by Raven Rivers
Alek rolled his eyes and shrugged, “I would not read too much into all that.”
Tony moved out of the way, allowing Alek to pass. As he was slipping out the front door, he asked, “My sisters have a fondness for Russian mobsters. Mind if I ask what is so special about you guys?”
Alek replied over his shoulder, “We are probably pretty similar to Italian mobsters. Maybe they just feel comfortable around us. Just so you know, I am nothing like you or Victor. You are both bosses. I am not even free to make my own choices. You might want to point your sister in another direction.”
Chapter 12
Sharon
Sharon sat up in bed and looked around. How the hell did she end up at her brother’s house? A pounding headache announced that she probably passed out from intoxication and was brought here by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.
Noticing aspirin and water on the nightstand, she grabbed them like her life depended on it. Tossing the tablets into her mouth, she drank down the entire glass of water and eased back down between the sheets. Squeezing her eyes shut, she began scrolling back through her memories of the preceding night. Memories of dinner and how happy Robin was with her gifts came to the forefront of her mind. Then images of them at the club floated to the surface. They had drank, danced, and drank some more. Suddenly the mental image of drinking shots off some cute guy popped into her mind.
She sat up, touching her mouth in horror. Had she actually been licking salt off a random stranger? She quickly stumbled to brush her teen and grabbed a shower in the process. Every single bead of water bounced noisily, hitting the floor and the walls with an ugly splat. She wiggled into some clothing her brother had left for her, crammed her cell in her pocket, and headed out to get the damage report.
Everyone was at the breakfast table, including her brother’s discontented girlfriend. She was a total redheaded bombshell. Knowing the details of their personal life made her feel awkward being with them.
The moment her bottom hit the seat, her brother mewed, “Good morning, kotyonok. Did you sleep well?”
“What did you call me?” she asked, groggy and confused.
“Kotyonok,” Tony repeated with a bemused smile.
She sighed, feeling wary of the pending bad report. “What’s up with calling me that? You’ve never done that before.”
He smiled wider, clearly enjoying his snarky little game. “That was the sweet little pet name your new boyfriend called you.”
She held up one hand and groaned, rubbing her temples with the other. “Can I get some coffee, then a blow by blow from start to finish?”
Robert handed her a huge mug of coffee made just the way she liked it. She closed her eyes, took several large sips, and looked around the table before speaking. “Alright, shoot.”
Tony leaned over the table, eager to dish the dirt on the night she barely remembered. “Long story short? You arranged to have the limo. You and your friends went to dinner, went clubbing, and danced your pretty little asses off. The thing is, you ended up commandeering a waiter, took his shirt off, and used him as a salt lick for the evening.”
Sharon scrubbed her hands over her face as a wave of acute embarrassment overtook her. Swallowing thickly, she admitted, “I remember all… umm… most of that. How did I get here?”
“As best as I can piece together, when you and your friends were smashed beyond all hope, Robert tried to get you back into the limo but you poked him in the chest a million times and set him straight on who worked for who. You had some Russian friend there who tricked you all into leaving by saying the bar was closing and that you could take your human salt lick with you. He ended up dumping him off with your two friends at their apartment. By then you were sleepy, so he carried you in here, stripped off your dress, and put you to bed.”
“Alek stripped off all my clothing and put me to bed?” Rubbing her temple again, she tried her best to remember that part.
“He says you should call him, by the way. The big Russian worries, you know. He actually made me get my lazy ass out of bed and come down here to show him ID before he would leave you here. Anyway, his pet name for you was ‘kotyonok.’ We Googled that this morning and if we got the spelling right, it means ‘kitten.’” Although Tony wasn’t present for the Russian lessons, Sharon knew very well that kotyonok was, in fact, a term of endearment in Russian that meant kitten.
“In other words, I can never show my face in this town again,” Sharon groaned. “Tell me people were not tweeting me, probably with the hashtag ‘drunken mob girls out on the town.’ The next time I ask for the limo, just tell me no.”
She buried her hands in her face and groaned again as her cell phone rang. She slowly took out her phone, looked at the number, and answered the call. “Hello, Alek. No, I’m fine. Yes, I took the aspirin you left for me. I’m feeling much better. Yes, I’ll stay hydrated. Thank you, but no. I don’t need anything at the moment. There’s no need to send coffee or breakfast. No, my brother’s fine. Laughing at me, in fact. Yes, I’ll see you then. By for now.” Her face was bright red by the time she disconnected the call and shoved the phone back into her pocket. “Jesus, what in the hell is wrong with me? Do you know if a woman has ever actually died of embarrassment before?”
Everyone burst out laughing and Tony teased, “Cheer up, kotyonok, at least you take your punishment like a pro. You’re lucky to have a boyfriend that looks out for you.” Before she could object, he interjected sarcastically, “Don’t forget about those two saltlick-sharing friends of yours. You should go and check on them and make sure that little salt guy is still kicking. They may have sexed him to death or something. We wouldn’t want that splashed across the morning news.”
Robert saw her concerned expression. “I’ll pull the car around.”
Sharon wasn’t normally so compliant with her brother’s suggestions, but anything to get herself away from his humiliating teasing seemed like a good idea to her.
***
Sharon knocked on Robin’s door and her friend answered it laughing. Sharon was relieved to find all three of them making breakfast. “How the hell is it that you two are feeling so fabulous but I feel like death warmed over?”
“We go clubbing every single weekend. You have no alcohol tolerance, girl.”
Stuffing food in their faces, they talked about their evening. Sharon discovered salt boy in fact had a name, and that name was Rick Roberson.
Rick casually inquired, “So who’s the sexy Russian hunk?”
“I’m afraid he’s just a friend,” Sharon sighed. “He’s totally out of my league to begin with. Now that he’s watched me lick salt from your gorgeous body… well, I don’t think he’ll stick around to see what kind of depravity I fall into next.”
Rick responded flatly, “I think you’re wrong about that. He tucked you under his arm last night like he owned you. You seemed right at home and fell asleep on his chest.”
“That doesn’t mean a thing.”
“Sure it doesn’t. Did he text you this morning?”
“He called this morning to check on me. To make sure I found the aspirin he left for me on the nightstand when he carried me into my brother’s house, made my him show ID, stripped off my clothing, and put me to bed.”
Robin raised both hands to the heavens. “Oh my God, girlfriend, you can absolutely never see him again. Give me his number! I’m calling him myself.”
“I don’t think I’m quite out of the woods yet. He verified that I’m still coming to his kickboxing match next Friday. I promised to wear his colors.”
Her friends spent enough time at her family’s dinner table to know what that meant and quickly filled in Rick. Robin squealed with delight, “He is hot, hot, hot. We need to find the perfect dress. It’s all formal dresses for the ladies, you know. What are his colors?”
“Black and red… not my best colors.”
“Don’t worry, we can probably find something nice in black with a touch of red,” Stacy assured her.
Sharon’s cell phone jingled and it was text from Alek.
Just wanted to let you know that you looked really sexy last night and you are a good dancer.
Everyone read the text and giggled. She texted back:
Now that you have the niceties out of the way, time to tell me what you really thought.
Are you sure you really want me to say that to you?
“This is where he tells me I’m kind of a whore and that I shouldn’t worry about coming to his fight,” Sharon worried out loud.
Fearing his reply, she took a deep breath and texted:
Yes, tell me what you were really thinking last night. A little honesty gets me in line every now and then.
She anxiously awaited his response. It took a moment, but it finally came and read:
I thought to myself that you should absolutely never be out by yourself. You’re beautiful, especially when you’re drinking and really uninhibited. Just watching you dance in that sexy little black dress gave me a massive hard-on. It made me want to grab you up, throw you over my shoulder, take you back to my man cave, snatch every single square inch of clothing off your precious little body, bury my face between your beautiful legs, then fuck you until you screamed my name.
She immediately regretted allowing her friends to read that text. Why did all the really embarrassing stuff always happen to her when she least expected it? Walking off to get some privacy, she got another text from him.
Sorry, my testosterone got the better of me on that one. Can you just hit delete and let me answer that question all over again?
Grinning like a fool, she responded:
Not a chance. I’ll stick with your initial gut reaction. After your tournament next month, I plan on bringing you back to my place, getting out my phone, and reading your message all over again as foreplay.
Don’t worry, baby, he texted back. I will give you better foreplay than that. Want me to tell you what I will do for you?
She thought it over briefly before typing:
Tell me one sentence a day until fight night. I can’t take anymore right now. Reading your hardcore brand of flirting is making me wet and now is not a good time. I have to go shopping for a new black and red gown.
A moment later her phone beeped.
Make sure it is something easy to get out of. That is all I care about… besides you, of course.
Chapter 13
Old Friend in Need
Sharon
Three weeks later, Sharon was mixing up a cake at her parent’s place, enjoying time with her family. Her twin sister, Cassandra, had flown in with her new husband and step-daughter. Victor was playing cards at the dining room table with his little one and his bodyguard. It was remarkable seeing the gorgeous mobsters playing Go Fish with small cards designed for the hands of a child.
Her step-father wandered around, clearly thrilled that all the women in his family were together again. He snagged bites of everyone’s work in progress. When he got to Sharon, she grabbed a spoon and gave him a bite of the chocolate frosting she’d made for her ‘Death by Chocolate’ cake. It was cute how his eyes lit up.
Her phone rang and she was certain it was Tony, saying he was on his way. It wasn’t. It turned out to be one of her childhood friends, Bethany.
“Hello, Bethany. How’s married life treating you?”
“Like shit. Can you come pick me up? I’m just outside Timur’s place over on Glendale.”
She was with Alek’s boss? A sense of worry filled Sharon. “Do I need to send muscle?”
“Just send whoever in your orbit is closest. I want to be gone now.”
Grabbing her step-father’s cell, she texted Tony as she continued to talk to Bethany. “Tony’s near you. I just texted him. He can be there in five minutes. Can you hold out that long?”
“Sure,” Bethany replied, and added quietly, “I don’t think anyone knows I’m gone.”
“Stay on the phone until Tony arrives. I’ll have him bring you straight here.”
“Shit, I actually think I see him. He’s on a motorcycle and tearing through the neighborhood like a demon.”
“He was only a couple of blocks away and I told him you were in trouble.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you in a bit.”
“Tell him to slow the hell down.”
“Will do. Thanks for the save.”
Her step-father, who had frozen in front of her when she snagged his phone, told her, “Your friend is working for Timur Chensnokov. If she called you after all this time, it is because she needs muscle. Do not let her deceive you about that.”
“We still talk, dad. It’s not like I haven’t heard from her in fifteen years or anything like that.”
Victor spoke from the doorway. “Shall I intervene, Mister Nash?”
Her father shook his head. “Until we find out who we trust in Chensnokov’s crew, I’d say no.”
“What do you mean, ‘who you can trust’?” Sharon asked.
“Regardless of what is going on with your friend Bethany, we have reason to believe there is a traitor among Chensnokov’s men.”
Swallowing down her fear for Alek, she felt the hairs stand up on the back of her head. “How serious is the danger?”
It was her diminutive sister who spoke. “They sent someone to kill Victor, who was their Russian connection.” Glancing at her husband, she murmured, “Obliviously they weren’t successful.”
“That explains why you’re staying at the fortress that is the Nash household rather than a posh hotel.” Wrapping her arms around her stomach, she asked, “Is this why I’ve been getting twenty-four-hour security?”
Her step-father stated matter-of-factly, “I thought it best until we have a better understanding of the Russian operation.”
Moments later the faint roar of a motorcycle pulled up and Tony blew through the door. Calling out like a delivery boy, he sing-songed, “Special delivery for the Nash sisters!”
Sharon flew to the front room and quickly dragged Bethany upstairs, into her old room. From there, they opened the window and jumped to the treehouse. It was their secret hiding place as children and probably the only place she could take a friend without someone eavesdropping on them.
Sharon listened in fascination as Bethany recounted seeing her husband with another woman on her knees in front of him. She even recorded them with her phone, unbeknownst to them. After scrolling through the video a couple of times, Sharon had to admit that it didn’t look much like a romantic encounter. “Dude doesn’t seem all that into her. It looks like they’re playing a game.”
Shoving the phone back into her pocket, Bethany grumbled, “Yeah, they’re playing a dick sucking game. Only that dick has ‘Bethany’s Personal Property’ and ‘Do Not Touch’ tattooed on it. And I. Do. Not. Share.” Her friend was getting emotional and beginning to shut down. Cassandra and her little one showed up for moral support, making it feel like an all-girl support group.
Trying to keep Bethany’s mind off her husband troubles, Sharon brought up the fight. “There’s a bare-knuckle boxing match tomorrow. Want to come?”
Thinking it over for a minute, Bethany’s lips pressed into a firm line. “Sure, if you don’t think it’s too dangerous.”
“My step-father, Tony, and all his men go. A person would have to be crazy to try anything when you’re with us.”
“Count me in,” she sniffled, wiping a tear from her eye.
Cassandra’s husband sent up a basket filled with goodies and blankets. An impromptu camp out was just what her friend needed to take her mind off her situation. They ate ice cream and watched chick flicks on a tablet.
Though everyone seemed to be having a good time, all Sharon could do was worry about Alek. If there was a traitor in their midst, then he might be in danger. Unless of course, he was the traitor. That didn’t ring true to Sharon, however. He’d been with the man for a very long time and claimed Timur respected him. Still, the old man was his bondholder. That had to generat
e some real-life angst. Even so, she’d been talking to Alek for three weeks now and he’d never had a bad word to say about Timur.
Twirling the end of the pillowcase around her finger, she thought about texting Alek. Almost as if thinking of him summoned his call, her phone jingled with an incoming text. Sliding out her phone, she read his message.
Can you tell me if Miss Bethany is safe?
Unsure about getting in the middle of this complicated situation, she decided to keep her replies short.
Yes, she is.
Is she being held against her will?
Of course not. She’s sitting right here beside me watching a movie.
Thank God. I’m staying out of this mess.
Relief flooded her body.
Me too. How are you tonight?
Stressed because we thought she had been abducted.
Calm down. Has anything unusual been going on besides this whole Bethany thing?
There was a long pause.
No. Why do you ask?
Will you do me a favor?
Certainly, what do you wish of me?
Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she began typing.
You know that in life there can be hidden dangers. Dangers that are so close we might overlook them. Promise me that you will double check every single aspect of your current job and be extra careful to sound out each and every person on your team.
I don’t understand where this is coming from, he texted back.
Just promise to double check all the double checking for a while. I need to know you’re being careful.
I will do exactly that.
I think I’m falling really hard for you.
I know I’m falling really hard for you.
See you at the fight.
I can’t wait.
Chapter 14
Fight Night
Alek
Alek sat in the back after a light workout, letting Drag, his coach, wrap his hands as he dealt out reminders. Alek’s mind was a million miles away. He had only one goal tonight and that was to not allow any opponent to land even one punch to his face. His beautiful doctor did not like the risks associated with head injuries. That was her real issue, rather of the thought of his opponent making him ugly.
