wiggled her eyebrows. “Speaking of which, I noticed that Mitch kept looking over this way. I’m surprised, since he normally keeps to himself after getting out. Maybe you guys have more than a friendship in common?”
Anna forced a laugh, not knowing how to continue on with the lie of being an old friend of theirs when Willow was bound to find out that wasn’t the truth. “What do you mean?”
“Well, after being released from prison a year ago, the entire town was worried that he wouldn’t fit back in here, you know? He was in for a long time, close to ten years.” Willow leaned against the counter, keeping her voice low. “Not everyone believes that he was guilty, but he really doesn’t talk about what happened back then. I’m just saying it’s good to see that he’s interested in something other than fixing cars.”
With a wink, Willow pushed herself up from the counter and walked to the door, saying that she’d see her tomorrow. Anna wasn’t sure she even replied, having been so astounded by Willow’s comments. Mitch had been in jail. What crime had he committed to be given ten years? It wasn’t like she had the right to judge, considering the way she’d spent her life. In the end, it wouldn’t matter anyway. The only reason she had agreed to have dinner with them this evening was to cut them off at the knees. Having dealt with these types of men before, the alpha ones, she knew it was always better to deal with them directly, and that was exactly what she was going to do.
Anna couldn’t afford a distraction that came in the form of two men, especially men who made her wish she’d chosen a different path. As it was, she’d been able to gather information on her target. He had integrated himself into this town with a false story of being someone’s nephew. This “uncle” had died and so was not able to dispute these claims. While everyone seemed to like him, no one really knew his back story. Anna wasn’t sure why that hadn’t raised any alarms with the townsfolk, but by the time she was done, everyone would know that he was the one responsible for the demise of her family.
Chapter Six
Anna walked into the diner, expecting both Elliott and Mitch to be waiting for her. After all, she was running ten minutes behind. Much to her surprise, Mitch was by himself, sitting in the back booth. When he saw her enter, he stood and waited for her to walk the length of the diner. It made her feel as if she were on a runway in Paris. She briefly wondered if he’d done that on purpose but then realized it didn’t matter. After this evening, Mitch and Elliott Braxton would be one less thing that she would have to worry about.
“I apologize for being late,” Anna said.
“That’s all right,” Mitch said, his voice as rough and sensual as she remembered. He had a presence that seemed to overtake the room. “Elliott had to finish up something at the garage. I wanted to speak with you alone anyway.”
The way he said those words was ominous. Anna slowly sat down. She was afraid she was going to have to make a run for it. Had Cyn figured out who Anna really was and ratted her out? Had Agent Monroe not done his job in getting Cyn to look the other way while Anna completed her mission? She looked around to see if her target was anywhere in sight. Maybe the Contractor had caught on to her and convinced everyone she was here to cause him trouble. After all, the entire town believed he was an upstanding citizen.
“About?”
“Let me cut to the chase,” Mitch said, shifting in his seat and placing his arms on the table. “I didn’t have anything to do with Elliott sending that message through the dating service. I’m not looking for a relationship and I don’t want one. To be honest, when we met the other day, I thought something was off. So I’m here to fess up. I made a few calls and—”
Mitch’s mouth kept moving, but Anna didn’t comprehend anything after that. He had called someone
Learning to Kill: Stories