Sinner Chapter 13 #3
He snorted but grinned. The next thing we knew, we were across the floor and in the elevator.
There were three floors to Lustz. Access to the third floor, where the security office, Mikhail’s private office, and his former apartment were located, was restricted to special access.
The apartment remained mainly unoccupied unless Mikhail and Tajah decided to crash there or a friend needed it.
They were always generous with their possessions. They had a house in Culleoka.
Mikhail pressed his fingerprint to the screen, which unlocked the ability to select the third floor. As we rode up one floor, I asked, “Who is watching Matea tonight? Your mom or Cady?”
“Mom has Matea and Mason tonight. Anastasia, my mom is Tamara. She counts Cady as another daughter. Mason is Cady and Hoss’s child. Our Matea is two and a half, and Mason is a year younger. Thankfully, Mom’s boyfriend, Gideon, helps her out.” Tajah explained.
The elevator door opened, and we exited.
“You’re lucky to have family support,” my woman stated. No doubt she was thinking of her own family situation.
“We are. And we have Mikhail’s cousins who help, too. They’re Matvey and Victoria. Plus, any of our friends. Sinner here has even babysat a time or two when we were in a bind,” Tajah revealed.
We were passing the security office and Mikhail’s private office. We were almost at the apartment.
“Oh, you never told me you had babysitting talents. Hmm, that’s a plus and very hot,” my woman murmured.
“Go ahead, keep talking about me, Taj. You’re increasing my payout at the end of the night,” I teased.
The laughter between all four of us carried us to the apartment door and through the biometric lock. When the door swung open, voices could be heard. Talking and laughing were happening inside. I swept Anastasia into the apartment while Mikhail closed the door. There was a beep as we entered.
“Hey, they’re back. Did you find Sinner and his lady?” Hoss’s voice called out.
We were hidden from view by a wall. Anastasia clutched at my arm. I felt the tension inside her increase. I placed a brief kiss on her lips before I whispered to her.
“They don’t bite. They’re friendly.”
“I believe you,” she murmured back.
“Yeah, we found them. No attacking like a pack of hyenas,” Mikhail ordered.
We allowed him and Taj to go first. When we came around the wall, I noted that it wasn’t merely a few of the inner circle. It was nearly all of them. How the hell did they accomplish that on such short notice? I heard Anastasia’s gasp.
They were at the dining table and the island, which was in the center of the huge open space. The other half was their family room. I walked over to stand at the table behind two empty chairs. On the opposite end were two more. The ones Mikhail and Tajah usually occupied.
“I wasn’t expecting everyone. Gotta say, I’m equally touched and a bit worried. Exposing her to all of you at once,” I joked.
Their response was to wave off my comment and tease Anastasia that I was the only one she should run from. By the time they settled down, the tension in Anastasia’s body had significantly eased. She wore a small smile.
“Alright, let’s make introductions before she runs. Anastasia, do you prefer to be called by that name or Stasia?” Mikhail offered.
“I’m fine with my full name or Stasia, which is what some people call me. It’s wonderful to get to meet all of you. Re—oops, I mean Sinner has told me about each of you.”
“Jaanu, don’t worry about using my club name with this bunch. It’s with others here that I’d like to remain anonymous,” I told her.
“I’ll work on it.”
One by one, the others lined up, introduced themselves, told her she was welcome, and teased her a little about me.
In addition to Mikhail and Tajah, there was Hoss with Cady.
Cady’s brother Carver was there with his Lexi, while Reuben had Cristiana at his side.
Sawyer and his sister Sharlena had made it as well.
And there was Iker flying solo. The only ones who were missing were Atlas and Odin, two other Doms at the club.
They had been growing closer to the core group since Carver met Lexi.
However, what shocked me was that Matvey and Victoria were here, too.
I was still getting used to being on a first-name basis and in casual settings with a Pakhan, the head boss of a Bratva, the Russian Mafia.
Yeah, I hadn’t told Anastasia about Matvey’s work, only that he was a second cousin to Mikhail and they were super close.
There were no bodyguards in the room. They were either somewhere else on the third floor or stationed in another part of the apartment.
Despite his dangerous nature, Matvey was a warm man. It was only when one messed with his businesses, his wife, or those he considered friends and family that the other side showed. Victoria was pure sweetness.
Eventually, all introductions were completed, and we sat after giving our drink orders to Tajah. Her husband helped her get them. Everyone else got their own. I knew next time, Anastasia and I would be fetching ours, too, which wasn’t a problem.
The rest chatted about how their work weeks went until we got my beer, and Anastasia had gotten a large iced sweet tea. We were permitted one sip, then the interrogation began.