Assassin's Excerpt

III

"Well I have some time to listen. Give me a chance to try to understand?"

"Why do you care anyways?" she says, her voice barely audible.

"Because I believe that everyone deserves happiness," it may sound like a lie, especially coming from someone like me, but it really is the truth. And I'm hoping that truth will be enough to convince her.

Thankfully, it is. So we sit there together until dark, her talking and me listening. And we sit there past dark until I tell her that her family will worry about her and she should go home. Reluctantly she agrees and we hug before she gets up and starts down the mountain.

I stay seated on the ridge until I see her leave the mountain gates down below. She turns around and waves back at me and I wave back with a smile. But as she turns around again and I start to stand up I feel something press into my back. My smile instantly drops and I hear a deep voice speak behind me.

"Well, wasn't that sweet?"