Ivan just looks at me evenly, no attempt to persuade me one way or another in his eyes. He’s letting me make this decision, I know. At long last, I raise my eyes again and give a hair of a nod.
“But I need this. As long as he walks free, he could hurt more people.”
Ivan smiles at me, and there’s reassurance dancing in his eyes. “I know you can do what you know to be right, mishka.”
Ivan leaves to hide in the storage room, and I take my place on the couch. My heart is pounding harder than ever before.
It feels like an eternity before I hear a distant door opening, and dread fills my body.
No. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. This can’t be happening. He’s going to kill us both.
But then I remember Ivan, my colossal protector, looming over me with that easy command written on his expression and in his every movement, like a guardian angel with a star emblazoned across his chest. A certain warmth fills my chest, and take a deep breath as I hear the VIP lounge door swinging open.
Then my heart stops again as I hear two sets of footsteps.
A moment later, Konrad appears in the hallway, concern and lust intermingled in his expression as he steps into the room with arms wide.
“Katy, Katy, my darling! You’re safe!” My blood curdles as I see the massive form of Nic lumbering in behind him. We hadn’t expected Konrad to come with backup.
“Thank God, you’re here,” I breathe.
Even as Konrad rushes forward to me, he puts a finger to his lips. “Quiet, Katy, we aren’t alone. Ivan may be here.”
My face goes white.
“Wh-what do you mean? He’s away on business!” I stammer.
Konrad shakes his filthy head. “I got a tip from one of my associates that this was a ruse of some kind. I think he knows you reached out to me, my darling.”
There’s terror in my eyes and my heart is pounding, but as Konrad approaches me and gingerly takes my face in his hands and looks into my eyes, he seems to think the terror written on my expression is out of fear of Ivan.
Konrad turns his head to Nic, who’s already searching the lounge for Ivan, and nods. “Go find him. Kill him. You’ll get your payment.”
Nic wordlessly nods and heads out the lounge door, leaving me alone with Konrad. Immediately, he brings his mouth to my neck, his hideous mouth relishing my sensitive flesh. “Oh darling, I’ve longed for you to come to your senses for so long,” he rasps, and it puts goosebumps on my body. His hands explore my form, dancing down my back and sliding around my hips.
“I’m so scared, Konrad,” I whisper into his ear, trying my hardest to keep it together. It’s an honest confession, at least.
“I know, my dear, I know, but you have nothing to fear. You’re mine now.”
His hands are groping my ass now, pulling me closer into him and pressing me against the little bulge in his pants. Suddenly I feel him trying to push me onto the couch, and I feel a lump in my throat.
“I told Nic to give us some time after he does the deed,” he hisses into my ear, “I can’t resist you any longer, and I can see you were thinking the same,” he adds as he fingers my spaghetti strap, sliding it off my shoulder before ripping off my top.
The lust in his eyes is wild as he pushes me onto the couch, licking his lips and unzipping his pants. My heart is pounding its way out of its chest, terrified of what’s about to happen.
Nic is looking for Ivan. He isn’t supposed to be here. This isn’t part of the plan. He’s going to take Ivan unaware, oh my God, Ivan’s going to die and I’m going to be left alone here at the mercy of this monster!
Konrad takes my quick, short breaths as excitement as he penetrates my mouth with his tongue, and I feel his bare cock on my leg. He’s really going to do this!
19
Ivan
Calm. Cool. Collected.
Those are all the things a killer needs to be when doing a hit. But how am I supposed to be calm when my woman is in danger?
What the fuck was I even thinking using her as bait?
I was out of my mind to give in and settle on that plan. I’d rather have to fight a hundred Konrad’s -- no, a thousand! -- than put Katy in the path of one. Yet it’s too late now. If I burst out now it could be at the wrong moment, and that greasy weasel could have a knife at her throat before I could shoot him.
I hear the sound of someone approaching too late, the first cost I have to pay for losing my cool. This isn’t a job, it’s my life, my love. And that’s fucking it all up.
When the door opens I realize it’s not Konrad, but Nic. That blockheaded brute. That’s about as bad as I feared it could be. I’ve seen this guy take a two-by-four to the head and not be fazed.