The Hitman Next Door

by Jackie Ashenden

  Still, it didn’t mean that whoever this guy was, he had something to do with Rhys’s old career. He might simply be a burglar who happened to get lucky with Vivi’s window.

  Yet as Rhys watched the man in the hoodie moving around the apartment, it became more and more obvious that the asshole was not a burglar. He didn’t pull open any drawers or riffle through shelves or generally make a whole lot of mess the way burglars usually did. And he didn’t take anything, not even the tempting looking iPad Vivi had left on the coffee table.

  No, the man looked around carefully, studying the bookshelves then mess of papers and books on the dining table, before moving off down the hallway toward Vivi’s bedroom.

  At that point, anger flared white-hot inside Rhys. Because who the fuck dared to break into Vivi’s apartment and go into her bedroom? His Vivi? If anything happened to her, if anyone put her in danger, there would be hell to pay.

  The hell being him.

  His jaw ached, his teeth grinding together as he watched the asshole come back into the shot again, this time pulling open a few drawers and glancing inside, obviously casing the place.

  Up till this point Rhys hadn’t managed to get a good look at his face because of that damn hood, but then the man glanced up in the direction of the camera. Then, obviously realizing that there was a camera there, he turned sharply away, tugging the hood further over his face.

  But it was too late. Rhys had already seen his features.

  Jesus Christ. It was Cruz

  Rhys hit pause, staring at the man in the video, the icy feeling in his gut spreading right throughout his whole body, remembering his last contract.

  He’d taken on a job getting rid of a drug boss out in California, a job that Eddie Lee, who was as close to a friend as Rhys ever got in the world of contract killing, had put him on to. It had seemed a normal contract, until he’d gotten to the location to check it out and found Eddie, his brother Jason and fucking Emilio Cruz waiting for him. All three of them were the top dogs in the business – or at least they had been until Rhys had put out his shingle – and he’d known immediately that this had been a set-up.

  Then Eddie had told him it wasn’t personal, that Rhys was just way too much competition. Right before they’d all opened fire.

  Rhys had barely gotten out with his life.

  He hadn’t been able to leave it at that, not with three of the best on his tail wanting to take him out, and it had rapidly become clear to him that the only way to stop himself from becoming another one of their hits was to take them out one by one.

  He’d started with Eddie, since it had apparently been his erstwhile friend’s idea to get rid of him. But afterwards, with the blood of a friend on his hands, Rhys had come to the conclusion that he couldn’t do it anymore. He had to get out. And he’d thought he’d managed to, except…apparently not.

  Somehow, years later, Cruz had found him and Rhys knew exactly what the prick wanted: he wanted to finish the job Eddie had started AKA blowing him away.

  And he was aiming to use Vivi to do it.

  The anger in Rhy’s gut burned hotter, along with a sick kind of disappointment that he shoved away hard.

  There was no point getting pissed about his old life catching up with him. What he had to do now was handle the situation, and preferably in a way that would deal with it once and for all, while at the same time making sure Vivi would never find out about it.

  Rhys stuck his phone in his pocket then got up, making another cursory of the apartment. In the video Cruz hadn’t taken anything or left anything behind, but you could never be too careful.

  Nothing was amiss so he glanced toward the hallway, listening for any sound of movement coming from Vivi’s bedroom. Getting back only silence, he let himself out of the apartment, making his way down to the first floor, then exiting the building and going around the side to the alleyway that led to the fire escape. He checked his surroundings as he did so, doubly alert for suspicious cars or vans, or anything else that might indicate Vivi’s apartment was being watched. Again, there was nothing.

  He climbed up to Vivi’s floor, then examined the window sill near the kitchen from the outside, wanting to see how the fuck Cruz had gotten inside. There were some marks on the frame by the catch – obviously the prick had forced it.

  His jaw hardened, the anger inside him settling into a slow, sullen burn.

  Right, first thing he had to do was to make sure Vivi was safe. Then he’d hunt down this asshole and convince him that coming after Rhys was a really bad idea. Then he’d upgrade these goddamn window catches. No one was getting into this apartment without him knowing about it, not ever again.

  Rhys went quickly down the fire escape and back into the building, going up to Vivi’s apartment and letting himself in. On the TV Humphrey Bogart was talking about Paris and everything seemed…pretty much normal. But it wasn’t normal, because his old life was threatening all his plans for his future, putting his friend at risk, and now he was pissed as fuck. And being pissed as fuck was a worry. Emotions got in the way of being able to think clearly and act decisively, a lesson he’d learned all too well during his first contract when he’d nearly fucked it up. So he’d learned over the years to put those feelings away, to keep them stored neatly in a box he never opened.

  A box he shouldn’t be opening now.

  Gritting his teeth, he shoved the burning anger and the sick disappointment away, reaching into his pocket and grabbing his cell phone. Then he scrolled through his list of contacts for a name he hadn’t called in at least two years and hit the call button.

  “Rhys?” Donny’s voice was incredulous. “Rhys, man! It is you. I haven’t heard from you for fucking ever. How’s it going? Are you thinking of getting back in the biz?”

  Rhys ignored the sound of expectant hope in Donny’s question. “Have you heard about any blowback from that last contract I did?”

  There was a silence as Donny’s slow brain processed this. “Uh…last contract?”

  “Where Eddie pulled off that double cross and nearly got me killed,” He tried not to sound impatient. Not everyone remembered things as perfectly as he did.

  There was another pause as Donny thought about it. “With the cartel boss? Nah, I don’t think so. I mean, I would have heard about it if there was.”

  “Are you sure? Anything about Jason Lee? Or Emilio Cruz?”

  “Emilio who?”

  Rhys cursed under his breath.

  “Hey,” Donny went on, clearly taking Rhys’s silence as an invitation to continue talking, “so, what’s the big—”

  Rhys hit the disconnect button before the other man had a chance to finish then stuck his phone back in his pocket, his brain ticking over.

  Okay, so Donny knew nothing, which was fairly typical, but worth a shot in case he’d heard something concrete. Not that Rhys needed concrete, not when it was perfectly obvious why Cruz was here.

  He went to the window yet again and took another look, scanning the other buildings and the street outside. Once again, nothing.

  He jammed his hands in his pockets, pacing away from the window as he worked it through in his head.

  Okay, so Cruz wanted Vivi, though why he hadn’t simply gone for Rhys first, Rhys didn’t know. If the guy had merely wanted him dead then Cruz would have come after him straight off. But Cruz hadn’t. He’d involved Vivi, which meant it was about more than merely Rhys’s death. Perhaps this was also about Eddie and how Rhys had taken him out. Jason would have been pissed about that, no question, and it’s likely the guy wanted some revenge for his brother, roping Cruz in to help.

  Well, whatever Cruz’s motivation was, the bottom line was that she wasn’t safe here, at least not until Rhys had figured out how best to deal with the situation. So the solution to that was either staying here himself, or moving her somewhere else.

  Staying here would be the least disruptive for Vivi, but then he’d have to figure out some plausible reason for moving into her apar
tment, since he wasn’t going to let her be here on her own. If she’d even let him move into her apartment, which she probably wouldn’t.

  She might if you just tell her the truth.

  Rhys frowned at the TV screen again, where Bogart was giving Ingrid Bergman a kiss. Oh sure, the truth. He could imagine how that conversation would go. ‘Sorry, Vivi, but I’m moving in to protect you from a guy who wants to use you to finish a job that involves killing me. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention that I used to be a contract killer. Sorry for lying to you all these years.’

  Yeah, that was not a conversation he was going to have with her. Especially not now he’d decided that he was going to go after the life he’d always wanted with her. A life he definitely couldn’t ever have if he told her the truth.

  You’re going to have to tell her eventually. Especially if you have to drag her off somewhere.

  Fuck. He would. Because it wasn’t as if Vivi would blithely follow his orders without asking any questions.

  Beneath the gradually burgeoning need to get her out of the apartment and get her safe, a jolt of something hot went through him. Vivi, following his orders without protest. Every. Single. Order.

  Something wild and hungry growled inside him, and he had to close his eyes for a minute to steady his breathing and get his stupid fucking cock under control.

  Jesus Christ, having rogue fantasies about her following his orders was not what he should be doing, not when her safety could be compromised, and especially not if he was going to have to do something drastic to make sure it would stay un-compromised.

  Okay, so Vivi wouldn’t want him living here and she definitely wouldn’t appreciate being dragged off to his place - not that holing up at his place was a good idea, either. Even though it was pretty much a fortress, it would only end up trapping them and getting Vivi away from the danger was what he wanted, not putting her right in the middle of it.

  No, if he wanted to keep Vivi completely safe they were going to have to go somewhere else. Hell, maybe even head out of town entirely. Luckily he had a bolthole he maintained for this very purpose, a cabin out in the desert in Big Bend. It was at least six hours drive away, but maybe he could cut that down if he drove fast, and at this time of night there wouldn’t be much traffic.

  He glanced toward the hallway that led to Vivi’s bedroom.

  She was not going to like being dragged out of bed and on a six hour drive into the middle of nowhere, nor would she like him keeping her there. But what choice did he have? If she stayed here, she was a target and he would not allow her to be hurt. Not in any way.

  Keeping her safe was and always had been his priority.

  You’re really going to have to tell her.

  Rhys let out a breath. No, he didn’t. If there was a chance he could get her away safely without revealing anything then he was going to take it, particularly now he’d set his sights on having the kind of future he’d always wanted with her.

  He couldn’t allow anything to jeopardize that. Most especially not the truth.

  Picking up the remote, Rhys turned off the TV then went down the hallway to Vivi’s bedroom door. He didn’t pause or knock, he simply opened the door and went straight in.

  The room was fully dark so Rhys waited a second for his eyes to adjust.

  Vivi’s large queen sized bed was pushed up underneath the windows. The curtains were closed but he could see by the faint stirring of the fabric, that she had one window open. Shit, that was stupid to leave a window open at night. Even given there was no fire escape access from the outside, that didn’t mean no one could get in. He could, for example.

  Annoyed, he went over to the bed and glanced down. She was lying on her stomach, her head turned to the side on the pillow, her arms tucked underneath her. She had one leg drawn up, the other outstretched, and it looked hideously uncomfortable. Yet she was breathing deeply and softly, clearly fast asleep.

  All she wore were a pair of boy leg shorts and a tank top with tiny straps.

  Rhys blinked.

  He’d seen Vivi in that ridiculous excuse for pajamas before. Many times. And he’d long gotten past the point of being affected by the sight of all that luscious skin on show. He’d gotten used to seeing those long, toned legs bare and how the little shorts highlighted the curve of her ass. And the fact that her tank top fitted very tightly across her full breasts.

  He’d had years of controlling himself around her, keeping everything locked up tight. But now he’d decided he was going to make a move, his dick was suddenly very, very interested at the sight of her lying there half naked in her bed, the soft scent of flowers and vanilla clouding his brain.

  Fuck’s sake, there would be plenty of opportunity for that later, if he managed to handle this right. But now was not the time.

  Ignoring his insubordinate groin, Rhys leaned over her. “Vivi,” he said in a cold, clear voice. “Wake up.”

  Vivi was in the middle of a lovely dream. It had started with someone’s hands running all over her body in a light, teasing touch and at first she’d thought the hands were Neil’s, since even though they hadn’t slept together yet, he was the most logical person to be having sexy dreams about.

  But then the touch had gotten firmer, more insistent, demanding, and she knew it couldn’t be Neil since he definitely wasn’t either insistent or demanding. Which meant it had to be someone else touching her.

  Rhys.

  She should have found it shocking to be dreaming about him like this, but since it was a dream and therefore not real, she didn’t find it shocking at all. It was a turn-on. A major, major turn-on.

  His hands were big and warm and slightly calloused, and they seemed to know exactly where to touch her to make her shiver, to make her pant. And sure, it was wrong to be feeling this way about her best friend, but that only seemed to add to the sexiness of the whole thing.

  And then, just when things were getting really good, Rhys’s hands fell away and she was being gathered up into his arms and held very tightly instead. It was disappointing after all that touching, but she felt warm and protected and safe, which wasn’t bad. In fact, she didn’t ever want him to put her down or stop holding her, because she loved this feeling of being cared for and shielded.

  Weird because she really wasn’t that type of person when she was awake. But her subconscious seemed to be very happy so she just went with it.

  Until she began to suspect it wasn’t a dream. Because there was light against her eyes and she felt like she was actually moving, not to mention the fact that she appeared to be pressed up against a hot stove. A stove with a heartbeat.

  Awareness began to filter through her and she realized with a shock that no, it actually wasn’t a dream. She actually was in someone’s arms.

  “It’s okay,” a deep, cold male voice said, obviously sensing her wakefulness. “It’s only me.”

  She was actually in Rhys’s arms.

  The feeling of being safe and warm and protected momentarily flooded back and she found herself relaxing in the arms that held her. Okay, so everything was fine. It was Rhys who was carrying her and she had absolutely no problem with that. None at all.

  A couple of seconds passed, the hard, muscled wall of his chest hot against her, the strong arms holding her comforting. He felt so good and he smelled even better, and it had been a long time since she’d been held by a man like this.

  Deep down inside her, something ached. Something pulsed. A hunger that hadn’t been satisfied by those touches, that wanted more. God, it had been so long since a man had even touched her, period, let alone in a dream. She wanted to turn to him, bury her face in his warm chest, taste his skin.

  Taste his skin? You do know you’re not actually dreaming now, right?

  Well, she’d been thinking she was dreaming, which meant she’d been asleep. But obviously she wasn’t asleep in her bed anymore, because Rhys was carrying her.

  Hang on. Why was Rhys carrying her?

  Vivi cracked
open a lid then instantly closed it as light stabbed her in the eye.

  Okay, so this was happening. Which meant she’d been having all those half-asleep lustful thoughts while being in his arms. A flush of embarrassment went through her.

  Great. Had she done anything to give herself away? Please don’t let her have turned her head into his chest and really licked him the way she’d been imagining.

  “Rhys?” she asked thickly, shutting that thought down real quick. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Nothing.” His voice was calm. “I’m taking you for a drive.”

  A drive? What on earth was he talking about? “I’m dreaming this, right?”

  “Yes.” Again his voice was completely calm. “You’re dreaming this right now. Go back to sleep. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  Vivi opened one eye again. Nope, he was lying. She was definitely awake.

  She opened the other eye.

  It appeared they were in an elevator. Her building’s elevator. The walls were mirrored and she could see her reflection. She appeared to be wrapped up in a blanket and held very securely in the arms of her best friend.

  She blinked to make sure this really wasn’t a dream, because even though she was awake, the image was strange enough for her to doubt it. But the reflection didn’t change.

  Rhys wasn’t looking in the mirror. His gaze was directed above the doors, to where the numbers were counting down as the elevator descended and his expression was absolutely unreadable, even to her.

  A drive. He was taking her for a drive. Still in her pajamas and wrapped in a blanket.

  Something cold settled in her gut, but she didn’t panic or struggle. Because this was Rhys and there surely had to be a valid explanation. “Rhys,” she repeated, stronger this time, staring at him in the mirrored walls of the elevator. “Where are you taking me in the middle of the night?”

  The elevator at that point chimed, the doors opening, and Rhys was striding forward, carrying her through the darkened lobby of her apartment building. He didn’t reply immediately, managing somehow to open the front door without putting her down, and then they were outside, the cool night air against her face.