Free Killing Game by Felicity Heaton

think fate gave me a kick in the balls.”
    “Well, you stopped her from being questioned by the cops. A girl in a strange city, in an alley at some unholy hour of the morning, they would’ve been all over her with the blame, man. You did the right thing.”
    “Yeah, I’m a real hero.” Cain sighed and arched a brow at his glass of bourbon as it dangled from his fingertips.
    “Who’s a hero?” Lily said, smiling broadly at him. She placed her tray down on the bar and pulled a thoughtful face. “Um... crap... I forgot... hang on...” She scrabbled about for her little note pad and flicked through it, desperately looking for something. “Here we go. Two vodka lemonades, four shots tequila and a... eww... um...”
    Seeing her struggling with the rest, Cain took the scrap of paper from her and frowned at it. The ink had been smudged by her wet fingers and the last two drinks were almost a blur. He squinted as he tried to make them out. “One bourbon rocks, one martini.”
    “Thanks.” Lily gave him a sheepish smile and heaved a long sigh as she slumped onto the stool next to him. “I’m pooped.”
    Reaching over, Cain pushed a loose strand of her hair back into place. The fine sheen of sweat on her face glistened in the low light.
    “You look tired. Just another hour and then I’ll drive you back to your place. You could use some good sleep, but don’t forget about the deliveries coming tomorrow.” He smiled softly. Right now, he felt as though the world consisted of only her, the sounds of the club fading to nothing more than a distant noise.
    “Okay. So, who’s a hero?” she said and then pouted as the tray of drinks appeared. “Crap. Guess you’ll have to tell me later. Thanks for sticking around. It’s nice having you here for me.”
    With that, she disappeared into the crowd. The noises around Cain came rushing back in, and he heaved a long sigh.
    “Anytime, sweetheart.”
    A low laugh caught his attention and he turned to look at Jack.
    “Yeah, real hero, purely doing it to help her, nothing to do with the fact you’ve got the world’s biggest school boy crush on her.”
    “Piss off,” Cain mumbled into his drink, suddenly not feeling like the calm, collected killer he was supposed to be. He frowned as he looked into the mirror behind the bottles of liquor opposite him.
    What the hell was happening to him?
    She was unleashing his feelings, letting them all break free of the restraints he had held them deep down inside with all these years, and he needed to change that. Staring into the mirror, he nursed his drink and thought about everything that had happened recently, and then closed his eyes as he realized what he had to do.
    He had to let her go.
    If he continued like this, he’d get himself killed, or worse, get her killed. His life wasn’t any place for her, and he wouldn’t be able to protect her from the world if she was anywhere near him. To keep her safe, he had to push her away and get his focus back on the job.
    To keep them both safe.
    The more time he spent with her, the less he was able to face what he did for a profession, and the less he was able to face himself. He wanted her more than anything, but this wasn’t a movie. He couldn’t just walk into his boss’s office and tell him that he wanted to quit. Being a contract killer was a lifetime job. You could never walk away.
    And those that tried didn’t live long.
    He’d been responsible for fulfilling enough contracts on ex-hit men, and he knew his boss had made him carry them out so he knew just what happened when you tried to quit.
    Looking over his shoulder, he somberly watched Lily as she smiled and weaved her way through the crowd, ferrying drinks back and forth between the bar and the tables.
    He sighed as he caught her eye and then looked down at his drink.
    Could he really let her go?
     
    * * *
     
    Lily chatted on aimlessly about her night, unfazed by how quiet Cain was as he drove her back to her apartment.