Dating A Hitman (The Dating Series Book 4)

by Love, B. T.

  I was now for sure that Troy’s role in my family was some sort of security detail. It made sense when I connected all the dots. First off, he was very strong and fit, something you needed to be when you were protecting people. Secondly, he had a room in the house that he visited a lot. I figured maybe there was surveillance equipment that he monitored in there, because I had spotted a few cameras around the house outside. And then you put together the fact that he came to my dad’s call after Vladimir talked to me at the barbecue, my dad most likely telling him to keep an eye on me and my safety. So putting all that information together made him being around the house all the time make more sense.

  With my hunky bodyguard gone, I made probably what was considered the wrong decision and left the house without telling anyone. Everyone was gone anyway, and I was itching to do some window shopping. So I set out on foot and left the neighborhood behind, which wasn’t too far from the busy downtown area.

  It felt nice to stroll along the shops while breathing in the warm summery air. I even got a vanilla ice cream cone while I admired the items in the windows. About an hour into my mini vacation a limousine pulled up beside me and stopped. The back window rolled down and out popped Vladimir’s head.

  “Hello beautiful woman,” he said, his accent so thick it was almost hard to make out his words.

  I smiled and stepped off the curb to greet him. “Well hello there. What are you doing in this part of town?”

  “I was on my way to my restaurant when I saw you walking down the sidewalk; I had my driver turn around.”

  “Oh, well, thank you for saying hello.” I didn’t really know what else to say besides that, it was a little awkward.

  He opened his door and stepped out, standing tall above me. “Would you like to escort me to my restaurant? I will treat you to lunch. You can have whatever you want on the menu.”

  My gut intuition told me no, my heart said no, and my head also said no. So when I nodded yes and sat down in his limousine, I was very surprised. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I going with this stranger? I knew why: I was afraid of him; I was afraid to tell him no. In a way I felt it was better to agree to what he was asking of me to create less problems. The worst part about me accepting his invitation was the fact that no one knew I was with him.

  The limo pulled away from the curb and continued up the street. My heart raced as I sat beside him and stared out the window, mentally kicking myself for joining him.

  “You seem nervous,” he said, calling me out.

  My head shot over to him. “Oh, no. I’m not.”

  He chuckled deeply. “I know a liar when I see one Scarlett. But let me assure you, you have nothing to worry about.”

  I drew in a deep breath and sighed it out. “I’m not so sure about that, Mr. Koval.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Well, I’m not supposed to get involved with your business, but I’m not an idiot. I know you are someone who is powerful, and I know you are held in high respect. But I also see that you are feared by people.”

  “By your family . . .” he stated.

  “Yes, by my family.”

  He smoothed his ring-adorned hand over his chin. “You are a smart woman knowing your place and staying out of business that isn’t yours. But I will tell you one thing, because I think you are such a beautiful woman: I am a very powerful man who is feared. And people are right to fear me, because I am not afraid to do things that men otherwise would not do.”

  I swallowed hard. “Like what?”

  His laugh radiated from the depths of his chest. “See, now that’s a question you should know not to ask.”

  “You’re right,” I laughed nervously. “Stupid woman.”

  “Ah yes, stupid but beautiful.”

  Okay, I had to get out of that limo. “You know,” I said, trying my best to sound lighthearted, “I completely forgot that I was going to meet my dad at the pizza restaurant. He wanted me to come down and, and I guess I just lost track of the time. I’m so sorry I agreed to go to your restaurant. I shouldn’t have done that when I had other plans.”

  His smile faded. “Well, I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I kept you from prior plans with your father.” He laughed quietly and put his hand on my knee. “We will reschedule.”

  “Yes,” I agreed, trying to sound pleased. “We will.”

  “I’ll have my driver drop you off at the restaurant.”

  * * *

  I flew out of the limo and into the restaurant, where I was met right away by my father and uncle. “What the hell are you doing!” my dad raged with wild eyes. “Was that Vladimir’s limo you were just in?”

  “Before you say anything I can explain—”

  “You better!”

  “I, I was walking around downtown, and—”

  “When was this? You never told me this!”

  “I know, Dad. I just wanted to take a walk and get some air. There’s nothing for me to do when you guys are all gone. So I went out and did some window shopping and Vladimir saw me and offered to take me to his restaurant.”

  “And you accepted?” my uncle asked.

  “Yes, yes I did. I didn’t want to; my gut told me to say no. But I was more afraid to say no to the man then to go with him. Not long into our drive I told him I needed to come here, that I forgot I had something planned with you, Dad.”

  “You lied to him?” my dad asked. “He knows when people are lying to him!”

  “Ugh!” I gave up, throwing my hands in the air. “You know, this is just like what my mom warned me about. She didn’t even want me to come here because of this crap. I’m still in just as much danger as I was when I was four.”

  My dad’s face turned to stone. “I told you I would protect you better now than when you were a little girl. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do, protect you from people.”

  “Oh, you mean from people like Troy?” I argued. “The man who lives in your house part time? Who I happen to see nothing wrong with, by the way.”

  “Troy’s different.”

  “Yeah, he’s different,” my uncle added.

  “I’d like to believe you but I can’t. And since I’m not supposed to ask any questions about anything I might as well just go back home. I feel threatened by a man I don’t even know and I haven’t even been here a week yet. And you’re obviously still dabbling in something illegal so I don’t even think I should be around you anyway. God, I thought prison was supposed to teach people a lesson.”

  My father looked around at the few customers that were in the restaurant, and then he pulled me over back behind the front counter. “I don’t want you to leave,” he said in a much quieter tone. “But you need to realize that I still have ties to things from my past that I can’t get rid of.”

  “You can if you want to,” I said, glaring at him.

  “No, I can’t. You can’t just leave the Russian Mafia. There’s more to it than that.”

  “Russian Mafia?” I whispered. “Is that what Vladimir is a part of?”

  “Yes. And he is a very dangerous man.”

  “I can’t believe you’re in the Mafia, Dad.”

  “I’m not, I just have ties with them. But that’s all you need to know, and quite frankly you shouldn’t even know that.”

  I shook my head in disbelief and scanned the restaurant. My eyes fell on the spot where I had laid on the floor and almost bled to death. Up until that point I didn’t really remember the detail of where I had been when it happened. It was the first time I had been back in that room, and to my amazement a flood of memories came rushing back to me, memories I had long suppressed.

  “Were you in business with him when I was shot?” I asked.

  “No, I’ve only dealt with him for seven or so years. And I don’t need you getting involved with him. He’s bad news.”

  I looked back at him with a downturned smile. “I’m sorry, Dad. I was just afraid to tell him no.”

  He pulled me against him and h
ugged me tightly. “You were never meant to be a part of this lifestyle. I truly believe that, which is why I often wonder if what happened to you was fate so you could be taken away from the danger you would continue to live in if you were to stay.” He gently pushed me back with his hands still holding onto my shoulders. “Your beauty is both a blessing and a curse. It attracts all types of men. Watch out for the ones who can pose a large danger to your life.”

  My eyes examined his face. “You mean like Troy?”

  He dropped his arms from my shoulders and crossed them in front of him. “Troy will not hurt you, that is one thing I am certain of. But that doesn’t mean he is not a dangerous man.”

  “He doesn’t seem so dangerous to me.”

  “Well you don’t know him like I do, like your brother does.”

  I hugged myself with a sigh. “I know, Dad. I think I figured out what he does for you.”

  His eyebrow cocked. “Why don’t you tell me what it is you think he does . . .”

  “Security. He watches the house for you, which is why he’s always there.”

  His head slowly nodded. “Yes. Yes he does watch our house.” He let out a heavy sigh and dropped his hands to his hips. “Well, now that we got all of this out of the way, why don’t you stay and have a slice of pizza with me. We can do some more catching up.”

  “Sure, Dad,” I smiled. “Sounds good.”

  Seven

  When I walked in the front door I knew Troy was back. For one, his car was parked out front, and I couldn’t help but squeal inside when I saw it. The other way I knew he was home was because I could smell him. Jesus, between the musky body wash he used and the pheromones that man put off it was ridiculous. I’d never been more connected to a man’s scent than his.

  The house was quiet as I leisurely climbed the carpeted stairs. When I got to the top my breath caught at the sight of my bedroom door being wide open. I had closed it when I left. Knowing that it had to be Troy, I rounded the corner into the room, only to see him rummaging through my box of letters.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I asked, my voice filled with anger.

  He jumped and turned around, holding a letter in his hand. “Jesus, Scarlett, what did I tell you about sneaking up on me?”

  “What are you doing with my letter?” I demanded. He folded the envelope in half and stuck it in the pocket of his jeans. My eyes widened. “Give that back!” I hurried across the room and grabbed at his pocket, trying to retrieve the letter.

  “Stop,” he said calmly, gently pushing my hands away.

  “Give it to me!” I pushed against him, trying to dig my hand deeper into his pocket.

  “I said stop!”

  “No!” I began punching at his solid chest. “That’s mine, you thief!”

  He grabbed onto my wrists and held my hands still in front of me. “You can’t have this one.”

  I yanked my arms, trying to get out of his grasp, but it was useless. “Give . . . it . . . back,” I said slowly, glaring into his vibrantly-colored eyes.

  “No.”

  “Why?” I asked calmly, hoping that I could get it back from him by changing my tone.

  “Because I said so.”

  My lips pulled in with frustration. “Give it to me or I’ll scream.”

  “I’m used to beautiful women screaming next to my ear.”

  “Give it to me now!”

  “Grow up, Scarlett. Don’t act like a spoiled little brat.”

  “A spoiled brat? Is that what I am? Well it’s a lot better than being a thief like you!” I began thrashing around once again, trying to yank my arms out of his strong grasp.

  “That’s it,” he said, spinning me around and tossing me down onto my bed next to the box of letters. “You stay there.”

  “No!” I yelled, gathering myself together and springing off of the bed to go back to retrieving what was mine.

  He grabbed my wrists again and pushed me down on the bed. His body felt heavy as he put most of his weight on me, pinning me down with my arms over my head. I was too infuriated to be turned on.

  “Knock it off,” he said calmly above me. “You’re not getting this letter back.”

  “I’m gonna spit in your face,” I warned him gently.

  “Try it and see what happens,” he warned back.

  I tried to calm my heavy breaths as I looked up at him. “I think it’s time I hop on a plane and go back home.”

  “I think that’s the best idea you’ve had since you got here.”

  “You’re a dick.”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

  “Give me my letter.”

  “No.”

  “Then tell me why.”

  He moved my hands together and pinned them down with one of his, using his other to retrieve the envelope from his pocket. When he pulled it out he held it up next to his face. “Because it belongs to me.”

  “No, it doesn’t belong to you. It was written for me.”

  “I know it was; I wrote it.”

  My face softened. “What do you mean you wrote it? You wrote me a letter?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “When?”

  “Five years ago.”

  My eyes focused on the return address on the envelope. It was my brother’s address but the initials read T.L.V. above it. My body relaxed beneath his. “What does it say?”

  “Something I don’t want you to read.”

  “Then why did you even send it to me?”

  “Because I needed to get something off of my chest, and I knew it would be sent back like all the rest were.”

  My gaze relaxed as I stared up at his attractive face. Now that I was calming down, I was becoming turned on by his weight on me. “What on earth would you need to get off of your chest? You didn’t even know me.”

  He took the letter away and stuck it back in his pocket. “That’s something you don’t need to concern yourself with.” He released his grip from my wrists and pushed himself off of me. “I don’t mean to be a dick to you, but you can’t have it.”

  I pushed up onto my elbows and gave him my best game face. “I’ll get it back.”

  “Not if I burn it first.”

  My anger returned. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Scarlett, you have no idea what I would or wouldn’t do.” He turned around and left my room, going back to his.

  I sprang up from the bed and rushed down the hall, reaching his door right as he slammed it in my face. “Open this door!” I demanded.

  “Go away.”

  I slammed my fist against its smooth surface, the loud sound spurring Machete to bark behind it. “If you burn it I’ll tell my dad.”

  “I’m so afraid,” he said flatly.

  “You know what you are Troy? You’re a coward.”

  He was silent for a moment. “You can call me whatever you want. But I can tell you, coward is not at all a word that describes me. Go away.”

  I huffed and flipped around, going into my room and slamming my door behind me.

  * * *

  I glared at Troy from my bedroom window as I watched him walk shirtless to the hot tub, holding two beers by their necks in one of his hands. A few moments later the light below the bubbling water turned off. That was my chance.

  I opened my bedroom door and looked up and down the hall to make sure no one was coming. After seeing it was clear, I tiptoed down the hall and stood in front of his door. For someone who was into his privacy he should have secured the door better, because all he had was a regular knob with a hole in the center that I could easily unlock. The only tool I could find on such short notice was a toothpick, which I kind of figured wouldn’t work, but I had to at least try. I stuck it into the hole and wiggled it around, hoping to find the groove in the lock so I could turn it and open the door.

  Then the front door opened and slammed shut downstairs. The loud bang startled me and I flipped around and tiptoed quickly back to my room, carefully shutting my door.r />
  “Scarlett!” my brother called to me as he came rushing up the stairs.

  I opened my door with wide eyes. “What? What’s wrong?”

  Eli looked furious. “Did you talk to Vladimir Koval today?”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Stay away from him, do you hear me?”

  “Yes, I already had this talk with dad.”

  “I hope dad told you how dangerous that man is. I don’t want you involved with him.”

  “I know, I made a mistake today. I’m sorry.”

  He let out a heavy breath. “Listen, you’re not an idiot; you know what goes on around here. It’s dangerous. Vladimir is dangerous. Stay off of his radar, you got it?”

  I nodded quickly. “Yes. Don’t worry, I’ll be going home soon.”

  His face fell. “You don’t have to leave because this happened.”

  “No, I mean, I have to go back soon anyway. That’s where my home is, where my school is.”

  “Oh, I thought you meant you were going to leave because of all this.”

  “Well,” I shrugged, “a part of me thinks it might be a good idea to get out of here. But I still don’t feel like we’ve had a good enough of a visit yet.”

  “Yeah, me either.” He looked down the hall in the direction of Troy’s room. “Listen, don’t leave yet, okay? We still have time to spend together.” His eyes met mine once again. “I’ll try to spend more time with you throughout the day. There’s things I can handle at night so our days can be more about us.”

  A smile lit up my face. “I would really like that.”

  * * *

  The next day I stood in the kitchen making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My mind basically felt like mush from all the mental crap that was taking place in the house. And I was still pissed that Troy had my letter. I was praying he didn’t burn it like he said he would.