“What other rooms are on this floor?” she asks, peering up at me curiously.
“Most are guest bedrooms. There is a bathroom, the library which you already know about, and my office.”
Her eyes light up when I say my office.
“Can I see it? Your office?”
“I guess, but it’s nothing special.”
Her curiosity is almost laughable. I’ve never met someone who asks so many questions. Normally, I would be annoyed, but with her, it’s refreshing.
Walking a few more feet down the hall, I stop at the door to my office, retrieve a key from my pocket, and unlock the it. The door creaks as I push it open, and Elena releases my hand, walking inside all on her own.
A smile curves at her lips, and her bare feet slap against the tile. Her fingers run along the edge of my desk, and over the armchair, Markus usually lounges in.
“This is where you are when you’re working?”
“As of lately, yes, but sometimes I have to go places, and handle business.” And by handle business, I mean murder and hurt people.
She nods, and her eyes fall onto the huge window overlooking the front yard. Walking into the room, I come to stand beside her.
“This is the best view in the entire house,” she says.
“I thought you loved the terrace the most?” I poke fun at her.
“I do, maybe someday, you’ll let me walk the entire estate.”
“Maybe, but it won’t be without me by your side.”
I let her stare out the window a little while longer, and then we leave the room. I lock the door behind me and pocket the key.
“Why do you lock the door if it’s just an office?”
“Because I trust no one.”
Back in the bedroom, Elena’s mood seems to change. She becomes shy, and I’m puzzled by the sudden change in her demeanor. Was it something I said? Tugging at the string on her bikini, she saunters toward me, her shapely hips swaying with the movement.
The fabric slides down her chest, leaving her perky breasts on display. A growl builds in my throat, and I clench my hands into fists to stop myself from dragging her panties down her legs and fucking her senseless.
White teeth sink into her bottom lip, and fuck, she looks hot and naive, and so fucking sweet. I want to dirty her up, crack her open, and see what makes her tick.
Her damp, dark locks cascade down her back in soft ringlets, her smooth skin is creamy and begging to be licked. She’s a damn goddess, a queen.
“I want you.” She bats her eyes softly.
“Is that right?”
She nods. “Yes. I want…” Her fingers slide into the bottoms of her bathing suit, and I swallow my tongue. There isn’t any way in hell, she is asking me what I think she is. The bottoms hit the floor, and though there is no sound, the mere action is like a bomb being dropped on top of me.
“I want to have sex.”
Shoving from my seated position, I feel the need to get up and move because if I don’t, I won’t hesitate to take her up on her offer.
“Why wait until after the wedding, I mean… I don’t care if you don’t care. We’ve already done… stuff.”
She’s looking at me like I’m her world, and it’s exactly what I’ve wanted to see, hoped to see even, and the fact that I’m going to have to wipe that look from her face angers me. There is no way I can give her what she needs right now.
“I don’t have time for this, and I don’t have the patience either, not today. I have somewhere else to be.”
Why the hell does she have this thought today of all fucking days? I would have gladly done this yesterday, and I would definitely do it tomorrow, but not tonight. My need to kill Lev outweighs my need for sex, even if it’s sex with her.
I glance at her face, disappointment, and rejection seeping into each pore. I can’t take seeing her like this, it guts me. She is hurt, I hurt her.
Quickly, I disappear into the closet and pull on some dry clothes. I need to leave, get out of here fast before I change my mind.
Without another word or a second glance, I walk through the bedroom and out the door, locking it behind me.
With my gun in one hand and the key card in the other, I stand in front of the hotel room Lev is in. His slimy voice clearly carries through the thin door, and the blood in my veins reaches a new boiling point. All I can see is Elena’s tear-stained cheeks and the fear in her eyes. He hurt her, and now I’m here to hurt him.
I slide the card, push the door open, and step in with my gun raised all in one fluid move. Lev turns to me, looking shocked as hell while the girl we hired looks relieved to see me.
“This is a mistake, Moretti. You’re making a mistake.”
“You can go now, Lola.” At my words, Lev turns pale, his beady eyes go wide, and I know he’s quickly putting one and one together.
“Thank fuck, this guy is a real creep.” The girl snatches her purse and climbs over the bed instead of walking by Lev to get out. She squeezes past me and scurries out of the room, closing the door on her way.
Alone at last.
“You gotta be kidding me?”
“Funny, that’s what I thought when I heard that you touched something that belongs to me. I know your stupid, but I didn’t know you were this dumb.”
Lev tips his head back and laughs into the quiet room.
“So, let me get this right. You left a half-naked girl sitting at a bar at a flesh auction, and it’s my fucking fault that she was eye-fucking me? It’s not my fault your whore can’t keep her hands off of me. That she wanted my cock.”
Aiming the gun at his kneecap, I pull the trigger. The faint smell of gunpowder wafts into my nose as the bullet flies through the air and hits its target precisely where I intended. A scream that is pure bliss to my ears rips from Lev’s throat as he immediately sags to the floor and cries out in pain, grabbing his leg.
“You fucking asshole!” he groans while rolling to his side. “You’re gonna die, you bastard! You’re gonna die! Everyone is after you anyway!”
What just said makes me pause, but only briefly.
“Who is after me?”
He curls his lip, giving me a half-smile. “Everyone! Romero put out a hit on your ass. Ten million. And to sweeten the pot, he’s giving away the whore with it. Hope you didn’t use her up, ’cause I’m sure looking forward to–”
I don’t blink. I don’t even think. Lifting my gun, my finger presses against the trigger, and the bullet leaves the chamber, hitting him right between the eyes, shutting him up for good.
His body stills, his eyes go blank, and blood puddles around his head. I meant to make this painful, draw it out, and watch him suffer, but what he revealed to me changes things.
It means the timeline just got moved up.
23
Elena
The key seems to weigh ten pounds in my hand. I’ve been pacing the bedroom for hours trying to decide what to do. I thought Julian and I were getting closer, I thought there could really be something between us, but after today, I’m not sure about anything.
Nothing makes sense. None of his actions line up. He buys me, he touches me, then rejects me in the next instance. Something more is going on, and I can’t be stuck in this room any longer doing nothing. What if my father was telling the truth? Julian could be out there killing my father, and then come home to finish the job.