by Peyton Banks
Kole knew that Denis could talk guns for days, and by the glint in Mila’s eyes, she could too.
“I already like the sound of this place, and I haven’t even gotten my hands on one of them yet.”
Kole chucked to himself and knew that he had lost her attention. Denis held it now.
Kole had to will his cock down as he stared at Mila in the shooting stall. She stood with her legs apart in the perfect form for holding a gun. His eyes were locked on her tan limbs, imagining them wrapped around his waist in the midst of their passion. He leaned back against the wall as he watched her shoot her weapon, pitying anyone on the wrong side of her gun.
He scowled as he realized she was drawing attention to herself. Her almost perfect aim had the shooting range in an uproar, as men began crowding around, watching her hit every mark. Silence filled the air as she lowered her weapon. Kole knew that the locals weren’t used to seeing someone with Mila’s skill behind a weapon.
His eyes cut over to Denis, and he could tell his friend was thinking the same thing. Mila took her ear protectors off, placed her gun on the counter in front of her and stepped back.
She turned and was immediately swarmed by the onlookers. A cocky smile spread across her face as she spoke with members of the crowd. Kole pushed off the wall and nodded his head to Denis, signaling it was time to go. He may have the owner of the range in his back pocket, but the locals were another thing. Bermuda was an island with close-knit people who loved to talk.
Denis pushed through the crowd and grabbed Mila by her arm, dragging her out of the crowd. Drawing attention was not good. Kole knew that Jethro would stay behind and speak to the owner about erasing the video in the range.
“Where are we going? Why are we leaving?” Mila snapped as they exited the building. Kole strode over to the waiting taxi. He had paid the driver good money to wait for them. The sound of the vehicle turning on filled the air before the driver guided the vehicle over to them.
“Kole, why are we leaving? I was kicking ass back there!” Mila demanded as she came to stand next to him. “It was harmless fun. The men in there were enjoying my shooting.”
“Enjoying it too well. We don’t want you to be the talk of the town. When word gets out about a female with a Russian accent, tattoos, and shooting with the precision of an assassin, what do you think will happen?” he snapped as he turned to her. He glared down at her, frustrated that she couldn’t see what was happening in front of her. She may be in a wig to disguise herself, but everyone knows that hair color could change. Most people gunning for her would expect something on her to change, and hair would be the first thing.
She returned his glare with her chest rapidly rising and falling. He knew that she was pissed, but he didn’t care. His top priority was keeping her safe, and if that meat pulling her from a public place and locking her in a steel room with no windows, then he would.
The fight slowly faded from her eyes as realization set in. She blew out a deep breath as she turned her face away from him.
“Look, I’m sorry. I was having too much fun in there. I let the attention get to my head,” she admitted, turning to him.
“It’s okay. I should have never recommended this. I knew you were good, but I didn’t realize how good.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. He laid a kiss on her forehead and motioned for Denis to get the car door. He ushered Mila over to the waiting taxi.
He turned to see Jethro heading out of the building.
“Everything all right?” Kole asked as Jethro made it to the vehicle.
“Yeah, I spoke to Ricardo and he’ll take care of the security video.”
“Good,” Kole nodded. He knew that he would be able to trust the owner of the range to erase any proof that Mila was there. It was just the patrons of the range that he was worried about.
They fell into a tense silence as the vehicle pulled out onto the road. Kole glanced at Mila and found her deep in thought, staring out the window. When they returned to the resort, he would have to break the news that they would have to leave the island. They would need to stay a step ahead of the assassins that he was sure were coming for her. He pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a text to Peter. It was time that they ready the yacht.
“We’re leaving, aren’t we?” she asked in a low voice. He turned to find her still staring off at the scenery.
Guess he was making the announcement earlier than he thought. He wouldn’t hide it from her, only the location of where they would go next.
“Yeah,” he said, looking down at his phone as Peter responded immediately, informing him that the crew would be ready by morning. Pleased with the information, he placed his phone back in his pocket.
“Running has never been my style, Kole,” she said, turning toward him.
“I know.” He sighed and placed his arm around her shoulders. “But you heard your brother, he doesn’t want you involved. I may not agree with your brother on many things, but I do on this. I’ll keep you alive and safe while he handles it at home.”
“You know, you and him are a lot alike,” she drawled, pushing the blonde hair away from her face.
“Really?” Her brother was a ruthless and powerful gangster that had been a thorn in his side for years.
“Oh, yes,” she snorted. “Of course you would be blind to it. Both of you are intelligent, generous, fierce, and well-respected.”
“Hmm.”
“She just described you to a T,” Denis chuckled from his seat in the taxi.
“That’s why they don’t get along. They are basically the same person,” she laughed.
“We don’t get along because he’s trying to take over my organization,” Kole noted, but knew that she was trying to lighten the mood in the vehicle.
“Not trying to put a damper on the mood, but I think someone’s following us,” Jethro announced, staring out the back window. His position sitting across from Kole and Mila gave him an advantage.
The laughter immediately stopped.
“Are you certain?” Kole asked in a low voice, refraining from turning around. If they were being followed, he wouldn’t want to let on that they knew.
“The black sedan has been behind us for the past mile.” Jethro revealed. “We’re almost at the resort.” Jethro pulled his weapon from the waist of his pants.
“See, this is why I need a gun,” Mila proclaimed and leaned into to him to place a kiss on his cheek, giving her a chance to look out the back window.
“Recognize anyone?” he murmured as she sat back. The driver made a right turn onto the driveway that led up to the resort.
“No, the car was too far back,” she replied. He could see the emotions crossing her face. Anger and determination were present, along with another one he didn’t think he would ever see on her twice.
Vulnerability.
“It kept going,” Jethro announced, letting out a deep breath. They all sat back in their seats, but none of them relaxed. This was a close call, and Kole hoped that this would be the only one.
“We leave before sunrise,” Kole informed them, drawing Mila close. He refused to let anyone get close to her.
No, he wouldn’t be losing her.
Chapter 16
Mila shifted in the bed, not knowing what woke her. Kole’s light snoring filled the air. As if sensing her moving, he drew her naked body closer to his. She shifted her head, trying to get comfortable, but the hairs on her arm stood on end. She focused on the quietness of the suite.
Something was wrong.
This was a feeling she didn’t like and knew that her gut was trying to alert her. She turned over onto her side, facing away from Kole, and blew out a deep breath.
There it was again.
The sound was so minute that if she hadn’t been listening for it, she would have missed it. A few scratches and ticks. Her eyes flew open as she paused and listened again. She sat up, Kole’s arm sliding down to the bed.
Someone was breaking into their suite.
Mila narrowed her eyes as she reached toward the nightstand and slowly opened the top drawer. She was comforted by the feel of the cold steel of her weapon. She pulled it out and took the safety off.
She nudged Kole, who immediately opened his eyes. He sat up once he noticed her gun in her hand. She put her finger to her lips, warning him, as she swung her legs off the bed. She grabbed his shirt from the floor and tossed it over her head, covering her naked body. Nothing like getting in a fight naked. Using both hands, her aim was steady as she made her way out of the bedroom.
Kole silently followed her into the living area. She glanced in his direction and saw he had a gun in his hand. Her heart remained calm. She had been itching for a fight for a while, and it looked like it had finally come to her. She moved out of the sight of the person coming through the door, silently jogging behind the open closet door. Kole moved to where she couldn’t see him, but she knew that he, like her, was waiting for the right moment to take their guest by surprise.
Click.
The fuckers had the door unlocked.
With barely a sound, two masked men made their way into the dark area, silently closing the door behind them. Mila could see the glint of metal, and knew they came armed.
She held back a snarl as she came from behind the door and silently came up behind the one. She could see they were not pros by the way they entered into the hotel room. There was no way that a professional assassin would be heard entering the room on a mark.
He must have sensed Mila behind him. He turned and she went on the attack, not giving him a chance to react. She swung her arm with all her might and slammed her gun into the side of his face. Stunned, he took a few steps back and fell onto the coffee table in the middle of the room. His partner went for her, but a shot rung out.
Kole came from his spot, gun raised. The man staggered near the bedroom door, falling to the floor as the sound of glass shattering filled the air. Mila turned to the sight of men crawling through the windows. She aimed and pulled the trigger, hitting her targets. Gunshots filled the air as both her and Kole took aim, trying to stop the men from entering the suite, but they kept coming. Whoever sent them after her, must have a large army.
Chaos broke out around them. She only had the one clip with her, the other in the nightstand next to the bed, and she was about to run out of bullets.
“Mila!” Kole shouted, motioning her to his side. She raced to him as she emptied the final bullet.
He pulled her behind him as they rushed from the room. Screams filled the air in the hallway from the other guests from the hotel rooms that were possibly entered looking for her.
Kole kicked open the emergency door leading into the stairwell.
“Where the fuck is everyone?” he growled, pulling her down the stairs.
Her breaths came fast as she concentrated on running down the stairs barefoot. Her hand gripped her empty gun tight.
“Hopefully, kicking these motherfuckers’ asses,” she snapped.
Stomping could be heard below them, and when they looked over the railing, the saw men dressed in black with large guns in their hands, rushing up the stairs. They were still a few flights below them, so she and Kole would only be a few seconds ahead of them.
“Come on.” He yanked her arm and pulled her to the door on the next level. Opening the door, he peered down the hallway before turning to her with a finger to his lips. She quietly followed him, trying to slow her breathing. Her adrenaline was pumping and she was ready for a fight. If that would be the only way they would make it out of here alive, she’d fight.
A figure appeared at the end of the hallway and they both paused. She could feel Kole’s body grow tense as he placed his body in front of hers.
“Kole.” They both relaxed slightly at the sound of Jethro’s voice.
“Where the fuck have you been?” Kole demanded, marching toward his soldier. He had yet to release her hand, but she was okay with it. In all her years of being a soldier for her brother and father, it was the first time she had felt protected. It had always been her protecting her brother against the enemy and fighting for the brotherhood. Kole taking control and killing those men in their suite, made her heart flutter. She knew that this would not be looked at as a romantic gesture, but for their lifestyle, it was everything.
“We got caught in a fire down on the first floor. Come this way. We’ve secured an exit out of the building. The crew is waiting on us at the docks.”
They silently followed Jethro to another emergency exit and made their way down the stairs, meeting Denis halfway down.
“You two all right,?” Denis asked them as he and Jethro led them out of the building. Kole’s men surrounded them as they rushed to a car.
“Get us out of here, now,” Kole snapped, pulling her in front of him. A few more of Kole’s men rushed from their hiding places, providing cover.
Mila ducked as she ran, cursing as the rocks of the driveway dug into her bare feet. But this pain would be nothing like the pain of a gunshot wound. She bit her lip and kept running. Gunshots echoed in the quiet night air as Kole’s men returned fire. They made it to the waiting SUV, where Kole practically tossed her into the back seat with him following.
Denis and Jethro jumped in the front, with Denis in the driver’s seat.
“Go!” Jethro shouted.
Mila’s head fell back against the headrest as the truck peeled out. Denis drove like a bat out of hell and away from the hotel. Her chest rose and fell as she turned and watched the hotel disappear. When she turned her eyes toward Kole, she found his eyes were dark with fury, and she knew that someone would pay for this.
Kole paced the room. Rage burned in his chest as he realized he could have easily lost Mila tonight. Had it not been for her senses, they could have been dead. They had safely made it back to the yacht, and as expected, the crew had the ship ready, and the minute they all had boarded, the yacht was racing toward open waters. He had insisted for Mila get cleaned up and pushed her to the shower. She had protested at first, but then relented as she looked down at herself. Small splatters of blood covered her. Her feet were covered in dirt from being without proper coverings.
He paused his pacing and turned a cold eye to Denis, his guard and trusted friend. They were meeting in the master suite’s sitting area. He was enraged, and someone needed to answer for what had just occurred.
“How did this happen?” he growled. He was beyond pissed. Not only had his life been in danger, but Mila’s had been too. How did this attack get past his men? There were enough of his loyal men on the island that an attack of this magnitude should not have gone unnoticed.
“We don’t know.” Denis shook his head. “But I will personally get to the bottom of this, and when I find out who it is, I will personally see—”
“No, whoever it is will answer to me.” He raised a hand, cutting Denis off. It was his woman who almost died, and he would let it be known to everyone who was sending killers for her, that Mila Petrovna belonged to Kole Bozovic. If they had an issue with it, they could come see the head of the Belotov gang.
“Yes, sir.” Denis nodded from his perch on the couch.
“Step up security. I want all available men to be ready. I’ll let you know the next stop soon. Right now, Peter has orders to just get us away from Bermuda. I think it best that no one but me know where we’ll go next.”
He dismissed his friend and made his way to the bedroom. He shucked off his sweats and walked into the bathroom, as he too was filthy from their escape.
His eyes landed on the glass shower door, finding Mila standing still beneath the streaming water. She didn’t even turn when he opened the door and stepped in. Steam filled the shower stall, only allowing him to see the outline of her naked body. Her inked skin was a beacon to him. He needed to feel her, taste her, to know that she was all right. He pulled her back to his chest, and she turned in his arms, laying her forehead against his chest. He ran his hands along her back, loving the feel of her
slick skin beneath his fingertips.
He held back a growl, thinking he could have lost her tonight. But he was proud and in awe at how she handled herself. If she’d had more bullets, his little warrior would have stayed and fought. Her true aim took out many of the men trying to come into the room to take them out.
His heart had almost jumped out his chest when he saw her moving in on the first two men. But he should have known that she would be able to take care of herself.
“It’s my fault, isn’t it?” she questioned, breaking the silence.
“No.” He threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her head back, so he could look into her eyes. No matter what she’d done on the island, those men made the decision to go after her, and failed. His men handled them.
“It is. It was me showboating at the gun range. You were right. It brought unwanted attention to us.”
“None of this is your fault. You didn’t do anything to warrant being hunted down.”
“There’s plenty I’ve done to warrant this. I’m not an innocent, Kole. Just because Vladen lied about me trying to kill him, doesn’t mean that this is the true reason I’m being hunted. This could have just been a reason for people to officially hunt me down. I have plenty of enemies that want me dead—”
“They’re going to have to go through me first,” he growled, cutting her off.
He leaned down and covered her mouth with his in a painful kiss. He didn’t want to hear that people wanted her dead. He knew that his little hellion wasn’t an innocent. Hell, neither was he.
Chapter 17
Kole pushed her back against the wall, asserting his dominance over her, and she let him. She knew that when it came to their personalities, he was a perfect match for her. She’d never allowed a lover before to have control over her, but with Kole, he could do whatever he wanted to do sexually to her.
The warm water slid along their skin as he covered her body with his. Her bare skin adjusted to the temperature of the cool tile. She reached up and wrapped her arms behind his neck as he continued to explore her mouth. Her breasts were crushed against his hard muscular chest, and she could feel herself growing slick with need.