Page 23 of Beast

My wolf howled inside, clawing at my chest to be free. To close the distance between us and have my way with her. To sate my lust.

I gritted my teeth because giving in to my wolf right now would be dangerous. He might attack her if she came outsideand then ran like prey when she saw me in my wolf form. Fleeing a predator only made things worse, and the instinct to chase and kill would be too strong for me to hold back.

The radio buzzed, but I kept my eyes shut for a moment and inhaled deeply. Then the faint whiff of the omega I had smelled in the city floated by on the breeze.

“Fuck me.” I snapped my eyes open, gazing around the island. The scent was gone as fast as it had come. Shit. Now I was imagining things. My wolf’s desire for a mate was fucking with me. Omegas went wild for an alpha to ease their heat. It would drive any alphas in range to a frenzy to claim her.

I didn’t need a mate. And I certainly didn’t need any distractions from any females.

The sooner I got Natalia off my island and away from me, the better.

My radio buzzed again.

I opened the channel, not even bothering to see who called. “What?” My bad mood filtered through my voice.

“Comrade.” Boris’s voice broke through my irritation. “Good to hear from you too.”

Fuck. I straightened my shoulders, not that he could see me. “Tell me the good news.” The sooner I got paid and got Natalia out of my life, the better.

“Wish I could. You’re going to have to sit tight for a little while longer.”

“Shit. Are you kidding me?” I was not in the mood for bad jokes. “I need to be paid double for this bullshit!”

He sighed, and I could picture him taking a long drag on his cigar.

My stomach dropped because his hesitance only meant one thing: Everything had gone wrong. I didn’t want the details, I just needed to get out of the situation I was fucking in.

“What now?”

Then he continued in Russian, mumbling small talk, something we never did. But then his tone changed, and I knew there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

“They’ll give you half for your trouble now, and if you need to get rid of her, then double what was originally agreed on.”

Murder? Her? My stomach tightened at the thought.

Hit jobs were the type where they would be going in their car, and an unknown explosive was in there. Or they would be in a bar and you’d put something in their drink or even shoot them in an alley in the dark.

It was never personal like this. Not spend two weeks on a fucking island with them and then what, accidentally drown her?

My silence clearly made him nervous as he continued to speak.

“If you don’t do what they say when the time comes, then it could get you killed, and we like having you on the payroll.”

I balled up my fist, wanting to hit something. “All right. Tell me what happened. Why did they change their mind about using her to get her father to vote?” Had they made a side deal with Natalia’s father? I wouldn’t put it past the bastards.

“Don’t know. They’re keeping it close to the chest.” Boris’s voice dropped lower. “Take the half they’re offering you and be glad to get it. You know they don’t play nice when they don’t get what they want. You best let this one go and move on to the next job.”

I exhaled. He was right. I’d taken the job because of the money. Not because I wanted to get tangled up in Natalia or her shit again. But I still wanted answers.

“I’m not gonna just let it go, Boris,” I said. “I’m gonna find out what they’re doing and why.”

“We don’t know. Half an hour ago, we just got the call that things were on hold.”

Fuck.

I kicked a rock in my path and watched it skitter along ahead of me.

“What about Roman’s vote? If he settled, it was because of the original plan of me holding his daughter as leverage.” Which meant they owed me. I clenched the radio tighter.

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