Chapter 29
Too Late For All That
Alex
Jade was gone and I was…disoriented. What was I supposed to do? What did I do before she came into my life? Where did I spend my time if not with her? What did I think about if not her?
I watched the yacht depart. Watched the woman I loved, the woman who was my light, my life…leave with the man who almost killed her.
And I wondered if I was any better than Xavier because putting a bullet in Gianna’s forehead seemed like the most attractive option. At the same time, it didn’t feel enough.
I wanted more. I wanted her tears. Wanted her to understand—to make her soul suffer.
So I went to Andrei’s and laid out my plan. He listened without interrupting, now full of life that his wife was back, but still angry, still reeling, also thirsty for accountability.
It took a day to make the right calls, and at nine in the evening, I dialed her number. The phone rang and rang, but finally, she picked up.
“You have very big balls calling me right now,” Gianna spat into the phone.
I took a deep breath in and said the words, “I’m sorry, baby. I fucked up. I’m sorry I lied, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I…I cheated.”
Olga and Andrei stared at me from across their dining table, listening with bated breath to the call on speaker.
“Alex…” Gianna trailed off, inevitably gearing up for something. “What the fuck? I come over, some bitch is half naked and you’re in her shower?! Did you fuck her? How long have you been fucking her?” Gianna demanded, playing with the last of my patience.
“I’m sorry, baby. Let me…let me make it up to you. Just let me see you and I can—”
“No,” Gianna interrupted, and I gritted my teeth. The fucking psychotic bitch wanted to play hard to get and hear me beg.
“Please. Please. There’s so much I want to talk to you about. So much I want to say. Please. I’ll take you someplace now. I’ll make a reservation now. Just don’t…don’t end it like this.”
I ran a hand down my cheek, watching the way Olga stifled her laugh. It was good to know she was safe and sound, and so heartbreaking to exist without Jade.
“It better be a really nice fucking place, Alex. And you better apologize.”
Oh. Oh, there would be an apology tonight.
Gianna sat beside me in my car, and I swallowed, afraid I was going to throw up from the smell of her perfume. She chattered on about how I was a disappointment to her, how I let her down, how once a cheater, always a cheater, and how she was merely giving me a chance.
I kept my foot on the gas, staying as sympathetic to her delusions as I could. Finally, I turned onto the street and sped up into the parking lot before she could launch into her protests.
“I just have to pick something up from a friend here. Come with me.”
“Um, no? Is this a fucking strip club? I’m not stepping into that hellhole!” Gianna grimaced, and I smiled with understanding.
I exited my car and approached her side, opening the door and offering my hand. “I don’t want to leave you here all alone in the dark. As you said, it’s a hellhole, who knows who’s walking around the parking lot.”
She thought about it for a second, but then took my hand, sealing her fate.
A short, stocky man let us in through the back entrance, and Gianna clung to me in the dim light. It smelled of cigarettes, perfume, and God knows what else. The hallway was narrow, the paint on the walls was scuffed and peeling, and the music pumped from the main room, muffled.
“Oh my God. You have friends in places like this?”
“Mm-hm. My friend owns this place. It’s one of the nicer ones in town, actually.”
The short man turned right and continued down the dark hallway, deeper into the club. Finally, he stopped in front of a steel door and turned his back to us, punching something on the electronic keypad. The door unlocked loudly and he pulled it open for us, revealing a large office.
“Alex…” Gianna started, but I put my hand on hers, assuring her.
“It’s okay.”
She looked up at me, the worry in her face slightly dissipating. We took a step inside the room, and the bass from the music disappeared.
“Sasha!” Nikolai exclaimed, as if it had been a decade since we’d seen each other. He rounded his oversized desk and walked over to us, keeping his eyes on me.
The door behind us clicked closed.
“Skolko let, skolko zim. Spasibo Kol’. Ya u tebya v dolgu.” I thanked Nikolai, assuring him I was in his debt. We shook hands and hugged, and then Nikolai did exactly what I asked—completely ignored Gianna’s existence.
“Nah, man. All good. Come in.” He headed back to his desk, and I stepped forward, pulling Gianna behind me, paying no attention to the way she resisted.
“Here she is.” At this, I ripped my hand out of Gianna’s and took a step back.
“Alex, what are we doing here?” she whispered loudly, glancing at Nikolai with apprehension.
“This part?” I stepped behind her, lowering my voice. “Doesn’t require your opinion.”
And that’s when she understood. Understood that she was way out of her depth. All the color drained out of her face, and she blinked at me, no longer as clueless.
Nikolai leaned back on his desk, finally letting his eyes settle on Gianna. He looked curious, like he was truly considering her. “Hmm.” His gaze moved slowly from her face to her legs and back again. “Pretty.”
Gianna sucked in a breath, turning to me again, “A-Alex, what the—”
But I raised a hand, interrupting her. “Remember what I just said? No one is interested in what you have to say.”
Her jaw dropped when she realized the betrayal.
“First time?” Nikolai asked me, pushing off his desk and stepping closer to a petrified Gianna.
I nodded. “She’s shy.”
Gianna turned toward me in disbelief, her voice breaking. “Alex, stop! What are you doing?”
Nikolai circled her once, like he was inspecting a piece of furniture.
“She’ll need confidence,” he said. “But she’ll get that after a few shifts.” His eyes flicked to me. “She danced in the past?”
“No. First time.”
Nikolai smirked, cold and calculated. Detached. Damn, he was good. I wasn’t sure he was acting. “First time,” he drawled, a slow smile melting onto his face. “Fresh.”
Gianna shook her head quickly. “I’m not—”
“Face is good. Body’s hot,” Nikolai cut her off, still speaking to me. “Men will spend money on her.” Then he gave a small shrug and put the nail in the coffin. “Yeah. She’ll do. You want her starting tonight?”
Gianna gasped and twisted her head to Nikolai, and I waited for his words to sink in. “Let me show her the place first.”
Nikolai nodded and turned to pick up something from the desk. A keycard. “Down the hall, up the steps,” he said, and I wasted no time, pulling a teary-eyed Gianna after me.
The bass reverberated through us as soon as we made it into the hallway, but I followed Nikolai’s instructions, dragging Gianna behind me up the stairs.
“Alex! Alex! Stop!” She tried to tug her hand out of mine, but I had a death grip on her.
Finally, we approached a door with a little plaque on it—Champagne Room, and I swiped the key, shoving whimpering Gianna inside.
“What the fuck are you doing?!” Fear sparkled in her eyes as soon as she turned to me, bolting for the door, but I blocked her way.
It fucking stunk. Cigarettes, bad decisions, and something synthetic—cheap cologne, maybe. It was also all red. Red walls, red leather couches, red stage, and a mirror right behind the stripper pole.
“Climb up.” I stepped toward Gianna, who was stumbling back, the panic in her eyes giving me previously unknown gratification. I’d never hurt her—and she knew that, but make her pay for what she’d done? I would. “Don’t make me ask twice. Get your ass up there.”
“Are you on fucking drugs?!” Such fire blazed in her eyes despite her shaking hands. I knew she wouldn’t go down without a fight. With a huff, she marched toward the door, but I clasped her upper arm, tugging her back.
“Let go! What the fuck?” She struggled, but it was no use. “Let go of me, you fuck—”
I withdrew my handgun then, raising it slowly and making sure she could live through every second. Her eyes followed diligently as I pressed the barrel to her forehead.
“You want to die in the Champagne Room?” I asked curiously. “Shut the fuck up and climb. Up. There.”
To my great satisfaction, Gianna sniffled and then…began to cry.
Just a little at first, but the tears were there and most importantly—the tears were real. She stepped back and nodded slowly, as if to reassure me that she would listen.
“Alex, I don’t know what yo—”
“I said don’t speak.” I reminded her and motioned toward the stage with my handgun. “Go on. Up the steps.”
The crying intensified but she didn’t argue. Instead, she ascended the little steps, her heels barely clicking on the shiny floor. She stood on the stage, silent tears crawling down her cheeks.
So timid. So shy, all of a sudden.
“Grab the pole.”
Gianna shot her gaze to mine, refusing to believe my words.
“Or…do you not want to touch it because you think the women who dance here are beneath you? Do you think they’re…dirty?”
She had nothing to respond, because of course Gianna thought that. She didn’t see people as real, only as commodities she could trade for something better.
“I don’t want to repeat myself. Grab the pole, squat down, and spread your knees for me.”
At this, Gianna broke down in earnest. She eyed the Glock in my hand and dropped her face into her hands, trying to hide a sob. She couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe I had it in me to ask her this.
I stepped closer to the stage and spoke slower, but louder. “Grab onto the pole.” Gianna shuddered, crying audibly now. “Squat down. And spread your knees.”
Finally, she reached for the pole, sliding her trembling fingers down the cool steel as she descended onto her heels and spread her legs, exposing herself to me.
I was so close I could smell her nauseating perfume again, but also close enough to enjoy her blotchy, red face.