Chapter 47: : Chapter 47

He’s silent on the drive, not providing me with any explanation. I note that it’s not just his lip that’s been split but his cheek as well. His shirt is torn at the shoulder, and the unapproachable energy that crackles around him is palpable.

I don’t want to push any further because part of me wonders if it’s because of my rejection of him. Earlier tonight, he asked if this thing between us could be real. But I’m too scared of the prospect of rejection, to be laughed at for falling for his mind games, to genuinely believe it could be. This is probably because Eli feels like his father is too close to discovering the truth. If they know our marriage is a sham, who knows how they’ll react. It’s best for both of us if I squash the delusional thought of us being together. Eli’s simply covering his tracks, and I’m over here fooling myself that this man might actually care for me.

I can’t tell Eli about the text message. The moment I do, I make myself vulnerable. He might kill me right on the spot.

I try not to laugh at him, mentioning that he was trying to protect me.

Don’t fall for it, Jewel.

The second he realizes I might really kill him, he’ll get rid of me.

I either use the element of surprise to my advantage or I… Or I what? Don’t make the hit?

My thoughts get away from me as I consider what my future might look like, and I immediately shut it down. I can’t fantasize about these types of things. It’s too cruel. I’m expected to look through a scope and shoot him in a matter of days. No, I don’t even have my favorite sniper rifle. I’ll have to do it close-up with my handgun so he’ll know exactly who his Grim Reaper is.

An uneasy feeling runs through me, and I try to shove it away.

An hour later, we’re on the outskirts of the city in a neighborhood I’m not familiar with. We stand in front of an abandoned club. There are a few people on the streets, and I don’t feel all that out of place wearing a simple outfit of tracksuit pants and a baggy sweatshirt.

And my gun.

Gosh, how I have missed my gun.

I still don’t say anything as Eli stares at the vacant building. I wait for him to… I’m not entirely sure yet.

“I want this to be the next hot spot,” he says with determination.

“What do you mean?” I ask, glancing around. This isn’t a popular area; in actuality, it’s considered a relatively bad area.

“I bought this building two years ago, and it’s just been sitting here. I want to change this neighborhood. I want to make it mine.”

“But your father already basically owns half the city,” I say. Crue Monti doesn’t physically own the businesses or property; he owns those who own the businesses and property, which is a much better position to be in.

“I don’t want to be compared to my father. I want to own everything. To prove to everyone that I am more than capable of adding to my family’s success.”

“That’s very ambitious of you,” I reply cautiously, still unsure as to why he brought us out here.

“I wanted to show you so you understand how important it is that I have a wife by my side who can handle the position and the risks involved.”

I angle my head toward him, trying my hardest not to roll my eyes. He’s laying it on thick tonight. But what he’s envisioning isn’t something that can happen. I’ve literally received the go-ahead for the hit, and it’s scheduled for two weeks before our wedding day. Which is so absurd.

“Eli, you were the one who made this a temporary agreement. Perhaps you should’ve chosen a real wife.”

“And an agreement can always be renegotiated. I won’t stand for my father threatening you. You have proved yourself in so many ways that you’re the perfect candidate for me.”

I scoff. “Why? Because I can fit your cock in my mouth?” I try to derail his intensity because I know there’s something off about him tonight, and I’m still not sure why he’s brought me here. I want him to come back to me like the Eli I know. He’s easier to keep at a distance that way.

But these things he’s saying, the way he’s talking about us having a real future, hurt too much to consider it as a possibility. I’ve denied myself that fantasy because it’s been the one thing that’s kept me alive all these years.

I want to believe him, but I can’t risk exposing myself and being discarded once again. I can’t take the risk of being humiliated by admitting what I’m feeling inside.

Love is not unconditional.

Nor is it nurturing or kind.

Love has only ever hurt me. My parents proved that to me. One left of their own free will, and the other died. It’s the only kind of love I know, and I refuse to think that someone like me will receive any other form of it.

Eli smirks expectantly as a car pulls up in front of us. “Took them long enough.” It’s an older car, and at first, I think nothing of it. That is until four huge men get out and walk directly toward us.

“Jewel?” Eli says charmingly.

“Hmmm?” I reply, not taking my eyes off the men.

“Look at me.” I do as he says and find him watching me, not them. “Feel free to kill anyone who touches you.”

Motherfucker set me up again for some Mr. and Mrs. Smith bullshit.

“Don’t you have men for this shit?” I ask with an insincere smile.

“We’re not on speaking terms at the moment, and killing with you is the most fun.”

I side-eye him, not entirely sure I should be flattered by that, considering how many times he’s now endangered my life, but I can’t ignore the spark of adrenaline it fills me with. It’s like he knows I can’t resist my impulsive, curious side that will most likely one day get me killed. In fact, I don’t know how it hasn’t already.

“Mr. Monti,” one says, his hand going to his jeans as he looks my way. “And who is this?” My smile slips as I look in his direction now. His front teeth are chipped and look like they could do with a good brushing, and he’s wearing a black shirt that has seen better days. The men who stand behind him are eyeing Eli as if he’s their favorite snack.

“Should I know you?” Eli asks, sounding bored.

The man chokes on a laugh. “I’d heard the little Monti had fangs, but you made the mistake of taking our business. And then you left it vacant for two years. Did you really think we’d let you get away with that? We’ve been waiting for the moment you’d step back in these parts so we could teach you a lesson.”

Eli shrugs as if it’s not his problem.

“You’ve been warned several times, Anthony. This is no longer yours,” Eli says with a false sense of casualness. And I realize with startling clarity that even in his deranged, ecstatic state, Eli brought me to not only make a point of the empire he envisions to continue to build but to execute this pent-up wild energy that hasn’t entirely left him since his father threatened me. Eli came here to kill, and he simply waited for someone to come for his head.

“This is my fucking area!” Anthony screams, spit flying. His men take a wary step closer. Then, their boss’s gaze lands on me again, and a cruel, twisted smile appears on his lips. “Maybe I’ll take what’s yours once I kill you. It’s very rare and very stupid for you to go out at night without backup.”

“Who said I don’t have backup?” Eli replies.

I slowly and stealthily move my hand to my hip, but I make a point not to show my gun because I always appreciate the element of surprise. I’ve been using this gun for so long it feels like an extension of myself.

When the men take me in, thinking they’ve sized me up, they throw back their heads and laugh. That pisses me off. Not because their response is unexpected but because of the opposite. It’s always the same. They always underestimate me simply because I’m a woman, which is why they end up dead.

“You made a mistake coming back here without your men, boy. And we’ll send you and your little gal pal back to your father chopped up into little pieces to send him a message.”

I try not to laugh at the “gal pal” comment, and I can also see the corner of Eli’s mouth twitch. It’s an unfortunate thing that Eli knows my weaknesses. I’m a moth to a flame when it comes to being reckless, and having an enabler by my side might be the most dangerous thing for me… and him.

I find it hilarious that they think they can hurt me; I could kill at least two of them before they reached me.

Two of the men behind Anthony start toward Eli. He doesn’t seem concerned about their approach. If anything, it appears he’s willingly letting them get close. Is he testing me or something? He even lets them slowly take hold of his arms, one on each side. What the fuck is he thinking?

“I should make it known I don’t like being touched,” Eli says but still makes no attempt to get away from them. I don’t know how to read this version of Eli. Is he ensnaring them to make the kill more exciting?

“But you seem smart enough to understand your situation,” Anthony chirps with pleasure.

“Oh, it’s not me you should be worried about,” Eli sing-songs as they start to drag him toward the car. I stand there, shocked, wondering why he isn’t fighting back when I notice the fourth man heading in my direction. For every step he takes toward me, I take one back.

What the fuck are you doing, Eli?

“It’s okay, darling, we won’t bite…” The man smiles, and I see he needs a toothbrush as well. “Much.” He laughs.

I’m shocked when Eli lets them punch him in the stomach, and then he laughs like a loon. They hit him again, and he laughs harder. Oh my fucking God, he’s actually lost it. He’s lost his fucking mind. They warily glance at one another, confused. That makes three of us.

“You think this is funny?” Anthony barks, finally walking over himself and kneeing Eli in the stomach, which forces him to double over. Eli goes quiet, most likely because it’s knocked the wind out of him.

I still have no idea what’s happening. I’m waiting for a sign something from Eli to indicate what I’m supposed to do. I’m not sure what he’s wanting out of tonight. I thought it was blood, but is it something else that I’m not clearly understanding?

“It is,” Eli says, still amused, as he stands to his full height, towering over all of them. “Because it’s not me you have to worry about.” He licks his bloody lip, and his lethal gaze finally lands on me. “It’s my future wife.”

I guess that’s my sign. Now’s my time.

This fucking psycho.

“Leaving it a bit close, aren’t you?” I growl at him.

As the first man turns to face me, my gun is already out. His eyes go wide as he goes to pull out his own weapon, but it’s already too late. I shoot him between the eyes, stepping back to avoid the body falling. Then I take aim at the one on Eli’s left, shooting him in the chest, and then the one on his right, putting a bullet in his forehead. It all happened so quickly that they didn’t have time to grab their own guns. Eli basically baited them into thinking they were in control. He was playing with them the whole time.

Eli shoves them to the side as their bodies fall. Anthony pulls out a gun, but I’ve already shot it out of his hand before he can raise it. He screams at the sight of his bloodied hand, and I shoot his kneecap just for fun.

Anthony continues screaming as blood begins to pool on the ground. Eli dusts off his shoulders as if disgusted that they placed their hands on him.

“You piece of shit!” Anthony curses.

Eli smirks as he turns to me, and my mouth goes dry as I watch him come toward me like a lethal God. He clears his throat and readjusts his cock. Is this motherfucker hard from watching me kill while he played damsel in distress?

I’m startled when he cups my face and pulls me in for a passionate kiss. I’m too shocked to do anything but stand there and let it happen. His lips are gone just as quickly as they were pressed to mine.

“Fuck, you turn me on. I would marry you tomorrow for that.” He pulls back, and as he does, I realize he’s taking my father’s gun out of my hands. It slips from my grasp, and I’m conflicted at the loss but still too stunned about Eli’s turn-ons. Is this asshole actually a masochist?

Anthony tries to crawl toward the closest gun, but Eli points my gun without even looking in his direction. He pulls the trigger, and the man’s body goes limp.

Did he seriously drag me out here to show me the future he wanted to build and, at the same time, purposefully look for a fight to simmer down and get hard in the meantime? That wild energy beneath his skin shifting from one vice to another.

“I like this look on you.” He touches my cheek, and I realize he’s wiping blood off of it. He slips the gun back into my hand while I stand there, stunned by the gentle touch of the killer in front of me. His eyes have cleared if only slightly, as if murdering a man swept away his agitation and left an easy calmness behind. “Did you think I was taking the gun back?”

I curl my fingers around the weapon, my heart racing for an entirely different reason now. Much like his own nature, the buzzing adrenaline within me needs to go somewhere, and I’m transfixed by him. I’d never thought of fucking someone after a kill until meeting him, and now I realize it’s the most incredible high I’ve ever had. Or maybe that’s only because of this man.

“I had my doubts,” I whisper.

“I’m ready for dessert now,” he says and cups my pussy. I stifle a laugh as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone.

On the second ring, someone answers, but I don’t recognize their voice. “I’ll pin you the address for a cleanup.” His gaze never leaves mine, and I feel like I’m hanging on his every word and breath.

“Let’s go so I can bury myself in that sweet pussy. That should be my reward, shouldn’t it?” He removes his hand from between my legs, and I can feel myself gushing.

“For setting me up?” I breathe restlessly as my feet naturally follow behind him.

“For showing you our future,” he corrects with a devilish smile as he glances over his shoulder at me.

Am I about to fuck him again?

Surely not.

Right?