Chapter 14
NIKOLAI
I’m not exactly comfortable leaving Elena with Melissa, but at least Svetlana is there too. I know she will tell me every little thing that happens, so that’s my only reassurance.
I wouldn’t have left so soon after bringing Melissa back, if Mikhail hadn’t called telling me there’s been a spotting of Kirill.
That slimy agent of my father’s is in town.
“Which way?” Jax asks Enzo over the speaker from the passenger seat of my Hellcat, while Alexei hangs over our shoulders from the back.
“Take the next right. The camera on C Street has him diving into the Bellhouse Bar on Tenth.” Enzo’s calm voice carries through the car.
That man must have seen some shit to always be so level during all the crazy stuff we have him talk us through.
He’s never divulged any of his own history. If I liked going to his style of clubs, I’d consider visiting him for a night to get him drunk enough to talk.
I’m curious if his past is any darker than my own.
But, that’s for another day.
Alexei climbs out of the passenger’s side along with Jax when we pull in.
I snag him by the elbow before we get to the door. “Try not to draw attention to yourself. This place is in Reaper territory, and we’d be outgunned here.”
He gives me a grin wide enough to show his silver tooth. “I’m always in control.”
Just what I didn’t want to hear.
With a groan, I follow him into the cool interior.
Like every establishment in Vegas, slots are lined up and play those annoying bells and whistles to try and lure people in for a game.
Never had any luck with them.
“I think we should split up and start asking around.” Jax slips away before I can argue.
As I turn around to stop Alexei, I see he’s gone already.
Fuck.
It’s early enough the place isn’t crowded, but it’s full of smaller rooms and bars.
Why are so many of these shit holes like mazes?
The further in I go, the dimmer the lights and the louder the music.
A short waitress with flaming orange hair smiles up at me and tucks her serving tray against her belly which pushes her breasts higher.
She knows exactly what she’s doing.
“Hiya big guy. Can I get you anything?” She pulls back her black-painted lips to reveal a crooked smile.
“Yes. Have you seen this man?” Stiffly, I pull the grainy surveillance photo from my pocket and hand it to her.
Her eyes narrow and she pushes it back. “Are you a cop? You gotta tell me, ya know.”
I shake my head. “He’s a dangerous man.”
She shifts and her eyes flick to the back room. “If I did see him, it was a while ago. And he went thataway.” She jaunts her hip as she points into the next room.
Her gaze brazenly works its way up and down my body, and she focuses her stare on my crotch for longer than is necessary. “You just let me know if you can keep me safe after you find him, ‘kay?” Her jaw snaps, making her teeth click before she growls at me and walks away.
Feisty.
Hmm. I wish Melissa was.
Probably for the best she isn’t.
She’d be impossible to resist.
I enjoy the view, but all she talks about is cooking videos. It’s hard to be excited by that.
Pushing into the farthest areas, the music becomes disjointed. The lyrics don’t match the beat, but I know they’re the right words.
When I step into the lounge, my stomach drops.
Alexei stands on a blacked out stage with a microphone, struggling to keep up with the karaoke prompts on the screen in front of him.
Shit.
Jax is cheering him on from the audience with a sloshing drink in his hand.
I grab him by the back of the shirt and tug him close. “What the fuck is he doing?”
Jax grins. “Badly singing.”
“He was supposed to not draw attention.” My knuckles pop as I squeeze my fists.
“I’m sure he has a plan.” Jax flicks the metal bar on his tongue between his lips and turns back to the buffoon on the stage.
When the music ends, there’s a wild cheer that rips through the gathered people.
They have to be joking.
“Thank you, thank you. Now, does anyone know Kirill?” Alexei waves his copy of the photograph high enough that most of the crowd can see.
No.
A murmur drifts through, and a large guy pushes closer to him. “Who wants to know?”
Alexei takes a half step back and lets the microphone swing out and hits the questioner across the top of the head. “You are not him.”
Damn it.
The man stumbles back, rubbing his beefy hand across his hair. “You motherfucker! I’m gonna kill you for that!” He lunges forward and drops his chest, aiming for Alexei’s legs.
I start to rush in, but Jax throws his hand on my bicep. “Nah, I want to see what he does. We can save him before he gets crushed.”
He has a point.
“Maybe he needs a little consequence for his choices.” I stop and cross my arms.
Let’s see what the ass does.
Alexei lets the loop of the cord drop lower, and nimbly sidesteps the barreling man, wrapping the line around the neck of his assailant.
The next song comes one as Alexei doubles the snare, cinching it tightly as the man’s face grows red.
“There’s a time—” Alexei sings into the mic where it’s lodged against the man’s ear. “—a time to tell the clue.”
Those aren’t the words to that music at all. And they’re terrible.
“Now where is Kirill, before I kill you?” he screeches over the very different rhythm.
I feel a tug at my elbow.
It’s the fire-haired waitress.
“Okay, I see you aren’t cops.” She’s added a wad of gum into her cheek at some point. “That guy you’re looking for, he was here, met with a younger dude, maybe mid twenties in racing leathers. They talked for like, an hour. Maybe less.” Her pierced nose wrinkles. “Your guy was passing pictures that looked like it pissed off the other one. That’s all I know.” Her palm snakes down and squeezes my ass cheek. “Firm. I knew it would be.”
Jax laughs as she walks away. “You could get lucky.” His eyebrows bob as we push closer to Alexei.
“Got what we needed.” I grab Alexei by the front of his shirt and hoist him off of the stage.
He drops the suffocating man in a heap, who claws at his throat and takes a ragged breath.
“See? I knew it would work.” Alexei struts ahead of us, his shoulders back and head high.
“He’s a fucking rockstar.” Jax yells, which elicits another cheer from the throng of people we’re leaving.
“And he knows it,” I add.
After dropping them off and relaying the information to Mikhail and Enzo, I head back to my house.
I’ve barely stepped into the entryway when Svetlana meets me, already carrying her bag.
“She messed up the kitchen, spread toys everywhere. The television was on these awful shows. She was terrible.” Her thick hand waves back and forth in the silent curses of the Motherland.
“I’ll speak to Elena. Just because there’s a visitor, doesn’t mean?—”
“What? No! It was that, that, woman.” She shakes her head and slams the door behind her.
I make sure she’s out of earshot before laughing.
“What’s so funny, Daddy?” Elena runs from the hall and leaps into my arms.
Her dark curls are tamed into a tight braid.
“I see your hair is pretty today. Did Svetlana do it for you?” I smooth a loose tendril and tuck it behind her ear as I go in search of Melissa.
“No. My new best friend Melissa did it. She said it’s what all the strong women wear.” Elena flattens her palm against her cheek and turns her face back and forth to showcase her new do.
“Yes. Like a bear. I can see that.” I kiss her forehead and set her on the floor when Melissa pokes her head out of the guest bedroom.
Her long, black hair is woven into a matching braid that sits over her shoulder and reaches down to rest on her full breast.
“She did hers, too. Do you think it’s pretty?” Elena tugs at my hand.
Melissa gives a slight smile as a touch of a blush highlights her cheeks.
“She’s very beautiful.” I meet her eyes, then break the gaze to look down at my daughter. “I heard you two gave Svetlana a run for her money today?”
Elena giggles. “She didn’t like the cooking shows. She said they were doing it all wrong.”
“And, then I spilled a bin of blocks across the floor by accident.” Melissa adds, fighting her own laugh.
“Well, I may have to spank you for being naughty.” I look directly at Melissa.
Shit. Why does that make my cock twitch thinking about having her over my knee?
She chews on her lip before holding her hand out to Elena. “Should we have that ice cream now that Svetlana is gone?”
“Yay!” Elena rips her little fingers out of my palm and takes a hold of Melissa.
They walk ahead of me, and it makes my chest hurt.
Elena should have her mother.
But, the adoring eyes she gives Melissa makes the ache a little less.
With the satisfaction that my daughter is at least safe, I need to get in the shower and wash the touch of that waitress off of me.
Standing under the water, it’s hard to keep my mind from wandering.
What would it be like if Melissa was that sure of herself?
If she grabbed me with that conviction. Or at least showed a little fire about getting revenge against Knox.
Instead, she never talks about it except to flood irrational tears whenever I ask for more details.
Once he’s gone, she’ll be safe to leave.
I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Elena seems to like her.
If only her cooking was better.
Tossing on a pair of sweatpants, I head back into the kitchen to find Elena propped on one of the stools, her swinging feet lightly kicking the counter as she scoops vanilla in heaping bites.
“Feel better?” Melissa shifts around the island and leans against it, pushing her chest out.
What is she doing?
I nod and place my hand on Elena’s head. “Go brush your teeth when you’re done, it’s almost time for bed.”
“Yes, Daddy.” She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and slides off her seat.
When she runs upstairs Melissa steps closer with a smile. “So, what you said earlier…were you serious?”
I know exactly what she’s talking about, but feign ignorance. “Your hair looks nice, yes.”
Picking up Elena’s empty bowl, I rinse it in the sink, painfully aware of how near Melissa moves.
“Well, thanks. But, I meant, um. About the spanking thing.” Her fingers land on my arm.
My cock twitches. Not quite enough, though.
“You haven’t done anything to deserve it.” Dropping the plastic dish in the washer, I turn on my heel.
“Tell me more about where Knox kept you.” Watching her eyes, I see the tightening around the edges before her lower lip begins to tremble.
“It’s too painful to talk about.” She pulls away and leaves towards her room.
That’s what I thought.
She’s hiding something, I just don’t know what.
I’m glad she left. My dick is as hard as a rock, realizing she really may deserve that punishment after all.