Zel: Markovic MMA

by Roxie Rivera

  Alexei shrugged. “He’s not my problem. We ended things on good terms. We had no bad blood between us.”

  Mueller obviously didn’t believe that lie, but the waiter returned with his Macallan before he could say anything else.

  Alexei took the check and tucked a credit card into the black leather folio. When the waiter left their table, Alexei met Mueller’s interested stare. “Wherever Lalo is and whatever happened to him, I trust that Nikolai and the other bosses have it under control.” He made a quick slashing gesture across the front of his throat. “You know what they say about tall poppies…”

  “I’ll have to remember not to grow too tall.”

  “That’s probably a good idea.” Alexei grasped the folio the waiter handed him, added a sizeable tip to the check and signed his name across the bottom. “I enjoyed our dinner.” He tucked his card back into his wallet. “We’ll have to do a working lunch soon.”

  “I’ll have my office set something up.”

  Their meeting finished, Alexei excused himself and left the restaurant. Despite the company, the meal had been delicious. He would have to bring Shay here.

  Thinking of her, he wondered why he hadn’t heard from her since their short afternoon chat. It finally occurred to him that he had switched his phone to Do Not Disturb during the morning sales meeting. He hadn’t added Shay’s number to the proper list yet so her calls and texts wouldn’t have sent an alert.

  As he walked to his SUV, he pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the screen. There were nine calls from Stas, two from Nikolai and one from Shay. Stomach churning, he dialed Shay’s number but there was no answer. He tried Stas next.

  The enforcer answered on the first ring. “Where the fuck are you?”

  Taken aback, Alexei said, “I just finished a business meeting. Why?”

  “Shay is in the hospital.”

  “What?” Alexei’s heart slammed into his sternum. It beat wildly as he tried to focus. Shay. Hospital. Feeling real fear, he demanded, “What happened? Which hospital?”

  “We’re at Methodist. The emergency room. She burned her hand. It’s not good.”

  A burn? His heart slowed some. He had been envisioning the worst—a car accident or a gunshot wound. A burn could be healed. A burned hand wouldn’t kill her.

  But she would be in tremendous pain. His chest tightened as he realized he wouldn’t be able to shield her from that. Knowing that she was alone and scared and suffering gutted him.

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He considered the time of night and the traffic. “It might be closer to thirty with parking.”

  Stas ended the call before he could ask to speak with Shay. Worried by the bodyguard’s gruff tone, Alexei jogged to his vehicle. He had just gotten behind the wheel when his phone rang again. The Bluetooth connection picked it up so he could drive hands-free. “Yes?”

  “Where are you?” Nikolai’s exasperation came through clearly. “I just called the restaurant and they said you had left.”

  “I’m on my way to the hospital.”

  “So you heard from Stas,” Nikolai deduced.

  “Yes.”

  “You should know that there was a shooting tonight. One of Nicky’s boys popped one of Diego’s over a girl. Diego’s soldier was taken to Ben Taub. I sent Boychenko to Methodist when Stas called looking for you. You shouldn’t have any problems, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

  The last thing Alexei needed or wanted was to get caught in the crossfire of another’s gang’s retaliation. Everything was so tightly packed together downtown in the Medical Center. It would be hard to keep the two gangs separated if the Hermanos decided to seek retaliation.

  “Call me see me tomorrow before you leave town so we can talk about your meeting. If you or Shay need anything, Vivian and I are only a few minutes away.”

  “Thank you.”

  Alexei made the drive in record time. He used the valet, handing off his keys and snatching the ticket before rushing inside the hospital. He scanned the packed emergency room and spotted Boychenko standing in a far corner.

  “Where is Shay?” he asked as he drew near.

  “They took her back about ten minutes ago.”

  “Only ten minutes?” The first missed call from Stas had occurred nearly two hours ago.

  Boychenko nodded. “She’s been waiting here forever. They’re slammed tonight.”

  Alexei’s chest ached at the thought of her sitting here in pain for so long. “I need to see her.”

  “Let me text Stas. He can switch out with you. They’re only allowing one person in with each patient.”

  Boychenko sent his text. A short time later, Stas appeared at the double doors. He held them open so Alexei could get into the treatment area. Wordlessly, her bodyguard pointed out the exam room where Shay waited. Judging by the stony expression on Stas’s face, the enforcer wasn’t happy. Whatever had pissed him off would have to wait.

  Hoping he had the right room, Alexei pulled the curtain aside only a few inches to check. Shay sat on a hospital bed, her legs dangling over the side and her arm resting on a tray. Her injured palm and fingers were covered by a blue surgical towel. Head drooping, she looked utterly exhausted.

  He stepped into the room. “Shay?”

  Her head snapped up, but instead of greeting him with a relieved smile or happiness, she scowled. “What are you doing here? I told Stas not to call you.”

  “Of course he’s going to call me, Shay.” He walked closer and stopped in front of her. “I belong right here with you if you’ve been hurt.”

  When he tried to brush a few strands of hair behind her ear, she pulled her head away from him with a harshly hissed, “Don’t.”

  Surprised by her reaction, he dropped his hand. “I’m sorry.”

  “Whatever.” She wouldn’t meet his confused gaze and seemed thoroughly pissed off by his presence.

  Alexei tried not to let her behavior bother him. She was obviously in pain and tired. He vividly remembered the many times he had been in emergency rooms because of injuries sustained on the streets or fighting in cages. He had always been irritated and frustrated and a right bastard.

  “Are you thirsty? Hungry? I can send Stas for something.” He wanted to make her comfortable while they waited.

  “Stas took care of me already.” She gestured to the bottle of water and empty candy bar wrapper on the counter. “I don’t need anything from you.”

  In all the time he had known her, Alexei had never glimpsed this side of Shay. It convinced him that she was in an intense amount of discomfort. Otherwise she never would have been so cross. Wanting her to know that he didn’t intend for this to ever happen again, he apologized. “I’m sorry that I missed your call earlier and that I didn’t get here sooner. You needed me, and I wasn’t there for you. It won’t happen again.”

  Shay lifted her tired head and stared at him. Her expression turned dark. “How was your business meeting?”

  He might have imagined it, but her tone sounded accusatory. “It was fine. I had dinner with Mueller. We ironed things out between us over steak.”

  “And your other meeting?”

  He frowned. “Other meeting?”

  She made a disgusted sound and rolled her eyes. “Are you seriously going to stand right there in front of me and fucking lie?”

  Thrown by her statement, he asked, “Lie about what?”

  “I saw you!”

  “Saw me where?”

  “At the penthouse!”

  “What were you doing at the penthouse?”

  “That’s the question you ask?”

  Suddenly, he was very glad for the tray between them. Shay looked as if she wanted to punch him right in the face. “What other question am I supposed to ask?”

  “Apparently, this is the point where men like you ask what bright, shiny, expensive thing I want to make up for the other woman you’re sleeping with behind my back,” she shot back nastily.

  �
�Men like me? The other woman? What are you—?” And then it hit him. She must have seen him with Marissa. “Shay, I don’t know what you think you saw—”

  “All right, Miss Sandoval,” a doctor interrupted and pulled back the curtain, “let’s take a look at that hand.”

  Alexei stepped aside so Shay could receive the care she needed. As he watched the doctor examine the nasty burns on her fingers and palm, Alexei tried to control the panic building inside him. His meeting with Marissa had been completely innocent, but he could imagine what it must have looked like to Shay. She knew why he had that penthouse. She knew his history. She was already feeling vulnerable after his morning blunder in bed. Finding him with Marissa must have been shocking and upsetting to her.

  I should have told her I was meeting Marissa. It seemed so obvious now, but at the time, it hadn’t even occurred to him. Because you aren’t treating her like your partner. No, he was still treating her like a pretty piece of arm candy. She deserved better and more from him.

  “You did a number on these fingers,” the doctor said. “I want to have a plastic surgeon consult on this. She may have a different idea for treatment.”

  “Um…I don’t know think my insurance—”

  “I’ll handle it,” Alexei insisted. “I don’t care who you have to call or what it costs. I want her to get the best treatment.”

  “That’s all I want for any of my patients,” the doctor said before leaving the room.

  Assured of a few private moments with Shay, he stepped back in front of her and moved the tray out of the way. He supported her wrist with his left hand and cupped her face with the right. “Shay, please look at me.”

  She reluctantly lifted her gaze. “I don’t want to hear it, Alexei. Maybe it’s good that this happened now. I realize that I’m not cut out for this. You want something I can’t give you.”

  “Stop,” he ordered gently. “You are all I want.” She started to protest, but he pleaded for a moment. “Please let me explain.”

  She exhaled slowly. “Fine.”

  “Yes, I did meet with Marissa today. I did not sleep with her. In fact, I made it very clear to her that I’m serious about you.”

  Shay’s eyes glimmered with hope. She wanted to believe him, but the childhood she had suffered had left her wounded and vulnerable and unable to trust. He had abused her trust this afternoon by not being honest with her. “Are you going to Vegas this weekend?”

  “How did you—?”

  “I saw your redhead—Marissa—at the salon. She was telling her stylist about her plans to meetup with her ex in Vegas. When I saw you with her—”

  He couldn’t even begin to imagine how betrayed she must have felt when she had seen him with Marissa after having to listen to her talk about Vegas and her plans. “I was going to Vegas, Shay. I’ve done it for years to celebrate my birthday. It’s a boys-only trip with my friends. If she was going, it was on her dime and without an invitation from me.”

  Standing in front of her, caressing her cheek, he finally realized what a colossal asshole he had been. “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to think I would be able to enjoy Vegas without you. I think my days of boys-only trips are behind me.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with you going on trips with your friends.”

  “I should have told you I was planning to go. I should have told you about my meeting with Marissa.”

  “Why did you meet with her today?”

  “She’s a very good real estate agent. I’m selling the penthouse.”

  “What? When did you decide—?”

  “This morning,” he said, stroking her cheek. “I don’t need that place anymore.” He kissed her forehead. “I have you, and we have our house.”

  Her surprised gaze flicked to his. “Our house?”

  Teasing his mouth against hers, he whispered, “Ours.”

  “Knock knock.” A surgeon in scrubs poked her head into the room. “Oops! Sorry to interrupt.”

  Shay smiled up at him and then at the surgeon. “It’s fine.”

  Alexei stepped aside as the surgeon and a nurse walked into the small room. The surgeon washed her hands in the sink and slipped into a pair of gloves before sliding the tray back under Shay’s hand to examine it. He moved behind Shay and put a comforting, soothing hand on her shoulder.

  Shay winced and hissed as the surgeon probed her burned skin. Seeing her in pain was almost too much for him to handle. He listened intently as the surgeon decided on a plan of treatment. When the nurse stepped out to get the necessary supplies, the surgeon assured Shay the injury looked much worse than it was.

  “We’ll watch for contracture as the wounds heal. If you scar badly, I can revise them. We’ll make sure you get the number for my office so you can schedule an appointment next week. I see no reason to be overly concerned. The biggest risk right now is infection. In a month, you’ll be fully healed. But maybe we’ll be more careful with our tools?”

  Shay smiled sheepishly. “Yes. Definitely.”

  Half an hour later, Shay held her freshly bandaged hand close to her chest. Each finger had been slathered in antibiotic ointment and wrapped individually. Her palm had also been treated and bandaged.

  “Have you had a tetanus booster?” the surgeon asked as she washed her hands.

  “Um…”

  The surgeon laughed. “I’ll see if we can get you one tonight.”

  “Great,” Shay answered sarcastically.

  “Better safe than sorry,” the surgeon said and patted Shay’s arm. “I’ll see you next week in my office. Okay?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  It was another hour before Shay had her tetanus booster and discharge instructions. Feeling terrible for her, he draped his jacket around her shoulders and curved his arm around her back as he walked her out of the emergency room. She stopped to thank each nurse and technician who had helped her tonight, even the harried triage nurse who had made her wait so long for her turn.

  “It’s not her fault that this place is so busy,” Shay said when she saw his face. “You know how emergency rooms are,” she said with a shrug. “If you can’t afford insurance or if your copays are too high, you put things off until they become serious.”

  “That doesn’t mean I have to be happy that you were made to wait while you were in pain.” He spotted Stas and Boychenko as they came through the double doors. Both men had their gazes fixed on something across the room. They reminded him of a pair of watchdogs with their hackles raised. When he realized what they were staring at, he understood why.

  Eric Santos and two police officers stood on either side of a handcuffed man with a bloody face and even bloodier shirt. Another line of officers stood in front of the entrance to the emergency room. Alexei didn’t have to think too hard to come up with possible explanations for the police presence. Even from here, he could see the Hermanos tattoos on the bloody man’s arms and neck and the sides of his shaved head. With what Nikolai had told him earlier, he would put his money on retribution.

  Stas stood up. Voice lowered, he said, “We need to get the hell out of here right now.”

  “Shay?” Eric called out to her, and Alexei quietly cursed under his breath. There would be no quick escape now. “Shay?”

  “Hi, Eric.” She flashed the detective a smile as he approached. Stas and Boychenko stepped up behind her, forming a human wall of support.

  Eric’s gaze slid to the men flanking Shay before it moved to her bandaged hand. “Are you okay?”

  “I got a little careless with my tools and burned my hand. I’ll be fine in a few weeks.”

  “That’s good to hear.” Eric glanced around the busy waiting room. He motioned toward the nearest corner. “Can we talk?”

  Alexei caught Shay’s questioning gaze and shook his head. “It’s late, Eric. She’s tired, and she’s in pain. Whatever it is can wait until morning.”

  “No, it can’t.” Eric stepped forward and lowered his voice. “We found Ruben’s Esc
alade this afternoon. There was enough evidence in the vehicle to confirm that someone was killed in it.”

  Shay’s face went slack with shock. “He’s dead?”

  “Yes—and that’s not all.” Eric glanced left and right before stepping closer and lowering his voice to a barely audible level. “We identified that body from the motel. It’s Lalo. Before all this shit,” he glanced back at the bloody man, “blew up tonight, the biggest news on the street was about your sister. Everyone thinks she iced Lalo and Ruben. There’s a bounty on her head, and a lot of people will want to collect. One of my informants mentioned your name as part of that bounty.”

  “What the hell is your problem, Eric?” Alexei snarled at the detective as Shay went white next to him. “Why the hell would you say something like that to her?”

  “Because it’s the truth,” Eric snapped. “She needs to know. If she’s going to be safe—”

  “She’s perfectly safe. Nikolai has given his word, and you know what that’s worth. If you’re not clear on that, maybe you should ask your cousin to give you a reminder.”

  Eric narrowed his eyes. “Let’s leave Vivian out of this. I’m just trying to keep Shay safe.”

  Stas stepped forward. “She is safe.”

  Eric sized up Stas. “And when you’re not with her and when Alexei isn’t with her?”

  “Then I’m with her,” Boychenko said.

  The bloodied man on the other side of the waiting room started to shout and kick. Eric looked back and frowned before returning his attention to them. Locking eyes with Alexei, he said, “Get Shay out of here. Take that hall. Make a left and then a right. Go out the side exit. Nikolai may have vouched for Shay, but there are a lot of hotheaded soldiers with itchy trigger fingers hanging around this place.” He expelled a tired breath. “And I’m tired of cleaning up blood tonight.”

  Alexei took Eric’s advice and escorted Shay out of the building using the side exit. Boychenko took his valet ticket while he stayed behind with Stas and Shay. She burrowed into him for warmth as they waited. Stas pinned him in place with an aggravated look when he kissed her temple and embraced her.