Page 2 of Ruthless Desires, Vol. One (Ruthless Desires Series Extended Editions #1)

Elliot

“Could this guy be any more boring?” Rhett grumbles.

I nod in response even though he can’t see me. We’re lurking near the tree line on our target’s property, shrouded in darkness. He lives in a large cabin that’s pretty far outside of Philadelphia’s city limits. The lack of light pollution out here provides us with easy cover as we watch him through his windows.

With a sigh, I glance at my watch. He’s been watching talk shows for the past two hours. Before that, he came home from work, showered, and made himself a microwave dinner.

The movies make out professions like ours to be full of action and drama. And sure, being a hitman can have some of that, but for the most part, it’s boring as hell. I don’t mind gathering intel and researching our targets, but stakeouts like this one? God, I hate them.

Rhett shifts from foot to foot. “Remind me again why we can’t just kill him right now.”

“Because that’s only half the job. You know that.”

Rhett grumbles something under his breath. I don’t catch the words, but the meaning is apparent anyway.

This job is a little different than the ones we normally take. First, we have to wait around to make sure we have the right guy. Only once we have confirmation do we take him—and his business partner—out. We could’ve turned the job down, but it earns us the trust of a man we need to get close to, so we didn’t hesitate to agree to his terms. It’ll be worth it, but goddammit, I just want to go home.

It takes another half-hour, but then headlights shine up the driveway, followed by the sound of gravel crunching under tires.

Neither of us move as the vehicle comes to a stop, opting to watch through our night vision binoculars as a middle-aged man steps out of the parked SUV. He’s carrying a duffel bag that’s stuffed to the brim.

“That’s gotta be him,” Rhett murmurs.

I turn slightly to peer through our target’s living room windows again. He must’ve noticed the car because he’s up from his spot on the couch and moving through the house. I search for any signs that this is an unexpected visitor, but our guy is walking toward the back door with all the confidence in the world.

“Ready?” I ask quietly.

We already have our rifles set up on their respective rests. Everything is ready to go. We just need to wait until we have clear shots of both men, and then we can get the hell out of here.

“Ready.” Rhett steps into position, peering through his scope and aiming.

I follow suit, watching as our original target opens his door. He has a large folder in his hand, and his gaze tracks the duffel bag with a greedy look.

The two men exchange nods and then trade off the bag and the folder. It’s the moment we’ve been waiting for, and the second it’s done, we both shoot.

The gunshots echo throughout the forest as both men drop, their bodies landing on the porch. The bag and folder plummet to the floor, both opening on impact. Papers and cash fly out, and the wind picks them up and blows them across the yard.

Wordlessly, Rhett and I pack up our gear. We already have everything planned out—who would shoot who, how quickly we leave, who drives on the way home, and who makes the phone call to Ludo.

As soon as we’re ready, we jog through the woods, and when we reach my SUV, Rhett slides into the driver’s seat. Once he’s on the road, I dial Ludo’s number.

“It’s done?” he asks after picking up. He doesn’t even sound tired.

“Yep. Left everything as-is.”

“Good. It’ll send the perfect message.”

The line goes dead, and I roll my eyes. Asshole.

“He happy?” Rhett asks. His voice is rough, and his jaw is tight.

“As much as he ever is.” I scroll through the notifications on my phone, pausing when a text message crosses my screen.

Oliver: Are we still out of milk?

“Shit,” I mumble.

Rhett glances over. “What?”

“I forgot to grab milk when I went grocery shopping earlier.”

“We can stop by the store,” Rhett says. “That place by the hospital is open twenty-four seven.”

I nod. If it was anything else, I’d say it could wait until tomorrow, but Oliver needs milk for his morning bowl of cereal. I know he can do without it for a day, but I don’t want him to have to.

The drive to the store is silent. We’re both too tired to fiddle with the radio to find something worth listening to, and talking would take even more energy. But halfway through the drive, one of Rhett’s hands slips from the steering wheel and comes to rest on my thigh. It’s an unexpected gesture from him, but one I’ll never push away.

My hand covers his, and I lean back in my seat and close my eyes. It’s moments like these—ones where I don’t have anything to occupy my mind—that the exhaustion really sets in. We’ve been working so hard for so long to enact our plan, yet the end isn’t even in sight.

By the time Rhett pulls into the store’s parking lot, I’m half asleep. I shake my head to wake myself up as we make our way inside. It’s a small convenience store, but they have exactly what we need, and that’s all I care about.

Rhett is halfway to the milk before I’ve even taken three steps inside the store. Damn, I’m tired. I stop, lingering near the front of the store. There’s no point in following with him moving so much faster than I am.

I yawn, glancing at the display in front of me. Some familiar-looking packaging catches my eye. Perfect.

“Hey, you want some chocolate?” I ask over the aisle.

Glancing at me from across the store, Rhett narrows his eyes. “What kind?”

I grin and hold up the package. “You think I’d ask if I couldn’t find this stuff?”

He nods, which is practically a vibrant smile for him, so I hold onto it for him. Rhett is particular about his sweets, but he never says no to this specific brand. He also never lets himself have nice things, so I usually try to take it upon myself to remedy that.

Once Rhett has grabbed the milk, we meet near the register. I’m about to lean against the counter, but I stop in my tracks at the sight of the bouquets of roses to my left. They’re way nicer than grocery store flowers normally are, and they’re such a deep shade of red that there’s no way we can leave without them.

I nudge Rhett. “Look at these.”

“Ell. It’s already late enou—” He stops the moment he sees the flowers. “Oh.”

“Ol would like these.” Gently, I pick the bouquet up and slide it into a plastic sleeve.

Rhett’s eyes soften. “Yeah. I think he would. They’re the perfect color.”

“Tonight was probably rough for him, you know? And I feel bad for leaving him all alone, but—”

“Hey.” His knuckles brush against my cheek, soft and fleeting. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I think they’re nice.”

Rhett takes the roses from me and checks out while I watch him quietly. I understand his initial impatience. We’re both tired and want to get home. Still, I appreciate how quickly he came around once he saw the flowers.

“Hey.” Rhett squeezes my shoulder, and I realize he’s already paid and is looking at me expectantly. “Let’s go.”

With a tired nod, I follow him out the door and back into the car. It’s a quick drive home—only ten minutes—and then we’re stepping into our mansion. I relax at the warm, low lighting. Oliver must’ve dimmed everything after we left so the lights wouldn’t be too harsh when we got back.

Just as I figured, Ol is waiting up. A slow song drifts through the house from the living room, drawing me in. When I step across the threshold with Rhett beside me, Oliver glances up and stops playing the piano immediately. After a quick once-over to make sure we’re okay, he lets himself focus on the roses.

“Ell,” he says softly as he stands and crosses the room. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“They made me think of you.” While I watch him inspect the bouquet, a smile spreads over my face. I’ll never be too tired to show him just how much he means to me, and I’ll never stop loving the delight in his eyes when I do something like this for him.

“Any trouble?” he asks, lowering his head and inhaling the scent of the roses.

“None,” Rhett replies. “The guy showed up just like Ludo said, and we took care of everything pretty quickly after that.”

“Nice and simple,” I add.

“Good.” Oliver kisses me tenderly before doing the same to Rhett. “Thank you for the roses.”

“Of course, O.” I brush my fingers against his.

Oliver latches onto my hand. “You both look tired.”

Rhett nods. “It was a boring night, but it lasted forever.”

Humming, Oliver bounces his gaze between us. “Maybe we celebrate another night, then?”

I smile. That’s one of the things Oliver always makes sure we do after we complete a job. It helps give us something to look forward to.

“Definitely. Ell fell asleep on the way home. I’d bet a hundred bucks he’ll be out within five seconds of his head hitting the pillow.”

I shoot Rhett a begrudging glare, but it’s only halfhearted. The fucker is right, dammit.

Oliver slings an arm around my shoulder. “I’ll take that bet.”

“Figured you would.” Rhett steps back. “I’ll see you two in the morning.”

“Night,” Oliver says before shooting me a pleased smile. “Guess that means I’m with you tonight.”

“Mmm.” I nuzzle my face in his neck. “I don’t mind that at all.”

Sometimes I wish I got to sleep with Rhett more, but his insomnia has him up at odd hours of the night, which usually wakes me up. Oliver and I tell him it’s fine, but he doesn’t like disturbing us, so he opts to sleep alone more often than not.

I hate it—although I love the extra time with Ol.

Upstairs, Oliver puts his roses in water while I shower. By the time I’m out, he’s crawled into bed and is waiting for me.

“C’mere.” He pushes the blankets back so I can get in. “It’s been a long day.”

“You could say that again,” I mumble. It doesn’t feel like we just went to that new coffee shop this morning. It feels more like that was yesterday—or last week, even.

“It’s been a lot of long days,” he says quietly as he settles into me, his head resting on my chest and his body curling around mine. “But… maybe we’re getting closer to the end?”

I bite my bottom lip to hold back my initial response. Who knew revenge could be so exhausting, or so time-consuming? “Maybe so.”

“I just want to know what normal life is like, you know? I want to walk into a coffee shop and not wonder if I’m being watched. I want to flirt with a pretty barista and not worry about putting a target on her back.”

“She is pretty,” I murmur, only realizing seconds later that that’s the wrong part to be focusing on.

Oliver tilts his chin up so he’s watching me. “She couldn’t stop looking at you.”

“Oh?” I frown. “I didn’t notice.”

“And now Rhett owes me a hundred bucks.”

“What?”

“It’s been longer than five seconds, and you’re still awake.”

With a yawn, I shake my head. “I think that’s cheating. You kept me awake on purpose.”

“Nope. Rhett owes me a hundred bucks.”

“If you say so,” I mumble.

Oliver snickers. “Night, Ell.”

“Night.”

He shuts off the lamp, and within five seconds of darkness, I’m pretty sure I’m drifting off.