Page 12 of Crimson Tears

My hand tangles with hers, our fingers intertwining as perfectly as they did on that terrifying day. The day I thought I was going to lose her.

Smoke clouds the air around us as the grenade outside does its job below the building. I ready myself to throw another when I see men walking, but a violent explosion catches me off guard, rocking the tower we are in a little too much for comfort.

Nessa instantly trains her gun on the door, but I step in front of her. If anyone is going to be in the line of fire, it is going to be me. I have to protect her. I have to keep her safe. I have to do for her what I could not do for the first woman I loved.

Nessa brushes against my side as she moves next to me, soft eyes pleading with me to understand. My eyes burn from the smoke that is now coming from the hall, but also from the way she is staring at me. She needs someone to workwithher, not jump in front of her.

I try to take a deep breath but it hurts.

“Together?” she asks. My hands clench around my gun aiming at the door as I attempt to swallow, hoping my voice does not crack as I answer her.

This is what love is right here, and I have no doubt in my mind that is what I feel for her now. The thought terrifies me as much as it fuels me with adrenaline. I need to keep her safe.

“Together.”

I try not to lose hope as the sound of footsteps grows closer, and my body seems to tense in ways I did not know was possible. But then a soft pair of lips brush my cheek, warmingme from the inside out and strengthening a new resolve in my system.

Four men are down before they reach the door, but worry does not fully set in until we hear the signal for the rest of them to retreat. That bad feeling amplifies as I look out the window and a package is dropped at the base of the building just before the men below us run.

I shove the window closed and grab Nessa, pulling her into my arms and ducking below a desk just as the floor gives way. I try to hold tight to her as we fall, but something separates us and eventually all I see is darkness.

She asked me to fight with her, and I plan to fight until the very last second, no matter what it takes. She is mine, and I will not fail to protect what is mine again.

“Together.” Keeping her close, I dim the lights with an app on my phone and start up her favorite movie.

I do not know what it is with the women in my life and Matthew McConaughey, but at least this movie is about science and space and not some mindless chick flick.

My hands roam Nessa’s body. For so long, the age gap felt strange to me, but now I hardly notice it anymore. She was the missing piece to my heart, I just had to grow up a little more to see it.

Chapter 4

This house is massive for just two people. Not only that, I feel like I’m missing something when it comes to all of the decor and furniture. Nessa has never been an extravagant person, but this home is filled with pieces that seem like they should be in art galleries.

Trying to reconcile the woman I knew with the one I see now just doesn’t add up in my head. I feel like in the last eighteen hours, my life has been flipped on its axis.

You know that feeling when you find out that the dead love of your life is actually alive, only to then discover she has a boyfriend who can literally buy her the world? No? Just me?

Well let me tell you, it fecking sucks.

For like five minutes, I thought the universe gave her back to me as a reward for all the good I was doing. I mean sure, I murder people. But they are bad people.Usually.Like a solid ninety percent of the time.

I decide to take a shower to try and get my mind off of what Nessa and her boy toy are doing. It was hard enough to find out she had someone, much less someone she was this serious with. Someone who is old enough to be her damn father too.

Stepping into the large tiled space, I turn the spray to ice. Unfortunately for me, I forgot I was in a mansion. And when you turn it to the chill setting, it spits out actual freezing water. I hastily turn it back up, my irritation growing along with my stiffening cock.

Hey there, buddy, long time no fuck, huh?

I shake my head at myself because now I’m talking to my dick.

Does it get any lower than this?

After showering off the day, I am more than pleased to change into a pair of gym shorts and a loose hoodie. As much as Boris’ food was filling, and dare I say delicious, my stomach is already growling for more.

I decide it can’t hurt to have a look around as I make my way down to the kitchen. Everything is so clean and polished, I’m still struggling to understand how Nessa fits in here. Did she pick the muted purple wall colors? Was the deep green backsplash her idea?

The girl who would run barefoot through the flower gardens with me, racing me on the river as we rowed until we could hardly move—I can’t picture her in this house.

She never liked fancy dresses or fine things, always preferring to rough it with the guys and prove she was just as good as the rest of us. Nessa managed to do so while also having an air about her that said she was precious and someone to be protected. That was what drew me to her from the moment I met her.

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