Retribution by Lietha Wards Page B

my face while I’m stuffing their balls in their mouths!” He
turned back to Ryan who still held the note. “Is there anything in
there that would lead to who they are?”
    “No. It’s typed, and I
honestly doubt they left fingerprints, but I can have it
checked.”
    “Do that. The package
too.”
    “As you wish.” Ryan turned
to leave, until Peter spoke again, making him pause.
    “You watch my baby girl
Casey, or I’ll do to you what I’m going to do to them.”
    Ryan didn’t answer, but
nodded without turning around and left the room. He heard something
crash against the far wall as the doors were shut behind him. He’d
had threats before. Peter’s didn’t bother him, but now he knew who
was watching them that day. As for Peter, it wasn’t about love, it
was about pride, and someone getting the better of him. That man
was not capable of affection of any kind.
    Ivan was in the entrance
when he came down the hall. “I need a car, and the package that was
taken out of that room.”
    Surprisingly the man didn’t
question him. He obviously knew he had orders from his boss,
although his mouth curled into a bit of a snarl. Then he turned and
nodded to another man standing by the front door. The man
immediately left.
    “Wait here. He’ll be back.
Don’t touch her again.” Ivan warned before he walked
away.
    Ryan smirked at his
back.
    It was after three o’clock
in the morning when he returned. He would have the results in a few
days over the items, and Ivan was waiting for him when he got back.
He told him the news knowing that’s why the man was still awake. He
never said another word to him, but listened, nodded curtly, and
then walked away.
    He then went to his room
and checked on Katya. She was still sleeping. He was concerned that
she’d had another night terror and sought him out when he was gone.
Why that bothered him, he didn’t know. Maybe he just didn’t want to
have her deal with that alone. Well, that’s what he told himself,
because he couldn’t deal with liking the feel of her against
him.
    He removed his shirt and
pants, pulled on his pajama bottoms, washed up, and got into bed
stacking his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling. The
garden lights from below reflected off it to illuminate his room in
a soft glow. It was actually pleasant.
    The adjoining door creaked
and his hand instinctively slipped under his pillow, to grip his
handgun. It was Katya. She’d put on a robe and was standing in the
doorway.
    She never said anything but
approached the bed, and then just stood there staring at
him.
    This wasn’t sexual. He
could see the fear in her eyes, and it looked like she was crying.
Against his better judgment, he moved aside and she moved down on
the bed beside him, curling up against him, placing her head on his
chest. She never said a word this time, and soon he could hear the
soft rhythm of sleep from her. Well, at least one of them would get
sleep. His hand moved along her back and soothed her, then rested
on her lower spine. This habit was becoming quite trying on him.
Yet, he felt the need to protect her from this pain. Pain that he
relived every time he thought of Georgy. This wasn’t her fault. It
was her father’s, and she was paying for it.
    Katya woke up to the sun
shining through the sheers. The patio doors to the balcony were
open and a slight breeze drifted over her. She sat up, and
remembered where she was. She was also alone. Although he did pull
the covers over her at some point in the night because when she
joined him, she was on top of them, curled up to his warm
body.
    One thing was certain, she
slept like a rock. He didn’t know it, but he was really good
therapy.
    Now, where was
he?
    She flipped back the covers
and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her robe was strewn
over the chair next to one of his shirts. He’d somehow managed to
remove that off of her too. Well, he probably wasn’t short of
experience in getting a woman’s clothes