Chapter 1
Six and a half years later…
Sasha
“Stop worrying, Halle. The party is going to go off without a hitch.” I backed against the wall as a rush of people flooded the corridor behind the stage. Reporters were everywhere, roadies trying to weave their way through the crowd so they could begin dismantling the set.
“Are you kidding me?” she snorted. “You put me in charge of this birthday party and everything must and will be perfect.”
Another memory brought me to a halt. Fuck.
It was like clockwork although this year, the date had snuck up on me.
I’d already walked several laps around my resort and the concert hall during the arduous day, acting like a tiger pacing his cage.
I’d spent an hour in Dreamscape’s gym pumping iron and jumping rope.
It had done nothing but put me in a foul mood given the conversations I’d overheard.
I’d been surrounded by happy people celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. There’d even been one guy chatting with a stranger about his dozen ideas for proposing to his girlfriend of two years. It had taken every ounce of my control not to drop a hundred-pound weight on his head.
It went without saying I was in a nasty mood and crowds didn’t help.
“Sasha. Are you with me?” Halle chided.
I glanced at my watch, waiting until my vision had cleared. Goddamn, I loathed being chained to the past. “I’m here.”
Which was only partially correct. I hated the date on the calendar. I had for seven fucking years.
As the noise in the hallway overpowered everything else, I slipped away from the craziness into an adjunct office I used when spending any time in the concert space.
While I adored my cousin’s wife, she was a type-A personality on steroids.
But she was the perfect person to orchestrate my daughter Nina’s seventh birthday party since she had a daughter close in age.
With my rough business schedule, and long hours including working weekends the last few months, I’d needed help, or I’d throw the kind of party that would crash and burn. Nina was a harsh critic about everything her daddy did or didn’t do.
“What’s going wrong with the arrangements?” This time. Before it had been a crisis with balloons. Before that, the caterer had walked. At least I’d had another contact that could pick up the slack without hesitation. It paid to know people in Las Vegas.
With my eyes aching like a son of a bitch, I leaned against the wall, reminding myself this only occurred once a year. Thank God for that. I sucked at being a dad.
“The entertainment bagged. Poof. They’re gone.”
“Who did you hire again?”
“A world-renowned juggler and clowns. Plus, they were going to bring a bounce house with them.”
There were world-renowned jugglers? Really?
And a bounce house. I loathed them. In my mind they were terribly unsafe. And I thought I’d told Halle that Nina hated clowns. Who didn’t? They were creepy as shit. Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t be so elated that there was another failure with the party, but this one made me happy.
While I had no clue who I could hire on such short notice, I was bound and determined that this deadbeat dad was going to do something right. “I’ll take care of the entertainment.”
“How? How are you going to do that on short notice? I’ve checked around. There is nobody available.”
Hearing noise just outside the door that included singing, several girls doing their best to sound like Lainey Rose, a strange and perhaps impossible idea popped into my mind.
Lainey Rose had just finished her phenomenal residency, the wildly popular musician topping every chart with every album she released. She’d been the best decision I’d made for our entertainment venue since I’d taken over management.
Our numbers had soared for months, every resort fully booked, our casinos, restaurants, and nightclubs at max every day and night.
As I opened the door, I was able to see Lainey coming down the hallway, signing autographs along the way. People adored her. She was sweet, funny, smart, and one of the hottest women I’d ever met in my life.
She was also my daughter’s favorite singer, Nina memorizing every word of every song. How many months had I been forced to listen to the sappy love songs that drove both young girls and women wild?
Too many.
However…
“Just leave it to me, Halle. I promise you I won’t let you down.” Every once in a while, I could be pretty damn persuasive. I bit back a smile. I had no clue how Alexsey controlled the feisty woman. She was a handful, but certainly good for my cousin.
He’d stopped being a brooding asshole and had found a personality.
“If you do, you know what will happen,” Halle barked at me.
“Yes, I do. I promise I’ll be a very good boy. Now, I need to attend to a few things.”
She growled into the phone and hung up on me. I slipped mine into my pocket, pounding the back of my head against the wall.
Being a single father wasn’t the easiest thing in the world.
At least my little girl seemed happy. She loved school, her friends, and her family.
What more could I ask? She had no understanding of the family legacy she’d been born into and that was fine by me.
In some people’s eyes, she was a Bratva princess, a tool to be used later in life.
To me, she was my perfect princess and the only thing left of a life I’d once enjoyed. I would do anything for her.
Including using every technique I’d mastered in convincing women to do what I wanted with Lainey Rose if necessary.
A slight smile crossed my face. Although she wasn’t a typical girl.
She was a combination of innocence and wild kitty all wrapped up into a lovely package.
In the months of limited conversations, I’d learned she had a fiery personality, squelched by a team of idiots who’d created a perfect, marketable package.
Maybe my enjoyment of women was jaded or at least had been over the last few years.
I had my reasons that in my mind were acceptable.
However, seeing how her team had manipulated her had pissed me off.
Sadly, I wasn’t in control of her. If I was…
Filthy thoughts drifted into my mind, completely inappropriate.
Then again, maybe she needed a change in direction. Or at least a day spent away from the norm.
All she could do was say no, which I anticipated she would do. Private gigs weren’t in her contracts.
“Trouble in paradise, boss?” Jaxon asked. He was my right-hand man. Not only considered security but also a good friend.
“Just my cousin’s wife freaking out about entertainment for Nina’s party.”
He laughed. “Let me guess. You’re going to ask our resident superstar if she’ll consider attending the party. Nina does adore her.”
“You know me too well.”
“How tight do you want security with or without a special guest?”
“Tight. We have guests coming, people I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry. They’ll be vetted.”
I gave him a look, chuckling as we walked. “Don’t make my house look like a police state.”
He threw up his hands. “Yes, sir.”
“Make sure we don’t have any incidents out here in the hallway. I can tell the reporters are itching for yet another story.” I headed into my office.
Once inside, I took a deep breath and headed to the window. The last few months had been exhausting, but extremely profitable.
A few minutes later, I checked my emails and waited until the commotion died down before leaving the office. At this point she was decompressing in her dressing room, most reporters scampering away to provide their soundbites for the late evening news.
As I headed down the hall, I buttoned my suit jacket. Stopping short, I noticed a man who’d been thrown out of the concert venue before, fighting with Jaxon.
“Let me go. I need to see Lainey!”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. While it wasn’t unusual for a groupie to try to avoid our security measures, I had to admit that my patience had vanished. The slight scuffle ensuing was it. I’d had enough.
Jaxon had him by the arm and with two long strides, I was in front of the man’s face, barely two inches away. Given my height and bulk, I used my size as a deterrent. At this point, he was lucky my anger hadn’t kicked in. I took another step and his eyes opened wide.
The guest slammed his back against the wall out of fear, darting his eyes to Jaxon then back to me.
Thankfully, the man was nervous instead of engaging in some level of arrogance.
That would bode well for him walking out without a broken arm or nose.
The stench of whiskey assaulted my senses.
The man was intoxicated. Another reason I couldn’t express the full extent of my anger.
“Now, I’m going to tell you this once. I’m going to have Jaxon escort you out and ensure you get to your destination safely. However, given my act of kindness, you’re going to promise me you will never set foot in this establishment again. Yes?”
He acted as if he wasn’t going to honor my request, so I inched closer. The odor was suffocating. I cocked my head, remaining silent. If looks could kill, the guy would be engulfed in quicksand.
At least he still had enough faculties he didn’t try to argue with me.
“Sure. Whatever you say. I was just going to give her a gift.”
“Not tonight.” I stood over him for a few seconds before moving away. Jaxon was grinning. He knew I had a short fuse.
“I’ll take care of him, boss.” Jaxon jerked the man down the hall and I stood watching until they were out of sight.
There were days I felt like a bouncer in a wild club. Back to business.
Lainey’s security team smiled as soon as I approached.
“I like your method of doing business,” Bernie complimented, his grin almost as wide as his face.
“Sometimes finesse works perfectly fine, the act of intimidation all that’s necessary.”
“And other times?”
I liked the guy. He genuinely cared about Lainey. “Other times something more… substantial is needed. Never hesitate. Bullies will always try and take advantage.”