Holding up a hand to stop her from going any further, I glared at her, “My name is Anthony. Not Tony. At least not to you. Now if you will excuse me, I have a gorgeous woman upstairs waiting for me.”
Placing my drink on the table in front of me, I stood up to leave. A rare smile peeked out on Roman’s face. Well, at least I did something right in his eyes, even if I could tell he didn’t trust me completely.
“If you ever decide to play with a real woman, you know where to find me,” she called out as I left the room. Making my way upstairs, I thought of the way Rosie lit up earlier when she was at the range. On our next date, I was taking her shooting at a course I’d found, not far away from here. Entering her room, I saw she was still awake. Stripping down to my boxers, I laid down next to her. Reaching over to pull her closer, she didn’t roll into me like she had begun to do recently. Damn, I fucked up and I didn’t even know how.
Chapter Nineteen
ROSALINA
I had been lying in bed for about an hour when I heard the door open. Finally, Tony had decided to come to bed. Glancing at him in the soft light the lamp gave off, I noticed that he wasn’t wearing his suit jacket anymore. Stripping down to his boxers, he laid down next to me. I rolled away from his touch as he went to plant a kiss on my cheek. I could smell her. Not that I thought he had done anything with Amalia, but he had stayed with her instead of coming to me.
“What’s wrong, amor?” He quietly asked.
“Nada,” I responded as I closed my eyes.
With a deep breath, I heard him roll onto his back and fall asleep. I lay in bed for hours before I decided to walk down to the kitchen for a glass of water. The cool water was just what I needed. Placing my glass in the sink, I turned around to see Amalia in her barely-there nightie. Smirking at me, she walked over to the cabinet my mother kept the glasses in.
“So, Anthony is handsome. I saw the looks you were giving him before you went to bed,” she mused.
“Yeah, he’s something,” I agreed.
“Well, I hope you don’t mind, but we were up for a while together and, well, you know how that goes... right?” She taunted.
“No, Amalia I don’t know how that goes. Please explain what you mean,” I bit out.
Fanning herself, she smirked, “If I must spell it out for you... he is quite the kisser of all kinds of lips. I’m sure you...” She tried to say, unable to continue. I had one hand wrapped in her long brown hair, the other was wrapped around the paring knife I held to her throat.
“Let’s get one thing clear right now. Anthony is not here for you to play with. And the next time you so much as bat your fake eyelashes at him, I will slit your throat. Entiendes?” I angrily spat out.
“Okay,” she croaked out in a whisper.
Removing my hand from her hair and placing the knife back in the holder, I looked over to her. “We didn’t actually do anything,” she mumbled.
Laughing I just replied, “Oh I know. That was just a warning if you ever decide to try.” Rubbing her throat with a shaky hand, she looked into my eyes.
“You’ve never been this way over a man before. What changed?” She questioned, still shaking.
“Life. And he’s different. So don’t think about it at all or, well, you know how that goes right?” I asked smugly. Walking out of the kitchen, I couldn’t help feeling paranoid. I felt like someone was watching me.
I made my way to the front door to check the locks. Seeing they were all secure, I checked the back door as well. The only other entrance was on Roman’s side of the house. Deciding to look - just in case - I made my way down his hallway. Every door was locked, so there was no reason to feel this worried. I walked up the stairs to my room. I needed sleep. That’s all it was, I mentally chided myself. Lying down next to Tony, I curled onto my side as his arm wrapped around me, pulling me close. I fell asleep within minutes.
Waking up to a loud knock, I heard a commotion outside my door. Glancing at the clock on my bedside, I saw that it was only seven am. I didn’t feel Tony beside me, so that must be him outside, but who was he talking to. Crossing the room to my dresser, I pulled on a pair of yoga pants. I would get dressed properly later, right now I needed to find out what was going on. Snatching the door open, I was met by the faces of Roman, Tony, and Nico. Damn, this wasn’t going to be good news.
“What’s going on?” I asked anyone who would answer.
Nico said explaining, “Jefa, when I got to the kitchen this morning, I saw a glass busted on the floor and barstools tipped over. I don't know who was in there, but it looked as if someone had been trying to grab something to hold on to.”
Roman began to explain, “When I woke up just a bit earlier, I saw the back door wide open. We are trying to figure out what happened because all of the men were accounted for and no one had heard anything.”
Gasping I covered my mouth. I didn’t even answer Tony calling my name as I ran down the hallway to the room Amalia was staying in. Throwing the door wide open, I saw her bed was barely slept in. Calling out her name, I walked into the adjoining bathroom. She wasn’t in there either. All three men stood at the door with worried expressions on their faces.
“Roman, pull up the feed from the back entrance. Nico, get all of the men to search the grounds for her. Maybe she went to the guardhouse with one of them late last night,” I commanded.
Tony stood in the doorway looking at me with concern. “Amor, who knew she was coming here? From what I gathered last night you weren’t expecting her anytime soon,” he asked.
Shaking my head, I replied, “I had only found out yesterday she was coming for a few weeks. We don’t get along as you could probably tell, but she is still family. She was here to hide from her last conquest and his wife.”
Taking my hands in his, he led me to the bed. “We will find her Rosie. I’m sure there is a simple explanation like you said, she may have gone to the guardhouse,” he said rubbing circles on my back.
I thought back to the night before. The feeling of being watched had made me paranoid. Then I remembered the man at the restaurant. “Tony, do you happen to know what ‘Skoro’ means?” I asked, hoping it wasn’t what I thought.
Giving me a confused look, he said, “That’s Russian if I’m not mistaken.” Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he searched for the meaning.
“It is Russian. It means soon,” he said as he handed me his phone.
Looking down, I dropped Tony’s phone. “Oh no!” I jumped up and ran into Roman’s office. The look on his face told me he knew.
“Señora, listen to me. We will find her and they will pay,” he assured me.
Looking at his computer, I saw the man from the restaurant, his hand around Amalia’s mouth. Beside him, I saw a man who looked just like him. A man I recognized from my police contact’s email, Oscar Kruse...
The Reaper
La Asesina Bonita Book Two
Prologue
ANTHONY
Anthony Rey De Los Santos. I have always gone by this name, but I go by another too. If you know me by my other name then chances are it’s because you went against my father. You see my father is the head of the Cuban Mafia, and he made me into his executioner when I was eleven years old.
I don’t just kill everyone you see. I make sure that the punishment fits the crime. You stole from the business then you will be lucky to keep your hand, ran out on a job the Patrõn sent you on then be ready to lose a leg. Don’t run from me and I will go a bit easier on you. If I have to chase you then chances are someone in your family will pay the price.
My first kill was a traitor to our family. I didn’t question it at all, in fact, I developed a thirst for blood. I was eleven at the time and I didn’t know anything about killing someone.
“Take it,” Armando commanded shoving the handle to the knife in my direction.
“No Quiero,” I said through broken sobs.
Glaring at me he spat, “Boy, I didn’t ask if you wanted to. Do it now or ta
ke the punishment for disobeying el patron.”
Wrapping a shaky hand around the handle I turned to face the man who was strapped to the chair. Whispering lo siento to the man I raised the knife above my head and brought it down stabbing it into his thigh. He let out a muffled shriek because of the rag someone had shoved into his mouth before I walked into the room.
“Again,” Armando commanded.
Pulling the knife out of his leg I saw his bright red blood dripping into a puddle on the floor. I raised the knife again and brought it down into his other thigh. I continued pulling the knife out just to drive it back in again in a new spot again, and again.
“That’s suficiente Anthony,” Armando said grabbing hold of my arm. Taking the knife from my hand he gave me a rag to clean the blood that was dripping from my fingertips.
“Now finish it,” he commanded handing me a gun.
The weight of the gun in my hand was a new experience for me. I had never held one and yet he was wanting me to use it. “How do I shoot,” I asked in a small voice.
With a loud sigh, he walked behind me and lifted my hand. “Point it at that piece of shit, be sure you spread your feet apart. Yes, just like that. Now be sure you have him in your sights, and squeeze the trigger,” he said letting go of my hand.
I took a deep breath. I can do this, father has told me to and I can’t say no to El Petron, I mentally chided myself. Squeezing my eyes shut tightly, I pulled the trigger.
“Good job, boy. Your father will be proud,” Armando told me clapping me on my back. “Soon you will be doing this all the time and not think twice about it. Go, I will clean up the mess,” he said turning around to grab the clear plastic wrap leaning against the wall.
Turning to look at the man I just killed I felt sick. I barely made it out of the building before I was vomiting. What had I done? That was the first time I killed without question for my family.
It wouldn’t be the last.
Chapter One
ROSALINA
Those men Oscar and Gerald Kruse had come into my home and taken Amalia. Fuck. Damn it. Shit. How did they know she would even be here? I asked myself, as I paced the floor of Roman’s office.
“Ma’am, would you like for me to reach out to my contacts,” Nico asked already holding his phone.
“Yes, and Nico, tell them that any expenses will be paid if they can find her. Bonus if they lead me to those men alive,” I said. Now it was time to really show everyone just why my father made me the boss.
“Roman, find out how they even got onto the grounds let alone how the managed to get in the house,” I command turning around to meet his eyes. Looking over to Tony, who was leaning against the bookcase, I motioned for him to walk out of the room with me.
“Amor, if you don’t mind when we find Amalia, I would like to join in on the fun,” Tony quietly said to me.
“Thank you, Tony. I think I would like for you to be there beside me,” I rush out in a breathy whisper. Thinking of Tony with blood on his hands was not being productive, but I couldn’t help the wave of desire I felt.
“Umm, okay... well, I need to give my uncle a call,” I said taking a deep breath.
“I will go with you,” Tony replied as he grabbed my hand pulling me to my office.
Opening the door to my office, I walked in ahead of him. Tony made his way over to my desk chair while I played with my phone. “Come here,” he said patting his lap.
I actually liked seeing him sitting behind my desk. I shouldn’t have, but I did. I made way over to him and sat down. Tony gently massaged my shoulders as I called my uncle Hernando, “Tío, how are you?” I could hear him moving around on his end of the phone, I must have woken him up.
“Rosalina, I’m fine. Did Amalia arrive yet,” he responded.
Taking a deep breath I replied, “Yes she arrived last night. That's not why I am calling though. I need to let you know that Amalia was taken late last night. We have a lead on who did it, but I need to know who exactly knew she was going to be here.”
I could hear him muttering to himself. “Tío, I need to know if this was someone coming after her or if she was mistaken for me.”
Sighing loudly, he clipped out, “I knew it was a gamble sending her to you. The only people that knew where she was going was her driver, her, and us.”
Tony whispered in my ear, “Shh amor, we will find them. She will be okay. Trust me, they will regret this.”
Nodding my head at his words I managed to choke out, “Adiós, Tío.”
Taking the phone from my hand, Tony kissed my neck. “Now we need to see what Roman and Nico have found out, vamonos amor,” he murmured into my hair, while he signaled for me to move.
“Thank you, Tony. I don’t know what I would have done without you keeping me sane right now,” I said with a sad smile.
Chapter Two
ROSALINA
Walking out of my office I didn’t expect Tony to grab my hand and walk by my side, but he did as we made our way upstairs to my room. Now that the shock had worn off I needed to actually dress in decent clothes. I walked ahead of him into my room. Shutting the door behind him, Tony sat on the edge of the bed as I pulled on a shirt. Deciding that I may need to be sensible about my shoes I slipped on a pair of tennis shoes that I typically only used for my workouts.
“Who exactly was Amalia hiding from,” Tony finally broke the silence to ask.
Laughing I replied, “She was hiding out from the wife of some Colombian. She couldn’t keep it in her pants and the wife found out.”
Nodding his head Tony said, “She does seem to have that problem. Do you think this was part of that or more?”
Taking a few minutes to think about it I couldn’t say for sure, but I felt like this had to do with my parent’s and me. “I don’t know. But I do know that the Kruse brothers will pay for this,” I answered.
Pulling his phone from his pocket he dialed a number, “Martin, I need your assistance. Find out everything you can about a set of Russian brothers, the last name is Kruse. I’ll have Roman send a picture to you. And have my things sent to Mexico, I need to hurt a few people it seems. Gracias Hermano.”
I just stared at Tony as he hung up the phone and began to type out a message to who, I was guessing was Roman. He needed ‘his things’, what did that even mean?
Looking up at me, Tony sighed, “Amor, I didn’t want you to find out this way but have you ever heard of the person called, ‘El Ángel de la Muerte’?”
Nodding my head in response, Tony continued, “I am ‘The Reaper’. I have been since I was fourteen years old.”
I had heard of The Reaper when I was younger, but I never actually believed he was a real person. My father had told me that he was an executioner for the Cuban mafia, but that he would kill for any mafia leader that paid for his services. Of course, he had also claimed that El Ángel de Muerte was a traitor to his own kind -no one in the mafia killed mafia without question for the council- as he said.
“Why haven’t you told me before now? And why did none of the information I have on you tell me this,” I screeched, demanding to know.
“Rosie, I honestly have never wanted to be that man. I wanted you to know me, not what my father demanded I be,” he said with a sigh.
Shaking my head I turned away and walked out of the room. I needed to find out what Roman and Nico knew. Tony being ‘The Reaper’ didn’t change the way I felt about him, I just wished he had trusted me to understand it before.
Stomping all the way down the stairs to Roman’s office, I pushed open the door. “Did you find out anything from the security video yet,” I asked.
“Nada señora, I see them right before they broke in and leaving the house but nothing else,” Roman replied pushing away from the computer screens in front of him.
“Alright, well we know that at least one of them was at the restaurant. I don’t think they wanted Amalia, honesty. Think about this, we are both the same height and build, dark hair and tan
skin, plus she was in my house when no one even knew she was coming last night,” I mused.
Tony cut in before anyone else could answer, “If they find out she isn’t you then they could just go ahead and kill her. We have a bit of time if they are taking her back to Russia,” he reasoned.
Nico walked into the room at that moment still on his phone. “Ja, danke. See you soon friend,” he said hanging up. Nico knew German? What else did he know? Looking at me, Nico shook his head, “The men know nothing. We didn’t find anything other than a scrap of cloth with blood on it.” Handing me a piece of fabric that matched the color of her scrap of lace she was wearing the night before he sighed, “My German friend told me there has been talk of removing you from power. He doesn’t know the details but he is looking into it.”
“Gracias Nico. We believe they were here for me and not her. That only means we get to hunt them. I plan to leave in 24 hours tops. I need someone with your experience,” I said meeting his eyes. I may not have been her biggest fan, but Amalia is still family. I was going to murder them all.
“I will gather my... tools,” Nico said turning on his heel.
“Roman, I will need one other man. I don’t care which just make sure he knows we don’t take prisoners. Tony will be going with us. Let the council know what is happening. They need to know anyone that played a part will die, ” I told the older man.
“Si, senora. I will have the floorplan to the Russian mansion within an hour,” he said with a nod of his head.
Chapter Three
ANTHONY
Well, she didn’t throw me out after finding out who I am. I’m considering that a win, after all, we have already dealt with. Feeling my phone vibrate, I pulled it from my pocket glancing at the screen.
“Martin, que sabes? They left on a private plane, and are claiming to have Rosalina Velasquez as a prisoner? Perfecto, I will be leaving in 24 hours, so be sure my things... yes, all of them are here before then. Gracias,” I responded.
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