~Benny~
Twilight blanketed the city of Granada when I reached the capital. My feet hurt. Sweat dribbled down my spine, but I still had to find a place to stay for the night.
Taking the road and hitching a ride was off the table. That’s where Kai would look for me first, so I endured the five-mile walk from the convenience store to town.
It’s an advantage that I know my way around the city. Before the night deepened, I fixed a change of clothing for tomorrow, a place to stay, awaiting dinner while the lavender-scented bubble bath alleviated my aching muscles.
White foam oozing surrounded me like clouds above water. I rested my head on the bath pillow and stared at the cream-colored ceiling, warm overhead lights casting an intimate atmosphere in the bathroom.
I sighed, concentrating on my next step instead of the pinching sensation in my chest. Dwelling with my pain is on the back end of my priorities. I might not have to deal with it if I end up dead. I have to get off of everyone’s radar. My mother, Tony, my father and brother, and that annoying bodyguard.
Everyone is looking for me. I cannot go back to my apartment in Paris, and I cannot stay with any of my friends.
Nothing familiar. It’s the first rule Tony said to me when he revealed why he had to keep me safe in his mansion. I left everything behind because I foolishly believed his words. My friend, my work, my career. Thinking about what I’d give up because I wanted to be with him makes me sick. To add to the concoction of my pain and regrets, my mother was in it with him. She told me that Markus and Klaus Martinelli wanted me dead. That I am a weak spot in their mafia. But from what I witnessed, they didn’t mean me any harm; they even wanted me safe. But I’m not trusting anyone anymore. I can only trust myself.
I reached for my phone, searching for a place close to Granada that was not likely to be where I am. First, I have to get my passport. That one is tricky, since Tony knows the location of the getaway bag he prepared for me. In the bag were my IDs and bundle of cash to get me through a month without needing to find a job in any country.
I learned a thing or two from him about hiding and surviving in this kind of situation. I hate that I am still clinging to what he taught me, but that is my ticket out of this country... to freedom.
Going through the map of Scotland, the doorbell rang. Water sloshed as I stepped out of the tub. My feet left dripping footprints on the marbled tiled floor. I put on a bathrobe, not bothering to dry my body since I plan on returning to my bath.
I pulled open the door and froze when I saw my annoying bodyguard conversing with the hotel staff. He slipped a tip on the lanky guy’s hands, taking the food tray inside my suite.
“How the fuck did you find me?” I groaned. The door closed with an obedient hiss.
He changed his clothes. The remnants of the fight in the mansion can no longer be seen on him. Honestly, while we were inside the car, the stench of blood on his shirt bothered me more than it should have .
He looks good dressed in a casual gray shirt, tight dark jeans, and loafers. His dark chestnut hair sticks in all directions as though he’d been raking it to perfection. The purple blotch on his face darkened considerably. I think that’s the reason he gives me those daggered glares from the mansion, or the fact that he has to ‘babysit’ me. His words, not mine.
Heading straight to the bed, he set the tray and sat as though he didn’t hear a word I spoke. He lifted the cloche from the tray, scanning the food I ordered. He took a croqueta from the plate, tossed the entire finger-sized food to his mouth, and moaned.
I bit my lip. My lady parts unconsciously came to life at the sound of his manly groan.
I crossed my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes at him. “Hey, I asked you a question.”
His eyes flickered in my direction, two pools crossed between black and clouds, speaking thousands of emotions I couldn’t even comprehend. “I know.”
My blood simmered. I clenched my fist. “Leave my room, now.”
Feigning he didn’t hear me, he poured a glass of orange juice and languidly drank it. “You don’t want to ‘babysit’ me, so we should go separate ways now. I don’t need your protection.”
“Can you see that?” he tilted his head towards the bedside table where three guns rested.
My brows creased. I’m sure they weren’t there before. Tony taught me how to shoot, but I still hated guns. In fact, I hated violence entirely. “What about those?”
He lifted the bowl of albondigas, taking a spoonful, moaning again. I rub my thighs together, aware that my center is becoming wetter by the minute and not just because I ignored using the towel before stepping out of the bathroom.
I hate feeling like this around this guy. At the back of my head, I could still feel his hands around my waist, possessive and domineering.
“I got the Sig from the guy at the coffee shop where you bought a latte. A little tip. You avoid coffee after you jog five miles, bratty. Your heart is already pumping and adding caffeine into the mix,” he shook his head, “bad Princess.”
I bit my tongue. I knew it was a bad idea, but I had already walked through the city, and my heart rate had slowed to normal by then. His lecture was the least of my focus. It’s the fact that he knew I jogged to the city and had been following me. Plus, bratty? Princess? He already had nicknames for me when he didn’t even know me! Jerk.
“I got the second one in the thrift shop and the third one in the hallway,” he said, setting the empty bowl of my dinner on the tray.
Tongue-tied, I eyed the three guns on the table. It hasn’t been twenty hours, and people are already coming after me. Gooseflesh blanketed my skin. I unfolded my arms and rubbed a hand on either side of me.
How did my life end up like this? All I did was love some asshole who used me to manipulate my biological father. I didn’t want any of this.
“Yes,” Kai’s voice broke my inner monologue. “I hate babysitting, but Klaus assigned me to protect you, and I am doing my job, princess. Run away again, and I swear, you will not like the consequences.” His tone was calm, but the threat beneath his voice sent my insides fluttering. “I can keep you safe. Don’t make my job harder than it already is. Think before you do a dangerous stunt like that again, yeah?”
~Kai~Defiance was written all over her face. Those piercing green eyes burned with rage determined to burn me to the ground, and it’s fucking turning me on. I had to keep my hands busy with the food on the tray. My palms were itching to make her submit to me, to have a taste of the gorgeous brat standing before me in nothing but a bathrobe.Droplets of water dribbled down her exposed skin. My jaw clenches at the thought of her answering the door only wearing that. Her hair was a dark mess in a bun above her head. A few locks, wet from her bath, stick onto her neck. The robe ends in the middle of her thighs. I knew she had a gorgeous body, but her skin… damn, it’s tanned to perfection, and I want my lips to map every inch of her.If only she wasn’t my job. If only she wasn’t the boss’s daughter. I could look past her bratty attitude and make her mine. And fuck, I badly want to make her mine; it’s driving me crazy that she’s off limits.Staring at her right now, really staring at her e
~Benny~ The lights were off. Slivers of moonlight’s silver streak fusing with the lamppost’s orange glow from the street passed through the gaps of the balcony drapes. Apart from utter silence, my uninvited company’s even breathing on the couch had been the only sound drifting inside the room. Eyes glued to the ceiling, I eyed the silhouette of a tree branch in front of the hotel swaying, moving in sluggish motion. The digital clock on the bedside table ticks every second. It was hushed as though a silent count down before I dropped a decision. I’ve been silently pondering on what I should do next. There are a lot of things I should consider. Kai and those three guns were a testament to my vulnerability and the power of the people I am trying to outwit. But my need to be left alone weighed heavier than my want to be safe. Today, the gravity of my choices hit me like a raging wave, a wake-up call. For months, I have depended on people around me. Tony, I let my love for him lead me
~Kai~ Other than me, there is someone else following Berenice. It’s different from those three in Granada; this one is professional. I don’t know when and where he picked up a trail of her scent, but I could feel the danger up close. I’m unsure if he realizes I am following Berenice, but whoever this was, he’s good. No one was following Berenice from the hotel to the cafe, University, and bus. The bus picked up tourists and travelers on the way here. Maybe he was one of the passengers. But I didn’t feel any threat until here. She glanced at her side and over her shoulder. The way her shoulders went rigid was a tell that she could feel eyes watching her as well. If something happens to her, it would be all on me. I shouldn’t have let her walk out of that room; now, I had put her in a dangerous situation. I only wanted to know what she was planning to do. Where she’d go and how she’d proceed after learning that Tony’s people were after her. Do a repeat of what I did in the hotel
~ KAI ~ A pool of steaky crimson liquid on the ground was my indication that a bullet miraculously pierced the gunman. I pulled the trigger blindly, aiming to distract him, but one lucky bullet must’ve struck an artery. I followed the blood trail cautiously. Howls of police and ambulance sirens had already prevailed over the once busy atmosphere of the harbor, blanketing the air with anxiety and fear. Reaching the fifth corner away from Berenice, I still found no trace of the gunman. I need to find him, question him and eliminate him. I have to do it quickly. Keeping Berenice safe is still my top priority. Soon, the police will sweep these parts of the port. And once they discover the woman’s dead body, alarm and panic will soar. For decades, cartel wars cast fear on the people of Spain. Cases like this will likely draw excessive attention from the local and international media. And getting the Martinelli’s tangled in this mess is the last thing the Italian mafia needs. We already
~BENNY~Dread rose from the pit of my belly when I opened my eyes.The bed where I laid on my back sways. No, the entire room rocked in a steady, familiar, and daunting rhythm.I blinked hard, pushing away the pull to go back to sleep, ignoring the stabbing pain all over my body, particularly in my midsection and throat.Four corner lights diffuse a soft, warm glow on the room. The salty tang of the air made me nauseous. Realization dawned on me. I am in a cabin… in a boat. I couldn’t hear any other sound apart from the soft hum of the engine and the continuous crashing of waves. We are far from land; how far is the question and knowing the answer scared the shit out of me.Chills coiled down my spine. Thinking of anything other than how vast the waters were sailing is an impossible feat.I shook my head, clutching the white covers that pooled on my waist as I sat up. I closed my eyes and pinched myself, hoping to wake up from this nightmare, but no. The room was still the same when I
~KAI~They say that we’d meet someone we’d follow blindly to the pits of hell every once in a while. Burn for them, take a bullet for them without thinking twice. For me, that’s Klaus Martinelli. I trust that man’s judgment without needing to ask questions.He told me I could infiltrate the Russian mafia and make it out alive, and I did. His trust in my abilities was more than I have for myself. But what fucking qualifies me as a babysitter? Only Klaus knows.He refused to relieve me of babysitting duties. He kept repeating how perfect I was for this job.In my opinion, Ro would do an excellent job in taking care of someone like Berenice. He was made to lead an army and take care of a family at the same time. He has bottomless patience for kids, while me... I hate brats! I am one second away from gagging Berenice or knocking her unconscious just so I can continue doing this job.My clothes were soaking. My mind was fogged with anger and irritation. There’s a brat I need to deal with,
~Kai~I know it’s not a good idea. It was the worst idea since my cock was still as stiff as a pole; a banner could be attached to its tip. Red flags waves in my line of vision, tunneling my mind on a one-track path.Her body against mine, her feminine scent surrounding me… my mind swirled with different ways I could make her forget about her anxiety.Doesn’t she realize what she’s asking from me? I am a full-blooded man, and she’s a fragile lamb I could easily devour if I wanted. We’d be already in one bed, far from any disturbance.“... please,” she added when I kept my silence.My shoulders went rigid. Her voice was rough and heavy with fatigue.How can I possibly resist her begging like that?Despite my better judgment, I scrambled up the floor and sat on the bed, stretching my body parallel beside her.I don’t dare look her way. If I do, I don’t think I can control this rage bubbling inside me.“Thank you,” she sighed in relief, taking my breath away when she tucked her body into
~Benny~The sudden shift of the yacht woke me up from my slumber. I sat up, my heart drumming wildly when I couldn’t find Kai in the cabin.Daylight spills through the rectangular panel beside the bunker, blinding me as I turn to stare outside. The sight of extensive water and gigantic waves outside overturns my equilibrium.Gnawing at my lip, I fought to succumb to my anxiety, ready to search for Kai. I don’t know when it started, but I feel safe around him. Without my sleeping pills, it would have been impossible for me to fall asleep.But he held me.Chills suddenly blanketed my skin. My hands instinctively came up, providing warmth to my bare arms. Pulling my knees tight to my chest, I closed my eyes, remembering how Kai held me. His body was so warm against mine while I curled like a feline searching for comfort. He drew me closer with a hand on my shoulder. The gesture was surprisingly gentle for a gangster like him.I still remember how easy it was to open up to him. At some po