Chapter 21
SERGEI
“Hey, man. Wait up!”
I stifled a groan as Nik ran to catch up with me. All I wanted to do was go home—to Leo’s place—and cuddle him until it was five in the morning and time for me to disappear before he woke up. I’d been doing it for the past four days straight and looked forward to it now after getting off at night.
I never expected running a nightclub would be so draining.
Tomorrow, the nightclub would remain closed, and everyone deserved the break.
Under Hazel’s guidance, the staff had been working their asses off to adopt our new principles, and I was finally satisfied with the direction the club was heading.
When this ended, and I returned to my position as head of security, the incoming brigadier should have things easier than I did.
I dragged my feet so Nik could catch up with me.
“Surprised you’re not already home,” I muttered. He was always checking his watch as soon as the clock struck two, often mumbling that he needed to get to his side of the bed at home.
“Can’t leave you behind.” But he didn’t sound too happy about it. “Hazel is in charge, anyway. Why do you have to be the last one to leave?”
“I’m not going to let her lock up.” I scowled at him. “Jess would be ashamed of you right now for even suggesting it.”
“Yeah, fuck. My bad. I’m exhausted.”
“Then go home.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He had a smirk on his lips. “You want me to tail you and ensure you get there okay?”
I scowled at him. We’d long since established that I didn’t need him following me to work or back. He was just an extra pair of eyes on my back while I did my job at the club.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Someone’s not been going home lately.”
“Are you following me?”
“I was concerned two nights ago when you seemed distracted, so I followed you to ensure you got home okay.” He shook his head slowly. “You’re getting sloppy, man. You didn’t even notice me.”
“I’m not—” But if he was telling the truth and I hadn’t noticed him trailing me, I was worse than sloppy. My job as the head of security required me to be vigilant and observant. Was I going to lose my edge because of babysitting the club?
“Jess said you bought a house. I thought that was where you were going. Imagine my surprise when you ended up breaking into a certain doctor’s house.”
“I didn’t break in.” I started walking faster toward my truck, hoping he got the message.
“What’s the sense of buying a house if you don’t even sleep there?”
I opened my mouth to tell him off but snapped it shut. I inhaled deeply and tried again.
“He doesn’t like us being intimate in the house where he’s lived with his husband. I don’t like it either.”
Too many memories of them being together were stamped all over that place. From the photo frames on the wall to the his & his mugs he still had in his cupboard. I couldn’t be certain who Leo was thinking about when we were at his house.
“That makes sense,” Nik said.
“The place still needs furniture, though. Jess said she would help me shop around.”
“Or, hear me out. How about we not ask Jess but have Leo help you?”
Hmm, Leo helping me decorate the new place? Would he even agree to it?
“It’ll give you an excuse to spend more time with him.”
“Yeah.” I gave him a slow nod. “Not bad.”
“See? You should come to me more often with your troubles.” He drew close to me with his arms outstretched as if he was going to hug me. “Uncle Nik can solve them for you.”
I shoved him away from me and opened the door to my truck. “Uncle my ass. Fuck off already. But thanks.”
I started my engine but waited until he got into his car and pulled out of the lot ahead of me.
I stayed where I was for a few seconds longer than necessary, engine idling low, watching his taillights disappear around the corner.
It was a habit more than anything else, making sure my people cleared out safely before I concerned myself with the rest of the night.
Only when the street swallowed him up did I follow.
The city had that late-night lull to it, when most people were already in bed and sinners came out to play. The occasional car passed by, but otherwise, it was just me, my truck, and the long stretch of the road ahead.
Leo waited at the end of this drive.
The thought grounded me in a way nothing else could have of late.
I pictured him the way I’d left him the night before, pretending to be asleep when I slipped into bed behind him.
We had a silent truce. He didn’t confront me about still breaking and entering, and I didn’t call him out for his quiet acceptance of me sharing his bed, even though the next day he feigned ignorance.
Those few hours beside him had started to feel like something I needed at the end of my night.
I exhaled slowly, rolling my neck to ease the tension there.
Then I checked my rearview mirror and clocked the headlights of a motorcycle.
It didn’t register as anything at first. Just another vehicle cutting through the empty streets, engine louder than necessary in the quiet.
But it stayed on my tail. Close enough that I noticed it.
My grip tightened on the wheel. I adjusted my speed slightly, not enough to be obvious, just enough to test him, and the rider matched it. A familiar awareness slid into place, sharpening everything around me. I took the next turn without signaling, sharper than usual, watching the mirror.
He followed.
Of course the bastard did.
Leo’s house was less than ten minutes from here.
I wasn’t going anywhere near it when I didn’t know who was on my tail.
I wasn’t dragging him into this. Eventually, he would have to accept the kind of man I was, but I couldn’t afford for anything to fuck that up.
He should know that I would protect him, not lead danger to his doorstep.
I turned again, cutting deeper into the city, choosing streets that had less traffic. The motorcycle closed the distance behind me, the engine revving louder as if the man riding it had grown tired of the chase.
His arm lifted, brandishing a pistol. The first shot cracked through the night, loud and violent, shattering the quiet.
The impact slammed into the back of my truck, and the metal buckled under the pressure with a harsh, grating sound.
I swore under my breath and hit the accelerator, the engine roaring as the truck surged forward.
Another shot rang out, and glass splintered behind me.
This wasn’t a warning shot. Whoever was behind that helmet was trying to end me.
Too bad for him, I wasn’t about to die that easily.
I swerved to throw off his aim, cutting across the lane before snapping the wheel back. The bike stayed on me, hugging every movement like he’d anticipated it. He was likely trained and not just an amateur looking for a lucky hit.
My jaw tightened. I eased off the gas for half a second, letting him think he was gaining ground, letting him close that distance enough to get confident, then I slammed the brakes.
The truck jerked hard, tires screeching as the sudden stop forced him forward.
He adjusted his speed, but he wasn’t fast enough.
I swerved into him, and the impact was brutal.
Metal crashed against metal, the front of my truck clipping the side of the motorcycle and sending it spinning out from under him.
The rider was thrown clear, his body hitting the asphalt and sliding across it before slamming into the curb with a sickening thud.
I brought the truck to a stop a few yards ahead, my pulse steady, my breathing controlled as I stepped out, pulling my gun from my waistband. Although the air was cool, I could feel the sweat beading down my back.
I walked back toward him, boots echoing faintly against the pavement. He lay twisted near the curb, his bike a crumpled mess and his weapon a few feet from it.
I could tell he was alive by the shallow rise and fall of his chest. Good.
I crouched beside him, grabbing a fistful of his jacket and hauling him onto his back.
I yanked off his helmet, revealing an unfamiliar face that looked quite young.
He looked to be in his early twenties, but I knew better than to underestimate someone because of their youth.
By the time I was his age, I was already dropping bodies to protect Maxim.
His eyes found mine, and he swallowed. I could smell the fear on him.
What was the sense of picking up a gun if you were afraid to die by it?
I could never understand. I never chose this life.
It chose me, and I’d prepaid for my own cremation years ago.
If my enemies left me with a body after they were through with me.
I knew Maxim would do his best to make sure that didn’t happen, and that was all I’d ever asked of him.
“Who sent you?” I asked, my voice quiet. “Speak.”
He said nothing. His jaw clenched instead, his body tensing under my grip.
I sighed, more annoyed than anything else. “We can do this the easy way,” I told him, leaning in slightly, “or the way you’re not going to enjoy.”
I didn’t have the time to play with him on the side of the road. At any minute, a car could drive by.
His lips twitched. “Fuck you.”
Then his hand moved quickly. I saw the flash of steel clenched in his hand, and I jerked back, but he didn’t aim at me. He brought the knife down and slashed across his neck.
“Fuck.”
His body twitched as the blood flowed like rivulets from the wound in his neck. The fucker hadn’t even done it properly. He was going to suffer before he drew his last breath. Very well, then. I could help him with that.
I grabbed him by the arm and dragged his body across the asphalt over to the truck.
He was wheezing, trying to say something, but I dumped his body in the bed and quickly searched him for more weapons.
I tied his legs together and his hands in case he made any more heroic attempts at ending his life.
“Don’t make any mistake, you son of a bitch,” I said with a growl. “You are going to die, but only when I say so and not a moment sooner.”