Chapter Ninety-Eight: The One Time He Slipped
600 Words
-----Price’s POV-----
He was invisible.
Always had been.
That was the point of the job—stay out of sight, keep the target safe, blend into the shadows until the threat was neutralized or the assignment ended. Price didn’t mess up. Not once in over a decade of work.
Until today.
He sat parked a street over from Sarah’s small suburban house, eyes on the front door, sipping black coffee from a thermos that had seen better years. The girls were inside. Lily and Emma. He didn’t know which was which from here, but he knew their faces.
Axton had been clear.
“Watch the kids. Keep them safe. Stay out of sight.”
It was simple.
Then Sarah opened the front door.
And simple went to s**t.
She was cute.
No—more than cute.
She had that effortless kind of beauty. Wavy chestnut hair pulled into a loose ponytail, oversized hoodie hanging off one shoulder, yoga pants and sneakers. No makeup. Just sunshine.
Price shifted in his seat.
She bent down to buckle one of the girls’ shoes. Her laugh carried across the driveway like music.
And he felt it.
Somewhere deep in a place he’d buried under layers of scars and silence.
Sarah. Babysitter. Civilian.
Off-limits.
But damn, she was warm.
And for a second, he didn’t feel like a shadow.
He remembered the last time he felt like that.
She was called Rachel.
Not Price’s sister. The other Rachel. The woman who met him when he still smiled for real.
He’d loved her.
Never told her.
She died in a car accident before he got the chance. He was in The Haven already when she passed.
But Sarah...
The girls laughed as she herded them into her car. A few minutes later, she drove off.
Price followed, two cars back.
They ended up at a nearby park. Quiet. Safe. Familiar.
He parked. Watched.
Sarah ran through the grass, pretending to be a monster. The girls screamed and giggled.
And Price smiled.
He didn’t mean to.
It just happened.
She scooped up Lily—he was almost sure that was Lily—and spun her in a circle. Her hair caught the sunlight.
And before he could stop himself, he opened his car door.
Walked across the lot.
Like a normal man.
Like he hadn’t just broken every rule he lived by.
Sarah saw him as he approached. Tensed. Protective. Good.
“Hey,” he said, raising both hands casually. “I’m a friend of Helen’s. Just here for a bit of backup.”
She blinked. “Oh. You’re... Price?”
He nodded.
“I’ve heard your name,” she said, eyes narrowing. “You’re the scary one.”
He smirked. “Only when I need to be.”
The girls came bounding over.
“Are you a soldier?” Emma asked.
“Used to be.”
“Do you have a gun?”
Sarah gasped. “Emma!”
He chuckled. “Not on me.”
Lily tilted her head. “Do you like cupcakes?”
Price blinked. “...Yeah. Why?”
“We baked some.”
Sarah shook her head, embarrassed. “They did. For Helen. But we may have eaten most of them.”
Price crouched beside them. “Save me one next time?”
Both girls nodded solemnly.
He looked up at Sarah.
“I didn’t mean to intrude. I just...”
She met his gaze.
And for once, he didn’t feel like a ghost.
“You’re not intruding,” she said softly.
And maybe—just maybe—he’d let himself be seen.
- Writer
