Nikolai

by Sandy Alvarez

  "I believe it's finally time I introduce myself." My body starts humming at the thought of coming face to face with Leah's abuser.

  "Why don't you take one of my men with you," Jake offers. "You never know what kind of trouble you'll run into. The Kings have your back—always."

  "Thanks," I tell Jake, knowing who I want at my side. "For everything," I add.

  "No thanks needed. We're family."

  After ending the phone call with Jake, I receive an email from my guy doing his own investigative work. Opening the email, I find what I'm looking at is Leah's medical records. Leaning closer to the computer screen, I scroll through page after page of her painful past. My woman suffered more than any child should ever have. Broken bones. A couple of concussions. Bruises. Why weren't these ever reported? An ache forms in my chest. Having seen enough, I turn off the computer and stand.

  The monster inside of me seeks retribution for my woman, and I intend to give into its hunger.

  Later that night, my brother and I sit in the smoke-filled strip club, the walls vibrating from the music as heavy bass passes through the speakers overhead. The room itself darkens, as one of the dancers finishes her routine on the stage. While we wait for our guest of honor to arrive, Logan flags a waitress to our table, located in the back of the room. "I don't believe I've seen you two here before," she hooks her thumb in the loop of her leather shorts. "You're not from around here, are you? What can I get for you?" she asks.

  "A beer," Logan orders, not answering her first question.

  "Sure thing," the young woman nods then looks at me, waiting for my reply.

  "I'll have the same." She smiles and heads for the bar. When she returns, she sits the bottles on the table. "Which one is Trina?" I ask the waitress as my eyes travel around the room. Her eyes grow big for a moment before responding.

  "Look, if you're here to start trouble, I'll get Robert over there," her head jerks in the direction of the bar, where a large man wearing a shirt with security written across the front stands, "to escort you out of the building." I study her face for a second. She's afraid.

  "We are not here to harm her. She knows someone we would like to have a chat with."

  She eyes my brother and me. "You're looking at her." The waitress straightens her back. Just as I suspected. I look at my brother then back to her.

  "James Winters." The moment I speak his name, her body tenses, and she visibly swallows. When she doesn't talk, I continue. "You're afraid of him." It's not a question but a statement. "Which room?" I ask.

  She blinks a few times. "What?"

  "He asked you which room in the back will we find him in later tonight?"

  "If he finds out I had anything to do with…"

  I interrupt her. "He won't harm you. This, I swear."

  Another set of music begins to play as a woman takes the stage. "My set is next," she turns to walk away but pauses. "Room 6, at the end of the hall. I'll leave the door unlocked." Not looking back, she retreats.

  "Think we can trust her?" Logan lifts his beer and takes a drink.

  "She's afraid of him."

  Logan nods. "I noticed that too. The moment you mentioned the fucker's name, she turned white as a ghost."

  "Leah's father is hiding his true self."

  "Look," Logan jerks his head in the direction of the entrance, and my eyes fall on the sorry bastard making his way across the room. He's so close I can smell his cheap cologne as he passes by on his way to an empty seat beside the catwalk. My stare never leaves the back of his head. The music changes once more, and Trina takes the stage, but my focus is solely on Leah's father. After Trina exits the stage, James gets up from his seat. He crosses the room, where he talks to a bald man, then slips him a large wad of cash. He then walks down the hall, where he disappears into a room.

  "How do we get past the jughead there?" Logan questions

  "We pay," I shrug, gripping the bottle in my hand that I have yet to touch.

  "Shit." Logan downs the rest of his beer. "I figured you'd say that."

  I stand, and Logan falls in behind me as I stride across the room. We stop in front of the bald guy, and his eyes narrow.

  "What the fuck do you want?"

  "We're lookin' for a private party," Logan answers.

  The guy's eyes dart between my brother and me. "Five hundred for one hour." he stares us down. Movement at the end of the hall behind him catches my attention. Looking past his shoulder, I watch Trina enter the same room Leah's father did. Just as she closes the door, her eyes connect with mine, and I know I will have my vengeance tonight. Pulling a wad of rolled-up cash from the front pocket of my jeans, thumb through the large bills, counting out the price the guy quotes. "Five hundred per customer," he adds. Without hesitating, I count out the rest of the money and hand it to him. He snatches it from my hand. "Room five." He recounts the money. "By the way. If you break it, you buy it," he calls over his shoulder as we walk down the hall.

  "This place isn't your ordinary strip club," Logan states. Judging by the bald guy's comment, I would have to agree.

  We pause a beat outside room five, and I take a glance down the hall. The guy who took my money stands with his back to us as he watches the girls on the stage. With his attention diverted, we move to room six and twist the doorknob. It's unlocked just as Trina said. My brother and I slip inside.

  Once in the room, we find Trina grinding against a blindfolded James, his pants around his ankles. I look around us, taking in the space. There are items used for bondage play attached to every wall. I pull my gun from the concealed holster beneath my shirt. Trina nods, knowing it's time for her to exit the room.

  Leaning forward, she whispers seductively in James's ear. "Are you ready for me?"

  "Fuck yeah. Give it to me," James says, rubbing his dick through his boxers, as Trina grabs her robe nearby and leaves the room. Logan stands at the door, locking it.

  As I press the barrel end of my gun to the middle of James's forehead, he releases his dick. "What the fuck?" his back pushes further into the sofa he's sitting on, and he holds his hands up in the air. I pull the blindfold from his eyes, wanting him to see my face. "Who the fuck are you?" he spits, not showing any fear, then his eyes find Logan standing behind me. "What the hell is going on? You have no idea who you are fucking with right now," he says through clenched teeth.

  Wrapping my fingers around his neck, I haul his sorry ass off the sofa. He struggles under my hold, which only has me squeezing tighter, cutting off his oxygen flow. His eyes bulge from the pressure, and he pries at my fingers, seeking relief. I throw him against the wall where a cross with leather straps is mounted. Logan quickly aids me in binding his wrists. Logan then hands me a large ballgag, which I forcefully shove into the bastard's mouth then fasten it as tight as I can. James gags and coughs around the contraption in his mouth, desperately trying to pull air in through his nose.

  "Now that I have your undivided attention." I let my hand holding my gun hang at my side while I speak. "My name is Nikolai Volkov." Recognition flashes across his face at the mention of my name. "I see you have heard of me. Good. Then you may also know why I am here." James's eyes follow me as I pace in front of him. "You see, I don't have proof yet, but I suspect that you were behind your daughter's accident the other day." I stop in front of him and look him in the eyes. "You've taken from my woman for the last time." James pulls against his restraints as he tries to kick me. "I'm here to warn you never again to speak her name. You are dead to her. If you ever come near Leah again, I will end your worthless existence. Nothing will bring me greater pleasure than to take your life with my bare hands."

  I hand Logan my weapon. "But first, you're going to know what life has been like for your daughter." I backhand him across his face, leaving an imprint on his cheek of my family crest from the ring on my finger. Not stopping, I grind my knuckles into his torso like I would a heavy bag. James foams at the mouth as he tries not to choke on his spit. With every blow, I thin
k of the medical reports I read earlier today, and every broken bone that was brushed off as a childhood mishap. I think about the mental abuse this motherfucker put her through daily, wearing her down until she no longer believed in herself.

  Once I've exhausted myself, I stop. I won't take his life today. I want him to live in fear for the rest of his life. I want him to know what it feels like to always look over his shoulder, wondering if that day will be his last. I want him to fear me as Leah fears him. Stepping close to his defeated body, barely able to stand on his own two feet, I whisper. "Who's the monster now?" I seethe. "I'll be waiting for the day you fuck up, and I finally put a bullet in your head."

  Turning my back on Leah's father, I approach the locked door. Logan hands back my gun, which I slip beneath my shirt. "Ready?" I give him a nod. Cracking the door open, Logan peeks out. "Coast is clear." As we're closing the door, Trina suddenly appears, motioning for us to follow her. She leads us through the women's dressing room, which leads to an exit door that reads employees only. The warm night air hits us the moment we step outside.

  "Is he dead?" she asks, trying to keep up with me and my brother jogging toward the street.

  Digging into my pocket, I pull out what's left of the cash I have and toss it to her. "Take this and get out of town," I say, leaving her standing in the club's parking lot.

  Throwing my leg over my bike, I look to my brother. "Up for one more stop on the way home?"

  "Where are we going, brother?"

  "To pay Leah's mother a visit," I tell him.

  Forty minutes later, we're rolling our bikes to a stop outside Leah's childhood home in a small quiet subdivision in Post Creek. "I'll wait for you here," Logan says as I'm walking up the sidewalk. The porch light comes on the moment my foot hits the first step. A light inside comes on, and I see a shadowy figure moving across the window. The locks on the door make clicking sounds before the door opens, and Leah's mother greets me. Her tired eyes widen as she looks up at me. "May I help you?" her voice comes out weak and small, no doubt the direct results of all the years of hard living with a man like James Winters. Part of me feels sympathy for what she has been through, but it is shadowed by the years of abuse my woman suffered. What I feel for Leah, and the retribution I look to dish out toward those who inflicted the pain, or who stood by and did nothing outweighs any compassion I should have.

  "How could you stand by for so long and allow your husband to torment your daughter? You're a pathetic excuse for a mother."

  Her shaking hand clenches her chest. "Leah," she says as a whisper as her eyes fall to her feet. "How do you know my daughter?" she brings her attention back to my face.

  "Leah is my woman." I watch as Mary Winters' demeanor changes slightly, and the unsureness she exuded before, gone.

  "I see," she says, giving a look of disdain, judging me.

  "You are a God-fearing woman, yes?" I ask, and she doesn't reply. "You stand there, judging someone you do not know, yet you have allowed your husband to break the spirit of a beautiful woman. You brought her into this world, and you should have protected her from filth like him." Mary crosses her arms. For a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of remorse in her eyes.

  "My husband is a good man," her chin lifts in defiance as she defends the bastard. "If the only reason you came here tonight was to speak ill of my husband while you live in sin with my daughter, then I will have to ask you to leave." My disgust and anger grow stronger with each word she speaks.

  "I paid your husband a little visit tonight, Mrs. Winters. We had ourselves a nice chat over at the strip club in the next town over from Post Creek." She turns her head, diverting her eyes from mine. "Ah, I see you are aware of your good husband's extracurricular activities. Yet, you still stand by him." Mary jerks her head, her eyes meeting mine once more.

  "He is my husband," she retorts.

  "Your daughter deserves better." I look down at Leah's mother. "I intend to give it to her. Her friends and I are her family now." Turning my back on the woman, I start to walk away.

  "She is our daughter. You cannot keep her from us."

  Spinning, I lock eyes with her. "I protect those I care for, Mrs. Winters. Anyone who dares to stand in the way of Leah's happiness or tries to harm her in any way will die," I threaten.

  I make my way back to where my bike is parked beside my brother. "Mothers like that make me appreciate the short time I had with mine even more," he comments as I settle onto my leather seat.

  "You were lucky to have the love of a mother like yours."

  Logan glances my way. "Shit. I'm sorry, brother." His apology is not needed. He knows as well as I that my mother is nothing more than the woman who gave me life. Logan, for a short time, got to experience something I never had growing up. A mother's love. "So, where to next?" Logan asks, and I only have one answer.

  "To get my woman."

  The long stretch of road back to Polson felt like it would never end. All I could think about was Leah. I've had my fill of the distance she has put between us. It's past time I finally claim what is mine once and for all. When we arrive at the compound, Austin lets us through the gate. It appears that everyone is gathered here tonight as we park our bikes next to the others. Leaving my bike running, I swing open the clubhouse door and stride inside. On a mission, my eyes scan the room, not finding Leah amongst those hanging out in the common room, so I head for the stairs. Not one person says a word as I march by.

  At the end of the upstairs hall, I zero in on the door to the bedroom, Leah occupies, which happens to be mine. Without knocking, I swing it open, finding her sitting on the bed beside her friend Alba. "Nikolai," her mouth falls open.

  "We're leaving." I advance on her.

  "I'm not talking to you." Leah crosses her arms beneath her breast, pushing them up.

  "This ends tonight." Reaching down, I lift her from her seated position and throw her over my shoulder.

  "Nikolai put me down," Leah yells in protest as I carry her ass down the stairs, where we are met by cheers and laughter from family and friends. With a smile on his face, Logan holds open the door as I exit the building.

  16

  Leah

  "Nikolai! What are you doing? Put me down." I ball up my fist and pound on his back, connecting with solid muscle, my blows having no effect whatsoever. "Have you lost your mind?"

  "No, but you have," he growls. "Now, zip it."

  My body goes solid. "You did not just tell me to shut up," I seethe.

  Stopping next to his bike, Nikolai plants me on my feet. "Twenty-four hours," he grits, getting in my face. "I gave you twenty-four hours to work through the shit in your head and come to me. You didn't. Instead, you spent those twenty-four hours sitting here, stewing on bullshit instead of letting me explain what went down the other day at my house."

  "Nikolai, I…" I go to say, but he cuts me off when his body pushes up against mine, backing me against his bike.

  "Nope. You had your chance, Leah. You're so far inside your head you can't see what's been in front of you for an entire year."

  All the air leaves my body at Nikolai's assessment, and I swallow.

  "He fucked with your head your whole life, Leah," Nikolai says, ignoring the way my body jerks, and continues. I know he's referring to my father.

  "That son of a bitch made you think so low of yourself that you can't even see what I have been laying out for you. But know this, after today, there will be not one ounce of doubt inside that gorgeous head of yours."

  On that note, Nikolai straddles his bike then looks at me expectantly. "You can get your ass on the back of my bike on your own, or I'll put you there myself."

  I don't think twice. I get on.

  Pulling up in front of his house, Nikolai cuts the engine to his motorcycle and waits for me to climb off. When I do, I stand beside his bike and try to avoid the way his eyes are boring into mine. He doesn't speak, and neither do I. I can't help but wring my hands together in front of me as I think about
what he said. There is some truth to his words. I also can't ignore the other facts that were front and center yesterday.

  "Stop that, baby." Nikolai reaches over, covering my hands with his. The tone in his voice has gone from clipped to gentle. "No matter how pissed I get, I would never hurt you."

  I swallow past the lump in my throat. "I... I know you wouldn't. I'm not scared of you, Nikolai. I just…" I sigh.

  "You what? Tell me." He climbs off his bike.

  "You're confusing me is all. I don't know what to make of what just happened back at the clubhouse. And whatever this is," I splay my hands out in front of me, "is overkill."

  "What went down at the clubhouse was me showing my ass because my woman was showing her ass, and I'd had enough."

  My heart skips a beat. "Your woman?" I whisper hiss.

  "You sleep in my bed the other night?"

  "Yes, but…"

  "You let me taste your sweet lips that same night?"

  My face heats. "Yes, but that…"

  "That makes you mine."

  Having enough of Nikolai cutting me off, I narrow my eyes and snap. "Your what, Nikolai? Your dirty secret you have on the side? What would your fiancé have to say about that?"

  "Seeing that I do not have a fiancé, there is nothing to say." Nikolai's jaw ticks. "And had you let me explain that shit yesterday, you would know what that bitch said to you was a lie."

  My next retort vanishes as Nikolai lays the truth out in black and white. I open and close my mouth, unable to string two words together.

  "I see you're getting it now."

  Shocked, I stay rooted in place. Nikolai takes a step in the direction of his house then stops as if he's waiting on me to follow.

  "What, I get to walk this time?" The snarky comment rolls out of my mouth, shocking myself.

  Nikolai's lip twitches. I squint and peer up at the amused look on his face. I don't like it. "I don't see anything funny about this situation, Nikolai. The past twenty-four hours have not been pleasant. I went from feeling happy for the first time in my life because I thought the man I had feelings for felt the same way, and in the blink of an eye, I had my heart ripped from my chest then stomped on by a pair of five-inch heels. I have been crushed, humiliated, and to top it off, I end up in a car accident to where I then spend an afternoon in the emergency room. Now, please tell me what part of all I just told you, do you find amusing?" By the time my mini-rant is over, Nikolai has dropped his smirk, and his body has gone rigid. He folds his body forward, getting in my space, one hand gripping the back of my neck, and the eyes I love so much pin me in place.