Free Good Intentions - Adrian Hell #6 (Adrian Hell Series) by James P. Sumner

cannot—and I can’t stress this enough, Adrian—you cannot attempt to make any contact with anyone from your previous life. You must remain hidden. You must live like a ghost. Do you understand?”
    I clench my jaw muscles repeatedly as I think about what Lily just said. That’s a big ask. I can imagine the temptation is always there, though it surely gets easier with time. I guess, since I woke up to this new life, I’ve been thinking, somewhere in the back of my mind, there would be a way of letting Josh know I was still alive.
    I guess not.
    “Adrian?”
    “Huh? Yeah… I understand.”
    “I mean it. That’s our only concern about you. Don’t make us regret our decision to recruit you, okay?”
    I nod. “I won’t try to contact Josh. Cross my heart.”
    “Thank you. Now, apart from those three things, the world is yours. A benefit of being in The Order.”
    She smiles at me—a gesture I force myself to return. This is my life now. I accept that. The first two rules… they make sense to me. I was half-expecting something along those lines, to be honest. I’m an assassin, after all. Things like that come with the territory. But the third thing…
    I sigh.
    I know I was told from day one that contact with my old life wasn’t an option if I signed up. But I guess I had it in my head that I would be able to find a way around it or something. Now I’ve essentially been threatened over trying to contact Josh, it just makes me want to do it even more. I’m too—
    “Are you alright?”
    I must have zoned out again. I look at Lily, who’s staring at me. “Sorry, yeah… I’m fine.”
    She smiles at me, and I detect a hint of sympathy. “Look, I… I know it’s hard, leaving people you care for behind. We’ve all had to do it. But it does get easier, I promise.”
    That’s nice of her to say, despite it being no comfort whatsoever.
    “Thanks, Lily. So what now?”
    “Now…” She reaches in her pocket and takes out a cell phone, which she slides across the table. “…you need to take this. Horizon wants to meet with you, but before that, I actually have a contract for you. The details are in the message I’ve just sent to your phone.”
    I frown. “Is this another test?”
    She shakes her head. “No, this is life in The Order. This is your first real contract for us.”
    I take the phone, but don’t turn it on. “Does everyone in The Order carry out hits? Do you?”
    She nods. “I do, yes.”
    “But this job is just for me? It’s definitely not another test? Because I’m sick of having to prove—”
    “Everyone in The Order has a particular set of skills. Yours, it seems, is finding a way to pull off seemingly impossible contracts, which is why you’ve been assigned this one.”
    “Uh-huh… What’s your skill set?”
    She winks at me coyly. “I have many…”
    “I bet.”
    She certainly seems friendlier than when we first met. To be fair, I probably didn’t help the situation earlier. I think starting over was a good idea. My first impression probably wasn’t much better than hers was.
    I turn on the phone and look at the message waiting for me on the screen. An image loads, showing a man sitting at a table in a crowded restaurant. He has dark hair and is smartly dressed. He’s…
    Hang on.
    I look at Lily, confused. “Is this a joke?”
    Still smiling, she shakes her head. “No. He’s your target. And you need to carry it out immediately. Rule number one, remember?”
    I look back at the screen and sigh.
    It’s the guy sitting next to me!
     

7
     
     
     
     
     
    12:31 MYT
    I stare at the table in front of me until my vision blurs. I’ve lost my appetite. I have my beer in my right hand, but I’m no longer thirsty. The surprise… the shock —it has me thinking a million different things at once, but I don’t yet have the capacity to focus on any of them.
    They want me to kill the guy I’ve been sitting next to for the last half hour! This has to be another kind of