Sure, I’d managed to get to the right location and stop them from harming Sky, but in Markel’s eyes, that wasn’t something that was worth my life. It was still something we didn’t see eye to eye on, and we rarely spoke of it.
We’d only point out how well we’d done bringing down the mob bosses and talk about how we were going to continue with that same mission. The more garbage we could clear from the streets, the less likely it was for that shit to happen again.
He had initially wanted to fire me for my disobedience to his orders, but the Commissioner didn’t see things the same way. I had done wrong, that was for sure, but I had also done something the department had been trying for years to do.
I’d been the one who was honored for bringing down the rest of the bosses. They didn’t want to fire an officer who was so bold or brave, they wanted to promote him. Captain Markel was already ready to go to a less intensive division of the department, and with his transfer coming, his place would be open.
It didn’t take the Commissioner long to decide I was the right man for the job, and I took it with honor. I worked hard, I stood by my men, and I promoted Welsh. I wanted him to have a rank in the unit, and he was already doing a fine job with my old spot.
With a partner of his own, he was calling the shots, and reporting back to me. It was working better than ever, and crime rate was falling.
But, even more importantly to me than my job was my personal life. There was a time when the only thing I cared about was work. I didn’t care about putting my life on the line. All I cared about was justice for the victims. But now, things were different.
Though I still would do anything to protect the peace, there was another person in my life who was my priority. And now that I’d finished with Welsh, I was going to go see her.
I hopped in one of the cruisers and pulled out of the parking lot. I had to start early if I was going to get to campus in time. She only had a half hour lunch, and this was important.
I was so proud of how far Sky had come. I’d taken to calling her Susie most of the time. Though Sky had been a childhood nickname, it had also been one she associated with a particularly awful time in her life. She didn’t want to be reminded of the things she’d had to do to survive as Sky. She had saved a lot of money during the time she was under Rocco’s thumb. Though she was scraping by with most of her life, she had a bag where she kept as much money she could spare as possible. After she got home from the hospital, she counted it.
And it was more than she ever dreamed.
Instead of finding a new job, she decided it was time for her to fulfill her dream of going through veterinarian school, getting a degree, and finally opening her own clinic. I knew it was ambitious, and she wasn’t sure she could do it, but I was proud of her for trying.
As soon as I was able to move my arm easily again, we had moved her into my place. She could focus entirely on her school while I made enough money to support us both, and when she graduated, I’d help her start her clinic.
And to make things even better for her, she was offered a position as an intern during her time in school. She wasn’t getting paid, but that didn’t matter. She was getting the experience she needed, and she was making friends. Her life was changing by leaps and bounds, and I was proud to be there by her side as it did.
She was becoming a whole new person. There were aspects to her personality that I’d only gotten glimpses of before, and they were coming out in full force. The girl who was once afraid to look me in the eye was now walking down the sidewalk with her head held high.
She was able to talk to people she didn’t know without feeling like she had to hide who she was, and she carried herself with a confidence that I’d never seen before.
As for Smitty’s, it had been shut down for a few months. An investigation was launched into the treatment of the women who worked there, and a new man purchased the building. It was under new management, and while it was still a gentleman’s club, I was pleased to say that the women there were treated with dignity and respect.
Anyone who disrespected any of them was thrown out without a second chance. They were treated right by the owner of the place, and the bouncers were there to make sure they were guarded. Though it was rare for Sky to visit because of the memories she had there, when she did drop by to see her old friends, she approved of the changes that had been made.
Life was better than I ever imagined it could be, and I was proud of what we had accomplished. My life had meaning now, and I was excited for the future. I knew I worked a dangerous job, and there was a lot of risks that I had to take, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Now, there was just one more thing that I had to do. One last thing that would make my life complete.
It was something I’d thought about long before we had Rocco behind bars. The day I left the hospital I made the stop that would make this happen. I had just been waiting for the right time.
And now, I felt the time had come.
I pulled into the parking lot outside her class, then I got out of the car and waited. The students were filing out slowly, some chatting with each other, others looking like they were overwhelmed. When Sky appeared, there was a grin on her face. She stopped for a second, clearly surprised that I was there.
Some days I was able to see her for lunch, others she didn’t see me much at all. We worked around it and spent time together when we could. Our lives were busy, after all, and we had to make compromises.
“What are you doing here?” she asked with a grin. She held her books to her chest as she stepped across the parking lot toward me. I merely smiled, not answering.
“What’s the matter?” she teased. “Cat got your tongue?”
I chuckled. She loved her puns now that she was in vet school. I put up with them, but right now, there was something more important on my mind. Instead of answering, I got down on my knee.
“Oh, my God,” she gasped. “What are you doing?”
“I could give you a big speech,” I said. “But I know you hate those as much as I do.”
“Jack?” she looked at me with one raised eyebrow as I pulled out the ring. Her hand flew to her chest, and she had tears in her eyes. I knew the answer before I even asked, but I had to say the words.
“Susie Blake, will you marry me?”
The End
Book Five - Protecting Sasha
1
Sasha
You got this.
Even in my head, my voice sounded hollow and unconvincing. It didn't matter. I didn't have a choice anymore. I had to do it.
Just breathe in, and breathe out.
There. That was better.
I forced my spinning thoughts to the Red Square, the one I’d passed through thousands of times before. There was a time when I thought it was all like a fairytale, the Kremlin’s red towers, St Basil’s Cathedral’s multi-colored, multi-patterned domes.
It's not going to work, a sure voice said in my head. This was Aleksi. Aleksi, who owned things and kept things. How many times had he said it? "You're mine. Never forget that."
I squared my shoulders and checked the time on my phone. Only five minutes now.
Five minutes and I'd be at Bosco Café, which was once our favorite. A lot of things had once been.
As I approached the café’s grand exterior, I could see him immediately. He was at our window spot, out in the front, his close-cropped head at an erect, alert angle, as if he knew already. He’d been hyper-alert for years, though. Since he joined them, it was in his walk, and the very brass tones vibrating in his voice, the way his colorless eyes twitched around me when I spoke.
And now, I was about to tell him the unthinkable.
My hand closed on the café’s cool brass door handle. Now was the time. How many times had I promised myself that I would do it? How many times had I chickened out, not following through? How many times had I forgiven him?
My jaw set tight. Too many times. But not this time.
<
br /> I walked in.
Immediately the light jazz wafted an unconvincing aura of calm around me. The place was as opulent as ever — the chandelier, a colorful glass creation that probably cost more than my parents’ apartment. Every chair was a glistening work of art.
"Sasha." Aleksi stood, and I went over for our greeting kiss. I had to go through the motions before I dropped the bomb. Aleksi was a stickler for tradition, not that it would make that much of a difference when it came down to it.
Our lips pressed together, and I felt nothing. I was only putting off the inevitable.
"You look beautiful," he said, his eyes roving over my body. Even though I had purposely chosen the plainest clothes I had for the occasion. He had to see that we didn't fit anymore; that parting was for the best.
As we sat down, my teeth ground together.
"I ordered your favorite," he said with a small smile.
The chai latte was sitting at the ready, emitting a delicious aroma.
I didn't touch it. I wasn’t there to exchange pleasantries.
"There's something we have to talk about,” I said.
His brow clouded over. "Not this again,” he said with a mirthless chuckled, intertwining his fingers.
We’d fought again the night before. I nodded. "I can't do this anymore."
He frowned, although it didn't reach his eyes. They remained merry as if they knew better.
"Sasha, my little mysh." He put a hand on mine as if him calling me his mouse was still cute. "Be reasonable."
I withdrew my hand. "I am, Aleksi. For the first time, I am."
As quickly as if it had been a mask, Aleksi scowled. He withdrew his hand and leaned back in his seat, his eyes appraising me. Avoiding his gaze, I noticed that the cafe wasn't as empty as I had thought. Dozens of well-dressed people made pleasant conversation at the tables around us. I could even recognize one or two of my clients from the market. One woman was wearing one of my gauzy shirts.
"You want to do this here, now?" Aleksi carefully raised his voice, and I could feel gazes snapping our way. "You really want to make a scene?"
My heart thumped. I couldn't afford a scene. My business was the only thing keeping me afloat, keeping my parents in their house. Adrian helped as much as he could, but there was only so much he could do.
"No," I said quietly.
The smile slid back into place on Aleksi's face. "Good. We agree then. A pleasant meal. Then you can say whatever it is you have to say."
His tone indicated that he thought it highly likely that the matter would have passed by the time the meal was finished. I wasn't going to be so easily swayed though.
As we sat there and I made stilted, poor conversation with the man who was soon to be my ex-boyfriend, I waited. I knew what I was going to say. The words that I should've said two years ago when I found out the truth about Aleksi’s ‘new job.’ The words that had been whittling away at me from the inside, hollowing me out. Regardless of the consequences, I couldn’t hold them in anymore.
So, I laughed feebly at Aleksi's jokes, sipped my chai tea, ate the duck and carrot dish that was placed in front of me. Then, when the plates were cleared, and the waiters had retreated, and it was just Aleksi and me, and a handful of people still left, I said, "Now, about why I asked to meet you here."
Aleksi's expression was one of pure befuddlement. "Not merely to enjoy my company?"
"Aleksi-"
"No dessert?" He said in a warning tone.
I glared at him but stayed silent. A few more minutes wouldn’t kill me. So, I waited as he called over the waiter, ordered the dessert. The chocolate salami, his favorite, was set down minutes later.
He lifted the fork to my mouth, and I snapped. "It's over. I want out."
The fork hovered there as if to challenge what I'd said. Aleksi's eyes drilled into me, daring me to say it again, to say more. I shoved the fork down. "I've had enough. I can't do this anymore. The lies, the secrecy."
He sat there for a minute; then he began to eat the dessert, casually, as if he didn't have a care in the world. But when he was finished, and his razor-sharp eyes lifted to mine, I knew that wasn't near the end of it.
"We’ve discussed this," he said in a tone that indicated the matter was closed.
"No," I said. "You discussed this. You told me how it was going to be. I do not agree with that anymore. I do not agree with this whole farce. I don't even love you anymore, Aleksi, does that not mean anything to you?"
He flinched briefly and then reassembled his features into one of certainty. "We're going through a rough spot. There's no need to be over dramatic."
"This is no rough spot," I said, my frustration building. "This has been going on for two years now, ever since you started working with them."
A muscle in his jaw quivered. "I told you-"
"I know, never to speak of them. But I am now. For the last time. Because they're the ones who changed you from the man I loved to someone I don't even recognize anymore. You’ve become someone I don't want to know."
He scoffed silently. "The man you loved was weak; a fool. Poor and powerless."
"I don’t care, he was the one I loved."
Still, he chuckled, shaking his head. "You don't know what you're talking about."
I rose to my seat. "It doesn't matter. The point is, I’m leaving. And if you ever cared for me at all, if this was ever real, then you’ll let me go. You know I won't tell anyone what I know. Please, just let me and my family go safely."
Aleksi was looking straight through me. "They won't care about your promise of silence."
His eyes narrowed. "And if you can leave me, who knows what else you are capable of?"
Panic sliced through my gut. This was exactly what I’d been afraid of. My hands gripped the back of the chair painfully as I stood.
"I'm warning you," Aleksi said, "Sit back down."
An image jolted into my head — one of myself five, ten years in the future. Hunched over my seat the same way, the same bitter words curdling in my gut. No, despite the dangers, I had to do it now.
"But my parents?" I said brokenly, "Aleksi, please."
He dismissed my concerns with a wave of his hand. "They once stood by me despite everything. I can guarantee their protection. Not yours. There is no love for traitors among my brothers and me."
"I'm not betraying you," I said. "I'm just done with this life. I can't live this way, Aleksi."
His cold laughter was jarring. "Yes," he said sardonically. "It must be so hard for you. All the nice restaurants, all the special events. All the dresses and necklaces and-"
"You know I never wanted any of that. I just wanted my old Aleksi back."
"But you can't have him. He no longer exists."
Tears came to my eyes, but I blinked them back. "I know that. That's why I have to do this. Goodbye Aleksi."
Then I turned my back on the man who'd once been my great love and left.
"I'm warning you," he said, his words filling the room, not caring who heard.
I kept on walking.
Even as knives of tension ran along my spine, the first breath of fresh air I took outside of Bosco Café tasted an awful lot like freedom.
2
Pierce
I leaned on the balcony rail and took in the cityscape of New York City. The air up there was cool, almost cold. It seemed cleaner somehow, though. Maybe it was all the artfully arranged plants they had in the corners of each balcony. Who knew?
I’d have to go back soon; I knew that. The others had already tried calling me over once. But they were drunk, and time passed differently when you were drunk. I should have been drunk too.
Maybe then, I wouldn’t have the weird melancholy looking at the city, usually one of my favorite things to do.
I rested an elbow on the ledge, then my head on my hand. When had it changed? When had getting into lux bars I'd once never been able to afford, partying with whatever high-class girls I wanted, eating the best
food, buying the best suits lost its potency?
It was odd, looking at all the city lights and wondering if there were millions of happy citizens. Or if they were all like this; staring out into the sky and wondering how you could be missing something when you had everything.
I had the job, the friends, definitely the money. I had the girls, the success, the career I loved. And yet I still felt empty.
"Pierce, buddy!" Adrian called. "Don't go jumping on us now!"
I laughed, then turning my back on the cityscape and all its questions, went back to join my friend.
"I was just thinking," I called back.
"That's the problem!" he exclaimed, lifting both glasses at once. "You're supposed to be drinking - not thinking."
The girls at our table giggled dutifully. I was pretty sure one was Samantha, and that her tall leggy brunette friend, might've been Heather.
"Lucky for you, I saved you a spot," Adrian said, gesturing to the plush leather seat across from him. "It almost got stolen like seven times."
The brunette frowned. "I told you, Cara is cool."
"And I told you," Adrian said swiftly with a winning smile. "Bros before hos. And there's only so much alcohol I have for bros and hos."
The brunette pouted, but Adrian patted her. "Don't worry. I can call you a cab if you'd like."
I shot him a look, but he was all smiles. Most of what Adrian said wasn't serious, which was how we both liked it. Life was serious enough without grumbling about it too. However, I could have done without him referring to women as ‘hos.’
I picked up my craft beer and took a long, good swig. The tension ebbed out of my shoulders. My job was go-go-go enough, and the night was meant to be a way to kick back. I really did have it good.
The night rolled on, fueled by drinks and laughter and smiles. The girls were able to drop in that they were Instagram models, while we were able to drop in that we ran a rock-climbing gym. The brunette and I hit it off, while the blonde was on Adrian's lap within minutes, but then a phone call interrupted.
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 73