Page 123 of Lilies from Hell

“I’m sorry about that. Are you okay?” He asks, kissing my ears gently. I nod and let him drive again. I’m still nervous, but at least we’ve gotten rid of them, or so I hope.

39

I end up behind the wheel, but I don't let her get off my lap.

“This isn’t the way to my house,” she says, looking through the window.

“I’d be crazy to take you there right now. Your place is by my side, where I can keep an eye on you,” I murmur, holding the steering wheel firmly. “We’re going to our other apartment.”

When we arrive at the apartment building, cars similar to ours are already parked in front. We head inside with Denis, Sergei, and three other men following us to cover our backs until we’re in front of the door. Then I motion for them to leave, keeping only Denis and Sergei behind.

Lena watches everything closely. A smile spreads across my lips when I see her eyes moving around the place with satisfaction and awe, focusing on the feminine touch I added to the decor. I tell Denis and Sergei to wait for me in the living room before going with her to the bedroom.

“What are you doing?” She asks as I start to undress her.

“I’m going to check you out.”

“I’m fine. I haven’t been hit.” I ignore her and continue undressing her.

I gently slide her skirt and underwear to the floor. I had never had as much willpower as I have now, focusing only on looking for any wounds or anything unusual on her.

When I’m done with her torso I move on to her legs and arms. I walk around her, now focusing on her back, and quickly look away when I see her voluptuous ass.

“See? I’m fine,” she says, covering her breasts.

It bothers me that she keeps insisting on hiding from me. She walks to the bed and gets under the sheets, something my aching balls are grateful for.

“I’ll be right back,” I murmur beside her, unable to take my eyes off her face.

She nods with a smile that takes my breath away. I kiss her forehead, breathing in the vanilla scent of her hair. Soon I get up from the bed, knowing that if I stay a second longer I wouldn’t be able to leave, but I’m weak. Because when I’m about to leave, I lean in again and kiss her softly. Hearing her laugh makes my heart come alive again.

“Ya lyublyu tebya, lyubov’,” I whisper in her ear, kissing it afterwards.

She smiles wider, repeating the same words I had taught her nights before. Then she closes her eyes. Her breathing begins to slow down gradually, but when she hears a bang and something breaking downstairs she opens them with a look of alarm on her face.

“What’s that?”

“Don’t worry. It must be Denis and Sergei.” She nods before closing her eyes again. My hands go to her hair, stroking her strands until she falls asleep.

Going downstairs I notice Denis’s black eye, Sergei’s broken nose, and the glass on the floor.

“Next time, do me a favor and kill each other in silence. You scared Lena,” I hiss. Then I sit down on the sofa with an impatient look, waiting for one of them to start talking.

“Those Mexican bastards are still alive. One of them started shooting, but he’s dead now. We have no fucking idea where the other one is.” Sergei holds his nose as he speaks with a pained expression.

I glance at Denis, who shrinks into his sofa, and go over to him, punching him hard in the left cheekbone. Then I grab him by the collar of his shirt.

“Explain to me how the fuck that happened. I clearly told you to get rid of them.” My words are as sharp as the knife I want to stab him in the neck with. When he doesn’t answer, I let go and throw him onto the sofa. He starts coughing, clutching his throat under my gaze before speaking.

“I don’t know. Damn it, I buried the bodies myself, Sergei was with me.” My eyes go to Sergei, demanding an explanation.

“It’s true. I was with him and we didn’t see anyone around,” he says, covering his nose impulsively when I take a step toward him.

“Did they come back to life and climb out of their graves?” I ask with acid irony. Denis shakes his head. “Then what the fuck happened!?” I scream in a voice low enough not to wake her.

“I’m telling you, I don’t know, man.” Denis swallows hard, looking at Sergei for some support, but after what happened today on that beach, all he gets from him is another angry glance.

“I think it’s your father’s doing,” he blurts out of nowhere. “We all know he’s got it in for you because of Ray. It wouldn’t be surprising if he were helping the Mexicans who survived to finish you off.”