Chapter 3
NIKOLAI
The club the Double Aces crew had chosen was located in West Hollywood, a predominantly gay area, but also an area known for its classy trends and expensive venues. It was a venue where the crew knew they would be taken seriously.
Once they arrived, the hostess escorted them to the VIP section, which was separated by a purple velvet rope and guarded by two bouncers at the entrance.
“Welcome!” the leader of the Double Aces greeted, standing up from the couch and stepping past one of the two women sitting on either side of him.
“I’m Dominic Baas, the head of this crew.
I’m so glad you could make it—welcome. Come.
Sit.” He gestured for Marcus and the guys to take a seat on any of the several couches throughout the VIP section.
This conversation would involve Marcus and possibly Caden, so Marcus and Caden sat on the couch with Dominic and a man who appeared to be his second-in-command.
Nikolai and Blade took a seat on another couch, remaining close, just in case their boss needed them and they had to suddenly jump into action.
That was crew life.
That was brotherhood.
Nikolai and Blade pointed at the liquor bottles on the small glass table in front of them. A woman wearing the skimpiest black dress Nikolai had ever seen approached and mixed them both a drink.
The woman bent over, making sure to stick her ass right in Nikolai’s face as she poured their drinks. Her ass was tight and plump, with no panty line in sight.
Nikolai gave a moan as he admired the curves of her body. There was a reason that this woman was working the VIP section. She was definitely top-shelf quality.
“Thank you, love.” Nikolai flirted when the woman handed him his drink. She smiled at him before slipping back to her spot against the wall.
Blade gave Niko a smirk as he brought his glass to his lips.
Hey, they were free to have fun after the boss-man made his deals. There was nothing wrong with setting up a little something for when they got back to their hotel. The woman looked like she could take a pounding and was probably open to getting all her holes filled.
The negotiations lasted about an hour, followed by two hours of drinking and flirting with women.
The taken guys acted friendly, but they knew where the lines were and never dared to cross them.
Plus, one of them was engaged to the boss’s stepbrother, so if he wanted to keep breathing on his own, he needed to respect his commitment to his partner—not that Blade would ever stray from Ace’s side anyway. He loved the guy way too much.
It was just after two thirty in the morning when the guys finally exited the club.
“Is everyone okay to ride?” Marcus asked, glancing around at the guys in his crew.
Everyone nodded. They all knew better than to get shit-faced drunk, especially when on crew business. The one thing you didn’t do was embarrass Marcus or disrespect the crew. Those violations often ended with multiple black eyes and usually resulted in a week of sore ribs.
You could drink and have a good time, but everyone knew you needed to pace yourself and discreetly switch to water two hours before leaving the club.
There was a time for partying, and this was not it.
They had parked their bikes on the far side of the parking lot. Marcus, Caden, and Blade all walked ahead of Nikolai, who was busy taking in the sights around him.
The streets were packed with partiers stumbling out of clubs and bars as they tried to gather their hookups for the night before heading home for more after-hours fun.
That wasn’t a bad idea.
When he got back to the hotel, he might stop by the hotel bar and see who was hanging around. Maybe there was a horny couple or two looking for some late-night action.
Smirking to himself, he looked up just in time to see a brown head of hair come crashing into him.
“Oof,” Nikolai exhaled, stumbling backward and catching the young man who had suddenly plowed into him.
Another drunken frat boy, no doubt.
What was up with these dumbass, rich kids not being able to control themselves and hold their liquor? Seriously. These brainless idiots were an embarrassment to their species.
Gripping the sides of the young man’s arms, Nikolai looked into his eyes, then gave a growl.
His breath suddenly caught in his chest, and his heart stopped beating altogether.
No. It couldn’t be.
His eyes locked with the baby-blue ones he never thought he’d see again.
“Reid?” he asked, his voice trembling as he spoke.
His eyes had to be playing tricks on him. There was no way that the man standing right in front of him could be…
The young man clung to Nikolai’s arms for support as he struggled to regain his balance.
“Oh, sorry, dude,” the guy blurted, seeming not to recognize the man he had just run into. Once he managed to steady himself, he did a double take and gasped.
“Niko?” the young man asked, looking just as surprised as Nikolai was.
“Wh-what the fuck? How is this—” Nikolai’s question was interrupted by the sound of men yelling down the street.
They both looked in the direction of the commotion.
Three men in suits were running toward them, all looking angry as hell.
“Oops. That’s my cue. Later, big guy,” he blurted before tearing himself away from Nikolai’s grasp and dashing off in the opposite direction.
“What? Reid!” Nikolai shouted, calling after the man he thought was dead.
He watched as his old friend ran off, looking like the devil himself was chasing him.
More shouts came from behind him.
His hands curled into fists as Nikolai turned toward the men who were chasing his friend. His jaw clenched. He didn’t know who these men were or why they were chasing after his friend, but there was no way in hell he was going to let them catch him.
Nikolai placed his fingers between his lips and whistled at Marcus and the crew. They were already staring at him, no doubt caught up in the commotion.
He raised his arm, signaling to the boys that he needed their help.
Recognizing the signal, the boys jumped on their bikes, revving them up with a thunderous roar. They all shifted into gear and sped off toward the men running toward Nikolai—or should he say, Reid.
Marcus, Caden, and Blade laughed and shouted and howled at the moon as they began riding circles around the confused-looking men.
The three men froze, distracted by the crazy bikers who were suddenly in their faces.
Nikolai looked back over his shoulder to where he had last seen his friend. Reid was about two blocks away and ready to zip around a corner. He watched as his old best friend paused briefly, hands gripping the wall of a building as he looked at Nikolai one last time.
Even from that distance, he swore he could see the young man smile, his lips pulled back the way he used to when Nikolai would enter a room. It was only the briefest of smiles, but enough to warm the pit of Nikolai’s stomach.
Then, just as quickly as Reid had crashed into his life, he turned the corner and disappeared once again.
Behind him, the sounds of chaos and mayhem filled the night air.
The boys kept taunting the men, riding circles, tossing insults, laughing, and, for some reason, even howling at the moon.
Blade could be a little odd from time to time, but tonight, he had apparently found his inner werewolf, it seemed.
He loved his brothers. They were all batshit crazy. But in the end, they could always be depended on to have his back.
Tonight was proof of that.
No questions asked. Just unconditional loyalty and friendship.
Nikolai hopped onto his bike, then sped off to join his brothers in the chaos.
He fucking loved his life!
Once they arrived at their hotel, the guys said goodnight and headed up to their rooms. Nikolai, on the other hand, was unable to move. He stood in the lobby, staring blankly at the elevators his friends had just disappeared into.
Reid was alive. That thought echoed inside his brain.
Where had he been all these years?
Knowing that his old friend was alive was both exciting and terrifying.
He was thrilled at the knowledge that his friend was alive and had been all these wretched years.
The thought of being able to see him once more filled his heart with something he hadn’t felt in almost ten years.
He couldn’t exactly say what it was, but he knew he hadn’t felt it since he last saw Reid.
Then, of course, there was that other feeling—terror.
Knowing that Reid had been alive all these years made Nikolai’s stomach turn. The thought that he had given up hope and left his buddy to suffer whatever fate had befallen him horrified Niko.
Where had Reid been all this time? And why had he never tried to contact him?
They had been close once. As close as two straight men could be in their… situation.
Niko had to know.
Turning, Nikolai left the hotel and hopped back on his Harley.
He spent the next two hours driving around the city, hopelessly searching for the man he had long believed to be dead.
Would he get lucky and somehow run into him twice in one night?
Probably not.
The gods were not that merciful. He knew, better than anyone, that the gods were monsters, sent to torture and punish all those who walked their earth.