Chapter 32: RUIN ME
Panic seizes my chestas I drop Dalmat Hoxha. A single shot between the eyes ends his miserable existence.
My immediate impulse is to bolt after her.
Lana. She saw everything. Now she knows what kind of sick, twisted monster she married.
But I stop myself. My fingers grip the cold metal chair, knuckles white. Rage and bloodlust pulse through me like poison. Her terrified screams blow out my eardrums, detonating inside my skull.
Good. That’s what should happen.Because nothing good can come out of this “relationship.” That’s what I want to happen. Because she should hate me like I’m supposed to hate her.
Hate. Who am I deluding? That ship sailed long ago.
My shoulders lock, muscles trembling as I force out slow, even breaths. The scent of blood and rot clings to me, the weight of the gun still heavy in my hand.
I was already in a pissed-off mood when Ren hauled the elusive recordkeeper into St. Michael’s catacombs through the Lake Michigan tunnel. The motherfucker was on the run. According to Aleksei, he stole two million from the Berishas and had a ten million bounty on his head.
But what truly signed his death warrant was interrupting my twenty-eight minutes with Lana.
When she eyed me through the camera in defiance, like she knew I was watching, every cell in my body stood at attention.
Thoughts of the Berishas, The Association, revenge? Nowhere to be seen.
Then she dragged her teeth across her bottom lip, slow and deliberate, her large, doe-like eyes smoldering with heat, her skin flushed as she trailed a finger over her creamy cleavage.
My cock roared to full mast. I had half a mind to stalk out of the room and go to her.
To claim my wife in every way I’ve denied myself.
Then the damn bastard had to come and ruin it all.
But this is good. This is fine. Pain is focus. Pain is drive.
Desire? Only for the weak.
The words don’t stick.
“Ren!” I snarl, tossing the gun on the desk. The metal clangs loudly against steel.
The assassin materializes in the doorway instantly, his black mask revealing only his eyes.
“You couldn’t have stopped her?”
He twirls his gun in his hand and shrugs.“You said, ‘Don’t disturb me for anything.’ I can follow instructions.”
I reach him in a few strides and shove him against the wall. “You never follow instructions.”
“You’re mistaking me for Aleksei.”Ren doles out a lazy grin, but anger sharpens his eyes.
His leg snaps out, a center blow to my chest.
Air knocks out of my lungs.
Nostrils flaring, he pushes forward. He sounds out of breath. Too out of breath.“She deserves to know. You shouldn’t keep her in the dark.”
“Why the conscience?” I hiss, pulling him off me, and stalk away. “Remember the vow?”
“For the vow. No mercy. Our ruin for their fall,” he seethes, his voice rough and unused. Almost inhuman.
