Cruel Paradise - A Mafia Romance Chapter 109

The word sounds so much harsher coming from those sweet pink lips. Lips that I want to consume like a rabid fucking animal.

She cringes the moment she sees the oncoming glare of headlights. Her head cranes to the side as she peers through the darkness. She’s so jumpy tonight.

“It’s just a passing car.”

Her frown doesn’t ease. Her gaze stays glued to the car—which, I’ll admit, is driving very slow considering the roads are empty at this time of night.

“That car already drove by a few minutes ago.”

That sets my spine tingling. No one’s about to slow down for a second look at this piece of shit motel. I pull out my gun and she gasps again, her lips parting softly. The squirm of her discomfort just makes my dick throb harder.

“Ruslan—”

“Go inside. Lock the door. Don’t come out until I come for you.”

She glances at my raised gun and then to me. “W-what are you going to do?”

“Deal with this.”

She shakes her head. “M-maybe it’s just random people… strangers… Maybe this has nothing to do with us…”

“Maybe. But I’m not taking the risk. Now, go!”

She doesn’t move. It takes me a moment to register that she’s shivering violently. That her eyes are wide with terror and her body seems incapable of moving.

“Emma.” Her eyes flicker to mine but the shaking doesn’t stop. I grab her arms and this time, when her eyes land on me, they don’t look away. “We don’t have time for a panic attack right now. I need you to snap out of this.”

Her lips are still parted.

The headlights flash again.

Yeah… This is not a fucking coincidence.

So I bend down and catch those lips with mine. This time, I swallow her gasp. I kiss her lips raw. It lasts only a few seconds, maybe less, but I make every last one of them count. I go in deep and passionate, forcing life back into her frozen body. She doesn’t fight me; she’s probably too shocked to do anything but surrender. My body curls around her protectively, stealing a kiss I have no right to anymore.

When I pull back, her eyes are still fixed on me. “Go.”

This time, she listens. She sprints towards the stairs, ascends to the second floor, and disappears into the fourth door on the right. Satisfied that she’s safe for now, I turn my attention to the headlights.

I’m too far away and it’s too dark to determine how many men I’m dealing with, but Kirill is close by. I shoot him a quick text.

RUSLAN: 92. Boynton Motel in Cedar Valley. Bring the clean-up team.

Slightly premature, but I like my odds. I didn’t get this far for lack of confidence. I keep my gun at the ready and stay crouched behind the Chevy.

The car has stopped across the street. A moment later, the driver kills the headlights. I duck down and slide around the rear of the while two men exit the truck. They walk across the street towards the motel.

Both men remind me of the two kidnappers from this morning. Too casual to be real threats, but too on edge to be actual civilians. Whoever is sending them wants to keep this under wraps.

I lie in wait, making room for the off-chance that these two men are just random, innocent people with no ulterior motive. Then the shorter man points to the second floor. I follow his finger to see it aimed at…

Door number four.

So much for that theory.

I screw a silencer on my gun and keep inching around the car so that their backs are to me. I have a clear shot at both men but I only need one alive.

I’ve always been a good shot. But when I’m pissed off, I’m a great one. There’s something about the anger that gives me tunnel vision. It’s like I’m looking through a long lens camera and there’s nothing else in the world but my target and me.

Someone—and I have a pretty good idea I know who—thought sending hired assassins after my family was a good idea. That someone is going to find out just how stupid a move that was.

I’m going to send him back so many bodies that the only discernible conclusion to draw will be obvious.

He’s going to be next.

7

RUSLAN

The tall one goes down like a toy soldier.

I might as well have flicked him down with my fingers. He tumbles over, face-first, into the ground without emitting so much as a gasp. His companion doesn’t even notice until his question goes unanswered.

“… Jannik? How do you wanna do this…? Jannik?”

I’m already halfway to him when he turns and notices that Jannik’s eating cement in a pool of his own blood. As soon as he sees me coming, he pales, twisting around while he fumbles for his gun.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He freezes with his hands suspended in mid-air. “Hands up where I can see them.”

“W-who are you?”

“The better question is, who are you?”

“I-I-I…”

I roll my eyes. “He hired the very best, didn’t he?” I mutter under my breath.

Clearly, Adrik didn’t think he needed to send his best men to deal with a woman and three children. His fucking mistake. This poor bastard’s price to pay.

“Listen…”

“No, you listen,” I snarl. “You have five seconds to tell me who hired you or else you’re going to be drinking your own blood just like Jannik there.”

The conflict in his eyes is evident. His gaze darts between me and Jannik, Jannik and me. For a moment, it even veers up to the second floor of the motel.

What should he choose? Self-preservation or certain death?

The joke’s on him, though. He’s facing death either way. I just need to make him believe he has a way out.

“Four seconds.”

He licks his lips. “Listen, man. I’m not who you think I—”

“Three seconds.”

His right hand keeps twitching in place. He’s still got them raised but they’re creeping lower with every passing second.

Don’t be a fucking idiot.