Chapter 9 Reid
REID
For some reason, Reid felt nervous.
He hadn’t been nervous while staking out the biker bar, waiting for Niko to show himself. Or while he’d been lurking in the shadows… waiting, scoping out the area and the people around his old best friend, trying to figure out whether this was a good idea and whether these bikers could be trusted.
None of that made him nervous.
But now, hearing Niko refer to these guys as his family made him feel nervous as shit.
Was it because he secretly wanted them to like him?
Was it because these guys got to share the last ten years with him, while he had not?
Or was it because, secretly, he’d had feelings for Nikolai ever since the moment they met?
Falling in love when you’re paid to have sex with others is highly problematic.
Falling in love with your roommate and best friend… is even more complicated.
Reid often struggled, especially during the many times he and Nikolai entertained clients together, to watch Nikolai making love to someone else. He could almost feel his heart breaking each and every time.
Listening to the moans.
Hearing the gasps of pleasure.
It was like standing in front of a firing squad every time he had to watch his best friend take these women, showing them love and affection—even if it was all just pretend.
But what could he do? They weren’t exactly free to leave and do what they wanted, were they?
No matter how many times they told themselves otherwise, they were prisoners, forced to work for a man who saw them as nothing more than human sex toys… to be used and sold to the highest bidder.
Yes, he and Niko had it better than most. They were part of the Diamond Squad, an elite group of men whose sole purpose was to pleasure rich and powerful clients.
They were the best of the best. The best-looking men, with the biggest packages and the most charming smiles.
Servicing such high-valued clients awarded them certain privileges that the others who worked for Mikhail were not.
They were tipped regularly and got to keep it. Others had to fork over every cent they made to Mikhail. He dispensed what he thought they deserved, which often wasn’t much.
They received expensive gifts from clients and got to live in a fancy condo with a fridge full of food. Others had to share a two-bedroom apartment with six other men and women, in a neighborhood that had rats as landlords.
So, Niko and Reid couldn’t complain. They had it good compared to the others.
But no matter how many lies they told to convince themselves that they were happy and in control, the cold, hard truth was that they weren’t. They were trapped, just like everyone else—at the mercy of a sex trafficker whose only concern was making money.
It was just easier to get through the day when one believed the lies that they told themselves.
The inside of Ride ’em Hard was just like any other biker bar he’d ever been in—dim lighting, rock music playing, and the smell of rough sex drifting through the air.
They walked to the back of the bar, where a group of guys were standing around a pool table, taking shots and drinking beers.
“Guys, I want you to meet someone. This is Reid, an old friend of mine from back in New York,” Nikolai announced, gesturing toward Reid.
“Hey man, nice to meet you,” one of the guys said, taking a step forward and offering his hand. “I’m Caden, and this is my boyfriend Lucas.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Reid answered, shaking their hands.
“Hey! Weren’t you the guy being chased by those goons in suits when we were out in LA? The ones who looked like they wanted to pummel your ass,” a shorter man with reddish-brown hair asked, standing from his stool and walking over to them.
“Umm, yeah, that was him,” Nikolai responded.
“So, what happened? What did you do?” the tough-looking guy asked, putting his hands on his hips like he was trying to dig up some deep-seated truth that only he could uncover.
“Blade, back off. Whatever that was, it’s Reid’s business.” Nikolai jumped in again.
It was nice that Nikolai was sticking up for him, even after all these years.
“No, no. It’s alright,” Reid interrupted.
“I was playing blackjack at an underground casino, and the guys didn’t like me takin’ all their money.
One thing led to another, and, well, I had to hoof it out of there as fast as I could,” he lied.
“Thanks for the assist, by the way, that was some badass riding.”
The man nodded like he understood being in that sort of predicament. Judging by the look of the guy, something told him that the man got into trouble… a lot.
“Yeah, we’ve all been there. Glad they didn’t catch you. I’m Blade, by the way.” He, too, stuck out his hand, seeming to offer him his friendship.
“This is Marcus, my boss, and his little brother Ace. Ace is also this dude’s side piece.
” Nikolai nudged the man introduced as Blade.
“So I’d stay clear of flirting or even touching Ace.
Keep in mind, he’s had this dude’s dick in his mouth, so you never know what might have been transferred.
Blade isn’t the most selective when it comes to sexual partners. ”
Nikolai chuckled and gave his friend another playful nudge. It was clear they shared some sort of special connection. Were they best friends? Past lovers?
Suddenly, Reid experienced a wave of jealousy.
“Before Blade found some sense, he used to be Nikolai’s emotional support dick in the bedroom. They had this weird sexual bonding thing where they could only have sex with women if the two of them were in the bedroom at the same time,” Ace explained.
“Think of it as bringing backup to a game. A woman can only take so much of this monstrous cock before they need to take a rest and hop onto something much smaller. That’s when I’d let Nikolai jump in and give them a break.
Giving one person all of this dick is just too much for any mere mortal to handle,” Blade said, giving Reid a cocky little smirk.
“I seem to be doing a pretty good job of taking it,” Ace noted, raising an eyebrow at his man, as if challenging him to state otherwise. “Guess I’m not a mere mortal.”
“No, you’re not,” Blade replied, his voice filled with hunger.
“Cade, give me your gun. Blade’s face could use a shot in it,” Marcus cut in, clearly unimpressed by the man’s joke.
“Marcus has a thing about hearing how his little bro likes to take dick,” Nikolai explained, glancing over his shoulder.
“Not dick in general. Just this loser’s dick,” Marcus clarified, walking past Blade and smacking him on the back of his head. He walked over to the bar to grab himself another beer.
The guys around the pool table laughed.
“That is also the best way to get the boss man to leave the room,” Blade added, lowering his voice so Marcus couldn’t overhear.
“So, how do you know Nikolai? I didn’t even know he lived in New York," Ace asked, looking over at Nikolai.
Nikolai glanced at Reid. It was obvious he wasn’t sure what to say.
“We used to be roommates when he first came to America. So I know all of his dirty little secrets,” Reid said, giving Ace a wink.
Ace’s mouth dropped open, and his eyes lit up like Christmas morning.
What the fuck? Reid thought to himself, confused by the boy’s sudden, excited reaction.
“You were Nikolai’s emotional support dick too?” Ace shouted, slapping his hands together as his body magically shot up into the air.
“What?” Reid asked, half choking at the boy’s accusation. He had no idea how the kid jumped to that conclusion, but he found it fucking hilarious how spot on the guy really was.
“Oh my fucking god! Nikolai has been a huge man-whore his whole fucking life!” Ace shouted, clapping his hands together again as if he had just uncovered some amazing truth that magically explained all of the world’s secrets.
“Just because I like sex doesn’t make me a man-whore,” Nikolai defended in a thick Russian accent. “This is coming from a guy who used to get plowed in the back of trucks in the parking lot of this bar.”
“Ace did what?” Marcus growled, picking the worst possible time to rejoin the group.
“Umm, nothing,” Ace blurted sheepishly. “I should get back to work.” He quickly chugged down the rest of his beer before running off like his ass was on fire.
Reid couldn’t help but chuckle. He liked Niko’s friends. He could see why Niko had chosen them.
Marcus just shook his head. “The more I learn about that kid, the more I wish I didn’t. Here. This is for you,” Marcus said, passing Reid a shot glass.
One of the female bartenders walked up carrying a tray full of shots and began passing them around to the group.
“To Reid. Looking forward to hearing all the sordid stories about our favorite Russian. You took care of our boy when he first arrived in our country, and now it’s our turn to take care of you while you’re here enjoying your time,” Marcus toasted, raising his glass.
Nikolai slung his arm over Reid’s shoulder and pulled him in.
“I’m looking forward to hearing all the embarrassing dirt you got on our boy,” Blade added, raising his shot as well.
He could tell that Niko was well-loved by the group. They had taken him in when he wasn’t around.
Reid looked up at Niko, who was smiling back at his boss.
“Cheers,” they all shouted before downing their shots as a group.