Jimmy hadn’t been pleased when she’d gone back to school, citing the student loan debts she was sure to accumulate. She hadn’t even told him what course she planned to do, knowing he’d be suspicious. Instead, she’d told him she planned to continue her studies with English Literature. It had been one of the first acts of defiance she’d managed against him, and started the ball rolling to her eventually having the strength and a plan to leave him.
Jimmy had only agreed to let her study when she said she’d still work full time. She quit her office job and applied to work nights at the diner so it wouldn’t interfere with her schoolwork.
It had worked out well. She’d go to class, then head straight to the diner, often studying in the early hours of the morning when the customers were scarce. She’d barely seen Jimmy, though he stopped by the diner regularly, mostly to make sure she was there. He often waited for her outside of class, too, and drove her to the diner for her shift when his own hours at the auto repair shop he worked at permitted.
Her acquaintances had thought his devotion was sweet, and she hadn’t been brave enough to correct them.
When Alexei didn’t say anything in response to her statement, Evie kept talking. She told him about her classes, which ones she enjoyed and which she didn’t. She told him about her friend Chelsea, with whom she often studied, or hung out after class.
Through it all, Alexei watched her and sipped his coffee, apparently not feeling a need to say anything. She wondered if he was bored, but he didn’t yawn, or check the time. His attention was focused solely on her the entire time she rambled on.
Eventually, the bell above the door jingled, interrupting her stream of words. Alexei glanced at the newcomer over her shoulder and scowled.
She slid out of the booth to greet them with a smile, seeing it was a young couple who had clearly had a bit too much to drink, but were giggling happily to each other as they found their seats. The young man slung an arm over the woman’s shoulder, and she nuzzled sloppily into his chest.
Evie straightened her spine and walked towards them, then spent an inordinate amount of time coaxing them to pick something off the menu when they couldn’t decide. After she’d finally scribbled down their orders, she handed the slip of paper to Bob, then turned back to Alexei. He stood by the table, slipping his wallet into his jacket pocket. Evie glanced at the table, and wasn’t surprised to see he’d left a hefty tip. The sight made her smile.
“I should go,” he said, when he caught her hovering nearby. She squashed the feeling of disappointment that rose up within her at his words and gave him a smile instead. She’d enjoyed the conversation, far more than she’d expected. Maybe it was because he’d just let her talk, and hadn’t tried to make the whole conversation about himself. She had very few good listeners in her life.
“Thanks for stopping by,” she said, then winced. She’d made it seem like he’d been visiting her. “I mean, feel free to come back any time after your training. I’ll be here.”
He smiled at that, and nodded, and she wondered whether he’d take her up on the invitation. She knew it wouldn’t be the last she’d see of him if he didn’t, since they were neighbours and all. But she almost didn’t want to see him at their apartments, as that space seemed tainted by the way they’d met. Here, at the diner, it was neutral ground, without the bad memories attached.
Evie shook her head to clear it, then stepped back to let Alexei pass. He stopped with his hand on the door, then glanced over his shoulder at her. Evie’s heart flipped in anticipation—of what, she wasn’t sure. Surely she didn’t want him to ask her out? Not this man, with his violent profession and brutal size. Not now, when things were so uncertain, and she was only now getting her life back together.
But he didn’t ask her out. Instead, his brow tugged down as he cast a glance over her.
“Will you be alright getting home?”
His concern floored her, the simple thoughtfulness and protection he bestowed on her. Something clutched in her chest, and Evie thought it felt suspiciously like a crush.
“Yes. I have mace in my bag. And Bob will probably walk me home. It’s only fifteen minutes away.”
Alexei hesitated, clearly not convinced by her answer.
“I promise,” she told him. “I’ll be fine. I do this all the time.”
Apparently making up his mind about something, Alexei turned away from the door and strode towards her. Evie’s heart thundered, almost like she anticipated a kiss. But a man of that size baring down on her set her hackles rising and a cold trickle of fear ran down her spine.
He took her pad and pen from her hand, apparently not noticing her reaction. He scribbled something, then handed them carefully back to her and stepped away so he didn’t loom over her.
“In case,” he said, then turned and left the diner with a tinkle of bells.
Evie glanced down at the pad, chastising herself for her fearful reaction to Alexei’s movements. On the pad, he’d scribbled his phone number, and underlined it with a bold hand.
She smiled, and felt instantly lighter.
Chapter 5
Evie slid into a seat in the lecture hall and set her bag next to her to save the seat for her friend Chelsea. The room was already filling up with chattering students, even though she was ten minutes early. She sipped her double-strength coffee and stared ahead, bleary-eyed.
She hadn’t got to bed until half past three. Even then, despite her exhaustion, she’d been unable to sleep with thoughts of Alexei rattling through her brain. He was a mystery to her, a huge, silent man, who seemed sweet until she remembered his job. He fought people for a living, beat them up, and based on the bruises she’d seen him sport it was a brutal way to make money. Why did he do it? Did he enjoy it? Did he get a sick satisfaction from slamming his fists into another human being? Is that how he worked out his anger and frustration at life, through violence? She didn’t know, and was almost afraid to find out.
She didn’t trust her instincts anymore. Not since she’d found Jimmy so charming when they’d first met. Their relationship had progressed in such a whirlwind she hadn’t had time to catch her breath, and suddenly they were living together and he had almost complete control over her life. By the time she’d realised what had happened, it was too late to easily extract herself. Jimmy had inexorably tightened his control over her until she’d no longer had a say in her own life.
Her life wasn’t over now Jimmy was out of it, she knew that. In fact, in some ways it was only just beginning. But Evie didn’t see how she could ever trust another man, trust herself, after what she’d been through. How could she give herself to anyone after all she’d been through?
She’d been working on just such a conundrum with the counsellor at school lately. It was a slow, laborious process, but one Evie thought was worth it. She didn’t want to give up on her dream of marriage and family because of Jimmy. It would be like he’d won.
But was Alexei the right man to try again with? Evie doubted it. He was as far away from the safe, sedate, predictable man she needed in her life. In the very early hours of this morning, she’d almost convinced herself he would the perfect candidate for a little harmless flirtation, practice for the real thing. But he was about as far from harmless as a man could get, both to her mind and body.
It didn’t stop her from finding him surprisingly attractive. She hadn’t thought him handsome when she’d first seen him, and he wasn’t. But there was something compelling about his size and strength and protective streak. She’d bet he could lift her, hold her up, without even blinking. What would it be like to have all that power surrounding her? Inside her?
“Who are you dreaming about?” a voice asked from her left.
Evie jumped, becoming instantly alert, and glanced up at Chelsea. “No one,” she muttered guiltily, and busied herself with moving her bag from the seat she’d saved for her friend. Her cheeks heated as she did so, both in embarrassment and left over from the steamy thoughts she’d a
lmost allowed herself to consider about Alexei.
Chelsea laughed as she slid into her seat. “I was kidding, but you really were thinking of someone, weren’t you?”
Evie shot her friend a mock glare.
“Who was it? Anyone I know?”
Evie pressed her lips together, trying to hold onto her annoyance at her friend’s perceptiveness. But then she sighed and rolled her eyes at herself. “No one you know,” she told her friend, leaning closer so the other students filling up the surrounding seats couldn’t eavesdrop.
“This is great,” Chelsea said, eyes filled with such sincere happiness that Evie couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t think you’ve mentioned a guy since…well, you know.”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s nothing, not really. He’s just my neighbour.”
“But he’s hot?” Chelsea pressed.
“Not in the traditional sense. But he’s got loads of muscles and seems fairly sweet in spite of them.”
“A big guy, huh. You know what that might mean?” Chelsea gave her a significant look, then burst into giggles. Evie followed suit, feeling lighter than she had in a long time. It was so good to have normal girl talk like this, like she wasn’t damaged and broken. She held on to the feeling, hoping it would last.
“I won’t sleep with him,” she told her friend archly.
“Why the hell not?”
Evie shrugged. “Firstly, I think jumping into bed with the first guy I’m remotely attracted to is a recipe for trouble. And secondly, he’s so…big. Strong.”
Chelsea’s eyes dimmed with sadness. “It doesn’t mean he’d hurt you.” The words were said with understanding, not censure.
“Doesn’t mean he won’t,” she countered.
Chelsea looked like she wanted to say more, but at that moment their professor walked in and hurried to get the class in order.
The lecture itself served as a stark reminder why Evie should be avoiding Alexei with every ounce of her being. She sat, frozen, her mouth dry, as her lecturer talked about the warning signs of domestic violence. She’d known it was coming, and had prepared herself accordingly. But there really wasn’t anything that could stop her hands trembling as she ran through the checklist of warning signs. Mostly, Evie’s thoughts were with Jimmy, and how everything he’d done had been so obvious with hindsight.
But when her lecturer mentioned studies showed some people with CTE—a brain injury commonly associated with football players and other men in professional contact sports—were also linked to domestic violence after diagnosis, her thoughts went to Alexei, and his fights. Now that she thought about it, the bruise on his temple told her that he probably didn’t even wear head gear when he fought. How many times had he been hit in the head? And if he kept fighting, how many times would it happen in the future?
She left the class feeling drained and clammy, so Chelsea took her to the on-campus café, where they snagged a corner table. Rather than increase her jitters by having more caffeine, Evie had a shake and a savoury muffin.
It was a long time before Evie moved again, and by the time she did, she’d made a promise to herself. She had to avoid Alexei, at all costs. She couldn’t take the risk.
Alexei slammed his fist into the punching bag, sending it swinging. The thump reverberated through the gym, so loud the others glanced his way. Chen was there, working the weights, and Weston and Spider were in the boxing ring, which was the only thing in worse shape than Spider. This was the first time Alexei had seen Spider since Diego had sent him to hospital. He was stiff and slow, still healing from the damage. But Weston was surprisingly patient with him as Spider tested his limits.
Alexei turned back to the bag and let off a flurry of punches and kicks, working himself into a sweat. He tried, and failed, not to think about Evie. It wasn’t that he was interested in her, though he could admit to himself he was. It was that he wanted to protect her. He worried about her. He worried Jimmy would come back when he wasn’t there to save her.
And yeah, he wanted to get her into bed, too. But he tried not to think about that possibility, because it couldn’t happen. Shouldn’t happen.
Alexei was a big guy all over. If he lost control, even for a second, he could really hurt a woman. It hadn’t happened yet, but he’d never take that risk. Not with a woman like Evie. She was too fragile, too delicate, had been through too much. He didn’t want to scare her.
“You gonna be done soon?” a voice interrupted Alexei’s frustrated pummelling. He stopped what he was doing and glanced at Chen, who stood there with his eyebrows raised in question. Alexei got the feeling it wasn’t just about the punching bag.
Alexei let out a grunt and sat heavily on the nearest bench. It wasn’t helping anyway. The only thing that would help him would be to see Evie again. He accepted that for all the trouble she’d no doubt be in his life, he wouldn’t forget her anytime soon.
Chen still watched him, holding the bag.
“Woman,” Alexei told him.
Chen grinned. “Yeah, no surprises.”
The door to the carpark swung open, and Alexei and Chen both glanced that way. Wyatt strode in with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He gave Alexei and Chen a silent nod, then headed straight over to the edge of the ring where Spider and Weston still sparred.
“There’s something weird about that guy,” Chen muttered.
Alexei glanced at him, eyebrows raised in question.
Chen shrugged. “He doesn’t seem like the usual type to gravitate towards that crowd,” Chen said, referring to McCready’s crew of personal fighters.
Alexei nodded. “Yeah. Also, since he hates McCready.”
Chen stilled and glanced at Alexei. “How do you know that?”
Alexei shrugged. “He looks at him like a hunter. Like McCready is prey.” His father had used to look at men he didn’t like in the same way, right before they were fished out of the nearest river. His father hadn’t been a good man. He was in the Russian mafia, fairly high ranked. It was how he’d gotten away with the murders, the beatings, the domestic violence, for so long. His organisation had plenty of police in their pockets.
It was one of the reasons Alexei had come to America, instead of staying in Russia to fight where he had a minor following. He’d been chasing the glory of the American market, yes, which paid higher than the Russians. But he’d also wanted to sever ties with his father. Permanently. Otherwise, he was afraid his father would find ways to use him.
“We’ll have to keep an eye on that guy,” Chen said softly, almost to himself. He watched Wyatt shake Spider’s hand as if they were old friends, Weston grinning on the sidelines. Alexei nodded his agreement.
“I should go,” Alexei said, his mind already wandering. Chen sent him a knowing look, but nodded and said goodbye.
Alexei hit the showers and changed, then walked in the direction of home. But he knew that wasn’t where he’d end up, even if he wanted to.
Chapter 6
Alexei walked into the diner a little after midnight, and Evie’s stomach flipped at the sight of him. His cheeks were red from the cold and the collar of his jacket had been popped to keep any wind from the back of his neck.
She almost scowled at herself for her own reaction, reminding herself of everything the lecturer had said today. But seeing him offer her a hesitant smile threw all her concerns out of her mind. It wasn’t fair for her to blow him off just because he might be someone to be wary of. She should be wary, she couldn’t deny that. But she also shouldn’t be rude, or too fearful to take chances or make new friends. Being polite didn’t mean she had to jump into bed with the guy.
“Hi,” she greeted him softly.
His eyes warmed as he glanced at her, then he turned and took the same seat against the wall that he had last night. The rest of the diner was empty, so she grabbed her pad and pen and headed over to him.
“Couldn’t resist those burgers, huh?”
“Something like that,” he murmured, his eyes travelli
ng over her face. Her skin heated at his look. Not from embarrassment, but from a subtle kind of hunger. It wasn’t the aggressive roar of lust she remembered from her pre-Jimmy dating days, but it was a muted, tentative version of it just the same.
“Got any fights this week?” she asked, almost as a reminder to herself.
He shook his head. “We always fight Saturday.”
“But you train most days?”
He nodded.
“Did you have class today?” he asked, surprising her.
“Yeah, it was…well, it was kinda tough, particularly on not much sleep, but I got through.”
He scowled. “You should sleep. Maybe work less.”
Evie swallowed. She knew, in her mind, he wasn’t being dictatorial. Abrupt, maybe, but she put that down to the language barrier. However, Jimmy had said many similar things over the years. “You’re never home” and “Who will take care of me now you’re never here?” and “Work and school are taking you away from me, you should drop out”.
She shrugged, hand shaking. “Not long now. Only a few more months.”
He nodded, and didn’t pursue the topic of conversation, for which Evie was grateful.
“So do you know what you want?” she asked, pointing at the menu with her pen.
“Same,” he said.
She nodded and scribbled it down, then turned and headed into the kitchen.
Bob ignored her as she put the order down on the counter and headed straight through to the walk-in freezer in the back. She shut the door on herself and revelled in the cold air and the quiet, calm stealing over her.
She needed to stop thoughts of Jimmy affecting her like this. She couldn’t allow her whole life to become a careful avoidance of any topic that even slightly reminded her of him. It was no way to live.
Evie took a deep breath, and then another, until she’d settled herself. Then, she determinedly marched out of the kitchen and back out onto the floor. While she’d been out back, a young woman had settled herself at the counter, so Evie took her order and poured her a coffee before grabbing Alexei’s burger and taking it to him.
Russian Beast: Underground Fighters #2 Page 4
