Bound to the Beast: Russian Hitman Romance (23 page)
Read Bound to the Beast: Russian Hitman Romance Online
Authors: Ada Stone
I had it in my head for a while now that she belonged to me, even before I knew she was carrying my child, but that was a one-way street in my head. Yes, she was physically attracted to me. Yes, she wanted me. And yes, she had been relieved to find me alive. But how much of that translated to something more? How much of her relief at my being alive was because I saved her from being raped?
My thoughts darkened as I remembered the way I’d found her, the way she’d screamed drawing my attention to her in the first place, and I shuddered. It had been terrifying and angering all at once, and part of me was still surprised that I had let Tyler live.
If I ever saw him again, I promised myself that he wouldn’t. I would let him walk now because he wasn’t a threat to Susanna anymore. She was with me and there she would stay, but the moment I saw him again, that would be the last straw. He would be a dead man walking.
“You came for me?” I repeated, my voice sounding strange even to my own ears. Jason made a wheezing, choking sound that I ignored. He’d be gone soon enough.
She wiped at her tears, and nodded. “Yes. I know that you… you told me to hide. You told me to run away if you didn’t come back, but I… I don’t want to be without you now.” Biting her lip, she looked into my eyes, something intense flickering in her clear, watery blue irises. Finally, with a helpless breath, she said, “I love you, Alexei. I love you and I’d do anything for you. I… I couldn’t—”
She broke off again, but it didn’t matter. She’d said enough. Her words filled me, snaking their way into the deepest parts of my heart, wrapping them up and soothing them, making them hers. I belonged to her as much as she belonged to me now, and I couldn’t help but feel that was exactly how it should be. It was more than I had ever anticipated. More than I had ever dared to hope for, but here she was, her full breasts lightly pressed against me, her blue eyes daring to look into mine, her heart-shaped mouth quivering, slightly parted…
Yes, it was exactly as it should be.
Then I heard Christopher whimper again, and I let out a sigh. This was the thing that had to be done and my only regret about it was that Susanna would have to be here as her brother died. As I killed him.
I hoped she could forgive me, could understand that it was the thing that had to be done.
Pulling her closer to me, I tucked her beneath my chin into the crook of my arm. Her head lay against my chest, her face turned away from the bodies that would soon stop breathing altogether. Holding her, I whispered softly, sweetly into her hair, “I’m sorry for this, Susanna, but it must be done.”
I felt her tremble in my arms, but she didn’t protest as I lifted my right hand which still held the gun lightly. It was warm from being fired, the metal’s heat seeping into my skin. Susanna didn’t say anything as I aimed for her brother first, deciding to put him out of his misery—and to get rid of his continued moaning.
I aimed for his head, both for the sake of mercy and because this was an execution. A bullet between the eyes was a message to all those who crossed Vinny:
Don’t
.
I pulled the trigger and the shot rang out. Christopher’s moaning stopped abruptly and I felt Susanna flinch in my arm, but she didn’t pull away. She didn’t even sob, though I sensed that she was likely crying.
That was okay. I couldn’t deny her that, too.
Next, I turned to Jason. Part of me wished he would be conscious for this. That he would see me, the very last thing he would ever see, as I raised the gun to his head and got ready to pull the trigger.
The rest of me didn’t care. I had made him suffer, made him bleed, and that was enough. Enough only because now he would be dead. Neither he, nor Christopher, could ever hurt anyone ever again.
I fired. Susanna flinched again. Then it was done, and we were left standing in the eerie, echoing silence of the place. I was aware of how much she’d been through tonight, and I commended her silently for her bravery. Lesser women would not have fared so well.
She was strong, though, and it made me cling to her all the tighter.
***
We drove back to the hotel first. I was going to take her home, but acknowledged that there was cleanup to be taken care of. Vinny had guys for that, though I rarely required them. I was usually very clean, efficient, but this particular job had turned out to be messier and much more complicated than I ever could have predicted.
Susanna dozed on and off during the drive. I had the heat turned up full blast, making sure she stayed as warm and as comfortable as possible. She’d been shivering as we left the warehouse, though it was impossible to say if it was due to cold or lingering aftershocks of her endeavor. It was likely the latter, I admitted to myself.
I made a point to stop a couple of different times to allow her breaks—for the bathroom, to get drinks or snacks, or even just to walk around and stretch her legs—since we were so far from the city. She likely just wanted to go home, but there were things I had to take care of and I wanted to make sure she was comfortable anyway.
We pulled into the driveway of the Ranch Hand Motel. As far as I could tell, nothing had changed since the last time I’d been there. I peeked into the lobby and saw that the same attendant was there, but now his head was tipped back, his magazine slipping off his lap, and his mouth hanging open. He was snoring, fast asleep.
I shook my head, and ignored him. Susanna followed close behind me as I made my way down the row of doors towards Room #102 where I’d left Tyler tied up and gagged.
I had told her to wait in the car, but she’d protested. She said she didn’t want to leave me alone, but I sensed it was also that she didn’t want to be
left
alone. She wasn’t thrilled with being in this place, and was probably even less thrilled with finding Tyler. I couldn’t blame her, and I wouldn’t tell her that I’d wanted her to stay so that I could put a bullet between his eyes, too.
There had been a lot of bloodshed tonight and I didn’t want her to see any more. So with her at my side, I wasn’t sure I’d go through with it, but it turned out that it didn’t matter what my decision would have been.
When we reached the room, we saw that the door was hanging open again, still attached by only one hinge. I’d closed it—as best I could anyway—and the fact that it was open again meant someone had been in there. Motioning for Susanna to be quiet, I stepped into the room, searching the place.
The bathroom door was open and I could see already that Tyler was gone.
The gag lay on the floor next to the cord I’d used to tie him up. I sighed a little in disappointment, but found myself not too concerned with the whole thing. He wouldn’t be back. Not ever. And if he did show up, well, I’d just kill him like I should have before.
“He’s gone,” Susanna whispered, and I couldn’t tell if there was fright or relief in her voice. Maybe she knew what my intentions had been the entire time.
I put my arms around her shoulders and held her close. “It’s alright. He won’t be back. He’ll never show his face in the city again, not so long as I’m there.”
She said nothing after that, just let me hold her.
Susanna
It was only another hour’s drive back to the city, plus a little extra to get to Alexei’s apartment. I would have maybe argued about going to his place instead of mine, but I was exhausted. It had been a long night, a long day, and a long week before that. Besides, if I were really being honest with myself, I didn’t
want
to argue.
I wanted to go home with him.
But as we headed towards his apartment, pulling into a lower level garage beneath the building, I found a little bit of dread and sadness working its way through me. I didn’t just want to come home with Alexei tonight; I wanted to go home with him
every
night. I wanted more from him than just a one-night stand, and I was sure I had made myself pretty clear about that.
I had told him I loved him, more than anything, and while he’d been sweet and held me—even as he killed Jason and my brother—he hadn’t returned the sentiment. That knowledge burned inside me, twisting my insides, torturing me.
I didn’t know what I would do when he tried to let me down gently, told me that, while he clearly wanted something to do with the baby, he didn’t feel that way about me.
He parked his car and I let out a sigh of relief. I was ready to be out of the car and into bed. I closed my eyes for a moment, leaning my head back against the leather interior, just taking a moment to breathe in and out. A moment later, my door opened, Alexei holding it and offering me his free hand.
I blinked at him, but offered a shy smile as I let him help me up out of the car. Still holding my hand, he took me to the elevator which led to his floor. On the ride up, he kept his arm around me protectively—or possessively? —until the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Then he escorted me inside.
Plopping me down on the comfortable couch, I thought I could sleep right then and there. As though sensing my thoughts, Alexei told me, “Don’t go to sleep, not yet. We need to get you checked out, make sure you’re alright. Then you can lay down.”
Though it was difficult, I forced myself to stay seated up right, waiting for him as he headed into the bathroom. My mind flashed to when he’d taken me in the shower. I’d still been a little sore from our first time together—my first time ever—but I’d relished his touch, been eager for it even. He’d been both demanding and sweetly tender.
I didn’t know that sex would feel like that, both rough and soft at the same time.
Alexei came back with peroxide, bandages, an ice pack, and a glass of water along with two little white pills. I eyed them suspiciously, but he only smirked at me.
“Aspirin,” he explained.
I laughed a little at myself, then remembered again how my throat was sore and scratchy. I gingerly touched my neck, wincing as I imagined how bad it must look. How there were probably marks where Jason had tried to choke me.
Alexei’s eyes turned dark. “The aspirin will help. Here.”
He gave me the water and the pills, and I swallowed, though it was difficult going down. Still, I knew he was right.
“I’ll make you some tea in a little bit. The water’s boiling now. It’ll help with the soreness.”
Before I could tell him I was fine or even try to protest, he fixed me with a pointed look as though letting me know that he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Not on this. So I remained silent and did as he said.
Using a cotton ball and peroxide, he cleaned up the small cuts that I’d managed to get throughout the night. Mostly from my struggle with Tyler, I was sure, but I didn’t want to think about that. I looked down at my lap, my face burning. It had been a lot to take in and I wasn’t sure how I was going to cope when Alexei was out of my life.
When he finished, putting up the peroxide and the cotton balls, the tea kettle whistled. He went up to get it and I knew that it was time for me to go. He’d been so kind to me, but I couldn’t take this, not his sweetness and then him breaking my heart. It would just make it hurt all the more.
So I stood. I made it halfway to the door, telling him, “I should probably go. I’ll call a cab and—”
But in what felt like two smooth strides he was in front of me, blocking the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Uh, home. You’ve been really kind, but I should—”
Again, he interrupted me. “Susanna, you
are
home. Don’t be an idiot.”
My eyebrows shot up at that, my eyes widening. “You mean...?”
He let out a small sigh, but a smile tugged at his lips as he pulled me into his strong arms. “I mean that I love you and I’m going to marry you, Susanna. You belong to me. I thought I told you that already.”
I bit my lip, daring to hope. Could he really? Could he love me like that? And then I remembered, the baby. Was this really about
me
or did he just want to be a daddy bad enough to put up with a little extra baggage like the mother?
Hesitant, not sure I wanted to know the answer, I let out a whoosh of air and asked the question that lingered on the tip of my tongue, “But… is it
me
you love? Or is this all just because of the baby?”
I held my breath, worried, terrified of his answer, but when his eyes darkened and he jerked me to him tightly, pressing me solidly against his chest, I released that breath and a moment later, I couldn’t breathe at all.
His lips were fused to mine, drinking me in. All the passion in the world was contained in that one kiss, fire shooting through me, embracing me, consuming me. My skin was alight with everything he was feeling—feelings that mirrored my own—and I knew without a doubt that he loved me. Loved me for
me
and nothing else.
I felt as though I could drown in him, consumed by passion.
This was it. Here was where I was meant to be, where I would spend the rest of my life. In Alexei’s arms.
THE END
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