(2013) Shooter Read Free Page B

estate. The dirt road we were parked on stretched on and on ahead of us, and we could see more houses down the road. Fortunately, the Beemer wasn't out of place among the Mercedes and Bentleys and Aston Martins that belonged to the other wealthy residents.
    "Not enough windows in the house for a long-ranger." I growled, disappointed. That meant I'd have to get up close and personal with it, which was dangerous in a residence with more than one inhabitant. Better chance of being spotted.
    "Want me to handle it?"
    "Nah, I got it."
    "Alright." She backed off gracefully. "I just have to get you in and out, then."
    "No better person for the job."
    We watched the house for about ten more minutes before she spoke again. "You know, I've always wondered something."
    "What's that?"
    "Has there ever been a job you wouldn't do? One you just turned down on principle?"
    I glanced over at her, mildly confused, before answering. Julia didn't generally come up with questions out of left field like that.
    "There was one, a couple of years back when we were still freelance."
    "What happened?"
    "I got hired for a job, right? Some guy wanted me to take out his wife. Make way for the mistress, or for the life insurance policy money, I didn't really know, and didn't ask any questions. Not my job, you know?" I trailed off, a bad taste on my tongue. Just the memory made me curl up one lip in disgust.
    "That offended you? We've done a bunch of those."
    "No, there was much more to it. So halfway into the job, I'm staking out his house and I get a call. Says he wants me to torch the house, make it look like an accident. I so happened to glance in the window and see his bedridden five-year-old daughter playing with a little dollhouse, her mother sitting with her, playing dolls. They looked happy. And I couldn't do it."
    "He wanted you to kill his little girl?" Julia slumped in her seat. "Why would any father possibly want to kill his child?"
    I tried to rid myself of the look of utter disgust on my face. "I did a little digging. The daughter, Alice, had congenital leukemia. Wouldn't live past ten. And the father wanted to be free of his obligations. Nice little insurance policy on the both of them."
    "So you told him no?"
    "What else could I do?" I shrugged. "Couldn't have lived with myself if I'd taken it."
    "We were freelance, though. You needed the money."
    "Not that badly."
    Julia looked at me now, and wore a mildly amused grin. "A conscience and a sense of honor are generally not good job qualities for us, Grace."
    That forced a harsh laugh from me. "I've seen some pretty crazy shit, Julia. If I could just drop my damned conscience, I might be able to rest. But that won't happen."
    "Grace…" She started.
    My right hand balled up into a fist on my knee. "I'm so goddamn good at my job, and I hate myself for it. If I could just
stop feeling
."
    "Don't ever say that." Julia snapped, her expression going hard, her voice cold.
    "Why not?"
    "Because the day you become as cold as I am, I will lose all respect for you." Her tone was soft now, "You're still human, and that's all that matters."
    Julia's brown eyes bored into mine. "Is that really how you think of yourself?" I asked quietly. "Some kind of monster?"
    She sighed. "Something like that. Killing people went from something I had to do, to just my job, unimportant, like filing a tax report, even, to…" Julia trailed off and looked away. "I'm starting to like it. And that scares the shit out of me."
    "Julia…" I knew exactly how that felt.
    "Just don't be like me, pain is better than nothing."
    I just nodded once, as her tone told me that was the end of the conversation. I rubbed a slight bump on the bridge of my nose where it had been broken when a hit had fought back. It was a nervous habit of mine. "You're not a monster, Julie. Trust me."
    She didn't react, just sat perfectly still for a minute, breathing deep.
    "Let's get you in, shall we?"
    I just nodded and watched her pull out a set of