by Sloane, Roxy
“He’s told me all about your nightclubs,” Judy says fondly. “I always knew you had a brain on you. Come, sit, can I fix you some breakfast? Nikolai!” she yells again.
I follow her back to the kitchen, trying to keep my head together. Judy is still the mother hen she used to be, but I can’t let it distract me from my mission. She knows what kind of man her husband is, knows the things he’s done to put this roof over her head.
She’s no innocent, either.
Judy parks me at a chair by the huge table and starts fussing in the kitchen, fixing coffee. Eventually, Nikolai strolls in, wearing a black silk robe over his pajamas.
“Look who dropped by,” Judy says brightly. “You want some coffee, hon?”
“Naturally.” Nikolai kisses her cheek and gives me a look. “Dax.”
“Nikolai.”
We wait until Judy serves a pot of coffee and a plate of pastries. “Well, you men get to business,” she smiles. “I’ll go put my face on.”
“Good seeing you, Judy,” I say, polite, as she bustles out.
There’s silence.
“How do you take it?” Nikolai asks, pouring the coffee.
“Black.”
He passes me a cup. I can’t believe he’s so calm, sitting there after everything he’s done. But then, he always did have ice water running through his veins. Cold and calculating, a sociopath through and through.
I picture Zoe, trapped and scared in the flames, and my rage returns.
He needs to pay.
I have to stop him.
“She’s alive.” I tell him shortly. “In case you were wondering.”
Nikolai frowns. “Who?”
I stare back. “Zoe. The girl you tried to burn alive last night, just to make a fucking point.”
His face betrays nothing as he sets his cup down. “Easy there, Dax.” He gets up. “I don’t know what this is about, but it’s not my doing.”
“Oh no? You didn’t threaten Maria? Send me these?”
I slam the notes down on the table. Nikolai takes a look, then snorts.
“Since when has anonymous bullshit been my style? C’mon, kid.” He frowns, shaking his head. “You know that when I want something, I damn well ask for it. I came to you, remember? At the club. But this? Why would I need to send you these?”
I don’t know what to think. Nikolai seems totally straight. So is he telling me the truth, or just lying through his teeth?
“Someone fucked with the wiring in her apartment,” I challenge him. “Blocked the door so she couldn’t get out. She would have died in there.”
He shrugs. “It’s a shame to hear it, but it ain’t on me.”
“I’m not fucking around here.” My voice rises with anger. “This ends. Now. Keep Zoe out of it. I swear, if you or one of your guys lay so much as a finger on her...”
“You’ll what?” Nikolai looks so damn complacent, it makes me see red.
I pull the gun out and lay it on the table, my thumb nestling over the safety. My gaze locks onto Nikolai.
He drops his smile.
“Now wait a minute,” he says, sounding pissed. “You come in here, to my home, and threaten me over something I didn’t even do—”
“Enough!” I explode. I raise the gun, and point it directly at him. “You need to come clean to me right now. Are you behind this mess or not?”
Nikolai stares back, even. Any other guy would be shitting himself by now, but he’s totally calm. It’s not the first time he’s had a gun pointed in his face, and it probably won’t be the last. “I’m not.”
I don’t move. I can’t read his face right now, but I’m making sure he can read mine—and it’s obvious he doesn’t like what he sees.
“Think about it, son,” he urges me. “How does hurting those girls get me what I want? I know you, I know you storm right into trouble if it means protecting the people you care about. Why would I want to set you off like that? It doesn’t make any sense.”
I clench my jaw, trying to think. “None of this makes sense, but there’s been trouble ever since you showed up at my club.”
“Not from me.” Nikolai begins to look nervous, the cool façade finally cracking. “I got a problem with you, I keep it between us. Settle it like men do. That’s how I operate. You know this.”
“What about that guy who went to scare Maria?” I point out.
“An accident. One of my guys getting over-eager, I take full responsibility, but that’s not the same as what you’re talking about. Arson? Murder?” He holds up his hands. “I swear to you. I’ve done some shit in my day, but I’m man enough to own up to it. I don’t hide behind notes and games. That’s the honest truth.” He shrugs. “So do what you need to do, Lord knows I deserve it. But not for this.”
I stay frozen for a long moment. I want to hurt him -- I want to hurt somebody for what they did to Zoe, but what he’s saying rings too true to ignore.
This isn’t his style.
I’ve known Nikolai all my life. I know when he’s lying, and right now, he’s telling me the truth.
“Fuck.” I lower the gun. It’s only when I take a breath that I realize how close I came to hurting him. My heart is thundering, and adrenaline pumps hard through my body.
Nikolai lets out a whistle. “Good boy.” He crosses to the liquor cabinet and pours himself a shot of whiskey. He gulps it down in one, his hand shaking.
I guess he’s not so stone cold, after all.
“You really had me there for a second, I’ll give you that.” He chuckles, pouring another shot. “Should have known you wouldn’t follow through. You never were one for the blood and guts of it all.”
“You don’t know what I’m capable of,” I answer coldly, getting up. “You better believe, if I thought you’d hurt her, I would have pulled the trigger in a heartbeat.”
Nikolai stops, and looks at me for a long moment. “I guess you have changed.” He nods, and I know he’s taking me seriously now. “I’m going to give you a pass, this time,” he continues, his voice casual. “Because of our history. But if you ever come into my home and threaten me again, I will end you.”
“And if you hurt Zoe, or Maria, or anyone I care about, I’ll kill you,” I reply, meaning every word.
I hold his gaze for a long moment. He nods, and for some strange reason, I feel like we’ve reached an understanding, a truce. The kind you make with a killer shark, but still, it’s one name I can cross off my list.
I get up to go. He follows me out. “I don’t want to see you around the club,” I warn him.
“Relax.” He looks smug. “You can keep your confidentiality. There’s more than one way to skin a cat.”
I wonder what he means, but I don’t want to stick around to find out. He claps me on the shoulder, like old times, but I leave without another word, striding away from the man I thought of as a father for so long. I can’t believe I just came so close to putting a bullet in his chest.
Would I have done it?
I ponder the question all the way back to the city. I always despised his violence, it’s the reason I broke free and started out on my own. But here I am, using force and threats to get my way, just like him.
Maybe I’m no different. Maybe deep down, we’re both the same.
The thought is chilling. No. It’s not true. Nikolai uses brutality to get his way -- I’m just speaking to him in a language he understands. But it makes me realize just how far I’ll go to protect the people in my life.
To keep Zoe safe.
I would have pulled that trigger for her. I would have hurt him, watched him bleed. In no time at all, she’s become the most important thing to me, and I’ll do anything to protect her.
Which means the battle is still ahead of me. Whoever sent those notes, started that fire, they’re still out there.
And she won’t be safe until I figure out a way to stop them.
CHAPTER FIVE
ZOE
I’m practically climbing the wal
ls by the time Dax strolls back into the apartment. “Where the hell have you been?” I demand, rushing over. He’s carrying takeout bags and coffee, but I still punch him in the bicep. “I told you, you can’t keep me prisoner here!”
“You got my little gift then,” he smirks.
“If by ‘gift’ you mean the fact that you jammed the elevator, then yes,” I glare.
“Call it an insurance policy.” He unloads and then grabs me for a kiss, distracting me for a moment with the hot plunge of his tongue and the slide of his hands down my ass.
My anger may not be real, but my anxiety is. I worried myself sick about Dax while he was out this morning, and the relief flooding through me right now only makes his mouth on mine even hotter.
“You can’t distract me—” I protest, trying to pull away.
“Watch me.”
Dax kisses me again, hard, and I can’t resist. Damn this man for being so sexy. I sink into his embrace, greedily devouring his delicious mouth, until finally he releases me.
“You go back to bed,” he says. “I’ll fix us breakfast.”
Usually the prospect of having a hot guy wait on me hand and foot would send me straight back up to bed, but I’ve got more pressing things on my mind.
“What did Nikolai say?” I ask instead. I’ve been going crazy imagining what was going on.
“What makes you think I went to see Nikolai?” Dax turns away to unpack the food, but I can see right through the forced nonchalance in his voice.
I snort. “Please. Don’t even pretend you didn’t go straight over there to have it out. What did he say? How did he act?” I’m struck suddenly with fear. Lord knows Dax was angry when he found me last night. Angry enough to do what? “You didn’t hurt him, did you?”
Dax turns back to me with a sigh. “No, I didn’t,” he says. “But I sure as hell came close. If I thought that he’d hurt you...”
He trails off, and suddenly I feel my heart lift. He’s protective. He’s looking out for me. I’ve never liked guys who get all territorial and stake their claim, but on Dax, it’s sexy as hell. And it’s clear he cares about me, about keeping me safe.
“So he denied it?” I try to focus. “How can you believe him?”
“Because this isn’t his style, like you said.” Dax quickly fills me in on their meeting as he sets out breakfast bagels and pastries. We sit at his glass-topped table and go over everything that happened. “Believe me, I almost wish he was behind all this, at least then I’d know where we stand, but it doesn’t feel like Nikolai to me. If he wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
I shiver.
“Sorry.” Dax wraps his arms around me. “This is why I don’t want you thinking about it anymore. Just put it out of your mind.”
There’s no way that’s going to happen.
“It’s OK. I’m just glad it’s over.” I give him a weak smile. “But if it’s not Nikolai, then who? Maybe we should run through a list of—”
“Nope,” Dax cuts me off. “You’re not getting involved.”
“Of course I’m involved!” I protest. “Someone else has it in for you -- and me too.”
“And I’ll take care of it, whoever they are.” Dax looks tense. “But you’re staying out of it.”
I lean back from the table and cross my arms, narrowing my eyes.
“No way.” I can’t believe he’s still pulling this lord and commander routine. After everything we’ve been through! “You need me, and we can work on this together.”
“No,” Dax repeats, his voice gone hard. “In case you haven’t noticed, you have a habit of getting yourself in trouble. Please, Zoe,” his voice softens. “Can’t you see, I’m just trying to keep you safe?”
I know he’s sincere, but I refuse to go into hiding, even if it would make him feel better.
“I understand that, and I appreciate it, I really do,” I tell him. “But I won’t just sit around. You wouldn’t stay out of it if you were in my position,” I point out. “You’d refuse to rest until you figured it out. Wouldn’t you?” I challenge.
Dax exhales, then gives me a begrudging look. “That’s not fair.”
“Tough.” I reach for another bagel. “Don’t treat me like I’m made of glass. I can help you, I’ve got skills for this stuff.”
“You mean snooping around and asking questions?” Dax arches an eyebrow. “Don’t remind me.”
I flush, remembering how we met in the first place. “Wait, is that why you were so suspicious of me when I started at the club?” I realize. “Because you thought I was involved in the notes?”
He nods. “The first one arrived the same day you showed up. And then I find you poking your nose places you weren’t supposed to be. Are you surprised I was suspicious?”
Finally, it makes sense. Dax wasn’t onto me and my investigative journalist exposé, he was trying to find the person who sent him those notes.
“No wonder you were all over me.”
He smirks. “That was one reason.”
“Why did you let me stick around, then?” I ask, confused. “If I was such a threat. You should have just fired me.”
“Believe me, I wanted to. But I guess you just made it hard for me.”
Hard.
I catch his hungry stare. From the moment we met, the chemistry between us was hotter than anything I’ve known before. It’s why I got thrown off course in my investigation -- and why Dax risked everything to have me.
“So what do we do now?” I ask, and I’m not just talking about breakfast.
“Am I going to talk you out of pursuing this?” Dax counters.
I shake my head.
“Didn’t think so. Can I at least ask that you don’t go asking any questions behind my back?” Dax’s jaw tenses. “I can’t take another scare like that. I just can’t.”
His tough guy attitude slips, and I see the real concern in his eyes.
I go and slide into his lap. “I promise.” I say. “As long as you promise not to keep shutting me out. I mean it, I can help.”
“Fine.” Dax reluctantly agrees, skimming his hands over my hips.
I feel a surge of relief -- and excitement. “Do you have the notes here? I want to take another look--”
“Later.” Dax cuts me off with a kiss.
“I know what you’re doing,” I laugh, pulling away. “But is isn’t going to work. You can’t distract me twenty-four hours a day.”
“Says who?”
He slides his hands up my thighs, pushing my shirt higher.
I bite my lip. Focus.
“What about other suspects?” I say, trying to wriggle out of his lap, but he only holds me tighter. “Who else has a vendetta against you? We need to go back to the beginning and check everyone as a suspect--”
“Do you ever quit?” Dax lets out a snort of exasperation. “I’m trying to seduce you, dammit.”
“But there’s a case to solve!”
“You know, I’m beginning to seriously question your priorities.” Dax keeps me on his lap, and starts to unbutton my shirt.
He leans down and sucks my nipple through the fabric as he goes.
Maybe he’s got a point.
“But whoever it is...” I argue, even as heat rushes through my body. “They won’t stop.”
“They can wait a few hours.” Dax turns his attention to my other breast, licking across my skin. “But I can’t. I need to fuck you again, right now.”
His words send a thrill right to my center. I can feel his cock pressing up against me.
God, I love his cock.
For a moment, my want to solve this mystery wars with the desire raging in my blood. But it’s no contest. Desire will win with Dax, every time.
I slide from his lap onto my knees on the floor. I hear Dax’s breath hitch as I reach for his belt.
“Good things come to those who wait,” I tease, unzipping his fly.
His eyes flash with anticipation as I peel back the fabric and let his cock spring
free: every last, thick inch.
Mmmmm.
I lean in, trailing my tongue up the length of his shaft, light, barely touching.
“Zoe,” he groans, grabbing a fistful of my hair. He pulls me closer, until I’m positioned between his thighs. Then slowly, I take him into my mouth.
I feel his body tense as I swirl my tongue over his head and lap at his shaft. He tastes clean and manly, with a hint of salty precum. I lift my head, suctioning all the way to the tip, then sink down again, taking him even deeper.
Dax lets out a strangled curse. He grips my hair tighter, pulling me into a steady rhythm as he thrusts up, fucking my mouth.
Fuck, I could lose myself like this. Totally under his control, and loving every minute of it. He reaches down to squeeze my nipples, tugging each one in turn as I suck him harder, and I know I’m already wet and aching for him. I wanted to tease him, make him beg, but too soon I’m caught up in the hard thrust of his cock and the way he’s pushing, almost too deep against the back of my throat.
I suck faster, swirling my tongue against him on every stroke. I can feel him harden, getting even stiffer in my mouth as he pistons up against me. It’s intoxicating, knowing how much he wants me, how close he is to the edge.
“Wait,” he gasps, trying to pull me away. “Zoe...”
But I don’t stop.
I angle my head, taking him all the way to the hilt, and then swallow; using my throat to massage his shaft in a vice-like grip.
“Fuck yes,” he moans, and I can feel him getting closer, too close to stop himself. “That’s it. Good girl.”
Dax explodes with a groan, spurting hot torrents down my throat. I come up for air, in time to see the release of his climax written all over his face.
He looks wild. Intense. Sated.
A fierce glow radiates through me, warm as if I was the one who just came.
I did this. I made this man lose his mind. And God, I can’t get enough.
CHAPTER SIX