by Sam Crescent
“We had no idea this was your chick.”
“Don’t worry about it, Ronny. What happened, happened. Next time a woman comes into the gym, don’t try and scare her away with fear of rape. That shit’s not good. It’s never good.” Riley was a strong woman, but she needed taking care of.
“Sure, sir. It won’t ever happen again.”
He didn’t correct him this time. No matter how many times he told Ronny not to call him sir, the kid always did. “Make sure everyone else knows it as well.” He looked toward him. “Will you give me some privacy now?”
“Sure, sure.”
Ronny closed the door behind him, and Shadow was left alone with Riley. Pulling back the blanket he began to work her clothes off, taking care as he did. She may be out for the count but that didn’t mean she had to be pulled all over the place.
“I was just supposed to have some downtime in between hits. It wasn’t supposed to be spent getting to know everyone. All I wanted was the chance to fit in. I earn enough to be locked up in a palace or own an island. I didn’t want any of that. Just a nice place to pretend that I was normal, that killing people really didn’t bother me. What did I get? I got a nosy neighbor with the most haunted eyes I’ve ever seen. Not to mention the curviest butt that fits really nice against my dick. Let’s see, your tits are more than a handful, and I love holding them. Then of course, your laugh. I crave your laugh so damn much, and I think it’s because you don’t do it enough. You need to laugh all the time, Riley. Life’s too short to go around being miserable. You hear me?” He continued to talk to her as he changed her from the clothes she wore to the gym wear.
Afterward, he needed to clear his head. Leaving his office, he grabbed a coffee from the machine, and watched as a couple of boys practice moves in the ring. So long as they fought cleanly without risk of hurting anyone, he didn’t mind.
When he returned to the office, Riley was still out cold. Taking a seat behind his desk, he pulled up the footage at her bakery. He’d installed security for him to watch her every chance he got. Rewinding back to when the bastard had her looking through cakes and designs, he watched her serve a bunch of girls. She started talking with the guy, and then closed the door that locked her away with a murderer rather than running out into the busy plaza.
The cameras changed, and he watched her appear. Her eyes closed as the gun pressed against her temple. Death clearly in her sights. How quickly she moved shocked him. Standing on his foot, slamming her elbow against his stomach, and that knife making quick work ending his life. Luckily, he was a low-ranking newbie compared to some of the mark’s other men.
Riley’s actions were from someone used to defending herself.
Glancing over at her sleeping form, he knew from her files that she’d been in foster care, and also that she’d been working the streets for a long time.
The mask he put on for their world to see, she wore every single day as well. Time passed, and he sat, waiting for Riley to wake up, hoping Boss hadn’t given him too high of a dose for her.
He got the message from Boss that the bakery was clean, and everything had been replaced. The fucker was going to make sure she got rewarded for her hard work, not that Shadow had a problem with that.
After what felt like a lifetime, but only a few hours had passed, Riley began to stir. Getting up from his chair, he moved toward her side, taking hold of her hand as she groaned, opening her eyes.
She turned toward him. “What happened?”
He didn’t say a word, allowing her to get accustomed to the passing time, and everything else. She rubbed at her eyes, and began to sit up when she realized her clothes were different.
“You’re at the gym with me. One of the guys found some clothes that I could give you so that you wouldn’t be in the stuff you wore before.”
“The ones covered with blood?”
“You remember?” he asked.
“Yes.” She glanced around the room. “What’s happening? What’s going on?”
“Don’t stress about it, baby. You don’t need to worry, okay?” He placed a hand on her chest, keeping her down. He moved so that he sat on the edge of the sofa, keeping her in place. “Everything has been taken care of.”
“My bakery?”
“Is fine. Everything has been scrubbed and cleaned. All of your products replaced. Boss is very thorough. You could eat off the floors.”
She nodded her head, and slowly lay back down.
“He also wants to reward you.”
“Reward me?”
“You killed that man. You’re going to get paid. It will help you.”
Riley closed her eyes. “I should be thrown in jail.”
For several seconds Shadow didn’t say anything. He held her hand, wondering what to say. Kissing her knuckles, he stared into her eyes. “He wasn’t the first man you killed, was he?”
Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head. She didn’t try to deny it. “No.”
“Tell me, Riley.”
There was so much she kept bottled up, and he hated seeing her like this.
She closed her eyes, and sighed. “Sixteen. I was sixteen, and finally getting by. I had a, erm, a fake ID. I got to work, and everything was fine. You know? Nothing going wrong. I worked late one night, finishing at two in the morning. I hadn’t been to school in a long time, and I passed this same alley for weeks, months even. They say your life can change in an instant. I was pulled into that alley.” She wiped under her nose as the tears fell. “I don’t even know who the guy was, I just know that he’d been waiting for me. That’s what he said. He’d seen me. He’d been waiting, and I struggled. He slammed me up against the wall, and threw me to the ground, knocking the wind right out of me. I fought, but he was stronger. I screamed for help. I yelled and screamed and begged. Nothing. He didn’t stop. He shoved up my skirt, and tore at my panties, and he had his … thing out. I don’t know what happened next, but I had the knife in my hand, and I just kept stabbing and stabbing until there was so much blood that all I could see was red.” She looked toward him.
“Is that why you wouldn’t let Boss have the knife?”
She nodded. “It’s kept me safe ever since.”
Chapter Nine
Riley had nodded on and off, but Shadow let her rest. When she pushed to sit up on the sofa, he bent down in front of her and held her hands in his.
“How you feeling?”
“Better. I’m sorry for making such a scene,” she said.
He couldn’t help but smile. “You’re allowed to be upset, Riley. Do you think the gossipy housewives on our street could handle what you’ve just been through?”
She chuckled. “I’d pay to see that.”
Shadow sat beside her on the sofa, putting his arm around her so she could rest her head on his chest. “Things are only going to get better. My contract’s been handled, and I’ll be sure to keep future projects far from home.”
“So, no more hitmen waiting to kill me?”
He couldn’t answer her without lying. Boss’s words rang in his head. The mark’s outer circle could still want Riley dead. Until he knew exactly what they were dealing with, he had to keep his woman close. “Let’s hope not.”
She held his hand. “You have a strong heartbeat,” she said.
“I take good care of it,” he said. “Now that I think of it, most of my life my biggest fear was dying of sickness. All that’s changed now.”
“How so?” she asked.
“Because none of that matters anymore. Now I’m only afraid of losing you, Riley.”
She tilted her head to kiss him, slowly, passionately.
“I’ve always been scared to rely on another person. Everyone’s always let me down, hurt me, or put me last. I promised myself I’d never give anyone power over my heart … until you came along.”
He kissed her again, their tongues playing, tender and sweet. It wasn’t a prelude to sex, just unadulterated desire and love for one woman. “You’ve tak
en care of yourself for so long, but I’m telling you, you don’t need to. I’ll never let anyone hurt you,” he promised.
Once the gym had been closed down at midnight, Shadow drove Riley to his house. Even though he had her little bungalow wired from top to bottom, it didn’t have the security measures he had in place. There was no way he’d leave her in harm’s way now that she was on a massive shit list.
They’d stayed at the gym until late in the evening, had some takeout, and did a lot of talking. Now it was time to get down to business, but first he wanted Riley safe and settled so she could rest.
“I know you wanted a sleepover at your place tonight, but I didn’t think it would be under these circumstances,” said Riley, as they walked up the path to his front door.
No one had ever been in his home besides Boss. No women. No colleagues.
“It’s the best place to be for now,” he said. “Until I figure things out, I don’t want you alone. Or at your bakery.”
Once inside the foyer, she kicked off her shoes, still a little wobbly, so he held her elbow. “I can’t ignore my bakery. I’ll lose all my customers,” she said absently, busy looking around.
“If you want a replay of today, be my guest, but it may not turn out as well for you next time.”
“I can’t believe this is happening. It’s like the witness protection program, only I’m on my own.”
Shadow tilted her chin up. “You’re not alone. You have me. I won’t let anything happen to you. If they come, and they will, I’ll take care of them.”
“Aren’t you scared?”
He smiled. “I was only afraid when I couldn’t get to you in time, when I thought that asshole had killed you. I felt helpless, and I won’t be so sloppy next time.”
“It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known.”
Shadow didn’t want to get Riley upset or to revisit memory lane again, so he thought it best to change the subject. “Do you need to talk more?” The drugs had worn off hours ago, and the food helped stave off the lingering effects.
“I feel like an emotional basket case, but other than that, I’ll live. It was a moment of weakness, but I’m good now.”
“You don’t have to be strong all the time. It’s not healthy,” he said.
“You should take your own advice. How do you deal with your shitty past?”
“I joined the Marine Corps, did my time—it only made things worse. It fucked with my head to the point they wouldn’t let me return after my third tour.”
“But you’re still killing.”
“That’s different. I don’t mind the violence. I appreciate the outlet,” he said. “The gym helps, too.”
He pointed to the living room, inviting her to have a seat.
She shook her head. “I’ve seen this room. I want to see the rest of your house,” she said.
“Right, you’ve peeked in most of my windows, haven’t you?”
Riley shrugged. “You wouldn’t talk to me, so I had no choice. I don’t like mysteries I can’t solve.”
“Okay, go at it.”
She pushed open the door off the main living room, stopping dead in her tracks. “Holy shit!”
Shadow chuckled as he past her, pulling the handgun out of his waistband and dropping it on the counter.
“I thought this would be the kitchen.” She stood in awe as she looked around his vault, the secure room housing his weapons and ammo. He’d been collecting for a long time.
“No way did I expect this, and I imagined a lot of scenarios.” Riley ran her fingertips along the shelving, checking out everything as if doing inventory. “Do you even have a kitchen?”
“It’s in the back of the house,” he said. “Look, I don’t like leaving you alone right now, but I need to meet with Killer of Kings and find out where we stand.”
“I can handle myself. I’m a big girl.” Riley smiled, mischief in her eyes. “Besides, I’ll be busy exploring for a while.”
“Leave me a shred of privacy, please.” He cupped her face, kissing her softly on the lips. “Don’t leave the house, baby. Take a shower, get some sleep. I’ll be back before you wake up.”
Before Shadow left the house, he turned on the exterior security system. If Riley sensed anything suspicious, he told her to call his cell right away. Chains was waiting for him in an abandoned parking lot half an hour away. Shadow was made of questions, and demanded answers.
When he arrived on location, he backed into a parking spot, maintaining a good view of the area. The distant street lights gave a faint glow to the dark parking lot. When he saw the interior lights of a car flick on, he got out of his truck, palming the weapons under his jacket.
“Can you explain what the fuck happened today?” he asked as he approached.
Chains cracked his neck to each side, leaning against the hood of his car. “None of us knew that shit was on to her.” The passenger side of the car opened, and El Diablo stepped out.
“What the fuck is he doing here?”
Chains put up a hand to stop Shadow from pulling out his Glock. “When El Diablo saw you take off, he followed. The contract was worth a shitload of money, and he thought you had another lead. My job was to tail him.”
Shadow had wondered why the fuck Chains and El Diablo were on his ass when he arrived at the bakery, but he’d only had Riley on his mind at the time. If they’d gotten in his way, he wouldn’t have hesitated to take them both out.
“Well the mark is dead, so only I’ll be getting paid.”
El Diablo ran a hand through his black hair. He had an elaborate tattoo on the right side of his face near his eye. The bastard hadn’t said a word.
“What’s he doing here? Boss hire him?”
“I don’t work for anyone,” said El Diablo. “But I came this far, so I don’t want to leave empty handed.”
“You’re far from home. It’s a long flight back to Colombia,” said Shadow.
El Diablo narrowed his eyes, his body mostly covered in darkness. “I haven’t been back there in over ten years. This is where I play now.”
“Great. Just what we need, another psychopath loose on the streets.”
“Watch it, gringo.”
Shadow was fluent in Spanish among several other languages. And this asshole didn’t intimidate him. “Do you expect us to call you El Diablo? Give us a real name or I’ll have to make one up. How about Fred?”
“Fuck off.”
Chains exhaled. “Let’s not do this right now. All I want is hard liquor and pussy. I didn’t sign on to play babysitter to you two fuckers.”
“Boss said something about the mark’s inner circle looking for revenge. Do we have numbers? How much do they know?”
“They’ll be going after the girl again. She has ties to Killer of Kings, and they have her pic and info from the brush at the restaurant.”
“How?”
“He wasn’t worth a fortune for nothing. As soon as his phone went missing, he had his men pull the security camera footage in the restaurant.”
“Well, he’s pushing daisies, so what are we dealing with?”
“Boss wants things cleaned up. There’s a pretty penny for every kill loyal to the mark. There’re at least a dozen that we know of.”
“That’s why I’m here.” El Diablo winked. “I need to clean up your mess.”
“Listen, Fred, I wasn’t asking you.”
“Do you hear this asshole?” El Diablo asked Chains. “Tell him how many men I’ve killed.”
“Let’s not start a fucking pissing contest, ladies.” Chains scrubbed his hands over his face. “Just call him Xavier. It’s his given name.”
“Motherfucker.” Xavier whirled around, a handgun outstretched in his hand. “Why’d you tell him my name?”
“I’m not crazy about calling you El Diablo either. Save it for someone who gives a shit,” said Chains. “Now, Boss is sending us encrypted files, so check your emails. Shadow, keep your woman on a tight leash. They’ll be looki
ng for her, and they won’t ask questions first.”
“They should be after me, not her. I’m the one who killed their boss. I don’t want her in danger.”
“Too late for that, big boy.” Chains opened the driver’s side door. “We’ll all be sleeping with one eye open until this shit’s cleaned up.”
Shadow watched as the car drove off, leaving him alone in the darkness. He wanted to end this, but couldn’t do it on his own. There was a network that needed to be exposed—one by one. He planned to get things started tonight, knocking a couple threats off their list. He knew where two of the mark’s bodyguards were staying from his previous intel. Since he was no longer required to play nice and keep his distance, it was time to pay a visit.
He broke into the secure lobby, pistol whipped the lobby guard, and rode the elevator up to their suite on the twenty-second floor. As he walked down the long, quiet hallway, he attached a silencer to his handgun. The shotgun over his shoulder was a last resort.
When he arrived at the room, he heard activity inside, despite the late hour. He prepared himself, picked the lock, then burst into the suite. He aimed at the first man attempting to get out of his chair, shooting him in the chest. As he moved in closer, he added another bullet to the man’s head as he continued to scan the suite. After a clean sweep, he kicked open the bedroom door. Two naked whores screamed, struggling to get off the bed. The asshole tried to reach for a gun on the bedside table. Shadow shook his head.
“I need names.”
“You’ll kill me anyway, so fuck you.”
“Wrong answer.” Shadow shot him between the eyes, a spray of blood coloring the white sheets. He holstered his weapon and rummaged through the drawers for something he could use. It would have been a waste of time to interrogate the shit.
When he stood back up, one of the women cried out. “Please, we’ll do anything…”
He briefly glanced in their direction. “Not interested.”
As Shadow drove back home, he punched the dashboard, shaking out his fist afterward. He’d worked so hard to keep his home life and work separate. Just when it looked like he’d get a chance at a real life with Riley, the worlds became blurred. Now he had to worry about assassins showing up on his street or at Riley’s bakery. It was bullshit, and seemed he just couldn’t get a break in his fucked-up life.