Chapter 4 #2
It’d been over a dozen years since I had physical contact with her.
Fifteen torturous years.
After this, I wouldn’t be able to stay away from her again.
Her hands went on my waist, her fingers curling around the loops of my jeans. She firmly held onto me, and it felt fucking incredible to be wanted by her.
What was even better were the little sounds she made as she got caught up in the moment. A perfect mix of neediness and arousal. It turned me on big time and I pushed for more. If she wanted me to stop, she’d have to tell me.
Pushing my tongue into her mouth, I took control. Nothing would stop me now. I wouldn’t even waste a second wondering if Cass had a change of heart or a mental lapse, forgetting that she hated me.
No. Passionate kissing was all I cared about.
“Cassandra,” the man she’d been laughing with said in his Russian accent.
Fuck me. Worst timing ever.
She froze like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but not letting go of the cookie. Cass kept our lips locked and her hands on me. Staring up at me, she blinked rapidly. The wheels in her head were cranking slowly as she processed the situation.
“Cassandra,” the Russian bastard said, again. “Do you hear me?”
This time, she jerked her head back and severed our connection as if her brain had registered what we’d been doing.
“I need to get back to work.” She blew out a breath and slipped out from between me and the bookshelf. “Would you like another coffee, Alek?”
My girl didn’t even wait for his reply and scurried away.
The Russian’s laser stare drilled into my head. He didn’t like me. Might even want to hurt me. I dared him to try.
“We were just figuring stuff out,” I told him as I adjusted my cut.
“Looks like you have an understanding,” he replied in his thick accent.
“I’d say so.” I strutted toward him and extended my hand. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Alek Kozlov.” He ignored my friendly offer to shake hands. “And you are?”
“Slay, enforcer for the Kings of Anarchy MC and you are in my territory.” I pointed at my patch. “Be aware that there are eyes everywhere.”
“That’s amusing. I’ve been here for nearly thirty days, and this is our first interaction.” Alek remained expressionless and turned to walk away.
Damn him for pointing out my failures.
“You put a finger or any part of your body on her, and I’ll end you,” I said in a deadly tone.
He stopped, keeping his back toward me for a long second, and then he left.
That’s right motherfucker. Let that threat sink in.
I wouldn’t hesitate to blow his brains out if got in the way of me getting Cass back. Hopefully, it didn’t come to that.
Composing myself, I took a deep breath and blew it out. I couldn’t wait for the meeting with Remo and Fabio. The brothers were bound to know more than me, and it pissed me off to no end.
I’d been off my game since GQ’s accident.
My MC brother had been out of the hospital for a long time and recovered, but he still wasn’t a hundred percent.
He had trauma. Post traumatic stress disorder.
Severe scaring on his face. Between GQ and the shit with Jefe’s old lady and new baby, I’d been distracted.
Well, I wasn’t distracted anymore…
On my way out of the café, I winked at my girl and ignored the man who I suspected was my new enemy.
I was confident things were about to become interesting with Cass and Alek Kozlov. And not in a good way.
Because I would never risk Cass’s safety, I needed to call in some help. The best person for the job I had in mind was her brother, Steve. I dialed his number and he answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Slay. What’s up?”
“I have a job for you.”
“Really? Oh, man! Whatever you need. I’m your guy.” The excitement in his voice made me smile.
“Perfect, because I’m counting on you.”
“I swear. I won’t let you down. What’s the job?” he asked.
“I need you to crash on Cass’s couch until further notice. We’re dealing with some stuff at the club, and I need eyes on her at all times.”
“Is this a joke? Like a test or something to see how I’ll react.”
“Just listen to me.” I shook my head as I approached my Harley. “Keep your handgun close but don’t let her know you have it on you. If anything at all seems off, you call me.”
“You’re really not joking, are you?”
“No, Steve. This is important. Depending on how you do will determine if I’ll ever sponsor you to be a prospect.”
“Okay. Okay. I’ll take this weird job seriously.” He muttered something but I couldn’t make out what. I didn’t even care. Steve would do as I said if he knew what was good for him.
“You better. Because I’m counting on you to keep Cass safe while I’m preoccupied with other things.” I wasn’t too worried, yet. “Oh, and another thing.”
“Yeah?” he asked, a bit of hesitation in his voice.
“Let me know how often she sees the Russian named Alek, and if she says anything about him.” The way Cass kissed me told me she wasn’t seeing anyone else. She was a loyal person. She’d never betray or cheat on someone she was dating.
Alek was only her friend.
“Holy shit! Alek is one of the Russians and he’s hanging around my sister. This is bad, Slay. Really, really bad. We need to tell her to be careful.”
“Do not tell her anything,” I hissed into the phone. “You’ll just freak her out and there might be nothing to worry about.”
“But it was the Russians who set me up.”
“We don’t know if Alek is part of that group. Just do as I said. Okay, Steve?”
“Yeah. Okay.”
I ended the call and started my Harley. Hopefully, Cass didn’t give her brother a hard time about staying with her. It wasn’t totally unusual for him to ask to stay with her.
Steve was sort of a nomad and couch surfer. At his age, he should have more direction than he did. But his only interest had been in joining the Kings of Anarchy MC, and his family gave him a lot of grief about it.
Well, no time to figure out what to do with Steve. He was on the job watching Cass. With that situation taken care of, I could turn my attention to other matters.
Like digging into the Kozlov Bratva.