Page 22 of To Keep

“No, something’s going on.”

She shrugged. “There’s nothing going on.” She took another sip of her drink.

“No tea for me?”

“You want a cup of tea?” she asked.

“Obviously.”

Skye lifted to her feet and brushed past him. She wanted to try and be cheery and happy and appear to not have a care in the world, but couldn’t muster up the energy. Not tonight. Her days were few and numbered. It had taken a while to sink in, but that was her future. Not one where she’d experience childbirth, or even sex.

Stepping into the kitchen, she went to the stove, and ignited the kettle once again. She was kind of glad he wanted a cup of tea. It felt good to be the one to get it for him. But it was all playing house, a fantasy and nothing more.

“What’s going on?” Galen asked.

“Nothing, I said.” She didn’t bother to look back at him.

“Skye, what happened? You’re not acting like yourself.”

“Did you talk to Viko?” Skye asked.

“Yes.”

She whirled away from the stove to face him. “When are you going to do it? How are you going to do it? Will I see it coming? Will it hurt? Will you make me suffer?” Tears filled her eyes and she hated feeling this way. “All my life I’ve lived by the rules. I’ve been a hard worker and I’ve done everything by the book. That’s who I am. It’s what I do. I work hard. I always have.” She sniffled. “I … I don’t know any other way to be, and because I worked for the wrong man, who I didn’t know was a criminal, all of my hopes and dreams are gone.” She pressed her lips together. “So, I’m sorry if the harsh reality of my future has just kind of snuck up on me and I’m not exactly sure what I should or shouldn’t be doing.” The kettle whistled and she turned back to the stove and flicked it off. “You know, I did have plans,” she said. “I did want to meet someone. Fall in love. Have kids one day. Have sex at least. Why am I even telling you this? You don’t get it. You don’t want to get it. This is pointless.”

She put the kettle down and then gasped as his hands were at her shoulders and he quickly spun her around. There was no room to think or to breathe as he was so close. He cupped her cheeks and his thumbs came out to wipe away her tears. It was intimate and unexpected. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt,” he said.

Skye looked at him and couldn’t believe what she was about to say. “I don’t want to know when it happens. When you do it, make it painless and so I don’t know. Please.”

Galen nodded.

She expected him to pull away.

This conversation didn’t make her feel any better. For a moment she expected him to promise her the world, but he was still going to kill her at some point, whether he wanted to or not.

She couldn’t help but glance up at his lips. This was even more insane. She shouldn’t be attracted to a man who killed people for a living, who only cared about money, but she was.

He was the first man she had ever had feelings for. There was no future here, so in a way, it made sense for her to be attracted to the man who would eventually kill her.

Chapter Six

Viko was being an asshole. He wasn’t answering his calls, and when he finally did, he brushed him off. He must know that Seth found out about the affair, which meant this clusterfuck started because Viko couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. How long was he going to play this out? Was he doing damage control?

All that really mattered to Galen at this point was the fact he hadn’t received kill orders for his hostage. Every day that passed made the thought of ending Skye more uncomfortable. She was making him weak, just like families did to men in their profession. Love was never a good thing as it could be used against you. The first thing an enemy did was look for relatives to use to their advantage. He did the same fucking thing.

Now he had intense, unfamiliar feelings for a girl he was housebound with.

Galen stepped out of the shower and towel-dried his hair. Viko said to keep an eye on Skye but he didn’t give a list of instructions, so he could take her out for a change of scenery. Galen had been feeling guilty as the days and weeks moved along. Skye was getting antsy, asking more questions, and getting bored with their usual routine. It wasn’t exactly fun times for him either. He was usually busy on contracts to keep himself occupied. All this time trapped at home was giving him too much time to think, reflect, and worry about Skye’s future.

He remembered the look on her face when she told Victoria he liked her, curves and all. She was just saying it in retaliation because the other woman was a bitch, but it was true. All of it. Galen got a hard-on just thinking about Skye. Watching her prance around the house in his boxers and old t-shirts was a unique kind of torture. He could envision her naked and she’d be a fucking feast. But he kept those feelings to himself. No sense giving another person something to use against him. Once he crossed that line, he’d be a failure as a hit man. Some asshole would use Skye against him and he’d be forced into an uncomfortable position. He didn’t even want to think about how he’d react.

He called out his door. “Get dressed. We’re leaving the house in twenty minutes sharp.”

Galen smirked after closing the door. He knew she’d be full of questions, but he’d leave her guessing for now. She probably thought he was going to finish her off at a secondary location. It seemed more and more that she expected the worst to happen, getting jumpy from any loud noise and watching her back when he walked behind her. He may have said her death wouldn’t be painful, but in all honesty, he knew he couldn’t do it. Not now, not ever. If Viko told him to kill the girl, he’d refuse. And he didn’t even want to contemplate the fucking consequences.

When he got downstairs, she was already waiting for him.

“A sundress?”

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