The Housewife and the Hitman

Chapter Eight- Don't Con a Con

Gemma felt frozen upon hearing the man’s words. She had always wondered if there had been people that were after Conner for his actions. Perhaps there had been a loved one he had taken from someone, as he had even spoken of himself everyone being someone’s loved one. Due to this, her heart ached and her stomach twisted as she knew he was going to come up to the room at any moment, knock on the door, only to be killed. Although she had her own issues with Conner and sometimes wished him dead, she knew he was her only salvation-but she also knew that she had to be his in this moment. Due to that, she tried to use every ounce of skill she had buried deep down in her body in an attempt to distract the man. 

“Do you want money?” She asked, the words making him laugh. 

“I just bought a necklace for twenty five million dollars-do you think I need money?” 

“Probably because you spent it…” She said beneath her breath before finding him to move to her, bringing the nozzle of the gun beneath her chin. In some bizarre feeling, she wasn’t fearful if the gun were to go off or if her life were to end in this moment. Instead, she had been worried that perhaps other lives would be taken when she could have done something. The man, who she remembered introducing himself as ‘Beck’, had been unaware of the firework set before him-unaware that she had spent nearly a decade beneath the thumb of a man who supposedly loved her. He was oblivious to the pain she had endured and how much resentment she held in her otherwise giving heart. He wasn’t aware he had broken a part of her that she tried to remain hidden since becoming a mother-a part that would be the difference between survival and death. 

“You won’t shoot me.” She spoke, rising up from the couch as he pointed the gun towards her. She also noticed in this moment how the safe had been left open, making her understand that he had taken the gun from here in the first place. Her gaze also caught upon the necklace that was still present on its velvet holder, glimmering in the contents of the safe. She knew it would be too much of a risk to charge for the necklace and escape, so she remained content upon her words-hoping they would be logical enough to reason with him-without needing the sense of force. 

“Why would you think that?” He spoke, moving the gun back towards her as she did everything she could to hide the fear laced beneath her own steely gaze. Her eyes had somehow darkened from the journey from the lobby to the room, as if the color of her eyes almost changed with her mood. They had relinquished all sense of innocence and turned into ones possessed by a vixen as she was prepared to become the woman that she gave up on many years ago-a woman who had always screamed to be released, and was now finally allowed to do so. 

“You wouldn’t make it out of this room without having to parachute off that balcony…” She paused for a moment. “And last time I checked, you don’t have one.”

“You’re ballsy...I like that...but this has nothing to do with you...you’re just the piece of arm candy that Conner brought to try and appear less suspicious. I will admit...I didn’t recognize him at first as he always comes to these alone...But I will never forget that look of arrogance in his eyes.” Gemma understood that look as she came to fantasize about that look having acted as a source of comfort for her. She begged internally to anyone that could hear her to come and save her-and as if done on perfect queue, a knock came onto Beck’s door. This forced him to draw his attention away from her for a moment and move to the door, looking through the peephole, then looking back to her to ensure she hadn’t moved, only to see her now sitting back upon the couch as relaxed as she could make herself. 

“I believe I asked to not be disturbed…” Beck spoke before a familiar voice spoke back to him, revealing it to have been Conner who used the man to have the door opened. Conner slipped him five hundred dollars wrapped tight with a rubber band in a perfect circle before the man left without a second thought. Gemma looked to him, thankful, before then noticing Beck having raised the gun back towards her, having hid it behind his back when hearing the knock at the door. 

“You came sooner than expected…” Beck spoke to Conner as he shut the door behind him, having it slam closed, before looking to Gemma. His intention being present in this moment had been done so she would understand that she would be alright. “How sweet…” Beck teased before then bringing the gun towards Conner. For a moment, Beck’s hand disappeared in his inner breast pocket before pulling out a silencer for his weapon. 

“I have waited a long time for this…” Beck spoke, raising the gun towards Conner before he paused for a moment, watching Conner throw down a thick black book, bound together by a thick and blackened rubber band. It had been nearly busting at the seams and torn at various sections, with the edges of many of the pages having been bent and some pages having even been torn from its binding. However, it seemed as though this little black book had been the unspoken life preserver needed to save both Conner and Gemma in this moment. 

“You would give it all up after all of this time?” Beck asked as Conner relinquished ownership of the journal, moving towards it and bringing it to his possession before having weakened his touch on the gun, allowing his attention to focus on the words upon the pages instead. “For her?” Beck questioned as Conner looked to her, sharing an unspoken moment between him and Gemma, before looking back to Beck, glaring in response. However, as Beck began to flip through the pages, making mental notes of the names written before him, he paused when coming to the latest entry to find his own name and even the date to having read to this day, this location, and even his room number. 

“A little presumptuous…” Beck spoke, scoffing at Conner before looking to see the end of a silencer facing him. 

“Nobody had to die…” Conner spoke as Beck paused, looking towards his safe before letting out a pained chuckle. 

“You are a bigger piece of work than I first thought…” Beck commented. “Careful…” He then warned Gemma as her eyes focused on him, acting as if his words hadn’t meant more than the air against her skin, but they had truly been taken into consideration through each attempt. “He will only ever look out for himself.” And with that last word, Beck was forced down with a bullet into his back while Gemma looked away as his body fell forward-crashing against the ground before him. 

“We have to hurry...I’m sure someone will come-” Suddenly another knock at the door could be heard, one that was unexpected as they feared it could have been anyone from members of hotel security, another guest, a concierge, or even another man or woman that came to kill Beck or Conner. Worried that it could have been any of these possibilities, Conner looked to Gemma with an intense glare, not out of anger-but in a pensive existence. 

“You need to go out onto the balcony, don’t draw attention to yourself.” He ordered as she looked back to him and momentarily at the body at her feet before he forced her attention away. 

“I will take care of him. We don’t have a lot of time…” His eyes had been present with true worry, something she hadn’t seen before since she had known him. Due to this, she followed his instruction without question before bringing herself outside and finding him to follow. He managed to close the door onto the balcony as the door to the room came open-coming upon the body of the wealthy man set upon the bathroom floor as if he had broken his neck slipping out of the shower. 

“What are you-” Before Gemma could finish questioning him, he had made it from one balcony to another, extending his hand to help her. Her eyes fell to the several floors below her and making her realize that she had only his strength to save her from slipping to her guaranteed death. 

“We can’t be found here...we have to go…” He pushed her as he reached for her, making her pressured to cross from one balcony to another, praying that gravity would be kind to her while she set her way over its edge. Her breathing grew rapid as she managed to keep one leg on the edge of either balcony, kicking off one, before the fabric of her dress became caught and forced her to slip. Her entire body began to fall towards the ground before she was caught by Conner. Without much of an effort, he lifted her over the edge of the balcony and into the next room just as the balcony they recently left had opened. 

The duo did not waste a single second as they made their way towards the car waiting to be used in the hotel garage. Throwing themselves into the car, they quickly brought it into ignition before Conner paused. 

“What is it?” Gemma asked, worried that perhaps he had second thoughts in allowing her to live. Perhaps she had come to know too much. 

“The necklace…”

She smiled, having pulled it from between her breasts and handing it to him. His eyes looked to her in complete wonder as his lips curved into a smile. Without a word, he put his hands on her cheeks and leaned forward, kissing her passionately while allowing his body to become aroused along with hers. 

“I think I love you.” He spoke such detrimental words to someone who hadn’t been expecting them. However, she could tell by his tone and the way he became more fascinated by the necklace than her, that he meant it out of humor-but she couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps one day he would speak those words truthfully to her. After all, she was in a set of circumstances that she never would have imagined prior to this...not even in a noir novel-and she was the main character of this moment, now-with a man who was nothing but dangerous. But it was that danger that had intrigued her, aroused her, and lured her in unlike anything else. 

And just like that, they disappeared into the night while on their way back to Tennessee.