Graphic

by Suzanne Steele

  “What brings you to Louisville Kentucky?”

  My stalker fuck buddy wants to kill you. “Aren’t you that director that…”

  He cut in before she had time to finish. “I’m impressed. Most people don’t recognize me.”

  “Well in all fairness I’ve done television work—commercials.” Liar. What was it the key holder of my prison had said? I’m whatever I need to be to get the job done. Works for me. I am too. She’d always been able to improvise. She was quick on her feet when it came to lying. The line for fantasy and reality was blurred for her in moments like these. She could come up with a ruse on a moment’s notice.

  “You have the look for it—high end ones, that is. Get the lady another drink, please.” He spoke loudly but the bartender was busy at the other end.

  “Only if you’re drinking with me. I can get these drinks quicker.” She coyly smiled, fingering the vile of Rohypnol, unscrewing it with one hand while the other reached in his suit coat and retrieved his key card. She leaned in, grabbing his glass. “I’ll be right back.” One more coy smile. Get him thinking with his cock, girl. She could feel his eyes on her as she swayed her hips just enough to be sexy but not slutty, making her way to the other end of the bar.

  She slipped the card in Dominic’s pocket, undetected, and ordered the drinks.

  “Five minutes. Leave the door unlocked.”

  Dominic distracted the bartender while she put the concoction in the man’s drink. He used the time the bartender turned to put money into his tip jar to grab her wrist. “I don’t want that son of a bitch so much as laying one finger on you. You belong to me!”

  She quickly walked away making her way back over to the man. She leaned in whispering, “Why don’t you toss that two fingers of bourbon back and let’s go up to your room and talk about commercials?”

  With no hesitation, he drank it down. She grabbed his arm and escorted him to the elevator. He didn’t waste any time attempting to get handsy as soon as the elevator’s doors shut.

  “Now, now, take it easy.” He staggered, grabbing at the handrail. As soon as the doors opened she escorted him to his room. By the time they reached the door, he was unaware his door was already unlocked. In his mind, the drinks were hitting him harder than expected—in hers, the Rohypnol was working in her favor.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The rage he was feeling caused him to grab the son of a bitch by the throat as soon he came staggering in with his arm around her. Mine! Some feral animal deep inside him cried out in anguish. All those hours, days, and months of watching her had made her his in his mind. Somewhere he crossed the line between her being a job and her being his woman. It was crazy, but there was no reasoning with the obsession he felt. He knew he was different from a young age. He’d accepted it long ago. This was just the first time he’d ever been hit between the eyes with the reality of it. It was the first time he’d ever been haunted. It started when he was watching her and magnified when he took her and brought her to his home. Brought her?!? Who are you kidding? You took her because you knew she wouldn’t come on her own. Maybe that was part of his captivation with her—she was strong—a survivor. He respected that. After he came to grips with the fact she’d beguiled him, he told himself she was property—his property. What was she doing to him? What were they doing to each other? He felt like she’d bewitched him. All those months of stalking her had worked on him. No job had ever been like this, so intense and so much at stake. Losing his grip on her wasn’t an option. Losing her would cut so deep it would leave scars. He’d known for a while he’d never be the same. No other woman would do. He would always compare them to her and hate them for not being her. Time to make this bastard pay for not only the things he’d done but for how Dominic felt right then. The rage he felt for another man touching her burned, leaving a searing pain in his chest. For the first time in his life, he understood why people killed in a jealous fury.

  Dominic jabbed the syringe into his pulsing jugular, stabbing it into the enemy’s neck much harder than necessary. He turned glaring at her as he shoved the dead body into the large suitcase on wheels.

  “Get his fucking computer and put it in the briefcase!” he barked the command out, not caring that the irritation he felt was evident in his voice.

  “I’ll meet you at the car, dear.” She hurried from the room not wanting to be in his line of fire.

  He forced down the rage he felt. It wasn’t her fault. He was going to have to get past this crazy jealousy if it was ever going to work between them—the whole working relationship thing, or at least that’s what he told himself—again. It was just a job. She was only property. No emotions. They were bad for business.

  He shifted the hat he was wearing down over his eyes. He then adjusted the thick, black rimmed glasses he was wearing, made sure the fake facial hair was still in place, and rode the elevator down to the SUV they’d driven there. They, of course, rented it under a fake identity.

  “Why are you so pissed?” she asked when he got in the car.

  “Hold your head down so the cameras don’t get good a picture.” His jaw ticked in irritation. He waited until he was on the expressway to speak again. He threw the hat and glasses off.

  “You look funny. I almost didn’t recognize you at the bar with that fake beard and mustache.

  “Pull it off.”

  “Please.” She corrected his manners. She ripped it off, purposely hurting him to make her point about his rudeness.

  “Damn it! That hurt.”

  “You’re the one who insinuated pain was pleasure.” She smiled endearingly.

  “Your pain. Not mine.” He cut his eyes at her.

  She laughed pulling her glasses and wig off. “What are we going to do with a dead body?”

  A sinister smile crossed his lips and he turned in her direction answering, “I’m going to let him sleep with you in your gilded cell.”

  The terror on her face made him laugh for the first time since the beginning of all this.

  “Ever heard of a man named Alexander Glazov?”

  “Yeah. The diamond guy with the hot wife who is in the society pages all the time.”

  “Yeah. Diamond guy. We’re going to his crematory and burning the son of a bitch up. Too bad I couldn’t burn his ass alive for touching you.” He took a moment to look at her with a serious expression. “You crossed a line. You’re in too deep to ever get out now. If you ever so much as mention his name you won’t have to worry about me. Do you understand there’s no way out now? Alexander Glazov is a very dangerous man. I have no intention of telling you what he did before he got into the diamond business. Let’s just say this: he makes me look like child’s play when it comes to torture tactics. And I won’t even get into his revenge techniques.”

  “Why would I want out? I’m just starting to have fun. Worrying about Alexander Glazov isn’t on my ‘to do’ list. I have my hands quite full with you.”

  He was shocked when he looked over and her expression showed no signs of deceit. Maybe she really was enjoying all the craziness he brought into her life. One thing he learned in this business, a long time ago, was that it got in your blood. You developed an addiction to it, and shaking that addiction was near impossible. “Yeah, you probably should be worried about me. Glad to know I have your undivided attention. I don’t play well with others as you can probably see by the man in back. The only reason I didn’t torture him was because it would have meant possibly fucking up the job. I will, however, make you pay later.”

  “I didn’t do anything wrong. Hell, if I hadn’t let him put his arm around me, he wouldn’t have been able to walk. You’re the one who drugged him—well the amount I used anyway. Why should I have to pay?”

  “It’s insurance that you’ll take me seriously about our monogamous relationship. It’s a hard limit.” He smiled innocently at her, or at least he tried to. Innocence wasn’t a personality trait he possessed.

  “Why’d you kill this guy? Are you
a hitman who just takes any job, or do you have a conscious—do you pick and choose your jobs? What’s your job title? There’s so much I don’t know about you.”

  “By the time I’m done with you, we’ll know what the other is thinking before we think it. That’s one of the things that happens in a relationship like ours. Ownership has its advantages—for both parties involved.” I killed him because he tried to put his hands all over my property.” He glared so hard she had to look away.

  “So I’m property now?”

  “Damn straight you are. Bought and paid for arm candy.”

  “If I’m going to work with you”—

  “You’re going to need to know what the jobs are about.” He finished the sentence for her.

  “Damn straight. I might be arm candy, baby, but I’m nobody’s bimbo.”

  “Nobody could accuse you of that. You’re too present, too in the moment to ever be taken for a bimbo. I like the way your mind works. You take in the details of a room as soon as you enter it. You use the fact that every eye is on you against people. You’re smart and I want you in my corner because some man will snatch you up. I’m just doing it first.”

  He cut his eyes suspiciously when she laid her hand on his arm. The sincerity in her eyes cut through the momentary suspicion. “That means a lot, coming from you.” She didn’t know why she felt a surge of pride about what he had said. She just knew she did. Maybe it was because he’d taken the time to study her so in depth. Nobody else ever gave a shit. Any other man just wanted to fuck her. As crazy as his obsession was, it didn’t nullify the fact Dominic wanted to know her, really know her. It just didn’t get any more real than that. Real… she could deal with.

  “How do you know I’m not a bimbo?” he teased. “Maybe I’m a dumbass with a gun and a love of money.”

  “You don’t’ have huge hair and boobs. You do have a huge cock though,” she teased him right back. She took a moment to study his profile and then got serious. “Because you followed me for months, and I never knew.” He looked at her puzzled. “You’re right about me being present. I don’t miss much. Even as a kid, I could walk into a room and size it up in a matter of moments. The fact I never caught on to you stalking me shows you’re a professional, and a damn good one at that. You’re good, Dominic.”

  “That’s why I hired you, babe, because you’re good. You had to be a survivor with that sorry ass mother you had.”

  She shook off the sadness that haunted her and answered the only way she knew to cover the pain. “Don’t you mean blackmailed? I mean, if you’ve convinced yourself you hired me, then you really do have issues.”

  “You say tomato, I say tomatoe. It’s how I justify my stalking ways. I like the hunt and I love having you as my prey. It’s the first time someone other than a job has been worthy of my awesome stalking abilities.”

  “I’ll be sure to remain a challenge so you don’t get bored with the hunt.”

  “You couldn’t be boring if you tried. It’s not in your nature. You’re the type who can’t help but get in trouble, and I’m type who never gets tired of disciplining. Thinking up new ways to take you, to make you mine, is going to be fun. I won’t be satisfied until I have all of you—body, soul, and spirit. I want you to be as obsessed with me as I am you. I want your mind to be filled with intrusive thoughts of me. I need you—all of you. And after I get to know every part of you, I’m going to get to know you all over again. I will never be bored with you. You’re too complex.”

  He put the car in park after they pulled back into the wooded area that held a warehouse hidden back from the road.

  “River Road. I bet all kinds of dirty deeds go on here. I wonder how many bodies have washed up on the bank of the Ohio river.”

  “These people in here are killers, Lydia. They’re Russian mobsters and they don’t play.”

  “Well… don’t mince words. I wouldn’t want you to hold back or anything.” When he didn’t smile she got serious and quit playing with him. “I get it, Dominic. The bottom line is… I’m an accessory. I’m not going to do anything to put my freedom in jeopardy. Plus… I kind of like you. I think you may even be growing on me.”

  “Let’s see if you still feel that way after I gag your ass with the two hundred and fifty dollar panties you’re wearing.”

  “It’s a G-string, love.”

  “Like I said: you say tomato”—

  “I say tomatoe, yaddy ya.”

  “Mm-hm. We’ll see how independent you are when you stare death in the face, in the form of Alexander Glazov.”

  “No. I’ll wait out here, thank you.” She batted her eyes. “I’ll do my lipstick or something. That certainly must be what arm candy does when Daddy Megabucks is busy.”

  “I’m not your daddy. I’m your owner. Waiting out here might be a good idea.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dominic took a deep breath and released it before he lifted his hand to ring the bell. The buzzer went off to let him in before he had a chance to ring. Crazy bastards are watching me on camera. As demented as Dominic was, these Russian psychos scared him.

  He made his way into the warehouse where two men stood. Glazov and Novak. Glazov gave a slight nod of his head in greeting. His ice cold, blue eyes never left Dominic’s features. Why in the fuck does this guy always look like he knows more than what I want him to? Alexander Glazov was the type who made you feel safe, like you were in his good graces—right before he killed you. You never knew how much he knew—and he always knew more than you thought he knew.

  “Who is the bitch in the car?” Novak spoke first. Leave it to Novak to stir shit up. Antagonistic bastard.

  Dominic never missed a beat. “I don’t refer to my women as bitches and whores.”

  “I don’t either, but she ain’t my fuckin’ woman.”

  “Boys… play nice.” Glazov directed his attention back to Dominic. “My cousin asked you a question.”

  “She’s my property I stalked and kidnapped. She’s been in the business since she was a kid, and she’s damn good at what she does. I don’t have women. I have her.”

  “Perhaps I should meet this woman who is so good at what she does. I’m having a soiree for a few of my high-end diamond customers. I expect you and your property”—a sadistic smile crossed his lips momentarily. If Alexander Glazov could relate to anything—he could relate to taking a woman by force. It was known knowledge his wife had been blackmailed into marrying him years ago—“to be there. That will be all.” He dismissed Dominic with a wave of his hand. Dominic gave Novak a dirty looked when he chuckled. Smart ass!

  The last thing Dominic heard was Glazov call out for one of his men in Russian. He turned to look over his shoulder because he always made a point to file the faces he saw in the business he was in. He never forgot a face—ever. The man looked more like beast than man. He hoisted the heavy suitcase up with ease. Dominic knew Glazov was smart enough that he didn’t have to tell him how to do his job. He would burn not only the man, but the suitcase as well.

  He breathed a sigh of relief when he got in the car and pulled away.

  “You look like you saw a ghost.”

  “I saw a room full of Russian killers.”

  “Glad I didn’t go. Do you like this color?” She pouted her lips in an effort to get his mind off of dealing with Russian Bratva.

  “It’s the same color you had on when I left.”

  “So it is. You have a good eye. I have to admit, I’m impressed with your eye for detail.”

  He turned, looking her full in the face so she would understand the seriousness of what he was getting ready to say.

  “He wants to meet you—it wasn’t a request.”

  “I get it, Dominic. You’ve pulled me into some shit that could get me killed. I’ve got two requests—no, they’re more like demands. Let’s just call them hard limits. You pulled me back into a life of crime, so I fully expect you to protect me from the crazy fucks you’re working with. Second, I’m
not fucking a guy who fucks around. If you plan on doing the kinky shit to me that you seem to have an appetite for, then don’t fuck anybody else. I don’t want some skank’s diseases.” The thought of him being with another woman wasn’t just detestable to her, it made her jealous, and she didn’t understand why. The last thing she needed was some fantasy coming true to end up only getting hurt in the end. Letting Dominic get to know her in the ways he described would hurt like hell if he ever got tired of his dominance games. Letting her walls down was hard—keeping them up with Dominic was impossible. He was too persistent when it came to her. Layer by layer he was stripping her defenses away. It was a premeditated assault and he was relentless about executing it.

  “Glad to see we’re on the same page. Though I was under the impression I’d already clarified I don’t share. If you fuck around on me, I’ll make you watch me torture your lover, then I’ll kill you both.”

  The matter of fact look on his face left no doubt in her mind that he would do exactly what he said. It didn’t matter because she had no intentions of sleeping with anyone. This was the first man she’d been sexually turned on by in years. It was also the first time in her life any man had ever touched her in the places Dominic Romero had.

  Chapter Fourteen

  She could feel her heart race before they ever entered his house. She knew that look, the one that heated her blood and sent her senses into overload.

  She made her way through the door when he opened it for her and stepped to the side.

  “Upstairs, Lydia. We need to talk.”

  The serious tone in his voice worried her. A lot had happened between them in a short amount of time. Serious shit. Life and death shit.

  She pushed the anticipation out of her thoughts and made her way into the bedroom, dropping her bag that held her disguises. She set the dead man’s briefcase down beside it where she could get to it later.

  “Sit.” He nodded towards an antique chair that looked more like a throne as he loosened his tie.