5. Dominic
Iscrub a hand over my face, more than ready to get out of the club and go home for the night. I’d come in to check on some things, and what was supposed to be an hour ended up lasting three. Even with the thick door of my office shut, the annoying, rhythmic thud of the music isn’t muffled nearly enough.
Shutting my laptop, I stand and roll out the kinks in my neck before slipping my suit jacket back on. I’m not looking forward to walking through the crowd out front, but I need a shot of whiskey on my way out more than I need to avoid the interaction. I don’t make it far before a young woman starts to saunter over to me. I ignore her and raise a hand to the bartender on duty. Ricky takes one look at me and immediately reaches for the bottle of scotch he keeps below the counter, the one that’s worth more than all the other bottles on display put together, the one that only I’m allowed to drink. He fills it and places it in front of me, and when he’s sure I don’t need anything else, he goes back to the other customers.
“Hey.”
I look down, annoyed that the woman hasn’t taken the hint and given up yet. I ignore her and take a sip of the whiskey, letting it sit on my tongue before I swallow.
“I said hey,” she says again, threatening to ruin the one goddamn thing I’ve been looking forward to all night.
“I heard you,” I tell her, taking another small sip that I desperately try to savor, but she insists on opening her mouth again.
“You want to dance?”
I look down at her again. Her blonde hair is pulled up into a high ponytail, the dress she’s wearing is skintight and hugging her curves, and the hungry look in her blue eyes makes it obvious I can fuck her if I want. The only problem is I don’t want to. The blue of her eyes reminds me of someone else, and fuck does it piss me off. Since I saw Natalya a week ago, I can’t get her out of my goddamn head, and I can’t seem to muster up enough interest in anyone else to try to fuck her from my mind.
“No,” I tell her, making it clear with my tone that there’s no talking me into it.
Irritated, I down the rest of my whiskey, not even attempting to enjoy the damn thing. I’m just about to leave when my eyes run over the dance floor, landing on the principessa herself. Convinced my mind is playing tricks on me, I keep watching her, knowing it can’t really be her. There’s no way in hell her family would let her come here, and there’s no way in hell she’d be so fucking stupid as to come to a nightclub dressed in the tiny dress this woman is wearing, but then she turns her body, and I get a good look at her face and the woman dancing beside her.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I growl in Italian before making my way to the mass of bodies. I’m almost to her when I see a man’s hand land on her stomach, gripping her like she belongs to him, and all I see is red. I see the shocked look she gives, the way her beautiful eyes widen first in shock and then in anger. She tries to brush him off her, but he just moves his hand to her hip, tightening his fingers even harder and pinning her smaller body to his. I’m two seconds away from killing the fucker when Natalya surprises the hell out of me by elbowing him in the gut, and when he leans down to take in a breath, she punches him in the nose, breaking it easily. She steps back so she doesn’t get blood on her dress, and when she turns back around, face lit up in a triumphant smile, the last thing she’s expecting to see is me.
“Principessa.”
Her mouth falls open, and this time when her eyes widen, it’s all from fear. My cock, the same one that couldn’t be bothered minutes earlier when the young blonde was offering herself up, suddenly decides that now is the time to wake up.
“Dominic.” My name is a breathy pant on her full lips, and I’m just about to answer her when the jackass she punched starts walking over. I quickly step between them, putting Natalya behind me.
The man holds his hand up to his bloody nose and points behind me. “She fucking hit me!”
I lean closer, filling the space with my body. I can tell he’s rethinking his decision to come to me for help. When I’m sure I have his full attention, I say, “And I will fucking kill you if you ever put your hands on her again. Now get the fuck out of my club and don’t come back.”
As soon as he runs off, I grab Natalya’s wrist and point a finger at Svetlana. “Follow me, right fucking now.”
She nods, looking just as scared as Natalya, and follows me as I lead them back to my office. I squeeze her wrist a little tighter, feeling the rapid beat of her pulse against my skin, and it does something to me. I know she’s not going to run off, but I don’t let go of her. My long fingers wrap so easily around her slender wrist, and the last thing I want to do is separate myself from her, so I don’t, not even after we’re in my office and I’ve slammed the door shut behind us.
I position my body in front of Natalya’s and lift the wrist I’m holding, inspecting her hand to make sure it’s okay. The pad of my thumb drags along her knuckles, and she lets out a soft gasp, but it’s not from pain. Her hand looks fine.
When our eyes meet, she says, “Just because I like girly things doesn’t mean I don’t know how to throw a punch. I might not love it as much as Mia, but there was no way in hell my dad wasn’t going to teach me how to defend myself.”
“Yes, he’ll be thrilled to know you punched a guy on my dance floor tonight.”
“You can’t tell him,” she quickly says, reaching up with her other hand to grab my forearm like she had when she’d begged me to sneak her into my club.
“They’ll kill us,” Svetlana adds.
I look at the two of them, running my eyes over the tiny dresses they’re wearing, nearly groaning when I think about Natalya out there dancing in those pink heels and this nonexistent scrap of fabric.
“Do you have any idea how badly tonight could’ve gone?” I let out a frustrated groan. “How the fuck did you even get in here?”
When her light blue eyes meet mine, she licks that top, full lip of hers and then clamps her mouth shut. I lean down, invading her space while she keeps a death grip on my arm and I feel her pulse speed up even more beneath my fingers.
“You better start talking, principessa, or I’m going to start dialing.”
I watch as emotions run across her beautiful face—fear, uncertainty, a quick flash of anger, and then a good bit of desire when I bring my face even closer. My thumb lightly grazes over her inner wrist.
“Silence is not an option. If you make me waste my time by going through all the security footage, I’m going to be even more pissed off than I am right now. How did you get into my club?”
“We paid a guy to let us in the back door.”
Her whispered confession isn’t at all what I’m expecting. I thought for sure she was going to say they used fake IDs, not that they snuck into a dark and deserted alley and paid off one of my men.
“Who was it?” My words are low and rough, and she winces at the barely concealed rage behind them.
“I don’t know his name. He was smoking.”
Fuck, it has to be Angelo. He’s the only one who uses the back alley for smoke breaks and who’s stupid enough to take a fucking bribe. All the other guys have been with me long enough to know what I’d do to them, but Angelo has only been working for my family for a few months.
“Don’t move,” I tell Natalya before leaving my office. I walk back out to the main area of the club, scanning the crowd until I find Dario leaning against the wall in one of the back corners. He appears relaxed, but I know he’s taking in every detail around him. My cousins are already fitting in nicely in America, and bringing them here full-time is a decision I won’t be regretting anytime soon.
“What’s wrong?” he immediately asks me when I walk over to him.
“Grab Angelo and hold him for me.”
Dario sighs, knowing this isn’t going to end well for our newest member. “What’d he do?”
I usually wouldn’t tolerate questions, but Dario’s family and that affords him certain privileges. “He let Natalya and Svetlana Melnikov bribe their way in through the back door.”
“What a fucking idiot,” he mutters before nodding his head, already walking past me to go and grab him.
“Not a word to anyone,” I tell him.
“Of course.”
Pushing Angelo from my mind, I walk back into my office to face the problem that I hadn’t planned on or wanted. Scrubbing a hand over the two-day old stubble that covers my face, I sit on the edge of my desk, resting my hands on the dark wood on either side of me while I try to figure out what the fuck to do.
When the silence is too much for them, Svetlana says, “We promise we’ll never try anything like this again. Just let us go, and no one will ever have to know about tonight.”
I look over at her and let out a harsh laugh. “One of my men took a bribe and snuck you in. Do you really think I’m going to just let that slide?”
“Well, can’t you handle him without telling our dads?”
Natalya’s soft voice has me darting my eyes to her. “I’m sure he won’t make the same mistake again.”
Their family might run the most notorious Bratva in America, but it’s painfully obvious that they aren’t privy to all the horrific details of what they do. They may have an idea of the violence that goes on, but that’s all they have—just a vague idea that’s nowhere close to the truth of how gruesome and unforgiving this line of work can be.
My eyes stay locked on hers when I say, “No, he will not.”
She pales a bit, finally realizing that their little stunt is going to have consequences that neither one of them ever dreamed of.
“Can we please just go?”
Her whispered plea shouldn’t affect me like it does. She looks so fucking small in her tiny dress, and the heels that still only barely bring the top of her head to my shoulders, and all my instincts are telling me to pick her up and never fucking let her go. I grip the edge of the desk tighter, refusing to give in to such an asinine urge.
“Please,” she begs again, and if she had any idea how much I liked hearing that word on her tongue, she’d never utter it in front of me again.
“I don’t appreciate the position you’re putting me in.”
“I know, and I’m so sorry, Dominic, but I swear we’ll never do anything like this again. We’ve learned our lesson, and we just want to go home and forget this ever happened.”
“How the hell did you sneak out?”
Her eyes dart quickly to Svetlana before she says, “We’re staying at the farmhouse tonight. Val, Luka, and Max are there, and we told them we were just going to hang out and watch movies in our room. Feliks and Grigori are there, too.”
“And you just walked past them?” I ask, disbelief lacing every word.
“Not exactly.”
When she doesn’t elaborate, all I have to do is raise a brow at her and she starts talking.
“We snuck out the window and climbed down the trellis, then we snuck through the woods. We had an Uber waiting for us on the side of the road.”
I close my eyes and groan “Jesus Christ” as I think about all the millions of things that could’ve gone wrong with their plan. Before I can talk myself out of it, I stand back up and look down at her. “I’m taking you back, and I swear to god, Natalya, if you ever try anything this stupid again, I will march your ass to your dad so fast it’ll make your damn head spin.” I look over at Svetlana in case she thinks I’ve forgotten her part in this. “That goes for you, too.”
They both quickly nod their heads, willing to agree to any damn thing I say as long as it keeps their dads from knowing what they’ve done tonight. Before we leave my office, I reach down and grab Natalya’s wrist again, keeping her close to me while she reaches her other hand out for Svetlana’s so we’re forming what has to be the world’s most fucked-up line. I’m hard as a goddamn rock for the eighteen-year-old standing next to me while she’s clutching her cousin and scared to death. Something is truly fucked in my head, but I don’t have the time to analyze it right now. I’m too busy trying to figure out how to sneak their asses back before anyone notices and all hell breaks loose.
Her heart pulses against my fingers, rabbit fast and sexy as fuck, while I lead her back through the club. Men stare at her because it’s impossible not to, and my grip tightens on her when I see the way they slowly drag their eyes up and down her body. When one man’s mouth lifts up in a predatory grin, I move my arm so it’s wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her flush against me while I give him a look that has him quickly turning away.
Aside from two flimsy straps that crisscross along her back, her skin is almost completely bare and so fucking soft. The urge to run my fingers lightly down her spine and trail a line along her lower back before cupping one round ass cheek in my palm is strong. It’s all I can think about as we weave our way through the crowd. When we’re close to the front, the two bouncers on duty see me and immediately step aside.
I ignore the curious looks, knowing I need to get their asses out of here before anyone recognizes them. The Bratva doesn’t normally come into our side of the city, but it’s not unheard of, and I’d rather not take the risk of someone spotting them.
“Damn,” Svetlana whispers when I stop in front of my Lamborghini and open the passenger door for them. “Those scissor doors are so cool. It might have been worth sneaking out if we get to take a drive in this.”
“Sveta,” I warn.
She gives a soft laugh. “Too soon for jokes?”
“Way too soon.” I eye the two of them. “There’s no backseat, but I’m sure you can figure something out.”
Svetlana nudges Natalya, letting her know she should go first. I release the tight grip I still have on her, letting my fingers drag down her shoulder before stepping back and walking around to the driver’s side. There are few things that I allow myself to love in this world, but my car is one of them. It had cost a small fortune to get a manual transmission Lamborghini, but my god it was worth every damn penny. Sinking into the buttery soft, leather seat, I look over at my two passengers and shake my head. They’re so scrunched up they can barely fit in the seat. Without thinking, I grab onto Natalya’s slender waist and scoot her closer so she’s sitting on the console—an improvised middle seat that would piss me off if she were doing it in any other car, but I know she’s safe with me.
Doubting her ability to keep herself safe after the stunt she pulled tonight, I feel the need to say, “Don’t ever sit like this in anyone else’s car. You need a seatbelt.”
“I won’t,” she whispers, keeping her thighs closed while trying to remain as small as possible.
Her bare leg is right by the gearshift, and I know this is going to be the longest damn drive of my life. Starting the car, the purr of the engine momentarily puts me in a good mood, but as soon as I shift into first and my hand brushes against her thigh, that good mood starts to sour. The harder my cock gets, the more irritated I become.
We’ve haven’t even been in the car five minutes when Svetlana asks, “Can we listen to music?”
“No.”
“It’s a long drive,” she reminds me.
“And it would be even longer if I had to listen to your shit music the whole damn way.”
“Hey, you don’t know my music is shit,” she argues.
“Did you like the music at the club?”
Her answer comes fast. “Of course.”
“Exactly,” I tell her, still feeling the headache throbbing at the base of my skull from being forced to listen to that upbeat, poppy shit for several hours. “No way in hell am I going to drive both your asses out into the middle of nowhere while listening to anything even remotely close to what plays in that club.”
“You need to get with the times,” she says, making me let out a harsh laugh.
“I’ll get with the times when your generation starts making music that actually sounds good.”
Natalya wiggles into a more comfortable position on the console, and when I shift again, my hand brushes even further up her thigh. I hear the soft gasp she gives, and for some insane reason my instinct is to brush a finger along the back of her knee to let her know it’s okay. We’re away from the lights of the city now, and the movement was covered in darkness, but the memory of how soft her skin had felt is all I can think about. I force my hand back to the steering wheel before I do something really stupid like slide it between her thighs.
Svetlana only manages twelve minutes of silence before she starts talking again—ten minutes longer than I thought she’d be able to pull off.
“So you’re here to stay then? You’re not going back to Italy?”
“I like it here,” I tell her, not elaborating.
“Why haven’t you ever gotten married?”
“Sveta,” Natalya whispers and then tells her something in Russian.
They have a conversation that I’m not privy to, but it must not do much good, because as soon as Natalya stops speaking, Svetlana switches to English and asks the question again.
“I have no desire to get married,” I tell her.
“Don’t you want kids?”
I let out a harsh laugh. The idea of getting a woman pregnant has always been one of my top three worst fears. Number one—my dick stops working, and number two—going blind. Being tied to a woman because I knocked her up and then having to care for and support the baby has always come in solidly at number three. Before I can answer her question, a very vivid image of me thrusting into Natalya and burying myself deep as her small body clings to mine while her pussy clenches me tightly, pulling the cum from my body, flashes through my mind.
What the ever-living fuck was that?
I’m so stunned by the fantasy that it takes me a second to realize Svetlana’s talking again.
“So you’re just going to be alone for the rest of your life? Don’t you have a girlfriend or something?”
“Just ignore her,” Natalya says. “She’s never understood personal boundaries.”
“Oh, I understand them. I’m just too nosy to care.”
I give a small smile at her honesty and answer her questions. “No kids, no girlfriend,” I tell her. Daring a quick look at Natalya, I see the corner of her mouth lift up the tiniest bit like she’s trying hard to fight the show of emotion.
The next few minutes are quiet until Svetlana points a finger up ahead. “It’s up here next to the mile marker sign.”
When I slow down and shift again, I swear Natalya presses her thigh just a little bit harder against my hand, making sure the contact between our bodies lasts as long as possible. Pulling along the side of the road, I look over at the dark woods and shake my head.
“I can’t believe you two did this.”
Svetlana huffs out a breath. “Is it really all that surprising? We have zero freedom and bodyguards watching us every second of every day. It was bound to happen sooner or later. You should be thrilled this is all we got up to tonight.”
I turn my head, looking over at her. “Do you think maybe those rules are in place for a reason?”
“The guys are given way more freedom than we are,” she argues.
“There’s a reason for that, Svetlana. You know this.” I know they don’t know all the details of what happened to their aunt, but they know enough. “You know what your family does for a living, and that puts a target on all your backs. There have been a few attacks lately, so you might want to get used to the bodyguards. I have a feeling they’re going to be tightening things up even more.”
“Great,” she mutters while Natalya turns her face to mine and asks, “What kind of attacks?”
I brush my thumb along her skin in the lightest of touches and say, “Nothing for you to worry about. Come on, it’s time to sneak you two back in.”
Stepping out of the car, I take off my suit jacket and toss it on the now empty passenger seat before shutting the door and looking at the line of trees in front of me. Traipsing through the dark woods isn’t at all what I planned on doing tonight, but life is rarely what you think it’s going to be.
“Which way?”
Svetlana turns her head, eyeing the woods in front of us, and I don’t like the confused look she’s wearing. She points to the right and gives a determined nod of her head. “There. That’s where I hid our boots and flashlight.”
She leads the way with Natalya behind her, and I take the rear. The full moon helps, but it’s still dark without anything else to help illuminate the way. When we reach the trees, Svetlana walks around, searching for her hidden stash, and after several minutes of listening to her thrash around and mutter in Russian, I let out a heavy sigh.
“Can’t find it?”
“I left it right here,” she insists, pointing at the tree she’s been circling like a crazed person.
I push a button on my watch, illuminating the time. It’s after one, and I can’t spend all goddamn night standing here. I need to get back and deal with Angelo, and I’d like to at least get a few hours of sleep.
“We don’t have time to waste looking for it. Can you find the trail from here?”
“Yeah, I think so. It should be straight ahead. It’s going to be a real bitch in heels, though,” she growls.
“Maybe it’ll help teach you a lesson.” I look down at Natalya, who’s still standing next to me. She’s been quiet this whole time, and when she takes a few steps forward and nearly trips on a stick, I reach out to steady her. With my hand securely on her hip and the other one gripping her arm, she looks up at me and sucks in another quick breath.
“Thanks,” she whispers.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll just put all my weight on my toes. I’ll be fine.”
I wait until I’m sure she’s steady before slowly letting go of her. Svetlana is several feet ahead of us, and when she turns back she says, “Found it,” and lets out a relieved sigh. I stay close to Natalya, making sure she doesn’t trip again, until we’re all three standing on the dirt bike path.
“Fuck this,” Svetlana says, pulling her heels off and placing her bare feet on the packed dirt. She looks back at Natalya. “Just take ‘em off. It’s so much easier.”
Natalya looks down at her pink heels and matching painted toes and hesitates. “I’ll be fine,” she insists, and I know she’d rather walk on broken glass than put her bare feet in the dirt. A smile tugs at my mouth, but I refuse to give it free rein.
Svetlana lets out a soft laugh and starts walking. “You’re so going to regret that tomorrow when your feet are covered in blisters.”
“Better blisters than hookworms,” she responds, making me laugh.
“Oh my god,” Svetlana groans like they’ve had this conversation many times. “That’s insanely rare around here.” She looks back at me. “We watched a documentary about parasites one night for reasons I can’t explain, and it seriously screwed with her mind.”
“They were huge,” Natalya tells me, “and you could see them through the bottoms of their feet.”
After about twenty steps where she almost falls three more times, I sigh and scoop her up into my arms bridal style. She lets out a surprised gasp and flings her arms around my neck.
“What are you doing?” she whisper-shouts at me.
Her mouth is dangerously close to mine when I say, “It’s going to take you hours to reach the house at the rate you’re going. This is easier.” I don’t add that the idea of her small feet covered in blisters tomorrow doesn’t sit well with me. “Just relax, principessa, and let me carry you.”
She nods and once I start walking, she slowly begins to relax in my arms, eventually leaning her head against my shoulder.
“I’m really sorry about tonight,” she whispers so only I can hear. “It didn’t go at all like I thought it would.”
“How did you think it would go?”
I feel her shoulders give a small shrug. “I thought we’d get to see your club, dance and have a bit of fun, and then sneak back home and never do it again.”
“You don’t think you would’ve ever tried to do it again?”
She gives a faint laugh, and I feel the heat of it against my neck. “No, I about had a heart attack climbing out of that window. I barely made it down the trellis. I’m not so sure I’m cut out for the dangerous life.”
It’s my turn to give a soft laugh at her confession. I squeeze her tighter against me for just a second and say, “Good.”
Her body molds to mine, fitting perfectly against me, and when I see the opening in the woods up ahead, I’m more annoyed than anything. I’m not ready to put her down yet. At the edge of the yard, I stand by Svetlana, scanning the property and trying to see any signs of anyone or any indication that something is off. Everything is quiet, though, and I know it would be buzzing with activity if anyone had realized these two were missing.
We sneak our way to the side of the house, and when I see the trellis in front of me, I instinctively pull her tighter against me again. I do not like the idea of her climbing back up there. She could’ve broken her goddamn neck if she’d fallen.
“Do you have your phone on you?”
She lifts her head and looks at me. “Yeah. Why?”
“Take it out and put my number in it.”
Reaching down, she grabs the small purse that’s resting in her lap and digs her phone out, adding me to her contacts when I give her my number.
“Text me so I have your number, and then text me again when you’re inside so I know everything’s okay.”
“Okay,” she whispers, sending me a quick text before putting her phone away again.
My eyes run over her lips, noticing again that the top one is slightly bigger, and all I can think about is how badly I want to close the distance and suck on it. I’m grateful for the dark, because I’ve been rock-hard since we left the club, and this painful erection won’t be going away anytime soon.
“I’ll go first,” Svetlana says, breaking the spell of Natalya’s full, sexy lips. “Thanks for everything tonight, Dominic. I promise we won’t do this again.”
“You better not,” I warn her. “This is a one-time thing. I’ll be calling your dads next time.”
She gives me another one of her dad’s cocky grins before hiking a foot up onto the trellis. She climbs it with surprising ease, and I make sure to look away, because I have no desire to see up her short dress. Only once she’s scurried into the window and whispered down, “I’m in,” does it occur to me that there’s no reason for me to keep holding Natalya.
Svetlana’s head disappears inside, but I still keep a tight grip on the young woman in my arms. I look up at the second-story window and shake my head. “I don’t want you climbing that.”
“I can’t walk in the front door,” she reminds me. “I’ll be fine. If I made it down, I can make it back up.”
“Barely,” I remind her, meeting her eyes again. “You said you barely made it down.”
“I’ll be fine,” she whispers.
“Promise me you’ll never do anything this dangerous again.”
She keeps her eyes locked on mine and whispers. “I promise I won’t.”
“Good girl,” I tell her, the words falling out of my mouth before I can stop them. Her lips part and not even the darkness around us can hide the blush that spreads across her cheeks. I lower her to the ground, but before I can stand back up, she surprises me by leaning closer and kissing my cheek while wrapping her arms around me for a hug.
“Thank you,” she whispers against the shell of my ear, and I barely have enough brain cells working to remember to angle my hips so she won’t feel my hard dick. My hand splays out along her back, and I pull her closer, breathing in the sweet scent of her before kissing her cheek and letting her go.
Standing back up to my full height, I lick my lips, desperate for the taste of her and using all the self-control I have and then some to resist pulling her back into my arms. This is ridiculous. I shouldn’t want her, and I can’t have her, so I should be marching my ass out of here and putting all this behind me, but instead my feet are glued to the spot I’m standing in and I’m nervous as hell at the thought of her scaling this damn trellis.
Gripping the flimsy-ass wood, she steps a heeled foot into one of the slats and slowly starts to make her way up. She’s barely made it three feet when her foot misses the next opening and she slips down. I quickly grab her, groaning at the feel of her round ass pressing against my dick. She sucks in a quick breath, feeling the hard length of me digging into her ass.
“Easy, principessa,” I whisper, digging my fingers into her hip to help steady her. She tries to get a better grip and ends up wiggling her ass, pulling a groan from me that can only be described as feral. “Jesus Christ, Natalya, get your sweet ass up this goddamn trellis right fucking now,” I grit out, knowing I’m at the end of my rope. She needs to get away from me, or I’m going to cross a line that neither one of us will ever be able to come back from.
She lets out a soft whimper as I give her hip one last squeeze and then push her further up the trellis, forcing distance between us. I can feel her body softly shaking, but she grips the wood tightly and slowly starts to make her way back up. Instead of looking away this time, I keep my eyes glued to the tiny dress that’s crept up even higher, exposing more of her perfect thighs and the barest hint of her ass.
Jesus, I’m going straight to hell.
I don’t start breathing again until she’s crawled safely into the window, her beautiful body no longer illuminated by the moonlight. She peeks her head back out to give me a cute smile and wave.
“Thank you,” she whispers again.
I give a small wave in return. “Goodnight, principessa.”
I wait until she’s put the screen back in place and then turn to leave. The walk back to the car isn’t nearly as much fun without her small body in my arms, and by the time I’m in my car and racing back to the city, I’m dangerously pissed off and more than ready for this night to be done.
The club is still packed when I pull into my reserved spot. Feeling a twinge of déjà vu, I bypass the long line of people who are waiting to get in and nod to the same bouncers on duty. I make my way into the club and towards the hallway that’s off limits to everyone except me and my top men. The door at the end of the hall is guarded and locked, and as soon as Marco sees me, he hurries to unlock it, opening it wide for me to step through.
The basement is my favorite thing about this club. It used to be a large wine cellar, but after I bought the place, I outfitted it for something that would be way more useful to me. The first part of the room is still a wine cellar, so if anyone does manage to sneak their way down here, they won’t see anything incriminating, just several rows of very expensive bottles of wine, but a second door is hidden behind one of the shelves, and when I move it aside and unlock the door, I find Angelo tied to a chair with a gag in his mouth. Dario and Alessandro sit in two other chairs on the opposite side of the room, long legs outstretched and bored looks on their faces.
Angelo immediately starts letting out muffled screams and incoherent words that I don’t give a shit about hearing. The gag is only on him to save my cousins the annoyance of having to listen to him. The entire room is soundproof, and even if it wasn’t, no one would hear his screams above the pounding music in the club.
“That took a while,” Dario says in the same bored, monotone voice he always uses.
I effortlessly slip back into my native language to answer him. “It was a long drive, but they’re back safe.” A hint of irritation claws at the back of my mind because Natalya never did text me like I’d asked her to.
Looking back over at Angelo, I ask them, “Did he say anything?”
“Only that he had no idea what was going on, and he swore on his mother’s life that he didn’t do anything wrong.” Alessandro lets out a soft laugh and points a finger at Angelo, who understands every word we’re saying. “Lucky for you, we’re not going to take that promise seriously, or we’d be paying a visit to your poor mother.”
Angelo’s face pales at that. His eyes dart to mine, desperately trying to convey something to me. I walk over and tug his gag down so he can speak.
“I swear I didn’t do anything, Mr. Alessi.” His words come out in a desperate, fast rush.
“But you did,” I tell him, squatting down so he can see me better. “You took a bribe and let two women into my club earlier. You remember that?”
I can tell by the shocked expression on his face that he does.
“But it was just a couple of girls. I swear I didn’t touch them.”
“If you had, I would be giving you a slow death right now.” His face pales even more at that. “Those two girls are the daughters of Vitaly and Lev Melnikov.”
“Fuck,” he breathes out in a shaky whisper. “I swear I didn’t know. I never would’ve let them in if I’d known.”
I stand up and grab the gun from the shoulder holster I’m wearing and flip the safety off.
“Seriously? I’m getting shot for that?” Angelo’s gone from scared shitless to pissed in record time.
I point the gun at him and think about all the things that could’ve happened to Natalya tonight because he let her into the club. It’s bad enough she was pawed at on the dance floor, and if she hadn’t punched him and I hadn’t been there, who the fuck knows what could’ve happened.
“I’m shooting you because you disobeyed an order. You’re not allowed to sneak underage girls into the fucking club.” I take a step closer. “But I’m killing you because you put her life in danger.”
Not giving him a chance to respond, I aim the gun between his terrified eyes and pull the trigger. It’s a fast death, over in seconds with nothing but blood and brain matter to speak of the violence that just took place. Well, that and the body at my feet with a giant hole in his head.
“Get someone down here to clean this shit up.”
Dario and Alessandro watch me put my gun away, neither one even slightly upset by what just happened. The three of us have been around this since birth. We were born into it, covered in sin from the moment we took our first breaths.
Before I walk out, I add, “Not a word of this to anyone. Natalya and Svetlana were never here. Angelo fucked up, and I dealt with it. End of story.”
I don’t wait for the compliance that I already know I have. I trust them, and I trust very few people. Irritated for reasons that I don’t want to think about, I storm back to my car, ready to be done with this fucking night. As soon as I’m behind the wheel again, the faint floral scent of her perfume fills my lungs, still lingering in my car and reminding me, despite everything, of how badly I want her.
Frustrated and more than a little pissed off, I grab my phone. No new texts, just the quick smiley face she’d sent me so I’d have her number. I’m a patient man, I’ve had to learn to be in this business, but all that willpower dissolves with her.
Unable to resist, I send her a message.