No, he’d take care of this tonight. She deserved to be safe in her own living space.
Chapter 2
Lyosha waited in the apartment with Mila, knowing that he’d surprised her by saying he wanted to hang out for a while after they ate by the pool.
He was waiting for his opportunity to strike—because he wasn’t letting her stay here when that predator was in the apartment. And her roommate’s boyfriend was just that. So Lyosha had asked if she wanted to watch a movie. One way or another, this problem wasn’t going to be a problem much longer. If he had to, he’d haul Mila to his place tonight, because he didn’t want her under the same roof as her roommate’s boyfriend. A man named Doug Jansen, she’d finally told him.
When he heard the bedroom door open behind him, he glanced over his shoulder and his adrenaline spiked. It was the boyfriend. He stood, giving the guy what he hoped was a genial smile, and didn’t reveal what he truly felt. It was taking all his control not to just drag the guy out of here.
“Hey, I’m Lyosha,” he said as he quickly rounded the couch. He crowded in on the guy without making it obvious he was doing it intentionally. “We didn’t get to meet earlier.”
Mila shifted in her seat, probably wondering what the hell he was doing, but his focus remained on this pathetic excuse for a man. The guy was about six feet tall, had some muscle on him and looked fit enough.
“Doug,” the guy said, giving him a sort of chin nod.
“I need to grab some stuff for Mila down in my vehicle. Help me out? It’s pretty heavy.” The guy paused as if to say no, so Lyosha gave him a bigger smile. “You look like you work out. We should be able to handle it.” And then Lyosha would handle him.
The guy’s chest puffed out slightly and he nodded. “All right.” He shut the door to his girlfriend’s bedroom behind him.
“Lyosha,” Mila said, quietly giving him a look he couldn’t define, but there was a warning note in her voice.
He simply smiled at her. “I’ll be back in a minute.” But this piece of garbage would not.
“So, you two dating?” Jansen asked as they reached the bottom floor.
Not bothering to answer, Lyosha glanced around, quickly taking everything in. The parking lot was mostly deserted and he couldn’t see anyone above them on any of the little patios. There was no one loitering around or smoking. It was that time of night when college-age kids had gone out to party or whatever the hell they did. They’d be stumbling back in a couple hours though, once all the bars closed. Perfect timing for what he planned to do.
“What’s that?” he murmured, motioning toward the side of the building.
The guy looked, and in that moment Lyosha took the opening and grabbed one of Jansen’s wrists, yanking his arm behind his back as he shoved him face-first against the wall of the complex. It was a brutal, quick move, putting the joint right at the edge of popping. One he’d perfected over the years.
There weren’t any security cameras in this area, and while there was a chance that someone might see him, he didn’t actually give a shit at this point. Because this was happening now. Jansen was leaving for good.
“What the hell, man!” The guy struggled but Lyosha shoved a knife up under his shirt so Jansen could feel the cold blade. He didn’t break the skin, even though he was sorely tempted to.
“You feel that? I can slice right through to your kidney. Or your liver. That won’t be pretty, trust me,” he growled. “I’ll watch you bleed out and feel nothing about your death. Do you understand me?”
The guy had gone very still, his hindbrain understanding that he was prey and Lyosha a predator.
“What do you want?” the guy rasped out, completely immobile, his breathing jagged, sawing in and out in short bursts.
At least he wasn’t completely stupid.
“You’re leaving. Tonight. And you’re not going to come back again to see your girlfriend for a week. Mila moves out next Friday. Something I’m sure you already know.” He tightened his grip on the man’s arm, lifted it higher. He knew exactly how much pressure to exert before he’d start tearing ligaments. “You can come back after that. But if you look at Mila, or touch her again, I will cut your balls from your body. And that’s just the beginning.”
He slowly slid the knife against Jansen’s ribs before pressing the point in, just a small prick. He wanted to draw blood to get his point across.
Then he leaned in closer, whispered in his ear. “You have no idea who I am. Who I work for. You fucked with the wrong woman. Text your girlfriend, tell her that you had an emergency. Make something up, I don’t care. But do not come back. If Mila stubs her toe this week, I’m coming for you. And I’ll be watching.”
Keeping him pinned to the stucco, Lyosha pulled the guy’s wallet out, flipped it open with one hand and smiled to find the driver’s license inside. Moving swiftly, tucking his knife away, he stepped back.
The guy jumped four feet away from him, breathing hard as he stared at Lyosha with wild, dilated eyes. He was debating fight or flight right now, that much was clear. The man was solidly built, and he likely did go to the gym.
But he was soft compared to Lyosha. He hadn’t grown up on the streets. He hadn’t had to fight for his food, for survival. He’d likely never killed before either.
Keeping his gaze pinned on the man, Lyosha pulled the driver’s license out of the wallet and pocketed it before tossing the wallet onto the grass between them.
“I know where you live. Just remember, if you hurt Mila, talk to her, even look at her, you’ll regret the day you were born.” His words were softly spoken, low and gravelly as he took a menacing step toward Jansen.
The man stuttered something out that Lyosha couldn’t quite understand as he grabbed his wallet—dropping it twice—and ran, his sneakers slamming against the pavement as he raced away.
Lyosha waited until the guy got into his car and peeled out of the parking lot before he headed back upstairs.
The movie was still paused when he stepped inside and Mila was sitting on the couch, her eyes wide. “Did you do something?” she asked quietly, glancing at her roommate’s still closed door.
“He’s gone for the night. You won’t see him again.” He sat back on the couch, stretched his legs out and tried to ignore what her nearness did to him.
“Lyosha!” she whisper-shouted. “Did you…beat him up or something?”
She stumbled over the question and he snorted. “No. But he won’t be coming back until you move out.”
She bit her bottom lip. “You swear you didn’t hurt him?”
He looked her in the eye, shoved back the twinge of guilt he felt. It wasn’t technically a lie. He’d barely nicked the guy with his knife. That loser was lucky he could still walk. “He left of his own accord, on both feet, with no bruises. He’s fine. I just made it clear he needed to keep his distance from you.”
She eyed him carefully for a long moment before stretching out next to him and restarting the movie. He knew her well enough to realize this wasn’t over, that she’d likely have questions later, but he could sense the relief rolling off her that the guy was gone.