Chapter Eight
Will
Things have changed between Gianna and I after she told me she didn’t want me to die. I saved her from her asshole fiancé and I keep telling myself that I did it for the job. I did it because Marco is paying me.
And yet, deep down, I know I saved Gianna because I wanted to. Because every time I look at her, I only want to sink into her pretty brown eyes. I want to protect her.
That’s a dangerous feeling to be having.
Which is why I take on another job. Marco still hasn’t contacted me after he went into hiding from Enzo.
I need to make money somehow and I need to get Gianna off my mind.
The way she looked me over when I was shirtless still runs through my head every second of the day. She liked what she saw. I could tell.
It makes me want to know what she looks like under her clothes. But I cannot touch her. Marco would definitely kill me for that since he’s the one paying me to keep her locked away until he can get his hands on her.
Gianna picked the lock last time I left and I’m sure she’ll do it again. I wouldn’t blame her. Which is why I place a chair underneath the doorknob so she can’t get out. A flash of guilt hits me, which is fucking ridiculous. I shouldn’t care about Gianna being locked up. She is just my mission.
Nothing more.
So why do I feel fucking guilty keeping her like a prisoner? It’s a question I’m not ready to answer.
I focus on my new job. A young man contacted me about killing his wife because she stole all of his money after she cheated on him.
Not worthy enough to die in my opinion but she’s not exactly innocent either.
And the man is paying me two hundred thousand dollars to do the deed and I can’t turn money like that down.
The wife in question is at her newly bought mansion that she used her husband’s money for. I stake out the house. No guards. She’s living her life without any worries.
Jessica Williams. A simple name for a simple woman. One I’m going to kill.
I slip on my ski mask and gloves and then head inside the house. It’s easy breaking in through the back door. No alarm system. This woman really doesn’t have any worries in the world.
I find Jessica in the bathtub, reading a romance novel. Soft music is playing in the background. She’s humming to herself, without a care in the world.
I remain hidden in the hallway as I watch her.
A flash of guilt hits me. I’m supposed to kill this woman whose only crime was to cheat on her husband and take his money.
Sure, it’s shitty but does she deserve to die for it?
She’s nothing compared to the father who raped his daughter.
Or the politician who assaulted under aged girls.
She’s not as innocent as Gianna but she’s still an innocent in this world. And I have to kill her.
I’ve always had my moral compass to help guide me in this dark world, telling me who I should kill and shouldn’t. I wouldn’t have hesitated to kill this woman in the past. I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. She’s guilty enough to fit my code.
But after Gianna entered my life…
Fuck. I’m not sure I can do this.
I take one step to leave when my footstep creaks on the floorboard.
Jessica sits up in the bathtub. “Is someone there?” That’s when she looks through the doorway and sees me. Her bloodcurdling screams sends a chill down my spine. “I’m calling the police!”
I could still kill her in time before she could call anyone.
I’m a hardened hitman. This is what I do. So why am I hesitating? If I don’t do this job, then word will get out and no one will hire me. I need the money I earn to survive. But is the money even worth it when all I can think about is Gianna?
“Send help,” Jessica says on the phone. Shit. If I kill her now, it will be even worse after she’s called the police. I won’t be able to send my contact to come clean up the body. I have to get out of here.
Without looking back, I leave Jessica alive. I’ll deal with the fallout later. A man like Oliver, Jessica’s husband, will be easy to deal with. I’ll just give him his money back.
I return home to Gianna. That thought process makes me stop in my tracks. Home. This isn’t my home. Not in this house Marco owns and definitely not with Gianna. She can never be my home.
Yet, I want to see her. I feel desperate for it.
I shove the chair away and rip open the door.
She’s sleeping. Never have I seen anyone look as peaceful as Gianna does when she’s asleep.
It makes me want nothing more than to lay her back and have my way with her.
To take her clothes off and show her pleasure.
Clearly, her fiancé never gave her any considering it was an arranged marriage.
But I could show her what it’s like to be taken by a man.
Without stopping, I go over to the bed and stare down at her. As if she can sense my presence, Gianna wakes up. She gasps but then relaxes after she sees me. Do I not scare her? I should terrify her.
“Will?” She sits up, wrapping the blanket around her chest, even though she’s fully clothed. “What’s wrong? Why do you look like that?”
“Like what?”
“You’re breathing heavy. You’re eyes…”
“What about my eyes.”
“They’re wild,” she whispers, her face flushing.
“Why are you making me feel this way?” I admit more to myself than to her.
She blinks. “What way?”
I shake my head, turning away from her. I can’t tell her what I’m feeling. It will only make things more complicated. “I couldn’t kill a woman tonight.”
“Isn’t that… a good thing? Why do you sound bothered by that?”
“Because I was supposed to kill her!” I shout. Gianna gasps, flinching away from me. I take a deep breath and run my hand down my face. “I was supposed to kill her,” I say in a calmer tone. “And I didn’t.”
“Who?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.” I can tell Gianna is trying to sound strong and brave. It only makes her cuter. And that’s the problem: I shouldn’t be finding her cute.
“Just some woman. I was hired to kill her and I didn’t.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Gianna…”
“No. You came in here. You told me you didn’t kill this woman. You don’t get to just walk back out of here and not explain it to me. Why didn’t you kill her?”
I sigh, all the energy leaving me as I slump against the wall. “Because all I could think about was you.”
She sucks in a breath. “What? I don’t understand.”
“All I could think is that you’re an innocent and she was innocent and didn’t deserve to die. I never would have hesitated before but I hesitated. Why did I fucking hesitate?”
“Will… if you’re having doubts, you can let me go. Bring me back to Enzo. He’ll help you. Pay you until you’re set for life so you never have to work as a hitman again. It’s a good deal.”
“Your brother will kill me the second he sees me.”
“Not if I explain things to him first.”
“No,” I say with a definitive shake of my head. “I can’t. I am not going to risk my life. I’ve always looked out for myself and I’ll continue to do it.”
“Will…”
I push away from the wall and rub my hand down my face. Why am I fucking doing this? The last thing I should be doing is confessing how I feel to Gianna. Not when she’s just a job to me. Or at least, she should just be a job to me.
I head to the door when Gianna begs me to stop. “You’re my prisoner, Gianna. I have to go. You have to remain in here until Marco comes to get you.”
“You didn’t kill that woman.” Her soft voice washes over me. “You could have and yet, you didn’t. Because she was innocent like you said. So let me go. I’m innocent. You know this. Why can’t you let me go?”
Because there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to. If I were to let Gianna go, I’d never see her again.
Fuck.
“You mean nothing to me,” I say in a hard voice. “Coming in here was a mistake. Talking to you was a mistake.”
“Will.” The way she whispers my name – with so much hurt in her voice – makes me close my eyes as another round of guilt hits me.
I leave without another word and lock Gianna back into her room. Where she belongs even though we both know it’s not where she belongs.
Nico
“I had her,” I tell Enzo after he lets me into his house. “I had Gianna. But then some fucker punched me in the face and knocked me out. He took Gianna back with him.”
Enzo frowns. “What fucker?”
“The one from the church. The one working with Marco. That hitman he hired to kidnap Gianna in the first place.”
“He got Gianna back? Fuck. You were supposed to get her back. I was supposed to get her back. You didn’t do your job, Nico.”
“I was close,” I growl. How dare Enzo judge me? He was across town from where Gianna was. He wasn’t able to save her either. “And we’ll get her back and then you’ll marry her to me and we’ll kill both Marco and that fucking hitman he hired.”
“Find out his name,” Enzo instructs. “We need to know exactly who Marco is working with. I haven’t been able to find Marco since he disappeared again. I will not let him marry my sister.”
“She is mine.”
Enzo hesitates. “Gianna is her own person.”
“You gave her to me in marriage. She is mine.”
“But you haven’t married her yet. Not until we get her back.”
“I can’t stand the idea of another fucker touching what’s mine.”
Enzo frowns. “She is not yours yet, Nico. Remember that. I’m the one in charge. Not you.”
We’ll see about that. I will make Gianna mine one way or another. Even if I have to kill everyone in my path to get her. Even if I have to kill her own brother.
Will
I let Gianna out to use the restroom and eat breakfast. Neither one of us says a word over the table. It’s better this way. Better to not get attached. I have no fucking clue what got into me last night and I can’t let it happen again.
But every time I look at Gianna’s pretty face, all I want is to sink into her. Fuck.
“Will…”
Her voice startles me. “What?” My tone is hard and uninviting.
“Please reconsider.”
“You know I can’t. Stop asking me.”
She nods, looking defeated and it’s the most heartbreaking thing I think I’ve ever seen.
“Fine,” she says. “I just miss my brother. Do you have any family of your own?”
“We shouldn’t be talking about that. You’re trying to get me to drop my guard with you.”
“No. I’m truly asking.”
I can see the sincerity in her eyes and it only makes me feel more like an asshole. “No,” I finally answer. “It’s just me now.”
“You said your mom taught you to have a moral code.”
“Well, my mom isn’t here anymore.”
She opens her mouth to speak when a knock on the door startles both of us. I motion for her to be quiet and then I head to the door, my gun drawn.
But one look out the front window tells me exactly who’s here. Marco.
And I’m sure he’s here for Gianna.