Nikolai (Dangerous Love Series Book 1)

by Kristin Alexander

  “You’re not being a bummer. I’m the one who insensitively brought all of this up, so please don’t apologize.” I felt terrible. I obviously hadn’t known any of this when I asked about Nikolai’s mother, but I felt terrible all the same. Poor Katya. Poor Nikolai. I couldn’t imagine if my mother just vanished. “We can stop talking about it, I’m so sorry I brought it up.” I said with abject sincerity.

  Katya gave a sad, sweet smile. “It’s okay, Hannah. It’s kind of nice being able to talk to someone. I don’t actually have many friends, to be honest. Not real friends. My family’s reputation makes it a challenge. I mean, I’m popular at school because I’m rich and my family is powerful and mysterious, but I don’t have any close friendships. People either want to be friends out of curiosity, or they avoid me because they think associating with me closely will get them killed. I don’t think I have to explain the impact it’s had on my love life, right?” Katya added, raising her brows to emphasize her point. Yes, I can imagine most guys being nervous to make a move on the daughter of a mobster.

  “But you,” she continued. “Thankfully, by meeting you through Nikolai and not at school, it’s like I got to meet you like a normal person, you know?”

  I nodded my head. “I don’t think you would have been bowled over by my popularity status if you went to my school, so it’s probably better we met the way we did. For both of us,” I ended on chuckle.

  Wanting to move away from the heaviness of our previous topic, I started telling Katya some details about what happened Friday night, including what happened with Jeff. When I shared Nikolai’s reaction to Jeff’s aggression, Katya nodded her head in agreement with his actions.

  “I mean, seriously, Hannah, what was this Jeff guy thinking? Does he have a death wish?”

  I blew out a breath, a humorless smirk on my face. “If I knew what Jeff was thinking all this time, I could have probably navigated him more successfully.” It was hard to keep the bitterness out of my voice. Katya shot me a sympathetic look and reached out for my hand, as if to comfort me. Again, I was struck by how amazing it felt to have support, to be able to share my struggles with someone and get a compassionate response. It turned my bitterness into instant gratitude, as I patted her hand and resumed my story.

  As we were chatting back and forth, and Katya was peppering me with questions like a seasoned interrogator, I noticed dark-haired man in a suit staring at us periodically. Actually, he was staring at Katya. He was seated at the bar and angled in a way where I saw him more clearly than she did. Although I am aware that Katya is very attractive, his interest in her didn’t seem romantic. It looked…sinister. Shaking my head to dispel my paranoia, I looked back over to Katya who was giving me a puzzled frown.

  “Hello, Hannah? Where did you go?” she asked.

  I paused, debating whether to even mention the guy to her, but considering who her family is, I figured this might be the one case where my paranoia was warranted. “There’s a guy in a suit over at the bar, don’t look at him, but I think he’s been watching us. Watching you.” Katya stiffened, then relaxed marginally, schooling her features into one of placid neutrality. I took a sip of my latte and she casually scanned the bar, scanning the crowd for suspicious character. When her eyes locked on him, he quickly looked down at his phone. Katya’s expression became perceptibly more alarmed, but she smiled to cover it.

  “Hannah,” she said urgently. “I might be paranoid here but being a part of my family has taught me to trust my gut. Everything in my gut is telling me that guy is a problem. This place is starting to clear out, and when it does, we’ll be in trouble. These mob guys can be bold. We have to get out of here.” Katya continued smiling at me, which was an incredibly creepy when combined with her panicked tone of voice. “I think if we try to stay around other people, and walk quickly to my car, we’ll be fine.”

  Jesus, was this really happening? Was I really caught up in mob-related, criminal undertaking? What did they want with Katya? Blood pounding in my ears, I slowly got up, and plastered an equally fake smile on my face as we made our way to the door of the cafe. The suit also got up to follow us and I felt my heart jump into my throat. Katya grabbed my wrist and we ran to a back parking lot where her car was parked. I heard the car beep as she unlocked it just before my hand grabbed for the handle. I wrenched the door open, adrenaline making my hand shaky, and looked over to see the suit grab Katya in a bear hug, his hand coming up to cover her mouth before anything more than an outraged squeak could escape.

  I ran around the car to help Katya, and jump on the guy, when out of nowhere a very large, dark-haired man with a livid scar down the side of his face came up behind the suit and grabbed him around the throat, his fingers compressing his neck. The man quickly lost consciousness and slid to the ground.

  The man with the scar pushed aside the unconscious man and turned Katya around, concern and rage stamped all over his rough, intense features. He carefully cradled her face turning it various angles to inspect any potential damage. “Are you okay, kotyonok?” he whispered roughly, moving his hands to rub his thumbs gently on Katya’s cheeks.

  Katya was breathing heavily but staring into the intent gray eyes of her savior. “Yes, Drago, I’m okay,” she replied nodding her head slightly, her hands moving up to hold his wrists as if comforting him. They continued staring at each the for so long two things happened. Two things occurred to me during the extended period of their mutual staring. I became very aware of my intrusive presence, but I also became very aware of the intrusive presence of the body at Drago’s feet.

  Drago pulled away from Katya, even as her hands clung to his wrists. “Were you watching me?” Katya asked breathlessly.

  “Always, kotyonok.” Drago reached down and effortlessly hefted the body of the suit over his shoulder.

  “Is that guy dead?” I screeched. Both of their heads snapped to me, as if only just remembering I was there.

  The scarred man gave a sharp shake of his head, and I blew out a sigh of relief. He turned his stony gaze back to Katya. “Katerina, a man will be here in five minutes to follow you home. He will be staying with you for the foreseeable future.”

  Katya still hadn’t moved but nodded her head. “Who is he?”

  All hints of the emotions Drago previously displayed had disappeared, leaving his gray eyes hardened and blank. “Italians,” he responded tonelessly, and made his way to a black Mercedes parked several spaces away and threw the Italian in the backseat. My head was buzzing with disbelief and my stomach roiled with nausea. I glanced around the otherwise empty parking lot, stunned that no one had witnessed this incredible series of events.

  I ran to Katya’s side and hugged her tightly. She didn’t respond for a couple of seconds, then clung to me, shaking. “Are you okay?” I asked.

  Katya pulled back, wiping her face, her green-gold eyes still luminescent with tears, making her look strangely beautiful. “I’ll be fine, Hannah, honestly,” Katya said after taking a deep breath and giving me a reassuring smile. Her pale red eyebrows then puckered slightly as she put her hand on my upper arm in concern. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry you had to be a part of that.” Katya’s face was wreathed in compassion and guilt.

  I rubbed my hands up and down my arms, still shivering in shock, and but attempted to reassure her. “It’s not your fault, Katya. I’m okay. Maybe in a little bit of shock? I can’t believe someone tried to kidnap you. Do you know why?” The more I thought about it, the more freaked out I got.

  Katya sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I’m not necessarily surprised either. Like I mentioned earlier, this kind of thing…well, it happens.” Katya looked at the departing Mercedes, tears once again welling up in her eyes. I reached out to squeeze her hand in consolation, although I was reeling. I couldn’t believe she had to deal with the threat of kidnapping as a part of her waking reality.

  Katya looked at me, and as if reading my reaction, squeezed my hand back. “
I’m so sorry, Hannah, honestly.” She wiped her eyes and half-smirked. “I guess you can see why I have a hard time keeping friends.”

  I gave a surprised laugh, feeling grateful as it released some of the pent-up panic, fear, and shock. “Yeah, I can’t say I’ve ever witnessed a near kidnapping before,” I joked, but I still felt a lump of anxiety sitting in my throat.

  Katya leaned against her car, looking reflective. “I wish I could say that was the first time something like that has happened to me.”

  My eyes widened in astonishment. “It wasn’t?”

  Katya shook her head sadly as she glanced at the spot where the black Mercedes had been parked. “The same person saved me both times.”

  Chapter 36

  Nikolai

  “What the fuck, Drago? What the fuck do you mean someone just tried to abduct Katya while she was with Hannah?” I barked into the phone in disbelief.

  “Calm down, mal’chik.” Drago ordered. I hated when he called me boy, and he knew it.

  “What the fuck happened?” I felt my anxiety skyrocket as he told me about the Italian following Katya and Hannah out of the coffee shop and grabbing Katya. I felt absolutely sick to my stomach as Drago emotionlessly recounted coming up behind the motherfucker, knocking him out and dragging him away. I didn’t give a fuck about the Italian, but the thought of Hannah seeing Katya nearly kidnapped made me fucking crazy.

  “Jesus Christ.” All my thoughts focused on Hannah and how she was doing, although I knew I should be more worried about what all this implied. “Where’s the Italian?”

  “I took care of it, but I need to get a hold of Roman. He needs to make his move to get the girl, because I will not let them take Katerina.” Drago said with quiet ferocity that made me curious.

  “Why were you even there? At the cafe?” I asked, intrigued about his timely intervention.

  Drago sighed deeply, and I could almost feel him rolling his eyes over the phone. “It’s not important. I figured Katerina would be vulnerable after what your fuck-up father pulled.” Drago’s accent sounded more exaggerated than usual. “I have someone protecting her now.”

  Drago took the term coldly dispassionate to new levels. I’d never seen him become attached to a woman, and I’d certainly never seen him show a shred of remorse over any of the shit my father had had him do, which was saying a lot. If he was personally guarding Katya, there were a limited amount of ways to interpret this information. In fact, there were only two. Either she was a potential traitor, which was highly unlikely for a mountain of reasons. Or he had an interest in her well-being that went beyond loyalty to the family.

  “You didn’t have to do it yourself, you know?” I mention casually, as if he didn’t already know that.

  “Nikolai,” Drago uttered softly, warningly.

  I knew that was my cue to drop the subject, which I was happy to do, as I had about a hundred other things to worry about than his potential romantic interest in Katya.

  “Tell me when you hear from Roman, and what the time line is going to be. The sooner that bastard is gone, the better.” I know it sounds cold, talking about my father’s death that way, but it was nothing less than he deserved.

  I texted Hannah.

  Nikolai: Where are you? I heard about what happened with Katya. Are you okay?

  Hannah: I just got home. Yes, I’m fine. I guess. It’s all kind of fucked up, you know?

  Did I know? Fuck, yes, I knew.

  Nikolai: I want to see you. Can I sneak in your room tonight? Do you share a wall with your mom?

  I needed to see her, but there was no way I was bringing her to my house. I planned on parking my car somewhere else and walking to her place. The less we are seen together, the better. Once my dad is out of the way and things have been smoothed over with the Italians, then I could lighten up.

  Hannah: Hahaha, why does it matter if I share a wall with my mom? Are you a loud…. talker?

  I smiled.

  Nikolai: I’m not a very loud talker, but I bet you could be under the right circumstances.

  Hannah: *blushing emoticon*

  I smiled again, feeling my dick harden in anticipation. I couldn’t exactly do everything I wanted tonight, not with her family one thin wall away, but I could definitely do something.

  Nikolai: I’ll be there around 10.

  *****

  I felt like a fucking creep lurking around the outside of Hannah’s small house. I made sure to park my car about a half mile away on a residential side street that wasn’t nice enough for people to care that a stranger’s car was parked on their street but wasn’t so shitty that my car would get jacked.

  I slowly walked the perimeter, finding Hannah’s window quickly. She had texted me where her room was, so I didn’t go staring into her mother’s or her sister’s window on accident. I tapped lightly, not wanting to make more noise than necessary, since it wasn’t that late. In fact, there was still a faint light coming from what I think was her sister’s room.

  I heard the scrape of Hannah lifting the storm window, then her smiling face popped into view.

  “Hey,” she whispered.

  I couldn’t help but smile, her long, dark hair was in another messy bun and she was wearing a tight tank top that fell forward slightly as she peered down, giving me a nice look at the rounded curves of her breasts. Her skin appeared to shimmer in the moonlight and I found myself desperate to touch her.

  “Hey, move out of the way.” I whispered back. I grabbed the bottom of the frame and boosted myself up and through the window as soundlessly as possible. I stood and took in her simple room, her nightstand moved to the side to allow me to enter through the window. I breathed deeply, feeling instantly relaxed now that I was surrounded by her scent. I reached for her, holding her tightly against my body as I recalled her brush with my world. I never wanted her exposed to that shit and it ate me up that she had to see a guy almost kidnap Katya before Drago knocked him out and dragged him away.

  “I’m sorry, Hannah. I’m so sorry you had to deal with all that today,” I whispered into her neck, inhaling the scent her freshly showered skin. Her arms tightened around my waist as if remembering what happened in the parking lot, and it stoked my rage even higher. I would be drawing blood on the Italians right now if I didn’t know that my father started all this shit. It was actually his blood I should be drawing. And it would be. Soon.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Hannah whispered back into my chest. “I still can’t believe it happened.” She shivered in residual shock. I’m relieved she didn’t say she was okay because I knew that would have been a lie. You couldn’t be okay when you see someone nearly kidnapped in front of you in a coffee shop parking lot. I needed her to always be honest with me, even if sometimes I couldn’t give her the same courtesy.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  She sighed and pulled back to look at me. “Yes and no. I mean, yes, I want to process it because it was so fucking scary, but I also don’t want to think about it because it was so fucking scary. How does Katya live like that? How does she live knowing something like that might happen?” She cocked her head, her brow puckered. “How do you?”

  I swallowed, not completely comfortable with where the conversation was heading. “You just get used to it, Hannah. I don’t know how Katya deals with it, but for me, it was always a part of my life. The violence, the need to be constantly aware of my surroundings. It’s just second nature now.”

  Hannah shook her head and rubbed my chest, as if consoling me. Jesus, this girl. “Yeah, that was one thing that surprised me. Katya knew immediately that man was a threat. I guess she’s developed some of the same instincts you have. The world you come from Nikolai…” She shook her head in a way that had panic closing my throat.

  “Is it too much, Hannah? Do you want me to leave you alone?” I asked the question without inflection, but my heart was beating like a bass drum. I would leave her alone if she asked. Shit, I should probably leave her alo
ne regardless.

  Hannah took a deep breath and her fingers tapped on my chest, as if in thought. Each tap against my flesh sent my heart rate higher. She shook her head and whispered, “No, I don’t want you to leave. Maybe I should, but…I don’t”

  I released a sigh of relief. “Would you feel better if I had Drago put a man on you?”

  “Drago?”

  “Yeah, the guy who showed up.”

  “The scary guy with the scar?”

  I chuckled. That was an accurate description of Drago. “Yeah, him.”

  Hannah frowned. “Do you really think I need that? I mean, the guy was clearly after Katya. I’m not part of the mob. These people don’t want anything to do with me, right?”

  I tipped my head back, trying to figure out a way to navigate her questions without scaring her. “Honestly, Hannah, I don’t know. No, these guys aren’t after you. However, I don’t like the idea of you becoming collateral damage either. I’ll talk to Drago.”

  Her expression tensed. “So, I am in danger?”

  I ran my fingers through my hair. “Not directly, but you are with me, so, I’m not going to lie, that makes things more precarious. There is a major situation going on right now, but I’m hoping it will be sorted out soon and the danger level will decrease significantly.”

  Hannah nodded her head, but her features stayed pinched with apprehension. “Nikolai, you really make this hard. All of my common sense is telling me to push you out the window and lock it behind you.” She reached her hands up to cradle my face. “But I don’t want to do that. I want you to stay.”

  “God, Hannah, I should leave you the fuck alone.” Even as I said it, it was like my feet were made of concrete. I wanted to be here with her.

  “I know I sound crazy, but I don’t want you to leave me alone.”

  I pulled her hair from its loose bun and threaded my fingers through the damp strands, tightening my hands slightly so I could pull her head up. I looked for damage, ghosts, in those indigo eyes but found nothing but affection and gratitude. That was incredible. Hannah was grateful I was here with her, offering her comfort and commiseration when I was the one who put her in the path of her most recent trauma.