Alex Drakos: Branding Her Again

by Mallory Monroe

“Don’t worry,” Oz said. “He’s in my sight right now. How are you?”

  “Hanging in there. Just waiting for clarity.”

  “What kind of clarity?” Oz asked. “I heard even Reno Gabrini’s guys concluded it was random.”

  “Yeah, he told me that too. And all signs appear to be pointing that way,” Alex said.

  “Then what kind of clarity do you need?”

  “I need to make certain all signs are pointing that way. I put a second team of men on it.”

  “You mean besides Jimmy Hines?” Jimmy was Alex’s chief investigator.

  “That’s right. I want to hear what they find out too.”

  “Meaning?”

  “We’re in the gambling game now,” Alex said as he sat down on the edge of the bed and crossed his legs. As soon as he did, Kari looked down at his penis. When Alex saw that she was looking at him, he began to get hard. Just that easily. “I have to consider the odds.”

  “Meaning?” Oz asked again.

  “What are the odds of my wife and Reno Gabrini’s wife getting caught up in a shootout over some domestic squabble between two men? What are the odds of that shit happening and happening randomly?”

  “Ah. I see what you mean. But Reno didn’t seem to have a problem with it.”

  “Don’t you believe it. He’s got his guys and Sal Gabrini’s guys, too, checking it out no matter what you’re hearing they already concluded. And if they still turn up blanks, they’ll call in the big man.”

  “Mick Sinatra?” Oz asked.

  “You know it. They’ll take it just that far. You know those Gabrinis don’t believe in coincidences.”

  “And you don’t either?” Oz asked his brother. They came from that underworld, too. Only their activities had been in Greece, while the Gabrinis were more Stateside. But it all was Reagan-same: trust but verify.

  “If it was me who had been caught up in that shit,” Alex said, “then I would have no problem with moving forward. But my wife was caught up in that shit. I have to make certain.”

  “Your wife,” Oz said, “and Trina Gabrini.”

  Alex took immediate offense. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

  Kari looked at him. Where did the sudden anger come from?

  “I was just stating a fact, Alexio,” Oz said. “Trina was there too.”

  “I don’t give a fuck about Trina being there. My wife was there! That’s enough for me!”

  “Okay, okay. Don’t take my head off.”

  “I don’t appreciate that insinuation, Odysseus. I am one hundred percent devoted to Karena. One hundred percent. Stop assuming that I’m not.”

  “Alright already,” said Oz. “It’s not that serious.”

  “Like hell it’s not.”

  “Okay, I apologize, alright? I didn’t mean to sell Kari short, nor your devotion to her. I would never do that. I was just being my usual coy self. But I apologize if it didn’t come across that way.”

  Coy my ass, Alex thought. It was Oz being his usual reckless self. And Alex still didn’t like it, especially now that his sweet Kari was staring at him and probably questioning his devotion to her too. But he knew her worth to him. He moved on. “How’s Jordan?” he asked.

  “Jordan’s fine,” said Oz. “I kept it away from him.”

  “Keep it that way.”

  “That’s exactly what Kari said when I told her the same thing. I don’t know why you people think I would have my favorite nephew worrying about your rusty butts. He has enough on his mind.”

  “Oh yeah? Like what?” Alex knew Jordan told Oz things he would never feel comfortable enough to tell him, and on some level he resented it. But he was also glad his son had somebody he could talk to that would also protect him.

  “Like girls, Alexio,” Oz said. “Your son is about to turn sixteen. What else could it possibly be?”

  Alex smiled. “That is true,” he said.

  “And since I know women better than women know women, he is, quite naturally, my protege.”

  “He’d better not be,” Alex said, and Oz laughed.

  “How is that young lady doing?” Oz asked. “Kari’s bodyguard?”

  “Tonya? She’s still in the hospital, but the doctor says she’ll be just fine.”

  “Now that’s good news.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Let me know if you hear any more.”

  “Only the good stuff?” Alex asked.

  “Only the good stuff,” Oz said. “I’m a lover not a worrier.”

  Alex smiled. Sure he was, he thought, and then ended the call. Then he looked at Kari. Although she smiled, too, he could see the strain of the day all over her face.

  He took her glass of wine and placed it, along with his own, on the night stand. And then he uncrossed his legs, pulled her onto his lap, and held her close against him.

  And Kari loved it. She felt as if she was in a cocoon when Alex held her that way.

  Alex could still feel the tension in her body. “It’s going to be okay,” he said to her.

  “I know,” said Kari. “And I don’t know why it affected me so. I’ve been in tougher spots than that one before.”

  Alex’s jaw tightened at the thought of Kari normalizing such an aberrant event. But she was telling the truth.

  “But I think what stunned me was how it just happened so out of the blue,” she said. “I think that’s why Trina and I both froze. We weren’t ready for that. We had no weapons, no way of defending ourselves. It was very humbling. And when we were huddled in that stall, all I could think about was you, and Jordan. The idea of Jordan without his mother? It was too much.”

  Alex held her closer.

  She looked at him. “That guy never shot at us. Not once. His sole target was that man he said was having an affair with his wife.”

  “Okay.”

  “But you still think all of that investigating is necessary?”

  Alex nodded. “Absolutely. I want to make sure you weren’t targeted.”

  “Or Trina,” Kari said.

  “Or her as well,” said Alex. “But I’m sure her husband is checking that angle.”

  Kari smiled. “Oz doesn’t think so. He thinks she’s your number one priority.”

  “Which is insanity!” said Alex. Then he stared at Kari. “You are and will always be my number one priority. You and Jordan.”

  “I know, baby,” said Kari as she rubbed the side of his face. “Trina is a beautiful woman and all men probably want her. I know that. But I also know that you want me.”

  Alex smiled. “Above all else, darling,” he said. “Trina, beautiful though she may be, can’t hold a candle to you.”

  Kari grinned. “Most men would disagree with you.”

  “I’m not most men. I’m the man in love with you. There’s no disagreement. It is a fact. You’re it. And don’t you ever forget that.”

  Kari stared at Alex. He treated her like a queen, and she wasn’t about to let any insecurities mess that up. “I won’t,” she said, staring into his beautiful eyes. She knew her worth to him.

  And when he pulled her even closer, and began kissing her, she lost herself in his affection. And when his mouth moved from her mouth to her neck, and then to her breasts, she leaned her head back and lifted herself to him. And he feasted on her. And he began fingering her as he feasted.

  Then he threw her onto the bed, causing her to laugh, and moved down, between her legs. And he began feasting on her down there too.

  Kari was wide open, and no longer laughing, as he feasted on her. And even as she was getting redder and redder, and swollen from his vigorous appetite, she didn’t want him to stop. She held onto his head, encouraging him to continue, as every fiber of her being felt the sensations of his masterful tongue.

  Alex was feeling those sensations too, as his dick was getting bigger with every lick and suck and kiss. He could eat her all night, and he knew, from her reaction, that she would let him.

  Until his interco
m began buzzing, and they both came back to earth. Because they both knew he had to answer it.

  He pressed the button. “Yes, what is it?” His voice was so husky it was barely discernible.

  It was his front gate security. “Mr. Hines has arrived, sir, asking permission to come up to the house. He says he has information.”

  Alex exhaled. He didn’t want the disturbance, but Jimmy might have some good intel. “Send him up,” he said, and released the button.

  “What kind of information could it be?” Kari asked Alex.

  “I don’t know,” Alex responded, “but I’m about to find out.”

  But when he stood up to get ready, and saw the redness of her pussy, and the fact that she was prime for entry, he couldn’t let it go. When it came to Kari, he was never that strong.

  He got back on the bed, and eased his dick inside of her. It was so thick that even Kari’s wetness wasn’t enough to completely eliminate the tightness and friction he felt as he entered her. It was a wonderful feeling, and Alex lost himself in that feeling.

  He fucked her slowly. He couldn’t rush it, he didn’t care who was waiting. Kari wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down on top of her, a move he loved. And they made slow, wonderful love together.

  And when they came, they came together.

  But immediately, his strength was gone, and he collapsed in Kari’s arms. Although his dick continued to stroke her, it took all he had to make those strokes. Because they both were totally satisfied, and totally out of juice.

  It would take several moments later, after just lying there, that Alex found the strength to gather up his wife, clean her and himself, too, and then dress and head downstairs.

  Normally, he would not have allowed her to sit in on any conversation he was having with his security chief. He never wanted to alarm her any more than necessary. But it hit too close to home to not involve her.

  They went down together.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The plan was simple. Oz would walk Jordan up to the penthouse, and then he and Patricia would go downstairs to his apartment inside The Drakos, too, and relax. But it would be Oz’s brand of relaxing, the kind where the woman always discovered just what kind of wonderful wizard he really was. At least that was Oz’s plan.

  But he was already feeling a little woozy. Not enough that he couldn’t drive, but unusually woozy considering he’d only had a couple beers during his entire time at the bar. He got behind the wheel of his Porsche, Patricia took the front seat, and Jordan sat in the back. And he did as Oz always did and jerked both of them back against their seats, as he sped away.

  But the wooziness wouldn’t ease up. Even as he blared his music ridiculously loud to Machine Gun Kelly’s I Think I’m Okay track, he still couldn’t shake the wooziness. And before he realized he had a real problem, and needed to pull over, it was too late to correct. Oz, behind the wheel, had fallen asleep.

  Patricia nor Jordan realized it until they felt the Porsche began to lurch toward the side of the road. They were still deep in the woods of Pensacola, on a long, winding backroad, but when the car drove off of the road and looked as if it was heading for those woods, Patricia and Jordan both spoke up.

  But it was Patricia who saw the truth. “He’s asleep!” she cried when she looked at Oz.

  “Uncle Oz!” Jordan cried, when he realized it, too. He began shaking his uncle vigorously. “Uncle Oz!”

  But it was too late. The Porsche, already going nearly ninety when Oz was awake and driving it, was now shooting through those woods like an out-of-control missile, tearing through the high weeds and shrubbery as if the path was clear.

  And within seconds, Oz’s Porsche lost all traction and was flying over the weeds and shrubbery as if it was in a Blue Angels air show. But when it came back down to earth, and landed, it hit down with such force that it began to flip. Screams of horror, from Jordan and Patricia, could be heard even over that loud music, as the quiet of the jungle became deadly.

  But when the Porsche made its final flip and came to a stop upside down, spinning like a top, all the screams were silent. All that could be heard, thereafter, was loud music and Machine Gun Kelly’s ominous singing of I Think I’m Okay. The voice, the music, filled the thick night air:

  “Watch me, take a good thing and fuck it all up in one night.

  Catch me, I’m the one on the run away from the headlights.

  No sleep, up all week wasting time with people I don’t like.

  I think something’s fucking wrong with me!”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Jimmy Hines, the chief of security for all of Drakos Capital, pressed the Play button and the video began. They were in Alex’s home office. Alex was seated behind his desk, and Jimmy and Kari were standing on either side of him. And the first video they were watching was from that New York restaurant where the gunman was chasing the other man into the ladies room.

  “The shooter,” Alex said, staring at the video. “Tell me about him.”

  “His name is Bill Manton,” said Jimmy. And his story checked out. His wife has been unfaithful to him with many men, from what we gleamed, and one of them was, in fact, the man he shot and killed.”

  Alex looked at his chief. “You verified this personally?”

  “Yes, sir. It all checked out. He probably snapped, is how I see it. He had had enough.”

  Alex nodded. “And the woman?” he asked.

  “What woman?” Kari asked. She didn’t remember any woman being involved.

  “A woman approached Alex just after you and Mrs. Gabrini went to the restroom,” said Jimmy. “Mr. Drakos wanted me to check her out too.”

  “Oh.” Kari was curious, herself, to see just who this woman was.

  Jimmy removed the thumb drive of the first video out of the computer, and put in a second video. “There she is right there,” he said. The woman was talking with Reno at the time.

  “Did she check out too?” Alex asked his chief.

  “She checked out,” said Jimmy. “She showed up to the restaurant with another woman, a coworker.”

  “A coworker?” Kari asked. “What does she do for a living?”

  “She’s a stripper, her and the girl she came to dinner with. Both have dreams of coming up in the world. She’s had wealthy boyfriends in the past. Probably wanted Alex as her next one.”

  “So nothing nefarious?” Kari said.

  “Nothing. Everything checked out. It was just as it appears to be: an unfortunate random act of violence that you and Mrs. Gabrini just happened to get swept up into.”

  “That’s good to know,” Kari said.

  Alex leaned back and folded his arms. And Kari could tell he wasn’t thrilled with the news. “What’s wrong?” she asked him. “Aren’t you glad there wasn’t more to it?”

  “I’m pleased,” Alex said, although he wasn’t showing it.

  “But?” asked Kari.

  “Just a hell of a coincidence,” Alex said.

  “Sometimes coincidences do happen, boss,” Jimmy said.

  Alex looked at him. Kari could tell he did not like that answer.

  “Yes,” Alex said to his chief. “Sometimes they do happen. But not like this.”

  His chief stared at him. “What do you mean?”

  “You reached a conclusion, and then proved it.”

  “No, sir.”

  “Yes, sir. That’s exactly what you did. And that’s a problem.”

  Kari was staring at Alex.

  “I need my chief of security to be my eyes and ears,” Alex said. “And I do not reach the obvious conclusion, and then try to prove it. I reach the direct opposite of the obvious conclusion, and then seek to prove that! That’s the only way you cover all the bases. You cheated to third base, and want me to call it a home run. You assumed too much, Jimmy.”

  Jimmy was offended. “Such as?”

  “She’s a stripper, alright, but she only became one a week ago,” said Alex. “And her wealthy boyfr
iends from the past? Her friends told you she dated wealthy boyfriends in the past because that’s what she told them to tell you. Her past has only bouncers and losers in it. No wealthy boyfriend anywhere to be found. Had you looked beyond what they told you, you would have discovered the same thing a few phone calls by me discovered.”

  The chief swallowed hard. “This was just preliminary, sir,” he said, although he knew it was a lie.

  “And the shooter’s wife, yes, had been unfaithful before,” Alex continued, “but not with the man he shot. He only believed he was the one because, wait for it, that same stripper who came to my booth told him so.”

  Kari was floored. She looked at Jimmy.

  But Jimmy was looking at Alex. “I just . . . Those ladies who worked for her seemed like credible witnesses to me. So, yes, I went with them.”

  “And that’s all you went with,” said Alex.

  “But how do you know what I did, sir?” Jimmy asked him.

  “I didn’t,” said Alex.

  Kari looked at him. “You didn’t?”

  “Everything I just said to him was an assumption,” Alex said.

  “But why would you make that assumption?” Kari asked.

  “Because it was all obvious bullshit,” said Alex. Then he looked at Jimmy. “Because your conclusion was too easily packaged. You reached a conclusion, and went straight to people who would justify your conclusion. Your ass was lazy, and my wife was involved. I don’t allow that, Jimmy, and you know it.”

  Kari looked at Jimmy, too, and she could see the embarrassment and disappointment all over his face. He didn’t do a thorough job, when doing his job meant he had to be thorough!

  “I apologize for cutting corners,” Jimmy said. “I’ll do a better job next time.”

  “No, you won’t,” Alex said.

  “I won’t?”

  “There won’t be a next time.”

  Jimmy stared at Alex. He knew he’d blown it. “And why won’t it, sir?”

  “Because you’re fired,” Alex said. “Effective immediately. If it involved my businesses, or even myself, I could eat the mistake. But that incident involved my wife. There’s no room for error when it concerns my wife. I’m not eating shit when it concerns my wife. You’re fired. Good day, Mr. Hines.”