Moving Target (Target #3)(21)

My nipples tighten and he dips his head, capturing it with his mouth. I scream, unable to take it all. Finally, he let my legs fall and pulls out of me.

A hard kiss leaves me slumped against the tiles.

“Let me take care of this and then I’ll wash you.”

“Okay.”

True to his word, he joins me in the shower again, washing me thoroughly before leading me to a bench that he’s cushioned with plush towels. “Lay down, love. I need to wash, and then we’ll go to bed where I can fuck you properly.”

“Mmm-hmm.” My eyes close, and he chuckles. I love the sound of that laugh. I love him. Always have, always will.

My heart pinches.

I don’t know if he loves me back. He’s certainly acted like a man in love, or at least a man who cares. We’ve been shot at, chased, had his car blown up, and he took the time to help me detox.

Only a man with true feelings would go through all of that, wouldn’t he?

Before I can ponder any more deep thoughts, Dima is by my side, helping me to bed and joining me second later.

“The room is secure.”

I yawn. “Good job.”

“I’ll want you again. Soon,” he warns, but it’s anything but a warning to me.

“Good. But not right now.” I turn in his embrace, burying my nose into his chest. “In a little while.”

“Of course, my love.”

I smile. “I like it when you call me that.”

“I like it when you don’t run away and nearly get yourself killed.”

“He didn’t want to kill me. He wanted to collect the money for returning me to someone named Konstantin.”

“Did he?”

I nod. “I think he’s the real bad guy.”

“Unfortunately, I think you are right.”





12





Dmitry

The ability to sleep lightly has kept me alive more than once, so when my phone buzzes and I wake up to sunlight instead of the moon, I nearly drop my mouth open in shock. I’ve never slept this long.

Chloe snuggles into me? an adorable sigh leaving her.

My phone buzzes again? and I reach across her to check it.

Konstantin: I know you have her. Bring her to me.

Shit.

Me: Where?

Konstantin: St. Petersburg. A jet is waiting at the airfield. You have two hours Me: We will be there in time.

No way in hell am I delivering her to him without proper information. I cannot send Chloe to her death.

The beautiful woman in bed with me wakes up and smiles. “Good morning.”

“We need to leave. Now. I have information that will explain everything, but it might also make things more confusing.”

She blinks at me. “I’m already confused so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Do you know anything about your father?”

This doesn’t faze her in the least and the reason doesn’t make sense until she starts to talk.

“Just that he was an American hero who fought in the first Gulf War and later died in a freak accident while skiing. Divorced my mom first, but he still died a hero when I was a toddler. Not even my mother speaks ill of him,” she says, sitting up in bed. “I don’t remember at lot about him. Mainly him squeezing me tight, reading to me at night. He had the deepest voice. Sent me right off to sleep every time. Like magic. They had a picture of him at my elementary school with a plaque that said: Conrad Riggs, Our Hero. A lot of kids who went there had their dad’s lives saved by him.”

I wrap the covers around her so that I’m not distracted by her beautiful breasts. “There is every possibility that Conrad Riggs was actually an undercover KGB agent who married your mother… well, apparently, because he was in love with her. But he was no American hero, and he’s not dead. In fact, he’s very much alive and I have orders to bring you to him. His real name is Konstantin Benediktov. He runs the Wraith Organization, which transports goods and the like for the Bratva—Russian mafia.”

Her mouth drops open before snapping closed. “That’s not funny.”

“I wasn’t laughing.”

“My father was a hero. He saved his entire platoon from enemy fire by pure—”

“He knew they were there. It was all part of his plan to blend in—part of the plan to save them.”

“I don’t know what to say… except this is awful morning-after talk. I think I’d rather you say you don’t want to see me again than this.”

“You’re not getting rid of me.” I touch her face. “In any case, he’s looking for you. He’s the one who asked for you to be delivered. Except I suspect Leonid attempted to set me up. He’s always had it out for me.”

“Told you I don’t have enemies.”

With a sad smile, I take her in my arms. “I’m sorry that you had to find out this way.”

“After you bring me to him, will you get paid now?”

Is she serious? “I don’t give a damn about the money, Chloe. Only you.”

“We can’t tell my mom. She’ll freak out. I want to freak out.”

“I refuse to take you to him. We will go to my safe house.”

She leans back into my embrace. “Do you promise not to leave me alone there? That you’ll stick around and not put me under house arrest while you go chase off the bad guys?”