KILLER INSTINCT (A Mafia Bad Boy Romance Novel) (11 page)

We briefly stopped at my safe house. Kelly needed to fresh up. Besides, I still needed to wait until Cobbs contacted me again.

Thankfully, he upheld his part of the bargain. He not only gave me his location but also a sizeable cash reward. I didn’t need the money but it was appreciated, nonetheless.

I was more worried about Kelly. She had her first taste of what it meant to be a professional killer and it had left a mark on her. I’d thought she’d appreciate putting a man like Krause six feet under.

But some people weren’t cursed with my killer instinct.

She came out of the shower in her regular clothing. The young woman looked so rejuvenated. Yet, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that the whole experience had left her cold. She sat next to me on the couch. “Did you hear back from Cobbs yet?”

I placed hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Kelly.”

She raised an eyebrow. “For what?”

“For pressuring you into acting as bait for Krause,” I sighed. “I’ve been doing this by myself by a long time. Any people I’ve worked with were trained professionals. I didn’t consider your feelings. You don’t deserve to wade through the sludge like I’ve done for years.”

“I know the risks,” she replied. “I want to get back at Colman and Gregori for killing my father.”

“You’re not a wolf like me,” I said. “You don’t have the killer instinct to be in this line of work. Maybe when all of this is over, you can return to society and live a normal like with your humanity intact. Society’s no place for a monster like me.”

“I thought it would be easy watching a man like him die,” she whispered, glancing away for a moment. “But it made me think of my father.”

I gave her a bittersweet smile. “Good, it means you’re still human.”

“You’ve been good to me, Jackie,” she said, placing a hand on my cheek. “Don’t think of yourself as inhuman.”

I looked away. “That’s the worst part of it of it. I don’t feel anything about that man’s death. It’s just business as usual.”

Kelly didn’t say anything. Instead, she kept her hand on my cheek. Then, she leaned forward.

We kissed.

It wasn’t the first time I had kissed a woman. Not by a long shot. But it was the first time it didn’t feel like perfunctory gesture.

Kelly’s love for me was almost tangible. I could feel it permeate the air. This wasn’t some make out session before a quick fuck in the private room of some whorehouse. The woman poured her heart and soul into me. It felt so sincere that I almost wanted to weep.

I placed a hand on the back of her head and took her in for a deeper kiss. My fingers trailed through her hair that had been now cut short. I hated the fact that I had changed her appearance. But I had to keep her safe.

I’d protect Kelly even if it meant putting my life on the line for her.

Then, the phone rang.

Startled, we both broke apart. I took the phone out of my pocket and opened it. Business always had a way of interrupting pleasure.

Kelly blushed as she asked. “Is it Cobbs?”

I nodded before looking back at my phone. “We have work to do.”

This time, I rented a car to meet with Cobbs. The man was holed up in the back of some Korean dry cleaning service. Laundry wasn’t the only business this establishment dabbled in. It was owned by one of the most notorious fixers in the criminal underworld. He went by the name Mr. Lee and no one knew a thing about his real identity.

The ride to our destination was without conversation. Kelly sat beside me and looked at the streets. Her eyes took in the various apartments and stores. It was as if she was trying to say goodbye to them. A part of her knew she could never go back to her home after all of this was over.

Her kiss still burned on my lips. I hated to take her deeper into my world. She deserved a normal life away from a man like me.

When we reached out destination, Kelly and I walked to the back entrance. A tall Korean man guarded it like a hawk. He looked large enough to be over three hundred pounds with most of it being muscle. I could’ve probably pulled out a win against him in a fist fight but I didn’t intend to find out.

His eyes narrowed when he saw us approach.

“Mr. Lee’s guest wanted to see me,” I replied. “I’m here to get some stains out of a sweater.”

It was a stupid password but Mr. Lee liked to have layers of protection.

The guard didn’t move. Instead, he glared at Kelly. “You can’t bring your prostitute inside. It’s against Mr. Lee’s rules.”

Kelly wanted to retort but used all of her willpower to hold her tongue. It was good that she had learned discipline. Nevertheless, I answered for her. “She’s my partner, not a whore. The more you delay, the longer it takes for Mr. Lee to get his cut of the payment. Does he want his transaction fee or not?”

The guard sighed. “Go in and down the hall. Your destination will be the room on the right.”

As we entered the laundromat, Kelly whispered. “Who is Mr. Lee?”

“A fixer,” I answered. “Mr. Lee’s the go-between people like me and clients. In exchange for a service fee, his business acts as a liaison between people who want access to the black market or services like mine.”

“Like hits…”

Kelly was quick study. “They hold the payment in escrow until the hit is completed. The man’s a miracle worker. I used to get ripped off all the time if I tried to work with someone who wasn’t part of the Pastore family.”

“Why is he keeping Cobbs here?”

“The man also helps his clients stay alive in case they are in immediate danger. Well, it’s only until the hit is pulled off and he gets paid. It’s very expensive to get his protection so Cobbs must have paid a small fortune up front.”

“Can’t put a price on staying alive.”

I nodded as we reached the end of the hall. “Agreed.”

We found Cobbs sitting a storage room for laundry supplies. The man was fat, balding, and looking absolutely exhausted. He craned over a laptop and typed away in blissful ignorance. There was a bowl of some Korean soup next to him but it looked untouched. The man jumped up when he saw us before calming down.

I pulled out my phone. “Relax, I’m the hitman you hired.”

“Thank God!” Cobbs said, closing his laptop. He almost looked like he would grovel at my feet. “You’re Jackie, right?”

“How did you get my name?” I asked, suspicion in my voice. “I used a pseudonym to contact you and accept the contract.”

“I heard it from Mr. Lee,” he answered nervously. Mr. Lee would never divulge such information without my explicit permission. However, I let it slide for now. “Is he dead? Did you kill Krause?”

Using my phone, I showed them the news reports about what had gone down at the club. Krause’s body was discovered by the police and a formal investigation had begun. They had already found evidence of illegal activities committed by Noir’s management. “He’s going to be on the evening news. Viewer discretion advised.”

The color returned to his face. “Finally… it’s over.”

“The Black Fang will probably regroup to find out what the hell happened to Krause,” I said, getting down to business. “You’ll have a small window of opportunity to get out the country, join your family, and disappear for good.”

He got up to stand. “Good, I’ll get-”

I brought him down with a hand. “Not so fast. You have to fulfill your end of the deal. Tell us where Gregori is.”

The man looked evasive. He stopped when he saw Kelly. “You’re Chambers’ daughter! The one everyone is looking for. Ever since your father’s death, the Atlantic Corporation is panicking like there’s no tomorrow. They don’t know the details but they know that someone was trying to break their security. The company is lawyering up in case clients file a class action lawsuit.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s good to know that a corporation cares about its legal troubles more than the death of one of its employees.”

“And you’re perspective,” Kelly added without skipping a beat. “Where is Seymon Gregori?”

There was a lengthy pause.

“I don’t know.”

I slammed a fist against the wall to the side of Cobbs’ head. “That wasn’t part of the deal! Damn it, I’m going to Mr. Lee and have him waive your protection. He takes backsliding out of a contract as seriously as I do.”

“Look, I don’t know where Gregori is but I know Colman’s whereabouts,” he said in desperation. The man knew losing Mr. Lee’s protection would be a death sentence. Hell, Mr. Lee could even give him to the Black Fang for a better payday. “He’ll lead you to Gregori!”

“How can we trust you after you pulled a fast one on us?” Kelly probed, mistrust in her tone. The girl was learning that you could never be too paranoid in this business. “And even if we find Colman, what makes you so sure that he’ll lead us to Gregori?”

“Colman was embezzling from the company for years,” he answered. “I used to work in accounting so I was able to trace the money and its whereabouts. Much of it has been used to pay for a luxury penthouse suite in uptown. That’s where he’s holed up.”

I leaned in with interest. “You know his location?”

“He used his company email account when talking to Gregori’s people or making big purchases,” Cobbs explained. “Colman doesn’t know it yet but I’ve been able to hack into his emails with my clearance level. I know his location, the times he meets with Gregori’s people, and even when he visits a whorehouse. I have it all!”

Kelly looked like she would almost laugh. “That’s so careless.”

“I can send you the copies,” he continued. “You can go to him and find out where Gregori is from him.”

I shook my head. “That’s still not a guarantee he’ll lead us to Gregori. He might not know if he’ll come quietly or choose death over betraying Gregori. What a waste of time, Kelly. Let’s get out of here-”

“Wait, there’s more,” he said, calling after me. “Sergei Petrov works for Gregori. He’s the one who worked as the middleman between Colman and Gregori.”

I growled the name. “Petrov…”

Kelly looked confused. “Who is that guy?”

“He’s served in the Russian army before entering the mafia,” I continued. Cobbs had been playing me all along. “He’s been bouncing from one Russian criminal organization to the next.”

Cobbs added. “Now, he’s the head of the Black Fang’s American charter in everything but name.”

Kelly tried to follow along. “What’s so special about Petrov?”

That’s when Cobbs dropped the bombshell. “He ordered the death of Jackie’s mother.”

The young woman gave me a look of shock. I could see her piece together everything. Kelly realized the true motive I had for helping her. Thankfully, she held her tongue for now.

“That’s why you came to me,” I accused. “You had this up your sleeve the whole time. You knew my name before you even accepted the contract.”

“Well, it’s working, right?” he answered with a small grin. I wanted to cave his head in but held my rage in check. “I can send you all the information I have if you consider this a finished hit. I need Mr. Lee’s protection until I can leave this country. The Black Fang will kill me without it!”

“If this doesn’t check out, then the Black Fang is going to the least of your worries,” I threatened. I meant every word. “I need stronger evidence before I let you go.”

Cobbs opened up the laptop next to him. He browsed through a couple of folders before finding a video file. He played it on the screen.