Free Night's Promise by Sandy Lynn

winter—in Alaska. His cock suddenly lost all motivation, as he remembered Gareth’s reaction to the last man who tried to manhandle Mel on the dance floor.

Chapter Five
    Sitting in the control room, Duncan wondered what he’d gotten himself into. He hadn’t seen Melissa the past couple of nights and was wondering if he’d spoken before he’d thought the other night. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be closer to Mel, that he wasn’t attracted to her.
    But a man like me doesn’t have friends… And just forget about winning the lady like they portray in those movies.
    He could remember seeing one particular movie about an ex-gangster with a soft heart. The man refused to kill his neighbor, instead becoming fast friends with the man. He didn’t even kill the neighbor when the man learned his real identity and could expose him. Instead, the former killer went out of his way to help the neighbor live happily ever after while meeting his own perfect girl.
    Real life was nothing like the movies.
    Back when he was an assassin, it hadn’t mattered how nice a person was, if they were the target, or they tried to stand in his way, they were as good as dead. It was one reason people learned not to fuck with him.
    For the first time in years, he thought about the sorcerer he’d told Melissa about. He had a feeling she didn’t believe he’d tried to kill the man. Stabbing him probably would have been a better method, but after the sorcerer pissed Duncan off, he’d wanted the man to suffer. Duncan had felt that slowly suffocating, or drowning, would be painful enough. It would give the sorcerer enough time to appreciate just how fucked he was.
    Just as he’d told Mel, he’d completely bound the man. Tying his arms against his body then his feet together, he’d even handcuffed him just to be sure he wouldn’t get his hands free. Dumping the sorcerer into a moderate-sized trunk, Duncan not only locked it, but he’d broken the key off inside of it, to assure no one would be able to get it open. And, just like in those corny cartoons they show on television, he wrapped a chain around the top, but that was to give it additional weight so it would sink quicker rather than additional security. But none of it had worked.
    Giving in to the rare impulse, Duncan allowed himself to remember the past.
     
    Walking into the bar, he saw the bastard sitting—alive and well—on a barstool and grew livid. Everyone around him quickly stepped away.
    “Surprised to see me?” the sorcerer asked.
    “What the hell are you still doing alive. When I kill someone, they die.”
    “Really? Then I guess you didn’t do a very good job of it last night then,” he taunted.
    Curiosity filled Duncan. “How could you possibly have survived?”
    Laughing, the man bought him a drink. Careful not to let anyone see he wasn’t actually drinking the foul-smelling liquid, Duncan waited for an answer. He could be very patient when he wanted to be.
    “It’s all about power,” the sorcerer said after a short time. “And between you and me, I have all the power in this relationship.”
    “Then this time I’ll make sure to have the proper spells cast first,” Duncan growled.
    “It wouldn’t hurt. But I’d still have all the power.” The man’s tone was so blasé; they could have been discussing the weather rather than his death.
    “Explain it to me,” Duncan said, his annoyance showing clearly through his gritted teeth and balled fist.
    The sorcerer chuckled. “I annoy you. You’ve given me the power to annoy you. Why? And be honest.”
    “I don’t like bastards that think they can do whatever they want. That woman you harassed last night, she’s a good woman. She’s got kids. She needs her job and you almost made her lose it.”
    “So you’re not made of stone after all. What’s it to you? You’re an assassin, a hit man. You kill people for a living. Don’t you think it’s a bit hypocritical? After all, you frequently do