#1 Chapter 4
“Elena.”
My thumb moves across her cheek, under those beautiful, blowjob lips that I’d love to give a test run.
“What?”
“Shut up.”
Then I kiss her.
It’s like an instant high the moment my lips touch hers. The heat I’ve been watching flush her skin burns into my mouth. My hands drop down her silky neck, and I take a fistful of her hair and sweep it aside. Blood pounds through my veins as my tongue sweeps over her bottom lip.
She pulls away from me with a painful yelp, her hands flying to her neck, where I notice shadows of purple. What the fuck? Are those bruises?
My chest slowly fills with heat as I connect the dots. Elena lets her hands fall from her neck and shakes her hair back into place, flattening it nervously.
“I-this is a bad idea.”
“If it’s a bad idea, why did you follow me in here?”
Elena’s fingers linger on my chest. A flare of warmth spreads where she touches me and she lifts her head.
“I was selfish.”
A weak feeling seizes my chest when she says that. I don’t know why. “You’re not selfish for wanting me. Ditch the loser and come home with me.”
A sad smile twitches across her face. “You make it sound so simple.”
“It is.”
I bend my head again, taking her lips in mine before she can utter a protest.
“Ow!”
Elena breaks off the kiss with a painful cry, and I snatch my hand away as if it were burned. Jesus, is she covered in bruises?
Small tears bead in her dark eyes and a surge of rage flashes across my eyes.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She shakes her head, dismissive. “It’s fine.”
Like hell it is.
“Who is your ex?”
“Why?”
“So I can beat the shit out of him.”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
It bursts out of me before I can really think about what I’m saying, but it occurs to me that I really want to do this. I want to find the prick and bash his fucking head in. What kind of man hits a woman? It boils my blood to see this kind of shit. I’m no white knight, but I want this girl to not flinch when I touch her.
“Yeah, that’s not a good idea.”
Surprise rattles through my head. “Are you one of those chicks that keeps running back to the guy who beats you up?”
The icy glare she shoots me says it all. “Fuck you.”
“Then why’s it not a good idea?”
“Look, you seem like a tough guy and all, but my ex is-ah, connected.”
Connected. He’s in the mob? Huh. Interesting.
“You can say the word, you know. It’s not a bad one. Mafia.”
Her tongue darts out, wetting her lips. “He’s a wise guy.”
“So am I, hon.”
The energy shifts between us. All of a sudden, it’s tense. I reach down to my ankle and show her the piece I have strapped there. She sits up straighter and I have to laugh at her startled expression. An apprehensive look overcomes her face.
“Are you-are you with Johnny’s crew?”
Her wispy voice trembles from her uncertain lips, and I incline my head.
She knows Johnny-knows who I’m connected to. This is getting more and more interesting.
Elena drops her voice, adopting a frightened timbre. “Could I ask you-I mean, are you the right person?”
“I work for John. You can ask me anything.”
Elena bites her thumb anxiously, shooting me looks before she finally sighs. “I need to put a hit on someone, and I’ve a lot of cash.”
A hit.
My head turns so violently that I pull a muscle in my neck. I study her. It’s not often that I get asked for a hit from a woman. Her eyes burn with a quiet intensity that instantly raises my suspicions. Is she with the cops? Nah, I fucking doubt it.
“Let me guess, your boyfriend?”
She nods.
Plenty of women have hired my services to “take care” of violent boyfriends. My fists. Their face. That’s all it takes for them to walk away forever.
Not this guy.
A violent surge of energy pounds through my veins, making the ones on my hands swell.