Chapter 19
Leo
I knew it was just a matter of time until the police identified Mike’s body, and that Nora would eventually find out.
I wanted him to be found, but I’d hoped it would be in a few more weeks.
I covered my tracks well, so there’s no way the police would be able to trace his murder back to me, but still, it’s a complication I could do without.
I don’t doubt Nora will tell the police about the altercation between Max and Mike eventually, she may even feel the need to tell them about the mysterious man who watches her, though I doubt she’d tell them everything.
Leaving town would be the best way to protect myself and avoid the police sticking their noses in and causing problems. That’s what any sane person would do, but I can’t leave Nora.
My uncle is getting impatient. When I didn’t answer his call today, he left a voicemail threatening that if I don’t provide solid evidence soon, he’ll find someone more capable who can. I can’t keep Nora hidden from him much longer.
Time is running out.
Whoever broke into Nora’s apartment hasn’t been back since, but that doesn’t mean they’re gone.
I can only assume Quinn sent them. If my uncle has been onto him, then he could send them to retrieve her any day now.
I’ve been careful to keep an eye out for anyone who might be watching Nora, and although I haven’t seen anyone, that doesn’t mean someone doesn’t have eyes on her.
If he or my uncle finds out the depths of my obsession with her, it could be used against me.
If they find out about our nighttime activities, Dimitri will kill us both.
Yet I can’t stay away.
Despite the danger it puts us both in, like an addict unable to resist, I return to Nora’s bedroom each night. She seems as helplessly drawn to me as I am to her. Tonight, however, she isn’t waiting in bed for me as usual.
She sits on the edge of it, fully dressed, her bedside lamp still on, bathing the room in a soft light, her eyes puffy from crying.
She gasps when she looks up, the light somehow making my masked presence more fearsome than the comforting shadows of darkness. She flinches and moves back slightly, wrapping her arms around her legs to comfort herself.
I want to tell her that she doesn’t need protection from me, I would never hurt her, but there’s fear in her eyes and I worry that if I speak, it will only make things worse.
“Did you kill him… did you kill Mike?” she whispers, looking at me as if she’s afraid to hear the answer.
I don’t answer, which only serves to make her more afraid. But I won’t lie to her either.
“Who are you? Why won’t you let me see your face?” she asks, surprising me with the subject change.
In all honesty, I don’t know why. Maybe for fear of her reaction.
Maybe because we both need me to be the masked stranger just a little longer.
I didn’t mean for it to go this far. Max was only supposed to be a temporary measure—a way I could get closer to her and learn what my uncle needs to know.
But the longer it’s gone on, the harder it is to step away.
She gets up, tentatively walking over to me.
I don’t move as she comes close, so close we’re almost touching, her breath heavy and sweet.
She looks into my eyes as she reaches up and touches the edge of the mask, ready to pull it up.
I gently take her hand in mine and look into her eyes, making sure she really thinks about whether or not this is what she wants before going ahead with it.
She’ll know I’m Max, and after that, we can’t go back.
I let go of her hand, and my breath catches as she slowly starts to pull it up.
Just as it goes over my chin, there’s a sound from the living room. A window opening. Someone’s breaking in.
Nora’s eyes widen with fear, and I hold my finger to my lips, warning her to stay silent before I head toward the other room, ready to deal with her intruder.
The room is dark, which gives me the upper hand as I know the layout of the apartment so well.
But with no cover, the man is likely to spot me immediately, removing the element of surprise.
However, it seems that luck is on my side today, that and a half-feral street cat.
Josef spots the intruder from his perch on top of the refrigerator, and without hesitation or fear, the cat arches its back and launches himself, claws drawn, into the face of the intruder.
“Fuck!” the man hisses in surprise and pain.
I use the distraction to quickly close the gap between us, issuing a flurry of well-placed jabs to incapacitate the man.
He manages to fling Josef off him, who scurries away, defeated but not hurt if his disgruntled yowls are anything to go by.
I release my chokehold on the man carefully, allowing him to regain consciousness but giving him no room for escape or for him to fight back.
His eyes widen as he takes in what’s happening.
Like me, he’s wearing a mask to hide his face.
When I remove it, I don’t recognize him.
He’s not one of ours. I don’t know if I should feel grateful or not. “Who sent you?” I ask, my voice low and commanding.
The man doesn’t respond, he simply stares me down, contemplating who I am and why I’m here.
“Was it Quinn?” I press.
There’s the barest flicker of recognition in his eyes that he quickly shuts down.
Shit. Killing one of Quinn’s men is risky. But leaving him alive is even more dangerous. If word gets back to Quinn, it could jeopardize our alliance, or, worse, he could figure out my feelings for Nora and use her against me.
With a sigh, I realize I’m going to have to spend the night far differently than I’d initially anticipated. The man, seeming to realize the decision I’ve come to, starts frantically struggling to free himself from my grip. I tighten the grip I have around his neck.
“Sorry. Nothing personal,” I murmur as I begin to squeeze the life from him.
“No. Please,” he chokes out through strangled gasps.
His pleas fall on deaf ears, and he slowly sinks to the floor.
The sound of movement from Nora’s bedroom pushes me to hurry this up and I wrap my legs around his back to get a better hold, I take his head in both hands and twist it until his neck breaks with a sharp crack.
The light in his eyes goes out and his face falls slack.
The sound of a terrified whimper draws my attention away from the dead man.
“Nora…”
She’s watching me, her face a mask of horror. I get up to go to her, to explain, and she backs away from me, flinching in fear.
She’s seen the monster behind the mask.
To my surprise, she doesn’t run or scream. “Who was he?” she asks, jerking her head to the dead man on her living room rug.
“He was sent by your father.”
Nora pales. I might scare her, but it’s nothing compared to the fear her father instills in her.
“You killed him,” she says, as if trying to process the information.
“Yes,” I reply. I won’t apologize for keeping her safe. I’ll kill every fucker who tries to take what’s mine, who so much as thinks about harming her.
“And Mike, you killed him too,” she asks, though it’s more of a statement.
I nod.
“Because of me?”
“He hurt you,” I reply simply.
She seems to consider this for a moment, weighing her natural horror at the thought of me committing murder because of her against the relief that there is someone out there protecting her. Perhaps for the first time in her life.
“If I asked you to do something for me, would you do it?” she asks cryptically.
“Yes,” I reply without hesitation.
“Kill my father,” she says, her eyes narrowing as she hardens her heart.
Atta girl, Nora. My beautiful, fearless, warrior woman. Now we’re talking. It’s an easy question that I don’t need to think about. I’d already decided that when the time is right, I’ll kill Eamonn Quinn for what he did to her.
I nod, easily agreeing to her request and she lets out a sigh of relief. “With pleasure,” I say with a smile.
She returns it, and just like that, we’re partners in crime.
It takes every ounce of control I have not to pounce on her and fuck her into oblivion right there and then.
But I know I need to get rid of the body in her living room before making any grand gestures of intimacy or giving in to my sexual desire for her.
All in good time.