Hitman's Captive: A Bad Boy Romance (6 page)

I was counting on it
being Jamie and not his wife, but that seemed more likely - men were supposed
to answer suspicious disturbances in the night, right? Protect their home and
family and all that shit.

The lights flicked on in
the room next to me, the gleam from the window shining through and dimly
illuminating the porch - and then the door in front of me was jerked open, a
red faced man in a faded blue robe glaring out at me.

“Who the hell are you?!
What do you think you’re doing, waking us up at this time of night?!”

My gut twisted. It was
immediately obvious that this wasn’t the man who’d taken out the hit on Martin
Feber - from a distance, maybe he was similar to the guy I’d met, but the way
he carried himself and the slightly high-pitched tone of his voice were all
wrong.

I affected a confused
expression and looked up at him with a frown.

“I’ve got a pizza for a
Mr. John Frost, number 72?” My voice reflected my surprise, as I deliberately
mismatched his neighbor’s name with his address.

Jamie scowled back at me.
“John is number 74 - to the left, dumbass.”

His irritation was
obvious and I backed up, raising a hand in protest.

“Hey, don’t blame me for
your neighbor’s mistake, man.” I shrugged and gave him a half-apologetic glance
as I made to leave. “Sorry for waking you up.”

He scowled again, shutting
the door in my face and leaving me to retreat. I waited until the light shut
off and then headed back to my car, sliding the pizza over to the other seat
before settling back inside.

Well, I guess that
answers those questions. Martin Feber never existed, and whoever hired you only
‘borrowed’ Jamie’s identity.

Frowning, I started the
engine and turned the car around as I tried to work out what to do. This wasn’t
looking good for me - my only leads were cold and I was probably going to be
staring down Manny’s fate imminently.

This was one of the
issues with refusing affiliation to any of the gangs or mafia groups. It gave
me independence and anonymity - but no protection and far less awareness of the
subtle shifts in different cities’ underworlds. I didn’t mind that I had to
work harder for some of the hits, but when I
needed
those things…it
could be fucking perilous not to have them.

I drummed my fingers on
the steering wheel as I drove, heading in the broad direction of the safe house
but sifting through options in my mind, trying to work out whether there was
anything else I could accomplish tonight. Any way at all out of this mess.

I might not like it, but with
something this big - I needed help. If it were just me, I’d disappear without
another thought. But Alessa was a witness, so I couldn’t leave her behind - and
if my options were to kill her,
disappear
with her or to figure this out
and get the Russian’s off my back…

Why did the last seem
like the easy option?

I ignored that thought
and ground my teeth together for a minute, before finally giving up and
punching a familiar number into my phone. The ringing echoed through the car on
a too-loud bluetooth, but I didn’t turn it down as I called the one person who
wouldn’t turn me away. Probably.

The only stroke of luck I
had was that this had all happened in NYC. The one place I had any sort of
support
network
at all
.
Or rather, a
support person
. The guy who’d
watched my callous gang killings, picked me up off the streets, put a gun in my
hand - and then shown me how to actually use it.

I hated all form of
attachment, but if there was one guy I could make an exception for, it would be
Jay. And we’d done enough for each other over the years that he wouldn’t turn
me away. Or not immediately, anyway.

The car’s stereo
continued its dull tone as I tapped at the steering wheel again,
uncharacteristic impatience taking me. Then I heard it click off and I cursed.
No answer.

My fingers were redialing
before I could stop them and then the speakers flared to life again, giving me
another slow minute of wretched anticipation before it cut off in exactly the
same way. It had been pointless to try again - Jay wasn’t the kind of guy you
could reach through dumb persistence - but this whole situation was getting the
better of me.

He was probably out
tonight, doing
who-knew-what
for
god-knew-who
as usual.

I ground my teeth
together and accelerated back home - I’d have to call around tomorrow and hope
for the best.

With a sigh, I glanced at
the pizza sitting next to me on the passenger seat and wondered whether Alessa
would be interested in a midnight snack. The idea of trying to sleep tonight
didn’t sound fun, even if my pounding headache was telling me I needed to.

Chapter Five

Alessa

Footsteps coming down the
hallway drew me out of the half-doze I’d fallen into, and I sprang up
immediately as sudden adrenaline raced through me.

I had no idea what time
it was - late enough for my watchful vigil to have given way to slumping down
against the wall and drifting off - but
he
was back.

I gripped the dry wood of
the broken desk leg tighter in my hand and tried not to let my nerves get the
best of me. One quick look around the destroyed room made it clear that I could
hardly take this back
now.

A knock on the door
beside me had me jumping out of my skin and I forced myself to calm down,
tensing my body in readiness to spring as soon as it opened. I stayed silent
and hoped he’d just assume I was asleep - and open the door to check on me.

Please, please, come in…

Nothing for several long
moments.

Then the door opened and
propelled me into action. I swung with all my strength, launching myself at him
as best I could and bringing the makeshift club down at his head. The cuff bit
into my wrist with the sharp movement, and I hissed as the sharp metal reopened
the cut that had formed earlier, but I ignored the sudden flash of pain, eyes
fixed on the powerful man coming through the doorway.

He reacted faster than I
could have believed possible, one hand coming up to grip my wrist as his whole
body turned to slam me back against the wall, pinning me there helplessly.

No, no, no—

“What the
fuck?!
”

I struggled uselessly as
his gaze swept around the room - taking in the mess of bedding and the broken
desk in one sharp gesture before turning back to me.

“What the hell are you
doing?” His rough voice was lower now, with both anger and surprise.

Frustration and rage
boiled up inside me, making me lash out without thinking. “What do you
think
I’m trying to do, asshole?”

My pulse ratcheted up
within me, the beginning of fear curling through my nerves at the failure to
escape, and then antagonizing him further. But I was too damn angry to care.

His baby-blue eyes
narrowed as they met my glare, but the anger there had faded into a frustration
of his own as he slowly took in what I’d done to the room.

“Listen,
princess -
I don’t know how you thought this was a good idea, but it would be a hell of a
lot easier for me to just kill you and be done with it. So I suggest you start
helping yourself out here.” His voice came out just above a growl, the
threatening tone combining with the carefully controlled expression on his face
to make me shudder.

“So why haven’t you
then?” The challenge came without thought - I hated the idea of letting this
man scare me, and more than that, I didn’t understand
why
he was doing
any of this.

If it was better for him
to kill me, why was I still alive?

The question made him
pause for a long moment, and I felt myself start sweating as I considered all
the reasons that was a
stupid
question to ask.

When he finally replied,
I caught the hint of an ironic smile on his full lips, and he leaned close to
me as he spoke. “Right now, princess, I’m wondering the same thing. Do you
really want to make me think about it?”

I swallowed and glanced
away from him as my body finally noticed just how close we were, his deep voice
stirring something within me even as I struggled to think past the fear and
confusion of the situation.

Instead, I shifted under
his grip, trying to relieve the discomfort of having my arm forced up above my
head while tension bit into my other wrist from the cuff - but his hard body
pressed me back immediately, that easy strength making my struggles useless.

The small movement
brought us even closer together, and the powerful warmth from his body confused
my senses and had my heart catching in my throat for a few brief moments. The
heat that ignited in his eyes flared through me in that same instant, and it
took every ounce of willpower I had to remember where I was - and who I was
with. The frustration redoubled inside me and I struggled again.

Being trapped against him
like this made me feel weak and helpless. I was more surprised than I wanted to
admit that he wasn’t yelling or hurting me for what I’d just tried to do, but I
still couldn’t just
accept this.
I had to find some way out of here.

“Why are you even doing
this? Why do you want to kill me, or kidnap me, or any of it?! Can’t you just
let me go?” My voice started out strong, but the helplessness came through at
the end, and I hated that I couldn’t stop it.

Something clouded his expression
for a moment, and then his face tightened - but to my surprise, he answered me.

“You’re a witness, girl.
You think I’m going to let you run around telling people exactly who killed
Viktor Kovalski?”

I bit my lip and shook my
head quickly, as his obvious motivation finally washed over me. And with it - a
chance. “I won’t tell anyone. Just let me go, I won’t—”

The humorless laugh hit
me like a slap in the face, but when I looked up at him the contempt in his
eyes shifted into something resembling amusement. He raised an eyebrow and cast
another look around what I’d done to the place.

“And you seemed like you
had a little more intelligence than that…”

I flushed at the insult,
anger overtaking the fear again.

Of course. Of course he
wouldn’t believe me. He wouldn’t let me go just on my word. But he didn’t have
to be such a bastard about it - it had been worth a shot.

“So what are you going to
do then? You can’t just keep me here forever—”
Can he?
“My—my father
will find me—”

“Mm, your father.” His
hand tucked a lock of hair back behind my ear, finger lightly brushing my
temple and distracting me as I watched his lips produce that intoxicating drawl
in his voice. I wanted to be repulsed - to flinch away from the touch - but it
was all I could do not to lean into it. His voice brought me back again.
“Unfortunately he’s not at the top of my concerns right now, princess—”

“Stop calling me that! My
name is
Alessa.
” I snapped, his attitude provoking me too far.

“But that’s what you are,
isn’t it? An Italian Mafia princess. And since you don’t seem able to go more
than a few minutes without mentioning your
daddy,
it’s only polite to
let you know that I haven’t forgotten, hmm?”

I glared at him, body
tensing as I wished I could reach out and try striking him again. It didn’t
matter that I’d dropped the desk leg in the initial scuffle or that I’d get
nowhere against his strength - it would still be immensely satisfying. He gave
me a cocky smile and I hated him even more for how good that made his handsome
features look. Bastard.

Then the smile died as he
considered me seriously for a moment.

“I’m not going to lie,
girl - my job went to shit. You weren’t supposed to be there. I wasn’t even
trying to kill Viktor. So, yes, I can’t keep you here forever - but until I
find out who set me up and can give
them
to the Kovalski’s to beat on,
you’re stuck here with me. And since I’m under a helluva lot of stress right
now, I suggest this is the last stunt you try to pull.”

Our gazes locked for a
moment, and the way my body reacted to that intensity disturbed me more than I
wanted to admit. His warning was almost lost in that surge of confusing
emotions, and I tried to pull away from the heat of his body against mine,
wanting to focus on his intentions - and what that meant for me.

“And…and if you don’t
find…whoever it is?” I regretted jumping to the worst case scenario almost
immediately, but my mind wouldn’t stop going there. I had to know.

His eyes darkened
briefly, and his voice matched that gaze as my breath caught. “I’m very good at
what I do, Alessa - but if things go wrong…well, I suggest you keep hoping that
your daddy finds you.”

A shudder ran through me
and his expression eased as he noticed, but he didn’t say anything to offer
comfort - not that I would have taken it from the murderer-slash-kidnapper who
was threatening me anyway. Instead, his gaze lingered on my face, and the slow
heat that was building underneath the tension and fear became a distraction in
itself. He paused there with his eyes on my mouth in a way that made my blood
tick up, anticipating the moment when he leaned forward and—

Stop it!

I flushed red as my pulse
beat hard in my neck and made it hard to think about anything other than his
hot gaze on my skin.

He’s just taken you because
you’re a witness. That’s what he said. Nothing else. No need to fear…anything
you’ve been thinking about.

“So you’re not…you’re not
going to…” I bit down on my tongue
hard
to stop myself from finishing
that sentence, cursing at the way my brain-to-mouth filter had abandoned me
tonight. I couldn’t help it though - everything about him was screaming how
much more he intended to do to me, and not knowing whether to be terrified
or…something else…was driving me crazy.

“To what?” His brow
furrowed slightly, a blank expression slipping over the heat of a moment
before.

You’re really going to
make me say it?

My gaze slipped past his
for a moment, hovering on a spot on the opposite wall before darting back to
him, trying to look defiant and angry.

“I’ve seen the way you
look at me.”

He blinked, and I saw the
open surprise across his face as he realized what I was implying - before it
shifted to obvious anger. “
Fuck.”

The hand resting next to
me clenched into a fist and he took a deep breath. When his gaze returned to
me, the heat there radiated danger and intensity, but the cocky smile made it
obvious he’d regained control - and turned that look into something almost
seductive. He ran his eyes up and down my body and I had to lean back against
the wall as my knees weakened.

“I’ve looked at you the
same way any hot-blooded man with eyes would, princess.” His hand curled
through my hair and I bit my lip as he leaned in to murmur against my ear. “But
I don’t touch women like that - I don’t have to.”

From the way he was
making my heart jump against my chest, I believed him. The bastard had
kidnapped me and still managed to reduce me to a puddle on the floor - god help
any ordinary woman.

He glanced up at me,
mouth inches from mine with a knowing look that told me he saw exactly what he
was doing to me.

“Unless of course, that’s
what you’d like?” The seductive growl made me shudder and for one terrifying
moment, I thought I was going to say
yes
.

But the shock of that was
enough to have me jerking back, scowling at him as I reminded myself about
everything that had happened.

How dare he?!

“You killed my fiance!” I
injected all the outrage I could find into my voice, relieved to finally start
feeling some of it again.

The amused smirk was
still on his face, and his hand wandered down to the side of my neck, tilting
my head up to him.

“I’m not hearing
no.
”
The low whisper made me shudder again, but this time I couldn’t tell whether it
was from pleasure or anger.

“No!” I snapped it at
him, jerking away from his touch and trying to feel disgusted by the advance.
Arrogant bastard. He’d killed the man I was going to marry, and now he thought
that I was just going to fall at his feet?

You were falling at his
feet.

I silenced the errant
voice at the back of my mind - I was just confused, that was all. Confused and
tired as hell, and he was taking advantage, damn it.

He withdrew slowly, still
looking at me intently, with that infuriating smirk on his lips. “Then no, I
won’t touch you, baby. I’m not the kind of guy who needs to force a woman.”

He finally let go of the
hand above my head and I brought it down against my chest, shaking it out and
glaring at him. He glanced around the room again, and then his mood clearly
shifted back to business. The traitorous part of me was disappointed, but I
knew I needed to do the same - take a step back, process, then work out what to
do with all this new information.

He pulled out the key to
the handcuffs and then cursed as he looked down at my wrist for the first time.
“Fuck, Alessa - what did you do to yourself?”

My attention finally
returned to my stinging wrist and I winced as I saw the dried blood there,
scowling back at him. “What did
I
do? You’re the one who left me like
this, asshole.”

“You were supposed to go
to sleep.” His muttered comment was followed by a light sigh and for a brief
moment, I got the impression that he was as tired as I was. Then it passed and
he shook his head, fitting the key into the metal cuffs and opening them in one
smooth movement.