Page 14 of Beautiful Sacrifice (Bound to the Mafia #3)

Chapter Fourteen

Elena

T he first thing I see is Aiden tied to a chair and Connor sticking things into his fingernails. I almost vomit from the fear and adrenaline coursing through me. Sounds of pain escape Aiden through his clenched teeth. I’ve never seen him this vulnerable before.

He needs me.

There are four men in the room – Connor, two others holding Aiden down, and the fourth one is on the ground, cradling his leg, which has blood seeping from it.

I just have to shoot them.

Staying to the shadows of the stairwell, I take the last step into the room. None of the men notice me. All of their attention is fixed on Aiden.

If I start shooting, there’s a good chance I’ll get shot myself. I’ve never actually shot a gun before so I can’t be stupid about this. I’ll only have one chance.

Connor is the one in charge. He’s the one I need to go after.

With a deep inhale, I run into the room, straight up to Connor before any of the men can react and place my gun to his back.

“Don’t move.”

He goes still. “What the fuck is going on?”

The three other men all stare at me wide-eyed. Aiden is breathless as he sits slumped in his chair. Instead of looking relieved to see me, he only looks angry. I’m trying to help him. How can he be angry with me?

“I have a gun to your spine,” I say. “I will shoot you. At this close range, it will kill you and you know it. If any of your men try to come at me, I’ll shoot them. Does everyone understand?” I can’t show any fear in my voice. If they detect a hint of weakness, I’ll lose any power I have.

The men all nod.

“Let Aiden go.”

“Not a chance,” Connor says.

“I will shoot you.”

“If you shoot me, my men will just shoot you right back.”

I pause. Damn it. He’s right. But… “I’ll just use your body as a shield. Let Aiden go and I won’t kill you.”

“No deal. If I let Aiden go, he’ll try to kill me.”

“Then we’re at an impasse.”

“Suppose so. What are you going to do about that, Elena? I don’t think you have the guts to actually kill a man.”

“I already killed two of your men.”

Aiden’s eyes widen at my confession. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice him twisting his wrists around like he’s trying to free himself of the rope.

Connor scoffs. “I don’t believe you.”

“How do you think I got here?”

That makes him go silent.

“Your men are idiots. I tricked one into getting close enough for me to grab the keys. If the rest of you are idiots, then you won’t let Aiden go and I’ll shoot you for it.”

“My men would be idiots to let Aiden go. He’ll kill us all.”

“Fine then.” I turn my gun to shoot one of Connor’s men in the stomach. He grunts and falls back onto the ground. I gasp and quickly press my gun to Connor’s back again before he can attack me.

So, the gun works. Good to know.

“Shit,” Connor growls.

“Didn’t really think she’d do that, did you?” Aiden asks.

Connor’s silence tells me he thought exactly that.

“I will shoot the other one if you don’t let Aiden go,” I warn.

“Do it. I don’t care about him.”

I look at the only other man still standing in the room. “Do you want to die like your friends?”

“No,” he squeaks.

“Then untie Aiden.”

The man quickly starts to do as I say.

“You idiot,” Connor growls. “Aiden will kill you the second you release him.”

“Not if I can get away first.” He finishes untying Aiden’s wrists before running out of the room.

“Fucking coward,” Connor mutters.

As Aiden unties his ankles, Connor tries to move, so I react on instinct. I pull the trigger.

The bullet rips right through his spine, sending him sprawling to the floor. The groan that escapes him is a nightmarish sound.

“I can’t feel my legs,” he gasps out.

Aiden stands up and takes the gun from me. “Good. That’s what you get.” Then he finishes Connor off with a bullet to the head.

The last remaining guy – the one with the hurt leg – tries scrambling away but Aiden shoots him without hesitation.

Then he turns to me with awe in his eyes. “You saved me.”

“Only after you’ve saved me countless times.”

He cups my face and presses his forehead to mine. “God, Elena. I was so worried.”

“I’m ok. But we should get out of here before anyone else shows up.”

“I agree. Let’s go.”

We hurry out of the basement and head to the garage. A table filled with car keys makes it easy for us to get in one of the many cars and drive away.

“Where are we going to next?”

“I left the five grand back at the motel so we need to go there first, then we’ll find somewhere else to stay.”

Without a word, I place my hand on Aiden’s knee and give it a squeeze. He gives me a curious look. “I saved your life. Me. I did that.”

“You did do that. I’m so fucking proud of you. But I’m also pissed. You put yourself in danger.”

“But I’m the reason you’re alive right now so instead of being angry, let’s just be grateful we made it out of there.”

He lets out a deep sigh. “You’re right. Let’s just get the money and get out.

Except getting the money proves challenging when we show back up at the motel and find police officers swarming the area.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” His hands tighten on the wheel. “Damn it. I need to get to the room to get the money but there are too many police here. Too many questions.”

“Maybe I could get the money. I’m less suspicious looking than you are.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“Let me get it. We need it, Aiden.”

Everything on his face says he wants to object but he nods anyway. “Just be careful. I’m going to drive around the block. I don’t want any police seeing my face. If anyone asks you anything, just let them know that you’re staying here and haven’t heard or seen anything.”

“I’ll be safe.” Without even thinking about it, I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. Aiden’s face turns a little red.

“What was that for?”

“It just… felt right.” Now my own face is on fire.

His eyes soften and a little smile appears on his lips. “Just stay safe.”

Once I get out of the car, I head towards my motel room but I stop when I see that it’s my motel room the police are raiding.

“What’s going on?” I ask someone standing near the door, trying to peer in. They’re a pedestrian like me.

“I think someone was kidnapped in there. Someone saw something and called the police.”

From where I stand, I can just see the envelope on the nightstand but I would have to sneak past multiple officers to get it. The one time I wish someone wasn’t a good Samaritan would be now. The police are in the way.

“I think there’s been some confusion,” I say to a passing officer. “This is my room.”

“This is your room?” he asks. “This one?”

“That’s what I said.”

“We got a call that from someone in the motel who said they saw a woman and a man get kidnapped. They said it was from this room.”

“Well, that person is wrong. This is my room. You can ask the front manager.”

“I’ll need to see some ID.”

I go still. I don’t have my ID on me, not since Finn kidnapped me almost a week ago.

“I don’t have it on me,” I say.

“I can wait for you to grab it. We’ll need to verify that you bought the room for the night. And then we’ll need you to come down to the station and answer some questions.”

Oh no. This isn’t good. I glance at the envelope again and know that I can’t go for it.

I give the officer a tight smile. “I left my ID in the car. I’ll be right back.” I quickly walk away and without looking back, I leave the parking lot and head around the block to where Aiden is waiting.

“Got the money?” he asks once I get into the car.

“No. The police were at our room. Someone saw us get taken and they called the cops. I can’t get the money. It’s too suspicious. They wanted me to come down to the station and answer some questions.”

“Shit. You did the right thing coming back here. Getting the police involved is never a good thing.”

“What are we going to do about money?”

He sighs. “I can’t risk getting another job. Not right now. But…” He perks up. “I can go back to the man who hired me. I’ll make him give me the rest of the money.”

“But you never killed the man he wanted you to kill.”

“I know. But he doesn’t need to know that. I’ll steal it from him if I have to. Let’s go.”

I look out the window as we drive away to another place. I wonder if we’ll ever find somewhere to settle down.

Aiden

It’s easy for me to set up another meeting with the buyer. I have his number on my burner phone.

“Wait in the car,” I tell Elena as I pull up to the bar where me and the buyer will meet. “You’ll only make things more complicated.”

“I understand.”

I don’t want to leave this car. Mostly, I don’t want to leave Elena.

She saved my life today. Other than Finn, no one has ever tried to save me the way she did. That means something. If I’m not careful, I’ll end up falling for this girl and that’s the last thing that can happen. When all of this is done, I need to return her to her life and leave her be.

But that thought is getting harder and harder to process. Elena is mine. I feel it in my soul. And yet, she’s not mine – she’s Viktor’s – and I cannot forget that.

I cup her cheek and she leans into my hand, giving me a soft smile. Fuck. Maybe I am whipped.

After dragging myself from the car, I head into the bar and find the buyer in the back booth where we last met.

“So, is it done?” he asks.

“It’s done.”

“I’m going to need proof.”

“Of course. But let me see the money first.”

He hesitates.

“I need to know that you have it,” I say, spreading my hands on the table. “It’s only fair.”

“I already paid you half up front.”

“So, you’ll have no problem showing me the rest of the money now.”

With a sigh, he grabs an envelope out of his jacket and quickly shows me the money inside.

“I’m going to need a better look at it.”

“You saw it. Now show me the evidence that the Senator is dead.”

I grab my phone and pretend to pull up pictures, all the while planning how I’m going to steal this man’s money. I don’t want him ruining my reputation as a hitman by telling others that I didn’t go through with the job.

It dawns on me: I’m going to have to kill him to make sure he doesn’t speak the truth.

But how do I get him alone without drawing the attention of everyone in this room?

“Let’s do this outside,” I say.

He goes still. “I’m fine where I am.”

“Listen. I’m not going to show you an image of a dead body in the middle of a bar. Let’s go outside. You’ll get your proof and I’ll get my money and we can part ways, never to see each other again.”

The buyer hesitates before he nods. “All right. But you should now, I’ve told someone I’m here and if I don’t return, the police will be looking for me.”

“Did you snap a picture of me last time?”

“I did.” His voice isn’t confident. He’s lying, that much I can tell. He’s just trying to get out of me murdering him.

“Ok then. No funny business. Just business.” I motion for him to go first.

The moment we’re outside, I slam him against the wall and jam my gun into his temple. “Give me the money.”

“Here. Here.” With shaky hands, he gives it over. I rip it away from him and count it. All five grand. Good.

I can’t shoot him outside the bar where witnesses saw me leave with him. “Follow me.”

“I just want to go home. I won’t do anything.”

“Follow me,” I hiss. I make him get into the car. Elena practically jumps out of her seat.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re taking him with us until I can figure out what to do with him.”

“Please. Just let me go,” the buyer begs.

“No.”

I keep driving until I find a remote location. The middle of the woods. I turn off the car and tell the buyer to get out.

“Please,” he begs.

“You don’t have to do this, Aiden,” Elena says.

“I have to. He’s seen my face. He could tell anyone about me. This is the only way. And remember: he hired me to kill an innocent man. This isn’t someone worthy of your sympathy.”

“I killed multiple men today. Does that make me any different?”

I cup her cheek. “That was self-defense. I have to do this, Elena. This is part of my life. Can you accept that?”

Her eyes fill with uncertainty but she eventually nods. “I have no other choice, do I?”

“Afraid not.” I leave Elena in the car and drag the man into the woods. I make him keep walking until we find a river. Perfect.

“I’m afraid this is the end,” I tell him.

“Please, don’t do this.”

“Maybe you should have thought about this before you hired a hitman.”

“At least tell me you killed the Senator. Please tell me that at least.”

I shrug. “I didn’t kill the Senator.”

The buyer’s eyes widen right before I shoot him in the head. He flops back into the river and sinks to the bottom. Eventually, his body will move upstream – or whatever is left of it after the fishes have had their taste. Who knows? Maybe a bear will eat what’s left of him.

Elena is silent when I get back to the car.

“I had to do it.” I say softly. “We need the money and he could have told anyone about me being there.”

“I know,” she finally says. “I just don’t love when you have to kill people.”

“To save you? I would murder a whole fleet of them.”

She shudders. “I killed men today. Men. Plural. I took the lives of three men today. I have blood on my hands. What kind of person does that make me?”

“You were doing what you had to do to survive. And you saved me. You should be proud of yourself.” I pause. “I’m proud of you, Elena. So fucking proud. I’ve never seen you so brave before. It’s something I’ll never be able to forget.”

“I can’t stop picturing them in my head. What if someone finds the bodies? My DNA is all over the place.”

“You’re not in the system. We just have to hope Connor didn’t tell anyone else we were there.”

“And if he did?”

“Then we’ll deal with the men who come after us.”

“And then? What if more men come?”

“Then we deal with them,” I say.

“How many times are we going to have to do this?” she whispers.

“Hey.” I cup her face and pull her in closer to me. “I know you’re scared. Taking a life for the first time is no easy task. I remember what it was like for me. When Finn and I killed our dad, we were only eighteen. And then when I went to work for Patrick, he made me kill a lot of men. There were probably many who didn’t deserve it. Many who did. But I did it.”

“How did you keep going?” A tear slips down her eye and I wipe it away.

“I became numb,” I admit. “It’s why I didn’t let myself feel anything. It was easier that way. But you won’t become me, Elena. You’re not going to start killing people for a living. This was a one-time thing where you protected yourself and you protected me. I know it’s scary right now and that it hurts in some way but it won’t last forever. You won’t become numb like me.”

“Are you still numb?”

God, this girl. The way she looks at me with so much hope in her eyes practically kills me. I don’t want to crush it.

“You’ve made me less numb.” There it is. I finally said it out loud.

“Me?”

“Yes. You.”

She gasps and leans in closer to me, her lips so close to mine. And I decide right then and there to say ‘fuck it.’ I want another taste of Elena.

I close the last couple of inches and kiss her with all the passion and fear and adrenaline I have coursing through my body. Elena kisses me back just as eagerly. It’s so different from our first kiss. She was hesitant and unsure last time but now, she’s a force to be reckoned with.

I pull Elena across the console and into my lap, never taking my lips from hers, and settle my hands on her waist, keeping her close to me. If I could guarantee this forever, I would. I don’t want to think about death or Finn or any of the men chasing us.

I just want this to be me and her.

Our kiss intensifies.

“We shouldn’t do this,” I say against her lips.

“I know.” But that doesn’t stop her from kissing me harder.

My hands squeeze her waist and pull her flush onto my lap. My cock stirs. God, I want her but I’m not going to fuck her in a stolen car after I just murdered a man.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t do something else.

My fingers slip into the waistband of her pants. “I need to touch you. God, I need it.”

She flushes and the sight of it makes me rock hard. She’s not mine, I remind myself.

But my brain is drowned out by how my body feels.

“I’m supposed to wait for my wedding night.”

“We won’t have sex. I won’t take your virginity here.” Or anywhere since she isn’t mine. But the voice that keeps saying that gets quieter and quieter.

“I do want you to touch me but I’m nervous. I’ve never done this before.”

Her admission only makes me harder. “I got you.” I push her pants down but keep her underwear in place. No need to push her more than she’s ready for.

I cup her between her legs. Elena gasps and bucks her hips against my hand. I’m sure it’s instinctual but fuck, is it hot.

“Aiden.” She grips my shoulders.

“Does this feel good?” I rub my fingers against her panties. Slowly, a wetness forms between her legs. She’s aroused.

“Yes,” she admits, jerking her hips towards my hand. Seeing her lose herself to this is a beautiful sight. She’s beautiful. Fuck, I really am whipped for this girl. She snuck into my life before I was even ready for it.

I cup her entire pussy with my hand and press my palm against her, grinding it as she grinds her hips down.

“Have you ever touched yourself?” I ask.

“No. My parents told me it was a shameful thing.”

“It’s not a shameful thing at all. To be touched. To touch. To feel pleasure. Fuck, Elena. It’s the best thing in the world.”

She gasps out as her hips move with wild abandon. Unable to help myself, I push her panties down and touch her skin to skin.

She moans when my fingers find her clit. Her expression is one of wild curiosity. Her innocence is going to kill me.

I want nothing more than to free my hard cock and plunge into her but I refuse to do that. It would only hurt her or scare her and those are the last things I want to make her feel.

She kisses me as I rub her between her legs. God, she’s so wet now, she’s coating my fingers.

I test the waters by sliding my index finger towards her entrance. Slowly, I push it inside. She tenses.

“Aiden.”

“Too fast?”

After a beat, she shakes her head.

Thank god because I did not want to remove my finger.

I push my finger deeper inside of her, taking my time. My goal is for this to feel good, not hurt for her.

Elena grinds her hips down onto my hand. The sight of this innocent Bratva woman crumbling under my touch is too much for me to bear. God, I need her.

“What are you doing to me?” she gasps.

I rub her faster. Her breath comes out in pants as she drops her head back and squeezes her eyes shut. She is a sight to behold.

“I want you to come,” I growl. “Come on my hand. I need to see it. Fuck, I need it.”

With a gasp, her body suddenly trembles. Her inner walls clench down on my finger. I can just imagine that being my cock. I almost come from just the thought of it.

Elena slumps against me, her body spent, and her face in my neck. “That was…”

“I know.” Unable to help myself, I bring my finger that was inside of her to my lips since it’s probably the only time I’ll ever get to know what she tastes like.

“Aiden,” she says, blushing.

“I just needed to know. You’re not mine, Elena. This can’t happen again.”

She tenses. “What if I want it to happen again?”

“Then you’d be ruined. I doubt Viktor would want to marry you.”

“And I can’t be with you?” Her question sounds so sad, it makes my cold heart fucking ache.

“We don’t have a future. We both know it.”

She falls silent. When I look down at her, I see a few tears escape her eyes.

“Don’t cry, baby,” I murmur, wiping her tears away. “I shouldn’t have touched you. I’m sorry. I just needed to know what it was like.”

“You vowed to protect me. When all of this is over, why can’t we just be together?”

“Because if Erik or Viktor get their hands on me, I’m dead. We both know it.”

She sits up. “But Dante married Nadia. They managed to make it work despite how much Erik and Viktor hated Dante.”

“I think they still hate him. He’s at risk of losing everything because of my actions. I should have returned you.”

“But then Finn would have found me and killed me. What you did wasn’t wrong.”

“I agree. But touching you was.”

She flinches. I hate seeing the pain in her eyes. “Do you honestly think that? That what we did was wrong?”

“No,” I admit. “I want to do it again. But everyone else will see it as wrong and that’s why we can’t do it again. Now, we need to get out of here before anyone sees us.”

I pull up her underwear and pants. “I am sorry, Elena. I wish things could be different.”

She slumps into her own seat. “I do too.”

I drive away from the scene of the crime, my mind already shifting from what me and Elena just did to finding a new place for us to stay because we have to keep moving.

Always moving.