Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 108119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 541(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
“You.” I kissed his neck as his thumb moved inside me, one finger, a small amount of pressure and I was completely set off, lost to him and every sensation he gave me.
Mine. He was mine.
Maybe he’d always been mine.
But tonight I felt it.
Tonight I saw it.
Tonight we were an us.
My body shuddered all around him.
I was still feeling aftershocks when Andrei moved his hand and ran his thumb around the rim of his shot glass, lifted it in Aldo’s direction in a mock salute and took the shot.
I smiled down at him. “You don’t do things halfway, do you?”
“It seems I can’t with you.” His gaze was lazy, his eyes hungry. “Tonight, dorogaya, I’m taking you.”
“No.” I leaned in and whispered, “Tonight, I’m taking you.”
He bit down on his lip and smirked. “So, it’s going to be a bloodbath?”
“Isn’t it always when it comes to you?”
“No weapons.” He winked. “In the bedroom.”
I stared down between us. “Then what do you call that?”
“Hard. So. Damn. Hard.”
I burst out laughing as he pressed another kiss to my mouth and then Ax appeared again. “Nice show. Aldo got on the phone like he was calling in reinforcements.”
“Let them in. Are the guys here?”
“They are. Phoenix said you were doing it wrong.”
Andrei rolled his eyes. “Phoenix should take lessons.”
“Heard that.” A dark voice coughed behind us. “Hello, Alice, nice dress.” Was it my imagination or was he possibly blushing?
The rest of the guys filed up toward the bar.
Panic seized in my chest. What if my brother said I belonged to him? What if he claimed me in front of them? What if?
“Don’t worry.” Andrei held me close. “He doesn’t speak well, can barely understand him as it was…”
“He’s on the move.” Ax said in a bored tone. “Toward the first exit.”
A security guard blocked it.
Aldo frowned and then went to another one.
All exits were blocked.
He pulled out a gun, people started screaming.
And that’s when I saw an older man walk right in and shoot Aldo in the kneecaps along with the guy I didn’t recognize with him.
People screamed but didn’t run toward the exits, which made me wonder if this was common.
Tex was on the move with Chase. they each grabbed a body and started toward the opposite end of the room.
The elderly man who’d shot them made his way toward us. His black scarf was wrapped tightly around his neck, his black matching fedora gave him a very GQ look. “Don’t suppose you have any Italian wine here?”
Andrei smiled. “Flew some in last week just for you, Frank.”
“Knew I was liking you more and more.”
Andrei motioned the bartender.
Frank turned his blue gaze to mine. “Seems you were a lion tamer in another life, mmm?”
“Or an angel sent from God.” Nixon muttered. “Let’s go chat with him about the girls so I can get home. We shut this down tonight.”
“Agreed.” Andrei helped me off his lap. I wasn’t sure how he could go from that to ruthless killer in seconds. Then again, there were a lot of things I didn’t understand about Andrei, but I wanted to, more and more every day.
Nixon put his hand on Andrei’s shoulder. “We should go back there.”
Andrei nodded and snapped his fingers at Ax, “Keep Alice safe.”
Ax nodded.
Andrei leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Last chance. You want to pull the trigger?”
I shook my head no.
I didn’t deserve to have his blood on my hands and live with the nightmare or the guilt. Because no matter how horrible he was, he was still family.
“Is that a no to your souvenir as well?”
I smiled at that. “Leave his body intact. You’ve already given me his tongue.”
He scowled. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“All right, Dr. Doom.” I shoved his chest. “Hurry back to me.”
His eyes flashed. “You can guarantee it.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Andrei
I could feel her on my skin.
I tried not to grin in triumph as I walked with the rest of the Italians, large purposeful steps toward the back room.
Not the purple room.
No, this room was special.
It had cement floors, sound proof walls, and chains that hung from the top of the ceiling.
Both men were chained, standing on metal chairs, bloody and a bit beaten already.
Aldo spit out a tooth.
I sighed. “Really, Chase?”
He just shrugged. “He was talking too much.”
The other man eyed me and then looked away.
“Ivan.” I crossed my arms. “I see you’ve been playing well with others in the sandbox.”
He struggled against the chains but said nothing. His light hair had spots of blood in it and his eye was already turning black.
“This is what we’re going to do,” I said sternly. “We’re going to torture you, and then we’re going to kill you if you don’t give us the information we need. If you give us what we need and Sergio can prove that the locations to your cells are accurate, along with your contacts, then we’ll simply shoot you. Make your choice gentleman, I have a date.”