Sure, we might be going to Crave for one of the infamous parties, but it’s bound to be a good time.
We both enter the elevator and I scan my keycard, gaining us access to the floor we need to be on. I see a couple people stare at me a little bit, and hear a man whisper lowly. “She must be one of those whores.”
Immediately, my eyes widen, hoping and praying that Nikolai didn’t hear it because I don’t want him to make a scene. As his hand slides from around my waist, I know that he’s heard him alright. He brings his hand in front of him and cracks his knuckles before turning back to the two couples who were in the elevator when we came on board. There’s a club underneath the hotel, so they’re probably drunk and loose lipped.
“I will ask this once. Who just called my girlfriend a whore?” Nikolai stands strong, crossing his arms, looking like he’s about to fuck someone up. Even in his suit, you can tell that he’s ripped. It might even him out a bit, but his suit clings to every muscle on his damned body. It’s probably part of the reason I’ve wanted to lick him to bits.
I want to stay facing forward, but there’s this urge inside me that wants to know who said it. Even more than that, I want to confront the coward who hides behind hushed whispers. Until now, I didn’t have that courage. Maybe it’s because I’ve never felt strong enough to demand answers, but I do now, and I think that speaks to how I feel whenever I’m with Nikolai. I don’t feel super human or any of that shit, however, I do feel strong, like a fierce Viking princess. “If I were you, I’d tell him. He get’s angry rather quickly and doesn’t like to wait around.”
The two men in the back of the elevator each has a typical Vegas girl with them. Big tits, big hair and I’m sure there are big egos to match. While the women are gorgeous, the men are mediocre. I want to giggle because they look like two deer caught in headlights. Nikolai is standing in a pretty intimidating stance if you ask me.
I want to add in some crazy shit like they do with Khalessi on Game of Thrones just to make him sound even worse than he is, but I don’t. Instead, I keep my yapper shut as we wait. We have at least another minute on the elevator anyway.
“My friend here talks too much. Sorry, he’s a bit drunk.” One of the men says, while his girl holds onto him tight.
I look her up and down, “Relax, sweetheart. My boyfriend doesn’t plan on beating the tar outta you two ladies.”
“Oh fuck. See what you’ve gotten us into now, Levi?” The sober friend snarls over to the other. Levi on the other hand, he just snickers and boy does he like it.
He moves his head down and follows my body all the way up. He’s either trying to assess me, or eye fucks the living hell outta me. “Look at that body, with those t-tattoos and that hair. Shit, look at this dude. He probably paid her five g-grand just to go on a date with him. W-wonder how much it’s gonna cost him to sink his cock in her later.” He slurs on a few words, showing he’s further off than we initially thought.
Nikolai looks over to Levi, “I don’t care that your friend is drunk. I will not tolerate any disrespect against my girl-friend. Sweetie, you may want to move.” The girl standing beside Levi rushes over next to the other two. No sooner as the moment she’s out of the danger zone, Nikolai goes to town.
We all watch as he plummets his fist into Levi’s face again and again, showing him how inappropriate it is to ever disrespect a woman like this. I doubt he’ll ever do it again after he wakes up tomorrow feeling pretty shitty from both the hangover and the beating.
I hear the elevator beep, signaling us that the doors are about to open. I grab Nikolai’s arm and he stops. We both walk through the doorway and wait for the doors to close. No way in hell do I want these people trying to sneak into Crave.
“Okay, that was kind of hot.”
Nikolai chuckles lightly, “You’re only saying that because I got violent and I have an accent.”
Alright, so he’s got me there. This accent of his … good-ness gracious. The man makes me lose my mind. “You have a point, but that’s not all of it.” I start off, taking his hand in mine, I look up into those eyes of his. The ones that hold so much pain and heartache behind them. I know he’s only told me part of his story, and I want to know so much more. All in good time, though. “I think it was super hot that the guy I’m falling for wanted to defend my honor. Even though I don’t have a whole bunch of it. I’ve done some awful shit, Nikolai … so it means a lot to me that you wanted to protect me.”
He brushes the back of his hand against my face, “Oh, you silly woman. I will always defend your honor, even if you are wrong, or have done awful things. You and I are a team, and I will always stand by your side, regardless.”
I stand up on my tippy-toes, even though I’m in four inch heels and press my lips against his. Our kiss starts out slow and passionate, but turns into something demanding. A kiss that expresses just how much we crave the other. It’s primal, animalistic and shows that we own the other.
When I was with Widow all those years ago, I had to accept that women are viewed as property. I didn’t understand it at first, but I never viewed it in a derogatory way – because it isn’t. It’s their way of showing that they value their women and families above all else. It’s what unifies them. Now, here I am, kissing a man who owns my soul as much as I own his. It’s equal, and I think there is something special about this type of love.
In fact, I know there is something special about the two of us.
“So, what would you like to do now?” He asks as we pull away from our kiss.
“There are so many options, but I’d really just love to grab a drink and nestle away with you in a quiet corner.”
He smiles widely, “Whatever my girl wants, she gets.”
Chapter 25
DON’T BE SCARED TO WALK ALONE. DON’T BE SCARED TO LIKE IT.
-JOHN MAYER
Rebel
“You ready to leave?” Nikolai asks me and I nod. Over the last hour, I’ve felt like I was just going to keel over from exhaustion. He had to pull my tail to get me out tonight, but I’m so glad he did it. We needed a night out on the town, even if it was hiding away in the private areas of Crave.
“Yeah, let’s go. I miss my baby.” I mumble, rising from where we’ve been sitting for a bit. As he stands, I catch a glimmer in his eye. “What?” I ask, knowing he’s thinking something.
“You’re beautiful inside and out, but the most beautiful part of you Rebel is the fact you’re a mother.”
I blink a few times as what he just said registers in my mind, trying not to let emotions come over me. This, what has just happened, is why I am with Nikolai. “Are you trying to get me to fall more in love with you?” I ask, giggling.
He doesn’t answer, but simply smiles as he takes my hand and we walk down the hallway towards the elevator.
“Rebel, wait up!” I hear Harlow’s voice and turn around, noticing how she looks a little different. I can’t really tell what’s up with her. She looks a little pale, almost like she’s nervous and immediately I become worried. A sickly feeling washes over my body. I’m one of those people, where their anxiety has just ravaged them until they get an answer.
“What happened?” I ask, hoping she’ll tell me straight away.
“You alright?” Nikolai asks from beside me, and I nod my head.
“Yeah. I’ll meet you at the car.” I kiss him chastely on the lips and approach Harlow, needing this bitch to tell me what’s up.
“So, I got the results in today.”
“Really? That quick?” I thought it took at least a couple weeks to get anything back … but when I think about it, it’s been a while. The days have just been flowing together.”
“Yeah, I know. I just … look, it’s all in here.” Harlow reaches into her pants pocket and hands me a paper. Immedi-ately I open it and read. There’s a disclosure in the beginning and then it goes to tell us how each of the DNA samples that were gathered is a 99.9% match to the other, confirming that these would belo
ng to identical siblings.
“Holy shit,” I can’t believe it. I thought that nothing would come of this. I didn’t expect that something like this would have happened, but alas, it did.
“Yeah … so, I’m going to be fucking your twin sister. That’s not going to be weird or anything. Nope. Not one bit! You’re only my best friend.” Harlow mumbles, looking up at me. I wrap my arms around her and give her a big hug. It might be a little weird, but she doesn’t realize how she’s given me a sense of family. Something that I’ve always craved and yet have never had. This is priceless to me.
“Thank you so much.”
“I couldn’t believe it myself when I first saw. It blew my freaking mind!”
I release her, taking a step back. “When do you meet her?”
“She said a couple of weeks, depends how her work schedule goes. So, when do I tell her about you?”
“You don’t. Not yet at least. Just do your job and we’ll figure out that shit later. There isn’t any need to rush, and honestly, I need to wrap my head around all of this too.”
I take the elevator downstairs and meet Nikolai at his car, getting in the passenger side. As he pulls out of the garage, I turn and look at him, telling him what I’ve just discovered. “Niko … I have a twin sister.”
“You do? You never told me about her.”
“No, I mean … yes, I have a sister, but I just found out about her. I’d put in a request to get my birth records a few weeks back but didn’t hear anything about it. Now, though, now I’m just wondering how I never knew. My grandpa had told me I had a twin sister, and another one, but I thought the Alzheimer’s had gotten to him. It turns out he was telling the truth.”
“Are you going to see her?” Nikolai asks, weaving through the streets of Las Vegas until we’re at home.
His question weighs heavy on my mind. I've been on my own and have survived for so long, so part of me wants nothing to do with her ... but the other part wants to get to know my sister. That part wants me to have a big family, bigger than just Zoe and I. Maybe, just maybe my family is growing one by one, or two if you ask Zoe. She has her father and I now have Nikolai.
Nikolai has been staying at my house more over the past few days versus at his. Because Zoe has school most days, he wants to be with us since it’s easier for her. When we get home, he pulls into the driveway and parks. We both exit the car and head for the front door, while I get out my key. Once we’re inside, I see Zoe on the floor with some sort of puppy.
“Oh my God …” I whisper, glancing over to Nikolai. “Did you do this shit or was it Widow?”
“Fuck …” Nikolai mutters.
I glare at him, “You did this without asking me!?”
“No, I didn’t get her a French Bulldog. I got a Shar Pei … she’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Mommy! Nikolai! Look!” Zoe gets up, running over to the two of us. “Daddy got me a puppy! His name is Cerberus. Isn’t he the cutest!?”
I take a look at the cute little pup, he’s a bluish gray color and is pretty stinking cute. “He’s adorable, and you wanna know the best part?” Nikolai asks her.
“No, what’s that?”
Nikolai smiles, “Cerberus won’t have to be by himself for long. I might have gotten your momma a puppy of her own, a little girl in fact and she’ll be here tomorrow.”
“Oh my goodness! Momma! We each have a puppy!” Zoe wraps her arms around me and holds on tight, and as I hear the scraping of nails against my tile floor, all I can do is just smile.
Widow comes around the corner and smirks at Zoe, darting off into the dining room with her small pup running behind her. “She told me how much she missed Bubbles. I’m sorry if I overstepped.”
I shake my head from side to side, “No, it’s okay. You didn’t. She needed this.”
It’s times like this that make me think we’re figuring out this co-parenting thing, and we’re not half bad at it if you ask me.
Chapter 26
IF YOU KNOW YOU’RE GOING HOME, THE JOURNEY IS NEVER TOO HARD.
-ANONYMOUS
Widow
“Well, look at what the cat dragged in.” Kat says with a shit eating smile on her face as Camila and Boog come through the clubhouse door. Camila drops her bags and runs up to Kat, wrapping her arms around her. I’ll say, Kat has never really struck me as the lovey dovey type, but there’s something unique about the friendship she has with Camila. I reckon it’s because those two have been through a lot of similar shit.
I get up from my chair and walk up to Booger, giving him a brotherly hug. “How did the road treat you?”
He shrugs, “Not too bad. Felt like it took forever to get back home, though.”
“Are you just sayin’ that because you were excited to see us?” I fuck around with him. There’s no doubt in my mind that these two missed being here.
“Of course we did, spider!” There Camila goes again, calling me that damn nickname of hers. “While it was nice to see parts of the United States I haven’t seen before and get to know Boog’s mother, I missed being here with you all. You’re all my family, and I missed you dearly. You did too, right Boog?”
“Maybe.” Slips out of his mouth and I chuckle, slapping him on the back of the shoulder.
“We missed your snotty ass too, brother. It just wasn’t the same without ya. Now, I’m glad you’re both back because we’ve got a fuckton of shit to update you on.”
I take it upon myself to update Boog and Camila on what’s been happening these last few weeks, even mixing my own personal shit in on it. I’d have to end up telling them both soon anyway, and why waste anymore time? I even go into the fact we’ll be hitting up the last Vibora compound tonight.
“Finally, I want a piece of these motherfuckers. Y’all have had your fun while we’ve been up in Iowa farming.”
“It wasn’t that bad, Booger.” Camila chastises him in the middle of having her own side conversation with Kat. Those two for sure have a unique bond, but it’s just interesting to watch them interact. Kat is pretty quiet, always keeping back in the shadows, constantly around but always observing. I bet it has something to do with the fact she was a prisoner with the Demons of Hell for all those years, and the fact that we’re here … in the same place she was for so long. Shit, now that has to fuck with her. She may be our Prez’s ol’lady, but she’s not like any type of ol’lady I’ve ever been around.
Those bitches love cooking for us, makin’ sure we’re dandy and all that shit. Kat is mostly a fend for yourself type of woman, but when it comes to the club BBQ’s, I see her step up.
“You two better go find Damon. He’s going to wanna talk to you both about what to expect later.” Kat says to Booger and I.
I yank out my phone and see the time, agreeing with Kat, I move my head to the right and signal Booger that we need to get a move on. We’re going to strike the last compound tonight, and I know he wants in on the action. I can’t blame him for that. He’s been cooped up North for a while and just wants to get some of his own justice. After all, this fucking gang is only after us because Ricardo recognized Camila.
It’s no secret that she had a rough past and was taken advantage of, like many people are. I don’t know every detail, but I get that both Kat and Camila were in similar situations. I bet those two were able to bond over it.
I know Damon wasn’t in the club, so there’s really one other place he’d be – his house. Booger and I walk up to his house and I knock on the front door. Damon opens the door with a toothbrush in his mouth and signal’s us both to come in. He disappears down his hallway and comes back out a minute later, with no toothbrush in tow.
“Nice to see you back, brother.” He says to Booger, pulling him into a hug. “Has Widow left me the hard part, or has he explained a lot of what happened as of late?”
“He gave me the short version and filled me in. Jackal’s are teaming up with us to take down Ricardo and that piece of shit gang. Vinny is a dude who works for us. O
nyx is a pimp who has prostitutes and is staying with the club for protec-tion. She has a couple of girls here on standby for the broth-ers, but for the rest, they live here in their house but go out into Vegas to get work. We get a cut of the work they do. Shit, I feel like you two forgot I was here for some stuff, but I appreciate the refresher.”
“Figured you needed it with all the shit you were cleanin’ up in Iowa. I hear crap kills brain cells. Just had to make sure you were still up in there.” I smack his head a couple times for amusement. Out of the Reapers, Booger is one of the ones who I was immediately able to get along with. Lucky for me, the ones who didn’t really care for me are still up in Montana.
“Okay, enough fuckin’ around. We need to go over the plan for tonight.” Damon speaks up, an authoritative tone taking over. “We’re pretty fuckin’ lucky cause these idiots have their last compound within city limits. It makes getting to them a hell of a lot easier, but it means we have more obstacles to look out for as well. Cops will probably be hangin’ around cause they know who’s in the area, so we have to be careful.”
I cross my arms and listen as Damon continues to speak. “We’re not just gonna go barreling in through their front door. I’m gonna hit these motherfuckers at all angles, that means their front door, their back door, the fuckin’ roof and underground.”
“Underground?” Booger and I say at the same time, sharing a concerned look. There’s only one way we’d be able to get in from underground … and if he’s thinkin’ what I think he is … fuck no!
“Do you realize what kind of atrocity you’d be commit-ting by getting shit on Cobra’s body? Fuck, man. You ask him, he’ll tell you.” I say to Damon, waiting to hear what response he’s gonna give me. He wants us to get access through the sewer lines, like we’re in some Hunger Games level bullshit.
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