Hazel POV
“What time do you finish work?”, He asks, and I look him in the eyes.
“Three”, I say, and he nods his head, looking at his watch.
“I’ll see you at three”, he says, leaving fifty dollars next to his coffee and walking out as he puts his jacket back on. I think my brain just stopped working as he did that, and when I look at the money, I frown. He left more than sixty per cent tip. I raise an eyebrow and put the money in my pocket, making a mental note to give him some money back if he ever shows up at three.
“Hey Hazel, can you work an extra hour?”, Caroline asks. I shake my head, telling her I can’t. “I am sorry, I am meeting someone when I finish”, I let out, and she frowns, looking at me. This was the first time I had ever told her no to an extra shift.
Elliot POV I drive as fast as I can without getting attention over my driving. The last thing I need is to be stopped by the police right now. I was late to pick up Hazel, and when I got there, she was fucking gone. Obviously, this is all my fault. I should’ve driven and gone straight to pick her up, but no. I stop my car a few meters away from where I see the police and the ambulance. They have found the body already. Great. I can see Hazel talking to a tall Hispanic guy. I frown as I watch him cry. He is the husband. I know that. “I didn’t call her”, I hear Hazel say, her voice trembling, and so are her hands as she grabs her phone to show to the police. I recognise him. He is one of the ones that are on our payslip. He does some dirty work for us when we don’t have time to do it ourselves. He is our rat inside the NYPD. “Miss, can you show us your phone?”, he asks. I wrap my arms around her body from behind, and when his eyes meet mine, he understands she is off limits. She lo
Hazel POV The house Elliot takes me to is luxurious, and he holds my hand and leads me to the back of the house, where there’s a massive swimming pool. I have never had the chance to swim in a place like this. The pool house is so warm it feels almost tropical. Elliot turns to me and starts undoing my coat. “It's very warm in here, even the water,” he murmurs as he presses a kiss to my lips and slips my coat off. Elliot pulls his T-shirt over his head, revealing an incredible dragon tattooed on his chest. I can’t help but trace a finger along it, and I trail the loops of the beast’s tail along his hard-muscled skin. The dragon’s tail goes around his side and over his back. This man is magnificent. I can see how broad his shoulders are, and his chest tapers down to a narrow waist and hips. I can’t take my eyes off him, and my tongue edges out to lick my lips as he unbuttons his jeans and they slip to the floor. Elliot looks up at me, his brow raised and a quir
Elliot POV Dropping Hazel home has become my new normal this week, after the best sex of my life in that swimming pool we haven’t done anything. She hasn’t invited me to her house, I pick her up from work, or from the hospital and drive her home and she never asks me if I want to come in. It’s like she is trying to avoid me without actually avoiding me. Today is Hannah’s funeral. And I will be attending the damn thing with Hazel. I look in the mirror as I adjust my black tie, when I hear a knock on the door, “Come in”, I let out and I see Everly walking into the room. She smiles as she closes the door behind her. “Today is the day?”, she asks as she sits on the edge of the bed, and I nod my head. I absolutely hate this. After killing someone we usually send the clean-up team, we don’t go to their fucking fu
Hazel POVElliot has been very quiet today, and I can tell he is shooting daggers with his eyes on Jesus’s way. At the Wake, Elliot stayed in the entire time in a corner looking like he is about to kill someone. I grab a plate with some food, and I take it to him. His eyes stop scanning the room and meet mine when I offer him the plate. I offer him a smile.“Thanks”, he says, and I nod my head.“That’s okay”, I say, as I stand next to him. His eyes keep scanning the room avoiding my own. I don’t know what’s inside his head, but I dread to think what it is. I know I told him I need to tell him something but I need to gather the courage because this is going to change my life.“Look”, I say to him, and without any more words, he wraps one arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him. I rest both my hands on his shoulder while he keeps a steady hand
Elliot POVWhen we reach her flat building, she stops at the door and dangles her keys in front of her. Slowly she opens the building door and steps inside, opening the door wider. “Are you coming in?”, she asks. It’s the first time she has invited me up. She is smiling, and her eyes are shining. She offers me her hand, and I take it.I know I probably could’ve handled things a little differently back there. But hey, I am only human, and like any other man, I lose my shit when someone tries to touch a woman without her permission. That is a limit I will never cross. That is something I don’t tolerate. Their bodies are their choice, I might be going around fucking everything that moves, but I sure hell have their permission.Hazel goes up a few flights of stairs and stops in front of a dark brown door. It’s old and definitely not s
Hazel POV“Tell your boy toy to leave”, Pavlov says, and Elliot moves closer to Pavlov, but as he does so, Angel moves, just like a magnet blocking his brother from the threat in front of him. I can feel the tears forming in my eyes as I grab Elliot’s arm. I am afraid of what they might do to him. I know he is as dangerous as Pavlov, but I am still scared he might get hurt.“Don’t do anything you might regret later”, I whisper into his ear as I wrap my arms around his neck, standing on my tip-toes. He bends down a little making me more comfortable as he wraps my arms around my waist. “ I don’t want to leave you with them”, he says as I pull away and cradle his face between my hands, looking him in the eyes.“They won’t hurt me”, I say before kissing him slowly on the lips. I open the door holdin
Trigger warning - This chapter may contain themes that might upset some readers. Use of violence against women and rape.Elliot POVI stretch my legs, and my feet feel cold. I open my eyes, one at a time trying to figure out where the fuck I am, and I feel something heavy on my chest. I look around, and I can see Hazel. Her eyes were still shut, her hair spread between my chest and the bed. I smile, looking down at her and slowly rub my fingers on her back, her body tenses up, and she opens her eyes.She smiles, looking at me, and I can’t help myself but pull her closer to me. She nests her nose against my neck, and I take a deep breath before pulling away from her and start gathering the clothes that are spread on the floor. I put my jeans on, and she sits up on the bed, hugging the sheets against her chest as she looks at me.“Where are you goin
Hazel POVIt’s been three days since I last saw Elliot. He hasn’t been around and he hasn’t even called since that day. I guess he got what he wanted and he just disappeared. Pavlov has been popping around my work unannounced, and he is making me feel uneasy. I am scared he might end my life because I don’t have more information for him.I walk out of the kitchen with a fresh pot of coffee, and I drop it on the floor as soon as I walk out, and I see the guns pointed at me. I raise my hands over my head and my entire body starts shaking.“The money”, the guy in the sky mask shouts. I watch as Caroline moves slowly to the register and with shaky hands, she starts pressing buttons. I can tell she called the police with the code she put on but they can’t.“Hurry up”, the guy shouts. Caroline with shaky hands starts to grab the money from the register, and I
Elliot POV“Thank you, dad”, Jasper says, shaking my head. I nod as I watch him walk over to the girl's wife. I can’t believe my oldest son is married. He’s only nineteen, and he is already married. I tried to keep him out of trouble, but trouble found him. His high school sweetheart. He is a man, and he is extremely responsible; it’s not like he is an inconsequent teenager. I don’t even think he was ever a teenager. He was always serious and very responsible towards his siblings and us.“You’re welcome, son. Have you said goodbye to your mother?”, I ask, and he shakes his head. I know that this will be the hardest thing Hazel has ever gone through, watching her firstborn son leave the country to follow his wife’s dream.“Not yet. Eliana is talking to mom”, he says, and I nod. She is not a bad girl. She was always trouble, though, she was a re
Elliot POV “Where are you?” I ask as soon as Hazel answers the phone. “We’re home; why?” she says, and I can tell she is chewing on something, and I take a deep breath. I am so grateful that none of my kids is involved in this life. They all just want to study and have nothing to do with it, and I am here for it. “I need you all to stay inside, and please, please don’t fight me on this one”, I say, and I can hear Hazel taking a deep breath on the other side. “I have another call”, she says before she puts me on hold and answers the other call. I swear to god, if it's Killian asking for her to go there, I am going to fucking lose it. “Babe, I got to go, Killian called. They were attacked”, she says, and I take a deep breath. “I asked you to sta
Theo POV“I guess that is it”, Killian says, and I nod as I stand up, ready to leave his office. “Theo”, he says, and I look back, and he stands up.“This is going to be dangerous, and it is going to take a long time; take Elliot and Joseph with you”, he says, and I nod. There’s another war brewing, and I don’t like this at all. We had peace for so long that now we are all on high alert.We’re going to a mafia meeting. Killian can’t attend as he has had a target on his back lately. Joseph is growing up to be a great man, he is in training, and Killian is giving him his everything. I walk straight to Elliot’s office, and when I open the door, I can see him teaching Gabriel how to hack into the national bank. Great.Gabriel, my son, hates everything that has to do with physical activity, he hates
Killian POV“Kids, stop running”, I shout as my three kids with Ashley start running through the corridor towards Ashley’s office. Joseph, the oldest one, is now ten, and he is becoming as bubbly as his mother, and I absolutely love it. He says he wants to be just like her when he grows up, and I swear I am so proud of him.“Kate, slow down”, I say, and she ignores me as she runs after Joseph, that is holding her doll hostage. “Give it back”, she shouts at him, and he laughs and holds it high above her head. Kate is short like Ashley, while Joseph, well, he is tall. He is taller than a normal ten-year-old. He is the tallest in his class.“Daddy”, Kate complains as Jo, my youngest one, watches as her older siblings fight over a doll. Jo is a lot like me, quiet, she pays attention to everything, and her eyes scan e
Hazel POV“Come on, and we have to go”, I shout at Elliot, that is coming out of the kitchen like nothing is going on. He looks at me with an eyebrow raised, and I can’t help but laugh. “Come on”, I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the living room towards the door.“I need my shoes, Hazel”, He says, and I roll my eyes. Men… Why are they never prepared? Killian called me in full-on panic mode. The man kills people for a living, and he deals with criminals and terrorists all the time, but his wife goes into labour, and he becomes a fairy that doesn’t know what to do.“Where is the kid?” he asks, and I roll my eyes. Their older baby Joseph is a sweetheart.“He’s with the nanny. They had her on call”, I reply, and he nods, walking into our bedroom to get his shoes. H
Hazel POV “That’s not possible”, I let out, and Elliot rests one hand on my knee. “My mother told me she had an affair with Elliot’s dad, and then she met my dad, and she went to live with him, got pregnant, and Ell’s dad lost it, he tried to kill her”, I let out and Killian nods. “Yes, that’s the official story, but no one told me. I saw them together. I saw your mother telling my father she was pregnant with his child. Elliot’s dad lost his shit when he found out his best friend slept with the woman he loved, but he couldn’t do anything against his father, but he could against his mother. Your mother was already pregnant when she moved in with your stepfather”, Killian says, and I shake my head. I stand up and start pacing around while Elliot watches me. Killian stands and walks to me. “I was pissed at you, I wanted you gone; you were a constant reminder that my father fucked over my mother”, he says, and I understand that. But… what? “You’re…” I st
Hazel POV“How have you been?” Ashley asks as we sit on the couch. I smile, looking at her, I missed her, and I missed Everly.“I am okay, I think. I was shocked when I saw a woman in the kitchen this morning”, I let out, and Ash frowned, looking at me.“A woman? What woman?” she asks, and I realise I didn’t explain myself properly. “Is he fucking serious?” she says, standing up. I grab her arm, and she sits back down while I try to explain to her.“No, not like that, calm down”, I say, and she looks at me confused and takes a deep breath sitting back on the couch.“It’s the new housemaid”, I say, and she nods. I can see the stress leaving her face, and she smiles.“Oh, Michaela? I forgot that she was working
Elliot POV“I am sorry”, Hazel whispers, and I shake my head. She shouldn’t apologise, ever. She has no reason to. I am the one that fucked up, and I am the one that put her in danger, I am the one to blame. I cradle her face between my hands and look into her eyes. Her hazel eyes are shiny from the tears, and they are puffy and red. I feel regret in the pit of my stomach.“Don’t you ever apologise? It was all me, all my fault. I should’ve kept you by my side like you wanted to. I will be the one apologising to you for the rest of our lives”, I let out. The feelings are eating me alive. I have never felt like this before. This is a new feeling, this is new, and I don’t like it.“How about we both stop apologising?” She asks, and I realise if we want to move on, we need to leave the past in the past and keep loving each other. We need to keep making each other happy and fight for our love, fight for us.
Hazel POVI feel Elliot’s hands moving up and down my bare back. I open my eyes to see him staring at me. I blink a couple of times, trying to adjust my eyes to the light that invades our bedroom from the window. I groan as Elliot pulls away, standing up. I frown, watching him, missing his touch already. I support my body on my elbows and watch him walk past me and into the bathroom. I flop back down, smirking at the image of his bare ass. He has a fantastic ass. I can’t get tired of it, and it's covered in marks from my nails. Scratches. I close my eyes, hugging my pillow.“We need to get up”, Elliot says as he walks back into the room, I can hear the water in the bathroom and I close my eyes shaking my head.“No, I’m tired”, I say, but Elliot straddles me, sitting on my ass and leans down, kissing my neck. I feel a shiver