The Perfect Clone (18 page)

Ignoring the terrified woman, Luke remained focused on the two men in front of him, easy enough he thought.

The toothless attacker let go of Sarah and lunged at the intruder. His buddy cackled with excitement, “Get him Todd.  Kick his ass!”

With renewed hope of breaking free, Sarah continued to fight against the one man who still held onto her. The punch that landed across her jaw stilled any further movements as unconsciousness swallowed her whole.

Side stepping the clumsy maneuver of the lunging attacker, Luke caught the man’s extended arm. Using the guy’s own weight against its self, Luke easily twisted it behind the man’s back.

While still in motion, Luke’s foot found the front of the attacker’s ankle, causing the man to land face down on the ground. Luke pressed his knee into the attacker’s back. In a continuous motion, Luke grabbed the man’s oily hair and lifted his head off the ground until it threatened to rupture the spine. In a quick delivery, Luke drove the man’s head down into the concrete, sending him straight to hell. Without pause, Luke stood up and turned to face the man standing next to Sarah’s motionless body.

“It’s not polite to hit a woman.” Luke had been controlled before, now he was pissed.

The other man howled with fury as he bolted toward Luke.

Pain and terror supplied sufficient adrenaline as consciousness came flooding back to Sarah’s brain. The howl that ripped through the air reminded her of the desperate circumstances she was in. Aware that two people were fighting, but unable to see past the throbbing in her head, Sarah didn’t stick around to see the outcome. She wasn’t pinned down. This was her chance to flee. Willing herself the strength to move, she scrambled up the ditch and stumbled back to the room.

Fumbling with the key card until she gained interior access, Sarah fell against the door and slammed it shut. Locking the bolt, her body collapsed to the floor. With legs bent, she propped her head on her knees and cried. The soreness in her jaw was a reminder of how careless she’d been. She cried for what seemed hours.

An unexpected knock caused her to hold her breath. Maybe if she stayed still they wouldn’t hear her. Maybe they’d go away.

“Sarah? It’s Luke.”

Recognizing his voice, Sarah picked herself up from the floor but looked through the peep hole for further verification. Her body was stiff as the effects of the struggle started to settle in. Offering him access, she backed away from the entrance. Luke burst inside, closing the door behind him. He set a bucket of ice on the table.

Before he could say anything, Sarah threw herself against the man who had saved her. Luke wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her while she cried. When the tears began to subside, he moved her to arm’s length. His tone was forceful and angry. “What in the…
hell
were you thinking?” Pointing his finger at her he didn’t wait for an answer as his voice grew louder. “Do you know how dangerous it is out there? You’re a woman, alone at night and off the beaten path? Have you lost your mind?”

Sniffling, Sarah lowered her head in shame and sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m sorry.”

He’d never been so pissed. “Sorry? That’s all you’ve got? Do you know what could have happened if I hadn’t been there?” Raw emotion was tearing him apart and he didn’t like it. He wasn’t wired to deal with it. He was a hired assassin, a protector. There was no room for personal involvement.

The terrified look on Sarah’s face as she’d struggled against her attackers had sent him to a place he’d never experienced before, a place of fear, of anger. He’d internalized his feelings and relied strictly on training in order to get through the first brawl. But when he turned and found her unconscious, he’d lost control. Emotions did not have a place among his kind. Emotions could get you injured, or worse, killed. He had no desire to experience that type of fury again. It made for messy work and lengthy clean up, both of which he’d already finished.

No one had ever yelled at her like this. It scared her almost as much as the two men in the ditch had. Placing her hands on the bed beside her for added support Sarah nodded. “Yes, I know. It was stupid.”

Luke pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. “Here,” he offered. He was
not
happy with her right now, but that didn’t stop him from caring. Damn it. He was in no position to care about this girl.

Too ashamed to look up, Sarah took the handkerchief and blew into it.

Heading to the bathroom Luke retrieved a wash rag, walked over to the bucket of ice he’d brought in, and filled the rag up with ice. “Take this. Your jaw might appreciate it tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Sarah’s voice was frail as she placed the ice pack on her face.

His reply was harshly coated even though the sound of the woman’s stifled tears was softening his anger. “You’re welcome.”

Walking over to the one chair in the room, Luke sat down. He was trained to be certain of a situation before containing it. He’d handled this one according to what he’d been taught. The effort it had taken on his part, as he’d watched and waited for both men to make it down the embankment had been pure agony. He could have eliminated them individually before it’d gone that far and she’d never have been subjected to their cruel antics, but his training had been too deeply ingrained. If he had been mistaken about the two men’s association, innocent men would have suffered the consequences. He’d had to make sure before making his move.

She was safe now, that’s all that mattered. Naturally he had reported the incident to Cara, who was having the hotel security feeds cleaned to erase any recordings that might have been captured. Technically he didn’t exist above ground, but they never left things to chance. He also knew that she’d send someone to dispose of the two bodies he’d hidden in the trunk of his car. After relaying all the viable information to her, he’d called the community physician and requested his presence at the hotel.

Sarah’s voice was soft. Kneading the handkerchief in her hands she looked up at the man who’d helped her, surveying for damage. “Did they hurt you? Are you ok?”

He couldn’t help but grin at her concern for him after what she’d just been through. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Sarah cast her head back down. Silly question seeing that he was here and they weren’t. “I’m glad you were there.

“Why were you out?”

“I was tired of being cooped up. Crazy me that I am, thought I’d run over and get something to eat and be back in no time.

“I see.” Without hesitating, Luke picked up the receiver, “Three bacon cheeseburger baskets and three waters. Thanks.”

“Three? The hero in you must be hungry.”

“We’re expecting company shortly.” His voice was sincere. “You’ll need to be looked at by a physician to make sure there aren’t internal injuries or breaks.”

After a few moments of silence Sarah added, “My brother Josh would have liked you.”

“Would have?” He wanted to learn more about this woman sitting across from him. She had piqued his interest ever since she’d talked to him at the airport that first day. That’s the reason he hadn’t driven her to her meeting this morning or been there to drive her back afterwards. He’d requested to be transferred to personal guard duty rather than being the girl’s driver. Trusting that her men knew their capacity for what they were or were not comfortable doing, Cara had agreed to the request without asking questions.

Luke was too interested in this woman and didn’t appreciate the way his body reacted in her presence. Knowing that she had been here to interview for the virgin project, he hadn’t wanted to allow himself to get close. But to hell with it all, after the alien emotions he’d just experienced, he wasn’t willing to walk away without finding out more.

Bobbing her head yes she continued to fiddle with the handkerchief. “Yes. He would have. Josh died over a year ago, but I think the two of you would have gotten along. You remind me of him.”

“I take it that’s a good thing?” The tone in his voice had returned to normal.

Sarah’s face lit up when she thought about her brother. “Absolutely,” she declared. Lifting the handkerchief, she dabbed away the last few remaining tears. “Josh was the best.”

Luke suddenly envied her. He’d never had much of family outside of the community. “You must miss him a lot.”

“…more than anything.”

Shortly after room service was delivered, the physician arrived. Sarah recognized him as the same doctor who had administered her physical exam.

“Hello Sarah. I hear you’ve had quite a night.” His bedside manner was impeccable.

“I’ll step outside and leave you two alone.” Excusing himself from the room, Luke exited and walked to the black sedan in the parking lot. It was one of theirs.

Cara stepped out of the driver’s seat and leaned up against the car, crossing one ankle over the other. “Are you alright?”

Luke took a spot next to his supervisor, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yes. Why?”

Not turning to look at him, Cara cast her sights on a stray cat as it dashed through the otherwise motionless lot.

“It’s just not like you to stick around after a fight.”

“She’s my responsibility. I couldn’t leave until I knew she had the proper medical care.”

“She wasn’t raped or stabbed and she didn’t sustain any life threatening injuries. You could have resumed your position on stake out until the doc arrived. So, let’s try this again, Luke. Why do you feel the need to cater to her?”

“I wasn’t catering. I was making sure the woman made it back into the room and was secured.”

Cara turned her head to look at him. “Need I remind you that it’s our job to protect? Period. We provide our special skills when required and move on. You’re too good at what you do to allow something so trivial to have caused a lapse in judgment. I was told that you made quite a mess of one of the attackers. Emotions will get you killed.”

He knew she was right. “It won’t happen again.” Luke stalked off into the night.

Cara watched Luke blend into the environment, resuming his role as this girl’s personal watch dog. When he’d asked for the position switch, she had known that the girl had gotten under his skin. She just didn’t know how deep, until now.

Luke was one of her best men. One of the best she’d ever come across for that matter. Kicking the heel of her boot against the ground, Cara grimaced. Luke really liked this girl. It was written all over his face, and it was evidenced by his miscalculated judgment.

Hell, when this was over, she hoped the kid could settle down with someone. She’d thought about doing that herself once, but she’d had to kill the poor bastard when he became a mark. That seemed a life time ago. That was before her days of working for the community.

Political and governmental assassinations were a tricky and lonely business. Now that she’d found job stability, maybe it was something she’d give more thought to. Until then, things were fine just the way they were.

Luke resumed his stake out position. Cara was right. He’d made a damn mess of that last man, served the bastard right for hitting Sarah. He’d never regretting killing a target, but he did regret the way he’d gone about killing that last man. He had a reputation for swift clean kills. That’s the way he liked it—no muss, no fuss—easy kill equals easy clean up.

From his position, Luke watched the doctor exit the hotel room and crawl into the black sedan with Cara. He couldn’t help but wonder how Sarah was doing.

Checking the time on his phone, he noticed a new text message. It was from Cara.

“
Girl shaken but fine. Still intact. Resting
.”

He read the message several times before erasing it. No need to reply.

A girl like Sarah deserved a normal man. Someone with a ‘nine to five’ that didn’t get his hands dirty, not someone like him who wore eternal blood stains. He would stay away, for her sake.

The vibration on his phone alerted him to another message. Checking it, he saw that it too, was from Cara.

“
Received word from Avery, your girl is moving to Phase 3
.”

Luke replied, “
Great news
.”

Cara replied. “
Project lasts twelve months tops. After that she’s yours
.”

The message caused a huge smile to spread across his face even though he grimaced on the inside. He replied,
“Good girls deserve better.”

The vibrating phone indicated a call so he accepted.

Cara’s voice responded on the other end. “You are better. You’re also back on drive duty. I’m sending someone to relieve your position so you can get some rest. Stay put until then. Mr. Avery wants her fully recovered before pushing forward. I want you to report to me when you feel the girl is ready to be brought in. As her driver you’ll be responsible for taking her wherever she needs to go, which means that on a daily basis from eight A.M. until seven P.M., you’ll be at her disposal until relived by night duty; any questions? No? Good. Get some rest tonight, Luke.” Cara ended the call

Luke wasn’t sure what had caused Cara to change the plans or what was with her easy tone, but he wasn’t about to question the boss lady.

Chapter 17

Few were invited into the Order’s secret society and once you joined, membership was for life. The only way to change that was by death—natural or otherwise.