Pay Dearly
Page 17
I ram my fist into his jaw again, and the crunch of my knuckles sounds over the sirens as they get closer to the building. I am fueled purely by my will to live.
For a moment, I am glad I left my car parked in plain sight. They have to see my car. Gabe should know it’s me inside the building. I just need to stay alive long enough for him to find me.
I go to punch Nikolai again, but he is quicker as he shakes off my previous blows. His fist comes to my gut, and I buckle over slightly in pain. I feel like my ribs have broke as the pain sears down my side, but I ignore it. The adrenaline is erasing everything except keeping myself alive.
I keep my body on top of his, trying to duck out of the way of his fist, and reach for the gun in his right hand. However, Nikolai quicker than me and connects the butt of the gun with my eye. Blood gushes. My skin feels like it’s exploding as the warm, sticky fluid runs down my face.
Jarred, I move my hand again, but Nikolai is again too quick for me. He sweeps me over and covers my body with his.
I panic. I can feel my mind going back to the dark place it always wants to go. I’m retreating. My body is receding back to my unconscious state as the weight of his body pushes me to the ground.
I lift my hands, fighting against the darkness, fighting against him. I have to live. I cannot allow this to take me down, because if I do, I will not survive this time.
Mustering every ounce of desire I have to live, I yank my bound legs up and knee him in the groin. He growls loud in agony yet refuses to move. I need him off me, but he has me pinned.
His left hand manages to capture both my wrists, clasping them firmly to the concrete floor. He keeps his pelvis pressed into mine, his feet holding mine in place.
I can’t move.
I am trapped.
I am dead.
I can feel the cold steel of Nikolai’s pistol against my hot flesh as he holds it to my temple. He leans down, his gaze hooked on mine. His face gets close to mine, and then he presses his lips together and drops them down. They are soft and warm.
The moment is very surreal. I can feel the tingling in my body as it dances its way under my skin, but it’s not the feeling of terror. It’s not how I usually feel when a man is on top of me. It’s welcoming and wanted.
I have to be dreaming or dead. This can’t be my reaction to his kiss.
Before I can stop myself, I open my mouth to his. Nikolai slips his tongue inside my mouth, and I moan into his. He pulls the kiss back and nibbles lightly on my lower lip as the electrical current surges straight to my core. I want to be devoured by him.
What is happening to me? I feel like I am under a spell, completely enchanted by his lips. I don’t want it to end. I want to feel more, to feel it all.
The reaction of my body awakens him, as well. His dick is stirring behind his tailored pants, and he isn’t afraid to rock his pelvis forward, allowing me to feel how well endowed he truly his.
I melt. My body ignites. I am ready to rip all my clothes off and submit to him right here, right now. But as he pulls his lips from mine and sits up slightly, the reality of my inner desires is extinguished.
He presses the gun more firmly into my skull as he looks utterly devastated. He is holding out for something as he fights inside himself to pull the trigger. The hardened killer is crumbling.
Before I can open my mouth to say a single word, chaos swarms around me. Bodies flood the small room as officers rush past the threshold. Nikolai drops his pistol and falls forward on top of me again. He releases the grip around my wrists just as Gabe leans over him, yanking his arms behind his back.
“If I make one promise to myself, it will be to find you, Josslyn,” Nikolai whispers into my ear. The sound of his voice isn’t cold and cruel. It’s the raw, stripped man he was moments before the sirens were heard. “Whether it’s this life or the other, I promise I will find you again.”
Gabe pulls him off my body and yanks Nikolai to his feet. “Get this piece of shit out of here,” he shouts to the uniformed cops then thrusts Nikolai into their awaiting grip.
I finally breathe for the first time since I stepped foot in this building, but I don’t think I can move. As the intensity of the moment leaves my body, I can feel it replaced with pain. The side of my face throbs, and my ribs burn as I slowly use my elbows to lift my body off the concrete.
“Wait right there, Joss.” Gabe bends down and cradles me in his arms. Before I can open my mouth to say a single word, I am tucked into his chest as he rises to his feet. “I’ve got ya.”
The police are everywhere inside and out of the old manufacturing building when Gabe pulls me outside. The cool, wet air collides with my skin, making me shudder with chills.
We walk farther away from the old, broken-down structure and closer to his car before I finally ask, “How did you find me?”
“I went to your apartment after you didn’t show up at the motel crime scene.” He sets me on my feet then pulls a blanket from the back of his trunk. “I picked the lock on your door, and then hacked into your computer. I found out what you were searching, and I knew there was only one place you’d be.”
I look over to him. I can’t even be pissed that he managed to break into my apartment and my laptop. I simply smile and say, “Thank you, Gabe.”
He runs his hands down my face, something he’s ever done in public before, and then pulls me into his arms. I don’t lift mine, but I welcome the comforting feeling he brings.
“When I saw him on top of you and the gun in his hand, I was afraid we were too late.” Gabe leans back and looks deeply in my eyes. “I was close to killing him myself.” Then he leans in and kisses my forehead.
I turn my head and nestle my cheek on Gabe’s chest. Normally, him holding me like this would weird me out and cause me to get defensive, but right now, I need the comfort of a friend’s arms. I swallow back the panic and just breathe in his scent.
The events of the night start to fall away from me as I allow my body to relax in his arms. I was so close to dying many times tonight, yet when he had the chance, Nikolai showed mercy. Why? He had his chance to slip away, but he allowed himself to get caught by the police, instead. He risked his freedom for my life. Again, why?
The sound of a moving car stirs me from my thoughts, and I open my eyes. As the car slowly drives by, I look in the back seat and see him—Nikolai Petrov. The killer whose actions were fueled by revenge yet showed mercy to me in the end.
Our eyes finally meet. My widened orbs connect with his broken blue irises, and we live in that moment for a few seconds. I fully understand the pain of his lost loved ones, and like him, I’ve wanted nothing more than to kill the people responsible. However, as he drives out of sight, I think to myself, Before this night, Nikolai and I were who we were—the killer and the cop. Yet, in hindsight, are we really that much different?
M.S. Brannon was born and raised in the Midwest. She still resides there today with her wonderful husband and son. When she is not writing or reading, M.S. Brannon spends time with her family, goes to the movies, and discovers new music. She writes romance because she believes love and heartache are the rawest emotions one can experience.
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Other Books by M.S. Brannon
Scarred Love, available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and KOBO
Tragic Love, available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and KOBO
Blind Love, available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and KOBO
Surviving Love, available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and KOBO
Redeemed Love, available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and KOBO
Everlasting Love, available
for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and KOBO
Stand Alones
Last Call, available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and KOBO
Forbidden from You, Forbidden for me, TBD
Believe in Brave, YA Novella, available for purchase on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and KOBO