14. Lena
CHAPTER 14
Lena
M y boss at the bar lets me go home early. My head is reeling, replaying what happened tonight. It isn’t the first time a guy has tried to get grabby with me. But I’ve never had a deranged psychopath to stop him before. Just good old Mal. It’s a nudge that maybe I should leave the bar job, but it raises so many other questions about why Alek was even there.
I don’t understand him and don’t think I really want to. But every time I see him, it’s like I discover a new layer of him. That maybe he’s not entirely a robot. Nope. I’m going to upgrade him to a psychopath.
I walk up the five flights of stairs to my apartment. I pull out my keys and open the door, switching on the light as I step inside. I immediately notice something isn’t right.
Cinita’s stuff that I had piled near the door looks like someone went through it and forgot to put it back together.
Someone’s been in here.
Cinita maybe? She’s the only one with a key, right?
Opening my bedroom door, I find all my things ruined. My mattress is cut open, my blankets thrown everywhere, and the room is just a mess of chaotic destruction.
What the actual fuck?
A chill runs down my spine at the thought of someone being in my space. What if it wasn’t Cinita? What if someone else was in here?
I look around, but it’s a small apartment, and I know whoever was here has already left.
My heart hammers in my chest. This past twenty-four hours have been intense, and the one common factor is a man with green eyes.
Finding the card Alek gave me, I dial his number and press call. I run my hand through my long hair in disbelief. Oh my god, how am I going to replace all of this? He answers on the first ring, and I’m shocked at his efficiency .
“Lena.”
“Someone was here and went through Cinita’s things and destroyed my apartment,” I say. I don’t know if he’s the right person to call, but he’s the only one I have.
“Go outside and wait until I get there,” he instructs and hangs up.
“Okay,” I reply anyway.
I do as he says, leaving the apartment and not even bothering to lock it on my way out. It’s not like they could destroy or take anything else that belonged to me. It’s not until I’m already outside that I realize I never gave him my address.
I take a deep breath. Okay, weird shit is definitely happening because of my association with Cinita, no matter how superficial it is. I don’t know Alek, and he’s intimidating as shit, but instinctually, I think I can trust him.
I mean, he was the first person I called. If I called my parents or brother, they’d force me to leave my job and New York immediately. It would only encourage my mother’s reasoning as to why I shouldn’t have followed this career path into the city.
I bite the edge of my nail, more furious than anything. How the fuck am I going to replace all of my furniture? I pace the front of my building until I see a car I don’t recognize. It makes sense that he’d have a different car now since I wrecked the other one. I watch as he pulls up to the curb and gets out of the car. He walks around to me, adjusting his gloves as he does. I have the urge to run up to him because, fuck, sometimes you just need a hug, but I sure as shit won’t get one from this man.
“Did you see anyone?” he asks.
“No, I just got home. And all my shit is ruined,” I say, trying not to cry. Fuck . I mean, I have that four thousand dollars he gave me, which I was hoping to save. Now I guess I’ll have to use it to replace everything.
“Get in the car and lock the doors.” He pulls open the passenger door and I climb in, then he shuts it and stalks off. Who would have thought the very man I was running from would be the one I called to come check for any other bad men in my apartment?
I wish Cinita would pop up just so I could strangle her myself for getting me involved in whatever bullshit this is.
I wait for him, bouncing my knees for a good ten minutes. Yet, surprisingly, I feel safe. I look around the interior of the car. I don’t know cars, but it’s expensive and has that new-car smell. I’d be tempted to snoop out of curiosity but know I’ll find nothing. If he doesn’t have furniture to make his house look lived in, then his car sure as shit isn’t going to have anything personal in it. When he finally comes back out, I open the car door, step out, and look up at him.
“Anything?” I ask.
“Yeah, a mess. How do you live like that?” I scoff at his joke, realizing Alek does have a sense of humor, but it’s very dry and only rarely makes an appearance.
“They destroyed everything,” I say, biting my lip. “Is it safe, do you think? I need to clean up the mess.”
“It’s not you who they were after. By the looks of it, nothing was taken. Just destroyed. So yes, it’s safe,” he says as he scrolls through his phone. I don’t know who he could be trying to call at this time.
I cross my arms over my chest, realizing how cold it’s starting to get. “They were after her, right? Like you are?”
His finger hovers over the call button on his phone and he looks me over. I imagine someone like Alek is constantly moving. But he pauses as if to accommodate my shock. He nods his head.
“I’ll have someone else clean it up for you. Get in the car. You’re not staying here tonight.”
I let out a laugh. I suppose this is what I get for thinking money could come to me so easily. “And where am I going to stay tonight, Alek? Your house again? No, thank you. ”
His eyes seem to darken, but he says, “No, I have a meeting I’m currently late for. I plan to drop you off at a hotel for the evening until your apartment is cleaned up.”
“Oh. That’s nice, I suppose. Wait. Who the fuck has a meeting at two in the morning?” I ask.
He gives me a pointed look as he opens the passenger door, insinuating I shouldn’t ask questions I don’t want answers to.
A part of me wants to stay in my apartment and start cleaning up, but another part of me just can’t be bothered with dealing with this tonight, not with everything else that’s been happening.
I get into the car and sit back down. All of this shit sounds like a tomorrow problem.
Alek makes a phone call outside. I don’t know who he’s talking to, but I overhear him mentioning a cleanup and addressing it immediately.
He slides into the driver’s seat and starts the engine. Then he looks at me. “Are you…” He seems at a loss for words. “Okay?”
“ Okay ? Alek, someone destroyed my apartment tonight. I hit my head on a steering wheel like twenty-four hours ago and had a man try to assault me at the bar tonight. So no, I’m not okay.”
He nods and pulls away from the curb, and I sigh, frustrated, almost feeling a little better for being about to scream and shout. I doubt Alek’s ever asked anyone in his life if they’re okay, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.
“Does she have a golden pussy, or are you men just dumb as fuck?” I ask boldly.
“Excuse me?” His eyebrows perk in surprise at my question.
“You men… You aren’t the first one to ask about her. But I must say, you’re the only one who’s gone to such extremes to find her.”
“Who else came looking for her?” he asks, and there’s a lethal edge to his tone.
“I don’t know. I didn’t care to ask. Someone stopped by the bar and asked if she still lived with me, and I told them she moved out.”
“How long ago?” he barks, and I notice his grip tighten on the steering wheel.
“Fuck, maybe a month ago. Before I met your crazy ass,” I tack on. “So, tell me, does she have a golden pussy?”
His head swings to me then. “You want to know if I fucked her?”
He’s doing that thing again where he intently stares at me while not looking at the road. It increases my heart rate, and a small thrill rushes through me .
“Yes, I do. Did you fuck her?”
“I don’t know if she has a golden pussy because I didn’t fuck her.” He looks back at the road.
Then why go this far for her?
“Okay, so either you have a savior complex or are just outright stupid.”
“I’ve been called many things, but stupid isn’t one of them.”
“To your face anyway,” I mumble under my breath, and notice the hint of a smile on his lips. It does something to me, easing the tension. It’s like I’ve hit the jackpot by being able to get this man to even give a hint of a smirk.
He pulls over, and I look out the window, my jaw dropping. The hotel is something I know I definitely can’t afford.
A well-dressed man in a suit opens my door expectantly and leans down to speak to Alek.
“Mr. Ivanov, your sister phoned, and your suite has already been organized,” he says with a charming smile.
Alek nods. “It will be for my guest this evening. Make sure she gets anything she wants, and charge it to my card.”
The gentleman nods and steps back.
I feel like I’m in some kind of weird fairy tale.
“You’re not coming in with me?” I ask in disbelief. It feels strange that he wouldn’t at least have to go in to the registration desk to sign for it or something. Or is this how all the wealthy people do it?
“No, I’m late for a meeting, remember?”
“Oh. Right,” I’m quick to say, and a hot flush rolls over me. “Why would you go this far for me?”
He doesn’t answer, and the silence is a tangible weight in the car.
“How old are you?” he asks.
“Twenty-four.”
“I’m old enough to know better,” he says.
My eyebrows furrow in confusion, and I realize he’s not going to elaborate. Because why would he? It’s Alek. For some reason, I have the impression it has something to do with our age difference. Does he think I’m too young? I internally chastise myself. No. I cannot think of him in a romantic light whatsoever.
“Miss?” prompts the gentleman waiting outside the door.
I step out of the car and look back at Alek.
“Everything will be sorted for you by tomorrow. Go inside and get some sleep,” he commands.
The car door is closed for me, and Alek drives away. I’m left to stare up at the hotel, wondering what the fuck just happened.