“Yeah, kind of got that vibe when I watched you torture and kill a man for insulting her.”
I glared at him. It was on my tongue to point out he’d done damn near the same thing when Amara’s bodyguard insulted and threatened her. Hell, Nikolai shot the guy point-blank between the eyes on their wedding day after finding that out.
“Just be careful. I got your back no matter what. But I also don’t want shit blowing back. Tied to the Bianchi family now. Get my drift?”
Nodding, I scrubbed a hand over my face.
But no matter what, I’d make Claudia mine. I was going to go see her with blood staining my shirt and another murder marked on my soul.
She didn’t even know I was on my way. Probably didn’t even know I’d been released.
She sure as fuck didn’t know I was obsessed with her and had every intention of claiming her as mine.
Daddy Dmitry is gonna show his good girl all the filthy things.
What I wanted to do when I finally claimed her was so fucking unhinged it should’ve had me questioning myself and my morals.
But that little voice in the back of my head whispered, What morals?
Chapter 27
Dmitry
Twenty-four hours later and I was no better than Nikolai where stalking our women was concerned.
Because of the flight from the East Coast, the shit with Fredo flying back to the West, and the grueling jet lag and time change, by the time I got into Vermont almost forty-eight hours had gone by.
It had been the middle of the night when I arrived, and although I knew Claudia would’ve been asleep, I still went to the convent. I crept around the fucking gated property like some kind of predator.
But that’s what I was. And she was my prey.
I’d gotten the layout of the building from Nikolai and memorized the hell out of it on the flight over. I knew where her room was located. I knew what her schedule was.
I knew what every single fucking aspect of her life here was for the past six months, better than she probably knew it herself.
I rented a room at the local motel. Could only get a couple hours of sleep, shovel some food in my mouth, and then, as soon as the sun rose, I made my way back over to the convent.
There was a park right across from it, a playground to my left, picnic tables to my right. A few wooden benches were scattered around. The thick wall of beech, birch, and maple trees created a shady canopy over the otherwise gloomy area.
I sat on one of those benches. The lapels of my coat were flipped up to block some of the chilly morning air. I stared straight ahead as I drummed my fingers on my knee. I was antsy as fuck, just wanting one glimpse of Claudia.
It was like I was a damn addict needing an extra hit, having gone without it for so long that I was jonesing for it hard-core.
I’d never wanted anything more in my miserable fucking life than I wanted Claudia.
Not money, power, or respect.
She was this virus in my veins. A terminal illness. She was the reason I woke up. Why I killed. Every fucking thing I did, I did with the thought in my head that it was for her.
All for her.
There was a group of preschoolers running around the playground, screaming and laughing. Even that did nothing to drown out the sound of my racing heart.
Fuck, I hadn’t been this eager for anything in… ever.
A brisk wind picked up, and I glanced at my wristwatch.
7:58 a.m.
I’d been unable to sleep, unable to think about anything aside from coming to see her.
Fuck. I ran a hand over my face.
Pictures were good and well, but I wanted to fucking see her in the flesh. I wanted to watch the sun hit the raven color of her hair. I wanted to be close enough I could reach out and touch her skin and feel if it was as soft as it looked.
I wanted to lean in and bury my face at the side of her neck and inhale deeply, taking in her scent, before dragging my tongue across her skin and tasting her.
Goddamn it, I just wanted it all.
7:59 a.m.
I started bouncing my knee up and down, then leaned forward and braced my elbows on my thighs, hands clasped, cock hard because I was thinking about fucking Claudia.
My focus was pinpointed on the front doors of the convent, and I counted down the seconds.
8:00 a.m.
A moment later the door opened, and I sat straight, the blood rushing through my veins as adrenaline flooded me.
I was a far enough distance away where I couldn’t see her physical features, but fuck. Just knowing she was walking toward me had my muscles tightening involuntarily.