“Because you’re crying,” he says it like it’s obvious.
“But you’re a hitman who kidnapped me. Why would you offer me a tissue? Why would you care enough to?”
“It’s not that I care. It’s just common courtesy.”
“But you’re a hitman. You can’t be courteous.”
“My mom raised me to have a moral code. If someone is crying, you offer them a tissue. Simple as that.”
“Your mom?”
He smiles slightly and it completely changes his face. Makes him a lot less terrifying. “You sound surprised that I have a mom.”
“I just… I didn’t expect you to share anything about yourself with me.”
“I don’t make it a habit. I was just explaining why I was offering you a tissue. You don’t have to read into it.”
I bite my lip and notice that Will’s eyes flick down my face before turning back to the road. It makes me flush. “You have a moral code? But you’re a hitman. You kill people for a living.”
“I didn’t kill you.”
“No… but you did kidnap me.”
“Fair enough.”
I wait for him to say more but when he doesn’t, I feel my mouth opening up and the words coming out of my throat. It’s an unusual experience for me as someone who rarely speaks up. “What is your moral code?”
He sighs and tightens his hands on the wheel. “I don’t kill kids. I draw a line there. And I prefer taking cases where people have been wronged.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just worked a case where a woman who had been raped by her father and her mother stood back and watched hired me to kill them. Cases like that.”
“But I’m innocent.”
“Which is why I urged Marco not to kill you. You’re alive because of me.”
I huff. “I was kidnapped because of you.”
“You could be dead right now.”
“I’m not going to be grateful to you.” I hate how small my voice still sounds. I’ll never have the strength to truly speak with confidence.
“I’m not asking for your gratitude. I’m just pointing out that you could be dead but I convinced Marco to spare your life. That is all. And you’re right. You are innocent. You don’t deserve this. But within my line of work, most people are not innocent.”
“That doesn’t mean they deserve to die.”
“You think a father who raped his daughter deserves to live?”
I flush. “I mean… no. But isn’t it better he go to trial and face life in prison?”
“Sure but most rapists don’t get life in prison. Most are out within a few years.”
“Are you saying you do this out of a weird sense of justice?”
“I’m in it for the money, Gianna.” The way he says my name like a caress makes me shift around in my seat. I can’t make sense of it. “But we all have to draw the line somewhere.”
“And yours is kids.”