Killing Game (11 page)
Authors: Felicity Heaton
Tags: #Assassins, #American Light Romantic Fiction, #Murder, #American Light Romance, #Romantic Fiction
“I’m okay... I’m okay...” He slowly released the man’s arm and took a deep breath.
“Actually.
I’m not fucking okay.”
In a blur of movement and metal, Cain had the muzzle of his gun pressed against the man’s forehead. He stared at him, eyes cold with hatred.
“Fucking wanker,” Cain spat out and cocked the gun.
“Whoa, Cain.”
Jack eased away from him as Cain’s eyes flickered to his face. “I just think you’re a little highly strung... and oh so slightly drunk. I’ve never seen you like this.”
“He touched the girl.” Cain pressed the gun harder against the man’s head and took great satisfaction from the tears cascading down his cheeks.
“Fucking bastard.
You made her cry. Are you happy now? I’m going to fuck you over so badly your own fucking mother won’t be able to recognize your corpse. They’ll be finding scraps of you for weeks.”
There were sharp intakes of breath and muttered comments of disgust from all around him.
He felt Jack touch his shoulder again and looked at him.
“Cain... I don’t think he’ll do it again... breathe, pal.”
Cain looked into the man’s eyes and saw the fear swimming in them. It was at this point that he realized that his usually steady left hand was shaking badly. He stared blankly at his trembling gun, and it dawned on him what he was about to do. He was so angry and so incredibly drunk that he was on the verge of killing someone publicly. He could feel the whole club staring at him, everyone frozen to the spot as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. Cain looked from his hand to the gun and then into the man’s eyes.
“Cain, come on man, I think you scared him enough.” Jack nodded downwards and Cain’s eyes dropped to the floor where a puddle of urine surrounded the man’s feet.
“You
ever
go near her again...” He pulled the gun away and shook it at the man, slurring his words as he did so. “Ever... I’ll fucking kill you.”
Slipping his gun back into its holster, he turned and walked in a rough line out of the club.
“Well, that was certainly fun.” Jack smiled awkwardly as everyone stared at him and then swallowed noisily. “Think I’ll leave, too.”
* * *
Lily burst out of the club doors. She looked around anxiously until she spotted someone sitting on a step a little way up the alley from her. She knew it was him. She’d recognize that accent anywhere.
“Fucking...” Cain slurred and yanked his arms away from Jack’s grip as he stood. “Touch my girl... wankers... fucking show them... show them
who’s
boss...”
Jack noticed Lily approaching and tried to steady his friend again.
“Cain... pal... hello?”
Cain stared at the floor blankly. Jack looked there. There was a puddle on the asphalt and the moon was reflected in it. His momentary peacefulness caught Jack off guard and he reached out to touch his shoulder in an attempt to get his attention.
With a lightning fast movement, Cain knocked his arm away and grasped his throat. His eyes widened as he realized what he was doing.
“God... so sorry...” Cain mumbled and sniffed as he let go of him. “My girl... touched...”
“Cain?” Lily peered around Jack to look at him. She’d never seen such a mess and in her line of work that was saying something. He looked about ready to pass out on his feet.
“Lily... beautiful Lily...” Cain stumbled towards her and she tensed slightly as he wobbled to a halt in front of her. He reeked of alcohol.
He reached up and ran a shaky hand down her hair, sighing. She stared at him with a blank expression, unsure of what to do or say.
“Did they hurt you?” His voice was low and trembling and he seemed to be having trouble focusing on her.
“I wanted to thank you for looking after me back there.” Lily frowned when his eyes wandered away from her and he tilted his head backwards, staring at the moon. She turned to Jack. “Is he okay? He’s kinda...”
“Drunk?” Cain grinned at her and quickly brought his eyes down to meet hers. He swayed, stumbled backwards and fell into a pile of bins.
“God, Cain.” Lily dashed over to him where he sat in a heap on the wet floor. Crouching down next to him, she watched him stare at his new surroundings.
“What’s with all the rubbish?” He tried to stand up but only fell deeper into the black refuse bags.
She reached out and lightly stroked across Cain’s brow and then down his cheek to his mouth. Her finger caressed his lower lip as she smiled. He sighed, staring at her with a childish look of fascination.
“Let’s get you home, hero.” She smiled.
He nodded and smiled in return.
* * *
Lily was glad that Jack had agreed it would be best if he went in the cab with them back to Cain’s apartment. She wouldn’t be strong enough to handle getting Cain up all those stairs, and she wasn’t exactly relishing the task of trying to get him to settle down once they were in his place.
Outside the building, she watched the taxi drive away and then turned to face Cain, who now
had the majority of his weight
supported by Jack. His eyes were closed and he looked like he’d passed out.
“How much did he drink?” Lily whispered.
“Enough to almost make the letter—” Jack paused.
“A lot.”
Lily wrinkled her nose into a frown and looked Cain over. Stepping towards him, she glanced down at his jeans and sighed.
“Now or never,” she said as she prepared herself for what she had to do.
Slipping her fingertips into his pocket, she wriggled them until her hand was firmly jammed into his jeans. Moving them about, she tried to fish his keys out. Cain’s head shot up and his eyes went wide as he looked at her.
“Steady on!” He blinked and looked down at her hand questioningly.
Lily wondered if it really looked as bad as she thought it did.
“I need your keys, Cain.”
His eyes fixed on hers as she said his name, and they seemed
so
childlike as he nodded at her.
She pulled the keys from his pocket and held them up, hoping that he’d register that she wasn’t trying to grope him after all.
“So how are we going to do this?” Jack looked down at the slightly limp form of Cain and then at her.
“Guess we just start and hope for the best.”
Leading them into the building, Lily stopped at the bottom of the stairs and let Jack pass her. They made it up one flight of stairs before it became painfully evident that Cain didn’t like the fact that he was being followed, and he didn’t like the fact he couldn’t see Lily. First, he’d get agitated and mutter something, next, he’d struggle to free himself from Jack, and then when he finally turned around and saw Lily, his face would soften into a smile and he’d be calm again. A few steps later and he’d repeat the process.
Lily sighed and walked past them so she was leading the way. She marveled at how calm and cooperative Cain became when he could see her in front of him.
When they finally reached Cain’s floor, Jack leaned him against the wall and bent over, panting hard.
“Man, get a place with an elevator would you?”
Cain mumbled something and slid to the floor. Lily rolled her eyes and opened the door to his apartment. She was about to step in when something grabbed her ankle. Looking down, she saw Cain’s hand holding her tightly.
“Wait.” He looked up at her and tried to scramble to his feet.
Lily bent over and helped him up. Jack came to stand next to her and they watched Cain push the door open and flick the light switch on. He checked the door on the left and then stumbled to each blind and closed them. She looked at Jack. He frowned, confusion written across his face.
“It’s a thing of his.” She smiled awkwardly.
“Hey, Cain, paranoid much?”
Jack giggled.
She laughed along with him but stopped when Cain shot them a black look before clutching his head.
Jack’s smile widened. “Ooh... sobering up time... that’s gotta hurt.”
“Fun of the fair,” Cain muttered as he sat down on the couch and cradled his head in his hands.
“Do you think you can handle him from here, princess?” Jack said. “Only, if I don’t get home soon, Anna’ll kill me.”
“He should be alright. I’ll stay for a while though, to make sure he’s okay.” Lily touched Jack’s arm and smiled. “Thanks.”
“No problemo.” He smiled and waved at her as he walked down the hall.
With a long sigh, Lily stepped into Cain’s apartment and closed the door.
Lily walked across the apartment to where Cain sat on the couch. Perching herself on the edge of the coffee table, she ran her fingers lightly through his hair. He remained motionless, as though that alone would stop the hurt. He was still cradling his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees.
“How’re you feeling?” She kept her voice low and gentle.
He looked up at her.
His blue eyes bloodshot and full of pain.
“Like I did something bloody stupid.”
“I hear that’s what being drunk is all about.” Lily stood and took hold of his hand. “Come on.”
“Where?”
Cain searched her eyes, wondering when the little girl had become so grown up that she was taking care of him now. It caused his brain to ache as though it was being split in two.
“Bathroom.”
Lily tugged on his arm until he wobbled to his feet.
Leading him to the bathroom, she couldn’t believe just how vulnerable he looked. His usual confidence was nowhere to be seen. In front of her was a seemingly defenseless boy but she knew better than to believe that he was weak. She knew just how strong he was inside.
She turned the bathroom light on and he flinched.
“Sorry,” she said. “We’ll make this quick.”
Cain’s eyes followed Lily’s every move. She reached into the shower and turned the water on. When she pushed his coat off his shoulders, he let her. When she pulled his t-shirt off over his head, he didn’t stop her. When she shoved his head under the water, he roared.
“Bloody freezing!”
Cain growled and struggled against her as she held him fast. He had to admit she was strong for such a slip of a girl.
Lily felt his whole body go rigid under her fingers. Her eyes roamed over his back as she held his head under the torrents of cold water.
“There’s my Cain.” She smiled to herself, watching the muscles of his back dancing under his skin and listening to him muttering obscenities about showers and girls.
Struggling free from her grip, Cain turned to face her and frowned. Something told her that he’d heard what she’d said.
“I meant... my Cain as in the Cain I know... not um...” Lily smiled awkwardly and was thankful when he just blinked and tried to straighten up.
He breathed heavily as he moved towards her, his wet hand shakily cupping her cheek as his eyes met hers.
“Did they hurt you?” His voice was low and gruff, and he tilted his head to one side.
Lily realized she’d never answered him.
“I’m fine, Cain, you made sure of that.” She placed her hand over his where it rested against her cheek and watched the water drip off his hair, run down his cheeks and fall from his jaw onto his chest.
“Lily... I don’t feel...” He wobbled on his feet and she caught hold of his arm to steady him.
“Obviously you drank far too much to be cured by cold water.”
He sniffed and screwed his eyes shut as he rested heavily on her shoulder. Lily trembled under the weight of him as he leaned on her. She could still smell the alcohol on him and could feel his heart pounding hard against her body. Something about his proximity to her made her trembling grow worse. Since meeting him, she’d had trouble taking her eyes off him, and now she could feel all the muscles she’d daydreamed about under her fingertips and it was making her stomach dance with anticipation.
“Think I need...” Cain frowned hard as he pushed off her.
She watched him try to walk to the door by himself. He bumped into the doorframe and leaned against it. Lily rushed to him and slipped his arm around her shoulder, supporting him as best she could. Leading him down the hall, she walked with him into the bedroom and sat him down on the edge of the bed.
He flopped backwards, his arms stretched out by his sides.
Looking down at his smooth defined chest, Lily lost herself in the sight of it and wondered if it was only guys who took advantage of drunken girls. Maybe it happened vice versa, too. She blushed over thinking such a thing, but there was something appealing about how vulnerable he was right now. The only trouble was that the longer she looked down at him, the more he was tapping into her maternal instincts.
Sighing to herself, she moved to walk out of the room but stopped when he moaned.
“Lily...” Cain craned his head to try to look at her, but she was too far away for his eyes to focus on her and she was nothing more than a blurred dark shadow in a light doorway. “Don’t leave.”
Her voice was soft when she answered, “I’m not leaving, just going to get you some water. I’ll be two seconds.”
Walking to the kitchen, Lily could hear him counting and rolled her eyes. She opened every cupboard until she found a glass and then proceeded to fill it with cold water.
“Thought you’d left.”
Cain blinked at her as she reappeared with the glass.
“Nope.
Still here.”
Lily put it down next to the bed and pensively looked at him.
Grabbing hold of his feet, she slipped his heavy boots off. His eyes closed and a very drunken smile spread across his lips. She went to turn him around so his head was resting on the pillows but he was like a dead weight and she couldn’t shift him.
“Cain.” She shook his knees but he just made a small noise in his throat.
She moved around the bed and stroked his brow, her fingers playing on his scarred one.
“Cain,” she whispered by his ear and his lips twitched into a wider smile.
“Lily... Lily... Lily...” He cupped her cheek and opened his eyes to look at her. She stared straight into them and watched them smile at her. “Lily... I...”
