The Hitman

The Unknown

Brook Aldridge's POV

The door opened and I whirled around, finally moving my eyes from the window.

And there was Nick.

Nick Sievers.

His eyes were wide with anger and the exhilaration of a hung. His arms hung loosely at his side, curled slightly as if holding an invisible weapon.

As if holding my hand.

My once-husband, the father of my two daughters. Of course he would come. He loved Lila and Henley as much as I did.

"Nick," I managed to whisper.

He took a step closer, eyes settling on me. "Brook."

A flutter swept through my chest. He had used my first name. Just him saying it brought back so many memories.

I waved away the other agents in the room. They left promptly, leaving only Nick and I, mere feet away.

He had a way of making me feel loved, of touching my heart, by just the way he looked at me.

But people didn't change. He was still the alcoholic man I had run away from. The man who had tried to kill Conway. Did I trust him?

"You came back," I said.

Nick nodded. "Of course I would."

I sighed. "Those are my daughters, Nick."

He took a step closer and gripped my hand, his warm and callused. I looked into his eyes, and he smiled warmly.

"No, Brook. Our daughters."

Jay Adler's POV

I pressed on the brake and stared at the looming house in front of me. Exhaling heavily, I wiped my sweaty palms on my shorts. Here went nothing.

The moment I opened the door to the rental car, a man was waiting on me. "Identification?"

I didn't hesitate. I had rehearsed what I would say since the moment I began driving. Thank goodness Nick's father was staying at his Hawaiian beach house instead of somewhere else.

"A family friend," I responded.

The man, presumably a butler, nodded. "May I take your car?"

I nodded. "Of course." He held out his hand, and I dropped the black keys in it.

He got in the car and drove off, and I turned my attention back to the mansion in front of me.

Slowly, I walked up the marble steps, a hand running across the cool metal railing. I stopped in front of two grand French doors, white with gray accents. I shifted on my feet as two men opened the huge doors.

I sighed and walked into the dark unknown.