Chapter 8
Kirill
What in the hell?
I’d had many people try to convince me there was such a thing as coincidences in life. Perhaps there were in innocuous lives that didn’t rely on pinpoint information or where violence was an everyday part of life. But not in my world.
I literally skidded to a stop, stunned at the sight of the woman standing in front of me.
However, not because of her eternal beauty, as she stood there in baggy scrubs and tennis shoes, her hair pulled into a high ponytail.
Or by the way she’d faced a goddamn gunman who’d shot at her only to reply by nailing him with a gurney, enough to knock his ass out.
The coup de grace was when she’d been of clear enough mind to drop onto the floor, snatching the weapon. Now I was no expert, but I’d yet to meet a single health professional who was a crack shot.
Maybe I was wrong. This was New York. There was no doubt women were encouraged to take self-defense classes and to keep mace in their purses. That I understood, but what I’d seen in the stunning woman indicated a behavior taught in experiences instead of a classroom.
I rushed forward, narrowly missing being shot in the head only by dropping behind the gurney. But I didn’t stop there, firing off four shots from between the metal legs.
My fucking aim was off, but both went down. One would find it difficult to walk again without needing crutches, but the fucker was down. Right now, the only thing on my mind and the only connection I had to what the hell was going on was the woman.
Because she wasn’t just any woman.
She was the lovely temptress from the plane. There’d been a reason I’d been drawn here, the cat and mouse game taking an entirely different turn. The only one that made sense was Vivian.
And I’d be damned if I would allow her to get away.
Just as I made the move to follow her, the original asshole who’d dared taunt me into the chase reared up from his unconscious state, lunging toward me. The single glint of the blade was presented a second before I felt the searing anguish as the knife was driven into my shoulder.
With my teeth gritted, I smashed my weapon against the asshole’s head, jerking up then stomping his hand until I heard bones cracking in his wrist and fingers. He howled in response, the last sound he made before I put a bullet between his eyes.
The pain was blinding enough that when I stood, stars washed across my field of vision. Fuck. This was one huge mess that would need to be torched. Only I was in no position to do so. First the woman.
Fuck, the wound hurt like hell.
After allowing a furious hiss through clenched teeth, I dragged the motherfucker into the stairwell to try to stall for time before he was noticed.
Afterwards, I took gasping breaths while I listened for footsteps. Either she’d made it to another floor or had stopped when hearing the noise made from the rattle of the door.
I remained silent, and it only took a few seconds before she made herself known. She was going down.
Blood had already soaked through my shirt, the slice not only hitting muscle but if I knew my anatomy, the tip of the blade had nicked the bone. Bleeding out wasn’t an option.
I raced down the stairs, jumping from one landing over the railing to two steps below. It didn’t take long for her to realize I was hot on her heels.
“Vivian,” I said loudly enough the syllables echoed against the stark walls. Rainwater that had collected in my hair outside rolled down my face, drops getting in my eyes that I wiped furiously.
She stopped moving, swinging her gaze to mine at the sound.
There it was again, a connection with enough electricity I sucked in my breath. We were only twelve steps from each other, close enough I could see the pulse in her neck thumping rapidly.
Her lower lip was quivering, swollen as if she’d bitten down on the tender flesh to keep from screaming. With a slight shake of her head, she reached for the door.
I had no recourse, jumping down the entire set of stairs, using the railing to keep me from plunging to the next floor. With a brutal yank, I threw her against the wall, wrapping my hand around her throat.
“No!” she wailed, the sound cut off.
There was fear in her eyes, but more than the stark intensity of terror was anger. I crowded closer, noticing her eyes fell to my injury. The slight register was only with a hitch in her breathing.
I kept my hold firm, enough that she threw her fist against my chest. “Let… me go.” Her voice was defiant; I was shocked she was holding her own after what she’d experienced. Only then did she realize she was holding a weapon, yet I anticipated her move, fisting her small hand over the gun.
“I don’t think you want to do that, Vivian.”
“What if I do?”
“Then we wouldn’t be allowed the opportunity of spending additional time together. Now, would we?”
Her entire face was pinched and I could clearly see the wheels turning in her big brain. “What do you want?”
While I really didn’t have the luxury of taking the time to remind myself of all the feel-goods I’d experienced in spending time with her, as I crowded her space, the jolt of electricity was too good to pass up.
Lowering my head, I slipped my thumb under her chin, forcefully lifting her head until our lips were almost touching.
“What would you say if I told you… everything.”
She hadn’t been prepared for the kiss, her body stiffening as I captured her mouth. In just holding her wet lips against mine, the reminder was as sweet as before, perhaps bittersweet given where we were standing.
I’d never been the kind of man to ignore an opportunity, especially one so delicious. She fought me at first, continually shoving her fist into my chest until she was lightly pounding. With her fingers tight around the weapon, she wasn’t eager to give me any control.
But she had no choice.
I pressed her lips open and the moment I slipped my tongue inside her mouth, she surrendered enough so I could remove the gun. After sliding it into the pocket of my jacket, I placed my hand on the wall beside her head.
She wound her fist around my shirt, pulling herself away from the wall as the kiss became a deeper reminder of how hot we’d been together.
The fantasy of being able to taste her again had been effective in keeping me awake.
Had I known we’d run into each other again and the reason why, I might have insisted she travel with me to the hotel.
At least I would have the joy of rediscovering every inch, not only of her body but of her obviously devious mind. As she yielded to the kiss, her tongue tentatively arguing with mine, I felt a sense of protectiveness over her. That was highly unusual, very unwanted, and nothing that could last.
When I pulled our lips free, we were both breathing hard, both from exertion and excitement. She kept her long fingers grasping my shirt while she darted the tip of her tongue across her bottom lip, catching the kiss.
“Now, I need you to be a good girl and remain silent. Can you do that?” She wasn’t inclined to answer until I squeezed her long neck. The pressure caused such clear defiance to rush into her eyes that I could consider myself smitten.
“Yes. Fine.”
“Good. Now that we have that settled.” I had to think about what the hell I was going to do next.
My best option was to get out of here. There was no way of knowing if I’d allowed myself to be lured into a hotbed of assassins.
While I doubted that was the case, the mess created would soon be covered on the morning news.
That wasn’t good for the sterling reputation of Chateau Elegance. Yet when I struggled to pull out my phone, the pressure that erupted in anguish and the ugly haze forming in front of my eyes were reminders that the cut wasn’t superficial.
“You’re hurt,” she stated as if I might not know that.
“Just a nick.”
“I doubt it. That looks serious.”
“Are you hopeful it is?”
Her expression was flat. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
When I finally managed to pull my phone from my pocket, I came close to dropping it on the floor. My companion’s reflexes were quick, catching the iPhone before it crashed and burned. “I’m fine.”
“You won’t be able to make a call.”
Blinking twice, I was finally able to drive the fog away long enough to notice there was zero reception inside the thick concrete block surrounding the stairs. “You’re right.”
“Of course I’m right, like I am that you need medical attention.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re hardheaded.”
Were we really having this conversation? I grinned and took a step back. Unfortunately, I didn’t calculate how much blood I’d lost. Vivian was forced to catch me so I didn’t tumble down the stairs.
“Damn it,” she hissed. “This is the last thing I need at the end of my shift. Let me take a look.”
“I told you… I’m fine.” The pain was almost blinding.
“Oh, for the love of God. I’m a doctor. Do you want to bleed out in between the second and third floors?”
I continued to listen for sounds, uncertain there weren’t more of the assholes waiting in the shadows. “Just a scratch.”
“You were shot by some asshole dressed in all black, yet you’re determined to keep that macho thing you have going on.”
“I don’t have a macho thing and I wasn’t shot.”
“What happened to the other guy?”
“You mean the one you managed to knock unconscious?”
Her mouth twisted, but the fire in her eyes was one of many attributes that had lingered with me. “I did what I had to do to protect myself.”
“I can see that. Admirable if not stupid. But don’t worry, he won’t bother us again.”
“You killed him. Didn’t you?” She was shocked.
“I did what I had to do to protect myself.”
“Men are all alike.” Huffing, she shook her head. The hint of fear I’d seen earlier had disappeared, clear annoyance at having her routine interrupted replacing everything else.