Roman: Book 2 (The Hunter Brothers Series) (31 page)

Chapter Twenty Five

ROMAN

I sat back in the
chair, gazing out across the rainy Northern city, sipping my brandy and mulling
things over in my mind. Tyler had been incredible tonight, but my eyes had been
half on the stage and half on her. It had taken a Herculean effort not to go
over and see her, but they couldn’t know I was there. I had to watch from a
distance and see for myself. I wouldn’t risk another spat with my brother over
a woman. I had to be certain.

He’d watched her
like a hawk as she danced among the crowd. Officially he was back with
Scarlett, but there was only one girl who made Charlie cloudy eyed and
protective and that was Chas. There were glances at every opportunity, gentle
touches, secret smiles, dances that were too close to be purely friendship and
seeing it tonight had only reinforced what I already knew.

What I couldn’t
understand was why they’d never done anything about it.

I was staring at
her as ‘Wonderment’ came on, my heart pounding at the memory of that incredible
weekend. She was a way in front, but she’d turned suddenly as if an instant
connection was drawing her to me, staring straight at me. She couldn’t believe what
those incredible emerald eyes were showing her, and the pull on my heart was
indescribable. I wanted to run to her, scoop her up in my arms and kiss those
incredible lips, run my hands over that beautiful skin, but I knew that I
couldn’t. I had to let this thing play out. I’d disappeared in the blink of an
eye and she probably thought she’d imagined it. I knew I hadn’t, and I still
saw her face now, that incredible face every bit as beautiful and vivid as I
remembered.

That weekend at
the house, they’d insisted they were friends, but there was more lurking under
the surface. I’d seen it in Charlie’s eyes when I kissed her in the kitchen,
but it was too late then. The damage was done and I’d already had my first
taste of that magnificent, addictive body, claiming her hard and fast as though
I knew I’d never get another chance, before worshipping that sweet hot pussy
well into the night.

Perhaps Scarlett
was the issue, perhaps now it was me. Maybe Charlie hadn’t realised how he felt
about her yet, or maybe Chas was the one putting the brakes on. I couldn’t be
certain, but one thing was clear to me now. Until they made up their minds, I
wouldn’t be going back for more.

I knew I’d fucked
up the instant those chopper blades started to rotate; lifting me from the
estate and carrying me to the airbase. I’d reverted to type, split without a
word with the beautiful form of that soft sweet girl curled peacefully next to
me. Even now I wasn’t sure how I’d managed it. If she’d have moved one inch,
I’d have buried myself inside her and never left.

The attraction had
been as instant for her as it was for me. Sprawled on her arse in that
graveyard I knew immediately that I wanted to fuck her. That wasn’t unusual,
but she’d made me want more, and that was. She’d firing up feelings long since
forgotten, and in just three days, Chastity Evangelista had made her mark, breathing
new life into a heart that I thought had died along with Anna.

I wasn’t the man
on her list, but I knew one that was, and it was hard to wrap my head around.
Our physical lust had been intense and overpowering, but with Charlie there was
something more, something deeper, cultivated through affection and I just
wasn’t buying the whole friends act.

He was trying to
make things work with one woman, when everything I’d seen tonight told me he
wanted another. I took a long swig of brandy, knowing I’d need to stay away. It
was the right thing to do, the only thing I could do, although I wasn’t
convinced he’d ever make a move now, wondering how I’d feel if the situation
was reversed.

Could I be with a
woman my brother had fucked, however much I loved her?

I sighed deeply,
knowing I should regret being with Chas, but I didn’t. I regretted splitting
and that was it. Even that had led to another incredible night. I was sure
she’d throw me out, spit out some venomous hatred with that sharp tongue of
hers, or knee me in the bollocks. She almost had and I smiled at the memory.
However mad she’d been, she wanted the right goodbye; a fitting tribute to the
time we’d shared and I wanted that too. It had been every bit as special to me
as it had to her.

She’d blown my
mind. Good sex I’d never been short of, but great sex, amazing,
can’t-get-enough of sex was another thing entirely. The way she’d played games
with no inhibitions and opened her heart as much as her body, had pulled me in
disturbingly quickly.

 
I wasn’t just enchanted by that beautiful figure;
her soft round breasts, smooth curved hips and that velvet pussy that made me
lose my mind. It was her laugh, her sharp wit, the way she could be soft and
then prickly and the way she looked at me. Those bright green eyes pulled me in
with their silent promise of pleasure. She’d bewitched me, and even now, with
every sane thought in my head fighting against it, I wanted to go back for
more.

She’d brought me
back to life, back from the brink, making me realise I had something to live
for instead of nothing to lose. If it hadn’t been for her, I would have gone
from that graveyard and into the night, turning my back on Greenfield Hall, my
brothers and my entire past. Instead, Chastity Evangelista had brought me home.

The truth was out,
and despite my worst fears; the gnawing feeling in my gut that I would lose
them all and be truly alone, my words had changed nothing. The support from
Tyler and Lucas had been overwhelming and my fight with Charlie had hammered it
home. We were back to normal and life was good.

My phone rang
through the silence, pulling me from my thoughts as I checked the caller I.D.
“Igor,” I smiled, “What’s the job?”

His low chuckle
reverberated down the line. “This one’s unusual,” he said and I couldn’t help
but laugh.

“They’re all
unusual, Igor.” Wasn’t that the truth? Lately I didn’t know what the hell I’d
be landing in, most of the time. Peace time negotiations seemed to be fraught
with more danger than those I’d been involved with in the most war-torn
districts of the world. When they had no active enemy, these people seemed to
go out looking for them I thought, shaking my head.

“You know the
customer,” he said and that in itself was different. My deals were one time
offers, too risky for long term involvement. In and out, no evidence and no
trace as if the whole thing never happened.

“Who is it?” I
asked, knowing this would determine my decision; this and the other pressing
matter I hadn’t got to the bottom of yet.

“Milanovich,” he
said as my eyebrows shot up in surprise. Milanovich was a decent guy, a Russian
Oligarch we’d secured from capture, negotiating his freedom and that threat had
been neutralised.

“What does he
need?” I asked and the ensuing silence probably meant I wasn’t going to like
it. Sometimes I’d find out what the operation was on the journey over,
depending on the secrecy of the mission, but there was something in Igor’s
humorous tone tonight that let me know he already had the details on this one.

“You’re not going
to like it, Roman, but he’ll double your fee for a month’s work.” A cool
million for four weeks meant one thing – my life was on the line. My life was
always on the line; but I’d learnt pretty quickly that there were degrees of
danger in this kind of work. A million was about as dangerous as it got. It
wasn’t just the money, I had plenty of that; it wasn’t why I did it. It was the
thrill, the rush, the unbeatable adrenaline; the feeling of being alive and
sometimes you had to nearly die to get that. At least I had before Chas.

Walking into this
blind would be foolish. I trusted Igor implicitly, but I needed details. He
chose me because I took chances, risked everything to secure the result. But
that was before. Things had changed.

“That’s a
significant amount of money Igor, what’s the job?” I asked again, smiling at
the cool chuckle.

“Sienna,” he said
as I blew out a huge sigh.

 
“What about her?” I asked. I’d been hoping
never to encounter Sienna Milanovich again.

“You’re the only
one who can control her, Roman,” he said as I laughed.

“How many has she
seen off now?” I asked.

“Three security
firms in as many weeks. He thinks she’s in danger and we have a team on the
ground working on the threat, but it’s pointless if he can’t keep her in line,”
he said as I shook my head.

“Tell him to
fucking lock her up until you take them out,” I said and he was laughing again.

 
“She asked for you, Roman.” I tried to stifle
my incredulous gasp, laughing loudly, unable to believe that Sienna Milanovich
had actually requested me. The last time I’d seen her, we’d just secured her
father. She’d made a bratty comment that I didn’t take kindly to, and I’d told
her as much. She’d thrown a vase at my head and run at me, digging her fucking
claws into my skin and drawing blood before I bound her with cable ties,
secured her to a chair and locked her in the cellar with a note for her dad.

“Crazy fucking
bitch,” I laughed and Igor was laughing too. “Forget it, I’m no one’s
bodyguard,” I said as Igor sighed down the line.

 
“I told him you’d say that.” he said.

“And how did he
respond?” I asked and for the first time Igor didn’t sound happy.

“He told me to
offer you two million.”That’s was why he wouldn’t be happy. The cheaper he got
me the more commission he’d cut for himself. I’d probably just cost Igor half a
million quid.

I slumped back
into the chair, not quite able to believe my luck. Two fucking million for
guarding some spoilt little rich bitch, it was like taking candy from a baby. Only
Sienna Milanovich was not an easy charge, far from it. She was a one woman
walking tornado and if they thought I’d tamed her, I could only imagine what
she was like when she was out of control. It wasn’t all bad; she was also a
woman. I’d yet to meet one of those I couldn’t win over.

Apparently she
wanted me, despite the cable ties and the thought made me laugh. I hadn’t been
afraid to take Sienna in hand and get physical and she was actually asking for
me to guard her, apparently convincing her father to pay two million quid for
the privilege. It was a surprising and interesting offer, and for that kind of
money I’d have jumped at the chance if it wasn’t for the only other thing standing
in my way.

 
“It’s good money, Roman. Two million for guarding
his daughter for a month, you’d be a fool to turn that down. I can’t believe
you’re taking so long to consider it. Drugs Lords, dictators, psychopaths and
human traffickers and you’re in. Don’t tell me you’re worried about a pampered
little princess,” he laughed and he was probably right, but the thought was
less than appealing.

My mind turned to
Chas. If I was intent on giving her and Charlie a chance, it would be better if
I was out of the picture. It would also be a hell of a lot easier for me
without the daily urge to go and see her; caress that perfect skin and kiss
those soft, supple lips. Just the thought of it had me hard again.

I wasn’t good news
for her, but the heart wants what it wants. Maybe I thinking with my cock; it
certainly knew where it wanted to be buried right now. The thought of that
sweet velvet warmth was torturing me. No, we’d said our goodbyes and I needed
to give Charlie some time to sort his fucking head out; I owed him that. If I’d
have stuck around in the first place, talked to my brothers and forced
everything into the open, Charlie wouldn’t have been hurt and maybe me and Silus
could have found our peace. I’d made one bad choice. I wouldn’t make another.

 
“I’m in,” I said regretfully as Igor laughed.

“I’ll send a
chopper to the Northern rendezvous point. How soon can you get there?” he asked
as I looked at my watch. Igor was the only person in the world who knew my
whereabouts at any given time. I was his responsibility. To the Government and
everyone else, I was just a deniable asset, a number not a name, not governed
by the usual rules of engagement, employing whatever means necessary to get the
job done. It was as thrilling as it was dangerous, crossing politics and often
the line between right and wrong. I was freelance and the rewards were high,
but so was the risk.

Only one person
would know when I died, and my family would never find out where or how and
that thought had never concerned me before. Not since Anna had I considered the
future, treating every day like it could be my last and many times it almost
had been. But that weekend had changed everything. The love my family had shown
me deserved more respect than I’d given it. Whatever I thought, I wasn’t alone,
and that incredible girl had helped me to see that.

“Give me an hour,”
I said, regretful that I wouldn’t get to see Chas again and hoping that I
hadn’t just made the biggest fucking mistake of my life.

I showered
quickly, packing my bag and pulling out the card and the charred letter that she’d
rescued from the fire. That act alone had moved me, and she was right about the
words she’d chosen. I’d read them over and over again the morning I’d left her,
absorbing my father’s words, finally allowing myself to grieve. I hadn’t cried
since Anna, and Chas had brought me that too. She’d resurrected a world where I
could feel again, where everything wasn’t numb or incomplete. Pain was tough,
but it was better than the alternative. Pain meant life and it was a long time
since I’d felt alive. It was why I needed the job; that incomparable surge of
adrenaline, the fear, the danger and the thrill of the unknown. No one had even
come close to matching that high for a long time, but Chas had made me feel it
all over again. Human heroin; and it was fucking addictive.