The Hitman's Informant

Chapter One

"Oh gosh, I'm going to be so late!" I exclaimed as I ran along the sidewalk, checking the time on my phone.

After the shady business that was happening at my last company was exposed, finding new work became virtually impossible. No one wants to hire a possibly corrupt computer security specialist. I've finally gotten an interview though and if I'm late, I might never find another decent job!

There! I turned down the dimly lit alleyway, if I take the alleys I should still make it on time. I raced down the alley, careful as to not trip over the uneven concrete beneath my feet. The towering buildings lining the alley were eerily quiet compared to the rest of the city as if the dark alleyways were a separate part of the world.

In a moment a sudden whoosh of air shot across the front of my face, causing me to stop in my tracks. The whoosh was quickly followed by pure chaos. I looked to my right to see the window closest to me shatter and the man standing in the window crumpled to the ground. It couldn't have been more than a second, but that moment seemed to stretch into eternity.

Four men turned and their gazes settled on me, their shock mirroring my own. The fifth man lay face down in a pool of blood seeping from his head. Seconds ticked by slowly as we stood there staring in complete shock, I didn't even notice someone had grabbed my wrist until I was being dragged away from the scene.

The second I was dragged away, all hell broke loose. Screaming and yelling erupted behind me, as bullets flew past me and embedded themselves into the sides of seemingly empty buildings.

"What the hell just happened?!" I yelled, as my mind slowly began catching up to my body.

"Shut up and follow me!" the man yelled over the sound of bullets.

I gained my footing and followed, ignoring the small sting that had formed on my forehead. I reached up with my free hand and wiped the warmth that had started dripping from the sting. Red stained my hand and sleeve, am I bleeding?! My heart went into overdrive at the sight, and I planted my gaze on the broad shoulders of the man in front of me to keep myself from spiralling.

I managed to get a glimpse of the man's face, his sharp jawline, perfectly shaped nose, and piercing green gaze. He looked lethal, his shoulder-length hair was tied half up - half down to expose the undercut on each side of his head.

My pulse thrummed in my ears, and my lungs burned with every breath I took as my feet began to fumble. The hand around my wrist tightened pulling me harder, urging me to keep up. The guy pulling me hasn't even broken a sweat! How is that possible?! The world around me faded in and out of focus, and air simply stopped coming into my lungs.

I was never one to neglect my health or physical well-being. I made sure to eat healthily and work out at least four times a week, yet it took me running for my life to realize, I have no stamina!

If it weren't for the heavy thundering of death on my heels I would've passed out ages ago. The grip tightened on my wrist once again as the man in front of me swung to the right into a small crevice between the buildings lining the back alleyway. Shadows flooded over us as I was swung against the wall, pinned against the man and the wall.

"What the -" the man's hand quickly covered my mouth, cutting off my question.

"Shut up," his husky whisper coated with urgency.

With his face so close to mine I couldn't help but notice that with his hair tied back, in the darkness I could see a jagged white scar that snaked from his hairline down to just above his eye, creating a notch in his eyebrow.

"Dammit! Where did those guys go?!" a man's gravelly voice echoed through the alleyway as the thundering footsteps came closer.

"I don't know, but the boss is going to be pissed if we can't find them!"

One, two, three, four, I counted as the men ran past us and into the bustling city at the end of the alley.

We waited one minute, then another, before the man in front of me pulled his hand away from my mouth. We stood in that alleyway and stared at each other. It took all my willpower not to shrink back at the ire in his deep green eyes.

I wished at that moment that my ragged gasps would steady, that the heat in my face would dissipate. I prayed that my heart would stop thundering and the sweat that dripped down my neck would evaporate. He looked so unfazed, not a hair out of place, despite the fact that we just ran a back-alley marathon.

"Come with me," he commanded, grabbing my wrist once again and dragging me out of the shadowy crevice.

"What- why would I- you just killed a man!" I stuttered, trying to wriggle my wrist out of his iron grip.

He didn't respond and continued yanking me further down the alley, back the way we came. Exhaustion weighed down on me as the adrenaline quickly wore off. My legs felt as if they were made of concrete. My ability to fight him off vanished like a wave rolling off the shore.

That was until the image of the bullet tearing through a man's skull flashed before my mind. Adrenaline once again flooded my body as my fight-or-flight instincts kicked in. This guy is dangerous! I planted my feet down and threw my entire body into yanking my hand out of the man's grip. In one fluid motion, I managed to get my hand free, using the momentum to spin around and sprint towards the busy city street just beyond the alley.

I was able to get three steps before a sharp pain lanced from the base of my neck to my head and my vision went dark. I barely felt a muscular arm wrap around my waist before the feeling left my body and the city around me went quiet.

Blood, guns and a terrifyingly stunning guy dragging me through the back alleyways of Tanthom.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?