Alejandro's Prey Read online

  Alejandro’s Prey

  The Queens: A Novella

  Nikita Slater

  Contents

  Untitled

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Epilogue

  Bonus: Excerpt from Scarred Queen

  Also by Nikita Slater

  BLAIRE’S WORLD!

  Stay connected with Nikita!

  Nikita’s Underworld!

  Untitled

  Dance with me.

  Bring my demons

  to their knees.

  -Nicole Lyons

  Chapter One

  “Where’s your cousin?” Alejandro approached Casey, eyeing the vicinity for another bright blond head and coming up empty.

  “Umm, she’s around here somewhere,” Casey hedged and didn’t look up at him but continued to play with the baby in her lap.

  The first indication he had that something was wrong. Casey looked everyone in the eye. She never backed down from any kind of challenge. Unless something was up that she wasn’t prepared to discuss. Fuck that. If it involved her delectable cousin, it involved him.

  Alejandro hunkered down in front of her and the baby, folding his tall, muscular form close to hers. He wanted to tilt her chin, to force her to look at him while he demanded his answers, but he knew touching would not be tolerated by the boss. He understood, he would feel the same about his own woman.

  “Where is she, Casey?” he asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.

  Casey shrugged, still refusing to lift her eyes.

  “I will take this matter to Reyes if you do not answer me now.” His usual easy manner of speaking gave way to impatience. He liked the mistress of the house and usually they got along great, both having a similar sense of humour. Except lately the issue of her cousin was putting a strain on their relationship. Casey was protecting the timid woman from him and this could not be allowed to continue. He was done pussyfooting around the women’s feelings. He wanted his woman in his home and in his life.

  Finally, she lifted her eyes, flashing fire at him. He ginned back, giving her the edge of his savage teeth. She was not shy like Gina. She put her husband through hell.

  “You are a tattletale and a bully, Alejandro,” Casey informed him loftily.

  He shrugged. “Whatever gets me what I want fastest. Now tell me where she is or deal with your husband’s legendary temper.”

  She sighed through her nose and rolled her eyes, something she would never dare do if Reyes were in the vicinity. “What makes you think my husband’ll take your side?” she asked, stalling for time.

  Alejandro leaned in as close to her as he dared. “Because he marked your pretty little cousin for me the moment I declared my intentions. She was always mine for the taking.”

  Her mouth fell open and she stared up at him in shock. “Wh-what!” she exclaimed. “How come I didn’t know about this? Why haven’t you done anything about it? She’s been here for over a year!”

  “I’ve been biding my time, watching and waiting. I’m not like the boss,” he told her, his eyes flicking to the baby squirming energetically in her arms. “I have patience. Gina wasn’t ready for a commitment when she came to live here; especially not to a man like me.”

  “A man like you,” Casey scoffed.

  His eyes met hers in a deadly flash and her antagonism fell away as understanding dawned. He was a man of war. A man that enforced the rules his master created. He killed, maimed and tortured indiscriminately when necessary. He took without asking. While Gina hadn’t had an easy life, she’d been largely sheltered from men like him. Unlike Casey, she hadn’t witnessed the murder of her family. She’d been away at school when her parents and brother had been executed, then she’d been whisked away to safety by the Venezuelan mob boss, Sosa.

  “I’m done waiting for her.”

  She nodded slowly, searching his face. Finally, she said, “If I tell you where she is, do you promise not to get angry and do something completely unnecessary and over the top, like kill someone?”

  He frowned, not liking the direction she was going. It almost sounded like… “Where the fuck is she, Casey?”

  “Umm… she sort of went on a date.”

  “Excuse me?” He stared at her incredulously for a split second before fury replaced his surprise. “She hasn’t touched anyone since moving here. I made sure of it,” he snarled. “Who the fuck did she go out with?”

  “I don’t think I should tell you,” Casey whispered, anxiety replacing her usual bravado. “I’m afraid you’re going to murder him, and I really do need him alive.”

  “The doctor,” he snapped, reading between the lines. She reached out for his arm to stop him, but he stood and towered over her. “Where did they go?” When it looked as though she wouldn’t speak, he said, “I won’t kill your fucking doctor if you tell me now. If you force me to go looking I make no promises.”

  “Shit,” she hissed, then whispered an apology to baby Sally, gently covering her ears. “Fine. They borrowed a helicopter and went to the city.”

  Alejandro spun on his heel and stalked away from her.

  “Wait!” she called after him, scrambling to her feet, her daughter clutched securely in her arms. “What are you going to do? Will you also promise not to dismember him either? I need his hands too!”

  Chapter Two

  “I’ve been expecting you,” Reyes said, not looking up from his paperwork.

  Alejandro closed the door to the office firmly behind him. They’d known each other for over twelve years, the boss knew his knock by now. Reyes had lured Alejandro away from his Venezuelan commando unit with the promise of riches and a life-saving health treatment for his mother. He’d gone to work for the Bolivian mobster and never looked back. They didn’t stand on ceremony with each other. Now he stood in front of the same desk he’d been in front of thousands of time – dispensing advice, giving his valued opinion and taking orders.

  “Permission to take a helicopter.”

  Reyes didn’t look up. “Denied.”

  Alejandro was pissed by the immediate denial of his request but unsurprised. There were multiple helicopters for a reason – so the family wouldn’t become stranded in the valley in case of emergency. He gritted his teeth. He considered this an emergency and so would the doctor if he laid so much as one single finger on Gina.

  Reyes set his papers aside, leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “Have a seat,” he commanded. An order, not a request. Alejandro didn’t want to waste a single second in the collection of his woman. Reyes grunted in annoyance, apparently sensing the hesitation in his second-in-command. “You aren’t leaving this mountain until she gets back. Sit the fuck down. Now.”

  Alejandro dropped his heavy frame into one of the chairs, ignoring the slight creak as it adjusted to his weight. Reyes nodded in satisfaction. “Tall bastard, hurts my neck looking up at you all the time.” He chuckled, showing there were no hard feelings. One never knew with Reyes, he was an unpredictable dictator. He eyed the other man. “So, you finally decided to make a move on the woman you claimed a year ago only to discover my wife’s doctor has scooped her out from under you.”

  Alejandro made an unintelligible snarling sound.

  Reyes lifted his arms in commiseration. “Hey, mi amigo, she was always yours for the taking. I’m on your side. I’m just saying, wait for t
he other damn helicopter to come back before you leave the mountain. Got it?”

  “What if he fucking touches her while they’re in La Paz?” he snarled.

  Reyes smiled grimly. “Then you have my permission to remove whatever part of him touches your property. Good enough?”

  Alejandro pulled his lips back into a feral smile, showing a frightening number of teeth and nodded. He stood slowly. “Permission to take an extended vacation with the nanny.”

  Reyes waved him away. “You’re no good to me like this. Permission granted. Come back with your head on straight and your girl under your jurisdiction.” Alejandro turned to leave the room. Before he touched the door, Reyes spoke again, “As you will be distracted this weekend, I’ll send a unit for backup. You make a decent target and I’d rather not go to war over your hide.”

  Alejandro jerked his chin over a shoulder and opened his mouth to respond. Reyes cut him off. “Non-negotiable, amigo. I know how much you love a good bloodbath, but this is the time for flowers and whatever else women want. You concentrate on the girl, I’ll watch your back.”

  Alejandro grunted in response, jerked the door open and left without another word.

  “I had so much fun!” Gina exclaimed, pulling her headset off and grinning at Miguel who was doing the same on the other side of her. “It was so refreshing getting out of the valley for a few hours.”

  He nodded and smiled back, his eyes warm and his expression kind. “I agree. I had a wonderful time, Gina. Hopefully we can do it again soon.”

  She averted her face feeling slightly guilty, knowing he felt more for her than she did for him. In a way, she’d used him and his feelings for her to get out of the damn mountains for the day. But she’d needed to get out from under a certain dictator’s thumb. And she wasn’t talking about the boss, Reyes. She meant his oppressive second-in-command. The man that stalked her every step, watching and waiting as though readying himself to pounce… but then nothing. The tension was driving her crazy.

  And his insane rules! What was wrong with the man?

  Alejandro made it his business to get in her business everywhere she went, tossing out arbitrary rules that made no sense to her. She couldn’t eat or spend time alone with anyone except the immediate family unless he was present. If one of his men so much as spoke to her, even to ask about her day, he’d be lucky if scrubbing toilets for a month was his only punishment. She wasn’t allowed to communicate with the outside world unless Alejandro approved her phone calls and emails. He even opened and read her incoming and outgoing mail, and not discreetly!

  When she balked at his many edicts he simply added more rules and enforced them either physically, by locking her in her bedroom or by cutting off her communication to the outside world altogether. And though she’d wanted to throw a temper tantrum worthy of her dear cousin, Casey, she was terrified of the big man and his psychotic boss. So she’d quietly acquiesced, occasionally finding ways to break the rules with Casey’s help. Thankfully Alejandro never seemed to find out about her small rebellions.

  “Me too,” she said enthusiastically. “But I don’t know when we’ll get the helicopter again. I think Casey had to pull some strings with Reyes to get us this trip. I’m surprised he even said yes.”

  Miguel got out of the helicopter first and reached a hand in to help her out. She never got a chance to take it. He was wrenched away from the opening with such force that she was left stunned. She rushed to the door when she heard flesh hitting flesh and saw Miguel on the ground with a bloody face, Alejandro standing over top of him. Gina shrieked and scrambled from the helicopter.

  Alejandro turned dark, coldly furious eyes on her, stopping her in her tracks. She glanced helplessly toward Miguel. She wanted to rush to his aid, but she didn’t want to get anywhere near the terrifying mob enforcer.

  “What did I tell you about being alone with anyone except family, Gina,” Alejandro snapped at her as though she were one of his soldiers.

  She swallowed and dropped her eyes to the ground. “Y-you told me not to,” she said, barely above a whisper. “Except he’s practically family!”

  “This scum is not family,” Alejandro snarled and kicked Miguel in the side.

  Setting her terror of the big man’s fury aside, Gina hurled herself toward the men, intent on putting herself between them. She was hoping Alejandro wouldn’t actually harm her since he hadn’t physically done so yet. He grabbed her arm in an iron grip before she could fling herself on top of the doctor. She cried out as he brought her around to face him.

  Alejandro stood much taller than her, around 6’4”, which would have made her almost a foot shorter if she hadn’t been wearing three-inch heels. He was nearly twice as wide as her with broad, muscular shoulders and huge biceps. She knew exactly how conditioned and honed to perfection his body was, having seen him work out many times with his men. She shivered at the look in his eyes. Cold, terrifying and utterly without mercy. Had she really just courted the attention of such a man by going out with another? Was she insane?

  “Get back on the helicopter, Gina,” he said in a chillingly quiet voice as though giving an everyday command instead of telling her to do something she knew she shouldn’t.

  The breath caught in her throat and she watched him through wary grey eyes. She understood that if she got on the helicopter he would get on with her and then he would take her somewhere where they would be alone. Finally, alone. The invisible sand had run out. Whatever timeline he’d given her when she’d first moved to the valley was over; he was done waiting.

  But was she done running from him? When she’d set this day up she’d done it with the full comprehension that she would be provoking a reaction from a very dangerous man. Unfortunately, she thought she would be back in the safety of her home, under her cousin’s wing when Alejandro’s wrath fell. Holding his terrifying gaze, she slowly shook her head and held her ground. She would rather deal with his temper within the safety of the compound.

  “Are you refusing to go away with me?” he asked, almost pleasantly.

  “Y-yes,” she whispered. The wind caught her honey-blond, layered locks and flung them across her face. He reached to move them away for her, tucking them behind her ear, his touch gentle. Still, she flinched.

  He moved her to his side, retaining his hold on her arm. He pulled his sidearm and pointed it at Miguel, aiming for the doctor’s head. Miguel groaned and covered his head with his arms, as though his flesh could stop a bullet.

  “You still refuse to get on the helicopter?” Alejandro asked, eyebrow raised.

  She stared back at him and then said as defiantly as she could, “You’re a bastard, Alejandro, but I’ll go with you. Just please leave him alone.”

  He released her arm and gave her a shove toward the helicopter. When she turned and walked slowly back the way she’d come Alejandro made eye contact with the pilot and gave him a twirling motion with his finger. The pilot nodded back and started the helicopter up again, setting the blades in motion. Gina looked back over her shoulder as she climbed on board. Trepidation clutched at her heart. Alejandro was crouched over Miguel, the gun pressed against the other man’s skull. He was speaking to him with a look of feral rage plastered across his face, a look she’d never seen before. She’d known him to be angry, but his anger was always coldly efficient, never this heated fury.

  Alejandro stood and turned to where Gina was crouched in the doorway of the helicopter. His eyes devoured her for a second, taking in the way her skirt and hair lifted slightly from the breeze created by the blades as they picked up speed. Then he was striding toward her, intent glittering through his narrowed gaze. Gina quickly backed away from the door and took the seat she’d been in only minutes before. Alejandro swung through the door, closed and locked it as he settled in beside her.

  When he reached for her seatbelt she tried to slap his hand away, mumbling that she could do it herself. He took her hands firmly in his. “You do not want to test my patience right now,
Gina. It’s thin at best. Now be a good girl and shut up.”

  Her mouth fell open and she sat in helpless silence as he latched her seatbelt, tugged on it to make sure it was snug against her body and then pulled her headset back on. Satisfied, he did the same for himself. Moments later they were airborne. Gina watched him through black-tinted lashes, cataloguing every move he made. Alejandro was beautiful, like a large, lethal cat when he moved. Maybe a panther. One moment lazy, the next he would strike with such quick efficiency, his victim was on the ground before he knew what was happening. For the moment though, he appeared relaxed in the seat next to hers, his elbows resting on the arms of the chair, his hands loose against his long legs.

  It occurred to Gina that this was almost the first time she was left alone with Alejandro with a handful of exceptions. Absently she lifted her fingers against the pulse beat in her throat as it accelerated. After they had been flying for about fifteen minutes in complete silence she finally turned to him and asked, attempting to keep her voice steady, “Where are we going?”

  He flashed her a grin. “Ah, so the little mouse finally gets brave enough to speak.”

  “Alejandro,” she pleaded with him. “Please just tell me. Where are we going?”

  The playful grin slid from his face, but the predatory look remained firmly in place as his eyes slid over her possessively. “We have a date with a priest, mi amor.”

  Chapter Three

  Gina chose to remain silent throughout most of their forty-minute flight to La Paz and Alejandro didn’t insist on conversation, not an easy thing to accomplish anyway even with the headsets. Gina didn’t want to question his implication of what a priest could possibly mean in case she was wrong. In fact, she must be wrong. He couldn’t possibly… no. Why would he want to marry her?