Chapter 30 #4
He just barely sags when he comes, hefting me even further up in his arms and wrapping me in them. Holding us pressed together. Dripping together.
“I need to clean myself up,” he breathes, teeth gritted, panting like he’s about to come undone. “Now. Right fucking now.”
There’s a knock on the door, frantic and sudden.
Nisha opens it, hand held over her eyes.
Alexei doesn’t even set me down. He doesn’t care about modesty, only germs. Widow growls and throws a towel around his hips.
Bohnes is lying on his back still, staring at Nisha upside-down.
Ash covers himself with both hands, like he’s just remembered where we are.
“Someone scary out front looking for Alexei, if you know what I mean.” Nisha retreats as a tremor goes through both me and my husband.
Bohnes is on his way up to his feet, tucking himself away, completely unconcerned with the mess. He’s in business mode now and it’s hot as fuck. Widow tosses the towel aside, stepping out of the shower fully nude and sporting another hard-on.
They’re here. It’s time.
Using the toilet is imperative, so I do. Fastest quickie cleanup of my life.
I search around for my romper, picking it up and working my way back into my clothes. Leather jacket over the top for a little pizzazz.
“Stay away from me, Scarlett,” Alexei warns, stripping off his hoodie and tossing it aside. Why is he getting naked right now? He seems to forget about the mess I left on his cock, dripping down his thighs. “Let me talk to the family alone. Keep your distance unless I ask for it.”
“Got it,” I say, blatantly lying to him. There’s no point in arguing. These men are not allowed to put themselves in danger alone. I’m here to have their backs.
“I’ll meet you back here when I’m…finished.
They may ask to see Ash as well.” Alexei is breathing quickly, talking fast, getting completely naked.
Right down to his socks and shoes. I gape at him as he opens a locker and pulls out a brand-new suit, wrapped in a black garment bag and waiting for him.
“Stole that from the house,” Bohnes whispers in my ear. It occurs to me that the mob has probably taken control of the Borisov mansion since he was last there stealing stuff. That means my Nightmare can pickpocket from the mayor and the mob. The literal Russian mob. That’s…wow.
“I would hate to have you on the opposing side,” I say, but I’m not just talking to him. We’re going up against people that could quite easily kill us and make us disappear. I’m not as worried as I should be. These four men are a huge part of that.
“What do I need to do?” Widow asks, taking his time with his own clothes. He puts his borrowed goth wear from Bohnes on as Ash stands up and yanks his pants back into place. Poor doki-doki boy looks like he’s bitten into something sour. There are red veins snaking across the whites of his eyes.
“I have no idea,” Alexei admits. “I’ll feel the situation out and improvise as needed.” He transforms himself with the outfit change, shifting from a teenage guy to a mob brat. The gloves he dons are leather, and the sex-mussed tousle of his hair is genuine. He looks amazing.
“I’ll follow along, but I’m not meeting with anyone unless it’s our final shot.
” Bohnes throws his hood up, frowning as he stares at the floor with eyes the color of a blue-faced corpse.
He’s ready to kill people tonight if needed.
As many as needed, too. He gazes longingly at his discarded jacket and decides against it, choosing a gray hoodie and joggers for his stalking needs.
“Fine. That should be fine. I’m not at fault for anything that happened and I’m allowed to have…
associates. The only issue here, really, is going to be Ash.
” Alexei buttons up his shirt with gloved fingers, his disgust pushed aside for the time being.
Every few minutes or so, his jaw flexes or his brow twitches. Those are the only tells.
“What should we do with him for now?” Widow wonders, looking over at Ash. There’s something in Widow’s eyes that’s mighty close to sympathy. Maybe protectiveness. Or at least the start of it.
“Put him in a locker,” I explain, pointing at one. “Get him in there and hide him as well as you can. Bohnes can follow us, but I need you to stay with Ash.” I’m sober and serious when I tell Widow this, begging him to understand that I truly need his help to keep Ash alive.
I get a firm nod, an acknowledgement without complaint. Yes! If these guys obey properly, we’re going to dominate. I need their firepower, but I should be the one that pulls the trigger.
“I’ll find a place to watch with my girls,” I lie, slipping out of the locker room with one last look at Ash. He’s pleading with his eyes for another goodbye, so I blow him a kiss. There’s no time for anything else. “Love you, baby.”
If this goes well, we’ll have what we need to crush both the mayor and Chet. If it goes poorly, this is the last day I’ll ever have in Prescott. I jog down to one of the empty classrooms to find Basti and Nisha, lifting up my phone as I get between them.
“Smile,” I say, but neither of them do. I snap the photo. “Smile,” I plead, and there must be something in my voice. They comply and we take a cute picture in the midst of insanity.
There. If I die, I know what my last picture will look like.
I can hear students whispering as Alexei makes his way down the hall toward me. I try to stay around the corner so he doesn’t see me, but he’s a perceptive fuck. Not sure if I can get away with that.
“Marie, holy shit.” There goes the rumor mill.
“Dude, look at Marie!” Prescott High is abuzz with gossip.
“Marie looks like a mobster.” The word is spreading like wildfire. By midnight, the entire neighborhood of Prescott and half of the Four Corners blocks will know about this.
Students step aside as Alexei saunters along in his six-figure suit.
Black jacket, white shirt, shiny monk-strap loafers with skulls on the toes.
He moves through Prescott with a ripple, stepping into the foyer and immediately turning a suspicious look on me.
He adjusts his leather gloves, ensuring the buttons are fastened.
My favorite thing about Alexei is that he’s the true definition of brave. He’s terrified right now, but he’s taking the actions that must be taken in order to move forward. I respect the hell out of him.
“Stay here. I mean it.” He pushes through the doors, unable to hesitate for fear of spooking the mobsters who are waiting for him on the curb.
A pair of suicide doors swing outward, revealing the shadows inside a beautiful ‘59 Facel Vega Excellence.
The interior is red leather, the rims are white, and the driver is the big hulking brute I met at P-Trip.
The car I could fuck. Shit, I could fall in love with that car.
Burt. Cramer’s. Fucking. CAR.
Aww, man. I knew it was too good to be true. Talent agency guy is mob guy.
The conversation we had at P-Trip comes flooding back, the way Burt turned cold and told me you don’t make the rules. Him watching me at the Prescott track. The little visit he paid me at Wesley’s. Yep. They’ve been watching us.
With pursed lips, I shove through the front doors of the school and jog to catch up with Alexei. He stumbles to a stop and gapes at me.
“Darling, I insist you stay behind,” he grinds out, looking down at me like I’m ruining everything.
“Yeah, which I’m not going to do. We’re in this together, Alexei.” I move around him and slip into the car.
There he is, at the end of the bench, smoking a cigar. It’s fucking Burt.
“So not a Hollywood bro then?” I sigh as Alexei falls into the seat next to me, his eyes a little wide.
He’s seeing me talk to this mob dick like it ain’t nothin’.
I meet Burt’s eyes and I tell him with my own that I’m not afraid of him.
Why should I be? I haven’t done anything wrong. He studies Alexei next.
“I own Tricked,” he says, shrugging one shoulder.
Tricked Out Talent. Ugh. So mob and Hollywood?
I eye Burt with mistrust. Two criminal organizations for the price of one.
“If you hadn’t caught my interest organically, Scarlett, I would’ve already had you killed.
” He inhales and shifts his attention back to me, serious and still.
Dangerous. “Give me a reason not to kill you. Quick.”
I speak before Alexei has the chance to.
“We have Pavel’s murderer, Ernest Bolin, the Springfield Chief of Police, in the trunk.
” I exhale slowly as Burt continues to stare with dead, brown eyes.
“As well as the recording of Pavel being executed by Bolin. The mayor and his business partner, Chet, ruined my life. They killed my best friend. They shot one of my girls. We’re just trying to get justice for them and take Alexei’s inheritance back. ”
“Pavel is dead, huh?” Burt asks, sitting up and signaling to his driver.
He doesn’t wait for us to answer. “Which trunk?” he asks, and this time, Alexei takes over, nice and smooth, like this is business as usual.
Oh, just passing over the tortured police chief to the mob.
Guess shooting Alexei’s dad in front of him was a pretty bad idea, huh?
“The L88. We borrowed it from Papa’s garage,” Alexei says easily, waving his hand like it’s nothing.
“I had my man fetch it for me. I needed to know you weren’t involved in his death before I contacted you.
Then I heard the rumour about Papa working with the feds.
It isn’t true. Surely, you can smell a rat in your own organization? ”
“Who is it?” Burt asks, leaning in toward us, his eyes shining. “Give me a name.”
“That I don’t have yet.” Alexei tugs out his phone and pulls up the recording of his father’s death, passing it easily over to Burt. I don’t watch Burt when he presses play, I watch Alexei. He jumps at the sound of the gunshot, but that’s it. And it’s slight. He does not get the phone back.