The Deadliest Sin Series Complete Collection, page 22
What the hell?
A second passes. Then the sounds of my former life come rushing back to me.
Gunfire.
A sharp pain slices through my arm, and the bag clatters to the pavement, the contents spilling out around my feet.
Shit!
Someone’s shooting at me.
Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.
A barrage of shots rattles out but from a different direction. I duck behind a car. Silence falls over the lot again.
What the hell just happened?
The roar of an engine fills my ears, and a motorcycle comes to a screeching halt six inches in front of me. A massive man in black leather, with a thick, dark beard and a helmet pulled low over his forehead reaches out and grabs me.
No!
I pound on his arms as he hauls me toward him.
“No! Let me go!”
Not again. They're not taking me again.
He growls and shoves me onto the seat in front of him. I shift to the opposite side to jump off, but strong arms wrap around me and hold me in place. It’s like being pressed in a vise.
I’m trapped.
He revs the engine and flies out of the parking lot. Cold air stings my face, and we tear down Main Street with his massive chest pressed against my back.
My heart races, blood rushes in my ears, and warm tears stream down my chilled cheeks.
What the hell is going on? Who is he? One of Tarek’s remaining men?
I won't let this happen. I won't let them take me away from Pjeter and Lorenc. I won't lose my life a second time.
Whatever it takes…I’m going home tonight.
I slam my elbow back into the gut of the man behind me. He grunts and growls, but when I try to do it again, my elbow meets nothing but a solid wall of flexed muscle. He’s braced to absorb my blows now, and I might as well be banging against concrete.
Shit.
“Stop it.” The command is dark, low, and barely audible over the roar of the bike and the road beneath us, but it still sends a chill through me.
The same words Tarek said to me so many times when I tried to fight him off, when I tried to stop what he was doing to me—the past I try not to think about.
Because if I do, it only takes away from the joy and light that Pjeter is in my life. Looking at him, I see Konstandin, but I also see the man who was my tormentor. Concentrating on what I had with Konstandin is the only way I can make it through the day. Even though I lost it, just knowing I had it once is enough to make the pain bearable.
This can't be happening again. I survived it once, but I won't survive it a second time. I have to end this before it’s too late.
My kidnapper weaves in and out of traffic at breakneck speeds and blows through several traffic signals before heading out of town on one of the three tiny, two-lane highways that lead to this place.
Tears flow down my face in earnest now. The rush of the cold night air and rumble of the road fill my ears as we move deeper into the wilderness and farther from everyone I love.
Where did things go wrong?
We were safe. We've been safe for years.
Lorenc did everything he could to cover our trail. When we left Philly, we flew first to Pittsburgh then to Cuba then to Argentina. We might have stayed there forever, but Lorenc feared we stood out too much. We came here because Lorenc knew Canada would be the easiest place to blend in and probably the last place anyone would think to look for us. With my hair dyed black and posing as a couple with a young son, we are just another family living in a small town.
And things have been quiet and peaceful. We've built a life. Together. The three of us. This strange little family. So much shared love and loss, and now, it will all be gone again.
If I don’t stop it.
Whoever this man is, he's not taking me.
As soon as we stop, I'll do whatever I can to prevent that, even if it means killing him with my bare hands.
I'm not going down without a fight.
The seconds, the minutes, the hours tick by on the road as the stranger drives me farther and farther from Pjeter and Lorenc. Farther and farther from safety. Farther and farther from my ability to escape and get back to them in one piece.
My heart sinks into my ankles, and my body shakes violently in the chilly night air. The big man's massive body and arms wrapped around me provide some warmth, but I pull myself away from him as much as I can.
I don't want this stranger touching me.
Who knows what he'll do when we stop? Imagining the possibilities only turns my stomach, and I want as much peace as possible in the meantime.
The dark, desolate road stretches on in front of us.
After what feels like hours of not seeing another vehicle, he pulls down a narrow, gravel drive on the side of the road.
Oh, God, what is he doing?
There’s nothing and no one around for probably a hundred miles. It’s nothing but trees and wildlife out here. The perfect place to exact revenge…and anything else he has in mind.
This is it. I'm going to die.
Unless I stop this.
Bile rises in my throat, and I clench my fist and prepare myself to run as soon as he stops. The woods will provide a hundred different places to hide. I might freeze to death tonight, but it's my only option—my only chance to get away from my captor in one piece.
I don’t have any weapons to fight him with, and he’s twice my size.
If he’s going to kill me, at least I'll make it more difficult for him by running. If he wants to do anything else…he's going to have to catch me first.
He pulls to a stop and kills the bike. I launch myself off the seat and fall onto all fours on the gravel. It bites into the skin on my palms, and I stumble to get to my feet and race toward the line of trees to our left.
“Stop it, e dashur.”
That voice. That name.
I freeze halfway to the tree line, my entire body shaking so violently, I can barely stay up on my legs.
No. It's impossible. It can't be him. He can't be…
I turn slowly to face my abductor.
The faint light from the bike’s headlamp illuminates the right side of his face as he turns on the seat toward me, swings his leg over, and rises to his feet.
Familiar, dark eyes stare back at me through the night. Eyes I looked into every day for two glorious years before Tarek took him from me. Eyes now filled with a thousand different emotions I've never seen in them before.
I take a step toward him and shake my head. “Konstandin?”
“I haven't heard that name in over two years, e dashur.”
My heart screamed that name every second, every minute, of every hour, of every day since Lorenc dragged me away from Konstandin, kicking and screaming.
The beard does an excellent job of hiding his familiar jawline and high cheekbones, but it's there, just beneath the surface, the face of the man I love—Pjeter's father. The man who died two years ago takes a step forward, but instead of running to him, I instinctively step back.
“How can you be alive? How can this be happening?”
He raises a hand. “I'm sorry, e dashur, but it had to be this way. There was no choice.”
No choice?
“You’ve been alive this whole time…and you never sent word…you never came for me?” I shake my head as countless agonizing days and nights run through my mind. Ones when I couldn’t even get out of bed. Ones when I wanted to die, too, where the only thing that kept me alive was knowing I had his child growing inside me. “You bastard!”
He cringes and recoils slightly as he shakes his head and takes another step toward me, his black motorcycle boots crunching on the gravel beneath his feet.
I've dreamed of what it would be like to see Konstandin again. How it would feel to hold him in my arms, to tell him how much I love him. I imagined how I would introduce him to the son he never knew he had. All I wanted was to feel his arms wrapped around me, his lips pressed to mine…to experience his love again.
But right now, I don’t want any of that because the only thing consuming my body is red-hot anger.
Anger at the man who could've been with me the last two years. Anger at the man who could've been here and been a father to Pjeter.
“How could you?”
He runs a shaky hand back through thick, long unruly hair so unlike how Konstandin wore it. He looks like a totally different person. And he must be because the Konstandin I knew would never have let me suffer like this.
How could he physically stay away?
If I had known he was alive, I would have moved Heaven and Earth to get to him. No matter what.
“I did it to protect you, Rea. When you and Lorenc left and I killed Tarek, I was in bad shape. I collapsed and almost died right there in that airport. I did die on the operating table. When I came back to, I was surrounded by FBI agents asking me thousands of questions. I kept my mouth shut and bided my time until I was strong enough to get out of there and escape their custody.”
“FBI?”
He nods and takes another step toward me. “And they aren't the only ones after us, e dashur. Back there,” he hitches a thumb over his shoulder, “those men shooting at you were Aleksander Gashi’s men.”
“The Gashis?”
I haven’t thought about them in years. The rift between them and the Morinas, coupled with the distance between Chicago and Philly, kept them out of the picture.
“Yes. I killed Saban in Chicago on my way to get you back. His brother is not very happy about that.”
I know what Konstandin went through to rescue me. Once we were safe, Lorenc filled me in on everything Konstandin had endured and everything he had to do. Lorenc was careful about making contact with anyone from our former lives, but everyone he did speak with told him Konstandin was dead. The FBI must've kept him hidden and faked his death to protect any case they were trying to build against the families involved.
A man like Konstandin in their pocket would have been a major coup for them. But I know this man—or at least, I used to—and they could never turn him.
He’s not the kind of man to be told to do anything. And threats wouldn’t have turned him against his people.
Which means, staying away was his choice.
“None of this explains why you didn't come for me. For us…”
He shakes his head and closes the distance between us so fast, I can't back away. His massive, rough palms tilt up my face. “You don't think I wanted that? You don't think that every fucking second of every day I didn't dream of having you back in my arms? Krishti, e dashur, I did it to protect you. To protect Lorenc. To give you a chance at a normal life where you weren’t constantly looking over your shoulder and watching your back. I knew Lorenc could protect you and keep you safe. All the things you would never be as long as I was around. My being dead is what was best for everyone.”
The wounds I’ve tried so hard to heal over the last few years are sliced open by his words. “You may think that, but it can't be further from the truth.”
Tears trickle down my cheeks, and he brushes them away with his thumbs. “I'm so sorry, e dashur. I'll do everything in my power to make it up to you, but right now, we have to get out of here. I took care of the two back there, but there will be more. Aleksander found you, and if he learns I'm alive, things will get even messier. We have to leave now. We can get word to Lorenc, and he can join us.”
“No. We can’t leave.”
His hands still. “Why not?”
Oh, hell…
He doesn't know. He doesn't know about Pjeter. I suck in a deep breath and look deep into the eyes of the only man I ever loved.
“Because I'm not leaving here without Lorenc.”
He stiffens, and his dark eyes turn as black and cold as the night around us. “Lorenc can take care of himself.”
Another tear rolls down my cheek, and this time, he lets it go and steps back from me. Anger radiates off him in hostile waves. He’s slipped into the skin of the man he was before we were together. The man he became again when Tarek took me.
And I know why. I know what he’s thinking.
Lorenc. Me.
The years we’ve spent together.
I could tell him about Pjeter, but this isn’t the time or place to explain everything that’s happened since we left him at that airport. I don’t want him distracted by finding out he’s a father. I need him focused. We can’t risk making any mistakes. Not if we plan to get Lorenc and Pjeter out alive.
That’s all that matters.
“We need to go get him. After everything he’s done for me, I’m not leaving him behind.”
Konstandin growls low and closes the distance between us. “I’m not risking you again to go back for him.” He towers over me, his fists clenched at his sides.
Anyone else would cower or back away. Anyone else who knew him, who knew what he was capable of, would turn and run into the woods.
Not me.
I hold my ground, square my shoulders, and stare up at him. This man intimidates anyone he’s near, but he will bend to me. He always has. I am his one weakness, and he knows it. Even after all this time, it’s there in his eyes.
He still loves me.
“I’m not going with you…without him.”
His scowl is barely visible through the growth of beard, but I know that look in his eyes and what lies under the hair. He’s pissed, but there’s also a resignation there. One that tells me some things haven’t changed.
He will never deny me what I want…what I need.
I push past him toward the bike. “Let’s go. Do you have a phone? I need to call Lorenc and warn him.”
“Where is he now?”
“At our house.”
“We can't go back there. When I got into town, it wasn't hard to find you and your house. You were just leaving on your way to the store when I arrived. There wasn't enough time to stop you. I was waiting to talk to you when you came out of the store, but Aleksander's men appeared out of nowhere, and I didn't have a choice but to take you. I left two bodies back there, and there are more men. I have no doubt of that.”
“Oh, God, what if we’re too late?”
The police are probably searching for us, and Aleksander’s men are looking for the house if they aren’t already there. The surveillance cameras likely caught everything outside the grocery store, including Konstandin gunning down two people.
He reaches into his pocket and hands me his phone. “Call Lorenc. Tell him to get out. Tell him they found you, but don't tell him I’m with you.”
“What? Why not?”
Konstandin growls. “Because someone tipped off the Gashis about where to find you. And someone called me and told me where to pick up your trail in Argentina. Someone knew I was alive. I don't know who did any of this, and I don't know who I can trust.”
Maybe he doesn’t, but I do. Lorenc would never betray us. He’s given up his entire life to protect me.
“You can trust Lorenc.”
He growls and throws his leg over the bike. “That remains to be seen.”
I can’t blame him for being angry, but he wasn’t here. He was dead. By his own choice. He can’t hold a grudge for something that happened because we didn’t know he was alive. He can’t be mad at the man who helped him rescue me, then kept his son and me safe.
“I do trust him.” With my life and Pjeter’s.
I dial the number and slide onto the bike in front of Konstandin. His warm breath flutters against my neck, and a familiar shudder rolls through my body.
He might not answer an unknown number. Every ring tightens my throat a little bit more until he finally answers. “Hello?”
“Lorenc?”
“Rea? Where the hell are you? I've been trying to call you for hours.”
I suck in a shaky breath. “Someone attacked me at the grocery store. I got away, but it's not safe for me to come home. You need to come to me.”
“Attacked how? Are you okay?”
That’s not the word I would use, but I’m alive.
“They shot at me, but I'm all right.”
“How did you get away?”
I bite my lip and glance over my shoulder at the man who’s supposed to be dead. I know why he's reluctant to trust anyone with everything he's been through, but I do trust Lorenc. “An old friend.”
“Krishti. Where are you?”
Being taken by a hulking beast on a bike may have shaken me, but I never forgot what Konstandin and Lorenc taught me—pay attention. The entire ride, I’ve been keeping tabs on everything I could see that could help me find my way back.
“About a hundred and fifty miles south. Take Highway 15 north until you hit Highway 23, then head east. Be careful. They may be watching the house.”
“Pjeter is fine, Rea. I won’t let anything happen to him.”
My chest tightens, and I fight through a sob threatening to escape my lips. “I know. Just come. Fast.”
Konstandin leans forward and brushes his lips against my ear, and a shudder rolls through me. “There’s a motel ten miles up the road. Tell him to meet us there.”
“Meet me at the motel. You can reach me at this number if you need to. Be careful.”
“I will. You, too.”
I know he wants to ask me who I’m with since the number of people I would refer to as an old friend is basically zero, but he ends the call. With a shaky hand, I return the phone to Konstandin.
He fires up the bike and leans forward again, until his beard brushes against my exposed neck, and his breath flutters against my ear. “We have a couple of hours to kill. Any ideas?”
The door clicks shut behind us, and I stare at the dark hotel room. A single queen-sized bed occupies the center, and the worn armchair in the corner of the room looks older than me. The low, long dresser running along the far wall is the only other piece of furniture, but I keep my gaze forward—anything not to look at Konstandin.
The whole ride here with his familiar body pressed against mine and the vibrations of the motorcycle between my legs was like one giant tease—to my body, to my heart…
