Suicide Mission (Guarded Secrets #1)

27: "That's the man I'm going to kill."

I had found Tessa's friend in a rundown house in under half an hour, but suddenly I wasn't so sure that she was on my side anymore. When I caught sight of the stripping paint, broken windows and overgrown weeds I was sure that she sent me to the wrong place on purpose. There was an inner debate blazing inside of me as I approached the door, either this was a really good plan to get my team and myself killed or she was actually trying to help me. I didn't know which one to believe, but at this point in time I just had to trust her and pray that she was indeed on my side and this wasn't an elaborate double cross.

The grass had crunched underneath my feet until I made it to the stone steps and raced up to the entrance of the house. The door seemed to be falling off its hinges, it was slanted slightly and was discolored to show its age, along with the rest of the house. With a nervous hand, I knocked and waited for a response. The knock echoed, but no one answered. I wasn't sure if he was there, and just wasn't answering or if he was out.

I had heard shuffling on the other side of the door, a few things scrapped the floor and bumped into walls. There was clearly someone inside, but they didn't want to answer.

"John," I said using the name Tessa had given me. The shuffling stopped momentarily before picking up again, and I took that as a cue to keep talking. "It's time to put the world into perspective," I repeated to him. Once the words left my mouth, the shuffling stopped. All the sound coming from the house came to a complete halt, and for a while I thought I could hear the next door neighbor's television from half a block away. "John, I know you don't know me, but Tessa sent me. It's time for you to go and find a new place. I promised her that I would take you out of here."

There was another pause until the footsteps started their way toward me. A tall Hispanic looking man came to the door, a few years older than Tessa, and looked me over from head to toe. His dark eyes seemed to trace my every curve as if to look for something I had concealed. His lips twitch slightly when his eyes met mine, as if he wasn't sure what to say, but he eventually found the words.

"What happened to Tessa?"

"She had to leave. She was in danger and now so are you," I explained, quickly gaining his attention. "She says that they are going to come and kill their informants so that all the loose ends will be gone. We have to leave before that happens, because we are dead either way. If they see me with you then you won't have a choice, but if I'm not here they will pretend to be your friends and then kill you anyway."

"How do you know that?" John asked with skepticism clear in his tone, but I didn't miss the glances that he was throwing around to see if anyone was around us.

"I've seen it happen," I said, effectively wiping the disbelief off his features and replacing it with shock. "They shot Tessa. They missed the kill shot, but she is injured. She's now working with me, and has asked me to get you out of here alive. Get whatever you can and make it fast, it's been almost half an hour and they will soon be on their way. I have the address for where we have to go, and all you have to do is take me there."

"What do I get out of it?"

"You get to live," I said forcefully, may anger starting to rise as this conversation continued. Why was it so hard for them to believe the cartel would kill them? They have seen enough death around them to know that it was bound to happen eventually. No wonder parents tried to keep their families out of places like this, you either became a part of it or you were killed. Most times it seemed as if you were killed no matter what. "I don't know what else you could ask for, but if you prefer to stay here and wait for them to show up and shoot you then be my guest! But I'm not going to stand here to get shot, give me your car keys and I will take myself." The lie slipped through so easily, but I knew I wouldn't be able to drive myself. If it came to it I would force myself to try, but I wouldn't make it halfway out of Virginia.