Viktor

by Teresa Gabelman

  “You good?” Sid eyed him as he passed.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” Viktor lied. In truth, he wasn’t good. And he had a feeling that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. He hadn’t been good in a long time.

  Chapter 8

  Lacey sat at her computer, a large frown creasing her forehead as she hit the Delete button over and over again. Yeah, she could delete all in one swoop, but this was less painful. Maybe. Why in the hell couldn’t she make sense of what was in her brain? The words and ideas were there, but for the life of her, they wouldn’t go onto the computer the way they should. With a glare, she flipped off her laptop and stood up. Yeah, that was real professional.

  Walking into her dark kitchen, frustration beat at her. She opened the fridge door, not really knowing what she wanted, but she wanted something.

  “Okay, I’m really starting to annoy myself,” she said into the darkness as she shut the door. A moment later, she opened it again and grabbed a water. After slamming it shut, she drank her water and just stood in front of the humming appliance. Maybe something was on television. That could get her creative juices flowing.

  Heading toward the couch, she picked up the remote, turned it on and began surfing the channels. Her gaze traveled to the kitchen. With a deep frown, she got up and grabbed the can of cheese balls. Lacey sat back down with a humph, and opened the lid, shoving four in at a time. Yeah, she was an emotional eater.

  She tried hard to focus on the TV, and on her cheese balls, enjoying the fatty goodness. But try as she might, her eyes kept going from the television to her computer. Dammit, why couldn’t she write?

  Undeterred, she finally found a movie. The remote abandoned next to her, Lacey stared at the television, but her mind was on her storyline. No, that was a big fat lie. Her mind was on her own storyline—her real-life one where a sexy vampire played the starring role. Shoving another handful of cheese balls in her mouth, she mumbled a curse, spraying crumbles.

  Leaning her head back, she chewed and stared at the ceiling. Tonight, she learned a very important trait about that vampire who occupied her mind more than he should. He was overbearing. She didn’t like overbearing. Though his eyes were so intense that at the time, it made her forget she didn’t like overbearing men. She sat up, her eyes wide. Was he using some kind of vampire mind trick on her and she could only see his bad traits when he wasn’t around?

  “Oh, that’s kind of good,” Lacey whispered. Swiping the pen beside her, she grabbed the notebook she kept near the couch, writing down her vampire mind-control thoughts.

  Instead of sitting there gorging on cheese balls and watching a meaningless movie—she hadn’t spent longer than thirty seconds listening to the lousy dialogue—she should be writing. Her schedule had just got busier and her time writing was going to be limited.

  Maybe she could start all over. No! That was not happening. She’d fallen into that trap before. Lacey had started chapter one, then ended up deleting it so many times that it took weeks for her to finally realize what she was doing. She had a “delete” problem that needed to stop.

  “Just write the damn book,” she hissed to herself. Setting the cheese balls on her coffee table, she marched toward the laptop. Sitting down, she opened up a drawer at her desk, rooting around for the masking tape. Finding it, she wrote NO! in all caps, tore it, and placed it on her Delete button. With a smile and nod, she poised her hands over the home keys, ready to let her mind go to that magical place where real-life stresses disappeared, and the characters in her head took over. She began to type.

  Nothing had prepared Julia for the man before her. He stood tall, proud, as his golden eyes gazed upon her. Her body responded to him, as did her heart. “What is your name?” she whispered, knowing she was losing herself.

  His lips curved into a half smile, fangs gleaming in the moonlight. She wondered briefly what it would be like to kiss him. Was it different from kissing human men?

  “Oh, good question, Julia,” Lacey mused as both eyebrows raised. She looked away from the computer thinking. “I bet it would be different because of the fangs. Hmmm.” Lacey looked back at the screen and began typing again.

  Julia hoped she was about to find out the answer to her question. She waited patiently for him to speak and tell her his name.

  “I am Viktor.”

  Lacey looked at what she’d just typed and gasped. “No, you are not!” She gasped again, then slammed her laptop shut. “What in the actual fuck just happened?”

  Viktor was not the hero in her book. No! That was... ah.... What the hell? She glanced at her notebook. “Travis!” she yelled, seeing the name of her hero. Rolling her eyes at herself, she snorted. “Travis. Travis. Traaavvvvissss.” She repeated it a few more times with a frown.

  Opening her computer again, she logged in and stared at the name she had written. “Travis. Viktor. Travis. Viktor,” she whispered as she moved her head back and forth. “Viktor. Travis.”

  When she’d first picked the names of her characters, the name Travis had really stood out to her. She felt it was a strong name for a strong hero, but now... yeah, now, not so much. “Shit,” she hissed. She stood and headed back to her cheese balls. Grabbing the can, she walked around her apartment, shoving them in her mouth as she thought of a different name for her hero. Glancing at her laptop, she could even see the name Viktor from where she was. Nope, can’t use that name. Even though it felt strong and would fit a sexy, manly vampire, there was no way in hell.

  “Bob? No. Ray? Hmmm, maybe. Stan? Nah.” Lacey continued to pace around her small apartment, eating her cheese balls and talking to herself. “Fred? Good Lord, definitely not. Derek? Oh, that has a manly feel to it. They could call him Deke.”

  She stopped walking, chewed and swallowed, really liking that name. “Make love to me, Derek.” She tried out the name in a husky voice, aiming for sexiness. “Bite me, Deke.”

  Lacey chuckled at her dramatics as she fisted another handful of balls, but before she could put them in her mouth, someone pounded on her door. Lacey jumped a mile high, sending cheese balls raining down everywhere.

  Viktor sat on his bike in an empty lot, arms crossed with his phone resting on the seat between his legs. He must be losing his fucking mind. There was no other reason for him to seek out Duncan to ask a favor. He never asked for favors, hated owing anyone anything, but here he was waiting for that favor to be revealed.

  He knew if he went back to the condo, Bishop would be full of questions. None he was ready to answer. Hell, they were questions he didn’t know the answers to. He and his brother were close. Too close sometimes. But when it came to certain situations, Viktor liked to keep his shit to himself, and Bishop was the same way. But as brothers almost always did, they drove each other insane. Yeah, he needed to steer clear of Bishop, so he didn’t kill him.

  A car slowly passed, stopped and then backed up, pulling into the lot. The lights flashed on brightly before dimming. His phone buzzed, causing his eyes to shift away from the car to look down at his phone. It was Duncan and his favor.

  “Hey!” a man’s voice called out.

  Raising his gaze, Viktor stared at the three men who had gotten out of the car. He said nothing, just remained as he was. He didn’t have time for this shit, but it looked like he was going to be forced to make time, and that pissed him off.

  “Are you deaf?” the one on the driver’s side growled, acting like a badass.

  Viktor cocked his head. He hated assholes. And these three were definitely major assholes and up to no good. “And how would you expect me to respond to hey?”

  “Nice bike,” another one said, reaching around his back slowly.

  “It is.” Viktor eyed him, knowing exactly what he was reaching for. “Let me give you some advice.”

  “No, how about we give you some advice?” Driver-side hissed as he took a step toward Viktor. “Give up the bike and live.”

  Viktor’s arms were crossed, his fingers touching the gleaming knives
just ready to find a target. He hadn’t used them lately, but his throws would be deadly as always. “Your advice is idiotic just like your IQ.” Viktor barely moved, but he was ready. “Now, my advice, on the other hand, is intelligent just like my IQ.”

  “Fuck you, man,” Driver-side spat as he whipped out a gun, but before he could even point it at Viktor, there was a knife sticking out of his wrist.

  Sighing loudly, Viktor watched the guy fall to his knees, grabbing his wrist and screaming. His friends ran over to try to help him.

  “Pull it out!” the guy yelled, then gagged, retching to the side before screaming again. “Pull it out.”

  “You can’t pull it out. Well, you can, but I don’t advise it.” Viktor spoke over the crying as he watched the spectacle. “That knife has special ridges and needs to be surgically removed. If you pull it out, the damage will be irreparable, and then you’ll have to learn to use a gun with your left hand to rob innocent people, you piece of shit.”

  “What the fuck, man?” Passenger-side asshole looked up at him as he reached once again behind him, but stopped before pulling out the gun Viktor knew he had tucked in his waistband. “We just wanted the bike. You didn’t have to fuck him up like this.”

  “Oh, but I did. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him. And if you pull out that gun, I won’t be aiming at your wrist,” Viktor growled, his eyes turning black. “I suggest you get him to the hospital before he bleeds to death. Not that I give a shit. One of the VC Warriors will be there with local law enforcement to read you your rights.”

  “Ah, yeah okay.” The guy who had ridden in the back seat laughed as he helped drag his friend to the car. “We’ll make sure we do that.”

  Viktor started his bike, the smooth purr of the motor soothing his soul. “If you don’t, I will find you.” Viktor’s smile was evil. “And believe me when I say I’m very good at finding things, especially human assholes.”

  He waited as they loaded the dumbass mouthy one into the car quickly. They eyed him warily, hatred evident before getting in themselves. Viktor picked up his phone and shot off a group text of the make, model, and description of the car, as well as where the idiots were supposed to be headed. He continued to watch as they pulled out in the direction to the hospital, but he seriously doubted they were smart enough to do what he said. A few seconds later, two motorcycles passed, and he noted Adam and Steve heading after the car.

  Putting his phone away, knowing that was taken care of, Viktor took off, ready to take care of his own business, and happy he wasn’t covered in blood. He would have taken care of all of this on his own, except he wasn’t in the mood. He needed to set his mind right, and there was only one way to do that.

  Viktor headed in the opposite direction of the assholes and toward the address Duncan gave him. It wasn’t far, and he was quite confused. Duncan had given him the address of the Gypsy Tavern. He’d never been in the establishment, but he drove by it more times than he could count since being in Cincinnati. It was a small bar trying to make it in a world that was now full of Red Dragons. The club scene was in, and the little bars were quickly fading away.

  Viktor had no idea how he was going to handle this situation, but handle it he would. He pulled up in front of the dark tavern. No cars littered the parking lot. It was totally empty. His eyes rose to see a light in one of the first-floor windows. Maybe it wasn’t. Parking, he got off the bike and walked around the building. On the side, there was a set of fire escape steps going up. He took those, stopping at the door. Raising his hand, he intended to knock, but stopped.

  “Make love to me, Derek.” A familiar woman’s voice filtered to him; it was husky and full of sex. Viktor frowned. It was Lacey he was hearing. A rage so violent surfaced. It took even him by surprise. “Bite me, Deke.”

  Viktor pounded on the door after a second of battling whether or not he should just kick it in and kill Derek and Deke, the motherfuckers.

  The door swung open, and there stood Lacey, her hair in a ponytail, and wearing a sweatshirt and ripped sweatpants. She looked adorable and very fuckable. His rage eased. His eyes roamed her body and went to the can she held to her chest before looking into her wide eyes. His gaze moved around her to the interior, but he didn’t see anyone, nor did he detect any other heartbeats other than hers, which was beating very fast. His eyes fell on the floor where orange balls littered the area.

  “What are you doing here?” Lacey’s voice was breathless and a little raspy. He even caught a little guilt in her tone, indicating that Derek and Deke may be vampires with no heartbeat, and not human. His rage returned.

  “Who the fuck are Derek and Deke?”

  Chapter 9

  Lacey couldn’t believe Viktor was standing in her doorway. All she could do was stare in shock. Finally, she found her voice. “What are you doing here?”

  “Who the fuck are Derek and Deke?” His question exploded around her.

  “Who are... what?” She shook her head as he moved inside, his eyes searching her tiny apartment. Then she gasped, her hand going to her mouth. Oh. My. God. He’d heard her. Embarrassment filled her soul. She watched as he stood in her living room almost having to duck because of her small ceiling. Even the crunch of cheese balls under his large foot didn’t distract her from her mortification. “It’s a, ah, my book.” She choked the words out since her embarrassment was squeezing her throat so hard she could barely talk.

  “Your book.” He turned toward her. The scowl on his face made him look even more handsome. Go figure. Not to mention his growled words had places tingling where they hadn’t tingled in a long time. She was ding-a-linging all over the place. “I told you that if you had any other questions to come to me, not seek out some fucking losers named Derek and Deke.”

  They stood staring at each other for what seemed like forever. He thought that she had two men in here. She then remembered what she had been saying before he knocked on the door. Oh, yeah, shit. “They’re characters,” Lacey said holding her can of cheese balls—what was left of them since most were on the floor—so tightly against her chest it actually hurt. “I was just trying out their names.”

  Viktor narrowed his gaze. “They’re what?”

  “Not real,” Lacey replied without hesitation. Not knowing what else to do, she held out the can. “Cheese ball?”

  Glancing from her face to the can, then down on the floor, he shook his head. “I’ll pass, but thank you.”

  Lacey nodded, trying not to laugh at the situation she found herself in. Even though she was confused about why he was here as well as why two men in her apartment would anger him so much, excitement bubbled in her stomach. Viktor was here. In her apartment. His massive form making the space look even smaller. “What are you doing here, Viktor?”

  “Why are you opening the door without asking who’s there?” Viktor asked at the very same time.

  They stared at each other before they both laughed. Okay, she laughed. Viktor just chuckled. He didn’t seem like a man to let loose with a belly laugh. With a sigh, and her lips still twitching, Lacey bent to pick up her mess. “I just didn’t think I guess.” She glanced up at him from the floor. “Obviously you took me by surprise.”

  “So you’re blaming me for the mess?” Viktor bent, helping her.

  “Yes.” She grinned as they stood. “In a way.” She still couldn’t believe he was there, in her apartment and she was... holy shit, dressed like this. Heading toward the garbage can, she realized she looked like hell.

  “Seriously, you really need to ask who’s at your door before opening it.” Viktor glanced at the door and frowned. “As well as adding a deadbolt. You are living over a bar, Lacey.”

  “My dad’s bar. I’m fine,” Lacey said as she walked toward the couch. “Have a seat.”

  Viktor followed her to the couch without complaint, surprising her, and sat down. She sat in the corner of the couch, curling her legs under herself as she faced him. He seriously looked huge in her tiny apartment. It was unre
al. Looking at him at the other end of her couch had Lacey pinching her arm to make sure she hadn’t fallen asleep at her laptop. Pain radiated through her skin. Nope, she was wide awake.

  “Okay, I’ve answered your question.” Lacey tilted her head. “Now answer mine. What are you doing here? I mean, I don’t mind of course,” she rushed out. “You’re welcome anytime.” Damn, she was an idiot. She felt her cheeks burn with the heat of embarrassment.

  The flare in his eyes sent her tingles going again. She shifted herself on the couch, squirming under his scrutiny. “I don’t think you should take the job at the Red Dragon,” he replied after a slight hesitation. “Anything you need to learn about vampires for your book or other paranormal beings I can tell you.”

  Surprise flickered through her. “Why?” Lacey was curious, really curious as to why he, a VC Warrior, would do something like this for her. Did he want to get into her bed? Tingles raced through her at the prospect. Or was he just a nice guy?

  “Fuck if I know.” He gave a snort but answered honestly.

  This guy kept surprising her. Her laugh was immediate. She couldn’t help it. He really did look confused. “Listen, I appreciate what you’re doing, but working at Red Dragon for information is not the only reason I have to take this opportunity.”

  “What other reason could you possibly have for working at the Red Dragon?” Viktor asked as he put his large arm on the back of the couch.

  Lacey’s eyes followed the movement, her gaze landing on his hand. It was huge and would swallow hers. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and intertwine them. Her eyes shot back to his. “Money,” she answered honestly. She stared at him and saw genuine curiosity in his golden gaze. For some unexplained reason, she opened her mouth, and everything began to pour out.

  “I had a great job that I was good at. I had a modest home, a nice car, and could pay my bills. I even went on a few luxury vacations. Then I lost that job due to downsizing. Two weeks later, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Insurance for self-employed Americans is next to nothing, at least the insurance my dad could afford. The medical bills started piling up, most of her medications weren’t covered, and if they were, it was a minimal amount. My dad and I refused to fold, even when Mom wanted to stop treatment because of the money. It was only the best care for her. She took care of us both for so many years, so it was our turn. I sold my house, my car, cleaned out my 401(k) and moved in here. I started working downstairs so my dad didn’t have to pay another bartender, and I kept my tips for living off, along with a small amount I kept back from my 401(k).”