TARGETED LOVE

"Lily! Come over here! I'm going to get in trouble because of you!"

"Woof Woof"

"C'mon girl come over here!"

"Woof"

"What is it huh? Did you find something?"

"H-help...Pl-please help"

"Omg! Are you okay!?"

"I-I fell and I can't move because of this rock"

"Okay okay...Let me find help!"

"N-no please don't leave me alone"

"But I can't move this rock alone it's too heavy.."

"Please..I'm scared"

"Lily! Go on home girl! Get help! C'mon go!"

"You think your dog will come back?"

"She's a smart girl she'll come back with help..Here lay your head on my lap"

"Okay...My foot really hurts I can't feel it anymore"

"Don't worry you'll be okay I promise"

"I'm really scared"

"I know! I'll sing to you the song my momma sings to me whenever I'm afraid..Deal?"

"Okay"

"Love me now..Love me tomorrow..For an eternity love me always..In my mind you live..In my heart you'll stay..Love me now..Love me always"

"I like it"

"Thank you..It sounds better when my momma sings it...Do you have a family?"

"No I don't"

"So where do you live?"

"If I tell you..You promise to keep it a secret?"

"Okay promise"

"I ran-away from the orphanage"

"Why?"

"Because nobody wants me..Since I turned ten today they will send me to a foster home"

"But that's good isn't it?"

"No..I'm tired of feeling unwanted..So I'm escaping to another place where I can be free"

"But it's dangerous.."

"Come with me?"

"Me?"

"Yes we can leave together..It'll be fun"

"I'm only 8 years old"

"So? I'll protect you"

"Like a big brother?"

"Yes..You can be my little sister"

"I don't have brothers or sisters..I feel lonely sometimes"

"Aaaaahh!"

"What is it!?"

"My foot! I feel the pain now!"

"Omg what should I do!?"

"Help me move the rock!"

"B-but what if I hurt you?"

"You won't! Just do it!"

"Okay okay"

"On three alright?"

"Okay.."

"One....Two....Three!"

"Yay! We moved it!"

"Ahh my foot it hurts"

"Come home with me..My momma will help you"

"What if your dad gets mad?"

"Papa died when I was five...It's just me and momma..Cmon let's go!"

"I can't walk..."

"Hmm...Oh I know! I have a secret place nearby what if I drag you there?"

"But don't take me to your house..I don't want anyone finding out I left"

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me"

"Okay..I'll trust you"

"You're going to love it there.."

"Where is it?"

"It's like a cave so nobody will find you..You'll be safe"

"Thank you..You're really nice"

"Thank Lily if it weren't for her I wouldn't have found you"

"Lily! What if she brings someone with her!?"

"That's right! Quick hop on my back"

"Are you crazy!? I'm a guy I can't hop on a girls back!"

"Stop being a weenie!"

"I'm not!"

"Then do you prefer to get caught?"

"No....Fine but don't drop me!"

"I won't I promise"

"You sure promise a lot"

"And I always keep my word"

"What's your name anyway?"

"Anaya...Yours?"

"Nolan"

"What kinda name is that?"

"It's a name..Just like yours"

"My name is unique"

"No it's not?...I actually don't like it"

"You're being mean..I might just drop you"

"You better not!"

"Haha kidding!"

"So will you runaway with me?"

"Hmm...I don't know..Can momma come too?"

"No grownups just kids!"

"Oh like Peter Pan!"

"Who?"

"Peter pan..He saves kids and takes them to Neverland..Where they will never grow and stay as kids forever"

"Well let's go there!"

"I don't think we can.."

"Who says we can't? We can do whatever we want"

"No silly we can't go because we need to be able to fly"

"Oh..Like have wings behind our back?"

"No we need fairy dust"

"Well where can we get that?"

"I don't know..Do you know of any fairies?"

"No...Do you?"

"No.."

"I know! We'll use a plane!"

"How will we get a plane?"

"I don't know"

"Well we can figure something out here"

"Is this your cave?"

"Yeah it's my hiding place..I come here alone without Lily so nobody will find me"

"Thanks for sharing it with me"

"You're my friend now..So we'll keep each other's secret..Deal?"

"Deal"

.

.

.

"Don't leave me"

"ANAYA!" I suddenly woke up drenched in sweat with my heart racing almost jumping out of my chest. Lately I've been having dreams about her more often than other times. I always wondered why? She was a vague memory that lived deep inside my mind and for some reason wouldn't disappear.

*Ring Ring*

"What is it"

"Hey Ryker"

"What do you want?"

"I got a job for you"

"Who and when?"

"Tamara Lenin..She'll be at the boxing pre-show tonight at 7pm"

"Have the cash ready for me at 7:05"

"Really? It'll take you 5 minutes to take her out? You sure you don't want more?"

"7:05 sharp" I ended the call before he could say anything else. My type of lifestyle wasn't normal and most would be afraid to do what I do for a living. It's understandable. Not everyone is cut to be a professional hit-man.

Anaya Sparks..The only innocence left inside me was the time I lived by her side. Exactly two months. Nothing more nothing less. Just two fun and beautiful months that I lived without worry or fear. While the water hit my body inside the shower a faint memory I had forgotten crossed my mind.

She had just brought me some chicken soup that her mom had cooked for them. After I was done eating inside her secret place that was now mine as well. She told me she knew about a waterfall nearby where I could bathe. According to her I smelled like dead dog.

"Isn't it neat Nolan!"

"This place is so cool!"

"Come then! Let's get in!"

"But I don't have swimming clothes..If I wet the clothe I have on I won't have anything else to wear"

"It's okay I'll bring you some of my papa's clothes"

"But won't it fit me too big?"

"Hmm..We'll just have to cut them your size until your clothes dry up"

"Alright deal"

"Okay on three!"

"One!"

"Two"

"Three!!"

That was one of the funnest times I had ever lived. But I also came to regret it most. If it wasn't for that swim. We wouldn't have gotten sick. One day she just suddenly stopped showing up. I was cold running with a high fever and alone. Until her dog Lily found me along with three other people. Anaya had fallen sick but even then she thought of me. She had no other choice but to tell others our secret place. In order to save my life.

I never saw her again.

After the shower that brought some forgotten memories back. I changed into a plain black tee with some jagged jeans and quickly put on my untied laced boots. I was always one to dress with class however where I was going I didn't need to impress nobody.

Where I was heading too was basically my first home. Not because I had family. I've been an orphan as long as I can remember. Years back I had bought a small house. As soon as I turned seventeen the foster people that watched over me and a couple of other kids that came from broken families. Well they kicked me out.

So I managed to get a job as a dishwasher. That didn't work in my favor. Back in those days I use to be impatient and wild tempered. Only when shit didn't go my way or someone decided to mess with me. A cook that worked in the same restaurant as I did didn't really like me. One day he decided to pick a fight with me which was a very bad idea.

Poor chump. He ended up with a bruised face and couple of broken ribs. I had to pay back for the frying pan I had used as a weapon to beat him with. The guy was much older and bigger than I was. Still that didn't scare me from teaching him a lesson. But of course they fired me.

I then got a job at a car wash. It was actually there where the profession I do found me. It was a late evening and I was just finishing rinsing the last rims of the day. Just as I was giving back the guy his keys to his car. A black Bugatti raced by the corner where we were at. A guy wearing a ski mask took out a gun and began shooting at us.

It was clear to me that I wasn't the target. I was a nobody that didn't owe anything to anyone. They were after the guy I had just saved. I pushed him onto the ground while we continued to hear the blows pass by us. It all must've lasted about a minute. Even though it felt longer.

The guy I saved ended up being from a dangerous mafia and the guys who were after him were an enemy. In order to repay me for saving his life he offered me a job. At first it was just distributing drugs to gangs that worked for them. It was all a small chain but it made me some much needed profit. I did what I had to do got paid and went home. That's all there was to it. Almost like a regular job..You know minus the guns ruthless gangsters and illegal businesses.

Heck we minded our own business and stayed out of others as long as nobody fucked with us. But trouble was always out there. Until one day where I noticed the main lead hire someone to take out an enemy of his. It was then that I knew what I was destined to be. Not only did I basically have no background but I didn't have a family. I was practically a ghost. Which made me a perfect deadly weapon. I had nothing to lose.

So I decided to drop everything and get involved in that type of heartless lifestyle. The main guy from the Mafia I had worked for knew a guy who would get me in. Everything had a price though. Nothing ever was handed for free. I got trained to be a ruthless cold killer. One of the best. I never miss a shot. Never will either.

The only condition the mafia leader had for me was to work for him for free whenever he needed me. Since he put me on I had no other choice but to agree. It's actually been a cool minute since the last time I've heard of him or the guy I saved.

I finally arrived to the small house I had not visited for three months. I knew the moment I stepped inside that house I was going to get an earful. Years ago before I got involved in this ruthless lifestyle. One cold winter night I had come home from a bakery nearby when I saw two girls laying by a dumpster covered in snow.

I immediately rushed to them to see if they were still alive. Fortunately they were. Debating whether to get the police involved or not. I decided to get them inside my house and gave them food and warm clothes instead. Last thing I wanted was a pig roaming around my house. So after getting to know them a bit more that night. I found out that they were two escapees from an orphanage.

I sympathized with their stories. I knew the feeling of not being wanted all too well. So I decided to let them live with me and cared for them until the eldest girl turned eighteen. She eventually got a job to help her and the youngest one out. I never had a problem for providing for them. She just didn't want to owe me anything I guess. So I let her work.

That was until I got where I am at now. I knew that if anyone were to find out who I really was they would surely come after them as well. After all..There was a lot of pissed off people with vengeance crawling in their blood consuming them within. I had many targets on my back. Though I was always careful not to leave a clue behind. I couldn't let my guard down.

So I decided it was best to keep both girls inside. The only time they were able to come out was with me. Otherwise it was completely prohibited for them to leave the house at all. Today was a special day. Before getting out of the car I grabbed a gift box that sat next to me. It was Gigi's birthday. She turned twelve. I didn't want to admit just how much that girl grew on me but it happened.

I saw her like a little sister that I needed to protect at any cost. While Ava has always had a crush on me. She never gives up. Always reminding me that she'll marry me someday. Talking about how she is twenty-one and she could be woman enough for me. As a thirty year old to me it's just a young girl with a crush. Nothing more to it. But it was everything to her.

"Nolan you're home!!"

"Haha miss me Gigi?"

"Sooo much!"

"What have I told you about calling me by that name though?"

"To wait until you're inside the house to call you that"

"And?"

"Never to say your real name in front of others"

"Because?"

"It's for my safety and Ava's"

"Where is Ava?"

"Uh-oh..."

"Gigi...I won't ask again"

"Umm....She's flirting with the guy next door"

"Stay right here. I'll be right back".