The Hitman's Obsession

by Winter Sloane

  “Dimitri, hey,” one of the young men called out. Abram, he recalled.

  Dimitri tucked his Beretta into his belt and hid it with his suit jacket. He’d caused enough damage for the day. These two didn’t belong to Vlad, but were pawned off from Vasily’s main force.

  “I’m calling it a day. My woman surprised me with a visit. She’s lonely. I planned on giving her some attention.” Not failing to notice the brunt of Sonia’s glare, he threaded his fingers into her hair and pressed her head gently against his shoulder. They wouldn’t see her furious expression now.

  “Your woman? Didn’t know you were seeing someone seriously. You always seemed to have a different bitch on your arm every time I see you,” Abram joked, trading an amused look with the other guy.

  Sweat tickled down Dimitri’s back. He usually hunted fuckers down for a living. Being the hunted didn’t suit him. How long until someone checked on Vlad? Tommy and his partner would talk, but Dimitri couldn’t end them. They had families, too, and he’d already racked up an impressive kill count during his tenure here.

  That was right. The thought left ashes in Dimitri’s mouth, but he refused to let memories of the past in. He needed a clear mind, in case more suits would come running after him, guns drawn, ready to end Sonia and him.

  Sonia turned her head, and the mega-watt smile she flashed at Abram made Dimitri’s dick twitch. Fuck. Where did that come from?

  “It takes a special kind of woman to tame a man like Dimitri,” she purred, drawing circles on Dimitri’s left pectoral with a fingernail painted in hot pink. She gaze Abram a look. “Don’t call women bitches.”

  “Come on, baby,” Dimitri coaxed, nuzzling her neck.

  Abram and his pal let him past. Hearing footsteps rushing towards them, he gave her a little push towards his car—parked only a few paces from where they stood.

  “Run,” he ordered, taking the heavy black bag from her.

  “Stop that traitorous fucker!” a voice yelled.

  Dimitri grabbed Sonia’s arm and broke into a sprint. Fishing out his car keys, he yanked open the driver’s seat. She got in. Tossing the bag in the backseat, he started the engine. A gun went off behind him, hitting the trunk of his precious Impala.

  Growling under his breath, he started the engine. His baby had occasional mood swings, but she’d belonged to his grandfather. The old man had raised Dimitri while his father and brothers were out, breaking bones, ending lives. The Impala was special, his.

  The engine gave a purr—fucking music to his ears.

  Glass shattered.

  “Get your head down,” he yelled.

  Sonia ducked as he maneuvered the car of the narrow alley. On his rearview mirror, he saw Abram’s pale face, hand trembling on his gun, as if he couldn’t believe Dimitri had betrayed them.

  Some of Dimitri couldn’t believe it either.

  He kicked the accelerator, exceeding the speed limits, but he didn’t care. Dimitri took the nearest exit out of the city, one destination in mind.

  Finally, Sonia spoke. “Where are you taking me?”

  “To a safe house, no one knows about it, even the family,” he said.

  Because of one woman, he’d bitten the hand that fed him. Dimitri prided himself on being loyal, different from his father and brothers, who took any contract as long as it raked in cash.

  Dimitri should hate Sonia, curse her for pushing him to do the unthinkable. All those ugly thoughts dissipated when he stole a glance at her.

  Trembling, she buckled on the seat belt. The steel disappeared from her eyes. Whatever mask she’d put on earlier to fool Abram, and to some extent him, started unravel. She crossed her arms, rubbing them up and down as if to ward away imaginary goosebumps.

  “You cold?” Dimitri asked.

  Her teeth clattered. “It’s a different kind of cold.”

  Dimitri thought back on what she’d been through—one dead father and witnessing him emptying his bullets into Vlad’s chest. He didn’t forget Tommy and the other suit.

  “Are you going to fight me?” Dimitri asked, knowing he was being a cold bastard, but he needed to be practical. Dealing with a hysterical woman wouldn’t make things easy, or worse, dealing with a woman who blamed him for her father’s death.

  Sonia said nothing. They entered the interstate now, leaving the city behind them. Dimitri drove in silence for a while, letting her grief, her anger stew. Traffic thinned. He stopped looking behind him every few seconds.

  They weren’t being followed. Sooner or later, the family would organize a manhunt, maybe send contract killers after him. Dimitri knew most of the hitmen in the Bratva. Some of them could take him out without blinking, but they needed to narrow down his location.

  Reputation mattered to a man like Vasily Ivanov. The boss man wouldn’t sit still to organize his brother’s funeral. No, Vasily was no longer his boss. His heart ached. Dimitri loved that man. After his grandfather died, Vasily had taken him in.

  “I need some air. Can you stop for a while?” Sonia’s voice dragged him back to reality.

  “No can do, baby. I can’t risk you running on me. I’m your best chance of survival. By now, the family would be gathering killers to hunt us down.”

  “I won’t run.” Fury blazed in her eyes. “Don’t you think I know that we’re stuck in this together?”

  Chapter Three

  Dimitri’s voice came out flat, deadpan, although he didn’t mean it to be. “I killed Vlad for you, betrayed the only family I ever had.”

  She let out a frustrated hiss, clenching her fists on her thighs.

  Dimitri cut the engine and steered the Impala to the side of the road. A couple of cars swept past them. He had so many words he wanted to say, but none of them felt right.

  “Get out then,” he said, unlocking the doors.

  Sonia threw him an uncertain look. The hard edge to her eyes disappeared, and she was a scared young woman again.

  “I’ll be here. I won’t leave you after I took all that trouble getting you out. You’re mine now, under my protection,” he told her.

  She met his gaze, must have seen something she approved of there, and nodded. Dimitri watched her stumble out of the car. She walked along the side of the road and halted, gazing at the thick line of trees bordering the left side of the road.

  Sonia had nowhere else to go. Half of Dimitri expected her to break into a run, to flag down a driver and hitch a ride, even without shoes on. She did none of those things. Merely stared at the woods as if she saw something he didn’t.

  Still, he didn’t like knowing she hurt inside. Grief did strange things to people. Added to the fact she’d been uprooted from her former life, and Dimitri might have an unstable woman in his hands.

  Dimitri joined her. He touched her arm, brushed his hands tentatively over the chilled skin and frowned.

  “You’ll catch a fucking cold like this,” he told her.

  Her lip trembled, tempting him to seal them with his own. To taste her. Fuck, but he was an insensitive bastard. He knew nothing about being gentle. Dimitri understood violence, loyalty to family, getting the job done, no matter the cost. Women were a puzzlement, at least women like Sonia, not the hook-ups who threw themselves at his feet.

  New girl on his arm every night, Abram had said. Dimitri didn’t deny it.

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” That came out right.

  She whipped towards the direction of his voice. He expected her to unleash her fury, to pound her tiny fists at him, scream at him.

  Sonia did worse.

  She broke down. Dimitri didn’t know the first thing about comforting a woman, but sure as fuck wanted chase away the hurt.

  ****

  I’m sorry for your loss?

  Fan-fucking-tastic. The words sounded a little strange, coming from a maniac. A sexy as sin dangerous maniac.

  Tears prickled at the corners of Sonia’s eyes. Don’t cry, don’t you dare. The fierce promise she’d made to herself after her
asshole father reappeared after all these years in front of the kindergarten had sustained her, bolstered her confidence.

  Sonia couldn’t afford to show any weakness, especially in front of this man. She replayed the way Dimitri had shot Vlad in her head, recalled how those steel-gray eyes looked so empty, dead.

  Dimitri felt nothing when he killed, but when he looked at her, passion blazed into those eyes, full of unconfined hunger. No other man had been capable of lighting her skin on fire with one mere glance. Not wanting her body to betray her, she turned away from him. Her shoulders started to shake.

  Her vision swam with useless tears. Crying got her nowhere, she knew that. It didn’t bring back her father, when he’d left Sonia and her mom ten years ago. It didn’t slow down the cancer that slowly spread through her mom’s insides. Sonia bit her lip so hard, blood welled. Tasting copper in her mouth, she dug her bare feet into the dirty gravel.

  Dimitri hadn’t left. She squared her shoulders, sensing him approach. Hard not to notice a huge man like Dimitri. He wasn’t her type at all. Sonia avoided men like Dimitri. Every inch of Dimitri screamed dangerous, and even without a gun, Dimitri could break bones or wring a man’s neck with those hands.

  He touched her shoulder, and to her shock, spun her, pulling her into an embrace. She expected harsh words, an order to get back in the car because they couldn’t waste time. Not to find her head buried against his warm chest and his large hand on the curve of her back, stroking her spine up and down.

  Caged in his arms, she unraveled. She wept until she could no longer summon any tears, curled her fists and rested them on Dimitri’s solid pectorals. Once she let it all out, she made another promise to herself. Sonia wouldn’t let herself fall apart like this again.

  When she lifted her head, carnal lust still blazed in Dimitri’s eyes, and something else—a surge of protectiveness she couldn’t comprehend. She should be terrified of this man, running as far as her bare feet could carry her. But Sonia could never forget he’d saved her from a fate worse than death.

  She hardly knew Dimitri, but in his arms, she felt safe, untouchable except for him.

  Pretty fucked-up way of thinking, but what other course of action did she have? Her father had ripped her away from the life she’d managed to live, and took away what she loved to do. Sonia wasn’t a fool. The Ivanov family would track her down and never let her teach again.

  She hated Dimitri and loved him a little, too. Sick satisfaction had filled her when he emptied those shots into Vlad’s chest. Any decent person would feel that way, wouldn’t they?

  Dimitri tipped her chin, scattering her train of thoughts away.

  “Sweet girl,” he murmured. He stuck his tongue out and licked away the trail of tears drying on her cheeks. Her eyes widened at the brush of lips on her mouth, every muscle in Sonia’s body freezing.

  Dimitri didn’t take her lips with force like she’d expected a man like him to kiss. He started tentative, slow, sucking at her bottom lip, licking at where she’d bitten down earlier and had torn skin with teeth.

  His grip on her body told a different story. He slipped his huge hands past the hem of her top, skimming her curves hungrily, as if he wanted to leave imprints on every inch of her.

  Dimitri’s mouth coaxed a response from her. Sonia kissed back, desperate, needy. He fisted her hair, tugging her close, urging a more violent response. The slow dance ended. Their tongues and teeth tangled. He pushed his tongue down her throat, and she sucked him down, drunk on the scent and force of him.

  Once Sonia had a taste of Dimitri, she wanted more. His touch was lethal, sparking a fire inside her she didn’t think existed anymore.

  Sonia became aware of Dimitri’s erection, pressing up against her stomach. Moisture flooded her panties. Her nipples tightened to points. She wanted to rub herself against Dimitri, wanted to get rid of their clothes so they could touch skin-to-skin.

  When he released her, Sonia was panting. With one kiss, he managed to light every nerve in her body, and she wanted more. She felt tipsy, ready to take this further. Except her conscious mind reminded her they were in the middle of the highway.

  Sonia seldom dated. She busied herself at school, at her part-time jobs to keep her mom and herself afloat. Then she’d immersed herself in teaching. Sonia nearly gave up on men. They disappointed her in the end, wanted only one thing from her. She broke things off before they turned serious.

  She only needed to take a look at her history with her father. He’d come out of nowhere, wearing his same easy smile that was full empty promises. Alarm bells had rung in her head. Why would he come out of woodwork after ten years without a word? But the hopeful idiot Sonia was, she’d believed his lies. She let him take her out for a drink to celebrate their reunion.

  What did he do with the secret she’d told no one else? He’d used her virginity as a fucking bargaining chip to save his own skin.

  Sonia had trust issues, and didn’t have a problem fending off unwanted attention from the opposite gender. Tangling with a man like Dimitri, though, was like playing with a live grenade. No matter how she played it, she wouldn’t come out of this unscathed.

  “We should go back to the car,” she said, voice still thick with need.

  She didn’t think a man like Dimitri smiled often, but his lips curved upwards to a smirk. The gorgeous bastard looked like a man confident of his conquest.

  Chapter Four

  Dimitri steered the Impala off the road and between two towering pine trees. The change from gravel to dirt under the wheels made for a rocky ride, waking Sonia up from her nap.

  She drew a sharp breath, probably because of the sudden change in scenery. The path would soon taper off to rock and nothing else once Dimitri started uphill. He winced at the abuse his tires had to endure. When he came out here, he usually took his jacked-up diesel truck, but no time for that.

  “Where are you taking me?” There was a sliver of fear in her voice now.

  “Safe house, or rather, cabin. No one in the family knows I own this piece of property. It belonged to my grandfather.” Dimitri snuck a glance. At her unsettled look, he made a joke to loosen the tension. “Don’t worry, I’m not a secret serial killer. You won’t find any dead bodies up there.”

  Sonia let out a laugh that sounded a little forced. “Is that supposed to be funny?”

  Dimitri snarled softly under his breath. “Give me a break, woman. I was trying to make you feel better.”

  “Don’t.”

  His temper snapped. “Are you going to be like this all the time? Should I expect us to bicker while we’re here?”

  “I’m here, out in who knows where, with a contract killer,” she said under her breath.

  Dimitri shrugged. “Are you pissed because I kissed you? Girls get annoyed by shit like that all the time.”

  “I—you’re impossible,” she finally said.

  They didn’t speak for a while. Dimitri didn’t miss the fact she rolled down her window and gazed out the woods. He doubted it was to enjoy the scenery. Was she memorizing landmarks, in case she decided to make her escape?

  Any other man in his shoes would be angry, but he approved of Sonia’s actions. She wasn’t weak-willed. Sonia was a survivor, and fuck, but that was one of the things he liked about her. Dimitri knew she wasn’t just hard edges. She melted against him when he pulled her into an embrace. Sonia yielded to the press of his lips and leaned into his touch.

  Dimitri didn’t miss the way her nipples peaked out from her bra and shirt either. He didn’t have a problem in the imagination department. Once Dimitri had her alone, they would resume where they’d left off. He imagined being on top of her, Sonia on her hands and knees, his fist in her hair as he pounded into her from behind while she begged for more. Dimitri wanted to taste her, too, to lap at the honey between her legs and hear her scream out her name.

  The images overwhelmed him, made him hard as fuck.

  Soon, he told himself. Sonia might fight him, f
ight her attraction, but in the end. She would be his.

  Dimitri finally reached the location. Parking the Impala right on the ragged strip of cleared land, he killed the engine.

  “Come on, there aren’t any monsters hiding in the woods,” Dimitri told her.

  He felt her follow him out of the car and inside the two-story house. Back before his grandfather had given him the land and house, it had been a simple single floor log cabin. Over the years, Dimitri had come out here when he needed some time alone. He’d refurbished the place little by little, adding a second floor and upgrading the security.

  Dimitri opened the front door and found Sonia still by the Impala. A curse slipped his lips as he patted his shoulder holster. She held one of his Berettas in her trembling hands.

  “Give me the keys,” she said in quivering voice. “Do it, or I’ll shoot.”

  Dimitri wasn’t mad at all. He’d expected Sonia to fight, to make this harder than it should be. Unlike other hasty predators, he relished challenges. Leaving the front door opened, he took several steps towards her.

  “I mean it,” she said.

  “Baby, you’ve never held a gun in your entire life,” he said, placing his hands in his pockets.

  “You don’t know that,” she said, looking pissed as hell now.

  Dimitri fished out his car keys and dangled them for her to see. She narrowed her eyes, as if wondering what game he played. “Take it, keys, car—see how far you can go. The family will find you. They’ll stalk your old neighborhood. They won’t stop. I should know. I did the tracking before.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “That’s real witty, baby.”

  “Stop calling me that. I’m not your anything.”

  “Wrong. The moment I chose to fire on the people who took me in and taught me all about loyalty, I bound our fates together.”

  She let out a laugh. “You chose the wrong people.”

  “You don’t know anything about me, or the family.” Dimitri curbed his temper, because hurting Sonia was the last thing on his mind. No, Dimitri would never harm a single hair on her beautiful head, but he could wreck himself later on. “Vlad was scum, but not everyone’s like that.”