Chapter 12
SERGEI
What should have been the perfect opportunity to change Leo’s opinion of me turned into a complete mess—one that felt suspiciously like karma finally catching up.
I’d walked out on men after sex before. More times than I could count, and it had never bothered me.
It had never meant anything. But this was different.
For the first time, I didn’t want to leave.
I found myself hesitating at the door, thinking about what came after.
About how a man might feel when the other one simply walked away like it had all been nothing.
And I knew, with certainty, that if I left Leo like this, he would retreat.
He would shut down, pull whatever fragile thread we’d just built clean out from under me, and convince himself that what happened between us meant nothing.
Men didn’t sleep with their accused husband’s killer unless it meant something.
Since Maxim’s call, Leo had gone quiet. Withdrawn. Distant. Like he’d stepped back behind a wall I couldn’t see through. A faint crease had settled between his brows, and he avoided my gaze as we stood near the door, his arms folded loosely across his chest like he was holding himself together.
I didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“I’ll check on your car while I’m out,” I said, crouching to tighten one of my shoelaces, more to buy myself a few extra seconds with him than because they actually needed tying. “Find out if it can be salvaged.”
No response came from him. I straightened slowly, brushing my hands against my thighs as I looked at him. He gave a small nod, but it felt detached.
“I can handle the insurance if it comes to that,” I added, trying again. “You won’t have to deal with any of it. Just get some rest and eat something.”
Another nod.
That was all from him.
I exhaled through my nose, my jaw tightening as I studied him. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Not after what we’d just done. Not after the way he had looked at me, the way he had kissed me and touched me.
“Leo.” His name came out firmer than I intended.
His eyes flicked up to mine, and they were vacant. Had I already lost him?
“I’ll try to wrap this up quickly and come back,” I said, softening my voice this time.
A heartbeat passed, and then, “You don’t have to rush back on my behalf.”
Well, I finally got some words, although they weren’t the ones I hoped to hear.
I ran a hand through my hair, resisting the urge to step closer, to grab his face and force him to look at me properly.
To make him say what was actually going on in that head of his, but I didn’t because my phone buzzed again in my hand.
Morozov.
Defying him wasn’t an option. Not now. Not ever. Not when everything I had—everything I was—was tied to that man.
Still, I didn’t answer his call.
“I mean it,” I said, my voice quieter now. “I’ll come back. We should talk about this and what it means.”
Leo’s expression didn’t change, but his fingers tightened slightly against his arm. “It was sex. No need to make more out of it.”
“Call it what you want, Leo, but the next time your cock’s in my mouth, it’s not going to be with latex on. I’ll have my blood drawn, and my doctor will send you my results.”
“That’s hardly necessary.”
“It is.” I cupped his chin in my hand. “To be blunt with you, my experience has been limited to transactional sex.”
“You sleep with prostitutes?” His eyes widened, and his lips fell apart.
“Yes, because they’ve been easy, and I’ve never wanted to get tangled up with anyone. You’re the most difficult thing I have had to deal with, Leo, and for that reason, I should quit you…but I can’t. And I don’t want to either.”
He opened his mouth, but I placed my finger over his lips. “Don’t worry, I’m not a fool. I know I’m chasing a pipe dream. I know that you’ll fight me tooth and nail in this thing, but I’m a fighter. Always have been.”
I removed my finger and replaced it with my lips. At first, he tried to pull away, but I cupped the back of his head and held him in place. He needed a little reminder that the power he had over me was only because I chose to give it to him.
He made a sound of protest at the back of the throat but leaned into the kiss and grabbed my shoulder with one hand and my hip with the other. Then it wasn’t just me kissing him. His tongue plunged into my mouth, and his hand teased the flesh just beneath my shirt.
The phone in my hand vibrated again. “Fucking hell.” I stepped back from Leo and opened the front door. “Go back to bed, Leo. I’ll see you later.”
The door closed behind me as I jogged toward my truck. I hopped inside and started the engine. I looked at the house, wishing he would open the door and wave goodbye. Knowing better than to expect it didn’t mean I wasn’t thoroughly disappointed when it didn’t happen.
I still tooted my horn for him as I pulled out of the driveway. Only then did I return Maxim’s call.
“Where the hell are you?” he snapped.
“I’m on my way. What’s up?”
“We’re not going to discuss it over the phone. You need to get here already, Sergei, and see the fucking mess you let happen when you abandoned your job.”
Fuck, that sounded bad, but Maxim hung up before I could say anything.
It was just after ten when I pulled into the club’s parking lot. I barely had the truck parked and the ignition off before I was out, slamming the door behind me and heading straight for the entrance. The sooner I took care of business here, I could get back to my personal business.
The place seemed empty at first, but Maxim’s car was parked outside, along with two others, so I knew he was there.
The first person I saw was Nik, standing near the shadowed side of the bar, one hand braced against the counter, the other dragging through his hair.
When he saw me, his expression shifted to relief.
“What the hell happened?” I asked as I approached.
Nik huffed out a breath, shaking his head. “Man…” He looked me over like he didn’t quite know where to start. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch it in time.”
“Sorry for what?” I said just as Maxim rounded the corner, Darius hot on his heels as they made a clear path toward me. How bad could it be? Most things were fixable.
“Where the hell have you been while your club has been made into a goddamn crime scene?”
A crime scene? Fuck. Why did it have to happen the night I’d ditched the club early to be with Leo?
“I had a situation,” I said evenly. “A friend was in an accident, and I had to make sure he was okay.”
Maxim’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And that was more important than your responsibilities here?”
I didn’t answer that. I could have pointed out that he would have done the same if Wren were the one in trouble, but he was in an actual relationship with the boy.
Leo and I had an unhealthy stalkery relationship where we fucked once.
And I hadn’t ruled out that he’d only done it because he was still shaken from his accident.
People did weird things after having a near-death experience. The first time I almost died, I decided to turn my life over to the church. I lasted four months before the absurdity of it all caught up with me.
The tension stretched for a second too long before Maxim exhaled sharply and jerked his head toward the back. “Come with me.”
I fell into step beside him without another word. We took the elevator up to the VIP floor. My stomach was in knots because if something bad happened on this floor, it had the potential to develop into more, given the type of people who frequented this area.
Maxim stopped outside one of the private bathrooms and pushed the door open. The smell of stale chemicals hit first before I saw her. A woman sprawled on the floor beside the sink, one arm bent awkwardly beneath her, the other stretched out. Her skin had already gone pale, lips tinged faintly blue.
Everything inside me went cold. It was the nurse. Leo’s nurse. The one who always took the coffee I brought him.
Fuck.
My jaw tightened as I crouched beside her, two fingers pressing to her neck out of instinct, even though I already knew what I’d find.
Nothing.
“She’s dead,” Maxim said flatly.
I straightened slowly, my gaze lingering on her face for a fraction too long before I forced myself to look away. “How?” I asked.
“Overdose,” Maxim said. “Or at least that’s what it looks like. We’ll know more once you clean up your mess.”
My eyes snapped back to him. “My mess?” I repeated, still stunned that I recognized the deceased.
“You weren’t here,” he said simply. “Which means whatever happened on your watch is now your responsibility.”
That familiar weight settled over my shoulders again.
I’d done this several times before. There was no reason this time needed to be any different.
I didn’t even know her name. She was just a face that smiled whenever she saw me coming toward her, though most people would have been intimidated at the sight of me.
“I don’t care how you handle it,” Maxim continued, his tone turning colder. “But this does not get linked back to Mesmerize. Do you understand me, Sergei?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” He glanced once at the body, then back at me, already done with it. “Fix it.”
Then he turned and walked out, Darius following without a word. The door closed behind them with a soft click, and silence settled in the room. I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down my face before stepping back out into the hallway where Nik was waiting.
“What the hell happened?” I asked.
Nik grimaced. “I don’t know. One of our staff was doing routine cleanup of the restroom and found her unresponsive.”
“Who found her?”
“Her name’s Celeste. Don’t worry. We still have her in a safe place.”
Safe meant contained so she wouldn’t have access to others and tell anyone else what she discovered.
“Good. I’ll need to speak to her, find out if anyone else saw anything.”
“She’s going to be a liability.”
“We’ll make her understand the seriousness of this matter. If she doesn’t…” Then she had no one else to blame.
Nik’s jaw tightened. “Roger that. Anything you need me to do right now?”
“I need all the footage from last night and call the coroner. Let him know to expect a delivery. We need to know exactly what she took so we know what to look for circulating in our club.”
I glanced back toward the bathroom door, where the body still lay out of sight. Toward the connection I couldn’t ignore.
Leo.
Fuck.
Was karma finally catching up to me? Because this wasn’t just another body. This wasn’t just another problem to clean up. This one was linked to Leo, and if he found out I covered up the death of another person close to him, the slim chance I already had with him would be obliterated.