I am still dizzy from the aftermath while my chest heaves itself quickly. Without really noticing anything, I watch him standing there. He looks like he is having serious thoughts but my whole body and soul is still wrapped in a fluffy cloud and so I only look at him while he grabs something out of a little bag.
“What're you... doing?” I whisper weakly and then it gets into my head that might just kill me now that he had his fun. My eyes widen and while I look at him, anxious like a little fawn.
“I'm letting you free…” He moves towards me again with those words and injects something that makes me all tired. Without being able to realize what he said, I fall into a sleep.

The sound of crashing waves make me wake up again. Slowly I open my eyes and the scent of the salty ocean gets into my nose. Confusion settles in and slowly I sit up to have a look around. The beach is nearly empty. Just one person is tanning on a skateboard nearby. I look closer at him because his tattoos wake my interest. His arms are fully covered and there are a few on his legs. Somehow I have a weird feeling towards him and so I get up as quick as possible. I only wear my underwear so it would look like I fell asleep while tanning. Quickly I get into my clothes again and start my way back home.
While I talk I try to ignore what happened in the room at the stranger's house and try to concentrate what's really going on before I slap my forehead with a frustrated groan. Zacky and the meet up with his sister will be today and I have no idea what time it is.

I fasten my pace and rush into the house then, not caring to look for Matt or anything else. The first thing I do back at the house is taking a shower to wash the smell off of me. The smell of betrayal. In the shower I survey my body a bit to realize that I have bruises on my thighs that Mister Assassin left on my last night. I get frustrated about that. It annoys me that he left his marks on my body. Slowly I reach out for the knob and turn off the shower again. I am in a hurry and there is no time to get angry or frustrated.
With a sigh I step out of the cabin to grab a towel before I rush into the bedroom to call up Zacky then. He didn't text or call me to tell me where we meet and this worries me a little. The phone rings two times before he picks up.
“Hey babe, what's going on?” He sounds a little worried as if he thinks that I have to cancel. I put him on speaker and put the phone on my makeup table while I flick through the clothes in my drawer.
“Hey handsome! I was just getting dressed and I then I realized that you haven't told me where we go out for dinner,” I say while I get an emerald green jersey dress out of the closet. He chuckles on the other hand and clears his throat then.
“Babe, I sent you a text just a second ago that we will meet up in the Chinese. We also talked about it before. Seriously, you forget too much, darling.”

He was right. Damn right. We did talk about it and I simply foot it thanks to the incidents. Slowly I shake my head and pick some of the nicest lingerie I own. Black lace that Zacky loves so much.
“Oh God, I am sorry. I am so stupid. Yes, of course. I'll be there in forty minutes!” I shout to my phone to then hear him laugh again. We quickly say our goodbyes and I get my clothes on before I slip into my heels and finish my look with a bit of makeup.
When I arrive at the restaurant, Zacky is already there. I walk up to him and wrap my arms around his neck to whisper a few gentle kisses on his plump lips. I love the feeling of his lips on mine. With a smirk I lean back then and realize that he put the expensive aftershave on but at the same time it's my favorite as well.
“You smell so good, Zacky. And you look perfect.” I chuckle at his fancy black button up.

He parts his lips to say something but then he stops as he looks at a certain car.
“She's here. Wait here, I'll be right back!” His voice is full of excitement and I have to smile about how cute and excited he is. I watch him leave to the parking lot and wait like the good little girl I can sometimes be. They hug each other and all I see is some red hair whipping through the air but I shrug my first thought off. His sister soon steps aside though and then I stand in front of my newest fiend Ruby.
“You gotta be kidding me … ?!” I say at the same time as she does. It surprises me that I can't control this but I never thought about the ridiculous possibility that she could be his sister. I stare at her, frightened and still shocked. Immediately I know that this can't have a future with him and this only because she has to be his goddamn sister. Of course she will think this is just a move to get her down or even worse: That I want to kill Zachary. Usually us female assassins only have a boyfriend when he is a difficult target or the client wants him to suffer from a broken heart to then die painfully through the hand of his beloved girlfriend.

Of course only I knew that Zacky is not a target and only I knew that I want to be with him for as long as he lets me even though I didn't want to admit this myself just yet. I snap back out of my thoughts as he lightly slaps his sister's shoulder to then pull her aside. Seems like he is on my side and they start argue a little from the looks of their faces. Suddenly I feel stupid and insecure. I wanted to at least make a good first impression on his family and now she has to be a part of it. Obviously it is something big if he introduces me to her and for the first time in my life I curse my job. My actual job and not the dancing one. Nervously I knead my hands while they talk and he sends me one of his precious smiles in-between before he comes back with her.

“Sorry about that, I'm a bit overprotective when it's about him. Let's get inside and have dinner, alright?” She says the moment they are back in front of me. Her smile is sweet and this is a warning sign. After this I know that I am not that different from her and then we have a big problem. She is overprotective over her brother, who I have no intentions to murder, and I am overprotective about Matthew who is like my big brother, who she apparently has the mission to wipe out.
We start the dinner and usual talk is being spoken. We talk about how we met and with that I somehow try to make her realize that I am not trying to harm her brother. It seems as if I am not managing that at all and her gaze is sometimes trying to kill me. The torture is over without a dessert and we all get up to walk out of the restaurant. Once more I stand there while they say their goodbyes. I see Zacky saying something to her and I try to figure out what but I am not so lucky.

I smile at her when she leaves to then run a hand through my hair.
“She hates me …” I whisper and that slightly desperately. Two tattooed arms immediately find their way around my tiny waist and pull me into a hug. He places a kiss on my head before we just stay like this for a short moment.
“No, she doesn't. Hate is far too strong. I think she just … isn't fond of you and I am sorry for that. Also for her behavior because that was kind of rude,” he speaks in a whisper and I look up at him. He apologizes for his own sister and that shows me that he truly loves me. “Now how about you come home with me and we have a nice evening with Batman and ice cream?”
Slowly I nod and we part from each other to walk over to his car then. After ten minutes I get out of his Cadillac again. He unlocks the door and immediately a little black fur ball is jumping up and down on me.
”Icky my little cutie piiie!” My face lightens up immediately as I lift up the little baby to cuddle up to him while I get inside and kick off my shoes. “I missed you, you precious little thing.” He yaps as an answer and we walk into the living room where I sit down on the couch. Zacky joins me after he put the movie in and we snuggle up to each other, with Ichabod on my lap.

I am not able to really concentrate on what is going on in the movie because my thoughts are going crazy about the man with the crystal blue eyes. I am scared about what is about to happen and I absolutely hate to be scared, especially when it has to do with a man. He let me go for a reason. He is a hunter and wants to play around with me. Of course he watches my every move and if not on his own, he had someone doing it.
“Gorgeous, what's wrong?” I blink a few times to get my mind clear and look up to Zach who has concern showing in his eyes. “If it's about my sis-” That is all he can say before I capture his lips in a kiss. First off he is a little confused but kisses me back gently then. With this kiss I just want to forget everything that happened and with it all the concerns about the future. When I start to slowly intensify the kiss into a more passionate and greedy one he places his hands on my shoulders and gently pushes me back. I look at him bewildered.
”What was … that?” Is all I can say before he shakes his head.
“I am not in the mood … ” Okay, he is not only “not in the mood” but also grumpy.
”Oh sure … Not in the mood my ass, Zachary,” I huff and slowly scoot a bit away from him. My dress somehow gets caught by his watch and slips up to reveal the bruises the man from last night left. Immediately I try to push it back down but it's too late. He has seen them and holds my wrist.
”What the fuck is that, Alice? Are you … cheating on me?”