Red Lady

-13-

Dominic

One o’clock in the morning, driving back to my hotel was, unexpectedly, a really good place to think. That man, Dr. Hart, had really got me pondering. Unlike what he had thought, I hadn’t arrested him. That would have been something stupid on my part. Having an arrest on his record would ruin his career, and I really didn’t want to do that to him. Plus, he was the best doctor to help my sister at this moment. And I’m sure she could use all the help she could get.

It was strange, I thought, that a good man like Mika Hart had gotten himself tangled up in the business of an assassin. What had he done to get the attention of a dangerous man that wanted to kill him? And Eden, oh, that was a whole other story. Although it was hard not to see her as some cold hearted monster, Mika was right. She was just like anyone else. And I hated to admit it, but she was probably a better person than I was.

True, she had killed many people, that’s what made her a horrible person. But she also risked her life and got shot for someone she barely knew. Yes, I would have done the exact same thing for Su, but she was my sister and I would do anything for her. Someone like Donavan, however, I would not throw myself in the line of fire for.

So yes, in some ways, Eden Hayes was better than me. On the other hand, she is a murderer that had to be stopped. And I wanted to be the one to take her to prison.

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Eden

I wasn’t pouting, I really wasn’t. I’m a grown woman, one that’s supposed to be tough as nails. People like me don’t do childish things like that.

Okay, I was pouting.

What Avian had said hurt, but I wasn’t mad at him. It was hard to be mad at that kid for any reason. We were both in a silly, heated argument and we let things slip out that neither of us had really meant. And although I knew that he truly didn’t mean what he said, I had a feeling he wasn’t going to apologize. Why take something back that was obviously true?

My mom, for all that I could remember anyway, was a good woman. But her biggest mistake had been marrying my father. She hadn’t known who he truly was until he got her pregnant and he had to tell her. She didn’t like it, but she would always pretend we were a normal family.

Maybe if she hadn’t had me, she would have left her mob boss boyfriend and had a great life. A life with kids who weren’t assassins and could give her grandchildren in the future.

A breeze blew past me, causing me to shiver and look towards the sky. The sky had started to grow lighter, the sun bringing daylight to the earth. I had been out here for longer than an hour.

Standing up, I raised my arms up as I began to stretch. I gave the rising sun one last look before I walked back to the hotel. Upon arriving, I saw my three roommates loading up the car with all the luggage we had brought up with us. They all looked at me as I approached.

“That’s the longest hour recorded, I believe,” Donavan said, giving a smile. I just shrugged my shoulders.

“I just lost track of time. We’re leaving now?” I questioned, helping to put the last of the suit cases in the back.

“We need to get going as soon as possible,” Irene voiced while getting into the driver’s side. Donavan slipped into his seat in the middle, leaving Avian and I outside.

Our eyes locked and stayed that way for what seemed like forever until I walked up to him. I wrapped my arms around him in a hug and laid my head on his shoulder. One of his arms slid around my waist while his opposite hand was on my hair, keeping me close.

“Thank you for always taking care of me. I just want to return the favor,” he whispered into my ear.

“Avian,” I sighed, pulling away, “You’ve taken care of me more than I have you. You just don’t realize it.”

Before he could say anything, Irene rolled down her window, pulling her sun glasses down. This had been the first time I’d actually seen her eyes. Woah.

Violet eyes met my deep blue ones and she shared one of her rare smiles with me. “Let’s get going,” she said.

Avian gave her his own smile before he went to climb into his seat. With a pout, (Yes, another) I clambered into the back.

“I want purple eyes!”

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Mika

I let out a large yawn and wiped the sleep out of my eyes. The afternoon sunlight shone through my dark curtains and into my eyes. For some time now, this had been my alternative to a noisy alarm clock. I got out of my bed, stretched, then headed into the kitchen to get somemorning afternoon coffee. Before I could prepare myself a cup, however, the phone began to ring. I groaned before answering.

“Dr. Hart speaking,” I said.

“Mika!” the voice of my male nurse, John, shouted.

“What is it John? I was just about to have a cup of coffee before you called.”

“You’ll have to put that on hold sir, we need you down here now.”

“And why is that?” I sighed. This was supposed to be my day off.

“Susanna Ramirez has woken up.”