CHAPTER 18
BAKER
As much as I’d love to be drinking whiskey, like the rest of the guys, I’m not.
Not tonight.
I’ll be driving our crew to Second Circle for this meeting with Angelo.
A meeting I’m dreading.
It feels like too much of a coincidence that he’s reaching out now.
Now that we have Oaklynn.
Now that Chambers thinks that he’s got us right where he wants us.
Now that Mikhail is starting to make waves in the city.
I don’t believe in coincidence.
Everything is connected.
The only good thing is that I know Angelo is not in bed with Mikhail.
The Italians are just as dirty as we are, but they skirt a line that we won’t ever be willing to come close to.
They’re firmly against trafficking and forcing women to do something they don’t want to do, but they’ve found their own way to peddle flesh.
Second Circle, under the guise of being a sex club, is really a brothel.
Everyone knows it but looks the other way, just the same.
While part of me can understand it, considering the power Angelo Amato holds in this city, it still makes my skin crawl.
When we first set our sights on Seattle, we made sure to thoroughly look into Angelo and his dealings, especially Second Circle.
All of the women there make the choice to work there.
They are also well taken care of with frequent check-ups and check-ins.
The rules are very clear about what is and what is not acceptable to engage in with the women, no matter the amount of money exchanging hands.
Still, to me, it feels like a slippery slope.
Who is to say what is truly happening behind closed doors?
Is Angelo so protective over the women who work at Second Circle because he wants to keep them quiet?
I don’t like it.
The fact that we’re taking Oaklynn into a place like that has me pacing the living room while the men who I consider my brothers are lounging with glasses of whiskey in their hands.
Are they not worried?
Can they not see the danger here?
I’m aware that part of the reason I’m so on edge is that it’s my job to keep everyone safe.
That goes double for Oaklynn.
We’re about to walk into a situation outside of my control and into a club run by another powerful man in the city, one who has deeper roots here than we do.
Angelo respects Kirill.
They came to an agreement before we even took out Morozov and his operation, but that doesn’t mean I trust the man.
It pays to not trust anyone outside of your inner circle.
The only exception to that is my brother, Wolfe, and his guys.
But that’s a bond borne of blood and history all its own.
We’re all dressed in suits, but mine feels too tight.
I turn and glare at the guys while repressing the need to scream at them and find out how the fuck they’re so calm right now.
I feel like I’m about to jump out of my skin.
Can they not feel the danger?
Are their instincts not screaming at them?
Kirill eyes me as if I’m about to lose my shit.
He’s not that far off.
“Is this a good idea? Taking Oaklynn with us?” I can’t help the questions that slip from my lips.
Sure, I already lodged my displeasure earlier, once Hendrix and the guys left Kirill’s office since I wasn’t going to contradict him in front of anyone other than us, but the feeling of dread that has wrapped around my shoulders has only gotten heavier.
Don’t they feel it too?
“She needs to be there with us,” Kirill states like it’s a foregone conclusion.
I don’t see it.
When I simply glare at the man, knowing he won’t kill me just for expressing my opinion and my fears, he lets out a long-suffering sigh.
He holds his hands up to try and placate me, but I’m not having it.
“If there are already rumors on the street about Oaklynn and us, which is what I have a feeling may be part of what Angelo has been hearing, then we need to give credence to those whispers. We can’t hide her away. Mikhail will have his eyes on the situation and hiding her away will only make it seem like we can’t protect her, like she means more than they think she does to us.”
“But she does,” I protest, my words holding a growl of warning.
“She does,” he agrees with a curt nod, “but they don’t know that. They think she’s simply a means to an end, a contract. We have to keep up with that ruse, even though we know the truth. If we only lock her away, if we wrap her in bubble wrap, and keep her far away from anything dangerous then they’ll know she’s our weakness.”
I run a hand over my hair, the feeling of the short bristles against my palm grounding me.
“She is our weakness.”
“And we will protect her with everything we have,” Kirill’s eyes flash violently.
“We will.”
It’s a vow.
One that is echoed by Maxim and Huck without hesitation.
I know they’re just as invested in our woman as I am; Kirill is as well.
Still, my gut is screaming at me to not go through with this.
“Angelo is not a threat to us or her,” Kirill reminds me.
We’ve done business with Angelo in the past and he was very appreciative when we took out Morozov.
It might not be a life debt that he owes us, but it’s not far off.
His organization gained power with the shift and the city is safer, even with Mikhail trying to gain a foothold in the darkest corners of the city at the moment.
“I don’t like that he peddles in flesh of any kind,” I grit out through my teeth.
“And we’re taking our woman into a place like that.”
Maxim grins from ear to ear, a naughty twinkle in his eye.
“It’s not like we’re going to be selling her,” he throws out far too casually which earns glares from the rest of us and chuckles under his breath.
“Maybe she’ll surprise you and be into it. The last time we were there, the show being put on was rather,” he pauses as if searching for the right word, “titillating.”
I snort out a laugh and echo mockingly, “Titillating?”
Maxim smirks.
“It was live porn. What’s not titillating about that?”
“Live porn?”
The innocently whispered question from behind us has everyone turning sharply.
Oaklynn is standing at the edge of the living room entrance in a dress that is the perfect mixture of demure and sexy as fuck.
The red silk wraps around her and hugs every curve of her body.
One leg is partially exposed by a slit and the structured top has her breasts pushed up, but most of her cleavage is hidden by delicate lace.
The neckline is high, the lace wrapping around her neck.
Still, it doesn’t hide nearly enough.
Not for where we’re going.
Maxim stands with fluid grace and moves across the room toward our woman on swift feet.
When he’s close enough, he hooks an arm around her waist and tugs her against his chest.
She stumbles a little on the high black heels she’s wearing, but I’m not worried.
Maxim wouldn’t allow her to fall.
Her hair is up in some sort of style that I couldn’t even begin to identify.
The few whisps of hair that surround her face give her an air of effortless grace.
The longer I look at her, the more my mouth waters.
“You look stunning, Zolotse ,” his voice is low and hypnotic.
Oaklynn blushes slightly as she looks up at him.
Her brown eyes pop, ringed in a smokey eye with a sparkle that picks up the light in her eyes.
She’s not wearing a necklace, considering the dress she’s wearing, but the earrings she’s wearing are long and dangly, highlighting the length of her elegant neck.
When have I ever thought of a neck as elegant before?
Her eyes are nervous as they flit around to see the reaction from the rest of us.
Since Maxim chose her dress, he’s not as stunned as the rest of us.
I’m not even sure I can move right now, stuck in place by how fucking good she looks.
I swallow hard, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat along with the sinking feeling in my gut.
She looks too good considering where we’re taking her.
“This is a bad idea,” I murmur, not even realizing the words have passed my lips, until our woman reacts.
Oaklynn’s brown eyes meet mine and sadness flashes there before she looks away.
Maxim turns on me ands gets in my face with a speed that has me taking a step back.
“I will never allow anyone, including you, to make our woman feel like she’s less than she is,” he snarls in my face.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” I snap.
“But she doesn’t,” his words are low and meant only for me.
When I look back at her, Kirill is standing in front of her, his thumb and forefinger gripping her chin and raising it until she has no other choice but to look into his eyes.
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” his tone is a soothing lull, one filled with honesty.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
With long strides, I head toward our woman, shouldering Kirill out of the way.
I’m sure he’s glaring at me, but I keep my focus where it belongs—on our woman.
“Little bee,” I coax her to look at me and the fire I see in her eyes has pre-cum coating the tip of my cock.
“It’s not you. It’s my fear. I hate the idea of taking you anywhere that I don’t have complete control over your safety. I will always worry. I will always want to protect you.”
“It’s okay, Baker.”
Even though she tries to sound strong, I can hear the uncertainty in the way she tries to placate me.
That isn’t going to work for me.
“No,” my voice is firm, “it’s not. You are a vision. I only hope I don’t kill someone tonight for looking at you too long.”
She tries to fight it, but she loses the battle when a smile graces her lips as she lets out a soft giggle.
Fuck.
How does that make her even more beautiful?
I slide an arm around her waist to hold her, and my palm meets bare skin.
My eyes widen in surprise, but our woman only looks up at me with a sly smile.
Making a choked sound, I do a slow walk around our woman.
When I see the open back of her dress, I grunt in a mixture of approval and anger.
I glare at Maxim from behind our woman, but he couldn’t possibly get the grin of triumph off her face.
He holds his hand out for our woman who takes it readily.
With careful movements, he uses his grip to spin her in front of us slowly.
Huck’s eyes blaze with need when he sees her in all her glory.
Kirill reaches down and adjusts himself in his slacks.
When Oaklynn sees their reactions, she swallows hard and fans her blushing face with her hand.
“Come, Solnishko ,” Kirill takes her hand from his brother and threads it through the crook of his arm.
“We have some things to discuss while we head to our destination.”
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
Oaklynn’s question hangs in the air but goes unanswered until we’re all situated in the large, armored SUV which is, thankfully, big enough for all of us.
Before I pull away from our home, I check my weapons one more time.
Angelo might demand for people to be unarmed to enter Second Circle, but he knows that rule doesn’t apply to me.
It never will.
He respected that in the past and tonight better be no different.
“We’ll be going to Second Circle, Oaklynn,” Kirill tells her, his hand resting on her thigh where the slit of her dress exposes her soft skin.
I glance in the rearview mirror and see her tense with his words.
“I’ve heard things about that place,” Oaklynn’s voice is questioning.
“It’s a brothel.”
Maxim makes a humming sound and nods.
“It is. It’s also one of the many businesses owned by Angelo Amato.”
“Italian mob,” Oaklynn breathes.
“Yes,” Huck confirms from his seat next to me.
“We don’t do a lot of business with him, but we have an alliance of sorts.”
I glance again to find Oaklynn shooting Huck a look, her eyebrow raised.
“Of sorts?”
Kirill shrugs, the movement far too casual for a man like him.
He’s trying to make her comfortable, to downplay the situation.
But I don’t think our woman is buying it.
“We work together when needed. He stays in his part of the city, and we stay in ours. There are lines neither of us are willing to cross and I don’t just mean in terms of our territory.”
Oaklynn nods like she understands; maybe she does.
When she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, I’m amazed by her strength once again.
“Why are you being so open with me?”
Her question catches me a little off guard, but it shouldn’t.
She’s coming into her own the more time she spends with us.
It’s amazing to watch.
I can’t wait to see her in full bloom.
“Because we want you to know that we trust you,” Kirill answers simply.
“We want you to feel empowered knowing that you have four of the most powerful men in the city at your feet worshiping you, giving you everything they are, trusting you without question. It will make you become what you are meant to be.”
“And what’s that?” The question is hesitant, vulnerable.
“Our queen.”
“What is my role tonight? What do you expect?”
Kirill smirks, pride shining in his eyes.
“Just be yourself and take one more step toward your destiny.”
Oaklynn sits up a little straighter and I can almost see the crown on her head as she does.
“Understood,” there is no waver in her voice, only steel.
Even though dread still curls in my gut, I can’t help but start to look forward to this meeting.
Chambers tried to break our woman, but she was always made of stronger stuff.
It won’t be long until he finds out just how strong she is.