by Sara Crest
He lifted me up and sat me down on the bike, leaning into me and kissing me as he started to run his hands all over my body, groping me. He was making me want him so bad but I knew that all of this was just a tease, one final taste for each of us before we had to go back to just being the guard and the guarded.
I ran my hand down to his belt and I was about to feel his bulge before he pulled away from me, smiling.
“This never happened, and you’re never gonna run away from me again. Ok?”
“Yes sir, I won’t run away again.”
Chapter Eleven
(Viktoria)
The elevator back up to the apartment made me nervous, I wasn’t looking forward to the inevitable arguments that were going to happen all because of what I did. I looked at Jack who was leaning against the elevator wall and looking forward in deep thought.
He watched the numbers on the elevator increase as we got closer and closer to the top floor.
“What the hell, who knows when I’ll get to do this again” he said.
He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into him. He kissed me, grabbing my body like I belonged to him. He rubbed himself against me as I dug my nails into his muscles. I could feel the elevator slowing down as we got to our floor but he wouldn’t let go of me.
He squeezed my butt firmly with his strong hand before giving me a hard spank.
The elevator stopped and the door was just seconds away from opening. “Just act natural” he whispered into my ear, stepping away from me like nothing happened.
The doors opened and we were immediately greeted by all of his club brothers. Just the thought of them not knowing what Jack and I were doing in the elevator sent chills through my body. It wasn’t fair for him to just kiss me like that and then act like nothing happened.
“Where the hell were you?” the smaller biker said to Jack as we stepped out of the elevator and into my apartment. I was trying to learn their names but I was still struggling to remember them all.
“We were hiding out at the warehouse we used yesterday” Jack replied. He sounded exhausted, made me feel even more guilty for keeping him up all night.
“Hiding out? From what?”
“We were attacked last night Axel.” Jack lifted up his shirt and showed the bandage to his club brothers “bullet grazed me on my right side, I barely got Viktoria out of their with our lives.”
“Italian Mafia?” one of them asked.
“I would have thought so but these guys sounded Russian…” Jack turned to me and our eyes met “Viktoria can you think of any reason why some Russian gangsters would have tried to kill you?”
“My father has been having trouble with men leaving his organization and joining the Italian mafia, I think I recognized the men so my best guess would be that they used to work for my father. Probably a few years ago”
“We gotta call Petrov then, he’s gotta know that someone tried to kill his daughter last night.”
“We tell Petrov that happened and you can kiss all of your paydays goodbye, especially you Axel this whole thing happened because you fucked up. I had to clean up your mess last night you think your uncle wants to find out that you fell asleep on guard duty and let the Don’s daughter escape?”
Axel grumbled and sat down on the couch, he reminded me more of a high school student than a biker. He was nothing like Jack.
“Wouldn’t he want to keep a record of what happened though? I mean I’m sure he wants to know how many times his daughter is put in danger so he knows how to retaliate or something” one of them asked.
“Actually, this was the first time I’ve ever been attacked. All my life my father has had guards around me and it wasn’t until yesterday that someone made an attempt on my life…”
“How convenient” Jack said. “We take over bodyguard duties and her streak of 20 plus years of being safe comes to an end. If you ask me something ain’t right here.”
My cell phone rang and everyone froze, I took the phone out of my pocket and looked at the screen, it was my dad.
“Answer it” Jack told me “just make everything seem completely normal.”
I nodded my head and answered the phone, my hand was shaking so much I struggled to hold the phone against my ear. I decided to put it on speaker so that I wouldn’t have to hold it steady and so that everyone else could hear what he was going to tell me.
“Good morning sweetheart, how are you?” He sounded a little off, but that could just be because of the stress from work.
“I’m find dad, I just woke up. I was thinking about sending one of the guards to go and get me breakfast.”
“Ah yes, that sounds good… has everything been alright so far?”
“Yes dad perfectly fine, I went to bed right after you left so nothing has really happened.”
“Hmm, that’s interesting. Well I was just calling to see how you were doing, I’ll talk to you later.”
My phone beeped and he hung up.
“I really don’t like how things are shaping up, something’s been up from the start but I can’t tell what” Jack said running his fingers through his hair.
“You’re just being fucking paranoid, she was attacked because she was alone and recognized. Nothing more nothing less” Axel replied before turning to me. “Just don’t try that shit again” he barked.
“I think you’re forgetting this is your fucking fault” Jack snapped back “you better straighten up and do you goddamn job.”
Axel stood up and got in Jack’s face “you can’t do shit, Petrov may have given you temporary power but I still rank higher than you in the Iron Horses. Soon as we hand this skank back over to her shit for brains dad I’ll be right back to telling-”
Jack grabbed him by the throat, throwing him on the floor before climbing on top of him “what the fuck did you just call her?”
Axel struggled to respond with Jack’s grip tightening around his throat “what the fuck do you care what I call her?” he squeaked out.
One of the men came and pulled Jack off of him, didn’t take much though Jack just let Axel go and let him roll over on the ground coughing and holding his throat.
“What’s gotten into you Jack? Yeah we’re not supposed to insult the client but no need to go choking the kid over some words” the biker said letting Jack go.
“I was just… making sure he didn’t do it again Ron. You don’t get repeated business calling the client’s daughter a skank.”
Ron looked at Jack up and down, I saw him glance at me for a moment before shaking his head a bit and taking a seat on the couch. “We can’t get too emotionally evolved in stuff like this Jack, it’s all just temporary.”
Jack and I briefly exchanged glances before looking at Ron. “Just making sure the client stays comfortable Ron, nothing emotional about that right?”
“Mhmm” Ron replied sighing. I don’t know if he bought that excuse or not but at least Jack deflected some of the suspicion.
Jack reached down and lifted Axel to his feet “you and Chuck go get everyone some food, looks like today is gonna be a rest day thanks to what happened last night.”
Axel grumbled but Chuck seemed perfectly content getting out of that room, can’t blame him really. “I’ll join you” Mike said. “I need an excuse to ride. Adrenaline is still pumping through my veins from last night and I need to ride it out of me.”
They called the elevator up and left Ron, Jack and I alone.
As soon as the doors closed Ron turned to Jack and I. “Is there something you two want to tell me? Especially you Jack?”
I felt frozen, unsure of what to do. I had no idea what type of man Ron was, I was worried that he sensed what happened between Jack and would rat us out for a larger payout.
“Seems to me like you already know Ron” Jack replied “you’re a smart man you could always see what was going on with me.”
Ron stared into my eyes before scratching his beard “Jack I don’t want you jeopardizing this whole job because y
ou have a thing for the guy’s daughter, I mean jesus man it’s only been a day.”
Jacked crossed his arms and looked at me with a smile “you know how I am Ron, when I want something I just gotta have it.”
“Mr. Ron sir, Jack and I only shared a moment together.” I said trying to make things not seem as bad as they were. “Nothing serious happened and I’m sure your job won’t be affected” I said trying to reassure him.
“Look, I’m not here to judge your choices. If you two like each other then by all means go ahead, just don’t bring down me and the guys with you if your father finds out. In the end I just want my payment and as long as I get that we’re golden.”
I looked at Jack he gave me a little eyebrow raise with his smile. I guess he took that as a sign that he could be more open with me, at least when Ron was around.
“Viktoria, can you excuse Ron and I for a second.”
I looked at Ron then back to Jack, I guess it was best if I listened to what he said. I stood up and walked to my room, closing the door behind me. I immediately pressed my ear to the door, trying to hear what they were going to say, I needed to know what Jack thought about me.
Chapter Twelve
(Jack)
I had to be careful when it came to Viktoria. Did I like her? Hell yes. I just had to make sure that her head wasn’t clouded, for all I know she could be confused and just think she liked me and I wasn’t about to end up in a shallow Ruskie dug grave just because I wanted to jump in bed with the Don’s confused daughter. There was also the chance that she could just be using me in the long run. I didn’t want her to want me just because I could give her the freedom she’s never had. If she just wanted me for potential freedom then I’d just give her the silent treatment until payday. If I thought that she was being sincere then I’d ride this thing and see where we were in the final days. It would be dangerous but I’d free her from her father if I knew she wasn’t just trying to manipulate and use me.
Ron was right though, I was being selfish and putting our job in danger. The thing is though, I didn’t care. A girl like Viktoria only comes around once in a lifetime, leave it to the Don of the Russian mob to make sure a girl stays that innocent for her whole life. Yeah I know I don’t deserve her, but if I gave her freedom then I would feel like I earned the emotion and closeness she was giving me.
“Ron, we can’t leave her like this.”
“What do you mean “like this?” Girl probably has more money in her wallet then I’ve ever made in my entire life. She’s perfectly well off as long as she’s protected.”
“She’s overprotected Ron, there’s no way she has any real life here. She’s trapped here because of her father, yeah it’s dangerous for her to go out but I’m sure if she moved cross country she’d be fine.”
“That ain’t something for us to decide Jack, if you ask me you are getting a little too emotionally invested in this girl, you gotta think about the club first. If we did anything to free this girl then the Russian mob would come down on us so hard that nobody will ever even remember the name Iron Horses MC.”
I wanted to tell him to fuck the club, the club had been holding me back for years, the club was the reason I wasn’t living a life of true freedom. I wanted to tell him that I should have never joined the club, about how I was sincerely thinking about finishing out this job and leaving this shitshow. But I couldn’t. Ron, along with Chuck and Mike, were the only parts of the club I respected. All the shit we had gone through and in the end we never got recognition from it, I wanted to get them to come with me and form a new club from the ashes of this hellhole but I knew they had gotten too comfortable.
That’s when it hit me, one of the reasons why I haven’t left yet. It wasn’t just the money, I had gotten so used to being around people that I wasn’t sure if I could lone wolf it again. I had grown to be just like them, too comfortable.
“Look, this is the first time in my life I can do something other than beat the heads in of drunks, drug addicts, and rival members” I said, putting aside everything that I really wanted to say. “We can help give this girl a real life Ron, yeah I’m hesitant to do it but I can’t just take the money and give her back to her dad… just doesn’t seem right.”
“Look, I don’t like it either but I ain’t taking that kind of risk. You’re talking like this over a girl you just met, you’re obviously exhausted from last night and you need to get some sleep and then ride until your head is clear.”
He was right, I was running on maybe 2 hours of sleep and all that stress was just making me more exhausted. Not to mention that cut I got couldn’t have been good for me. I laid down on the couch, wincing from the sting of the cut. “I just need a few hours and my head will be clear” I mumbled to myself.
* * *
When I woke up I was a little disoriented, after a few hard blinks my eyes became readjusted to the light.
I looked at the clock, 1pm, I got a good couple of hours in there and after some initial grogginess I was feeling much better. I checked my phone to find no new messages from Petrov, I would have assumed that a man this protective of his daughter would be texting me a couple times a day but I guess not. I still didn’t trust him and I was still weary of this whole situation, that certainly didn’t change from my nap.
I looked at Viktoria’s bedroom door, that nap did nothing to cool me off. If anything I wanted to sneak in there and have a little fun with her but I knew that we wouldn’t be able to hide the noise. Besides I should start focusing my energy on really trying to get her out of here.
“Well look who decided to wake up” Mike said walking out of the kitchen. He tossed me a brown paper bag “here we got you a breakfast sandwich, it’s probably cold and soggy as shit now and it wasn’t exactly good to begin with but it’s better than nothing.”
“Much appreciated Mikey, you get any for Viktoria? Gotta keep the client happy.”
“Yeah we got her a few things, give her a few options you know? Let me tell you that girl is as quiet as a mouse, tried talking to her and she seemed almost afraid of me.”
“You’d be afraid too if you’ve been sheltered all your life and then got shot at out of nowhere.”
“Tellin’ you Jack, it wasn’t out of nowhere. Those gangsters probably eyed her across the bar and wanted to take her out to make a name for themselves with their new Italian friends.”
“By ramping up a gang war? If it was Petrov himself then I’d understand but his harmless daughter?”
“Just eat your damn sandwich Jack, you and your theories…” he said chuckling.
I took the sandwich out of the bag and unwrapped it, it looked fucking disgusting not gonna lie but I was so hungry it didn’t matter.
I took a bite out of it, watching Viktoria’s bedroom door as I chewed. I know I told her to never try and sneak out but she did say that she didn’t even enjoy her night, if I couldn’t give her real freedom then at least I could give her a night she would actually remember… at least in a good way. But how would I get her out without the guys finding out? There was no way we wouldn’t have someone guarding the elevator to make sure she didn’t escape again so that was not an option.
I stood up and began walking around the suite, Ron and Chuck were busy lounging around in the kitchen while Mike watched TV. I looked around but couldn’t find Axel, I could only assume he went out for a ride and after how physical we had gotten the past few days I can’t blame him for not wanting to be in the same room as me.
This was more down time than we were used to, normally we were constantly on the move or trying to figure out how to figure out how to keep the unwanteds out of club territory. If we weren’t cleaning up club territory or shaking people down for protection money then we were tinkering with and modifying our rides. Sitting around in some prissy suite just felt wrong.
I hadn’t actually gotten a good look around the place, that’s probably the first thing you’re supposed to do when you’re a bodyguard but then again I’m not
actually a bodyguard.
This place was massive, for all I knew Axel was just off on his own somewhere but was still inside. The suite was so big that we could probably all live in it and go days without running into each other, that would help with breaking Viktoria out for the night.
I found a long hall with a few different doors, I checked behind me to make sure that none of the guys were following me and then decided on looking in the rooms one by one.
First door was a bathroom, from the look of the tiles and the shower there was more money in this one room than in any shitshack I used to live in. The next three rooms were all guest rooms, probably would give us better sleep but if I told everyone about them there would be fights over who gets to use the beds and I wasn’t prepared to deal with that.
I tried to turn the knob of the final room but it was locked, of course a man like Petrov would have something to hide. I pulled the door handle until it snapped completely off, letting the knob on the other side fall off and the door swing open.
“Next time you have something to hide get a better lock, Petrov.”
His room was by far the biggest one in the whole suite. He had windows that went from the floor to the ceiling, leather furniture, a massive walk in closet… guess this was what it was like to live the high life.
I walked into his closet, man had more clothes than anyone would ever need in this life or the next. A small window gave some extra light to the otherwise poorly lit closet, but then I saw it.
I walked over and looked out the window, it had a fire escape that led right down to the floor below us.
“Jackpot.”
Chapter Thirteen
(Viktoria)
I woke up to someone’s hand covering my mouth, I tried to scream but all that came out was a muffled cry for help.
“Hey, hey! You’re gonna wake everyone up just calm down now.”
My eyes adjusted to the dark to see Jack standing over me and I immediately calmed down. He took his hand from my mouth and before I could say a word he bent over and kissed me, I met his kiss with my own as he climbed on top of me and held my arms down by my wrists. I wrapped my legs around his waist and our lips met again and again. He kissed the side of my neck, working his way up to my ear before lightly biting my earlobe. “Come on, I’m taking you out.”
