Page 84 of Alexei (Belles & Mobsters 4)

Eagerly, I snatched it out of his hands and gulped it down. Just for this, I’d save his ass from my brothers.

“Don’t drink too fast,” he warned. He was right, of course. I forced myself to slow down, feeling the bubbles trickle down my throat.

Animosity, mixed with betrayal, hung heavy in the air as our eyes locked.Blue. That color would forever remind me of this man. It was his color. Blue wrapped in darkness and a flicker of something depraved deep down in his gaze.

The seconds ticked, though it felt like hours. I was stupid to offer this man even a fraction of my trust. Even now, knowing he drugged me, I had to tell myself to keep my guard up because something about this man rocked my foundations.

“It was either me or Igor injecting you.” His half-assed explanation surprised me. But there was truth in his eyes. My instinct told me he’d have my back, though I didn’t necessarily agree how he went about it. “I didn’t trust him not to kill you. Or hurt you. I’d go ballistic, and it’d ruin our plans.”

“Oh.”

His voice was low but vehement, sending warmth through me. It was ludicrous. He made it sound like hecaredabout me. And the way he watched me had a shiver skating down my spine. We stared at each other, something unsettling in the depths of his Arctic blues.

I studied his facial expression, or lack thereof, and all the while his eyes burned with something unsettling. I didn’t understand it, but my body responded to it. I didn’t understand this reaction to him. I didn’t understandhim. The moment I thought he was a psychotic, neurotic killer, he’d say or do something that would make me question whether I understood anything about this man at all.

Killer. Mobster. Protector. Fabulous lover.

I wouldn’t think about the latter. It would only confuse me further.

Instinctively, I knew he wasn’t the type to explain himself. I had plenty of those kinds of men in my life already - my brothers and my father. How ironic that Alexei would be so similar to them in that regard? Except, that he just explained himself.

His presence was cold and intimidating, except for some idiotic reason I wasn’t scared of him. My reason warned that I should be, yet I wasn’t. My sixth sense told me he wouldn’t have beaten a man for grabbing my ass if he wanted me dead. He wouldn’t have threatened Starkov. Then there was this unexplainable attraction, or whatever this was.

Despite all my training and profiling, I had a hard time applying my learned knowledge to this man. He seemed to be an exception to everything.

“If we are to do this,” I started, my voice slightly raspy, “... we are to trust each other. Otherwise, neither one of us will get out of this clusterfuck alive.” He watched me as if he was pondering my words. “I don’t know about you, Alexei, but I’d like to get out of this alive.”

Stretch of silence followed, his eyes unwavering on me.

“You would trust me?” he asked, his accent thicker than I’ve heard it before. His voice was soft and gentle but underlined with something raw that had goosebumps raising across my skin.

“To get us out of this alive, yes,” I breathed. The scary part was that I meant those words. It confused me, yet I couldn’t ignore that fragile trust. “Don’t blindside me again,” I warned.

My heart lodged itself between my ribs as I waited for his response. Hiding the impact he had on me, I held his gaze. Darker than usual, something depraved lurked in its depths. And much to my dismay, I wanted to feed his deprivation because somehow I sensed it was for me. The question was why?

He denied me the right to touch his body. Or to kiss him. Yet, when I stared into those blue depths, I could see the need in them.

His comfort with silence could be so unnerving, but at this moment, I suspected he debated whether I was sincere or not. I was dead serious. I wanted to get the prick that hurt little boys and was possibly connected with my brother’s kidnapping.

“Partners then,” he said, his voice unemotional while my own emotions were all over the place. Alexei’s hand reached out and I put mine into his. As his fingers wrapped around mine, a memory flickered in my mind.

Another place. Another time. My hand comforting a boy who was big and scary, but he had broken eyes and made me want to hug him so he’d be all better.

A sharp gasp slipped through my lips as I studied Alexei. It was the reason I gravitated towards him. He reminded me of that boy with broken eyes. A shaky shuddering breath left my lungs.

“Regretting it already?” he asked.

“No.” I shook my head while he still held my hand.

The deal was sealed.

ChapterTwenty-Eight

ALEXEI

“We are in Russia?” Aurora asked again, her eyes wide. I nodded. “In a castle?” she questioned.

After she showered and ate, she asked questions to her heart's content. I explained what transpired from the moment I drugged her until we arrived in Russia. There wasn’t much to tell, but it made her feel better to know exactly how many hours we spent in the helicopter and how many hours we spent in the plane. Then she questioned me if I ever left her alone with Igor the Creeper.

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