by Sam Crescent
“You’re thinking about something. I can feel it. And I probably won’t like what you’re thinking,” he said.
She chuckled. “Just thinking about appearances. Your home looks so normal. Nobody would realize how deadly you are.”
She’d killed a man, too.
She’d fallen in love with a killer, and now her life would never be the same.
“My life is in danger,” she said.
“I promise you that I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll take care of you.”
She turned her head to look at him, reaching out to stroke his cheek.
His cock still filled her ass, but she didn’t want to move, not for some time.
“It’s strange to think of someone taking care of me.”
“You better get used to it because I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed her palm. “Besides, I own every single part of you now. I’ve got a few more plans for your body, and you’re not going to deny me.”
She giggled as he bent down, taking her nipple into his mouth, and biting down to the point of pain that only made her gasp.
“So what happens now?” she asked.
“Now?”
“I feel like Rapunzel. Do I stay in your highly secured home forever, or do I get to leave?”
“You’re not in my home right now. We’re having a lot of fun. I never thought a bakery could be so … kinky. I’m wondering what I could do with some of those cookie cutters?” He wriggled his brow, making her laugh.
“That roller will not be used for anything in here again,” she said.
“I’ll take it home with me. It did the job I needed it to do.”
“I don’t know if that’s gross or not.” She laughed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll clean it.”
“Be serious. What happens now? I don’t want to stay protected forever, and I don’t see this working for us, for either of us. What’s going to happen?” she asked.
Shadow sighed. “Couldn’t you just pretend to be a normal woman for two minutes and not think about everything else?”
She shook her head. “I’m a practical person, Shadow. I need to know what else is going on so I can understand what the hell to do. It’s smart to be prepared.”
“We need to make sure your life isn’t in danger. I’ll protect you. You have my promise to take care of you, to love you.”
Every time he told her that he loved her, she fell for him a little more. She couldn’t help it. There was something irresistible about a guy who didn’t have a problem telling a woman how he felt.
“I don’t think I can live with having a bodyguard for the rest of my life.”
He kissed her cheek. “It won’t be for the rest of your life, baby. Just a couple of days until we kill that bastard’s inner circle. When they’re gone, you’ll be free, and then I’m thinking we should go on a vacation.”
“A vacation?” Her interest piqued.
“Yeah. Somewhere with the sun beaming down and an ocean to play in.”
She shook her head, wrinkling her nose. “I don’t do oceans.”
“Why not?”
“Sharks.”
“We’ll go somewhere where there’s no sharks.”
“You can’t guarantee no sharks, Shadow. They’re everywhere, and it’s the ocean. I’ll sunbathe while you go and do your shark diving.”
He burst out laughing. “You’re a crazy woman, you know that, right?”
“I’ve lived this long, and I’ve got no intention of ever, ever, being shark bait. It’s not going to happen.” She couldn’t help but yawn.
“I think it’s time we got you home.”
He began to pull out of her ass, and she groaned, feeling a bit sore now.
“I’ll run you a bath when we get back to my place. I’ll take care of you.” He used some tissues to wipe up the lube. He removed the condom, wrapping it in more tissue, and threw it in the trash.
Shadow didn’t give her the chance to do anything herself. He took care of her, helping her into her clothes before they left the bakery. Being with Shadow was a life she could certainly get used to.
****
Driving back home, Shadow made sure to constantly check his surroundings. The hit out on Riley was serious shit, and he had no intention of losing the only woman he’d ever loved. There were no cars following him, and nothing looked suspicious, even when he made it home noticed nothing was out of the ordinary, which surprised him.
Even he would have been watching the house of a hit, and yet, nothing seemed to be out of place. Checking up and down the street, he rounded the car, opening Riley’s door.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Everything’s normal.”
“That’s good, right?”
Shadow shook his head. “You’re an easy target, Riley.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“You got that guy last week out of sheer luck. You’ve got to admit that,” he said, turning to her.
“It wasn’t just luck, Shadow. Being on the streets, you learn to defend yourself. Some of the foster kids would teach each other moves in case they ever got caught. So it wasn’t just luck on my side. I had practice, and I’m glad nothing really bad happened.”
“I’m not disputing that, but this guy was part of something bigger. They’d want revenge, believe me.” Something bugged him about all of this, and it pissed him off.
He always listened to his instincts, and right now they were telling him something wasn’t right. Entering his home, he punched in the security code.
“Shadow, you’re scaring me.”
He didn’t stop, knowing that Riley would find this out at some point. Going to the basement, he turned on the computer screens that showed Riley’s house.
“Holy shit, you were watching me all this time?” Riley leaned over his shoulder.
“You got a problem with that?” he asked, checking each angle of her rooms, and seeing nothing out of place. Nothing was ransacked. The house was empty.
Leaning back, he tapped his knuckles on the edge of the desk aware of Riley staring at him.
“Something is really bothering you,” she said.
“You’re not going to give me shit about this?”
“Not right now. I think you need to handle whatever it is you’ve got going on.”
He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Chains’s number.
“Yeah,” Chains said, answering within a couple of rings.
“Has there been any update?” Shadow asked.
“Nothing. Everything’s gone quiet, and there’s no sign of any action either. The bakery is clear.”
Chains had been watching the bakery since they left it.
Shadow stared at the screen. “Something’s not right. I’m calling Boss.” He hung up the phone, and began to dial Boss.
“What makes you think they’d come after me in the first place?” Riley asked.
“You took out their man. It’s logical to go after the person who made the hit.”
Boss wasn’t answering his cell phone.
“That doesn’t necessarily make any sense,” Riley said.
With every passing minute he was getting more and more pissed off. Shadow stared at Riley while scrolling through Maurice’s contact info on his cell phone. “What the hell do you mean?”
“You work for this Boss, right? He’s the one that pulls the strings?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Well, he’s the one that took the contract. What’s to say there’s not one out for him?”
“No one can take down Killer of Kings. Boss is the one that pulls the strings. We bring people down that are no good.” He didn’t add that they’ve been known to also kill innocents as well. Sometimes innocent people had to die in order to protect many more people. His job wasn’t always fair, but everything he did, he had a reason for.
“So you’re known by a lot of people, right? What happens if you’ve pushed too far? People are probably tired of losing
against your organization. Why not take matters into their own hands, and rid themselves of your boss?”
Shadow didn’t like that she made sense. Killer of Kings had a fantastic reputation for getting the job done. Boss only ever employed the best men, and he was the deadliest motherfucker alive.
Pressing Maurice’s number, he stared at Riley. “I hope you’re wrong.”
She wasn’t wrong. He knew it in his gut more than he knew anything else. It was the only explanation for why Riley hadn’t been hit.
“Shadow, thank God, I’ve been trying to reach everyone. I had to warn you about Boss. His security codes were accessed, and his main building infiltrated with at least a dozen men, maybe more. He sent me a code black,” Maurice said.
“A code black, you’re sure?” Shadow asked.
“Yes. I’ve told Viper and Bain. I don’t know what to do. Killer of Kings is only worth anything if Boss is alive.”
“Maurice, send me Boss’s current address and the codes I’ll need to access it.”
“That’s not protocol. He said that when a code black is initiated, you’re to get the hell out of Dodge.”
“I’m not going to do that. I’m not a fucking coward, and I sure as hell ain’t going to hide away and let Boss die.” He couldn’t do it. For as big a bastard as Boss was, he was still someone Shadow highly respected. A man who’d helped him up when he was down. “I want all that info within the next few minutes.”
He didn’t waste time talking. Hanging up the phone, he pocketed it, rushing up the stairs toward his weapons room.
“What are you doing?” she asked, chasing behind him.
“I’m going to go and clean up this mess.”
“I’m coming with you.” She went to grab a rocket launcher, but he stopped her, holding her arm.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He had to stop himself from laughing. “No, you’re not going to be in the line of fire. This isn’t your fight. This is mine, and you don’t need to be involved.” He cupped her cheek. “I won’t be able to focus on helping Boss if I’m worried about you.” He pressed his lips against hers. “Please, just this once, do as I ask, and stay safe.”
He had some hunting to do, and the only way he’d be able to focus was to know she was safe.
She nodded. “Yes.”
Shadow wasn’t convinced. Pulling her toward him, he saw the tranquilizer darts right behind her. Distracting her with his kiss, he grabbed one, plunging it into her arm. She gasped, but before she could do or say anything, she fell asleep in his arms.
“I’m sorry, babe. You’re all I have, and I won’t lose you.”
Shadow placed her on floor, securing her wrist to the radiator before grabbing his guns. If he was lucky, she’d be out for the count while he dealt with business.
Chapter Eleven
Shadow sped down the highway in his Mustang Shelby. In all the years he’d worked for Killer of Kings, Boss had always answered his cell phone, day or night. He didn’t like this at all. A light drizzle rained down on the darkened streets, distorting his view through the windshield.
He’d had a lot of scrapes in his early years as a hitman, and Boss was always ready to bail him out or send backup. He never left his men to fend for themselves, and this was Shadow’s chance to show the same loyalty.
His phone rang as he drove. He was so focused, it took a couple rings before he turned on the hands-free. “Yeah.”
“Maurice get a hold of you?” It was Bain. He’d only met him on a few brief occasions, and they’d never worked together. He was one of the newest to sign on with Killer of Kings.
“I’m on my way to Boss’s now,” Shadow said. “What the fuck’s going on?”
“They lured Killian away. He got a call just before everything went black. No one’s heard from Boss.”
“These fuckers think they’re smart. They’re going to beg me to kill them when I’m through.”
“I’ll be there with Viper in ten.”
He hung up and called Chains. Now he had to worry about Killian, too. He’d always been good at keeping his distance from everyone, never getting too close. Unfortunately, he’d formed a friendship with the Irish assassin, and his resolve to take down these assholes was even stronger.
“You hear about Boss?”
“No, what happened?” asked Chains.
“Maurice said there’s a code black. It’s not good. What are we dealing with, Chains? You were on the inside when I was doing intel.”
“The mark was a puppet master, a big player in the underground. Now that he’s gone, there’s a void to fill, and more than one ready to kill to fill it.”
“And Boss?”
“He’s a huge threat. Killer of Kings has an iron-clad reputation,” said Chains. “I just can’t believe anyone had the balls to take him on.”
“Where’s that piece of shit you were chauffeuring around?”
There was a brief silence. “El Diablo disappeared a couple days ago. I thought we could trust him, but in this game, money’s everything.”
Money wasn’t everything to Shadow. He’d trade it all for a normal life, a childhood he could look back on fondly. As an adult, he valued loyalty above the almighty dollar.
“I’ll be at Boss’s in a few minutes. Bain and Viper are on their way.”
He turned off his headlights as he approached the mansion, tall decorative iron gates surrounding the entire property. Accent lighting cut the blackness at regular intervals around the perimeter, but it was still a mix of shadows. All week he’d been losing sleep protecting Riley. Meanwhile, the threat planned to attack the head of the organization, ignoring the limbs. With Killian, Boss’s personal bodyguard, MIA, Boss would be alone against any number of trained killers.
He hoped they weren’t too late. The leader of Killer of Kings could be dead, already at another location, or currently being interrogated. Shadow wanted to rush in with guns blazing like Killian would, but he needed to come out of this alive. Needed to return to Riley.
He got out of his car and walked down the street with his gun at his side. The light rain annoyed him, moistening his hair and getting in his eyes.
When he neared the entrance, two dark shadows waited for him.
“You hear anything?” he asked.
Viper had a black hood on, concealing his face, and Bain was openly strapped with so much fucking firepower he could take out a small army. Both men looked ready for business. For them, for Shadow, their lives revolved around death and destruction. Boss had trained most of them one on one. Whoever infiltrated Killer of Kings was in for a world of hurt.
“Nothing. It’s too damn quiet if you ask me,” said Viper. “I’ve been here before with Pepper, so I have an idea of the general main floor layout.”
“So we get our asses inside, no?” Bain was a huge fucker, his ink climbing up his neck. He’d been friends with Viper since they were kids.
“There’s a massive foyer beyond the doors,” said Shadow. “I have the codes for the security system.”
“I’m going in,” said Viper. “Cover me.”
Shadow entered the code into the control panel, unlocking the double front doors. Viper kicked them open, two handguns outstretched in front of him. An alarm whined every few seconds, a few emergency lights flashing red. Shadow moved to the right, Bain to the left. They swept the foyer, then spread out through the main floor.
A while later they all met up in the lobby again. A figure stood in the doorway, they all pointed their weapons.
“Hey, it’s just me!” said Chains.
Shadow dropped his gun to his side and exhaled. There was no sign of Boss, no sign of a struggle. They still had to check the basement and second floor. Now there were four of them, so they had better odds.
“I’ll check downstairs,” said Bain after peering over the wooden banister. He pulled up an AR15, holding it chose to his chest as he descended into the basement. Shadow looked up to the second level, nodding to Viper and Chains to fo
llow him. Within ten minutes, they’d cleared the entire house, and it was no small task. Boss obviously liked the finer things in life, and for a man living alone, he had a lot of damn rooms.
They wandered around the main floor, trying to decide on their next move.
“Does anyone know how to turn off the fucking alarm?” said Chains. The constant grating sound kept the sense of urgency at the surface.
Viper pointed out the kitchen window. There was a large pool house in the near distance, bigger than Shadow’s house. They all moved without speaking, passing the massive infinity pool that overlooked a forested valley.
Bain kicked open the door, the crash shattering the silence, wood splinting inwards. Immediately, the familiar scent of blood caught Shadow’s attention. The moonlight reflected off the blood pooling on the floor, the dark crimson liquid the only witness to whatever the fuck killed Boss.
“Check the lights,” said Shadow. When the overhead lighting snapped on, the body swinging from the rafters, draining out on the tile was a morbid sight. There were other rooms, so he started to investigate the ones to the right. He knew better than to let down his guards, even if the leader of Killer of Kings had already been taken down.
“Check it out!” he shouted after entering a large guest bedroom.
The other three men came in behind him.
“Holy shit,” said Viper. “What a fucking freak show.”
There were bodies everywhere, in various states of dismemberment. The floor was covered in blood, flies buzzing around the corpses. Shadow had killed a lot of men and been to countless aftermaths, but nothing compared to this.
“Someone’s coming,” Bain whispered, pulling out his 9mm. He leaned against the inside wall, waiting to strike. Whoever walked through the living room, passing Boss’s body, was not trying to be quiet. Bain pressed a finger to his lips. The second the man appeared in the entryway, Bain had his gun pressed to his temple. “Try anything and I’ll blow your fucking brains in.”
“Spade?” Shadow lowered his weapon. It was one of the regular guys from Boss’s west end cleaning crew. He usually didn’t come up this far north. “Who the fuck called you?”