Page 17 of The Payback

Seeing her standing at the front of the church today was gutting—my former partner beside my current boss.

Something’s up, and I need to get to the bottom of it before we all end up dead or arrested.

There’s a breathless squeal from the other side of the wall. My vision blurs hearing Ellie in distress, and my feet move before I put thought into the action. I round the corner, and when my vision clears, I see Dimitri standing stark naked on the opposite side of the bed, legs wide and braced as Ellie’s thighs bracket his head in some kind of standing sixty-nine configuration.

She moans low and long as Dimitri feasts on her, his head blocking my view from parts of my former partner that I know just as intimately. Part of me hoped they were only faking all the sounds, but from what I see, that’s not the case. He’s feral as he licks and sucks at her, sliding his head left and right like he’s trying to coat his entire face in her arousal. I can’t keep watching this.

With them occupied, I force myself to slink back into the shadows and out of their room. It feels as if I have cinder blocks attached to my feet, weighing me down and slowing my retreat. The delayed pace gives me a few more seconds of self-inflicted torture to listen. Athumpof bodies hits the bed, and Ellie falls apart in Dimitri’s arms.

As she screams out her release, I softly close the door to Dimitri’s room. Sitting at the top of the stairs, I close my eyes and rub my hands over my face.

What the fuck is Ellie doing here? The last time I saw her, she was lying face down on a hotel bed, stark naked, her pale skin luminescent in the moonlight as I dressed and snuck out to do the Big Boss’s bidding.

And I don’t mean Dimitri.

Natasha Volkov—my second cousin and current leader of the Bratva.

After she killed her husband, she took control using the diamond I stole for her, expertly imploding my career and letting me return home. Considering Bratva literally translates to a version of “brotherhood,” there has never been a female leader for our organisation, but fuck, she’s a good leader.

Ellie was the only obstacle keeping me from getting that diamond. We were on a stakeout, and once our target went home, we swapped out with another set of agents. It was the only night the grab could take place.

I’d nicked the security pass from one of the vault workers, waiting until she reached her car at HQ before making my move. All it took were a few flirty comments before running my hand along her arm, and I was able to swipe her security pass with a mere touch and some sleight of hand.

The night guards had grown used to seeing me at all hours, especially in the few weeks prior, because I’d made my presence known every time I arrived and left. Chatting and talking about shit I didn’t care about, like football matches and their kids’ piano recitals.

But the only night it could work, Ellie and I were stuck across the street from our target for a surveillance job. We were off duty, staying in a hotel room while another team was on stakeout duty in a workers’ van.

We’d shared rooms in the past during assignments, so I knew Ellie was a heavy sleeper but was slow to pass out after working. I also knew she never drank from open containers, so drugging her wouldn’t work as a way to knock her out and get back to HQ. My only option was to feed into the chemistry we’d let simmer since we became partners.

Restraining myself was a challenge that I fought tooth and nail. I couldn’t fuck her how I wanted to—how I’d craved to since we’d met—wringing every ounce of pleasure from our bodies until we were a spent heap of sweat and cum on the hotel mattress.

She was too good. Too pure. Too careful and reserved. All things that didn’t exactly scream she was someone who liked it rough and dirty in bed.

No, I had to be cautious. Caring. Loving.

Once we’d gone three rounds, she fell asleep, and I dragged my tired bones out of bed and through the hotel’s back entrance.

And now, here she is in Dimitri’s home and bed.

Is she actually the cousin of Peter Lee from the Emerald Sabres? Or is she an undercover agent?

Either way, she’s not the sweet, blushing bride she portrays. Interpol has been investigating the Sabres for years, but during my time working for the agency, they couldn’t get close enough to infiltrate.

She could have been a plant the same way I was. But the odds of running into her here, of all places, are too much of a coincidence.

No. If Ellie’s here, Interpol has fooled Dimitri into letting a spy into his nest.

I could run. It would be the smart thing to do if the agency were on our doorstep. But here, in our world, I have the upper hand. I don’t want to kill Ellie; she’s a good agent and one of those rare, genuinely good people, but I will do what I need to keep breathing and stay out of prison.

Yanking myself out of my thoughts, I rise from my seat on the steps and turn towards my door.

I’ll deal with her tomorrow when she’s not coming on Dimitri’s tongue. I’ve spent the last two weeks brokering peace with the Italians through a series of threats and bribes, and it took far less time than I’d expected. Sergei was pleased with my work, and I thought Dimitri would be too. But instead, I’ve been met with hostility and anger and my quick work. I shaved off months by negotiating fairly instead of giving them the runaround to save a few bucks.

It isn’t as if the Bratva lacks funding.

I strip off my boxers and slide into my bed. After being locked up for weeks, the room feels stale, but it’s easily fixed with a cracked window. Closing my eyes, I pray for sleep, but it doesn’t overtake me. Instead, images of Ellie and Dimitri assault my mind.

My silky black sheets slide over my body, the chilly material creating a buzz of sensation over my fevered skin. I stretch my leg out, hunting for a cool spot at the foot of my bed, and the pull of the movement makes the sheet slip over my inconveniently hard cock.

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