Page 10 of Love's Unexpected Surprise

He staggers as he stands up but slowly makes his way toward Alexei, reaching for something in his pocket. After a moment, I realize it's a switchblade, long and sharp and ready to attack Alexei.

A part of me wants him to stab Alexei and put an end to this so I can leave. But I can't watch him die. Not after everything I've already seen.

“Alexei, behind you,” I say before the other man lunges.

Everything happens in a blur. I think the man is going to attack Alexei as revenge for jumping him in the alley, but hiseyes are glued to me. He lunges at me, the blade firm in his hands. He's trying to attackme. Not the man who nearly killed him in the alley.

Alexei steps in and knocks him to the ground before he can get too close to me. I watch with wide eyes as the man falls to the ground again, the knife dropping from his grasp. Alexei grabs it off the concrete and sinks it into his flesh as if he were cutting into a stick of butter. He pulls the knife out and sinks it in once again.

My legs completely give out, and I fall to the ground, almost comforted to have it so firmly below me as I watch Alexei pull the knife once again, folding it and putting it in his pocket while blood pools around the man.

Everything around me is both still and racing at once. Alexei looks down at the man, checking his pulse, then shaking his head before punching the brick wall with the side of his fist. The pain I imagine must be radiating through his arms doesn't seem to faze him, but then again, I'm sure he's used to hitting things.

He makes a call before kneeling on the ground beside me, saying something I don't hear. I stare blankly at him, trying to piece together everything I've just seen.

What feels like seconds later, but must be much more than that, several other men arrive and carry the body into the restaurant. They start scrubbing the blood off the concrete, leaving no trace of the man behind. Many of them look at me with curious expressions, wondering if I will be a problem too.

Alexei stands in front of me, making sure they don't pay me any attention.

When the body is gone and every drop of blood is cleaned up, some men shine UV lights in the alley, making sure they got everything. They've clearly done this before.

While they do that, Alexei grabs my arm and picks me up. I look down at it and see blood from his hands staining the sleeveof my favorite T-shirt, only reminding me of everything I just witnessed here today.

He walks me to his car, and we get inside. I can't say anything while he buckles the seat belt for me. We drive off, but I don't know where we're going, and I don't think to ask. A part of me wants to look out the window and note any landmarks we pass, but nothing sticks to my brain.

I just watched a man die. He was alive, and now, he isn't. I saw every moment of it.

We park the car in front of a townhouse apartment with a small, tidy lawn. I assume it's Alexei's house. I would give everything to be back in my small apartment, huddled under the blankets in my bedroom, dreaming about this. I wish I could wake up and realize this was nothing more than a nightmare.

But Alexei opens my car door, a gesture that is much less appreciated now, and pulls me out of the car to lead me inside.

I just watched the man I slept with, the man I lost my virginity to, kill a man, and now, he's bringing me to his house. I don't know what he has in store for me, but it can't be good.

6

Ican't believe I fucked up as badly as I did. It's all I can think about as I sit Amelia down on the couch and rub my hand in a small circle on her back. She's shutting down, practically unable to speak from the shock. I might see things like this everyday because of my work, but this is new to her.

The last thing I ever wanted was to subject her to something like this. How can she ever forgive me?

“Amelia, talk to me,” I say for the hundredth time, hoping to coax her out of the shock consuming her. I need her to talk to me. Yell at me and tell me I am the biggest monster she's ever met in her life. Maybe if I can explain what happened, she can find a way to forgive me.

Or maybe I'm just delusional.

After a few minutes of her silence, I guide her to the bathroom. She leans against the bathroom sink, staring at a blood stain on the sleeve of her shirt. I can only imagine what's she’s thinking and would do anything to help her come to terms with this.

I kneel on the floor and hold my hand under the water spout of the tub to draw some warm water. Amelia is so lost in her ownhead that she doesn't understand what's happening. I undress her, and she doesn't do anything to fight me off. She complies wholeheartedly. I wonder what's going through her mind as I do, but the thought makes me sick, so I force it away.

She sits down in the tub with some help from me, and I watch as she curls into a ball. The heat around her seems to bring life back to her eyes, and she looks at me with disgust behind them. I stick my hands in the water and lather some soap on a cloth, running it over her skin, letting the warmth of the water wash away some of the resentment she obviously feels.

“Why did you beat him up?” Amelia asks, her voice cracking as she's on the verge of breaking out in tears. She looks away from me at first, and I have to fight the urge to grab her face and turn it toward me while I answer.

I need her to know that I'm not lying to her anymore. It might be a stupid decision, but I want her to know the truth about me. She's already witnessed me at my worst. If I can explain it to her, maybe she'll understand. Perhaps there's hope for our future.

“I know this is all going to be very hard to take in?—”

“I just want the truth, Alexei,” she interrupts, looking at me with watery eyes. “Please. You owe me that much at least.”

“I know.” I nod my head and stare into her eyes while I dip the washcloth in the water and run it over her back, feeling how soft and silky her skin is beneath my fingers. I wish this could be different. I wish I could be here with her, enjoying a romantic, intimate moment rather than trying to beg for forgiveness. “I'm telling you the truth. I grew up in Russia, and I had nothing at all. I had to fight for every scrap I put in my mouth, every article of clothing that kept me warm in the winter. I would have died if it wasn't for Dimitri. He saved me, but he trained me to be a killer. Now I work for him.”

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