Chapter 42 Sophie
Sophie
His words penetrate the broken-down walls around my heart. They spread around like poison ivy, wrapping themselves tightly. My ears stopped ringing, but the sound was merely replaced by the loud thud of my heartbeat.
I wet my lips before saying, “There’s no fear anymore.
” It’s partially true. I just killed a man.
Of course, my brain is coming up with a hundred scenarios of everything going to shit.
But that crippling fear that used to take my breath away—it’s gone.
One would think it would leave me empty, but that is the last thing I feel. “I only feel love.”
Luka’s eyes darken even more, and his lips connect to mine once again. My core tingles with anticipation, desperate to feel him closer to me. I pull him flush to me, feeling the hard ridge of his cock. He nips my bottom lip, and I moan.
“I need you,” I whimper into his mouth.
“Mila, we need to leave,” he responds, trying to move away. I grab his shirt, dragging him back.
“Please, I need you.”
He groans and lifts me up by the backs of my thighs.
My clit lands directly on the bulge in his pants and my hips start moving.
He’s walking, I can tell, but I’m too horny to care where the hell we’re going.
When my back slams on the tiled wall, I realize we’re in the bathroom.
His mouth lowers to my neck, and my back arches off the wall.
“We need to get away as soon as possible,” he murmurs, more to himself.
“Then hurry.”
Running his teeth over my throat, he lowers my leggings, his palm planted on the wall beside my head. Next up are his pants. I move my hips just enough for him to release his cock.
He places it at my entrance, and I sink down, a gasp escaping me.
“Fuck,” he grits out.
He stretches me even more in this position and I can barely breathe with him inside. Removing the hand from the wall, he grabs my ass roughly, in a way that will surely leave fingerprints on my skin.
“Yes,” I breathe out. I want him to mark me.
I feel every inch as he rocks me up and down on his cock.
“So fucking tight. So wet,” he says, placing his forehead on mine.
We stare at each other as he hits the magical spot inside of me, the adrenaline turning to lust in my veins. It heats and sizzles and, thrust after thrust, my moans get louder, echoing off the bathroom walls. He brings his body even closer to mine and the new angle makes my clit rub on his stomach.
“I love you, mila,” he whispers, and I scream, lights exploding in front of my eyes.
My toes curl and my teeth bite into my bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. He fucks me through my orgasm before reaching his with a loud groan. His hips freeze as his cock twitches inside of me, filling me with his cum.
Just as our breathing settles, he glances up, eyes wide with panic. “We need to get the hell out of here.”
I know he said it twice before, but this was the first time it made sense. I nod, and he lowers me to my feet, lifting my leggings.
He plants a quick kiss on my lips, just enough to get the butterflies in my stomach going before saying, “Grab your stuff.” He lifts his gun to exit the bathroom.
Most of my stuff is here in the bathroom, so I take the bag and throw it all inside. A loud crash comes from the main room. I freeze mid motion, taking a deep breath to collect myself.
Should I look or close myself in here?
What if they do something to Luka?
Deciding in an instant, I pop my head out to check it out.
Besides the already dead body bleeding out on the floor, there’s another, much larger body next to it. Luka lowers his hand with the gun in it.
“He’s not dead,” he tells me.
“I wouldn’t care if he were,” I respond truthfully. One of Toma’s men is hardly on the list of people I care about. But I guess Luka only hit him with the gun.
“This’ll be better. He’ll spread the story of how I killed Uncle and ran away with you.”
“Won’t everybody think you’re a traitor, then?”
“They will. But since I’ll be gone, I’m sure Leon will figure things out.”
“I might be in shock, but that doesn’t make any sense.”
“You have a better idea?” He looks back at me.
Do I? “They should think it was the Russians.” His brow furrows, so I continue, “That way, your family will have a common enemy to unite against, rather than your brother having to justify your betrayal. And you’ll have a chance to go back one day.”
“I told you already. I don’t care about going back.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. “Then do this for me.”
He dips his head. “Get back to the bathroom. This won’t be pretty.”
My feet carry me to the bathroom, but my mind is stuck on him. I’m not used to this. My dad gambled with my life. Twice. But Luka would give everything up, just for me.
A gunshot fires, making my breath catch in my throat.
Not a minute passes before Luka pokes his head in the bathroom. “Let’s go.”
He takes my elbow and rushes me out. My eyes travel across the room I’ve spent so much time in.
The room I hated at first. The room I’ve grown to feel more comfortable in than in my own home.
Now it’s adorned with two dead bodies. My gaze lands on Toma’s stomach, now bare but decorated with letters written in blood.
“Too late,” I read aloud.
“It’s a message. Russians tend to leave similar ones.”
With that, we exit the dungeon. My eyes grow misty as we rush up the stairs, Luka staking every room before we enter it. He helps me into the car, shutting the door loudly behind me.
A tear rolls down my cheek and I’m barely aware of my surroundings as he hits the gas. It must be the shock. A lot of things happened in the last hour.
I’m faintly aware of Luka dialing his phone.
“Charles, I need a favor.” A pause. “I need to borrow your jet.” Another pause. “Consider your debt paid.”
“Do I want to know what that’s about?” I ask when he ends the call.
“Just a mafia unrelated buddy owning me a favor.” He shoots me a smile before making another call.
“I need you to dump my car. And don’t ask any fucking questions.”
He listens for a second, before responding with a grunt.
“What will happen to the club?” I ask.
“Ivan will take care of it.”
“So he knows the truth?”
“He won’t tell a soul.” He sneaks a reassuring glance at me.
“He’s a good guy. You know he once brought his girlfriend to keep me company?”
“Did he?” he asks, way too quickly.
“You knew?” I slap his forearm playfully. “Did you tell him to do that?”
He shrugs in response, but those butterflies start up again.
I clear my throat. “Where are we going?” The city lights are brighter now as we cruise the empty night streets.
“To get our dogs.” He grins at me.
Hope blooms in my chest, overwhelming everything else. Residential houses turn into small apartment buildings, then into skyscrapers. We turn right toward one skyscraper, entering the underground garage.
“We need to move fast,” he says, dropping his phone into the center console and stepping out of the car.
He grabs the bag with my stuff, and I follow behind. He punches the code into a keypad, making the elevator door open. His hand sneaks out to take mine, rubbing gentle circles on the back of my palm. The elevator pings and we step into his apartment.
Hades and Alan rush to greet us and my lips lift of their own accord. My heart swells with love. Alan’s frantic happiness reminds me of how he used to pee himself with excitement when he was younger. I hope it doesn’t happen again because we need to get going.
“I need to grab a few things. Can you please put collars on them?” Luka points to a wall behind me and disappears into another room.
Once again, his place stuns me. I wish I could explore more, but we don’t have time.
Shaking the dog hair off my leggings, I get up from the floor.
Right away, I notice the key holder holding a set of keys and a few dog collars on the wall Luka was pointing at.
I make quick work of collaring both dogs, and I’m done just in time for Luka to be back.
He’s sporting two gym bags and a backpack, still dressed in full tactical gear.
“Ready?” he asks, snapping me out of staring at his biceps. They’re all scratched and bloody but fuck, he looks good.
I dip my head in response, and the four of us enter the elevator. This time, he unlocks an unfamiliar car in the garage, one on the other side of it. It’s a non-descript, gray sedan. He throws our stuff in the back, helps the dogs to get in, and I rush to get inside.
“Interesting choice of a car,” I comment as he starts it.
“It’s my emergency car. This is my first time driving it, believe it or not.”
“No one knows about it?”
“Exactly.”
It makes sense. His massive Range Rover is definitely a standout.
Turning to the bags in the back, he digs through and takes out a pink baseball cap. He pulls it over his head and turns the key into ignition.
“Nice hat,” I say, barely suppressing a laugh. It’s so far out of his usual style, I can barely recognize him in it.
Which, now that I think about it, is surely the goal.
He glances at me and winks, looking both ridiculous and devastatingly gorgeous. Electricity buzzes through me.
“Should I have a disguise?” I ask.
“There’s a pink hoodie if you want.”
I rotate in my seat, opening the bag. Just like he said, a pale pink hoodie is right at the top. Hades licks my hand before I grab the hoodie, revealing the rest of the bag’s contents. Neatly arranged hundred-dollar bills fill every square inch of the bag, making me let out a tiny gasp.
“That’s just for a head start,” he says. “I have hidden accounts we’ll be able to access once we get settled.”
My gasp wasn’t about thinking this won’t be enough money. “This is more money than I ever saw before.” My fingertips brush the bills. They look brand new. “Where are we going, anyway?”
“A friend of mine is loaning us his private jet. So we’re going wherever we want to.” He flashes me a grin, and my lips turn up.
I take the hoodie I’m wearing off, slipping the pink one on. “I suppose we need to get as far as possible.”
He bows his chin. “For now.”
Who knows when we’ll be back. I was already missing for two months. “Shit…” I murmur. Alex will eat herself alive.
Luka’s head turns to me, worry etched into his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Alex. She’ll think I’m dead. She probably already does.” Guilt gnaws at my stomach.
He hesitates for a second. “You know it’s dangerous to reach out. Not only for us, but for her, too.”
“I know.” My fingers fidget in my lap. “Maybe I could just leave her a note?”
“Where? Does she have a place around here?”
“No, she typically stays with me. Forget about it. You’re right. It’s risky.” My chest deflates, but he stops the car, making a three-point turn using a deserted side-alley. “What are you doing?”
“We’re leaving her a note.”
“B-but… you said…”
“I also said I want you to be happy. And your cousin, your best friend, thinking you’re dead won’t make you happy.” I swallow around the lump that formed in my throat, and he continues, “Grab the bag and see if there’s any paper inside.”
I grab the bag from the back seat and dig through the stacked bills to find a discarded flyer. Petrovic Casinos. Luka glances at me. “Is this your brother’s casino?” I ask.
“Yup, it’s where I got the money from. There should be a pen in the glove box.” Without looking, he opens the glove box. A gun inside startles me, which is ridiculous since I fired one just an hour ago. Careful not to touch it, I extract the pen.
Flattening the flyer on the dashboard, I scribble a note.
I’m okay. Use my apartment however long you need. Love you.
By the time I’m done, Luka is parking in front of my building. It’s a spot reserved for deliveries, but there won’t be any of those at this time of the night. He gets out first, opens the door for me, and lands a quick kiss on my lips as I step out.
“Just a quick in and out. We have a plane waiting for us.”
“Ok.”
I watch him pick the lock of my apartment, extremely aware that he didn’t need instructions to get to my building or to my apartment.
I guess it makes sense, considering I fell in love with my stalker.
The place is dark, but it’s obvious she’s been using it.
Her jackets hang in my hallway, her shoes lining the floor.
I miss her.
“We need to be inconspicuous. Just in case someone comes looking.”
I bow my head, crumpling the flyer in my hand and throwing it carelessly onto the living room side table.
Luka glances at me with pride. “Smart. You’d be a great criminal, you know.”
“I guess I am one now.” I wink.