Staying Alive Read online

  Nikita shook his head as he sighed heavily. The decision-making was above his pay grade, and all he had to do was follow orders, even if he vehemently disagreed with them. Like now. A flash of orange caught his attention and Nikita brought his thoughts back to the task at hand. It was a simple enough job; give the case to the twink, make sure he attached the cuff, and get the hell out of there unnoticed. No big deal.

  He watched as the bright orange shirt came fully into view and his gaze roamed over the little man. He had to be about five foot six and a hundred and forty pounds, but Nikita could see that the guy was muscular for his size. The tight white jeans were sexy as fuck and made the tight little ass bubble out. Nikita had the sudden urge to bite those meaty globes and see what kind of sounds he could make come from the sexy twink’s lips.

  Moving his gaze higher, Nikita shook his head in disbelief from the belly baring shirt of fluorescent orange with a hot pink paint splash across the front, which in his opinion didn’t really go well with the bright blue flip-flops. But the man’s face and hair really took his notice. The twink’s face was almost angelic, but masculine all the same, with a pointed chin and sleek nose, alabaster skin that appeared to be flawless, and high cheekbones. The long golden hair, shaved on one side of his head and pulled back in a ponytail at the back with blue tips wasn’t usually his type, but this guy pulled it off beautifully, and Nikita found it made the man sinfully sexy.

  His cock began to fill behind the zipper of his slacks and Nikita thumped the traitorous appendage with two fingers, punishing the thing and willing it to go down, but the more he observed the gorgeous creature across the street taking a seat at one of the tables, the harder his dick became and the more intense his need got, craving to feel those sexy pink lips wrapped around his large cock.

  The gorgeous man stopped to talk to a waitress who showed him and another man to a table. They chatted briefly, then the waitress moved away, presumably to put in their order. Nikita crossed the street and stepped into the outside seating area which was surrounded by a black wrought-iron fence about three feet high, then he sat at one of the empty tables away from his target, but where he could still watch the twink’s every move, and depending on the tone of voice, he could hopefully hear their conversation..

  “Could I get you something, Sir?” A male voice came from beside him, and Nikita looked up to find a waiter standing there.

  “Iced tea please,” he replied in his normal voice as his gaze moved back to the twink.

  “Right away. Would you like a menu?” The waiter asked, and held out one to him, which Nikita took. “I’ll give you a few minutes to look over the menu and I’ll be right back with your refreshment.”

  Once the waiter was gone, Nikita concentrated on his contact once again.

  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

  His head felt fuzzy and his mouth dry. Nikita pried his dry lips open and tried to swallow, but he couldn’t gather enough saliva to even do that. Forcing his eyes open he found himself looking up at the sky, but it was dark. There were no longer crystal blue skies and the sun to burn his eyes. The blackness of the night greeted him, but it wasn’t pitch black. With the lights of the city glowing it didn’t even allow him to see the stars he knew were up there.

  Nikita tried to remember what had happened and how he got in this crappy, filthy alley he now found himself in but he only drew a blank. Slowly he forced himself up to a sitting position and grew lightheaded and dizzy. Nikita reached out a hand to grasp a nearby box to help steady himself, but his arm felt heavy. There was also a strange scraping sound of metal.

  He looked down at his arm and Nikita’s eyes widened in surprise when he found the briefcase that he had been carrying and was supposed to hand off to the twink, but the most disconcerting part of it was that it was now cuffed to his wrist, and he had no idea how it got there or how to get it off without going to the boss. Shit, he was so screwed.

  “Crap,” Nikita hissed as he dropped back onto the unyielding pavement and closed his eyes.

  CHAPTER 2

  What the ever-loving fuck was The Russian doing at the bistro and why was he watching Neo? He couldn’t believe it when the notorious hitman entered the outside patio area and took a seat. Neo’s heart began to pump faster like he was running a marathon and his pulse quickened. Fear built up inside him, and all he wanted to do was bolt, but then he thought, why?

  Why would he want to run from a man who had no idea who or what he was? Unless of course the hitman had somehow figured out who he was, but Neo knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was no way that had happened. He had been in Chicago for over six years and no one... NO ONE had been able to find him. His family back in New York had made sure of it, and he had gone through too many pains to ensure his secret identity.

  Not that he was a superhero or something. He was no Batman or Tony Stark, but he had just as much money, and went to great lengths to keep himself hidden. Hidden in plain sight, but hidden all the same.

  While keeping up appearances as a flighty twink, yammering on and on about nothing in particular to his friend Riley, Neo had covertly kept his eye on the hitman. He already knew everything he needed to know about his biggest competition in Chicago and had kept an eye on the man from a distance of course, since the man had appeared in his town three years ago and began working for the Yanovich Family.

  Before coming to Chi-Town, The Russian ran with a crime family out of Los Angeles that had gotten mixed up with one of the biggest Mexican drug cartels. When war started between the two factions, the hitman took off, disappearing to god knew where. Well, he and god knew where. From all accounts of what ensued back in L.A., the cartel ran back to Mexico with their tails between their legs, and the Capriano family was almost destroyed. What little was left of them had scattered to the four winds. A bigger, stronger force had moved into the area and taken advantage of the two weakened groups, then took control of the city.

  The Russian, as he was known here in Chicago, was of Russian and Irish descent, and was one of the best hitmen in L.A. at the time. Here in the Windy City, the man thought he was the best as well, but he was mistaken. There was one other who was fiercer, more menacing, and deadlier than the Russian, known simply as ‘The Hunter’.

  No one knew who he was, what he looked like, or where he came from. They only knew to shake in terror from the mere mention of The Hunter, or if the man ever had his sights on them. The problem for all was that they never knew when The Hunter had his sights on them until it was too late, and usually that was the moment they took their last breath. Most, not even then.

  The guy was a phantom who lived in the shadows, unseen by all as he skulked around the city, ever watchful of everything that happened, especially things that happened in the dark corners, alleys, and the underground. Nothing happened in this city without The Hunter knowing about it.

  The reason he knew all of this was because he was the only one who knew exactly who The Hunter was and knew the man on a very intimate level. But now with The Russian watching him, was there someone else who knew? Why else would the man be interested in him? Neo couldn’t allow anyone to figure out who The Hunter was, and if this hitman was now sniffing around, he would have to take care of the problem immediately.

  As Riley went on about some guy he met at a club the previous night and how he wanted to take the man back to his place, but just couldn’t get up the courage, Neo observed the hitman from behind his dark sunglasses as he smiled and laughed at his friend, and by all appearances was focused solely on his companion.

  When the waiter left the hitman, Neo watched as the man placed a briefcase on the ground at his feet, under the table, which would be unnoticed by most. A glint of silver flashed from the top for a second and Neo realized there had to be a pair of cuffs attached to the handle, which told him the man was there to hand off the case to someone and that its contents were important.

  If the hitman was being used as a messenger, then that meant what lay inside the case was extremely important to the Yanovich family and whoever they were dealing with at the moment. But why would Mironov Yanovich use his best hitman to do such a menial task? It made no sense. Especially since everyone in the city knew who the gorgeous man was.

  Nikita Orlov was a big, fierce, cold, hardened killer, who stood at six feet six and weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds of rock-hard muscle. He had short brown hair with dark brown eyes, always looked professional in his very expensive suits, and always looked so serious. Neo didn’t think the guy ever smiled. People shook in fear when the man was around, and nearly pissed their pants if the guy ever looked directly at them, so why would Yanovich send the hitman out in broad daylight with a delivery?

  “Are you even listening to me?” Riley asked with a frustrated huff, drawing Neo’s attention.

  Shit his friend said it loud enough where others could hear. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, or even that anyone would think twice about the comment and pay them any attention, but when he was pretending to be listening to his friend while secretly watching someone else, someone deadly, it could gain the wrong attention.

  Neo put on his best, brightest smile and flipped his ponytail as he giggled. “Sorry, I was just thinking about the last time I actually got laid, then realized it has been way too damn long. Then I thought how pathetic I was,” he said the last part with a sad pout.

  Riley rolled his eyes as he huffed, then replied, “Oh, please. You could get laid anytime you wanted. You’re so fucking hot even straight men want to do you.”

  Neo threw his head back and laughed, then looked back to his friend. “I don’t know about that, but I’ll take it. And what about you, you gorgeous creature? You can’t sit here and tell me that guy had no interest in taking you somewhere a
nd bending you over. He had to be blind if he didn’t want to be all caveman with you. But then again, with the way you’re dressed this morning, it might take a blind man to want to get inside you.”

  Riley balked as he slapped Neo’s arm. “Hey! Don’t poke fun. Some of us don’t have an unlimited wardrobe like an over-the-top drama queen I know.”

  “What’s up with the dark clothes this morning? Normally you dress all fabulous like me.”

  Something crossed over Riley’s eyes, but Neo had no idea what. If he had to guess, he would say his friend looked almost guilty, but guilty of what? Riley quickly lowered his gaze as he sighed heavily, then took a sip from his glass before he replied, “When you called I had just dragged my sorry ass out of bed and had thrown everything in the washer. If I was going to meet you on time I had to put something on and all my wonderful clothes are wet. And just because I’m wearing black jeans and a green button down doesn’t mean I’m in dark clothes. At least the green shirt is bright.”

  Neo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, because we all know olive is just as brilliant as say, Kelly green.”

  As the words fell from his lips, Neo noticed The Russian’s eyes widen slightly then quickly flick to Riley before coming back to him. The man's head tilted slightly and a look of confusion crossed his eyes. Interesting. Was the man not really there to pay attention to him? Was there maybe someone else he was watching that just so happened to be sitting at Neo’s table? But then why would the hitman be interested in Riley?

  His friend was an herbalist that worked in Chinatown down on the south side of the city, and The Russian was part of the Yanovich Family that ruled the north side. Was Yanovich trying to work business in the Sokolov Family’s territory? But what would that have to do with Riley?

  Neo studied the Russian closer as Riley continued to talk, and Neo kept smiling and nodding where appropriate. Now the Russian’s interest seemed to be more focused on Riley than him. Something was definitely wrong here, and Neo needed to find out what that was, but first he needed to make sure his friend was safe. If the Russian had his eye on Riley, then he needed to start worrying.

  The Russian reached under the table and fingered the case beneath as his gaze intensified on Riley. Neo watched as the hitman's hand twitched ever so slightly. Was the guy trying to figure out a way to get that case attached to Riley? Why? Well Neo wasn’t going to just sit by and allow that to happen. He needed to turn the tables on the man.

  A mischievous smile came to Neo’s lips as he thought about how The Russian would explain his fuck-up to the all mighty Yanovich. Although, he would love to get a look at what exactly was in that case. Maybe it would help him to understand what Riley had to do with all of this, and what this actually was.

  “Hold that thought,” he suddenly said, interrupting his friend as he stood, causing Riley to give him a confused look. Neo smiled. “I gotta go drain the vein. I’ll be right back.”

  With that he quickly headed into the bistro and looked for the waiter. When Neo had been watching the Russian interact with the waiter, he had heard the man order a cobb salad, but his food hadn’t been brought to him yet, so there was still a chance for him to take care of things.

  Searching the area, Neo saw a cobb salad sitting at the kitchen window waiting for someone to pick it up. Seeing as he had heard Nikita place that order only ten minutes ago, he was fairly certain the plate was meant for Nikita. Neo quickly looked around the interior of the restaurant and glanced outside, but couldn’t find the waiter anywhere, then just as he turned to peer into the back dining area, Neo spotted the waiter walking into the bathroom. He smiled brightly and made his way over to the waiting salad.

  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

  The man was moving, slowly regaining consciousness and he crouched down lower on the fire escape above, keeping a close eye on Nikita. When he first spotted the hitman at the bistro, his pulse had quickened with fear, wondering if somehow the man had figured out who he was and that his latest assignment was to take the Russian out.

  When he had read the text on his way to the bistro showing his newest job offer, Neo was shocked to find someone wanted to hire him to kill the notorious Russian. He was being offered a very large sum of money for the job, and wondered if he should take it, knowing that if he did and succeeded in his mission that it would be one of the biggest feathers in his cap, and the highlight of his career so far, but then seeing the Russian at the bistro and observing him, had Neo changing his plans. Getting the offer for the hit only moments before the object of that job showed up at the same place, was too coincidental for his liking. There were things he needed to learn first before he decided whether he would take the job or not. Like who was behind the contract being offered to him?

  Normally he didn’t give a shit who wanted to hire him, and wouldn’t think twice about the job, unless it entailed children or wounded lovers. He didn’t take jobs where people wanted to off their spouses or anything like that, although he had been offered many times by both men and women to kill their significant others because of greed, or infidelity, or some other shit, but Neo wasn’t that kind of killer. The jobs he took always entailed someone who was worth getting rid of for the betterment of society, like crime bosses, corrupt cops, politicians, and the like, and only those that truly deserved to be put down for their evil deeds. He was no superhero or Robin Hood, that was for sure, but taking out the worst in humanity, and in a small way making people's lives easier, safer, made him sleep better at night.

  His target moved again, trying to sit up and steady himself, and Neo smiled when he saw the Russian notice the case cuffed to his own wrist. He bet that realization stung and hit the man's ego. Finding out he had been outsmarted by someone like Neo would be an even bigger hit to Nikita, but the man would learn soon enough that taking on The Hunter was the biggest mistake of his life.

  “Crap,” Nikita cursed then dropped back down onto the filthy pavement and Neo’s smile broadened. It was time to go mess with his prey face to face, and Neo was so looking forward to it.

  ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

  “Seems like you got yourself into one hell of a pickle,” the soft, melodic voice came from his right.

  Nikita turned his head and looked around but found no one. Turning the other way as he sat up, and swept his gaze over the alley, but still there was no sign of the man who spoke.

  “Nope, I’m not there. Try again,” the voice said, but this time Nikita could hear amusement in his tone.

  Closing his eyes tight to try and flush away the fogginess, Nikita rubbed his unchained hand across his face, then opened his eyes and peered around again, but still there was no one there. He was either losing his mind or the rats were talking to him. In which case he would still be losing his mind.

  “Not very bright, are you?” the voice said, and this time Nikita could hear that it was coming from above him.

  He looked up at the building before him and saw that it had no windows on this side, so Nikita turned his head left and checked out each window he found on the ten story structure, paying closer attention to the darkened windows, but he found all of them closed.