Chapter 27 Nikolai
NIKOLAI
Two days later, they were back home, nursing their mosquito bites and waiting around for Simon to get back to them with further information.
Miraculously, nobody died during their camping trip, although Blade came close when he decided to try to get a selfie with a bear. As a word of warning, bears are not photogenic, especially when they’re standing on their hind legs, trying to claw your face off with their gigantic paws.
Thankfully, the group brought their little smiling psychopath—aka Lucas—who just so happened to have brought a spare grenade, which he so delicately lobbed at a nearby tree, causing the bear to run away.
When the tree exploded, it scared the living daylights out of all those around, including the bear.
Reid refused to sit anywhere near Lucas for the rest of the trip.
Smart man.
“Man, it’s good to be back in civilization,” Blade announced, slamming his hand down on the bar, trying to get Alexis’s attention. “Can I get a beer, love?”
“And a pomegranate martini for me, please,” Ace added, saddling up next to his fiancé.
Niko took a sip of his vodka as he and Reid watched their two friends join them at the bar.
Nobody had mentioned anything about hearing them hooking up while camping, not even Blade, when Niko casually tossed the lube back into his tent the day they were leaving.
Niko wanted to have a chat when they got home, to try and figure out what was going on between them, but instead, they ended up trading blow jobs in the shower.
One thing was certain: Niko’s dick and apparently his heart now took orders from Reid. Perhaps they always had, but Niko was too stubborn to realize.
“I heard you were almost bear food,” Damian, one of the spare bartenders, added, passing Blade his beer.
“Not even close. Yogi took a look at these guns and ran home to Mama.” Blade flexed his right bicep.
Ace licked his lower lip as he admired his fiancé’s body.
“Let’s just say, it’s a good thing that Lucas always comes prepared,” Niko added, lifting his drink to the young man who was busy clearing a table. Some of them had to work.
“I couldn’t let my best friend become a widow before he even had a chance to become a bride,” Lucas noted without so much as a glance in their direction.
Ace raised his martini to his best friend. “And I love you for it, babe.”
Reid looked over at Niko and smiled. “You got some pretty awesome friends, you know.”
“Yeah. I got lucky with this bunch of misfits.” He wrapped his arm around Reid and pulled him in for a side hug. He noticed a few of the guys sitting across from him look up at them, their lips pulling back in what was supposed to be a smile, he guessed.
Perhaps, doing this whole gay relationship thing wouldn’t be so bad, Niko thought to himself.
Marcus came up to the bar and watched as Caden walked in.
“Hey, what’s up with the undercover dude watching the place?” Caden asked, hooking his thumb at the door, looking all levels of concerned.
“What do you mean?” Marcus asked, standing up straight as his hands balled into fists. “What did you see?”
Caden rounded the bar and stopped next to his boss.
“There’s some dude sitting in a beat-up piece-of-shit gray car, taking photos of the bar. When I walked past his car, he dropped his phone and pretended that he was adjusting his radio.”
Marcus glanced over at Blade.
“Caden, go and grab the truck and park it in front of this dude, just in case he tries to run. Blade, grab your bike and box him in at the back. If he manages to get past us, chase him down on your bike. Niko, you and I are going to go and have a chat with this guy. Alexis.” Marcus turned to face her.
“You watch the bar. Use the shotgun under the register if you need to.”
With a nod, they all stood and headed in various directions.
Niko stood next to the window as he watched the man sitting in his car down the road. He was about two buildings down, but clearly not a federal agent or undercover cop. His position was too exposed, and his body language too suspicious.
Marcus waited beside Niko as they watched Blade ride off down the street. Once Blade passed the car, he circled back and then parked sideways, blocking the back of the guy’s vehicle.
At the same time, Caden pulled out in front of the guy, parking the truck at an angle and blocking the man’s escape.
“Let’s go,” Marcus said, opening the door to the bar and walking across the street.
The man in the vehicle looked surprised. He glanced over his shoulder at Blade, then back ahead at Caden. He started his car, then looked around, searching for a quick way to escape.
Marcus knocked on the driver’s side window. The man’s head snapped toward him.
“How about you turn off that engine and step out of the vehicle?”
The man stared up at him, eyes filled with panic and terror.
Marcus knocked again.
The man simply shook his head.
Marcus stepped back, giving Niko room to step forward. He tried the door, but it was locked.
Shaking his head, Niko pulled his brass knuckles out of his back pocket and slid them on over his fingers.
With one mighty punch, Niko shattered the driver’s side window. He reached into the car and unlocked the door.
The man tried to scurry over to the other side of the car, but Niko caught him by the jeans and yanked him back and out of the car.
“Hey! Let me go!” the man shouted as Niko held him close to his face.
“Who are you?” Niko asked, staring into the man’s angry eyes.
“Go fuck yourself, asshole,” the man spit out.
“Wrong answer, jackass,” Niko growled before throwing him up against his car with a thud.
Niko held him firmly in place as he patted the man down, pulling a gun from his jacket pocket and a cell from the other. He passed them both to Marcus.
The man continued to struggle, but he was no match for Nikolai’s size and strength. The man was just under six feet, attempting to fight against a man who was just over six-four. The math didn’t math.
Finally, he pulled the man’s wallet from the back of his jeans and tossed it over to Marcus.
“Check for any ID or federal badge. The last thing we want is to be assaulting a federal agent.” Niko was fairly certain that the shady guy he had pressed up against the car was not employed by Uncle Sam—perhaps Uncle Sam’s alcoholic cousin—but not by anyone working for a legitimate government agency.
“Says here, the man is Benson Gray, living out in Phoenix,” Marcus said, tucking the man’s driver’s license back into his wallet and then shoving the thing into the back of his jeans.
Pheonix? That was a strange coincidence, Niko thought to himself.
“What the fuck, asshole?” the man shouted, struggling against Niko as he cursed.
Niko slammed his head into the roof of the car.
“Ow!” the man cried out, stumbling back as he attempted to regain his balance.
“Let’s take this inside,” Marcus ordered. “We don’t need any more nosy neighbors.” He turned and headed back toward the bar.
Niko signaled Caden and Blade, then followed his boss back to the bar.
“Where do you want him?” Niko asked, wondering if there was any connection between this man and Reid’s case.
“Take him to the basement,” Marcus instructed, heading around to the back of the bar.
It was much easier to drag the man in through the back door than through the front, where people were apt to ask questions—questions they didn’t want to answer.
“Tie him to that cement pole and lay down plastic sheets on the floor. I have a feeling this is going to get messy,” Marcus growled as he walked over to the wall and unlocked the wooden cabinet.
Slowly, he ran his fingers over several items as if trying to decide which one he wanted to use. There were hammers, knives, pliers, and ice picks. It was a cabinet filled with simple, everyday items that could inflict loads of pain if used just right.
Hey, they were bikers, not professional killers.
“Hmm, so which one will it be?” Marcus asked, glancing over his shoulder at the man Niko was currently tying to the pole.
Nikolai’s eye flicked over to Reid, who was coming down the stairs.
Damnit.
Reid’s eyes widened when he spotted the man Nikolai was tying to the pole and the cabinet Marcus was grazing.
“You probably don’t want to be down here for this,” Nikolai said, hoping that Reid would change his mind and head back upstairs. He didn’t want Reid to see him like this, doing what Shadow Vipers did when they needed someone to speak.
It was never pretty to witness.
Reid shook his head. “No. I’ll stay if that’s okay.”
Marcus looked over at Reid.
“If you choose to stay, you’re going to have to take this to your grave. Or else,” Marcus warned, giving Reid a stern warning.
Niko glared at his boss. There was no way in hell he was ever letting Marcus lay a finger on Reid.
For the first time since Niko joined the Shadow Vipers, he felt anger toward his boss. Reid was his, and under his protection.
Brotherhood be damned.
Reid nodded.
“How about I work him over a bit first, boss? Perhaps that will loosen up his lips for you,” Niko volunteered, adjusting his brass knuckles. It had been a few months since he got into a good scrap. His babies were itching to be used.
Marcus nodded, giving him the go-ahead.
Turning to the man tied with his hands behind his back, Niko gave him a chilling smirk.
“I’ll give you one chance to tell us why you were watching us and who you are working for, before I start beating the shit out of your face,” Niko snarled, taking a step in front of his prey.
He loved when mouthy assholes needed to be taught a lesson.
“Go fuck yourself,” the man growled, spitting blood onto Niko’s boots.
The dude shouldn’t have done that.
Without warning, Niko brought his brass fist down on the man’s cheek, watching as his head snapped to the side, sending blood flying from his mouth.
The man moaned, head flopping against his chest as a stream of blood poured from his mouth.
Niko was one of those guys who practically lived at the gym. That gave him a level of strength that few men in their twenties could even achieve.
Lifting the man’s head, Nikolai stared into his bloodshot eyes, smirking, before he brought Betty down for another solid blow.
Betty was a solid fighter, just like the lesbian bikers she and her brass knuckle partner, Sue, were named after.
Nikolai had gotten into a fight with the real Betty and Sue, the lesbian duo, about five years ago.
The Southern Californian couple taught Nikolai a valuable lesson that night—not all women were into Russian biker dudes with solid big dicks.
Some women preferred the velvety softness that only another woman could provide.
Nikolai smirked.
The man’s body flopped like a rag doll against the pole he was tied to.
Niko loved hearing the crunch of bone as it shattered beneath his knuckles.
“Wait!” Reid shouted, grabbing the man’s cell phone from Marcus and rushing over to where the stranger was dangling.
Annoyed, Niko watched as Reid lifted the man’s head by his hair, then shoved his phone in front of his face.
He was just getting into a rhythm.
To Niko’s surprise, the man’s cell phone unlocked.
Reid shook his head, disappointed. “Why do criminals always use the facial recognition option for their passcode? It’s the easiest way to unlock someone’s phone. I swear these guys are idiots.”
Walking back over to Marcus, Reid began scrolling through the phone.
“Can I proceed?” Niko asked, huffing as his rage continued to build. His brass babies were still hungry, and there was plenty of blood still left in the man.
“Hold your horses, He-Man. You might not need to break his face if I can find something useful on his phone first,” Reid scolded.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Niko responded.
Reid gave him a punishing look.
Deciding he’d better listen to his person, Niko took a step back and watched as Blade and Caden joined them in the basement.
“Any news?” Caden asked, stepping up next to Niko.
Niko shook his head. “007 here is looking through the man’s phone as we speak.”
“How on earth did he get the dude’s passcode?” Blade asked, looking bewildered and impressed.
Niko and Reid locked eyes. Not saying a word, Reid went back to searching through the man’s phone.
So, his chosen brothers were not the brightest of bulbs, but at least they had heart and loyalty. Those were traits Niko could stand behind.
“What the fuck?” Reid gasped, snapping his head up from the phone. “The guy’s from Phoenix. His GPS shows he drove here from the farm we were at last week.”
Niko turned back to face his bleeding punching bag.
“So, you work for those pieces of shit running that farm?” Niko growled, taking a step forward and adjusting Betty and Sue once again.
“What farm?” Marcus asked, looking between Niko and Reid.
Niko ignored him.
“How about you tell us what’s really going on up at that farm?” Niko growled, grabbing the man by the hair and bringing his fist down on his face once again.
Blood and teeth shot from the man’s mouth as Nikolai’s fist connected with his face.
This was where it was about to get messy.
Niko threw another punch and another.
The man’s head flopped around, barely registering any control of its own.
“Traffick—” the man whispered, barely audible at all.
“What was that?” Niko asked, crouching down so his ear was close to the man’s face.
“Slaves… sex workers…” the man was barely able to get out.
Niko stood, not wanting to believe his words.
“You mean to tell me that the farm is a cover for sex trafficking and human slavery?” Niko asked, jaw so tight he was surprised that his teeth hadn’t shattered.
The man slowly nodded.
Niko turned and glared at Reid. “It’s time you told the guys.”