Romance: Wanted by the Alpha Lion (A BBW Paranormal Suspense Romance) (Heroes of Shifter Creek Book 2) (35 page)

He felt dizzy for a moment, his eyes taking a moment to readjust. When he focused, he saw a bearded man on the ground, reaching for his gun. The man looked familiar from the bar and from the original presentation: Anton Azarov. He remembered the name because of the alliteration. Before Anton could get his gun, Cassius shot. A blast of blood hit him in the face. He stumbled around for a moment, trying to wipe it off as he silently freaked out.

“I think I heard something,” Nina whispered again. “I’m going to investigate.”

He tore the glasses from his face as he tried to wipe the blood off. He flailed around, frightened and disgusted. When he turned, he saw Nina with a gun pointed right at him. He raised his hands.

“Cassius, what are you doing?” she asked, lowering her gun. “I could’ve killed you.”

“I got him,” he answered.

“Obviously. Was that your death dance?”

“I got freaked out with the blood on my face.”

“Where’s the girl?”

“She’s hiding.”

“Well, get back to her, idiot. This isn’t the time to leave her.” She spoke into her headset. “Jones, we got him. Little Morello helped me. He and the girl are fine.”

“Good work,” Jones answered. “Good work.”

Cassius turned to go and ran back to the truck. He knocked on the door, and Amy slid it up.

“You came back.” She smiled.

“I did. Now let’s get out of here,” he answered with a similar smile.

“I know the perfect place we can go.”

She jumped out of the truck and led him from the alley through the shadows of downtown. He felt safe in her grasp, though he also felt like he needed a shower.

VII.

“This place is amazing,” Cassius said as they entered a beautifully styled, open apartment. “If you live here, why would you stay in that shack?”

“I don’t live here,” she answered. “I never have.”

“Are we breaking into someone’s house right now?”

“No, it’s my brother’s place.”

“Is he here?”

She shook her head. “He worked and worked to afford this place, but he never really got to live in it.”

“Does he live…?”

“He’s dead.”

The room became deathly quiet as Cassius stared at her. “Oh.”

“Are you hungry? Maybe we should eat.”

“Yes. Yes, let’s do that.”

They sat down on a plush white leather sofa and set out their meals on the coffee table in front of it. Thankfully, the food still felt warm.

“I’ve never had Russian food before,” he said between bites. “It’s good.”

“That’s a particularly good restaurant,” she answered. “My dad met my mom there.”

“So, did you grow up in America then, since he was in the military?”

“We did live there for a while. My dad was stationed all over, but he wanted us to be somewhere safer than here. My mom missed it though. And she missed Alexei.”

“Why didn’t she take him with her?”

“My dad kind of had this machismo thing. He didn’t want another man in his household if it wasn’t his own son. Plus, when Alexei’s dad left, my mom simply couldn’t take care of him. She was very young.”

“Oh, I see.”

“My mom was the kind of woman who needed a man to take care of her. I promised myself I wouldn’t be that way.”

              He nodded, eating his food with nothing to say.

“Today I felt really vulnerable. I was afraid to be without you. That’s why I didn’t want you to go,” she said softly. “I didn’t want you to die too.”

“I’m no worse for wear.”

“You’re covered in blood. And your glasses are gone.”

Crap.
“They must’ve gotten knocked off.”

“You should probably clean yourself off when you finish. I think some of Alexei’s clothes are still here, and you’re about his size.”

He nodded. “Okay, I’ll do that. Is there water on here?”

“I still keep this place going, even though I can’t stay here.”

He nodded again. “And bathroom is… where?”

She pointed down the hallway. “First door on the left. You’re not done yet, though.”

“I want to be prepared,” He smiled. “I don’t think it’s bad to show vulnerability, by the way. We were both scared.”

“While I was sitting there alone in the truck, I thought of myself as this damsel in distress. And I hated that.”

“You would’ve acted if you had to. You don’t always have to fight.”

“In this world, you do.”

He caressed her cheek, looking into her sad blue eyes. She still looked frightened in a way, but he knew felt frightened too. He still felt the blood plastered on his face and saw Anton’s eyes before being shot. It made Cassius’s limbs feel heavy. Still, she leaned into his hand, holding it against her face and closing her eyes.

“Your hands smell like blood,” she said.

“Does blood have a smell?” he asked.

“It does.”

He kissed her forehead, then quickly finished his meal. “I’ll clean myself off now.”

“Okay,” she answered, a bloody kiss imprinted right above her nose.

I have blood lipstick. Okay.
He moved into the bathroom, which looked just as good as the living area. His hand slid open the shower door and turned on the shower to warm it up. He felt a tinge of sadness, imagining her brother finally achieving his dream apartment and losing it just as quickly. He didn’t hear anything in his earpiece anymore - they must be talking on a different channel or something. He removed it and hid it in his pocket before he stepped into the shower.

He scrubbed the now crusted blood from his hair and face, but he still felt it on his skin. Was he Lady Macbeth now, unable to get out that damn blood spot? His eyes closed, and he relaxed in the water. He couldn’t be a Navy SEAL if he was afraid of blood. Of course, he wasn’t exactly sure he really wanted to be a Navy SEAL at all.

“I got you a towel,” Amy’s voice rang through the steam in the room. He hadn’t heard the door open.

“Okay, thank you,” he answered.

“You can pick some clothes out if you want. I don’t really want to look myself.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

She laughed. “Come out soon, sweetheart.”

He chuckled, liking being called sweetheart even if it was in jest. Though they were not in the same room, he felt closer to her than he had before. Perhaps it was in the way she worried about him when he left the truck, or maybe that she begged him not to leave her. She enchanted him somehow, and he knew he couldn’t resist her - even if Commander Jones ordered him not to.

He exited the shower and wrapped the towel around his midsection. As he passed the large mirror above the sink, he paused to look at himself. Slowly, he swept away the steam and examined his pale skin and thin chest. He’d grown muscle, that was true, but he still looked like a skinny kid. Orion had always been more muscular and impressive shirtless. Cassius wished the training had done more for him.

A soft knock tapped at the bathroom door. “Are you okay, Casey? Did you drown in there?”

He sighed.
If only she’d provided two towels.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. The blood was just hard to get off.”

“It does that,” she said. They both paused. “I’ve heard, anyway.”

He opened the door slowly to reveal her, standing there with bare feet and her make-up washed off. Somehow, she looked even more beautiful than before. She looked pure and innocent, but the allure of it came with the knowledge that she wasn’t.

“You have a scar here,” he said softly, tracing a scar across her chin. “I never noticed it before.”

She nodded. “When I first moved here after my dad died, some of the older girls picked on me because I couldn’t speak Russian well. After school one day, they tried to beat me up, but I fought back.”

“So, one of them did it?”

She shook her head. “No, after I beat them up, I was running away and tripped. I hit my face on the cement.”

He chuckled. “Fancy that.”

“Five stitches.”

“I’ve never had stitches myself. I was a careful child. Kept to myself.”

“That’s how Alexei was. He was a hard worker.” She paused again for a moment. Cassius began to shiver. “I miss him.”

“I’m sorry you lost him. What happened?”

She shook her head, stepping closer to him and making his skin begin to tingle (he tried to take deep breaths and think of his grandmother’s spider veins to keep himself from getting excited.) “Let’s not talk about him now. You must be freezing.”

“I am getting a little cold.” His voice started to shake as she stepped closer. “I guess I should put on some clothes.”

“I guess you should.”

She smiled, taking his hand to lead him down the hallway. He followed her as if under a spell. Her feet padded across the floor, making a quiet rhythm between her feet and his.

“This used to be my room, she whispered as she opened one of the doors. “But I never got to stay here with him.”

“Did he keep clothes in here?”

“I guess we’ll have to look, won’t we?”

The room felt incredibly cold. His feet nearly stuck to the floor like cold fingers grabbing a frozen glass from the freezer. It felt like a forgotten tomb, lost in time and untouched by the years. Before he could speak, she turned to him and closed the door, her arm brushing his as she did so. She rested her hand against the closed door, stepping closer to him.

“I don’t think the lights work in here,” she said, her breath visible in the cold gloom.

“Is there a candle?” he asked, his body shaking from more than the temperature.

“I don’t know.”

She lifted herself on her tiptoes and kissed him, her lips instantly warming his skin. He wrapped his arms around her almost unconsciously. The fingers of her other hand pulled at his hair, bringing him closer to her.

“Are you still cold?” she asked.

“No,” he breathed.

“It may not be fair,” she whispered. “That I’m dressed, and you’re not.”

“I have a towel skirt.”

She laughed. “Don’t ruin the mood, stupid boy.”

“That’s not nice to say.” He smiled against her lips.

She smiled too, pulling his hands down to help her take off the dress. In the darkness, he couldn’t see her body, but he could feel the curves of it, the soft handful of her breasts, and the smooth lines of her legs…. He gulped, his body now brimming with heat. She lowered to the pads of her feet and untied the towel around his waist.

“This way,” her voice purred.

He followed, completely trusting of her. She pushed him gently onto a soft bed as her lips met his once more. They slid back onto the bed so they each had more room. From there, she kissed down his body, warming each patch of skin her lips blessed. He couldn’t help but moan as she went lower, kissing the more tender skin. Before she could continue, he brought her face back up to his to kiss her again.

He rolled on top of her, taking control. She laughed, nuzzling his nose before he kissed her again.

“Do you want to do this?” he whispered, his lips so close his breath danced on hers.

“We have to stay warm somehow,” she answered.

They laughed quietly before kissing again with even more passion than before. He slid into her cautiously, listening to her breathing to make sure he wasn’t hurting her. She moaned in response, grasping his back to bring his body closer, deeper. The cold tomb had suddenly become a dark paradise – warm, inviting, and full of love.

Her body arched into him as he thrust deeper and deeper inside of her. They felt like perfect puzzle pieces, fitting together as one. He felt at one with her, whole. As the euphoria started to run through his veins, her moans became louder. It was a conversation of pleasure, their bodies responding to each other attentively. Finally, they climaxed together, their voices filling the room with love.

“Can you hold me close?” she whispered after they separated.

“There’s nothing else in the world I’d rather do,” he responded, clutching her to him and protecting her from the dangers outside. They drifted to sleep together that way, no longer afraid.

VIII.

Casey’s shoulders shook from the touch of a cold hand. His body attempted to roll away from it, but the hand tried again – this time more forceful.

“Sleeping,” he responded, swatting the hand away.

“Wake up, Casey,” Amy’s voice said sternly. “We need to go.”

He shot up, looking around him. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know. After dawn.”

“I should get back. Are you going to stay here?”

She shook her head. “I just came here for the night. I don’t like to stay in one place.”

He nodded. “Can I wear some of your brother’s clothes? Mine are bloody.”

              “Oh yeah. Come on, I’ll show you his room.”

              They walked together - he naked, and she in a sweatshirt and black pants (must’ve gotten them from her drawers.) She walked to a door at the end of the hall and took a deep breath before opening it.

              “I think he was a little bigger than you, but it should work,” she said. “I’m sure you can find his dresser on your own?”

              “I think so,” he answered, sneaking a kiss from her before entering the room.

              Somehow, it still looked lived in. Posters of Russian rock bands and movies covered the walls, along with assorted trophies and family pictures. He moved to the large dark wood dresser and opened the drawers.
Alexei must’ve been neat and organized.
He picked out some jeans that looked too long, but would work, and a sweater that also looked too big, but again would be okay. He felt weird grabbing underwear, so he decided to grab his from the bathroom.

Before he did, he examined the pictures on top of the dresser. One showed a small boy smiling alone at the camera. The next showed a young girl with the boy and a woman who looked like Amy, but with a different nose and sadder eyes. The final one showed Amy, a taller man who looked like her (the little boy grown up), and Gregor Marscakova. Cassius stared at it for a while, trying to interpret why it’d be there.
She said he was her cousin. But why would her brother keep a family picture of him if they knew his profession?

It didn’t make sense.

“Do you want your boxers?” she asked. “I feel like you’re deliberating in there.”

“I do,” he answered quickly, swiping the photo without a second thought. “I am.”

He hurried out of the room, smiling at her as she handed him his underwear. He dressed quickly, and they made their way out. They spoke little, but shared flirty looks and smiles as they went. He realized as he looked at her that he’d already fallen in love with her. He wouldn’t dare say it out loud yet, but something about her made him feel as though they’d known each other before in another life. He felt so close to her.

“Should I walk you to your new place?” he asked.

“No, I have to be somewhere,” she answered. “It’d probably be best if we just separate here.”

They stood in the square of downtown, the stores and restaurants still sleeping. He hugged her close, breathing in the scent of her hair. She hugged him back in a hold that didn’t want to let go.

“I hope we see each other again,” she whispered in his ear.

“Count on it,” he responded.

They pulled apart, and he watched her go. His eyes lingered perhaps slightly too long on her butt, but he wouldn’t chastise himself – she felt apart of him. As her figure disappeared, the growing feeling of doom grew. He knew he’d be in big trouble for disappearing like that, especially with removing his ear piece and the camera.
Maybe I just shouldn’t go back. But what good would that do?

He walked slowly home, keeping his mind set on Amy and how good she felt. The SEALs building looked lonely and deserted as he walked up. He never noticed how dreary it was before – maybe his eyes just saw things differently after his amazing night. No one trained outside, so he moved inside, going straight for the debriefing room. The clatter of voices greeted him down the hall before he saw them.

“Cassius.” Leo stood when Cassius rounded the corner.

“I can’t believe it!” Jimmy jumped up and slapped Cassius on the back. “You made it home! We thought you were a goner.”

Orion stayed in his seat, but looked in interest at his brother. Nina smiled, her pretty face bandaged and with circles under her eyes. She looked like a soldier. Petey talked to the last remaining nameless soldier, not even noticing the commotion though the nameless soldier stared wide-eyed at the new arrival.

“Morello,” Jones’s voice filled the room as he opened the door to the debriefing room, “I’d like to see you before we start.

Cassius’s stomach dropped. No humor could be sensed in the commander’s voice – he would have no niceties to say.

“Sir?” Cassius said when he entered the room.

“Close the door,” the commander answered, rubbing his temples. Cassius did as instructed. “So, you spent the evening with the bartender?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“But you took off your camera, stopped listening to your earpiece, and didn’t contact your commander?”

“Yes, Sir. I didn’t realize I shook off my camera, Sir, and I thought the earpiece had stopped working.”

“That doesn’t explain not contacting your commander.”

“I didn’t have a phone or any way to…”

“You must always report back, Morello. Always. I don’t know why you don’t have those things. Everyone else has a way to communicate.”

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

“This isn’t the time. Why did you shake off the camera?”

“The blood startled me. When I shot the guy, it blasted in my face.”

“I don’t know how you expect to be SEAL if you do a freaked out death dance when you shoot someone. Baldwin killed a man with a beer bottle, and escaped the club with no one noticing. She didn’t bat an eyelash.”

“I’ve never shot anyone before.”

“Many of the recruits haven’t shot a man before, but those on my mission did wonderfully last night. Your brother included.” Cassius didn’t answer; he only looked down at his fingernails. “Look, I don’t know if you really have your heart in this, but a stupid mistake can get you killed. Falling for the bartender may be yours.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Look kid, I’ve been in love more than once on this job.” He pulled his hair away to show an ugly scar on his forehead. “I got this the last time. It’s a great feeling, but you can’t lose sight of your mission. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

He sighed, taking out the phone he’d been lending Cassius for calls out of his pocket. “Keep this. I don’t want this situation happening again. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“All right, send the others in. I don’t really want you to be here, but I guess you should.”

Cassius stood and walked to the door, opening it for the others to enter. Commander Jones straightened, watching them as they did. His weariness faded faced with what was left of his team. Still, looking over them, Cassius could tell his disappointment in missing two.

“Hello all,” he said somewhat pleasantly.

“Hello, Sir,” they all answered together.

“Since we have Little Morello back, we can do a proper debriefing. As you who went to the bar know, it went well. We captured some of the top men and have them in custody. As you who can notice Gaddy isn’t here, the other mission did not go so great.”

“Yes, Sir,” Petey answered. Everyone rolled their eyes, but didn’t respond to him.

“What went wrong there, Baldwin?” Jones asked, ignoring the outburst.

“As I said at the time,
Christensen
approached the two men, Anton Azarov and Viktor Bebnev,” Nina replied. “Bebnev ran off, but Azarov started firing. Christensen put up a fight, but it was no use.”

“Why did you leave the truck?”

“I didn’t want him to die. And I didn’t want any civilians to get hurt.”

“And no civilians got hurt?”

“No. Little Morello came and shot Azarov. Right in the face.”

“I feel like that was not intentional,” Orion said seriously, without the normal derision in his voice.

“It was not,” Cassius answered.

“I’m having some problems dealing with the death,” the last nameless commented. “I feel the blood on me, and I can’t get it off.”

Jones rubbed his nose. “If you need to talk, you can talk to me or any of your fellow SEALs.”

Orion made a face that showed he was not the one to talk to. Cassius held back a laugh. Jones gave a death glare to them both.

“The problem I have here,” Jones started, “is that Azarov is the one that killed the bartender’s brother. It troubles me that he’s the one that got killed in the location that she was.”

“He killed Alexei?” Cassius asked.

“Yes. The men we captured went into it when I asked them about her.”

“Why was he killed?”

“He wasn’t loyal enough, I guess. It was like pulling teeth, getting answers out of them.”

Cassius’s mind started to race.
Did that mean Alexei was involved in the mob? Did Amy know so much because she’s involved too? Could he ask her without revealing himself?

“I need to go and continue with interrogations and more plans. We have to be
a lot
more careful now because I think they’re onto us,” Jones said. “Take a break for a little bit, go over the information I’ve already given you, and talk to each other if you need to.”

He excused them, but stayed in the room. The energy he regained when they entered the room left with them. Cassius tried to stay to speak with him, but he shook his head and gestured for the intruder to go. Instead, Cassius decided to catch up to Nina, who moved slower than usual and talked to Orion in hushed tones. Jimmy and Leo discussed strategy while Petey kept his normal complacent look. The last nameless kept a blank face, his eyes dull and dead. He moved to his own room like a ghost, disappearing into it without a word.

              “Nina, can I talk to you for a second?” Cassius touched her shoulder.

              Orion gave him a tired look. Nina nodded with a soft smile though and motioned for him to follow her. The brothers walked together to her room. Orion laid down on the bed, and Nina sat down at the edge of it, resting her hand on his leg.

              “What is it?” she asked, her voice less vibrant than usual. “Please don’t ask me if I have feelings for you again. I am not in the mood for it.”

              Orion leaned up on his elbows. “Wait, what?”

              Nina waved the comment away. “My body hurts and awkward conversations make it worse.”

              “No, nothing like that. I got the hint.” Cassius didn’t even want to say it out loud. “I want to know if you think… if you think Amy set us up.”

              Nina and Orion shared a look. “Set us up for what?” she asked.

              “The ambush at the restaurant. Do you think she planned it?”

              She cocked her head slightly. Orion watched her. “No, I don’t think so.”

              “Are you sure?”

              “From the surveillance, she looked genuinely terrified when the gunshots happened. And she didn’t tell you about Azarov. You shot him byaccident.”

              “Well, it was a conscious thing,” Cassius defended himself. “I thought about it before I shot him, but I don’t think I fully comprehended what I was doing.”

“You can’t really think about it or it will mess you up,” Orion said. “Don’t worry yourself with this Amy business. It’s probably fine.”

“She didn’t tell me that her brother was in the mob; just that he was dead. I feel like she’s hiding something.”

“We’re all hiding something. No one’s completely truthful.”

“Shut up,” Nina slapped Orion’s leg. “Was there anything else, Cassius?”

He shook his head. He felt less sure than he had in the morning; he had been worried he was going to get in trouble, but he was sure about Amy. Now he felt upside down. He felt like she’d lied to him, but then again, he didn’t ask much about Alexei. She didn’t want to talk about it, and he didn’t want to push it.

He went to his room, and laid down on his bed. He didn’t want to think at all – he wanted his brain to shut off.
What if she was lying? What if she was in on it? What if he was a fool?
He closed his eyes, shutting of the world but not being able to escape his mind.