Chapter 2
RAFAELLE
The butt of the gun isn’t a light, friendly kiss.
It’s Frenching my skull in a way that means dirty, sordid business.
My hand doesn’t move from the trigger, my eye still trained on Narciso Mancinelli. ‘At least buy me a drink first?’ I murmur, wondering why my heartbeat still hasn’t picked up. Am I already dead?
‘Nah, you don’t deserve a drink. I was hoping you’d make this more of a challenge. Thanks for making it so easy.’
I exhale more than imaginary smoke. I exhale a lungful of shock.
Because it’s not a man standing behind me, making conversation before firing a bullet into the back of my head.
It’s a woman. With a sexy as fuck voice I want to play in a loop.
She scoffs softly. ‘I know what you’re thinking. You believe your chances have improved because I’m a woman.’
Since that was exactly what I was thinking, I shrug.
I’m itching to turn around, look at her, just to confirm the absurd hope that the breathtaking body I’ve seen many times from a distance matches the sultry, cock-stroking voice I’ve never heard before… until now.
Because if this is how I meet my end, then I’d rather it be at the hands of someone as beautiful as she is.
My lips curve as I contemplate what could be my last moments. I’ve led an interesting life, as far from mediocrity as I could get. And the biggest bonus of all, I’ll get to see Mama again.
‘Thinking of your last words?’
I chuckle. ‘I was, but I’m thinking, what’s the point? There’s no one around to impress with poignant prose. I’m much more interested in who the angel is ushering me into the afterlife.’
The nuzzle presses harder into my skull.
Clever girl.
‘You think I’m an angel?’ Her voice turns harsh. Still insanely sexy.
‘Oops. Have I offended you?’
‘Don’t kid yourself,’ she tosses back, but the irritation is still there. ‘But yes, I’m curious as to why you think I’m remotely angelic.’
I contemplate my answers, then stick to the truth. ‘I hate to be cliché, but you don’t sound like my idea of the Grim Reaper. Not to say you’re not the angel of death, but I prefer to imagine you as an insanely beautiful angel instead of a hooded pile of bones.’
I catch the barest hint of a snort before I’m prodded harder. I’m not going to tell her – because I’m not that much of an idiot – but her harsh treatment makes my dick hard. I wonder if she’ll dally long enough for me to nut one last time before she kills me.
Yeah, I’m not normal. Far from it.
‘Who were you planning to kill tonight? And don’t even think about bullshitting me.’
Ah. Back to being all business. ‘I hadn’t made up my mind,’ I answer truthfully. ‘One definitely. Both, possibly.’
A sharp inhale. Giving herself away. If she’s who I’m beginning to think she is, for the hints of a reputation she’s gathering on the dark corners of the web, she’s too emotional. But then she’s a rookie, I remind myself.
‘You really want to die so badly?’
‘On the contrary, I enjoy breathing very much. And I would never lie to an angel. What I said is the truth.’
‘You want me to believe that the infamous Enforcer just turns up with a random target in mind?’
Surprise stalls my breath for a millisecond.
‘Yes,’ she says with a hint of a gloat. ‘I know who you are. Just as I knew you’d be here.’
I haven’t been betrayed because I’ve shared this side mission with no one. But I’m seriously impressed by her contacts and how she anticipated my being here tonight. Whatever surveillance she has in place is top notch.
Remarkably, that knowledge makes me even harder. Bringing me one step closer to my goal of rubbing one out before I go. ‘In that case, will you do me the honour of telling me who you are before you blow my brains all over this rooftop?’
Silence. The gun doesn’t move from the back of my head, but I feel her waver.
‘A dying man’s wish,’ I say, pressing my luck.
‘No,’ comes the firm reply.
‘Fine. So… what now?’ I take my finger off the trigger and relax further into the cold ground. ‘You want something, or you would’ve killed me by now. And don’t ask me the same question again. My answer won’t change.’
‘I know you’re the Enforcer. And I know he always has a back-up plan. Tell me what you planned to happen if you didn’t succeed tonight.’
My chuckle turns into laughter. ‘If I’m the Enforcer, under what circumstance do you believe I would divulge that?’
Silence stretches again. ‘Under the possibility that I might consider not killing you… yet?’
Okay, that’s… almost anti-climactic. Because the second I turn, it’s game over for her. ‘Hmm, and what do you intend to do to me in the meantime, angel?’
‘I have other means to take you out of commission without killing you. And don’t call me that.’
‘Tell me your name, then. Or at the very least, let me see your face.’
‘You’re more concerned about seeing my face and knowing my name than you are about dying?’
‘We’re all destined for death. And in our line of business, we meet our end sooner rather than later. If you’re not reconciled to that fact, then you’re not as clever as I think, duci.’
She inhales sharply at the endearment.
It wasn’t a slip. While she’d been delaying what I’m beginning to think may not be my inevitable demise, I’ve been collating every scrap of information I have about her identity.
I’m certain I know who my potential killer is.
‘You… you’re…’ she sputters.
Her reaction all but confirms it.
‘Yes. I am. Sicilian through and through,’ I say. Just like you, Sofiya Mancinelli.
My pulse jumps, half-elated, half-resigned. With a shovel of danger-etched arousal thrown in.
Because this just got exponentially more interesting.
‘Turn around,’ she snaps. Her voice has altered, as if she too senses the stakes have shot up higher than ever.
I turn around slowly, ensuring my gloved fingers are splayed open and well away from any dangerous object I could use to defend myself. She might yet shoot me, but she has questions.
And I need to scope her out.
I sense her surprise when she sees my masked face.
I take my time in dragging my gaze up to hers. And sì, there are so many entrancing things to admire on the way to meeting her searching eyes.
Those killer boots she’s wearing, for example.
I want one lethal heel pressed against my balls. Or those mile-long legs wrapped around my head as I eat her out like she’s my last supper.
Supple hips I want to sink my fingers into. A narrow waist I can easily encompass with my bare hands. And… fuck, she’s wearing a catsuit, black as midnight, deadlier than the sniper’s rifle resting above my head.
As for her tits, well, they’re simply a work of art.
Michaelangelo would weep at the sight of them. I just want to slap and bite and worship and suckle them until my jaw falls off.
‘Are you being serious right now?’ she snaps.
‘I’m not dead yet, angel. Don’t ask me to ignore a masterpiece in motion when it’s right in front of me. Fuck, you’re beautiful,’ I breathe when my journey ends on her face. And yep. Angel.
Deadly. Determined. Divine. But angelic, nevertheless.
The silky black hair frames her face perfectly as she leans forward, the gun now cupped in her expert hands aimed directly at my heart. I want to tell her to aim it higher. But I hold my tongue.
‘Take off your mask,’ she orders.
‘No can do, sweetheart. You want it off, come over here and do it yourself.’
Her eyes burn unholy fire. ‘How stupid do you think I am?’
I smile. ‘I don’t think you’re stupid at all.
But this isn’t the movies. I’m not going to kneel or beg or dig my own grave or lift a motherfucking finger to make your job easier.
So you’ll have to satisfy that particular curiosity after you kill me.
Besides, if you’re just wanting to confirm my identity, I think you already know.
So stop with the fucking games, Sofiya.’ I say her name softly.
With the reverence it deserves, this once, for getting one over on me.
Her breath shakes out. But her finger remains steady and deadly over the trigger as my words and disclosure sink in. ‘You know who I am. So I guess my question is, did you really come here to kill my family?’
There’s dishonour in lying about this of all things. So I don’t. ‘Yes.’
The gun wavers a little more. A look flashes though her eyes. ‘Then I can’t let you live.’
Her lips part. She breathes out to steady herself.
Then she pulls the trigger.