I pulled my gaze from her, and back to Dimitri. “Take care,” I said finally.I hated the way my skin burned with rage as I watched Dimitri walk away towards Alessandra, and with one glare from her, soon they both faded out of sight, off to who knew where and doing only the heavens knew what.I stared blankly for a second where my husband and his whore had vanished from before I pulled my gaze. I was about to head back inside the house when I felt like I was being watched. Quickly, my eyes flicked over to the penthouse that had been a short distance opposite ours, the one Dimitri, Alessandra, and his Russian guests had been using.My spine stiffened when I caught the man standing on the porch, a cigarette between his fingers and dark eyes on me. The stare wasn't the good one, it was that kind that gave me goosebumps and gave me the feeling he was thinking about thirteen ways he could get rid of me, and ensure no one ever saw my body, much less Dimitri.Gosh, the fear that tightened m
ELENA DUVALBreakfast an hour later was with James, and Torin while Dimitri, Lorenzo, and Luca were in the penthouse right opposite mine. Whatever business negotiation was going on there it was pretty important, and while a part of me was slightly disturbed with the idea of Dimitri and Alessandra together there, I forced myself not to care.I knew the kind of man Dimitri Castello was, he was never a one-woman's man. While I couldn't deny my fascination and maybe obsession over him, I knew, letting him into my heart was the worst thing I could do. He broke hearts just as fast as he took them.After breakfast, I met with Jayden. She was a beautiful Korean American. And I liked her already. We made use of one of the rooms that had been set up already for training in the penthouse, starting with the basics.While in the afternoon, I was with James. I had a smile on my face by the end of James' session with me because I'd figured out how to get a reasonable proportion of the board on my si
He stared at me, and my gaze didn't shift from his.I didn't know if he was ever going to answer my question because that chance was ruined by the sound of approaching footsteps.“Dimitri,” The soft feminine voice with a hint of a Russian accent cut through the silence, and the footfalls stopped a few steps behind us. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Alessandra Udinov.She called his name again before he inhaled but his arms on me remained.“What's it?”“Bale is here. And he came with the others,” Dimitri shifted his eyes to her for a moment, before bringing them back to me. “Keep practicing, Elena. And instead of getting easily distracted, think of the one person you'd like to put a bullet hole in their head. Then focus and channel your rage on that person, you'd be surprised just how effective it is,” He inhaled once more before withdrawing his hands from my body, and I glanced around to watch him leave with Alessandra.They had already walked a far distance when
ELENA DUVAL“Align your sights,” Dimitri instructed once again, his hands on my bare shoulders and his hot breath burning my skin. He was close. Dangerously too close.I could feel every part of his body against mine, burning through my skin.I swallowed hard, trying to pull all my focus to the paper target ahead of me.I fired another shot and yet again it landed anywhere else but on the paper target. I have been at this for some time now after Dimitri had me dissemble and assemble the gun several times until I could do it in my fucking sleep.“Breathe, Elena. You aren't focusing. Something's distracting you, what is it?” You.I wanted to say it so badly, but the words got stuck somewhere in my throat.“Nothing's distracting me,” I responded, tightening my hold on the gun and adjusting my finger.I fired another failed shot.“Alright. Take a five Elena,” He took the gun from my hand, and I lowered the protective headphones covering my ears.The sun was already up, its warmth seepin
Immediately, I jerked on the bed with my heart in my throat as I reached for the lamp on the bedside table.I flipped it on, and quickly its light illuminated the whole room, and my gaze fell on the figure leaning against the bed.“Jesus! Dimitri, you almost gave me a heart attack. What on earth are you doing here?” I placed a hand on my chest, leaning against the headrest.“Exactly what I would like to know, Elena, what the fuck are you doing here?” His voice was harsh and cold with a smooth blend of anger.“Sleeping, obviously,” I bit out with rage of my own.He didn't move a muscle nor an inch from where he stood. “Don't use that damn tone on me, this isn't where you sleep—”“You don't get to decide that —”“Trust me, Elena, I get to decide that and many more. You're going to be sleeping—”I cut him off. “In your bedroom? Sorry, I thought the workers made some mistake because obviously, you don't expect me to sleep in the same bed where you've fucked many of your whores to the poin
ELENA DUVALThe touch had been innocent. Dimitri's hands were braced beside me on the countertop, grazing my own, yet the warmth that flooded me felt like the letting of sunlight into a dusty dark room.The deep drawl that accompanied every word of his ran down my spine as he stood behind me, his body trapping mine against the island with his hand on my waist, his touch making me feel all the things I shouldn't. But now, as I watched him and his whore through the glass of the kitchen window, all I felt was a murderous rage.“Elena, been looking for you,” I heard James' voice before I felt his presence behind me.Without removing my eyes from the seemingly lovely couple heading towards the building opposite the penthouse, I tilted my head slightly to James. “Who's she?”“Alessandra Udinov,” He said, slipping into one of the chairs.I sent James a lazy stare, rolling my eyes. “I know that much. I mean who's she really? She's almost everywhere,”An annoying smile played on both sides of
DIMITRI CASTELLOWarm liquid of red splatter around, as the gunshot echoed in the air. A dull thunk sounded as the chair went sideways and the bloody bastard hit the ground, dead.I shifted the end of the barrel to the other bloody idiot confined to the chair. Rage and Impatience leaking off me. Rage because these damned bastards were ruining a perfectly good day for me and Impatience because we'd been interrogating these fucking cunts for the last fifteen minutes and still I hadn't gotten a word from them.Two days ago, I'd returned abruptly from my business trip because of the update I had received regarding the traitor Ricky, Elena's previous bodyguard who had been with her and responsible for her accident. He had suddenly vanished after the accident and had managed to remain hidden until a few days ago when my men found him, unfortunately, dead.From the state of his lifeless body, he had been dead for a few days. Murdered by whoever he had been working for.I sighed, clenching my
ELENA DUVAL“But he did agree to help me out,” I told Tiffany and heard her squeal but I didn't tell her the details. I trusted Tiffany, but for her sake, I didn't think it was necessary to pull her deeper into any of this. She was doing way too much for me already.“I'm coming over now,” I told her.“I'm not home. I'm out working,” She said and I told her about my sudden trip with Dimitri and I'd be away for some weeks.We chatted for a while before disconnecting. By seven, Chris was already parked outside the mansion waiting for me and once we had settled in, he drove to the airport.I found Dimitri waiting for me there near one of his private Jets. Even in the darkness, he was still a sight to behold. He wasn't in his suit from this morning, instead, he was in black jeans, a v-neck tee shirt, and a leather jacket. I was sure there wasn't a single piece of clothing that he didn't look good in.He was on a call, but his gaze coasted over to me as I approached him, and my single suitc
His gaze swept through me, making me consciously aware of the workout pants and sports bra I was wearing. He passed a couple of feet away to the fridge taking out a bottle of water.I stood there, watching him. His brandy-colored hair was mussed, brushing his collar, and I grew warm remembering I had my hand around it just last night.As if sensing my stare, he flicked his eyes towards me, raising a questioning brow.I swallowed. “Hungry?” I asked as the timer of the stove went off and I pulled out the casserole.“I'm good, I have a breakfast meeting,” He said, striding closer to me. Now I could feel the tingles that erupted as his presence brushed me.He leaned against the counter, arms crossed and the attention of his stare on me. “There's a phone on my desk, it's yours. It has my number in it already so don't call me with random numbers,’’I don't know why, but something took flight in my stomach. It was sweet and warm.“Thanks,” My response was quiet as I filled my plate and heavi