The Killer’s Vow by Aria R. Blue
Vera
It’s a ghost town.
“We’re lost,” I say. Surveying the town, I find nothing here except for abandoned buildings and the road directly in front of us.
“No, Vera. We’re not lost. You’re just a city girl.”
“Even the streetlights don’t work, Simon,” I say.
It would be normal to have no people out on the roads at this time of the night, but there’s no sign of civilization here whatsoever.
Moss grows on the houses, and black graffiti covers the rest of the buildings.
“Stop, stop,” I yell, spotting the dog just in time.
Simon hits the brakes.
The street dog lifts herself off the ground and walks away with the strut of a prom queen.
“I think we should head back,” I say.
“I thought you were hungry?” he asks.
I glance down at his phone. It says that we’re only eight minutes away from the restaurant, but I don’t see how that is possible.
“I am, but—”
“I wanted to show you something,” he says, continuing driving.
Curiosity gets the best of me. “What?”
“Open the first app on the second page,” he says, nodding at his phone.
He has apps on it that I’ve never seen before. They’re all off-brand versions of the popular ones. Probably for security reasons.
“The one with the microphone icon?” I ask.
Mischief glitters in his eyes as he nods.
For a second, I let myself believe we’re back at the resort. Where we were the only two people in the world, and nobody was out to get us.
I open the app.
It’s for voice recordings.
“Do you see your name?” he asks.
I do. My name has a yellow star next to it. But I see other recordings too.
“You record every phone call?” I ask.
He grips the steering wheel tighter. “It helps to keep track of things.”
Papa does something similar.
He records every interaction he’s ever had so he can use it when the time comes. Most of the time, it’s for blackmail.
Like my papa, Simon is a businessman…and a killer.
He was a killer before he met me.
He’ll be a killer after me too.
With a heavy heart, I click on the one with my name on it.
At first, there’s just silence. But then, I hear the faint sound of…snoring.
Despite everything, I smile and slap his arm.
“This isn’t me,” I say.
“Is too,” he says, laughing at my mortified expression. “Why else would I save it under your name?”
“Even if it is me, which it’s not, this isn’t snoring. It’s just deep breathing.”
The snoring intensifies now, getting louder and sharper. It’s definitely mine, and it’s definitely snoring.
“I’m deleting this stupid app,” I announce.
“I have a copy of your deep breathing on two other computers. If you manage to burn those two computers, I should warn you that it’s on the cloud too.”
“I will kill you if you ever play this for anybody—” I look up from the phone. My jaw drops when I see it.
It’s the restaurant.
We’re away from the ruins of the abandoned town.
And the sight in front of me...it looks like something from heaven.
An oasis in the middle of the desert.
Soft lights are strung around the trees outside the restaurant. The warmth this place exudes almost makes me forget about everything going on inside my head.
“I think we found it,” Simon says, rolling to a stop.
I glance back at Lion. He’s still sleeping in the back seat.
My dog has been through so much in the past week.
All the traveling and all the stress he must have felt from me. But he took it like a champ.
Because he’s loyal.
I can’t say the same about myself.
I change into a wig that’s a darker shade of brown. I’m safer in Mexico than I am back in America, but I’m not going to risk everything based off an emotion.
Simon watches as I braid the wig down my back.
“It’s not always going to be like this,” he says softly.
“How else is it going to be like?”
“We can build a life together.”
Tears sting the backs of my eyes. “Sure.”
“I’m serious, Vera. We can go anywhere you want.”
“You’re crazier than I imagined if you really believe that.”
“Tigritsa moya, please. Have some faith in me. In us.”
“I bet you already have some brilliant plan set up.”
He knows I’m making fun of him, but he speaks anyway. “I made a vow to myself, Vera. That I would protect you no matter what. That I would be by your side. For life, if you’ll have me.”
But he won’t stop killing.
We would be living on blood money.
How is that any different from the other men my father brought my way? It’s the same life, but with a different man.
It goes against everything I fought for until now.
I ran into the arms of the exact thing I was trying to avoid. What happened tonight was a grim reminder of that.
I thought Simon would be different.
But he told me himself—killing is all he knows.
“Inessa used to ask me if I had any dreams,” I say, leaning my head back against the seat and looking out the window.
I can see every star in the sky.
Their light is from hundreds of years ago, and I’m here to witness that tonight.
There’s something about late-night conversations. I’m more honest and vulnerable during nighttime than I am during the day.
Simon is quiet as he waits for me to share my thoughts.
“I dream about doing the same thing, Simon. To escape, even if only for a little while. To not constantly be under all the pressure of...“ I trail off and fix my lipstick—a wine red. “But you know something about me? I’m selfish. Never once did I listen to my sister when she talked about her dreams. I was always the one to shut them down. What sort of sick person—”
“You were protecting her,” he says before I can finish my sentence. “There’s honor in that.”
“Maybe, but—”
He doesn’t let me finish. “When we find her, you can ask her yourself. I have a feeling she’s going to have the same answer as me.”
“But if only I had—”
“What’s done is done, tigritsa moya. Why do you beat yourself up over something that’s already in the past? You have way too much to look forward to for you to be stuck in time and space.”
Stuck in time and space.
Stagnant.
My heart has been frozen since my family was forced out of Russia all those years ago. It wasn’t until I met Simon that it started to thaw.
And now it’s all over the place.
I need to freeze it again.
“Let’s go eat?” I ask, looking up at him.
He holds the back of my neck and pulls me closer. My gaze drops down to his full lips. That’s the only permission he needs.
Fire licks my lips when he kisses me.
It burns hot, hot, hot.
I moan into his mouth, making his grip on my neck tighten. His tongue is too much to handle, stealing the breath right out of my lungs.
He’s the only oxygen I know.
My sun.
My stars.
My air.
My everything.
I pull away abruptly and get out of the car. He’s by my side in a heartbeat, gently cupping my elbow.
“Hey.”
I look at the gorgeous restaurant in front of us. “I didn’t like that you hurt Oscar.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t like the way you spoke to me either.”
“I’m sorry,” he says sincerely.
I turn around and look up at him.
Is it really supposed to be this easy? Because every time I look at his face, I want nothing more than to fall back into his arms.
Why does my mind insist on making it hard when it can be so easy?
“Okay,” I say. “Also, why are we not eating already? I’m starving.”
“We can’t have that,” he says, linking his arm through mine and glancing back at the car. The windows are left slightly open to let some air in. “Is our dog going to be okay in there?”
Ourdog.
That’s the first time he called Lion ours.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine,” I say. “He won’t be up until the early morning.”
Simon stares at the car for a few more seconds before nodding.
“We’ll check on him in an hour,” he says, nodding to himself.
I’ve known Lion since he was a puppy. He doesn’t wake up once he falls asleep. Unless he has a reason to, that is.
But I don’t tell Simon this.
I let him rest his hand on the small of my back as he leads me into the enchanting restaurant.
The staff guides us to a private VIP booth when I tell them I was sent here by Maya Rivera.
The complimentary appetizers and wine arrive in seconds.
I take a big gulp of the very old vino.
I need some liquid courage in my system to do what I’m about to do.