Firstly, I am not your average girl. My maiden name was Amblin. Few people remember what that name used to stand for. Nowadays, it's just a name. When I was a teenager it was quite different.
Though we lived in Ireland, I went to boarding school in England most of my life. My mother was dead and my father was not much of a single parent. He did his best, but there are limits to everything. On the outside, my father ran a successful tea store in Belfast. The untrained eye would see nothing unusual about the people who came in and out to do business with him. Eyes are deceptive though, and you can never trust just what you see. It was a front for the largest ring of hitmen in the world. My father, Aidan Amblin, was the boss. He had a dozen men working for him. The deal was simple. A person would come to the tea shop and browse. If their true purpose was a hit, this is what followed.
"May I help you?"
"Yes, I'm looking for the ginger-orange Pekoe. Do you carry it?"
"We carry all the finest teas, but we're out of that one right now. If you like I can call our supplier and have him bring some by later today,"
"Oh that would be excellent. When do you think you'll have it?"
"Come in five minutes before closing and ask for the manager. He'll give it to you himself,"
It was brilliant in my opinion. No one even batted an eye. For that matter, the regulars never questioned why there was never any ginger-orange Pekoe. So they would come back and my father would be waiting for them. He would take them to the back and explain the deal. These were the finest men for the job, he said, they'll never let you down. They paid one hundred thousand dollars in cash and jewelry to have their spouses, lovers, or whomever killed. They also owed the Amblins a favor. This weeded out the serious from the indecisive. One day we would come and ask for a favor. It could be anything. If you refuse to give it to us, you were shot right there. No questions, no begging, no deals. That was that. By us I mean my father or I. None of the men could use it. If they were in Buenos Aries and needed a place to stay, he'd put in a call.
It was a lucrative business. He actually made forty to fifty hits a year and it went on for most of my life. I never saw any of the money. I got everything I needed though, and the cream of the crop beyond that. I went to the finest school, wore the nicest clothes, got the nicest car when I could drive. I was spoiled rotten. It was a good life. For fifteen years, I had no involvement at all. Then it all changed when I came home from boarding school one summer.
It was summer of 2001 and I had turned sixteen only three months before. My father came to pick me up at the airport and brought along on of his men, Taylor O'Hollran, to help with my bags. As I was walking to them, I saw Taylor's jaw drop. He noticed what I had been seeing all year. I had survived the awkward middle years of puberty and emerged victorious. My hair had settled into wavy red locks. The rest of my body caught up with my long legs and my chest suddenly became the topic of dinner conversations.
"Erin, love, welcome home," Dad grabbed me into a huge hug.
"Thanks," I said. "I'm glad to be back."
"Let's take you home and let you get settled. Everyone missed you," he said. He always said that, even if it wasn't true. The men never cared about me. About half of them had only seen me once or twice in my life. Taylor was Dad's right hand man. Irritatingly enough, I knew all of a sudden he missed me.
"Learn anything interesting at school?" Taylor asked.
"If I told you the truth, you'd blush," I said.
"Don't press her if she doesn't want to talk," Dad said. That shut him up. It's not wise to hit on the boss's daughter. "It's none of our business." I smirked at him like the brat I was. He wouldn't find out the truth until years later.
Taylor dropped us off at home. We lived in a big house, one of the biggest in the county. It was far too large for just two people, but I loved it anyway. It was home. I shut myself in my room and started calling all my girlfriends from school. A few were home, but most were still waiting to be picked up at the airport. I wanted to do something, but they were all busy. That meant I'd be working in the storefront tonight. Oh joy. I walked down the stairs and heard voices. When I heard my name, I stopped to listen.
"Have you seen her?" I heard Taylor ask.
"No, man. You know we aren't allowed to view her highness," Ryan, one of the other hitmen, replied. I heard myself growl.
"She's a sight. I don't think angels are as good looking," Taylor said.
"Will she be working tonight?" a third, Thomas, asked.
"Probably. Mr. A won't want her out on her first night home. It's easier to keep an eye on her there anyway," Taylor answered.
"If she's as good as you say she is, he'll have a hard time keeping them away," Thomas said.
"We'll see," Taylor said. I wanted to murder him right there. I'd never hated anyone that much in my life. I resisted and took the back way down to my father's office.
"Come in," he said when I knocked.
"Do you want me to work tonight?" I asked.
"If you wouldn't mind. It won't be long. I've got a meeting so we'll close early," he said. "Then you're free to do what you will."
"Okay," I said. I thought for a second. "Dad?"
"Yes, sweetheart?" he said.
"Could I ever work for you? As one of them?" I was surprised at myself. I had no idea where that came from. He obviously felt the same. He jerked up his head and stared at me.
"Why would you want to do that?" he asked. "You have school and I would never put you in that kind of danger."
"I don't have to kill anyone," I said.
"That's the whole basis of my business. You have to kill people," he said. "And you my dear, do not need to be involved in such things. If I could have kept the nature of my business secret from you, I would have."
"Is that why Mom died?"
"Mom died because I could not protect her. I refuse to make the same mistake with you. You're all I have," the tone of his voice made me want to cry. We rarely talked about my mother. I'd never heard the full story of why she died. For my early life, she wasn't dead at all. She was on a trip. Then when I hit ten, he told me the truth. Now six years later, I was about to find out the full, albeit terrifying, story.