by Zoey Parker
It seemed no matter what I did, I couldn’t keep her in the back of my mind for very long.
Once I finished eating, I stood. A servant stepped forward to clear the plate and started to hurry away. I cleared my throat, and she paused, waiting expectantly, a slight smile on her face. Olivia had been working for me for a long while. She was competent and was saving her money to be able to go to college. Even though she would be twenty years older than the other freshman, she wouldn’t let that stop her. I admired her determination. I tried to always surround myself with people who wanted something more out of their life, and that included my servants, not just my men in the mob.
“Make sure Kelly gets whatever she wants,” I instructed.
“Of course.” She started to leave again.
“And if she wishes to eat in her room, that is fine.” Normally, I preferred meals to be eaten at the table, but comfort would be Kelly’s middle name if I had my way.
“Yes, sir. Anything else?” Olivia asked.
“That is all.” I hesitated, and she lingered. “Do you have enough yet?”
Her face brightened. “I should by next fall.”
“That’s terrible,” I grumbled. “I hate to lose you.”
“Thank you, but, no offense, I really want to be a nurse.”
“You’ll make an excellent one. If you need anything, a connection to a hospital for hours, a referral, anything, let me know.”
“I will. Thank you. And…” Olivia cleared her throat. “I like Kelly. I’ve always wondered if you would ever settle down, but I see why you waited.”
I’d never brought a woman to my house before. I always either went to her place or we fucked at my bar or in a hotel room. Kelly had broken a lot of barriers for me, and obviously I wasn’t the only one to realize that. “Kelly was worth the wait,” I said simply.
Olivia grinned and left, and I departed the dining room for my largest office. All of my men were already there, crammed and waiting for me.
“I apologize for the delay,” I said as I closed the door behind me. I adjusted my sport coat sleeves. For some reason, I had dressed up today. I needed the boost I got from my suit. Power. Control. Domination. I craved respect. I desired revenge. I would have results. I strolled around the room to make my way behind my desk. I didn’t bother to sit, just leaned down, my hands near the edge. “I have finally made some headway against Vasilev. He has been paying off transactions of a Sanchez Trucking company.” My gaze rounded the room, and I shut my mouth when I spotted Aleksey. I hadn’t expected him to show up.
Aleksey nodded from his perch in the back corner of the office.
“Do you have any news?” I demanded, paranoid his appearance meant ill news.
The men near Aleksey moved away so he could be clearly seen. “Jacquelyn has mentioned her father does a lot of business with them,” he said.
“Interesting.” I rubbed my chin. I hadn’t realized just how much information we would be able to get out of the girl. Hadn’t thought Vasilev would be the kind to tell his daughter everything. Yes, she had voiced discontentment to Aleksey, which was why she was feeding him intel as it was. Was she giving us bad information? Was she her father’s daughter after all?
“What’s the next step?” Aleksey asked, his voice cutting the silence like a roll of thunder.
“I want you to go back to Jacquelyn and find out everything she knows. As for the rest of you…” I stared at each of my men in turn and cracked my knuckles. “I have assignments for you all.”
***
My face wasn’t as recognizable as you would think given I was the head of a mob. Fucking women who worked for newspapers and other media outlets and knew how to keep me on the down low was a perk I enjoyed time and again. It also meant if I wanted to go undercover myself, it remained a viable option.
And I did wish to go undercover myself this time. The rush I had felt while breaking into Vasilev’s car business the other night hadn’t left me. This was a part of me. The danger. The allure. The drive. I had been born and raised into a mob family, and I would live and die by it. I would, but I wasn’t about to force Kelly to live and die by it, too.
I didn’t want to take my chances on being recognized, though, so I wore a scruffy-looking wig and colored contacts. My suit was one from Wal-Mart instead of my typical designer ones. As far as disguises went, it wasn’t over the top, but it would be more than enough to serve my purposes. I wasn’t worried about being recognized.
The final piece of my disguise was a worn-looking rental car. I even changed up my driving, following by the rules and letting people go ahead of me. Not that I was a terrible ass of a driver normally.
After checking the rearview mirror throughout my leisurely drive to ensure I wasn’t being tailed, I parked in front of the Sanchez Trucking office. It was a typical warehouse with a ton of trucks parked out front, along the side, and probably a bunch more out back. The concrete building was three stories tall, square rather than rectangular, and it seemed so ordinary I just knew something was off.
I fiddled with my collar, already acting like a person uncomfortable in his own skin, and climbed out of the car. It beeped its lock behind me as I strolled up to the front door. No bells chimed as I opened it.
A haggard secretary sat behind the desk. Her dark hair had strands of gray mixed in and was somewhat fashioned into a bun. Her lipstick was a terrible shade of purple, and from her frumpy clothes, slumped shoulders, and dejected air, I knew she would be easy to dispose of. All it would take was a little something she obviously didn’t often get — attention. Even looking like this, I had a feeling she would look twice at me. No one else was around, so once I got rid of her, I would be in the clear.
I adjusted my slightly ill-fitting sport coat and strolled up to the counter, a confused expression on my face. I cleared my throat. “Hello…”
“Alexa,” she said without bothering to look up at me, her gaze glued to her computer screen.
“Alexa,” I repeated slowly, drawing out her name. I placed my hands on her desk and leaned forward, toward her.
She looked up, and I straightened. Her gaze went from my face on down to my belt and back up again. “Y-yes,” she said, sitting back in her seat and flashing me a ghost of a smile. “How can I help you?”
“I’m sure you can be a big help.” I helped myself to one of the pens from the cup she was using as a pen holder and rubbed my fingers up and down the length of it. Women loved long fingers.
She licked her lips, her gaze following the movement of my fingers. “You are…”
“I’m looking to expand on my business,” I said smoothly, trying to figure out the best way to get her to go hide away in the back so I could snoop.
“You’re a businessman?” She gave me another once over, her interest visibly increasing. I offered her a smile, and her ghost of a smile grew into a huge grin. Some of her purple lipstick stained her front teeth.
“Yes, I am,” I said proudly, standing up even straighter and holding onto my sport coat like I was the most important man in the world to ever wear a suit from Wal-Mart.
“That’s great,” she gushed enthusiastically. “How can I help you?”
“Well,” I said slowly, “I’d love to know the pros and cons of working with your business. Why should I go with you over your competitors?”
“We have a longstanding history,” she started.
I ignored her and bent down over her desk. “I need more than just a pretty smile to sway me, I’m afraid. Although you do have a pretty smile.”
“Thank you.” Obviously flustered, she fiddled with her hair, causing her messy bun to fall apart. She scrambled to fix it. “Ah, well, um…”
“Do you have pamphlets?” I offered. Now I knew exactly how to get rid of her.
“Oh, yes, of course!” She rummaged through her drawers and grabbed several. “Here you are!” She shoved them at me.
Time to say goodbye. I glanced at them and sighed. I shook my he
ad and rubbed my chin. “I’m afraid this isn’t quite enough. I need more. What makes your company stand out? What makes you better than—”
“I can…” She bit her lower lip and tugged at the collar of her frumpy shirt. “If you would prefer, I can get the vice president. He’s in a meeting right now…” She glanced at her computer. “No. The meeting should be over by now. Yes. I’ll go and see if he can spare some time to talk to you. It might be a little bit before I return,” she warned. “Make yourself comfortable. Through there,” she pointed to the right, “is our food area. Help yourself to some coffee while you wait.”
“Thank you.” This time, my smile was genuine.
I waited until Alexa disappeared through a door to the left. Without wasting a second, I bolted around the desk to her seat. She had remained logged into her account. Even better. She was so happy to please me she didn’t realize how good of a job she was at doing just that.
There weren’t heavy firewalls or security measures, so even though I was looking for covert information, I was able to find it relatively easily. Fucking that computer hacker had been beneficial even if she had had terrible breath. She’d taught me plenty about 0s and 1s.
Here it was. Records of money being transferred into offshore accounts. I whipped out my cell phone and took pictures of the files. Then I did a search for Vasilev. That required even more digging, but eventually I did find his name and enough to link him to a lot of money. After snapping more pictures, I backed out of the files and covered my tracks. Adjusting my coat, I stood, marched around the desk, and left. When I was driving away, I peeked through the window to see Alexa and a tall, thin man emerge from the side door. Too late. Got what I needed. Thank you, Alexa. You were quite helpful indeed.
Feeling triumphant, I sped away. It was only a matter of time before I would have everything I wanted.
Chapter 25
Kelly
The cab sped away from Andrei’s street and I watched the scenery, trying not to get sick. It was terrible, this feeling inside of me. I felt like I was being torn into two. I didn’t regret my decision. I knew what I was doing was the best choice for my baby. It was.
But the fact that I was thinking of the baby as mine…that legally shouldn’t be the case. Andrei Petrov had paid me one million dollars in exchange for my uterus. And here I was, essentially stealing from him. Kidnapping. Well, it wouldn’t really be kidnapping until after the baby was born, but still.
I didn’t know for sure how he would react when he found out I’d left, but considering he had just killed a man, I wasn’t about to stick around. Life with Andrei wasn’t safe. I should’ve run away when that man came up to me and threatened Andrei. That was my first mistake. Falling for Andrei had been my second. That was why leaving was so hard. Just focus on the man he killed. Andrei’s a mobster. You know that. He’s probably killed before, and he’ll kill again. That’s not the kind of life you want for your child, right? So just leave already.
Before I could leave town, though, I had to explain everything to my mom. I wasn’t going to disappear until after she knew everything, until after I had squared things with her so she would be taking care of.
The cab driver pulled up in front of Mom’s place. Exhaling deeply, I climbed out of the cab and paid the driver before removing my small amount of belongings. This was all I had. I might grab a few more things here but not a ton. I needed to hit the road. Get away from here. Find a new town. Get a job. Start over.
Pregnant belly and all. Not that I was showing yet but it was only a matter of time.
You hadn’t been able to find a job outside of Andrei’s offer. What makes you think you’ll find a job now?
I’ll find something.
I hoped.
To my surprise, the doorknob didn’t turn. My mom never locked the door. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise she had locked it. Better to be safe. I shoved in my key, turned the lock, and found my mom on the couch, reading a historical romance.
She lowered her book and glanced up with a smile. “Kelly. What are you doing here?”
To delay, I put my stuff down on the coffee table carefully. Then I hugged her. “Where’s Claire?” I asked.
“Claire went to the grocery store,” Mom said, eyeing me. “What’s wrong? You look upset.” She shifted her legs off the couch so I could sit beside her.
“Well…it’s a long story,” I warned. What would she think when I told her?
“I don’t have anywhere to go.” My mom closed her book and set it on the coffee table next to my pile. “What’s going on?”
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I just stared at her book. The woman looked adoringly at her bare chested man, who was gazing back at her as if she was the only woman in the world. Books always had happy endings. Too bad this was my life. I hadn’t had a happy ending ever.
“Is it about your new job?” Mom asked.
And there it was. I nodded and swallowed past a lump in my throat.
“What exactly is your new job?” My mom tilted her head to the side. “I can’t remember you telling me much about it.” She rubbed her temple. “Don’t tell me my memory is going, too. I can’t handle that on top of—”
I grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “No. I haven’t told you about my job.”
She threw me a shrew glare. “And there’s a reason you’ve kept it from me, isn’t there?” she asked.
With my free hand, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yes.”
My mom closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “What is it?” she whispered as she opened her eyes, but then she didn’t give me a chance to answer, just added, “Tables. You’re dancing on tables, aren’t you?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“A hooker, then, is that it?” she demanded.
“Not exactly,” I hedged. I couldn’t look at her.
She blinked rapidly. “Not exactly? What does that even mean?” Her voice sounded strong and firm, something it hadn’t in a while. I should be glad, but oh God, if she was this worked up already, how would she react when she learned the truth?
I sighed. I so needed a drink.
Wait. No alcohol.
Great.
“I signed a contract,” I started.
“For…” my mom prompted when I just stopped talking.
“This isn’t easy.” I exhaled loudly. I wanted to rub my stomach. Strange. It wasn’t like that I was a habit of mine, and I wasn’t that far along at all. Must just be a sub-conscious pregnancy thing.
“Are you in trouble?” my mom asked quietly.
Kind of. “I signed a contract with Andrei Petrov.” I waited to gauge her reaction.
She frowned. “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”
Considering I hadn’t recognized him by name either, I wasn’t surprised to learn she didn’t know him either. “He is Aleksey’s boss. You remember Aleksey, right?”
“That guy who dated Stacy. You couldn’t stand him. Thought he was bad news.” She did a double take. “Didn’t you think he was in the mob? And if this Andrei guy you’re working for is his boss…” Her eyes narrowed, and her jaw tightened. “Just what was the contract for, Kelly?”
“He paid me a million dollars—”
Mom stilled, but I could see her mind was churning, thinking about all of the things a man — a mob boss — would want in exchange for that kind of sum of money.
Best to just blurt it out.
“—for an heir,” I said in a rush. “A son. He was supposed to pay me another million once I gave birth, but now that I’m pregnant—”
My mom burst into tears, huge sobs that shook her body. “Why would you do such a thing?”
I was crying, too. The tears burned down my cheeks. “I…I had no choice. I lost my job. I was fired. The bills were mounting, and your treatment… I swear this was not an easy decision. I didn’t want to…but there weren’t any other jobs. I searched. Stacy searched too. I saw the opportunit
y, I saw the money, I took it, and now…”
My mom started to cry even harder now. I held her close, rubbing her back as she trembled in my arms. This wasn’t good. She shouldn’t be this stressed out. I never should’ve told her the truth. I hated stretching the truth as it was with her. My mom was the one person I relied on. She was all the family I had left. I was terrified. I wasn’t sure I could get through this by myself. If she wasn’t on my side, there was no way I could do all of this, could handle it.
Starting a new family by myself.
“I’d never…” my mom started, but she had to pause to composure herself. “I’d never want my daughter to have to do such a thing. You did this for me, and—”