The Hit Read online

  The Hit

  Bratva Vows Book Two

  S.R. JONES

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Epilogue

  All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced or used without the written permission of the publisher.

  All events depicted are fictional, and any resemblance to places and persons is coincidental.

  Copyright Skye Jones, writing as SR Jones, 2019

  Thanks go to my editor and proofreader Silla Webb.

  Obeithion cover designs.

  My amazing reader group.

  And all who read this and take a chance on me.

  You are all stars, and I am so grateful!

  Please note, the series reading order for the Bratva Vows series is as follows:

  The Trap, A Bratva Vows Prequel Novella (not necessary to read but gives a great introduction to Andrius and Violet)

  The Gift. Bratva Vows Book One

  The Hit: Bratva Vows Book Two

  Chapter One

  Andrius

  The roaring in my head is almost deafening.

  I want to go into the room where Violet is and soothe her, make it all okay. I want her out of my house and never to have seen her in the first place. I want to break down the door between us and take her into my arms.

  I’m so messed up.

  Fuck, I hurt her.

  Hopefully, not physically. I know my own strength, and I didn’t do anything to her that would actually hurt in any real way, but I used my size to maximum effect to terrify her. But Justina did hurt her. She kicked her in the stomach.

  Does she need a doctor?

  I need her out of here before I lose it.

  It’s as if my mind is fracturing. There’s the Violet I want to kneel before and beg forgiveness from, and the one who is a Babiek.

  A fucking Babiek.

  Shit.

  I should go in there and see if she is okay. Problem is, I don’t trust myself to do so. I’m terrified the rage and anger I’ve hoarded for Babiek all these years, keeping it close to me like a precious keepsake, will leech out.

  She’s in grave danger, and not only from me but from Allyov. I don’t even know right now if I can trust Justina, and that’s a first.

  Justina was treated so badly by men like Babiek, and she’s so terrified of going back to her old life; I know she’ll see Violet as a massive threat.

  Fuck.

  I pace the corridor, shaking my throbbing hand to try to get rid of the pain, waiting impatiently for Alesso to come back and take Violet. He’s agreed to watch over her for a few days with Damen, while I get my head on straight and try to sort this whole fucking mess out.

  The irony is, I believe her. Maybe against all odds, against my common sense, I believe Violet.

  Allyov would call me the world’s biggest fool if he knew. A woman who wormed her way into our lives, put herself purposely on our radar, and yet, I believe her. It’s like believing in fucking Santa Claus when you’re twenty.

  I do, though. Deep down, I think she’s telling the truth.

  I’m curious about one thing: I want to know how she planned to get her revenge on Allyov.

  I stop pacing, glance at my phone; only ten minutes and they’ll be here. I lean against the door.

  “Have you cleaned yourself up?”

  “Yes,” she sobs out her reply.

  I ball my hands into fists. I can’t go in there … don’t trust myself right now.

  “Are you giving me back to Allyov?”

  What? Christ, she must think I’m a monster for sure. Although, it’s not as if she doesn’t have good reason after the nightmare that unfolded in this house mere minutes ago.

  “No,” I say. “You’re going with someone who can keep you safe while I try to sort this unholy fucking mess.”

  There’s another sob. “I never meant to involve you or Justina.”

  I laugh, but it’s as bitter as acid. “Perhaps you should have thought of this and given us a heads up about who you were when I took you in and kept you.”

  “I thought you’d give me back to Allyov. At first, I didn’t know how loyal you were to him. I thought if I spoke up, you’d give me back to him, and I’d be killed or shipped off to the Middle East. You won’t believe me, but the night I got taken, I’d realized how utterly stupid my plan was, and I’d decided to hand in my notice and leave town.”

  Curiosity still burning, I sit with my back to the door, head rested on it. “How did you plan to get your revenge? Were you getting information to shop him to the police? Do you know how bad a plan it would have been? He has lawyers who can get him out of anything, bent coppers in all the local forces who would help him. And you’d not get evidence on him anyway; most of his businesses are legit.”

  “I wasn’t going to go to the cops. I wanted him to notice me, make me his mistress. I knew I was his type, knew this much about him from the rumors about his girlfriends over the years. All the while I worked in the restaurant, I kept my head down and tried to not be noticed, while I got as much information on him as I could. Then, when the time was right, when he went on the lookout for another mistress, my plan was to…”

  “What? Don’t stop the story now; you’re getting to the best bit.”

  She’s going to say her plan was to seduce him. The thought makes me sick.

  “In his diary, my … dad… Well, I learned Allyov has a severe peanut allergy. At first, I’d planned to get a job at the restaurant and doctor one of his glasses. Then I realized as the new girl, the suspicion would fall on me. And if anyone did more than a cursory dig into my background, they’d see things didn’t add up. Plus, I wasn’t planning on the level of security he has around him. If I did it in the restaurant, his staff and bouncers would simply Epi-Pen him. It’d be a wasted opportunity. But if I could get him alone…”

  “You’d produce a jar of peanut butter and wipe it all over his dick?” I shift as sickness roils my stomach. This is so wrong. What she has done. What I’ve just done to her. This can never be made right.

  “No.” Her answer interrupts my thoughts. “I’d planned to smear some on my lips, kiss him, and make sure the fucker couldn’t reach his meds. He’d go into shock, and then I’d leave, slip out and disappear.”

  “Let me get this straight.” My mind is reeling at her idiocy. “You were going to seduce Allyov, yet you’re nervous as hell about sex, and in your own words: you don’t know what you’re doing. Let’s say you get over this obstacle. You were then going to have the balls to go through with poisoning him. Watching him gasp for air as he went into shock and do nothing. You. Then, you’d somehow slip out, without his guards seeing you?”

  There’s nothing but silence from her side of the door.

  “Fuck, Violet, what the hell were you thinking?”

  “I wasn’t. Clearly. I don’t think … I don’t think I’ve been all that well, mentally, to be honest. I lost everyone, Andrius. Everyone. Saw my mother and sisters charred remains as a child. And I never had therapy because I couldn’t do anything to draw attention to me or my situation. I was kept alone most of the time. I did have one other person who cared for me, other than Dad.”

  She says the word dad on a whisper, and I can barely hear it.

  “A lady who semi-adopted me as her granddaughter. She had a grandchild two years older than me who she was raising. But she left one day without a word. Nothing. No message or note, nothing. She and her granddaughter
simply upped and left, and they broke my heart.”

  There’s silence for a while, and then she says, “It’s probably best it turned out like this; everyone breaks your heart and lets you down. Better you showed me your true face now than a few weeks or months down the line when I’d totally fallen in love with you.”

  There’s a sharp intake of breath, and I realize she’s told me something she didn’t mean to put into words.

  She’s falling in love with me.

  The thought lights me up inside when it should do anything but.

  Unless … she’s fucking playing me, and this is another trick, which is a distinct possibility.

  And this is why I need her gone. My head isn’t on right. I need time to think, and I want her out of here before Justina returns.

  My phone buzzes, and I sigh in relief. Thank fuck.

  Alesso and Damen are here to take her.

  I unlock the door, shocked to see my hand isn’t entirely steady. I never shake. You can’t in my job. I’m cold as ice and yet now... I’m shaking, sweating, and I feel sick.

  Seeing Violet is like a punch to the gut. She’s sat on the bed, wearing a simple cotton dress, her hands folded on her lap. She looks so damn young and sweet.

  And I hurt her.

  I broke my code and did so to one of the sweetest people I know.

  I think she’s correct in her self-assessment, and she isn’t okay. Emotionally or mentally, she’s in need of help. Her plan was crazy, but she’s not a bad person.

  I am.

  I’m the fucking evil person I always feared lay under my codes with pasted on morals.

  Alesso and Damen pull up outside, and I hear Alesso unlock the door. He probably knows I’m in no state to march her out of here and give her to him.

  Heavy footsteps tread up the stairs, and two dark heads of hair appear, followed by two sets of broad shoulders.

  Alesso is a good-looking bastard. He’s got dark hair, olive skin, blue eyes, and a grin to melt girls panties at fifty yards. I’m more than a little jealous he’s going to be the one taking Violet, but Reece is recovering so I can’t ask him. And she knows Alesso a little at least.

  Damen isn’t as good looking; he’s harsher, with dark eyes and a brooding stare. He always looks to be in a bad mood, but women seem to love him too.

  “Hey, Violet.” Alesso gives her a friendly wave and goes into the room where he hunkers down so he’s more at her level.

  “I know you’ve had a shock, as has Andrius. It’s probably not safe for you to be here right now.” He shoots me a withering look, and I know he means she’s not safe from me. “Andrius needs to figure out what to do and how to make sure you’re not going to be a target or the match to light a wider war between these guys. He’s asked us to look after you. You’ll be safe with us. This is partly what we do.”

  He gives a low chuckle. “In fact, you are going to be a dream assignment after the six weeks we’ve just spent babysitting the most spoiled woman in the history of the world.”

  They’ve finished a stint looking after a mafia princess, and she ran a merry ring around them half the time. Demanding this and that every day, making them drive her for miles and miles for a pedicure because God forbid, she go to a different manicurist. They’ll find Violet a dream for sure.

  “Listen, we have an assignment starting in three days in Athens,” Damen says, taking me to one side. “Can’t get out of it. Holiday time is over for us, and we’re heading back to Greece.”

  Shit. I’ll either have to figure something out before then or get Reece or Liam to look after Violet.

  “I appreciate you having her for this few days at least.” I clap him on the back. He looks at my hand, and his face tightens.

  “What the fuck did you do?”

  I glance at my knuckles, and anger burns in my gut. “Does she look like I used my fists on her?” I whisper, wanting to take my anger out on him so bad. “I scared her, for sure. Used some not too savory interrogation techniques, but I was in control. Then she spat in my face, and something about that, about his daughter spitting in my face…” I look down to the floor and take a deep breath. “So yeah, then I lost it, and I hit the wall—not her. Although I did push her off me, didn’t mean to. She touched my arm, and I was beside my fucking self. That, I feel bad about.”

  “You should feel bad about the whole fucking thing. Thought you had a code.”

  I stare at him. “Are you trying to get into a fight right now?”

  “No.” He shakes his head and glances at me. “But you need to get your fucking head on right, or find somewhere safe for her to go.”

  I look into the bedroom.

  Violet is moving around her room now, making sure she has everything. Her two bags look forlorn. It’s all she has in the world, other than basic stuff like kitchen utensils.

  As she walks about, I check her out. No marks on her wrists or throat. There wouldn’t be. I didn’t hold her hard enough to do that to her, just to scare her. I wanted to terrify her into telling me the truth. The only time I lost control was when I pushed her off me, and she went down onto her ass. I hadn’t meant to react so strongly to her touch.

  But Justina kicked her in the stomach, which might have done some damage. She’s moving okay, though, not wincing. I need to tell Damen and Alesso to get her checked out if she seems to get sick at all.

  Shit. How did I let this happen? What a fucking mess.

  Violet catches my eye but looks away immediately.

  She takes the Russian Dolls down and wraps them carefully in some clothing to keep them safe. My heart squeezes, constricting my chest and making it hard to breathe.

  I’ve not cried for the longest time, not in years, but I could now.

  She turns to me, and her face crumples. She doesn’t bawl or cry loudly, but tears run soundlessly down her cheeks, and the only noise she makes is a small snuffle. It’s as if she’s been designed to tug on my heartstrings.

  “Here.” Alesso jogs to the bathroom and comes back holding a wad of loo roll, but I lean in and pass her the handkerchief from my top pocket. I want her to have something of me. Selfishly, I want her to smell me on it and think of me.

  I hope it can make better memories of our time together come back. Stop her from hating me as she’s sure to do once she’s processed everything.

  She’s going to be so vulnerable, and Alesso might be a good guy, and a professional, but he’s human, and he’s male, and Violet is delectable.

  I’m so tempted to tell the two men to leave. It is on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t.

  I’m letting this drag out, and it’s only making it more painful. I need to rip the band-aid off and send her on her way right now.

  “Call me as soon as you get to the hotel,” I tell Alesso.

  They’re going to be keeping her in a big old-fashioned country hotel. They’ve booked a suite, and one of them will be watching the door into it at all times, day or night. It means I know she’s safe. Unless someone sends a small army after her, these two won’t be easy to get through.

  “Where’s Markos?” I ask.

  “He’s going to be getting everything ready for us to leave in three days, but he’ll be at the hotel later, so he’ll be helping out at some point if we need him.”

  I nod. “If she gets sick, she might need checked out. It’s not safe for her to be in a hospital, so call me if you think she needs medical attention. Justina kicked her in the stomach,” I say, sour acid coating my tongue at the words.

  Alesso gives me such a disgusted look, I feel it in my toes.

  They march Violet down the stairs, and I follow, my heart sinking into my boots. This shouldn’t be so hard. I should want her gone, the progeny of the vile bastard, Babiek. I shouldn’t want her anywhere near me.

  At the bottom of the stairs, she pauses and turns to me. “You better hope you’re right about my father because you’ve broken my heart. You were only ten when it happened.”

  The
conflicting feelings she inspires in me roars to life again. On the one hand, I want to hold her, soothe her, and cherish her. On the other, a dark part of me wants her to hurt for still defending her father even though I know it’s totally normal for her to be feeling this way. “Ten isn’t that young. Some kids are fighting in wars aged ten, and I think I’d remember such a life-changing fucking event, don’t you? They said your father’s name. Called him Petro a few times, and then Kyrylo got impatient and snapped at him to hurry up, calling him Babiek. I’ll never forget them or their names.”

  “You might be wrong. You were a child in an intense situation. You could be wrong.”

  There’s despair in her gaze as she stares at me, and I feel it too. I’m not wrong. I’m sure of it, and the knowledge sickens me because where does it leave us?

  I can’t love the daughter of the man who raped my sister. To do so would be sick.

  “Come, let’s get you somewhere safe.” Alesso smiles at Violet, and she follows him like an obedient child. She’s in shock and compliant as fuck because of it.

  When they reach the door, Damen goes out and clicks his key fob before opening the back door to a massive SUV with blacked-out windows. Violet shakes her head and turns to me.

  “A few days ago, what seems like a lifetime ago, I was taken off the streets and marched into a vehicle, men on either side of me. I was terrified, but I thought I’d drawn the lucky straw when you and Justina turned out the way you did. Now, you’re sending me away with two more strange men, in another scary looking car with tinted windows.”

  “Violet,” I begin, but she shoots me a withering look.

  “Save it. There’s nothing to say.”

  She gets into the car, not looking back once, and sits, gaze determinedly forward as Damen closes the door.

  “I’ll call as soon as I get her to the hotel,” Damen says.

  Then he and Alesso climb in the car, and it’s driving off with the crunch of its large tires on the gravel ringing in my ear like a klaxon.