Page 14 of Love's Unexpected Surprise

Her apron is off and hanging on the hook by the counter before I even finish my sentence. She gives me a quick hug before saying goodbye and skipping out of the café to hop in her mom's car to go home.

I'm just about to count the cash in the till and go lock the door when two men walk in. All the machinery is off, and everything is put away. At this point, we've technically been closed for two minutes, so I'm not turning everything back on.

“Sorry guys, we just closed up!” I say, offering them apologetic smiles. “If you want, we have some pastries I was going to throw away. You can help yourself!”

Neither of them says anything or moves away from the door. I can't help but feel nervous seeing them stand there. Both of them are huge, with broad shoulders and big muscles that could easily be used to hurt me. I doubt they're robbing me. Cafés aren't usually known to have a lot of money on hand.

When one of them locks the door and the other pulls a gun out of his waistband, I run through about a thousand different scenarios in a millisecond.

“We're not here for coffee,” the one with the gun says in a gruff voice.

I try to run away, but before I can, I'm grabbed and dragged into the back room. Cardboard boxes with bags of coffee and baking goods fall to the ground as I try to fight my way loose, but it's no use. I'm trapped in the back room with both of these men, one of which is pointing a gun at me, and the other stares at me with lust shining in his eyes.

“I think we're going to have some fun with you before you die,” the other says, a sinister smile creeping on his lips.

My heart races, and my entire body heats up. I look around the room with a panicked frenzy, trying to think of a way to leave. My entire body tenses as one of them moves toward me, grabbing the back of my neck with his hand. I let out a scream, but I know nobody can hear me.

“Now how about you undress before we make you?” he whispers in my ear, his breath stinging my skin.

“It'll be a lot easier if you just comply,” the one with the gun says, pointing it at me with a grin.

I'm trembling as I undo my apron and let it fall to the ground in front of me. I take my time unbuttoning my work blouse, hoping I can stall long enough to think of an escape plan. The one with the gun blocks the door, and the other one has his hand wrapped around my neck. I don't think I'm escaping anytime soon.

The man behind me gets tired of how slow I'm working so he moves his hand and rips my shirt open. Buttons fly off and scatter to the ground, leaving me standing before both of them in my bra.

“I can see why he wanted to hide her,” the gunman says, moving forward and tracing the gun from my lip to my cleavage. I shiver against the cold metal. It's hard to hold back the tears, but I don't want them to see me afraid. If I can do anything in this situation, it's control my emotions and not let them see me cry.

A loud clatter from the dining room catches all of our attention, and moments later, the door bursts open. Both men turn their attention away from me to Alexei standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand. Before I know it, the man with the gun is falling to the ground with a bullet hole in the center ofhis head. The other man reaches for a gun, but Alexei shoots his hand to stop him.

“Did he touch you?” Alexei asks, looking at me without my shirt on. I don't know what comes over me, but I nod. Without saying another word, Alexei shoots both of his hands, then points the barrel of the gun between his eyes and pulls the trigger.

Blood spatters from him to my chest, and I try not to scream as I feel the heat of it on my flesh. Alexei's face is red with rage. He's not doing anything to hold it back now. I stare at him, more thankful than I've ever been to see him.

“I made a deal with my boss, and he promised me he would leave you alone,” Alexei says, putting the gun away and pacing back and forth, kicking a box of paper cups in his fury. “He went back on his deal. Now I have to fucking kill him.”

I perk up at the idea of that. I don't know who his boss is, but I know he has to be dangerous. “You don't have to do that. We can leave. Why don't we just run away somewhere before he knows what happened?”

I don't even know why I suggest the two of us run away together. He's been on my mind since I left, and this isn't the first time he saved me from something. It's wrong to feel the way that I do about him, but I can't stop myself.

Alexei stops and looks at me, walking toward me and placing a hand on my cheek. “It isn't that simple, Amelia. No matter where we go, someone's going to be looking for us.”

“Okay, I can go by myself, then. This is about me. You don't have to put yourself in danger,” I plead.

A smile creeps up on his lips as he shakes his head. “I can't let you go. I tried, but I've been watching you these past few days to make sure you're okay. I won't be able to protect you if you go. You mean too much to me.”

Something about that warms my heart in a way I'm not expecting. He takes his jacket off and hands it to me, and I quickly zip it up to hide my body. When I'm done, he grabs my hand and leads me out of the café. I see the shattered window in the dining room, and still in work mode, I think about calling my boss and sweeping up the mess.

“Where are we going?”

“I'm taking you somewhere safe,” he says, guiding me to his car and closing the door. “My brother, Marcus, will look after you while I take care of Dimitri.”

10

Idon't bother knocking on Marcus's door. There's no time to wait for him to shuffle out of his bedroom to open it. I use my key and let myself in, and moments later, he rushes into the living room with a gun in his hand.

“What the fuck is going on?” Marcus yells at me, looking between Amelia and me.

Amelia sits down on the couch, and I drag Marcus away to have this conversation out of earshot. The less she knows about everything, the better. If I don't make it out of this, I don't want to put her in any more danger than she already is.

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