SILAS

Barcelona, Spain

“S ilas Hayes. You’re still breathing?”

Santino’s hand clapped my shoulder as he pulled the stool to my
right and sat. A sense of relief washed over me in the presence of a
familiar face. He was the only person left in this world who had my trust.
Three years into my life with Hades, he and I allied against a mutual enemy.
The Leone family were long-time business associates of Hades in the trade
of arms, finances, and sex.
He was the closest thing to family I had. At least, what I remembered.
Maybe I did have people out there. From what I’d been told, my entire
family had been massacred. Somehow, I’d managed to survive. The story
was one of nightmares, but surely it had to be true, as no one had come
looking for me in over sixteen years. Thoughts of their last moments used
to keep me up at night when I was a young kid, wondering what my life
was like before my accident—before I was thrust into a world of carnage
and depravity until I became numb to death. The countless lives stolen by
my hand were nothing but numbers on an invisible tabulator. Maybe one
day, the ghosts of my past would come to collect, but the counter would
keep ticking in the meantime.
“Day drinking, brother?”
I leaned back and forced a smile. “I don’t know the difference anymore.
It all blurs together these days.”
“I hear that,” he said, a sympathetic gleam in his eyes. “Cillian still
sending his men?”
 Upon hearing his name, thoughts of that woman came to mind. I’d be
lying if I said I hadn’t thought of her in the two weeks since our last
encounter. But while she had vowed to kill me, it was as if she’d fallen off
the face of the earth. And a woman like that was easy to spot in a crowd.
Still, I kept my head on a swivel and prepared for the unknown. Not just
where she was concerned, but if I knew Cillian, he lacked the patience his
mystery woman clearly possessed. He’d have sent reinforcements.
“Two weeks of silence. But that doesn’t mean I let my guard down.”
“Of course not,” he agreed with a nod and huffed out a long puff of air.
“But how long, Si? You can’t run forever. Just give me the word, and I’ll
order the hit.”
I sucked in a breath, appreciative of his offer and loyalty, even though
we both knew it was suicide and would start a war. Cillian always kept his
best men on guard—an arsenal of soldiers at his beck and call. Melina was
the only reason I’d made it out alive when I did. She’d found out too late
about her brother. By that time, I was long gone. These days, she probably
wanted me dead more than her father.
“You at least get some pussy? Help ease the tension a bit,” he asked,
pouring himself a drink.
My eyes slid to his as that woman’s face formed in my thoughts again.
She would be hard to forget having stabbed me twice.
Santino’s hand was on my shoulder. “Where’d you just go?”
“You asked about pussy. There’s one, in particular, I can’t get out of my
mind, but not for the reasons you might be thinking.” He motioned for me
to elaborate. “She tried to kill me…multiple times, actually.”
Santino laughed as he leaned back on his stool. “What did you do to her,
Si? Didn’t return her calls?”
“She’s one of Cillian’s crew.”
His expression suddenly shifted to a serious one, now creasing his
brows. “You were her mark?”
I nodded. “She’s off the rails. But I can see why he chose her. She’s as
skilled as she’s unpredictable. Fucking succubus if I ever saw one.”
Santino took a sweep of our surroundings, shoulders tensed. “What’s
her name?”
“Don’t know.” I shrugged. “She never gave it.”
He pulled out his cell, began scrolling until he found the contact he
sought, and punched in a message. “Going to have my men look into the
Hades’s roster.”
“She’s American.”
He narrowed his eyes. “A personal hire?”
“It would make sense.”
It wasn’t uncommon for members of different factions to travel globally
for jobs, but it almost always involved a hit on a fellow citizen traveling
abroad. This reeked of Cillian Clark and his vendetta to have me dead.
Some days, I wondered if letting him get his revenge would be easier.
Let the past and all my transgressions catch up with me. Santino had a
point. How long would I run? Living on the edge, my head on a swivel at
all times.
Looking around, my chest constricted. Strangers going on about their
lives. Oblivious to what happens behind the scenes and those like me and
Santino who walk among them. How easy would it be to live without the
weight of blood and debts on my shoulders? I couldn’t recall the
circumstances that had led me to this life or who I was before I woke up
that day nearly sixteen years ago. But I wondered if I’d ever had that. There
was a wall in my mind. One I could never get over, where I knew I’d find
all the answers to my questions.

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 Six

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 LENI

“P reciosa.”
The man who’d uttered the word looked at me expectantly,
waiting for acknowledgment or a smile of gratitude. I offered
neither. And as they all did, the grin on his face morphed into a scowl as if I
owed him a damn thing simply because he’d paid me an unsolicited
compliment.
I heard him call me out of my name under his breath as I walked past,
and a grin curved my lips. Luckily for him, I was in a forgiving mood. He
wouldn’t be swallowing the new blade strapped to my thigh, beneath the
sinful black dress I’d slipped into for this very occasion. Costa Verde luxury
train would take me on a four-day ride into Barcelona, where I’d meet the
man who’d made a home in my thoughts and whose name had slithered
from my lips in the throes of more orgasms than I would care to admit.
There was just something about the chase, the rush of knowing we were
out for blood. Even though there existed this something else between us,
only one would be left standing when all was said and done.
And it was the first time I wasn’t sure who that would be.
In the weeks since our last encounter, I’d been hanging back, tracking
his movements as he slipped from one country to another. He had financial
help—of the untraceable kind. I was sure—as Silas hadn’t spared expenses
when it came to accommodations. I’d seen a man in his company I didn’t
recognize. He was handsome, well-dressed, and undoubtedly part of some
faction of The Six or even mafia. Someone unafraid to get caught up in my
mark’s troubles. I’d made a note of him and sent his photo to one of my
father’s connections back in Greece.
 “You know, as you said once, we really do need to stop meeting like
this.”
His breath fanned hot and velvety over the shell of my ear, sending
tingles skittering down my body and settling where his left hand lay on my
hip like a branding iron to the skin. I hated my visceral reaction to this man.
The way my muscles tensed under his touch and how my heart pumped a
little faster for entirely different reasons from the call of his blood. But I
hated myself even more for allowing him to get the jump on me. Silas
weakened and dulled my instincts.
He was dangerous.
“Deja vu,” I murmured, masking my surprise at his sudden presence.
Curling an arm around my waist, he tugged me against his chest,
squeezing to the point of pain. I winced, nails digging into his wrists.
“You’re not going to kill me, Silas. Least of all here.”
“You have no idea what I’m capable of. You’re no different than the
rest.”
I twisted my face to look into his coffee-colored eyes and chuckled.
“And yet, here I am, alive and well, after three separate encounters with the
bloodthirsty Ghost.”
His hold on me tightened again upon hearing the alias he was known for
with Hades.
“Fuck you.”
“Oh, but I almost got that t-shirt, Silas.”
A woman with a pixie cut glared at us from her seat across the row,
assuming Silas and I were lovers. It would be the only plausible explanation
considering my ass was plastered to his dick, face near my neck as his lips
hovered over the skin there.
“You thought I wouldn’t know? Wouldn’t find out about the man who
doesn’t exist. The one without a past beyond The Six. It’s my job to know
every facet of you, Silas. Always one step ahead.”
Hard steel pushed into the side of my rib. “Doesn’t look that way from
where I’m standing.”
I chuckled. “You got me there. So what happens now? You put a bullet
through my back, then ride four more hours with these fine people?”
“I should put a bullet through your fucking head. When it comes down
to who leaves this train, the choice is easy.”
 I attempt to push out of his grasp, but he flips me over, crushing me
against his hard torso, our faces mere inches apart. For two people who
wanted to kill one another, we sure did end up in compromising positions.
Worst of all, I didn’t hate it. Not one bit.
“I’m just doing my job. You should understand that more than anyone.”
We stared each other down. The look in his eyes was cold and
calculating. He was probably brainstorming the best way to dispose of me
without raising suspicion, much like I was.
“Walk,” he demanded, motioning behind me with his chin. “If you try
anything, you so much as breathe in a way I don’t like—”
“You want something a little more private. I like that,” I crooned,
fingers playing with a button near his chest. I thought I saw his neck bob
with a hard swallow, but I couldn’t be sure because he caught my wrist so
hard and fast it made me gasp.
“Move.”
I cast him a curt side-eye before turning and walking toward the train
room. As I stepped inside and began to swivel, Silas shoved me violently
the rest of the way before I could face him. I caught myself on a bench, but
not before falling to my knees.
“Son of a—”
The cold titanium of a suppressor dug between my brows, his body
pinning me against the cushion.
“We’re done here.” His free hand journeyed up my thigh, causing a lick
of arousal to flicker under his intrusive touch, where he found my hidden
blade and tossed it near the door. My pretty .38 came next. Silas kept
feeling, heating my skin with every swipe and squeeze as he searched for
anything else I could potentially use against him. The best weapon I had
couldn’t be discarded. He knew that just as well as I did. I watched
amusedly as his eyes darkened when he broke my dress strap, and froze
when the cool air hit my already hardened nipples. Biting the corner of my
lip, I arched my back, breasts pushing against his chest.
“Silas, if you wanted to see them, all you had to do was ask. This was a
favorite dress of mine.”
“Shut up.” He took hold of my chin, his grip so rough that it caused my
teeth to break skin inside of my mouth. “I’m done with your games.”
There wasn’t a hint of weakness in his features. Not a twitch or
hesitation. Was he really going to do it? I’d made peace with the possibility
of death years ago, but staring at that very reality in the face was something
else entirely. My throat became heavy as emotion burned inside my eyelids.
I squeezed them closed. He wouldn’t get the privilege of seeing me
vulnerable.
I heard him exhale a heavy breath as he pushed the gun deeper into my
skin. A single shot rang out, and I winced but felt nothing. Another. And
another. Followed by screams. Snapping my eyes open, I met his wide,
confused stare. More gunshots filled the air, accompanied by the
passengers’ panicked voices and shouts.
Silas clenched his jaw and tugged me to my feet before quickly
slamming my body against a wall. “Who else is here?”
I shook my head, confusion muddling my thoughts. “No one…I don’t
know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit!” he spat, hand squeezing my neck. “Who did you bring with
you?”
“I work with no one. It’s just me.”
Again, his gun was against my temple. And I was getting pretty fucking
fed up with being manhandled by him.
Angry voices carried closer with each passing second. It was one thing
to die by Silas’s hand, and it was another to do so by some random jackass.
“Listen, those men are about to make their way in here. So, you either
kill me and die anyway, or we both fight like hell and live to kill each other
tomorrow.”
His jaw tensed, breaths fast and heavy as he seemed to turn my words
over in his mind. “How do I know I can trust you and you won’t just put a
bullet in my back?”
“You don’t,” I said, eyes fixed on his. “You’re just going to have to trust
your instincts on this one.”
“Fuck,” he finally said, letting me go. “You try anything, anything at all,
I’ll fucking shoot you where you stand.” He reached into a small red bag,
rummaging through its contents before removing a white t-shirt and
whipping it at my chest. “Put that on.”
Pulling the shirt over my head, the sides of my mouth tipped into a
smirk. “I knew you cared.”
Rolling his eyes, he slid my gun over with his foot.
The cabin suddenly went silent, and we both knew what that meant.
Those men out there were looking for someone in particular. Uninterested
in keeping hostages or loose ends. Melina would have mentioned if Cillian
had dispatched backup. I felt strangely vulnerable, trapped, the sudden grip
of suffocating claustrophobia snaring my heart.
“Shit, shit…”
Don’t you fucking lose your nerve.
Silas pressed his ear to the flimsy sliding door and twisted toward me,
grabbing the t-shirt hem and wrenching it over my head. “On second
thought, love, you’d be the perfect distraction.”
“Fuck you. They’ll kill me the moment I step out this goddamn door.”
The fucker caged me in, gun to the back of my head.
“No man’s first instinct would be to look at you and put a bullet through
that pretty face of yours,” he rasped close to my ear. “One look at those tits
will distract them and give me enough time to take several out.”
“You’re using me as bait? You bastard.”
He chuckled darkly into my hair. “Don’t get shy on me now. Not when
you were begging me to fuck you in every hole, remember?”
I gritted my teeth. “I’m going to kill you, Silas.”
“Get in line,” he gruffed, pushing me out the door with a forceful shove
that sent me stumbling forward. He owed me big time, and I was out for
blood. Steadying myself against a booth, I whipped my head toward the
sound of cocking weapons.
Shit.
Six men I didn’t recognize stared me down with varying expressions of
anger, lust, and amusement as they took in my semi-nude form.
Putting my game face on, I straightened and flashed them a grin.
“Thought I heard fireworks.”
A tall man with blond, slicked-back hair raised his hand in a silent
command for his men to hold fire. He approached, a sly grin of his own
lighting up the edges of his face as his eyes shifted to my breasts and then
back up to meet my glare.
“Helena Adamos,” he taunted, closing in on me, gun drawn. My heart
hammered like a drum in my chest. Me? I’m who they came looking for.
“Who are you?” I asked, knowing damn well what his answer would be.
He snickered and pressed the hot barrel of his weapon against my
sternum. “What makes you think you’re in any position to ask questions?”
My jaw clenched as he drew slow circles around my nipples.
 “These are cute,” he said, catching one of the barbells. I clenched my
fists, wishing I had a knife to open up his throat.
Any day now, Silas.
“Stop.”
He feigned indignation, reaching up to grip my hair. I suppressed the
hiss of pain moving up my throat. I’d be damned if I let him see any sign of
weakness.
“Close those pretty lips, sweetheart.” The gun’s sights scraped painfully
against the sensitive tip of my nipple, drawing blood. “Look at that.” Waves
of pain rolled through me as he circled another biting loop. I closed my
eyes, trying to think of an escape plan while wondering what the hell was
taking Silas so long.
Why was I even counting on that son of a bitch anyway? If these men
came searching for me, they probably had no idea he was even on board.
No wonder he’d discarded me so easily. That realization made the muscles
in my chest tighten.
I briefly contemplated snitching on him, though I decided against it at
the last minute. My life was on the line, too, and if we had even the slightest
chance of making it out alive, Silas held the key to our possible escape.
“So, Helena…Or do you prefer Leni?” he asked, the stubble on his face
scratching my cheek.
This was personal.
“Fuck you.”
Crack.
Black dots spotted my vision when the handle of his gun connected with
my jaw. Pain flared from where he broke skin and radiated to my face and
neck. I blinked away tears and drew a long, shuddering breath.
“Oh, did that hurt?”
Squaring my shoulders, I cocked a brow and replied, “Is that the best
you can do?” I spat blood in his face. Not that I desired to die, but death
was a welcome option to the hell these men would surely put me through. I
was no one’s toy.
He cussed and gripped my shoulder, pressing a painful pressure point
and forcing me to my knees. Tugging my mouth open, he shoved the
weapon damn near to the back of my throat. I gagged, tears stinging behind
my eyes.
 His laugh was cynical, taunting. “Hollow that sweet mouth, baby. I
know you can take it. Pretty soon, it will be my cock you choke on.”
Blood pooled in my mouth and down my throat as he violently shoved
the damn thing farther.
Fuck, was I crying?
He’d pay for this. Silas, too, that bastard.
“Boss man wants her alive, Carter. Both of them.”
Both?
The sound of a gunshot ripped through the cabin and into the side of the
asshole’s head. He fell with a thud as more bullets began to fly around me. I
ducked, crawling over a body before dragging myself to the small station
room in search of my gun and blade.
Heads were about to roll.

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 Seven

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 SILAS

H elena was what he’d called her.

Helena.
How did he know her? Had they come for me too? Both. He’d
said both.
She crawled past me as I reloaded my mag. I didn’t exactly trust her at
my back but had no choice but to keep firing into the aisle. She'd know
better if these men were here for us than to take them on alone. I had to
trust she wouldn’t do anything stupid.
Fragments of wood and debris exploded around us as I hit the floor,
dodging the hail of bullets flying into the cabin. As I attempted to regain my
balance, my hand slid on the droplets and streaks of blood Helena had
trailed inside. Glancing back, I wondered if she’d been hit, but when I was
met with her scathing, vengeful glare, it was obvious that whatever injuries
she had were minor.
“You son of a bitch.”
“How many?”
“How many times should I stab you?”
“Fuck, Helena! How many men out there?”
The shirt I’d ripped from her earlier was strewn by her feet. She cut me
another glare before pulling it over her head. “Six… Well, five now.”
I tossed her a Glock and an extra mag. “We can take them. And then I’ll
let you try to kill me later.”
She racked her weapon and pointed the damn thing at my head.
“Later? Now’s as good a time as any.”
 A bullet whirred by her face and out the window, shattering the
plexiglass beside us. Our eyes met, and we nodded in unison—a temporary
truce between us until we neutralized the immediate threat.
“We have to find a way out of here,” she said in a harsh whisper against
my ear. I paused, turning toward her at the soft feel of her lips on my skin.
A sudden pang of guilt settled heavily in my stomach when I took in the
gash on the side of her chin from when that asshole had pistol-whipped her.
I couldn’t deny that something inside me had stirred with a violent need to
end his life. Hypocritical as it was, since I’d been a second away from
killing her myself.
“Silas!” She shook me, literally, from my thoughts. “What are you,
fucking daydreaming? We need to move. They’ll draw closer and
eventually pin and kill us. And I’m not trying to die today. Least of all here
with you.”
“Feeling’s mutual, love.”
She groaned loudly and rolled her eyes as she sent rounds into the men.
I followed, firing above her head and successfully taking down one while
she hit two more. I had to admit, I was impressed. Helena had proverbial
balls of steel. She was ruthless and didn’t so much as bat an eye at the
carnage around us. It was terrifying and fucking sexy all at once. But it also
solidified my resolve to kill her once this was over because I knew that was
still very much her plan for me. She swore a blood oath and was too
disciplined, persistent, and calculated not to follow through. I’d been in her
shoes more times than I could ever recall over the last sixteen years, so a
part of me understood.
“Shit!” she cried, falling back, blood spraying on my shirt.
“Are you hit?”
Helena didn’t answer. She dropped her empty mag and reloaded,
ignoring whatever pain emanated from the red rivulets running down her
arm.
“Fuck this.”
I reached for her, intent on pulling her back, when she jumped to her
feet and charged through the ruined doorway. Gunshots broke out in rapid
succession as I tore after her. But she was the only one standing by the time
I reached the main cabin.
A pair of lifeless blue eyes stared up at me from where the poor bastard
had dropped by my feet, and a low chuckle left my lips as I looked at the
mess we made.
“Nice jo—”
The handle of Helena’s gun cracked against the side of my face. And
before I knew it, I was staring down the barrel of my own gun.
“Right down to business?”
“Shut up,” she spat. “You’re next.”
While I knew she was unhinged and itching for me to join the men
sprawled across the cabin, I couldn’t help the suicidal grin pulling at the
side of my mouth.
“I thought we had a moment, you and me. A little teamwork. C’mon,
love—or should I say, Helena?”
She steadied her stance, gripping the weapon with both hands.
“You’re a bastard. You threw me out here, naked, and watched while he
—” Her lips squeezed in a tight line as her eyes flickered to the man in
question. She sent two rounds into his skull, then raised her gun back to my
chest.
“You have one bullet left.”
“And it has your name on it.”
My eyes narrowed at her, smirk pulling wide. “Then you better make it
count.”
“Go ahead. Put it down.”
We’d been so absorbed in our stare-down that neither of us had noticed
the arsenal of men who had poured into the cabin from either side. All of
them armed to the teeth. Guns trained on us. I had a half-empty mag,
Helena had my one bullet, and we’d both be dead inside of five seconds.
Fucked was what we were.
Completely and utterly fucked.

Darkness descended the small cabin where she and I sat, bound at the wrists
like fucking prisoners. Cillian wouldn’t have had Helena taken this way. It
went against everything. While he was a slimy fucker, I knew she was an
asset to The Six. One whose death wouldn’t be taken lightly. This had to be
the work of someone else. Who had she pissed off? Better yet, how were
the two of us caught up in the same shitstorm?
 I looked over at her still figure, again naked from the waist up. Perfectly
rounded breasts were highlighted by the low glow of the moon, and strands
of her caramel hair danced across her face as a cool wind blew inside from
the shattered window. Goosebumps scattered over her golden skin, her
brown nipples erect from the cold.
Gorgeous as she was crazy…and that was saying a lot.
“When I get free, I’m going to gouge out your eyes and feed them to
you.”
Despite our dire situation, that earned a chuckle. And I knew she’d do it
too. “It’s not the most ideal situation, but you can’t blame me either. If I’m
about to die, at least I have a great view.”
She rolled her head in my direction. “I wouldn’t expect any less from
you. You’re all the same.”
There would be no argument on my part. She was beautiful, even
bruised, bloodied, and batshit. I had nothing else to live for, so if there ever
were a dying wish, it would be to sink my cock into her or—at the very
least, stuff it down her throat so she’d shut the fuck up.
Silence fell between us for countless, agonizing minutes, where I
dedicated my thoughts to all the fucked-up possibilities that awaited us.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, adjusting her position but
making no effort to conceal herself. Her tits jostled with the movement of
the train, making my mouth water as I couldn’t peel my eyes away. “You
were supposed to be in Barcelona.”
“I have my connections too…and I’m one step ahead of you.”
Turning to me, she scoffed and shook her head. “So that was your plan?
Get the jump on me and kill me on the train?”
“What, you’re mad I was trying to get you before you got me?”
“No,” she replied, her voice softer. “I’m kind of impressed. Maybe
you’re not such a pussy after all.”
Another low chuckle left my lips. “You don’t think that.”
“You don’t know what I think. And I assure you that you don’t want to.”
I angled my body in her direction, wincing slightly at the ache in my
muscles from sitting in the position for so long. “I know a few things,
Helena,” I said, emphasizing her name. “Whatever shit got me here is the
same as you. There’s a connection somewhere between you and me. They
specifically named us both.”
 She huffed a breath of air, shuddering slightly as more goosebumps
riddled her exposed upper body. “That’s bullshit. We weren’t even part of
the same faction—on different continents. I’d never seen or heard of you in
my life until the day I bled on your contract, Silas.”
I settled my back against the booth again and shrugged my shoulders.
This woman was something else. Stubborn as all hell. She knew damn well
my theory had a point. But I’d wait her out. We’d know how fucked we
were soon enough. I’d lost track of time what felt like hours ago. There was
no way to know if we were still on course. All the passengers on board had
been massacred. I wouldn’t delude myself into thinking Helena, or I hadn’t
had a hand in stray bullets missing their intended targets. But none of that
mattered now. Whatever awaited us on the other side of this journey would
bring us to the same fate as those bastards littering the cabin. I was sure of
it.
Another tremulous breath left Helena’s lips. I knew she was cold, and I
really shouldn’t give a damn…but the gentleman inside me, one I hadn’t
known existed until this very moment, felt a pang of guilt. I scooted toward
her, risking her bite, and pushed to my knees. The restraints at my ankles
only allowed so much movement, so when I attempted to slide over her, I
straddled her tightly, crotch close to her face. I paused as visions of her
sweet mouth stuffed with my cock had me damn near stifling a groan. We
shared a moment, eyes fixed on one another, and I could have sworn I saw
her lips part ever-so slightly.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“Trying to help you.”
I dropped on her opposite side and straightened myself against the
bench.
“By shoving your dick in my face?”
“Listen, love, when I shove my dick in your face, you’re going to open
up like a good girl and take every inch I feed you.”
Helena turned away from me. I wanted to think it was because my
words had affected her, and perhaps she was blushing.
“When, he says.”
“You’re not the only one who gets what they want.”
“Seeing as you’re still breathing, I lost that streak anyway.”
This woman had a knack for making me laugh, even as I sat tied up and
waiting for death.
 She fell silent for several beats, but I felt her scoot closer. The heat of
her nearing my side, whether she realized her body was seeking it or not.
“You’re cold. If you tuck yourself behind my shoulder, it can help.”
She released a sarcastic laugh. “You had your Glock at my temple with
a finger on the trigger today. Yet you expect me to believe you give a damn
if I’m cold?”
“I’m not going to beg you to get more comfortable.”
In an instant, Helena rose to her knees the way I had just minutes before
and straddled my thighs. Perky tits were just inches from my face, and I had
to clamp down on my mouth to keep myself from biting down on the nipple
she was obviously offering.

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 Eight

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 LENI

S ilas’s warm breath fanned over one of my nipples as they tightened

under his hungry gaze. Another wave of goosebumps erected over
every inch of my skin, only it was no longer due to the cold.
Grinning, I lifted my bound wrists and looped them behind his neck.
“What are you doing, love?” he murmured, lips hovering just a hair
over the piercing on my right nipple. “Don’t start something we can’t
finish.” His thumb grazed my bare abdomen, journeying north over my rib
cage.
“You said to keep warm, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Question is,
will you follow through and help me or not?”
“Helena,” he rasped, the pads of his fingers grazing a hardened tip,
“you’re the most confusing woman I have ever met.”
I drew closer to his lips. “Don’t get things twisted, Silas. I’d fuck you
and kill you even as I’m coming on your cock.” He laughed, brushing my
piercing with his mouth. Heat coiled in my core, as his tongue joined the
assault.
I was unsure why I sat over his lap, what we were doing. But damn it
all. We could be dead in the next hour or two. In fact, there was a high
probability of that. Looking down at my state of undress, with only a scant
black thong, darkness gripped my heart. Whatever future these men had for
me, I knew it wouldn’t be good. Maybe this was my last chance to be in
control of my body. It was a depraved and sorrowful thought. But right now
wasn’t a moment for wallowing.
“You’re bleeding. They hurt you.”
“You hurt me too.”
 The hint of a wince, maybe guilt, moved through his expression briefly
before a mask of lust and anger slipped back into place. “I won’t apologize.
You’ve been trying to kill me for weeks.” His fingers slid into the side of
my thong and over my swollen clit. “Yet here you are, so fucking wet for
me, Helena.”
“For you?” I said, throwing my head back as his fingers dipped inside—
first one, then two.
“Are you telling me this pretty pussy is soaked for one of those bastards
out there?” My head lolled when the third finger stretched me to the point
of sweet pain.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I taunted, rocking against his hand.
Silas growled into the hollow of my neck, and my eyes widened when
he hooked and tugged me closer to him by my pussy. “Let’s get one thing
straight. Outside this moment, I’d put a hollow point through that beautiful
face of yours.” Another tug ripped a rolling moan from my throat. “And cut
this tempting little neck open just to see how pretty you bleed.” Fuck. I was
so turned on. He had to feel the flush of arousal dripping down the palm of
his hand. “But while I have my fingers inside you, you’re mine. This cunt is
mine. Understood?”
Never one to be outdone, I leaned over his ear. “Show me.”
The bastard pinched my clit, and I almost lost it right then. “Show you
what, Helena?”
“Stake your claim. Show me how much it belongs to you.”
He grinned, rising to the challenge. Without breaking eye contact, his
hand slipped from between my parted thighs and into his mouth. I watched
with hooded eyes as he sucked his fingers clean. But Silas didn’t stop there.
His gaze was captivated, hazed with lust as he lost himself in mine until his
tongue rolled beneath my nipple, where streaks of blood had dried over the
wound that the dead asshole had left.
“Fuck…” I moaned, nails digging into the nape of his neck.
“You taste like heaven, love,” he murmured, still lashing and suckling.
“Every part of you. So damn good.”
“What do you know about heaven?” I clutched his long hair and pulled
my lip between my teeth as he continued lapping the blood, almost coming
undone at the thought. It was primal and so goddamn sexy. “No—it’s hell
you’re savoring, Silas. It’s the taste of a tainted soul…just like yours.”
 His teeth gently clasped the silver barbell, and I had to clamp down hard
on my jaw to stifle whatever ungodly noise had blazed up my throat.
“I know what awaits me on the other side of this life. We’re fairly well
acquainted. But this—you—is something else.”
“Am I?” I whispered. He nodded slowly, eyes closing. “So much so that
you shoved me naked into a cabin of armed men?”
His eyes popped open, but he couldn’t react before I head-butted him
between his brows.
“Fuck!” He tossed me off his lap and caged me in, glaring at me like he
wanted to end my life that very instant. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You deserve that and more.”
He lunged forward, straddling me and grabbing me by the throat. His
usual M.O. I rolled my eyes.
“If you won’t make this fun, stop tempting me.”
Silas and I were too distracted to notice when the compartment door slid
open, nor the two men standing behind us.
Their booming laughter followed soon after as they took in our
compromising position, startling us into silence. The urge to rip their heads
off rolled through me in a fiery wave.
“I want next,” the lankier of the two gruffed with more laughter as he
approached, clutching my hair and dragging me toward the door. It hurt like
hell, the sting of his tightening grip almost unbearable, but I wasn’t about to
give him the satisfaction of screaming. Assholes like these pathetic yes-men
thrived on fear and the scraps of power their handlers afforded them.
Silas said nothing. Our eyes connected through the darkness. But his
face brokered no emotion, mask firmly in place.
Had I expected otherwise?
For him to protest? To reach for me and plea for my safety?
The notion was so ridiculous I nearly broke into peals of laughter
myself.
My suffering, my death, meant nothing to him.
I loathed the pang of pain twisting in my chest.
“Get up!”
With a hard grip on my arm and a fist in my hair, the fucker pulled me
to my feet. The sharp hiss he wrenched from my lips only served to piss me
off some more. Committing his face to memory, I flashed him a slow grin.
He’d get his. That was a promise.
 They all would.
When a long black coat draped over my shoulders, I was surprised, but
as the train slowed to a stop, I knew the gesture was only for their
convenience, not mine. They couldn’t very well risk dragging a half-naked
woman onto the station’s platform.
“Listen carefully, sweetheart. I need you to behave until we get to where
we’re going.” Again, with his fucking hands in my hair. He yanked me
toward him, and I gritted my teeth. “I know the temptation to scream and
the instinct to run will want to take over, but I promise that doing so will
end badly for you and the big guy in there.”
“What makes you think I give a damn about him?”
He bellied another stupid laugh. “You mean the man wearing you like a
goddamn glove just five minutes ago?” A chorus of laughter echoed behind
him. “I don’t blame him, though, beautiful. You’re lucky boss man wants
you in one piece.” A leering grin snaked across his face as he slipped a
hand inside the coat and around my hip, squeezing my ass nearly to the
point of breaking skin. “Fuck, baby…maybe just five minutes—”
“I’m going to kill you.” His eyes snapped up to meet mine. “It will be
slow and painful, and you’re going to scream so good for me.”
Silence blanketed the cabin for several beats before the room of men
broke into another round of laughter. Maybe an hour ago, I’d been resigned
to whatever fate awaited me in the captivity with these men, if only for the
impossibility of an escape. But now, I was damn near foaming at the mouth
to have their heads—starting with the handsy fucker in front of me.
“Separate cars.” The voice belonged to a dark-haired man who’d shoved
Silas out of the small compartment with a Desert Eagle pressed to the ribs.
We exchanged a glance before I tore my eyes from him. What we’d done in
there was a slip-up on my part. In a moment of weakness, when I’d thought
I’d die, I let him touch me, own me in a way he didn’t deserve. No matter
how good he’d made me feel.
It wouldn’t happen again.

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 Nine

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 LENI

“M ove faster!”
Large hands pushed between my shoulder blades, propelling
me into a dark room. Again, I found myself stumbling over my
feet to keep balanced, but ultimately, I landed on the floor, blood boiling
from all the manhandling I’d endured in one day. It certainly wasn’t
something I was used to. And it left me buzzing with anxious and
murderous energy, the latter clawing at the surface and begging to be freed.
I let out a loud huff of air, thoroughly annoyed with myself, when I
jolted at the heavy slam of the door to my cell…or whatever this
godforsaken place was.
“Stop it,” I said aloud, hating that I was so jumpy. But I supposed I had
to be thankful the man had chosen to leave instead of trying to stick his
hands between my legs. Considering he’d removed the coat, leaving me
once again in just a thong.
I shot to my feet and paced the dark room where a small lamp on a side
table was the only light source.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
How had I gone from a hunter to the captured prey? And most
importantly, under whose orders? This—me being here wasn’t random. It
was personal. And I couldn’t think of a single soul with enough wield and
manpower to pull off something of this magnitude.
The train massacre, the dozens of armed lackeys with enough fear and
reverence that they’d followed through on every explicit instruction, even
when Silas and I had cut down their numbers.
Silas.
 His name rolled in my thoughts, my eyes instinctively closing at the
memory of every word he’d whispered and the blazing heat of his touch. I
wanted to blame my weakness on the fact that I’d been faced with the
fragility of my mortality…but I knew that was bullshit.
Squeezing my thighs as I sat on a filthy mattress in the middle of the
room, my pussy clenched around the phantom touch of those huge fucking
hands of his. It had never taken me this long to send some poor bastard off
to meet their maker. If anything, I was proud of my immaculate record. The
first attempt was the only one, and it begged the question: How hard was I
actually trying, and why was this even a question needing to be asked?
For dick? Had I betrayed my safety for dick? I looked around the dingy
room and shuddered, coming to the stark conclusion that I had, indeed,
gone weak for the man’s cock. One I hadn’t even fully explored. I bit the
corner of my lip and immediately regretted doing so. Fresh blood broke
through the tender skin, and I snuck my tongue out and licked at the
droplet.
The thick metal door tore open suddenly, startling me again.
Speak of the damn devil.
Silas stalked into the room with a stoic expression on his face. Taking
only two steps past the threshold, he turned to glare at the men with their
guns drawn. While he looked to be the pillar of self-control, the tension in
his shoulders was evident.
Even though their expressions showed no fear or intimidation, the
gunmen took several cautious steps back. Silas was a monster of a man.
Tall, broad shoulders, thick muscular arms bigger than my head, and a chest
I could use for naps and other interesting extracurriculars.
I shook that thought as fast as I’d conjured it. No more of Silas’s dick
throwing me off my game and getting me killed.
“This is odd. Why would they room us together?”
He twisted around, eyes immediately dropping to my bare breasts.
While nudity had never bothered me, I was rather tired of being on display
and could use a shirt.
As if reading my thoughts, he ripped his off and tossed it in my lap.
“Everything is odd about this fucked-up situation you got us into.”
“Oh, this is my fault now?” I said sarcastically as I pulled the shirt over
my head.
 He stalked angrily across the room and ripped a ragged curtain from the
wall. The other side of the window was nothing but steel. Not even bars.
Just a solid steel plate. Did he really think they’d make it that easy?
“Something tells me you’re at the center of whatever bullshit is going
down.”
“You were named just as clearly as I was, so instead of picking fights
and tearing each other’s heads off—for now—let’s put our thinking caps
on.” That earned me an unappreciative side-eye. “Ah, we’re back to the
frosty ex-assassin on the lam thing.”
He pinned me with another hardened look, reaching me in two strides.
The way his solid mass eclipsed me from my perch at the foot of the bed
was meant to be intimidating. But surely, he had to know by now that I
didn’t scare easily.
“What or who would you and I have in common? Cillian? He wouldn’t
contract you to take me out just to have us both kidnapped. It doesn’t make
an ounce of sense.”
I got to my feet, sliding against him as I stood. The perfect mask of
contempt he held twitched for the briefest of seconds as our bodies made
contact.
“No, it doesn’t. Cillian wouldn’t be stupid enough to come after me, nor
would he have a reason to.” I put a hand on his chest, his brow arching at
the gesture before I shoved him back and stepped around him. “This is
something else,” I said, pacing and roving over every nook and corner of
the room.
Us being here together was purposeful. That much I knew. We were
waiting for “boss man.” As curious as I was to know who was behind this, I
didn’t think sticking around to find out would be the best of choices. I had
an eerie feeling that if we—I didn’t find a way to escape now, I wouldn’t
get the opportunity later.
“We have to find a way out.”
Silas crossed his arms. “No shit.”
“You know, I think I liked you better when I was the only one trying to
kill you.”
Either my eyes were betraying me, or Silas had cracked a whisper of a
smile. “If you were the only one trying to end my life, love, then I’d be a
hell of a lot better off.”
 I couldn’t help feeling insulted by his admission. It annoyed the fuck
out of me. I really was slipping if he didn’t view me as a threat anymore.
“Is that right?” I asked, shifting my body in his direction.
He eyed me curiously for two seconds, gaze moving over my bloodied
frame. Rolling his eyes in dismissal, he turned to re-examine the blocked-
off window.
In a flash of rage, I ground my teeth together, ripped the lamp from the
table, and chucked it at the back of his head. Between the roar from his lips
and the glass shattering as it hit the hard floor, things had become much
more interesting.
Shrouded in darkness, I backed into the wall as Silas’s hard grunts
neared.
“You… Fuck! You’re fucking psychotic.” Cuss words burst from his
mouth as he charged. Inching along the wall, I crouched, trying to make as
little noise as possible. Maybe rocking him with an iron lamp wasn’t the
most brilliant move. But he’d pissed me off. And the sound of it connecting
with his skull had been worth it, even if he was ready to kill me.
“Helena, when I get my hands on you...” His footsteps shuffled closer.
“Where’d you think you were going to go?” He bumped into the dresser
where the lamp had been and growled, knocking it over.
Shit.
The room was pitch black, so I had darkness as my cover until he got
over himself. In the meantime, I needed to maneuver my way across the
room. He was too close. The moment I lifted a foot, it bumped into one of
the drawers that had gone airborne when Silas flipped it. Tumbling forward
on my hands, one knee crashed into a dull wooden corner. I drew in a sharp
breath as pain ripped through my leg, trying to remain motionless and
focused as tears pushed against my eyelids.
Silas had also gone silent, and I had no fucking clue how close he was.
My heart thumped in my chest. It was like he was everywhere and nowhere.
“I’m getting pretty fucking tired of you making me bleed.” I felt his
breath on my neck before hearing the harsh whisper and the implicit threat
lacing his tone.
“You deserved all of it.”
He gripped my arm and used his left hand to pull my face closer,
clamping my chin. My knee throbbed, and I was in too much pain to fight
him.
 Traitorous tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Crying, Helena? Really?”
“I hurt myself, asshole. Don’t flatter yourself. You’re not as scary as
you think.”
His laugh was cynical against my ear. “I can be.”
The gravel in his voice shot through me, scorching a trail straight to my
pussy, and adding to the need he’d left there back when we were on the
train.
“Get off.”
Silas opened his mouth in response, but before he could say anything,
the lock on the door clicked and swung open. Two armed men stood
silhouetted under the threshold. I couldn’t make out their shadowed faces,
but a prickly feeling against my skin warned me they’d come for me
specifically.
Silas righted himself into a standing position, tugging me with him. I
narrowed my eyes in disbelief when he placed a hand against my elbow and
pushed me back, positioning himself between me and the men.
I wouldn’t look too deep into the meaning behind his gesture. Despite
having tried to kill me on multiple occasions, I still remembered the man
from when we’d first met, the one who thought he was saving the damsel
from unwanted advances. He either had a hero complex or a ridiculous ego.
“You,” one of the men said in a low, even tone, gun pointed at us.
“Come with me.”
Silas’s body went rigid, shoulders fraught with tension, as he lazily
shook his head.
“We’re not exactly asking. Come willingly or by force. And I assure
you, you won’t enjoy the second option.”
Seconds ticked by before either of us moved. Silas finally huffed a
breath and took a step forward.
“Not you. Her.”
Shit. I’d been right.
But maybe this was the opportunity I needed. Being trapped inside this
dark room would get me nowhere except killed or turned into somebody’s
pet. And neither one of those was an option I’d accept. I rounded my mark’s
large frame, but he caught my forearm, harsh fingers digging into my skin.
“Stop,” he growled.
 I wasn’t sure of his motives, but he wasn’t about to ruin my escape
plans. Ripping my arm from his grasp, I moved toward the men, trying to
hide my slight limp as much as possible. Silas didn’t try to stop me a second
time, and there was a part of me, deep down, somewhere I didn’t care to
explore, that deflated just an ounce at his ultimate indifference.

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 Ten

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 LENI

“S trip.”
His command was low and drawn out, popping the ‘p’ as he
leered behind thick glasses. The two men had brought me to a
bathroom. The space was barren and cold, the surfaces covered by a thin
layer of dust. I rolled my eyes to the far corner, where a bathtub had been
filled halfway with murky water. Knowing where this was headed, I shook
my head, aware my defiance would get me nowhere.
“I said strip.”
“Either you do it, or we do it, sweetheart,” the other fucker stated. “But
either way, you will get naked and in that tub.”
Damn it. Damn it all to hell.
I gripped the bottom hem of Silas’s shirt until my nails dug painfully
into the palms of my hands. I squeezed harder, letting the rush of pain roll
through me, quelling the demons stirring and buzzing for their deaths. But I
couldn’t lose my head. I needed to think logically, act rationally, plot, and
strategize to survive. Lashing out now and not complying would surely get
me killed. And I’d be damned if I didn’t make their heads roll before my
time.
I ripped the shirt over my head and whipped it into the man’s face—the
one closest to me. The same asshole from the train. His beady eyes roamed
my body, glinting with lust as they settled over my breasts.
“Boss man is one lucky son of a bitch. Isn’t that right, Victor?” He
raised a hand toward my nipple, and I blocked it.
“Don’t touch me.”
The other bastard cocked his gun.
 “Remember what I said. You will do as you’re told.”
I closed my eyes as his fingers groped and squeezed, painfully tugging
at and flicking my piercings. Knowing there was nothing I could do then, I
withdrew inside my mind, compartmentalizing the emotions pricking from
beneath my skin. I pushed it all into the dark until I couldn’t feel his grimy
hands on me. Either because he’d stopped, or I’d just become numb. For as
long as I could remember, I’d had to swallow the advances of men and even
women. I’d learned how to pack it away and shove it into the dark recesses
of my thoughts. I supposed one day, it would all burst out like a dam. But
that day wasn’t today.
“Take it off.” The sharp tone of his voice pulled me from my hidden
place, and my eyes snapped open, meeting his face, where his gaze was
fixed on my bottom half. “Off. Now.”
Soon. I’d take everything from him. From both of them.
Once the garment hit the tile, I used my foot to slide my thong behind
me. And before he could make a move or another sinister request, I swung
my leg over the side of the tub and stepped inside. As I suspected, the water
was fucking cold as ice, the chill seeping straight to my bones. His features
twisted with morbid amusement when he caught me wincing, and it only
served to kindle the flames of vengeance.
Little did he know that although uncomfortable, icy water and I were
old friends.
“Sit and get cleaned up. You look like hell.”
They both leaned on a wall and watched as I sat, submerging and lying
back until I was covered completely. Lifting my chin, I noticed a large
water stain on the ceiling and closed my eyes. Focusing on its shape, I
imagined I was anywhere but in this dank bathroom with these two
bastards.
In a flash, I realized my mistake of letting my guard down and not
keeping an eye on the enemy. One of the men grabbed a fistful of my hair
and submerged my head underwater while the other held me down by my
waist. I clawed and kicked, desperately seeking to break the surface and
take in air. But it seemed like the harder I fought, the stronger their hold
became. My lungs burned and protested the lack of oxygen, and I started to
feel disoriented, not knowing how long they planned to hold me down.
Were they going to drown me?
 Maybe if I played dead, they’d let me go. Their boss wanted me alive.
It’s what they’d said. This was just a mind-fuck. A means to make me
break. But they had the wrong girl. I didn’t break.
Calling on every ounce of strength I possessed, I stopped thrashing and
clawing, as it only caused me to exert more energy and exhaust the last of
my oxygen reserves. I didn’t want to pass out and be at the mercy of these
assholes.
The fingers in my hair loosened just enough to quell the stinging until
he yanked me out of the water and kept tugging, pulling my body over the
edge, without a second to catch my footing, until I crumpled onto the hard
tile. I gasped and coughed while they laughed uncontrollably. A tremor
rippled through me, and it wasn’t because I was cold.
“Come here, sweetheart,” he muttered as if he were going to give me a
chance to get to my feet. My drenched body slid across the floor as he
pulled me toward the toilet. With his grip still firm on my hair, he yanked
my head back, lips against my ear.
“I don’t think boss man will mind it too much if we break this one in.
Take her for a ride, and fuck the attitude from that pretty little mouth of
hers.”
“Fuck you,” I seethed behind clenched teeth. He pulled back harder as if
he was trying to snap my neck. Pain shot down my spine.
“Oh, I believe it’s you I’m gonna fuck,” he taunted, hauling me to my
feet and forcibly bending me over the dirty toilet. “Keep that ass up for me,
baby.” Bile rose up my esophagus and threatened to come out of my nose as
he spoke and smoothed his hands over my ass.
“Don’t be greedy, Felix. Hurry up. I want my turn.”
The bastard behind me unzipped his pants, and I made the mistake of
glancing over my shoulder to catch him stroking his dick with one hand as
he steadied my hips with the other.
Time was up.
The moment his tip grazed me, I grabbed each end of the tank lid,
anticipating its weight, and pulled it off, rearing back and striking him on
the side of the head. He fell with a loud thud and began seizing on the floor
while his pants were still around his ankles.
Pathetic.
“Bitch!” the other one yelped, fumbling for the gun he’d set on the
vanity. But I was faster and cracked the porcelain over his head. He had the
nerve to still be conscious, a hand stretched out in my direction as if that
would stop me from snuffing the light out of his eyes or caving in his face.
These men were scum. Vile humans who took, tainted, and maimed because
they could. Hypocritical of me or not, the laundry list of lives I’d taken
belonged to men just like these sons of bitches. There wasn’t, nor would
there ever be, an ounce of regret in my conscience.
“Y-you…c-crazy…” Blood spittle reached my face as I knelt over his
sorry ass, returning his mangled scowl with a grin.
“There isn’t anything I hate more than to be called crazy.” His
outstretched hand reached for my face, gliding across the skin with bloody
fingers, yet unable to form a grip.
“F-fuck…” He choked on the blood pooling into his mouth and down
his throat.
“Shh. It’s best to conserve what little energy you have left, Victor. Your
skull is probably fractured, your brain swelling. The call of death is like a
lullaby now, isn’t it?” I said, running my fingers through his blood-caked
hair almost gently, and his eyes fluttered—that is, until my fist tightened,
and he groaned in pain, chest heaving as I neared his ear. “Send my regards
to hell, Vic.”
I pierced his neck with a shard of porcelain but didn’t stick around to
watch him drain all over the tile.
Straightening myself, I moved toward the man who’d violated me and
forced me underwater. The fucker was still twitching, but I thought I saw
his eyes focus on mine, even for just a second. Pity. I clutched his hair extra
tight for shits and giggles and dragged him fairly easily across the slick
floor. The hard part was lifting his dead weight up and over the side of the
tub. My muscles strained and protested as I heaved his upper body with
every ounce of strength I could muster until he was bent headfirst into his
new grave. His legs came next until he was fully submerged. The water was
far too murky for me to make out the expression on his face, but I leaned
close to the surface and grabbed his hair one more time. His eyes were
unfocused but open while vomit and blood spilled from the corners of his
mouth.
“Looks like you’re the one who’s fucked after all.”
He sunk like a rock when I released him. On my way out, I turned the
hot water knob on full blast and moved toward the door, cracking it just
enough to peek into the dim hallway.
 It was clear in both directions. An exit sign illuminated the space at the
end of the corridor to my right. I’d find a way out of here and get my ass
out of this goddamn country and back to Philly. Silas was as good as dead,
anyway.
My heart sputtered briefly at that thought. It was so quick and
unexpected that maybe I’d just imagined it.
“Yeah,” I whispered, moving sticky hair strands from my face. I kept
pace, searching for cameras in dark corners, but I saw none. The flickering
red exit sign was like a beacon, my bare feet moving a little faster at the
thought of freedom.
“Where the fuck is Victor?” a hoarse voice questioned from around the
corner.
Fuck me.
I dipped into a shallow doorway, hoping against hope that they kept
walking and didn’t turn down this way.
“Said he was going to pay the woman a visit. You know him. But if
boss man finds out.”
Of all the ridiculous names I’d ever heard…
“Dumb fuck said he would taste that cunt even if it killed him.”
And it had.
I released a long breath when they moved past the hallway, and their
voices grew farther away. Tiptoeing to the corner, I peered around the one
opposite where the men were headed. Another exit sign lit the top of a dark
metal door.
That had to be a way out. I ran for it, praying to whoever would listen
that the damned thing was unlocked. I pushed, and the smell of petrichor hit
my nose as the door swung open. I’d never smelled anything more beautiful
in my life.
“Yes,” I murmured, placing a foot across the threshold, when another
voice in my head caused me to wince.
You got a soft spot for me, love?
“No, no, Helena. No,” I repeated to myself in harsh whispers.
He doesn’t matter. He’s no one. He’s supposed to die anyway.
I threw open the door the rest of the way.
Let them kill him and be done…

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Eleven

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 SILAS

“F uck!”
My fist rocked against the cement wall, and I felt my skin
splitting open around my knuckles, but I didn’t give a damn. I was
numb to everything, apart from the suffocating weight of my impending
death. In all the months I’d spent evading bullets, this woman somehow
barreled into my life, and I found myself caught up in her shit. Whatever
role Helena played in all this was still a mystery, but I had no doubt the trail
of scorned men and dead bodies had finally come to collect.
Reaching out into the darkness with one hand, I smoothed the iron
bedpost with my fingers and sat. I wasn’t unaware of how much time had
elapsed since she’d been gone. The blacked-out room became a vortex of
solitude and darkness. I’d lost my grip on time around thirty minutes after
she was taken. All I could do from there was pace, think, and fucking pace
some more. My fleeting thoughts of Helena and what they could do to her
had me clenching my fists and chucking drawers against walls.
Did I care? Should I care? Probably not, but no woman deserved to be
subject to the depraved acts and intentions I’d seen in their eyes.
The deadbolt on the lock clicked, and I shot to my feet in a ready stance,
determined to go out fighting if it came down to it. Instead of men, I was
met with a naked and perfectly curved silhouette.
“Run,” she muttered and took off down the hall.
I blinked several times in a stupor before rushing after her, just in time
to see her turn down a corridor.
“Helena!” I whisper-shouted when I came to a split hallway and had no
idea where she’d gone until the creek of a door and the rays of a fading sun
lit up the small space. “Hey,” I said, grabbing at her wrist once we were
both out the door, taking notice of the blood staining her hands and the
fresh wounds on her face and body. “Are you okay?”
Rolling her eyes and breaking my hold, she darted through the car lot,
making a run for an alley behind the compound. I followed behind until her
steps slowed, and she leaned against the brick of a neighboring building,
exhaling what looked to be a long breath of relief. Hands in her hair, she
slid down and sat on the wet asphalt.
“We have to get far from here before they realize we’re gone. But I
can’t exactly walk around the damn city with my ass hanging out.”
“It’s a nice ass.”
She shifted her gaze toward me, and I couldn’t tell if she was going to
curse or crack a smile at my poorly timed joke.
“It’s a great ass. But it would be a little flashy for a Tuesday night out
on the town, don’t you think?”
I nodded, unable to hide a smirk.
“Well, I’m fresh out of shirts, love. But if you stay here, I’ll see what I
can find.”
“I won’t hold it against you too much if you don’t come back.”
Kneeling in front of her, I put a hand on her knee, trying my damnedest
to focus on her face and not that sweet little cunt peeking out from between
her thighs. “Well, you didn’t have to come back for me, and you did, so the
least I can fucking do is bring you some clothes.”
She scoffed, licking her lips and wincing slightly when the tip of her
tongue rolled over split flesh. “No one gets the privilege of killing you but
me, Silas. Can’t just skirt my duties for an easy way out.”
I said nothing and simply straightened as I moved toward the end of the
alley, spilling onto the still-bustling street where strangers veered away or
crossed the road to avoid me. I wasn’t going to take it personally since I
knew I looked like hell. Shirtless, dried blood, long hair wild and untied. I
wouldn’t be surprised if someone ended up ringing the police. Hell, what
would I say?
I patted my pants pockets as if I didn’t already know those bastards had
taken my wallet and phone. And that’s when it dawned on me. How would I
secure clothes for Helena? I was many things, but never a thief. At least not
outright.
 “Señor?” a young boy, no older than ten, approached. “Agua?” he
asked, holding up a glass bottle, dark brows pulled together in a look of
genuine concern. I nodded and downed the cold liquid in seconds, not
realizing how thirsty I’d been. It was then I felt the hollow pang of hunger
in the pit of my stomach. Hours after my last meal, I hadn’t had a chance to
think about food. My thoughts immediately went to Helena. Already so
thin, I wondered if she was hungry too—and regretted the thought almost as
soon as it was born.
“Gracias.” I bent to his level and motioned toward a woman tending to
a storefront where colorful dresses hung from a display rack. She was
closing down, collecting the garments several at a time. “Es tu madre?”
He nodded enthusiastically and obliged when I asked him for one more
water bottle. Trotting across the street, the boy quickly disappeared into the
store seconds after his mum. I darted across the same path, knowing I only
had an extremely short window to grab what I needed and be gone before
getting caught. I tore an emerald-green dress from the rack without regard
for its size and raced back to the alley, where a nude body lay sprawled
across the concrete. My steps faltered for a millisecond until I noticed the
bald head and crew socks did not belong to the woman I’d left behind.
“You killed him?”
She came around a large dumpster, her thin frame completely dwarfed
by what I assumed was the unconscious man’s light blue collared shirt and
khaki shorts.
“Oh, he’s not dead,” she said, waving me off. “You’d be amazed at what
men are willing to do for the promise of a good fuck.” Her smirk held a
gleam of mischief as she clapped me on the chest. “Walk blindly into dark
alleyways after naked strangers…get lured into hotel rooms…” Her voice
trailed off with a taunting chuckle.
Low blow.
“Worst fucking decision of my life.”
“Now, Silas—look at all the fun we’ve had.” She attempted to take the
green dress from me, her hand grazing mine. That familiar zing I’d come to
know when touching her buzzed beneath the surface of my skin.
“Tell me something. Why did you come back for me?” I asked,
snatching back the garment.
She met my darkened gaze, brows twitching. “I already told you; no one
gets to kill you but me.”
 Helena clutched the dress, and I pulled her forward, causing her to
barrel into my chest.
“Bullshit,” I said, tugging her even closer. “You risked getting caught
just to come find me, when all you had to do was walk out the door and
never look back.”
Her soft breaths were the only sounds drifting between us. Brown eyes
met mine, her expression serious with a haze of something else I couldn’t
quite pinpoint. “Is that what you would have done? Came back for me?”
“Don’t flip this. I wasn’t the one faced with the decision.”
“No, but you stole this dress for me when you could have just kept
walking.”
I looked down at the man’s clothes dripping off her body, and it clicked.
“Is that why you did this? You thought I wasn’t coming back?”
Her eyes were on my lips. “I tried to kill you, Silas. And we’re not
exactly friends. I wasn’t going just to sit here, naked ass on cement, waiting
on a whim for someone who hates me just as much as I hate him.”
I held her chin, fixing her with a grin. “You don’t hate me.”
“Don’t I? Complacency will get you killed. And so will putting your
trust in the wrong people—As you already know quite well. Plus, who’s to
say I don’t plan on slicing your throat the moment you turn your back.”
I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “For one, you don’t have your
knife…” As if my thumb had a mind of its own, I caressed the edge of her
lip, where broken flesh and dried blood puckered into a minor wound. Our
eyes were drawn together, my features pinched into one of concern. “And it
seems you’ve filled your quota for the day.”
Whatever she’d done to escape those men had come at a cost. That was
evident when I glanced down at her hands, fingers riddled with defensive
wounds and bloody nail beds.
“You don’t know what my limit is. You don’t know anything about me,”
she murmured with a slight shake of her head, pulling away from me and
relinquishing her hold on the dress.
She was right. As I stared into the depths of her eyes, I saw so much, yet
at the same time, so little. Helena was a wild card. Beautiful as she was
dangerous. One moment, she was letting me touch her, the next, threatening
my life.
My thoughts were suddenly assaulted by the memory of how wet and
tight she was, how freely she’d given in to my advances and allowed me to
explore every sweet inch of her. Fuck me, I wanted this woman. Wanted all
of her. There was no denying that. She was stunning and confident, with
fire in her eyes and a wall of ice around her heart. I was intrigued,
mesmerized, and clearly out of my fucking mind.
“Hey, what’s the plan?” I asked, tossing the dress her way.
A grin split her face. “Plan? What makes you think I’d make any with
you, let alone share them?”
Rolling my eyes, I released an exasperated breath. “Someone you and I
are connected to somehow wants us dead or enslaved or whatever their plan
was. I’ve done a lot of running these past couple months. The last thing I
need is another bounty over my head.”
Helena let the oversized pants drop to her ankles and ripped the shirt
over her head as if I wasn’t standing two feet away. Averting my gaze from
her perfect tits was out of the question, and so my eyes dropped, mouth
watering at the sight of those hardened nipples pierced by diamond-
encrusted barbells.
“My eyes are up here, Silas.”
“I don’t care. I won’t pretend to be a gentleman because I’m far from
it.” The things I would do to her. Bend her, break her…make her mine in
every way imaginable.
She said nothing, smile widening as she slinked into the sundress. While
probably two sizes too big, she looked exquisite.
“So, Silas, what’s the plan, then?”
If there was one thing I knew about this woman, she wasn’t relying on
me for direction but merely goading an answer and assessing where my
head was at—sizing me up.
“First thing’s first,” I said, eyeing our surroundings. “Let’s get the fuck
out of here…wherever here is.”
“Neither of us has money for a taxi or any other means of transportation
at the moment.” She took off down the narrow alley toward the street.
“So, where are you going?”
She twisted in my direction, now walking backward, though never
losing stride. “To borrow a car.”
I was about to add grand theft to my resume. We’d traveled at least an
hour by train. Driving that equivalent or more alongside the same woman
who’d bled on a contract for my death promised to be an interesting ride.
OceanofPDF.com
Twelve

OceanofPDF.com
 SILAS

“N o! I won’t go.”
I slid my gaze toward the passenger seat, where Helena was
searing holes into the side of my head. Using her newly acquired
cell, thanks to the naked stranger we’d left in the alley, I’d phoned Santino
and laid out the events of the last twenty-four hours. We’d both agreed that
returning to my hotel room wasn’t an option. He’d packed up my
belongings, moved them to a new location under an alternative alias, and
assured me he’d be waiting with a new phone, identification, and cash.
“You can’t be serious. I’m surrounded by people vying for my death,
you included, yet you’re sitting beside me. If I can trust you not to shove a
pen through my eye socket while I drive, you can trust me when I tell you
that Santino is a loyal friend.”
She huffed and drew her attention back to the windshield. “To you,
maybe. But I don’t know him. And he was the only person who knew you’d
be on that train. Let that sink in.”
I said nothing, mulling over her words and their unnerving logic.
Had Santino sold me out? No…he would never. We were brothers.
But something about what she’d said made sense, despite how badly I
wanted to deny it.
“You don’t know him the way I do. You wouldn’t be saying those things
if you did. He’s the only person I can trust and the only one able to help us
at the moment.”
“Once we get to where we’re going, I’m out.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Do as you please. Find another unsuspecting
man to knock unconscious and take what you need.”
 “It’s a good thing I know a guy coming into some money and
connections.”
Though her comment had teasing undertones, I wouldn’t put it past her.
Sure, we’re in some unspoken temporary truce, but I wouldn’t delude
myself into thinking she was trustworthy. Helena was an opportunist, with
skills and instinct to kill far superior to many of the men I’d rubbed elbows
with during my time as part of The Six.
As I glanced back in her direction, a retort hot on my tongue, I noticed
she was staring at the unanswered text messages she’d sent over the last
couple of hours. Her brows were creased, jaw tensed, as if willing a
response from whoever she’d intended to reach.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.” Her voice was sharp, making it clear the subject wasn’t up
for debate.
As I pulled into the car lot of the hotel, with my peripheral, I watched
her delete the text thread and tuck the phone beneath her thigh.
There was a secret there. Was she somehow plotting against me
already?
“Let’s get this over with,” she said, pushing open the door, suddenly in a
sour mood.
“He won’t be back here until morning. You can wait here, and I’ll grab
some cash for you so you can find a place to stay—”
She scoffed and rounded the trunk of the car. “I need identification to
get a room, Silas. And none of my people have gotten back to me…” Her
voice trailed off, like she hadn’t meant to make that admission. “Look, I just
need to clean up. Okay?”
For the first time since the day she tried to put me in the ground, I saw
vulnerability reflected in her eyes and body language. But my thoughts
drifted to the last time she and I shared a hotel room. Helena is a master
manipulator of emotions. I didn’t buy her fragile woman act for a second,
but decided to give her a chance because, frankly, I felt like I owed her one
for coming back for me. Though if one counted the times she’d tried to kill
me, the two would cancel each other out.
Wearing the shirt and shoes of a man who was probably dead, I headed
toward the front desk and picked up my key card while Helena waited by
the elevator.
 The ride up was a quiet one, each avoiding eye contact. I couldn’t recall
why or when we’d become paranoid of each other, but there we were.
Suddenly, strangers again, instincts causing our muscles to tense and coil.
Her bare shoulders were fraught with it, knuckles whitening against the
back railing of the lift. The air between us was charged and heavy, as if a
fuse had been lit, the spark crackling and moving toward an explosive
outcome.
“You okay?” I asked, eyes on the silver doors in front of me, but my
focus was on every one of her movements.
“Of course.” The cockiness in her voice had returned, and she strode out
into the corridor and toward the door without looking to me for guidance.
She knew the room number, although I hadn’t given it to her, which meant
she was on alert, ears perked even as I exchanged information with the desk
clerk. Something was up. Every instinct blaring. We exchanged feigned
smiles as I opened the door, extending my arm to motion her inside.
“You can shower first,” I offered, running a hand through my hair and
wishing I had a damn elastic to tie it back.
She sat casually on the arm of a sofa. “No, no, it’s your room, after all.
Go ahead.”
Picking up one of the black pieces of luggage Santino had left, I waved
her off, not trusting the innocent act she was putting on. Maybe she’d
received a message about following through on her contract, and our truce
had ended. She knew just as well as I did what the consequences were of a
failed job. You either forked over an insurmountable amount of money or
your life. The choice wasn’t always ours to make. The council had final say
over the fate of whoever failed to complete a mission. Maybe Helena had
some kind of pull, especially so many weeks from the initial contract, but
ultimately, she was still just another member.
I’ll always choose me.
The words she’d vowed that day at the cafe echoed in my thoughts. I
knew now why she’d come back for me in Barcelona. Helena required
proof of her kill, and had I stayed trapped in that room, I would have been
lost to her.
“Silas,” she called, her eyes suspiciously narrowed. “I said fine, I’ll go
first. Get out of your head, or I’m going to think you’re plotting against
me.” With a wink, she disappeared behind the door of the bedroom.
I swiped at the fogged bathroom mirror and gathered my hair at my nape
with an elastic band I’d found in one of the empty drawers. Drifting my
attention to the locked door and the space underneath, I searched for any
signs of Helena and a possible ambush, though she’d be more innovative
than to stand in plain sight. Either way, paranoia was getting the best of me,
and I had brought the bag of weapons and ammo inside the bathroom. I
wasn’t sure where she would go for the night, and I really didn’t care, but
she couldn’t stay. Exhausted as I was, I needed sleep, and that wouldn’t be
happening while worrying about a butter knife through my jugular.
I pulled open the bathroom door, only to be met with a sight that had my
cock twitching beneath the towel at my waist. Helena was standing by a
window, dressed in just one of my t-shirts, looking out onto the city skyline.
To the average person, she would have seemed lost in thought, mesmerized
by the view of the stars on such a clear night. But I knew better.
Helena’s body was tight, much like she’d been since we pulled into the
lot. I felt my own muscles stiffening, ready for whatever she planned to dish
out.
“Santino,” she almost whispered, eyes still on the window, “he’s a good
friend of yours? Someone you trust?”
“Yeah, he is.”
She remained silent for several more moments. “You always follow his
advice?”
“Santino is like my brother. He’s been there for me since…” I
swallowed hard, deciding not to continue. My story, my broken past, was
mine and mine alone and not something I was willing to share with a
stranger who was most likely planning my death.
Helena finally shifted her gaze to me, eyes rolling over my chest and
then down to the towel before finding my stony glare once again.
“I heard what he said to you earlier before you rushed to remove him
from speaker. When you thought I was still in the shower.”
My brows drew together, recalling the conversation. “It wasn’t your call
to listen in on; furthermore, it’s not what you think.”
She let out a little chuckle and cocked her head, looking every bit the
devious, cold-blooded killer she was. It was easy to forget, to be taken by
her beauty and sharp tongue and let down one’s guard and years of training.
A chill ran down my back when she twisted toward me again, only this time
her gaze was distant, as if she were looking through me. Plotting.
“So, he didn’t tell you not to trust me? To put a bullet through the back
of my head when I was turned? Or had I heard wrong?”
I unfolded my arms and raised them defensively to de-escalate the
tension running thick in the room. “What Santino says and what I do are
two different things, love. Calm down.”
“Calm…down? Did you really just tell me to calm down?”
Fuck.
“No…I mean, you’re jumping to assumptions and making accusations
that are wildly off track.”
“Am I? So he didn’t say he’d get his crew to dispose of my body?”
I exhaled a harsh breath. “Helena—”
“Leni—everyone calls me Leni. There’s only one other dick who calls
me by my full name, and some days, I’d like to do the same to him.”
Confused by her words, I blinked rapidly, shaking my head. “Do what?”
Time seemed to slow in that instant. For a fraction of a second, she
cracked a sinister grin, pivoting her body as she reached behind her just as
fast before a blade came barreling toward my face. I dove out of its
trajectory at the last moment, but not quick enough to clear the steel. It
nicked the top of my head. A thick, steady stream of blood rolled into my
right eye when I hit the floor, taking half my sight. I wiped, only smearing it
and making things worse.
She rushed me, a side lamp above her head. It came down on mine,
shattering as stars exploded behind my eyelids. But I had no time to gather
myself, to nurse my wounds because Helena wouldn’t stop until I was no
longer breathing. Not now, after she’d reignited the dance of death between
us.
Reaching up, I wrenched the blade from where it had impaled itself into
the wall above my head, just in time to dodge a knee aimed for my face. I
knocked her on her ass, and she groaned as she hit the floor with a painfully
loud thud.
“Son of a bitch!” she shrieked, holding the side of her ribs. I grabbed
the foot she tried to kick me with and hauled her toward me with so much
force I knew her bare ass and thighs had just gotten a rug burn from hell.
Her mouth gaped open, tears raging in her eyes.
 “You going to stop now?” I asked as I climbed over her, pinning her
down.
“Fuck you.” She spat in my face, and I gnashed my teeth in return,
raising a clenched fist, the urge to strike her almost too much to resist.
“You spit on me again…” Fury rolled through me, my breaths coming
hard and fast. “Why are you acting crazy?”
“Get off me so I can show you crazy. I’ll slit your goddamn throat.”
She reached for a shard of glass, but I used my free hand to cuff her
wrist and hold it above her head. “Drop it.”
“Get. Off.”
“You’re not going to beat me in hand-to-hand. So this is pointless.”
“That’s because you’re a punk bitch and took all your guns into the
bathroom. And that told me everything I needed to know.”
There was a glint of something in her vengeful gaze. Disappointment?
Sadness. I didn’t know.
“What?” I asked in a reproachful voice. “That I don’t trust you? Can
you blame me?” More spit hit my forehead. “Fuck, Helena.” I rammed the
blade into the carpet next to her head, gripped her chin hard enough to make
her whimper, and forced her mouth open.
She thrashed beneath me in response, sensing what I was about to do
but helpless to stop it. I leaned forward and spat into her mouth. Her eyes
immediately went wide as I clamped her jaw closed, forcing her to
swallow.
“One day, love”—I murmured close to her ear—“it will be my cock
stuffed inside that pretty mouth and my cum filling your throat.”
She stopped fighting, her eyes fixed on mine as her chest rose and fell in
quick pants.
“You’re a bastard. Should have left you to die.”
I hadn’t realized when she’d gotten hold of a shard of glass, but she
sheared the skin on my side. I bit down on my tongue and wrenched her
free arm to join the other above her head.
“I see you found your knife.” Her gaze followed my movement as I tore
it free and brought the sharpened edge to her chin. “I vividly remember
telling you I’d use it on you, hadn’t I?” Pressing the steel to her neck,
crimson formed a small bead where the tip penetrated her skin. She closed
her eyes and hissed as I pierced her again. Not deep enough to cause
significant damage, but just the right amount to make her feel the sting.