The Exit Strategy Bundle

by Jocelynn Drake

  Gabriel shook his head and paced away from them, his hands fisted tightly at his sides. Justin’s heart broke for both of them. Nadia did what she had to in hopes of keeping her son alive in a place that didn’t accept homosexuals. He had his own experiences when he was young. He knew how cruel other children could be. How heartless family could be.

  She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “We tried it for one long, miserable year. I then pulled him out of school, and we moved to a house far outside of the city and away from family. I homeschooled him. I brought in my own security team who was loyal to me and not Father. We take this vacation every year. Stay for a couple of months. No one knows us here or cares. He can dress and act however he wants, and no one cares. It’s the only time Alexei is allowed to be himself in public, and he shines. It breaks my heart to take him home at the end of our trip.”

  “Then why take him back there at all?” Gabriel’s tone was still hard, but it had lost some of its previous edge.

  “Do you really think father would let us go? Allow us to move to another country and live? Allow Alexei to be himself? It’s not possible. He would never allow it.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “You know he would rather see Alexei dead, and I won’t let Nicolai or any of his men touch my son.”

  Justin watched Gabriel. His shoulders were still tense, and the muscles in his jaw were jumping like he was grinding his teeth. They’d come here to kill the woman who would have happily murdered her own brother so many years ago. But that woman was gone, and Justin suspected that his lover felt robbed.

  “What am I supposed to do, Nadia?” Gabriel snarled. “I came here…”

  “I know why you came here,” she said. “I don’t blame you. Ten years ago, you would have been entirely justified. I know it’s hard to believe, but I’ve changed. I changed for Alexei. You don’t have to forgive me for what happened when we were young, but don’t blame my son for my mistakes.”

  “We need to go. I…I need to think.”

  “Wait. Can’t you stay and just talk to him for a little while?”

  Gabriel swung around to face his sister, looking at her like she’d lost her mind. Justin pressed his lips together, fighting to hold back a chuckle. The idea of talking to a kid appeared to terrify Gabriel.

  “I’m a fucking assassin, Nadia. What would we talk about?”

  Justin chuckled and walked over to stand behind Gabriel. He wrapped one arm around his man’s stomach, holding him cautiously when he was so obviously a bundle of raw nerves. “I’m sure we can think of something to talk about with him. He’s probably got questions. We could stay for a little while. Have a cup of coffee.”

  “I don’t like this,” Gabriel whispered.

  “I know, but imagine how much eleven-year-old you would have liked to have met someone just like you.”

  Some of the tension finally eased from Gabriel’s shoulders and he sighed heavily. “I hate you,” he mumbled.

  Justin squeezed him tighter, closing his eyes as he leaned his forehead against Gabriel’s shoulder. He understood because his eleven-year-old self would have loved to have met someone just like Gabriel, someone to say that he was normal, that he was perfect just the way he was. If he couldn’t have that, they could at least give that gift to another kid.

  Nadia was pouring three mugs of coffee and making a cup of hot cocoa when Alexei returned to the first floor. He bounded down the stairs with all the enthusiasm Justin would have expected, but he seemed to remember that Justin and Gabriel were still strangers as he reached the living room. He slowed and seemed to pull in his natural exuberance as he walked into the kitchen. The makeup was also cleaned from his face, and the shirt he’d put on was now a plain white button-down rather than the bright pink shirt with various colorful emoticons on it.

  “You changed,” Nadia said with a sad note in her voice.

  “We have guests,” Alexei replied quietly.

  “You didn’t have to. I thought you looked very nice how you were dressed before,” Gabriel said.

  “I’m sorry if we scared you when you came in,” Justin added. “There was a bit of a misunderstanding.”

  “So, you’re not here to kill me and my mom?”

  Gabriel looked over at Nadia, and she shrugged as she set out the cream and sugar on the counter. “I try to always be honest with my son. He understands the world that we live in. There are people who hate the Krestyanovs for who we are.”

  “And there are people who hate me because of who I am,” Alexei added.

  “I’m sorry,” Gabriel murmured, looking down at his nephew. Again, Alexei launched himself at his uncle, wrapping his arms around him tightly. And slowly, Gabriel wrapped his arms around the boy’s slender frame.

  “Come, sit down, Alexei,” Nadia said, fiercely wiping away tears before they could fall. “I’ve made you some hot cocoa. You can talk to your uncle for a bit before he has to leave.”

  Some of the bounce returned to Alexei’s step as he released Gabriel and moved into the kitchen to sit at the small table in the corner. “Since I didn’t get ice cream, can I have a piece of the baklava you got at the market? I’m sure Uncle Viktor and his boyfriend would like some too.”

  “Gabriel,” he corrected. “I don’t go by Viktor any longer. My name is Gabriel Prescott.”

  Justin watched as Alexei sank into his seat, repeating the name over softly to himself a couple of times with a widening smile. He almost laughed again. It was clear by the stars in the boy’s eyes that Nadia was going to be having a conversation in the very near future about how he wanted a new name.

  Gabriel sat across from Alexei. “You may call me Uncle Gabriel, if you wish.”

  Justin grabbed two of the coffee mugs and brought them over. “Just don’t call him Gabe. He hates that.”

  “What do you call him?” Alexei asked.

  Gabriel shot him a warning look, but Justin couldn’t help himself. “G Love.”

  Alexei stared at Gabriel for a heartbeat and then burst out laughing. The bright, dancing sound filled the room so that even Gabriel was struggling to keep from smiling.

  “You speak English?” Justin said, plopping down in the chair between Alexei and Gabriel.

  “Very well,” he quickly replied in English. “Mom made sure I learned it in case we ever escaped Russia.” His tone was serious and then immediately brightened. “I also like watching the makeup tutorial videos on YouTube, and all my favorites are in English. Bretman Rock is so amazing.”

  From there, the rest of Alexei’s guards and hesitance fell away. Words tumbled from him in a torrent, and he simply sparkled with life. Justin and Gabriel would add a little bit here and there, but it was mostly just a joy to watch him shine. He was with someone new who understood, who accepted. He didn’t have to pretend to be someone else. And Justin was happy to give him that time.

  But he knew there would still be hell to pay later when he and Gabriel were alone in their hotel room. Gabriel’s plans were changing drastically, and there were old pains that had to be faced if his lover was to ever find peace.

  Chapter 13

  Gabriel hated to admit that he was grateful for Justin’s silence on the drive back to the hotel. He needed to think. This…fuck…this was not how things were supposed to go. He’d known there was a possibility that his sister had a kid. Hell, considering how young she’d married, there had been a chance that she had several. Did that make him an evil person for planning to kill her anyway?

  Yeah, it did.

  But he knew that the person she’d been when they were younger would have plotted his death if he’d left her alive after killing their father. She would have sent her own fucking kids after him and Justin. She would have left him with no choice.

  But instead of producing a brood of equally evil children, she had Alexei.

  And when he looked into the boy’s wide brown eyes, he saw his younger self looking back at him.

  The pain ripping through his chest was nearly crippl
ing. He wanted to scream and shoot things. He wanted to shout at his sister. She didn’t deserve someone as sweet as Alexei for a child. After being a vindictive little witch all through his childhood, Gabriel was sure that she deserved someone as evil as she’d been as penance.

  Back at the hotel, Gabriel was vaguely aware of Justin doing all the usual checks to make sure they hadn’t been followed and weren’t being watched. He just couldn’t keep his mind focused. Meeting his sister had cluttered up his brain, destroying all his plans.

  When he reached their room, he sat on the edge of the bed while Justin locked everything down and checked over the windows.

  “We’re still secure,” Justin said as he pulled his gun from its holster and placed it back under his pillow.

  Gabriel grunted, staring at the ugly pattern on the carpet.

  “You need to let it out.”

  He glared up at Justin. “Let what out?”

  “Your frustration. Your anger. You went there to kill your sister. But the woman you were expecting wasn’t there. She doesn’t exist anymore, and that’s not fair to you. That’s not fair to the person who suffered at her hands. You don’t get your revenge.”

  “And what? What am I supposed to do?” he snapped.

  Justin leaned down in his face. “Shout! Punch something! Throw something!”

  With a growl, he placed both hands on Justin’s shoulders and roughly shoved the man back a couple of feet before standing. Justin grinned at him and widened his stance. There certainly wasn’t much space in the hotel room for this, but if Justin wanted to start a fight, then Gabriel was happy to oblige.

  Balling up his fist, he swung right at Justin, looking to clock him in the jaw, but the man deftly dodged the blow. It left him open to the other fist that connected with his stomach. Air loudly left his lungs, but the punch did little to slow down his opponent. Justin swung with his own right, clipping Gabriel on the chin. He jerked and Justin tackled him to the floor with a painful thud.

  As soon as he could get air into his lungs, he was shoving at Justin, trying to get the larger man off him so he could regain his footing and resume pummeling him.

  “You didn’t let me finish,” Justin said beneath clenched teeth. He grabbed both arms and forced them over Gabriel’s head, holding him pinned to the floor. “Your other option was to fuck someone! I thought you’d take that one, but you didn’t give me the chance.”

  “I don’t want to fuck you,” Gabriel snarled. “I’d rather go back to kicking your ass.”

  Stretching their arms above Gabriel’s head, Justin pressed his chest against Gabriel, putting all his wonderful weight on him. “Oh baby, we both know you’re not in any shape to kick my ass. Let’s do something that you’re good at.”

  “Fuck you!”

  “No,” Justin said in a breathless whisper. “I’m going to fuck you.” He turned his head and licked across Gabriel’s throat. The wonderful feeling went straight to his goddamn cock. Hell, he felt faint from the rush of blood pouring from his brain to his dick.

  But he didn’t want to let go of his anger yet. He wanted to bask in it a little while longer, pound his fists into Justin or some other poor soul until they hurt more than his soul. He hated her. Hated himself. Didn’t want to feel better.

  Justin’s mouth kept nibbling and licking along his neck, making it so damn hard to hold on to the anger.

  This stupid man who knew him so well. Who could make the pain go away.

  What the fuck was he going to do if he ever lost Justin?

  That thought was almost as bad as the ones about his sister. The person she’d been. The person she was now, fighting for her son’s right to simply exist.

  “Justin,” he choked out on a pant. “Fuck me. Make the pain stop.”

  Gabriel couldn’t remember either of them talking after that. Clothes were torn away and then they were pressed together, skin to wonderful skin. They groaned. They hadn’t enjoyed this since they showered together in Germany. Most nights when they managed to drop into bed together at the same time, they fell asleep almost instantly from exhaustion. Or Gabriel woke from nightmares to find Justin wrapped tightly around his body, making him feel so damn safe.

  Not this time. He didn’t want safe. Didn’t want tender. He wanted rough hands and sweaty skin.

  Justin shifted his hips, sliding his dick along Gabriel’s until he groaned, eyes rolling back in his head. How had he forgotten how good it was between them? That amazing body, that harsh face tense with pleasure, that wicked, rough voice whispering the dirtiest things in his ear.

  “Justin,” he groaned again because there weren’t clear thoughts in his head anymore. Just a tangled knot of needs and desperate ache.

  “Don’t move a fucking muscle,” Justin growled before biting down hard on his shoulder. Gabriel howled and then that wonderful, hot body was gone. Cold air rushed in and Gabriel blinked, looking around for the first time. He was slightly surprised to find himself on the floor at the foot of the bed. The dresser was on the other side of him, leaving very little room to maneuver. The damn carpet was ugly and scratchy.

  Before he could consider getting up, Justin was standing over him, tearing open the condom wrapper with his teeth while holding a bottle of lube in one hand. To hell with the scratchy carpet and the fact that there was a bed less than a foot away. He wanted Justin now.

  He started to reach for his cock when Justin snarled, pulling the condom wrapper from this mouth. “I said don’t move.”

  “Your hands looked full,” Gabriel said with a smirk.

  “Oh, you want to be useful?” He lifted an eyebrow and Gabriel wasn’t sure he liked this new tone. He’d been hoping that Justin would pin him to the floor and fuck him until he didn’t know his damn name any longer.

  Justin tossed him the bottle of lube and he stepped back as he pulled the condom over his hard prick. Gabriel couldn’t tear his eyes away from the way Justin stood there…strong, muscular thighs tensed as he stroked down his dick, getting the latex perfectly in place. He was grateful the cap was on the lube bottle, or he would have made a mess with how he tightly he was squeezing it.

  “Prep yourself for me.”

  That was new. Gabriel smiled. He could do that. Happily.

  Pushing up to his knees, Gabriel turned so that his back was to Justin. He poured the lube onto the fingers of his right hand and braced his left hand on the dresser. Reaching, he slowly pushed one finger inside of his ass, hissing softly. Fuck, it had been too long. He hadn’t been penetrated since that wonderful day in London when Justin flew in for a brief booty call. They’d had sex so many times, and when he left him sleeping in their bed, Gabriel was sure he would never have enough of the man.

  Gabriel pulled his finger out and pressed it in again, repeating the motion a couple of times more before adding another. He didn’t quiet his moan this time.

  Hard fingers grasped his ass cheeks, pulling them apart so that Justin could watch him stretch his hole. He glanced at the man, loving the flush of his cheeks and the heavy breathing that reached his ears.

  “How long has it been, baby?” Justin asked.

  “Too long. Months.” Gabriel didn’t care that there was a desperate whine in his voice. He needed to feel Justin inside of him. Moving. Owning his body.

  “Fuck, G Love. I want to eat that ass until you fucking come.”

  “Next time, please. I want to feel you now.”

  Justin reached past his shoulder and grabbed the lube from where Gabriel had set it on the dresser. He squeezed some onto his dick, coating the condom. Gabriel barely got his fingers out of the way before Justin was pressing into him. Pain pushed away the building pleasure and he tensed.

  Soft kisses dusted his shoulder blade and up his neck, raising goose bumps on his skin. “Breathe, baby. We have all night. We’ll go as slow as you need.”

  Gabriel reached back with his right hand and grabbed Justin’s hip, holding him in place when he was sure that he was going to pull
away. “I don’t need slow. Just need you.”

  Justin’s lips moved up his neck and sucked his earlobe into his mouth. Gabriel moaned as he laved that tender piece of flesh. A hand wrapped around his cock, stroking it to life. His body began to relax again, welcoming Justin inside. He’d wanted a rough fucking, to forget about his earlier pain and frustration, but Justin had a way of reaching inside of him, cradling his fragile heart. He always knew what Gabriel needed without being told.

  Slowly, Justin pressed inside, filling him so perfectly. And then the teeth were back. That wonderful little nip of pain to chase along the edge of the pleasure, leaving Gabriel fighting the orgasm that was already starting to build under his tender touches and kisses.

  “Fuck me, Justin. Show me what I have to look forward to.”

  Grabbing his wrists, Justin forced Gabriel down to the floor so he could better brace himself. He slowly pulled backward until the head of his cock stretched the muscles of Gabriel’s hole and then he slammed home again. There were no more tender words and caresses. Just the insistent slap of sweaty flesh against flesh, gasping pants, and Gabriel’s cries for more. His orgasm was barreling down on him, so close he could fucking taste it, but he refused to touch his cock. He wanted the moment to last forever. Never wanted to stop feeling Justin’s hard dick, his rough hands, or the press of his thighs against the back of his own. This moment. It was perfect in a way that he couldn’t begin to describe, but it made all the pain and struggle worthwhile.

  “Stroke yourself,” Justin snarled. “So fucking close.”

  With a whimper, Gabriel finally gave in and wrapped his fingers around his leaking dick. It didn’t take more than a few strokes for his entire body to tense, muscles locking as lightning raced along ragged nerve endings. He was aware of Justin fucking him through it, shouting his own release. The world whited out and then he crashed down to earth under Justin’s heavy weight.

  Justin wrapped his arms around Gabriel and turned them on their sides, his cock still nestled deep in his ass. Gabriel could feel his heart pounding against his back, and he smiled. He was covered in cum and had rug burn on his hands and knees…and he couldn’t think of a more perfect moment.