Hit and Run: A Mafia Hitman Romance (11 page)

That’s when I hear voices in the kitchen.

CHAPTER TWENTY

ELIZABETH

I wake up in the middle of the night starving.

Cain and I decided to skip dinner to avoid Damian.

And, well.

We also wanted another round of ‘faking it’ for Damian’s reassurance.

Of course, neither one of us was actually faking. Like I needed anything to help me along. Cain is pure sex and rippling muscle. He knows ways to pleasure me that I didn’t even know existed on this planet.

I roll over and realize that Cain is gone. I think that he’s likely in the kitchen probably even hungrier than I am.

I tiptoe out of bed in the plush bathrobe I found in the closet and make my way through the winding hallways back to the main staircase. The house is quiet, and any outside noises are insulated by the thick blanket of snow.

The floors are toasty warm, just as Damian said they were.

I open a few wrong doors before I find the magnificent kitchen.

This place makes my dad’s house look like a shack.

I walk over to one of the three refrigerators and open the doors. I pull out a bottle of milk in the hopes that the pantry has cereal. When I shut the door, I nearly have a heart attack.

Damian is standing there, a foot away from me.

“Evening,” he says.

He’s shirtless and only wearing drawstring-tied pajama bottoms. His muscles aren’t like Cain’s. He’s lean and almost skinny. I’m sure some women would find him attractive, but I feel like I’m looking at evil.

He really creeps me out that much.

“I was just getting a snack,” I say, pushing past him and opening the pantry door.

“I thought you might, since you both skipped dinner.” Damian is now blocking the doorway and I’m trapped inside the pantry.

My heart plummets. I wish I’d thought this through better.

“You both must have worked up quite an appetite,” he says with a thin smile on his lips.

“Why is that?” I ask, my heart beating. I realize he’s been watching the cameras, just like Cain and I thought he was. But I didn’t expect him to actually
bring it up
.

“Oh, you know. What with your hurried travel schedule and all. It can really make a man hungry,” he says, smiling wider.

“Right,” I say, relieved. “I need to find a bowl.” I hold up the bag of organic granola I found, trying to stay calm.

“You know,” Damian says, stepping closer to me and tracing a pale finger down my neckline. I freeze in place, completely stunned into silence. “It really
is
unfair that Cain ended up with someone as perfect as you are.”

I’m shaking with terror. “Please stop touching me.”

He stops his hand right above my cleavage. “This is my house. I don’t take orders from other people.”

I open my mouth to scream at the top of my lungs when a strong hand comes out of nowhere and breaks Damian’s contact with my body.

Cain appears out of absolutely nowhere, his arm wrapped around Damian’s neck. What little color Damian had in his face is now completely gone. Cain lets go of him and shoves him against the open pantry door.

“You think you can touch my wife?” he hisses in a pure rage. He shoves his forearm against Damian’s neck, and gurgling noises escape his throat. “Do you really fucking think that you can do that? Let me tell you something, asshole. I don’t give a fuck if this is your house or not.”

Damian’s face is turning purple.

“Cain! You’re choking him!” I yell.

Cain ignores me. “You don’t fucking touch my wife, alright?”

Damian looks like he’s about to pass out and is completely unable to speak. Cain finally releases him at the last second, letting Damian’s now-limp body drop to the ground.

Cain holds out his hand. “Come on, Lizzy.”

I take it and step over Damian, who is coughing violently.

Cain pulls me up the stairs, my legs shaking underneath me. I wish I could get a better grip on walking, but I can’t seem to pull it together. He ends up picking me up once again and carrying me back into the bedroom.

“Get-“ he starts to say. But I already know.

“Get dressed because we’re leaving?” I finish, finally finding my words again.

Cain smiles at me. “Yeah. You know the drill.”

“How are we getting out of here, exactly?” I ask him.

Cain reaches into his pocket and pulls out a single car key. “My dear cousin,” he says sarcastically, “Has a garaged Maserati that I think will get us out of here just fine.”

Twenty minutes later, we’ve snuck out of the house and stolen a car.

A car that costs as much as a college education at most Ivy League colleges.

“I don’t even know what my life is right now,” I say to Cain. I’m punchy from a lack of sleep, crossing half a dozen time zones and the pure absurdity of the last few days.

“You might have to get used to it,” he says. “Because this on-the-run thing might last longer than I was originally expecting.”

We drive through the Swiss night time, the headlights reflecting off of the snow-lined roads. Cain drives a little bit faster than I would be driving, but I’m not worried. His strong hands are firmly on the wheel.

I almost feel relaxed. Part of it is pure shock from nearly being assaulted by Damian.

“You know something?” I ask Cain.

He glances over at me, taking his eyes off the road for a millisecond. “What’s that?”

“I’m starting to think we can’t trust anybody.”

Cain laughs uproariously. “Yeah, I get that feeling, too.”

I join in with his laughter until both of us are crying from mirth.

He puts his hand on my thigh and we ride away together into the night.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CAIN

“Lizzy. Elizabeth.” I hate to wake her up, but I don’t really have a choice. Her dark hair falls in loose waves around her neck and shoulders, and her rosebud lips are puckered softly, her breath easing out of them. I shake her shoulder.

She blinks a few times and rubs her eyes. “Hey,” she says, seeing my face. “Did you drive us all the way back to New York?”

“Almost,” I reply with a chuckle. “We’re taking a train the rest of the way and ditching the car. I’m sure Damian has figured out it’s gone by now.”

I help her out of the car and make our way to the train platform. I keep glancing around at my environment, ever-watchful for any thing or any person that seems out of place. I bounce on the balls of my feet as I pull out cash to pay for the tickets.

“Shit,” I say, looking in my wallet. “You only take Euros here?” I look at Lizzy. “The cab driver didn’t have an issue.”

The ticket agent looks annoyed at me. “There’s a booth over there,” she says primly.

“I’ll get it,” Elizabeth says. “You go freshen up. You look like death warmed over.”

“Gee, thanks,” I reply, running my hand through my hair self-consciously. “Don’t leave with any strange men, alright?”

She smiles at me. “Well, depends on how good-looking they are. I might trade you in for a better model.”

We part and I use the bathroom as fast as I can. My heart is pounding from pure nerves. I don’t like to think of Elizabeth being somewhere I can’t see her. Not right now. Not with God-knows-who chasing after us.

I see her dark hair and I breathe a sigh of relief. She’s already exchanged the money for Euros and is standing at the ticket counter.

“Hey,” she says with a smile. “Got us two seats. Train leaves in five minutes, so we better hurry.” She takes my hand in hers and I try not to feel giddy over that. Giddiness isn’t exactly manly.

But when I touch her, I feel things I’ve never felt before in my life. Things like hope. Happiness. Comfort. Safety.

We find our seats on the train and settle in, Elizabeth looking out the window at the Zurich station.

“I’ll probably sleep,” she says. “I always sleep on trains.”

I laugh. “I thought you barely left New York? You telling me your dad let you take the subway? And you were able to sleep on it with all that racket going on around your head?”

She smiles. “Yeah, we used to take the subway sometimes when I was a kid. And I always passed out.” She yawns. “See? I’m already tired. But I’ll try not to. Somebody needs to keep watch, I guess.”

I yawn a second later, spurred on by hers. “That would be nice.” I lean the chair back and put my feet onto her lap. She doesn’t object. “Wake me up when we’re in Munich.”

“I can’t believe we’re going to Munich,” she says with a wistful look on her face.

“Some women might consider this the honeymoon of their lives, if you really thought about it.”

She beams at me. “Yeah, well, if we survive all of this, you owe me a
real
honeymoon.”

“So you
do
consider me to be your husband?”

She shrugs. “Don’t get cocky. Just because I want to vacation with you doesn’t mean I think we’re
really
married.” She pauses. “Even though we technically are. Now, sleep. I don’t want my bodyguard to be tired.”

I pass out in minutes into a dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ELIZABETH

Munich is even better than Zurich. I didn’t think that was even possible. The streets are bustling with young people, and there’s an energy here that is contagious. I almost bounce through the streets with Cain next to me.

We make it to a hostel where Cain pays cash for a double room. “Sorry it’s not a hotel,” he says. “But I’m guessing Damian will check the fancy places first. This is a lot safer bet for us.”

I plop down on the bed. The mattress isn’t great, but it’s adequate. “It’s fine,” I say. “So, when are we going to explore the city?”

Cain laughs and checks his watch. “We’ve got a few hours until dinner. How about now?”

I practically have to drag Cain from coffee shop to coffee shop. We drink in the city together, stopping every few feet so I can admire the centuries-old architecture.

“I really like this place,” I say.

“Really? Because you seemed sort of unsure,” he says with a grin.

We pass a secondhand clothing shop and I point at it. “I think we should probably buy some clothes. I kind of want to burn these.”

Cain agrees and we spend an hour trolling through racks. I pick out a few t-shirts, a coat that still has tags on it, and a pair of shoes. Cain buys a duffel bag and we put our purchases into it.

“One day I’ll take you shopping for real,” Cain whispers in my ear while we wait for the subway. Multi-colored lines are painted on the walls. I feel like I’m standing on the inside of a rainbow.

“You just took me shopping,” I say, confused.

“No, I mean at a real store. With fancy dresses that make your tits look incredible,” he says.

I actually blush.

We ride the subway and I hope for a second that the people around us think we’re a real couple. A normal couple. That we could just disappear in this city and never be found again. The thought appeals to me more than I can say.

But then there’s my sister. I can’t just leave her, can I?

We stop at a market to buy a fresh loaf of bread, a block of cheese, and a bottle of wine. Back at the hostel, we have a makeshift picnic on the bottom bunk.

“So what’s next?” I ask Cain.

He shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? Isn’t this what you
do
?”

Cain sighs. “This is the situation. The government is after me. My shitbag cousin probably went through his own contacts to let them know we had a little sleepover. But nobody followed us here. I would know.” He exhales slowly. “I’m going to try to contact Flea to see if he has anything new to tell us. But honestly? I think we could stay here a while. Not at this hostel. But maybe get a flat for a month or two. Just lay low here. I have just enough cash that I think we could last for a while if we’re smart with our money.”

“Okay,” I say.

Cain looks surprised. “You’re okay with that? Going off grid and just being here? With me?”

“You said yourself how excited I was all day. I like this place. It’d be nice to just be sort of invisible for a little bit. Nobody knows me here. I can roam.”

“Well, not too far,” Cain says. “Just because nobody followed us doesn’t mean that we won’t be
found
.”

I roll my eyes. “Stop being nitpicky. If you want to tail me the whole time we’re here, that’s fine. You can do that. I just mean that you’ll probably let me explore more than my…well. More than my dad would have let me explore.”

It’s suddenly awkward between us.

Cain breaks off a piece of bread and chews it thoughtfully. “Tomorrow we’ll look for a little flat. Something near a train station stop. Sound good?”

I nod. “Yeah. That sounds great.”

“This is kind of romantic, right?” Cain asks me, leaning back on the creaking metal frame.

“Romantic until you break the bed,” I reply, taking a bite of the sharp, hard cheese.

Cain leans forward, close to my face. “I think we’re going to be breaking a lot of beds together, Lizzy.”

I lean forward and kiss his lips, the taste of wine on his salty skin. “Care to practice that theory right now?

“Do you really need to even ask me that?”

Cain shoves the excess food into the paper shopping bag and drops it on the floor, leaning over to kiss me fully. I groan as his hands find my breasts. My body tingles from his touch.

Maybe this
will
be like a honeymoon.

It can’t be so bad to be in this place with him.

I tangle myself up in his hot embrace and let myself forget who we are and why we’re here.

Just for a little while, I want to think that all of this is real.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CAIN

We find a place the first day we look. It’s a one-room flat but the price is right and at least it has a tiny little kitchen. The bed takes up half the living room.

But we don’t really need a sofa with as much fucking as we’re doing right now. It’s not like we’re watching Netflix marathons.