Page 34 of Fixation
I let the words sink in.
Then my stomach dipped. I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “Doing what?”
“Killing people. Fourteen years ago, he began working for me and me alone as an assassin. He had his serums that never left a trail behind him. He signed a contract that promised me thirty years of his service. You have to fulfill what’s left. I’mSergey, by the way. Your only contact with the Bratva. Your new boss.”
“No.” I shook my head so hard my brain hurt. My heart hurt. My dad? My hero? Taking people down for the mafia? And I was supposed to take his place? I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. It was sick. It wasn’t right. “No way.”
He said nothing while he slid his hand under his suit jacket, patting a gun.
Mom, raped and hacked into tiny pieces. Me, dead and unable to help her.
My stomach was about to reject my late lunch. I swallowed again.
It was a lost cause to argue with him. He didn’t strike me as a man who ever lost a fight. A man who issued empty threats wasn’t him, either.
“Fine, I agree.” The best I could do was to counter the damaging effects of the horrors he’d asked of me. I could and I would undo a sliver of the damage I was destined to cause. “On one condition.”
“A condition?” Sergey lifted an eyebrow, amusement flashing in his eyes. “Well, wonder kid. Let’s hear it.”
“I’m going to be a doctor. My scholarship only covers some of my college tuition. You’re going to cover the rest.” Lowering my guard around this monster equaled sure death, so I pointed the knife at him while I made my demand. “Any expenses I have, you’re responsible for them too.”
“Hmm. A doctor. Another skill we could use.” A firm nod. My blood thickened in my veins. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Harper shifts in the tub, bringing me back to the present moment.
I’m holding her tight. Too tight. For too long, if I had to guess.
At least I’m not hard anymore.
The absence of lust doesn’t mean the danger’s passed.
It’s just settled. For now.
“You’re absolutely right. I’ve been neglecting you.” I squirt shampoo into my hands and massage it into her scalp. “Let’s amend that.”
Without another word, I rinse her hair. Then I move on to the conditioner and to soaping her body.
Her nipples break the surface of the water, tightening in the cold. Her pussy is hot and clenches when I dip two fingers in to clean her thoroughly.
When I’m throbbing again, it’s nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
I breathe through it, focusing on the steady thump of her heartbeat against my chest.
This time, it’s easier to remember that this is about her, not my pleasure.
Eventually, I get the job done, then climb out of the tub.
Harper is safe in my arms. I dry her body. Run a comb through the knots in her hair, then dry it with a towel.
The clothes I put on her are hers. Just until we get to my place, where I’ll change her into mine.
With my scent on her skin.
Not a single thread on her won’t come from anyone other than me. But first, I have to make her bed.
Gently, I place Harper in the armchair by the wall while I strip the dirty sheets and replace them with fresh ones from the closet.
The soiled linens and covers are placed in the washing machine. The clean clothes from the earlier cycle are moved to the dryer. I’ll come back later to fold them. Put them back in her closet.
