Page 146 of Embriagado

“Is this Santa calling?” he asked, and I could hear a child’s giggle in the background.

Holding the phone up, and with my eyes still on the body, I said, “It’s done.”

“Were there any problems, Santa?”

“No.”

“What about the presents?”

He was referring to the money I was sent to collect. Glancing down, I eyed the bag full of cash I’d taken prior to shooting the man.

“Secured.”

“You see, sweet pea? I told you Santa had more presents for you.”

I bit down on my tongue, waiting for this sick joke to end.

“Now, then, sweet pea, we have to tell Santa good night so that he can get to all the other little kids out there.”

The phone then shifted, and I could hear a little girl saying, “Good night, Santa, and Merry Christmas,” before the call ended.

Unfamiliar coldness washed over me, and still holding the phone to my ear, I tightened my grip.

“Merry Christmas,” I whispered back to the dead line.

I stood there for a few more seconds before lowering the phone. But as I tucked it into my pocket, I felt something else in there. Fisting my hand around the small keychain, I took it out and stared at it.

What a stupid gift.

I said I’d throw it away, but after picking it up from the office floor, I’d somehow slipped it into my pocket and forgotten it was there until now. Staring at it, the same annoyance gripped me as when that idiot first gave me this silly fox. Why on earth would he say it reminded him of me? And why would he look so charmed as he handed me this cheap crap? The wide smile he had on… it was as if he’d won the lottery, while all he did was give me something that cost no more than five bucks. And yet, I could still hear him telling me “Merry Christmas” in that deep voice of his. My stomach flipped, and I clenched the keychain in my fist. The urge to toss it was like no other, but knowing better than to leave evidence behind, I shoved it back inside my pocket.

I’ll get rid of it later.

Ready to leave, I grabbed the bag of money from the floor when I heard a rustle. I turned around, noticing a closet in the corner of the garage. Dropping the bag, I calmly walked over there and snapped the closet doors open to find a woman hiding there, curled into herself like the most scared little thing as she muttered prayers.

“Please,” she cried, holding her hands before her in a plea. “I swear, I won’t say a thing. P-please.”

I wish I could say it affected me, I truly did, but…

It didn’t.

What did it say about me that I couldn’t care less for a person begging for their life? Probably that I was a monster.

But I already know that.

Without hesitation, I shot her, and her body fell forward, her head dropping an inch from my shoe. Luckily, her blood didn’t leave any stains on my clothes. She most likely didn’t deserve to die, and even if she did, it shouldn’t have been at my hands. Still, I couldn’t afford loose ends. Not when I was this close to being free.

With a sigh, I looked around. To think I now had two bodies to take care of… What a hassle. The undertaker expected only one, so he’d charge me double if not triple. But then again, this line of work was all about adapting to the unexpected, and therefore, I shouldn’t waste my time complaining.

SANTIAGO

Tonight’s fight was an easy win, just as I knew it would be.

And while it wasn’t the same to fight without having Ariyan watching, the thought of telling him about the win was enough to keep me going.

True to my word, I packed my things and got out of there the second the fight ended. Now back inside the elevator, I leaned against the wall as I waited for it to reach the ground floor. Same as the first time I rode it, I thought it was tacky as fuck, not to mention the horrible music that played as it went up. But this whole place reeked of bad taste, unlike our hotel, which was classy all the way. Yeah, my silver Zorrito sure had good taste. Fuck, just thinking about all those white roses he used to decorate the hotel for Christmas was sick, and the same went for those huge-ass trees he’d gotten. But that was Ariyan for you, a posh prince, classic from head to toe.

Reaching the ground floor, the elevator stopped before the doors opened, and I walked out into the travel agency decoy, which still made me laugh every time I came here.