She was awake now. No sleepiness at all. She shifted to look at him. “Does that happen often?”
“Never been raided in my life. I’ve always adhered to the rules. My patrons don’t want to be bothered by the cops. They just want to have a good time.”
“Of course. What happened?”
“They found nothing.”
“What were they looking for?” she said.
This didn’t make sense and she had a sinking feeling that this raid had to do with her. She couldn’t keep letting him protect her. Nor did she have a safe place to go. She bit her lip.
He kissed her. “Drugs. They didn’t find any.”
She didn’t think they would. “I bet your customers weren’t happy.”
“It happened after we were closed.”
“Did someone phone it in?”
“An anonymous tip. The cop I talked to didn’t know much more than that.”
“Could have been worse. They could have found something.”
“There isn’t anything like that in my club. I’m very strict about that.”
“I wasn’t saying it would have been there legitimately. Someone could have planted something.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.”
She heard his sigh. “I’m sorry, Viktor.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“Because I think this has something to do with me. And my presence here,” she said.
She put a hand on his face. He was such a good man. He would never kick her out. She didn’t want to leave, either. She was falling for him, hard. She wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. She didn’t know his plans, and frankly, she’d been so much of a liability in his life, she didn’t think she’d last too long.
He’d protect her. That was for sure. Would she stay in his bed the whole time?
He kissed her forehead. “It’s fine, Alia. You have nothing to worry about now. I know what you’re thinking and if you run away from me again, I may put you over my knee and spank you.”
For some reason, the idea that Viktor would be that upset about her leaving, sent a thrill through her. She didn’t like the spanking idea. A little too much kink for her, but someone caring, that much was amazing.
All because she’d seen a murder. Talk about a silver lining.
“I’m not going to run. I promise, but maybe we need to figure out other options.”
He pulled her tighter. “There are no other options. You are here with me and that’s it. I’m not entertaining anything else. I want you here. I want you in my bed when I come home and when I wake up.”
Okay. He’d made that clear. Besides, he was tired. “Okay. No arguing.”
He smiled. Then he kissed her and she could tell he was ready for something other than sleep. She turned fully into him, his erection poking at her stomach.
“I’m guessing you aren’t that tired,” she said.
“I’m not sure I can do much work.”
“Then lay on your back. I’ll take care of everything.”
This man turned her on just by his presence. She straddled him, kissing him with a ferocity she had never kissed anyone before. This man was so much man and, at the moment, all hers. Would she ever tire of him?
Probably not. He might tire of her, but she refused to think of that. She rubbed his penis with her crotch.
“Don’t tease,” he said. “I don’t think I have a lot of control right now.”
She smiled down at him, then took his full length inside of her. He filled her. Completed her, the way she’d never expected from a man. She’d never wished for it.
As a child, she hadn’t bought into Disney fairy tales. They all seemed so unrealistic, but this man was her knight in shining armor. He’d saved her and he kept saving her, no matter what happened.
She stroked him with her insides, setting up a slow torturous rhythm. He gasped. She braced her hands on his chest, moving her hips until she was just at the peak. Then she sped up and they came together.
Her breath came out in pants as she rested her head on his chest.
“Alia,” he whispered in her hair.
The words held a tenderness that she cherished. Not only had this man saved her, he’d given her a chance to go to college and have a career. For a moment, she worried that her success was too tied up with him.
But her success would be her own at some point. She shifted to lay next to him. He turned onto his side and snuggled her closer to him. She felt safe. It was that simple. He cared for her and kept her safe.
“Viktor. Mm.”
He chuckled. “Now I need to sleep, my sweet. It’s been a long day.”
“Sleep. I don’t need to be up for a while either,” she said.
It would have taken a bomb to get her out of the bed. His body warmed her. The hairs on his chest tickled her back. One of his hands rested on her breast. The other found a spot on her hip. She couldn’t have moved if she’d wanted to.
Not that she had any desire to, but she did have to figure out how to be safe without Viktor’s business being affected. She couldn’t in clear conscience, keep having his life turned upside down because the Russian Mafia wanted her.
Police protection? She didn’t know if they did that. She yawned. Viktor’s breathing settled and he was asleep. Like a man with nothing on his conscience. Which he didn’t. She was sure.
She couldn’t say the same.
***
Sacha poked his head into Viktor’s office later that day. “Viktor?”
“What’s up, Sacha?”
He didn’t like the look on his brother’s face.
“You need to come see this.”
“What is it?”
He waved his hand. “Come see.”
Viktor followed Sacha down to his loading dock which opened on the back alley of the building. He didn’t often have a reason to be here, so he couldn’t fathom what Sacha needed him to see. This was part of Sacha’s domain.
Besides being Viktor’s lawyer, he oversaw a part of his business. Sacha had never let him down and it was the Russian way to hire family. You could trust blood.
No trucks were parked there unloading, but a pallet of alcohol sat on the dock. It had been shrink-wrapped.
“So?”
“Look closer,” Sacha said.
When he stepped closer, Viktor saw what he was talking about. The bottles on top of the stack had been broken. Every single one.
He pulled out his phone and called his distributor.
“Tony, it’s Viktor.”
“Hey Viktor. What’s up?”
“I have my shipment from you and part of the shipment is broken.”
“Let me look up your record.” He came back on the line. “That was checked and signed for by Sacha.”
Viktor glanced at his brother, holding his hand over his phone. “He says you checked it and signed for it.”
Sacha shook his head. “I didn’t sign for anything. I came out this morning and found it here. Then I examined it and found the broken bottles.”
The back dock currently smelled like a distillery. All of the leaked alcohol was inside the pallet. That meant all of the unbroken bottles need to be cleaned.
“Sacha said he found the pallet out here.”
“The best I can do is talk to the driver. He’ll be here in about a half an hour.”
Viktor hung up. Then he called upstairs to Alia.
“I need your help down here.”
“Sure, I’ll be down in a few minutes. Do I need to dress?”
“Wear clothes, but not nice ones. It’s a dirty job.”
He hung up. Sacha gave him a strange look. “You’re asking your girlfriend to help clean?”
“Why not?”
Sacha shrugged. Alia appeared ten minutes later.
“We need to cut the shrink wrap and clean the bottles.” He took off his suit jacket and tie. He rolled up his sleeves. There were many bottles to clean before the bar opened that night.
“How did this happen?” Alia asked, as she grabbed some bottles after Sacha opened the wrapping.
“Still trying to figure this out. I’ve never had an issue with this guy,” Viktor said.
They cleaned the bottles in the sink in the bar. It was the only place to do it. They let them dry.
“I hope the labels don’t come off,” Viktor said.
“How much did you lose?” Sacha asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m expecting them to replace it.”
“Maybe you need a camera at the back dock,” Sacha said.
“You might be right.”
He wondered if this was something unrelated to the distributor. Had someone else come along and smashed the bottles. Bored kids? Why didn’t the driver wait for someone to sign for the alcohol?
The distributor could get in trouble for leaving it there, not that Viktor was going to tell on them. The worked at the bar while Sacha brought them the bottles.
“Did you know this shipment was coming?” Viktor asked Sacha.
The man eyed Alia over Viktor’s shoulder. “No and we we’ve never had trouble before. Not until your girlfriend came to stay.”
Viktor straightened. “Sacha, that’s unacceptable.”
“You tell me that it isn’t true,” Sacha said.
“Sacha. It doesn’t matter.”
Alia stopped what she was doing and cocked her head in their direction.
“This isn’t the time or place,” Viktor said. “You have a problem with how I’m running my business, we talk in private. Not here.”
Sacha frowned, but nodded.
“He’s probably right,” Alia said.
“Shush. I’m not listening.”
She didn’t pursue it.
When they were almost done, the bartender came in and helped. He’d been with Viktor since the club’s opening.
Viktor’s phone rang. It was the distributor. “Hello?”
“It’s Tony. My driver said that he dropped of the stuff, but no one was there to sign. He said that someone threatened him.”
“Who?”
“He doesn’t know, but the guy appeared out of nowhere. Had a gun.”
“Shit. Sorry, Tony. We’re having a bit of trouble.”
“I don’t want my drivers involved in your bit of trouble.”
“Then you better call first so I can be sure someone is here,” Viktor said.
“I will next time, but if there is more trouble we’ll have to rethink this relationship,” Tony said.
Viktor hung up, dropping the phone onto the bar. What was happening? Why were things escalating? Did the cops figure out who the suspects were? They hadn’t contacted Alia again.
She would be really scared now. Not good. She might do something stupid.
Sacha came back in with the last of the bottles. “Problem?”
“No, but Tony is going to call before the next delivery to make sure that someone is here.”
Sacha grunted, then leaned on the bar. “We need to talk.”
“Not now. I have work.”
“Tonight.”
Sacha stomped away like he used when he was a little kid. That man was moodier than a woman. He probably needed to get laid. Sacha needed a woman. One that didn’t let him get away with anything.
Viktor didn’t look forward to his talk with Sacha. The man was on a tear about Alia. Jealousy? Did he wish he had something like Viktor had with Alia? What a mess, but he wasn’t giving up Alia to the Russian Mafia. Or anyone else.
The Mafia could be nasty. Case and point, the execution style murder in a dark alley. Viktor shuddered.
He felt hands on his back. Alia was rubbing him. “You okay?”
He smiled down at her. “Good.”
*
Alia lounged in Viktor’s office while he sorted out paperwork. She didn’t want to go back upstairs. She was restless and would love another outing. The apartment was getting cramped.
Maybe she should invite Jess over. They hadn’t seen each other in weeks.
“Do you think they’re watching this place?” she said.
“Who?”
Viktor didn’t look up from his paperwork. She couldn’t believe he could concentrate on her and his work. She was also feeling a little unnerved about the latest salvo against Viktor. How far would they go? How far would he go to protect her? She felt safe here. Safe with Viktor, but how long will that last?
What will they have to do to his business for him to give her up? Hopefully, the cops would have this solved by then.
“The Mafia,” she said.
She swiveled her chair in boredom. She was getting good at writing her papers for class so she didn’t need as much time to do them. She wasn’t on social media and frankly didn’t think it was a good idea to start now.
“Probably.”
Once again, he didn’t look up. He only turned to his computer, typed on some keys.
“How can you be so calm?”
He stopped and finally looked at her. She hated being high maintenance, but she needed some reassuring at the moment. This incident was the first time the bad guys had let them know of their presence in a few days.
This had been a direct attack on Viktor’s business. That unnerved Alia. They were getting more serious. They wanted her.
“Because, Alia, they are a presence in this neighborhood and I’ve had to deal with them in the past.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. When I first opened up the club, they wanted hookers in here and drugs. I chased them out. They don’t like me to begin with, but it’s been an uneasy alliance for years.”
“And now I’ve disrupted the balance.”
He waved a hand. “It’s fine. I’m not concerned.”
“Maybe there’s another way.”
“Another way to what?”
He put down his pen and looked at her.
“To protect me,” she said.
“Do you have an idea?”
No, she did not, but in clear conscience, she couldn’t stay her much longer. She didn’t want to be reckless or be in danger. She also felt that she shouldn’t take advantage of Viktor. He’d been so good to her. And when this was all over she’d have to leave.
That broke her heart. She was beginning to have feelings for him. She didn’t know if he had feelings back. She should ask, but for some reason, she was chicken.
What if he said he didn’t? She’d be shattered. And the rest of her stay here would be awkward. She didn’t want that. She wanted to stay in Viktor’s bed for as long as she could.
“Uh, no, but maybe it’s time to explore other options.”
He folded his hands on his desk. “What other options are those?”
His gaze was stern on her. “I don’t know, but there has be something else I can do, or we can do. We have to do something before they shut down your business.”
“Oh, Alia. I own nightclubs in other major cities. I can pack up and live in them if I want.”
“Then maybe you should send me to one of those to sing. Then the Mafia would leave you alone.”
He shook his head. “I don’t like that idea.”
“Why not? Your business would be safer.”
“Like I said, my business is not just this place. This is one of several I own. The others are under no threat and the Russian Mafia has no pull in those countries.”
“But—”
“No, buts, Alia. You’re staying.”
He picked up his pen and went back to work. She wasn’t satisfied. She didn’t like being dismissed as if her opinion didn’t matter. Her temper spiked and she stood.
Viktor looked up at her, no fear in his eyes.
“I’m serious Viktor. I’m not going to be responsible for your business going under. And Sacha clearly agrees I shouldn’t be either.”
“Don’t worry about Sacha. He’s out of line.”
She leaned on his desk, her hands on his paperwork. “We need to talk about this.”
Viktor sighed, put down his pen. “You are not letting this go, are you?”
“No, I’m not. What happens if they ruin your nightclub?”
“They aren’t going to ruin it, but let’s look at possible scenarios.”
At least he was paying attention to her fears now, instead of dismissing them. “Go ahead.”
She sat back down on her chair to listen.
“The club closes and I have to lay off people. I’m sure I can find them jobs because don’t employ that many. Some of my bodyguards will relocate to other clubs I own. Some will get other jobs in the field. I can give good recommendations for all of them. They would know in plenty of time to get another job. Everyone would be taken care of.”
“Would you stay in New York?”
He shrugged. “I’d probably move my mother to wherever I was going. She doesn’t care where she lives as long as it is a city and she doesn’t have to learn a new language. I’d probably move to London or LA to accommodate that.”
“What about Sacha?”
She noticed he didn’t mention her. At all. He wouldn’t take her with him. That was telling.
“Sacha is a big boy. He can follow, or not. He’s only licensed to practice law in New York and California.”
“But he could get his license anywhere you went?”
“I don’t know the specifics of that. The point is that I have an escape plan. Everyone will be taken care of.”
Everyone but Alia. She would be left, wouldn’t she? All the more reason to make sure his business didn’t fail. She rubbed her chin as he stared at her.
***
Viktor realized that he left Alia out of his escape plan. That’s why she was looking at him like that. Not a good mistake, but he wasn’t really paying attention.
A tactical error that he had to fix right now. The paperwork could wait. This was not a “fuck her on the desk, make up sex.”
He stood and she looked at him, wide-eyed. He held out his hand. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“Upstairs. I want to have this conversation where no one will interrupt us.”
She took his hand warily. He led her up to the apartment. He had begun to think of it as their apartment. She was entrenched, and wherever he went, he would take her with him. If he said it now, she might not believe him.
“Don’t you have work to do?” Alia asked him, as he opened the front door.
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