Page 61 of Darkest Deeds
Niko
Ava shootsme a death glare while performing one hell of an impressive tap dance around the manager’s question. “I can’t take my bra off yet. I… Uh, had a boob job and the wounds are still healing.” She lifts them up, still covered by the yellow rhinestone bra. “Have to keep them supported until the stitches dissolve.”
My smug smile is hidden by the shadows.
Nice save, pchelka.
If I have anything to say about it, she’ll never return to the pole. It doesn’t matter though. She can show those tits to the world, and they’ll still bear my name.
Because they’re mine.
She’s mine.
As soon as the asshole offers her a job, Ava’s practically vibrating. She looks ready and eager, whereas I’m just ready for her to get in and get the hell out. I don’t like her being enclosed in a room where there’s a chance I can’t get to her before someone else does.
The thought plagues me, filling my mind with images of Ava screaming in pain, fighting for her life while another man tries to take it.
Just like you planned to, a little voice whispers in my head.
While true, it doesn’t lessen my anger. If anything, it fuels it. I know what thoughts ran through my mind. What plans I had for making her suffer right up until the very end. I’m not ashamed of who I am, and I don’t regret it. If I hadn’t been hell-bent on making Ava pay for her sins, I wouldn’t have realized my own.
I never opened my eyes and saw past my own vengeance.
But things are different now. Ava’s no angel; the woman has as much of the devil coursing through her veins as I do. I don’t have to protect her, but I can help her. I know how a killer thinks, so I know how to get in one’s head and anticipate his next move.
I just need to find out his first one, and I can’t do that waiting around in a hallway.
I take a quick stock of everything going on around me. The day manager is leaning over the bar, talking to some slutty blonde bartender with his back to me. The bouncer at the door is engrossed in his phone, and other than a bored cocktail waitress, nothing is going on. No one is paying attention to shit.
Perfect.
Keeping my eyes on them, I back through the hallway toward the office. I stay close to the wall, and thanks to the low lighting, dark shadows hide most of my movements. I’m almost there, a few more steps…
Then I slam into a six-foot-three brick wall.
Pulling my gun out of its holster, I spin around and aim it between the asshole’s eyes. The huge man in front of me doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t even try to disarm me. He simply crosses his arms and glares at me.
“Put that shit away, Nikolai.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
Blade nods his head. “Fair enough.” Shifting his torso, he stares blankly at the empty stage. “She looked good out there, huh?”
I have no idea what the hell he’s doing. I have a loaded Glock aimed at the man’s temple, and he’s acting like it’s a squirt gun. Usually, I’d respect the hell out of him for it, but I’m too on edge to appreciate anything but the time he’s wasting. “I guess. Not much into brunettes.”
The corner of his mouth quirks. “Good thing she’s a redhead, then.”
It takes half a second for his meaning to hit.
He knows that was Ava.
Fuck, I kind of liked the guy.
I press the barrel of the gun flush against his skull.
Blade closes his eyes on a carefully controlled inhale and lets it out slowly. “Nikolai, I ain’t gonna say again to put that shit away. I’m just tryin’ to talk but you’re really startin’ to piss me off.”
“Name your price.”