasts pressing up against his
chest. They kissed hungrily and Anna felt as though she couldn’t
stop herself from running her hands all over his body. She loved
the feeling of the wetness running slick over his muscles, and how
solidly he was built compared to her tiny frame.
Carl meanwhile
was finding it difficult to control himself. She was so small
beneath his hands that he felt the compulsion to pick her up and
press her against the wall hard as he pushed his way inside of her.
But he knew that’s not the way he wanted their first time to be.
Instead he knelt down in front of her, with the water rushing over
his face and placed his head between her legs.