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“I’m going to ask you again not to kill Gregory. Promise me that you won’t.”
As Alexei narrowed his eyes, I gripped his arm.
“I’m serious, Alexei. If that man is responsible for allowing Sergei to escape, then he needs to be arrested and brought to justice. Please allow that to happen.”
With another brush of his hand, he kissed my forehead. “I promise you, Stephanie. His death at this point would serve no purpose.”
“Since when do you ever need a reason to kill someone?”
His laugh was unexpected. “You need to trust me once again, my lioness. Can you do that for me?”
I pressed my hand against his face, indulging in a few seconds of intimacy that I wished could never end. “Yes, just please don’t betray that trust.”
As he nodded to Kirill, the man instantly pulling out his phone, the hard thudding of my heart returned, an ugly feeling settling into my system.
My dark Russian lover would never return.
CHAPTER16
Alexei
Blood.
It had been easy to spill over the years without conscious thought. I was just doing my job, one I’d been highly trained to do over the years. Tonight was no exception. I could almost smell the sweet copper lingering in my nostrils from the earlier kills.
And I wanted more.
This wasn’t about asking questions or handling any aspect of interrogation. I couldn’t give a shit about learning more about Volkov or his plans. All I cared about was eliminating the enemy.
One by one.
The bastards had attempted to take out one of our warehouses, my soldiers preventing it. Then Kirill’s team had been called, tracking them down at a cheap as shit motel on the outskirts of the Bronx. The Ramada was off the beaten track with enough tree coverage they’d been able to hide the Humvees from the main road.
We parked away from the two-story building, staying on the outskirts until we made our way to within a hundred yards. There were very few other cars in the parking lot and although I hadn’t wanted to tip them off in any way, the goal was to protect the innocent guests if possible. My orders had surprised Kirill, my methods different than usual.
Stephanie had rubbed off on me in several ways.
Kirill directed one team to scour the bottom floor while I led the other up the outside staircase. Within seconds, we were able to surround the area, ascertaining several of the rooms given loud voices, every word spoken in Russian.
There was no need for further hesitation. Three of the men moved in front of the doors, waiting for my call. As soon as I gave a nod, all hell broke loose. I was reminded quickly why they were worth every dime of their salaries.
The soldiers barged inside, shots immediately fired. The fourth door was opened, two men running onto the balcony. I fired two shots, catching them both between the eyes. Then I turned my attention to the younger man still inside the room. He seemed confused that I’d stormed into his world, disrupting their night of beer and Doritos.
He couldn’t get a handle on what was happening as I took three long strides in his direction, smashing my Ruger against the side of his face, relieving some of the aggression.
I wanted him to suffer.
And he did.
I smashed my fist against his nose in two hard jabs, grinning from the sound of his bones breaking. After that, I smashed my palm into his neck, likely crushing his windpipe. I would have done much more except I heard her voice inside my head and almost instantly, most of the rage was ripped away. However, I needed to finish this.
I pulled out my knife, fisting his hair with the gun still in my hand, slicing his neck from ear to ear. My rage knew no bounds, the thought that Stephanie had almost been killed still weighing heavily on my mind. I lost every bit of control, going from room to room, slicing and dicing the remaining soldiers.
When it was all over, I moved onto the balcony, taking a deep breath, allowing a smile. The odor was even more intoxicating than before.
“Do you want to try and determine if one of the assholes is the Ghost?” Kirill asked.
“He’s not here. He would never stay with the hired help.”
