Ryder's Point-of-View
My nights are spent screaming, as usual. Waking up in cold sweats.
God, I miss having her around!
Sam is the only person who can keep the nightmares away.
It's the morning of her wedding, and I didn't get any sleep the night before. I haven't gotten a good night's rest since I forced her to leave my side.
I am standing by a store window looking at the traffic on Rodeo Drive, thinking about how I'm going to stop Sam.
Stop her by any means necessary! She's making a grave mistake.
I would have thought she trusted me enough to know I wasn't lying about Max, but I wasn't even sure anymore.
Is it even worth me trying to stop the wedding? What if I'm the one making a mistake? What if Max is innocent?
No! I am too selfish. Sam is mine!
It's noon, and I decide to go down to the church. I need to stake the place out.
I plan to find a way out of the church with her. Even if it means kidnapping her again, I will not let her marry Max!
I walk into the church and start to look around. There are tons of people setting everything up for the ceremony.
A young priest sees me and walks up to me. He smiles. "Hello, son."
I look at him and turn to walk away.
"Are you here for confession?!" He asks, calling out to me. I freeze and slowly turn around.
It has been over two decades since my last confession. I always went to church with my father. He would always pray for my Mom's safe return while she was away for work. I would pray for them both.
"Yes. I am," I say through gritted teeth.
The priest ushers me to a confessional. Rage begins to burn in me. I really don't want to sit in a stuffy box and talk about my book of sins, but I can't attract any unnecessary drama.
Walking in, I sit. I look around the dark, cramped space. The only illumination comes from a small, mesh window where the priest is.
"Go ahead, son," I hear him say as he takes a seat.
I do the sign of the cross and stare at my feet. "Bless me, father, for I have sinned. It's been about eighteen years since my last confession." I pause and exhale. "I have killed over the years, and I may have to kill again. Today," I say nonchalantly, having no problem confessing the truth.
I look up and see the priest through the window. He looks taken aback.
"Who-who are you planning on killing, my son?" He asks with a quivering voice and quickly does the sign of the cross.
"A man who is after the woman I love."
The priest doesn't say anything right away. He seems to be contemplating my words. He then takes a white napkin from his pocket and wipes his forehead, and covers his mouth, his hand trembling.
"God wouldn't want you to do this! You know that, right? If you believe someone will harm her, you should go to the police. God doesn't want us playing executioner."
The priest's calm words send a coldness down my spine.
How dare he tell me that?! I've led a life of misery since my parents were murdered!
I wish every day their lives weren't taken so senselessly! I pray every day that my parents were guiding me in the right direction! I pray, even harder, every day that God didn't make me the monster I am today!
"God," I say through gritted teeth. "...is the reason I am an executioner! Good day, father." I get up and walk out of the confessional, heading towards the back.
I open every single door, making sure I have all the exits covered. It's vital to make sure I successfully get out with Sam undetected. I also have to make sure no one sees me.
It's a good thing today is Saturday. There's hardly anyone back here, and everyone that is here is in the chapel setting everything up.
I head back to my room at the hotel and pull my big, metal suitcase underneath the bed. I take out my silencers and bullets. I'm sure I don't need to use them, but just in case I do, I want little to no commotion.
Later on that day, I head back to the church and park across the street. I am in the parking lot of Chateau Hallo.
This is where I kidnapped Sam. I still remember that day like it was yesterday:
The Night of the Hallowell Gala
I scoped out the entire building dressed as one of the servers the night before. When the guard went outside to smoke a cigarette, I snuck into the office, placing a drive eraser near one of the recording devices.
It erases all memory in the hard drive, rendering it useless.
I had it set to go off tomorrow.
The next day, I see Sam in the arms of that idiot. She was dressed beautifully, in black—my favorite color.
I was told to take her and wait for further instructions. When I was given the green light, I would kill her and make her body disappear. Doing that came very easy to me. However, there was a small problem.
I fell in love with her.
A week before the gala, Sam had walked out of her house and was looking for her car keys. She was the most beautiful and most perfect woman I had ever seen. I sat in my car and laughed because she went in and out of her house several times looking for her car keys. She later discovers them in her back pocket.
She spent the day shopping with her mother. I was following closely behind her. I did take several pictures of them. Sam seemed to notice I was following, and I immediately stopped.
Was I losing my touch?
No one had ever noticed me before. It gave me an uneasy feeling.
Eventually, they walked into Starbucks. I was relieved because it was the only store I could follow her into. Every store she had visited earlier only sold women's items. I would stick out like a sore thumb if I walked in.
Sam ordered her drink, and I stood in line directly behind her. I tried my hardest not to smile when she began teasing her mother. At one point, I had to try and not to breathe near her. Her smell was invigorating. Almost lustful. Something I had never encountered before. She smelled of fruits and flowers.
I began to feel uneasy again.
Why was I reacting this way to a target?!
I've seen countless beauties. I've dated and killed many all around the world. Why did Sam have me sweating just standing near her? I sat down because I realized I never wanted a human being like I wanted my target, Samantha Hallowell.
The first time I touched her was when we bumped shoulders at the gala. I still don't know why that happened. It wasn't done on purpose, and I certainly wasn't going to apologize. I couldn't, even if I wanted.
Was I scared to talk to her?! No, of course not!
Watching her while she danced with Max, boiled my blood. The fact that she had her face on his chest warranted me to jump over the banister and kill him on the spot. I wouldn't do that to her. I couldn't scare her like that.
Becoming so involved in my own thoughts, I failed to notice that she saw me. Staring at her. I did have my sunglasses on, but I knew. I knew she saw me. And I knew she felt me staring back at her.
A few minutes later, I spot her leaving his side and heading for the bathroom. I knew that was my opportunity.
I would grab her there!
Right when I go to open the bathroom door, I froze. A new feeling took over me.
Nervousness? Scared?
I had only encountered those feelings once, and that was when I pulled the trigger into my uncle's eye. Again, being lost in my own thoughts, I wasn't expecting Sam to open the bathroom door.
We were both stunned! I actually mastered masking my emotions. Only Sam looked stunned. I could only think to grab her neck and push her back inside, locking the door behind me.
I felt bad that I threatened her. She looked so scared, but I needed her not to scream, especially since I didn't know if there was someone else in the bathroom with us. Slowly bending, I quickly realized we were alone.
Sam put up a fight, but I laid her gently on the floor when she passed out. She was so beautiful and looked peaceful.
I unlocked the bathroom door and pulled the fire alarm between the men's and women's bathrooms. Everyone would be ushered out of the front door.
By the time they figured out everything was fine, I would be inside my awaiting jet, with Sam, and flying back home.
Wedding Day
I have been sitting in my car for hours now. Pulling my sunglasses up, I rub my eyes. This isn't the time or place to get tired. This is the single most important thing that I will ever do.
Just then, a black limo pulls up. I sit up, attentively! Tim Hallowell followed by Sam herself. Her hair and makeup are done, and she's wearing a cream-color robe.
They walk into the church.
Just as I am about to exit my car, many people exit Chateau Hallo and walk across the street towards the church. I'm assuming these are the invites.
My phone suddenly rings.
"Freddie."
"Yeah, listen! I just got another hit. You won't believe who your next target is."
"Who is it?" I ask suspiciously. Freddie knows he isn't supposed to call me. Especially during this mission to get Sam back. For him to call means that it's important!
"It's Maxwell Crawford. Someone wants you to kill Max."