by Zoey Parker
The guard jumped forward, gathered all of the papers for me, and eased them back into the envelope. “I will bring you a copy shortly,” he said. “Do you need anything else? Any last questions?”
Wordlessly, I shook my head. In a daze, I walked him out. After I closed the door, I shut my eyes and leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the carpet. I couldn’t help wondering if I had completely lost my mind.
Chapter 10
Andrei
The air was crisp and cool as I exited my sleek black car and made my way inside the secret entrance to my bar, the one that gave me direct access to the sub-ground level, where my gambling ring was set up. The room was smoky, and I walked through the haze, nodding to my men who greeted me, too amped up to talk. I had noticed a tail earlier that day and promptly lost him, but I had been on edge ever since. I felt jumpy in my own city. I felt angry, more full of rage than I had in a long time. I felt threatened, and I didn’t do well with threats.
I had to calm down. Too many emotions led to mistakes, and I was anything but careless. Through hard work I had built up the Petrov mob to be a dynasty, and I would not have it ruined now. It would not come crumbling down. I would stand and fight, and I would do it with a clear, calm, and level head.
As I accepted a cigar and puffed out a smoke ring, I reflected that I needed to smoke out Mikhail Vasilev himself. Only then, once I’ve had my revenge, will I feel peace.
Peace. That was something I hadn’t felt in a long time, if I ever had. Maybe once upon a dream, a dream I would twist into reality.
I walked over to the large round table to see who was playing tonight and to note who had the hot hand — I always kept tabs on the gambling ring since it was my most enterprising endeavor, and my most lucrative one — when I noticed a new guy there. He wore a hat low over his brow, which immediately made me suspicious. Why was he trying to hide his features? I maneuvered myself in such a way to be able to see his face without him noticing me and spied his large nose, beady eyes, and missing tooth.
Who could that be? I couldn’t help feeling suspicious, and of course my first guess was that he might be one of Vasilev’s guys trying to get intel on me. And if that were the case…
In the back corner, nursing a scotch, was Aleksey, surveying the place. I casually made my way over to him while maintaining a line of sight on the mysterious guy.
“What do you need?” Aleksey asked. He didn’t bother to look at me.
“You see that guy?” I asked.
“The newbie? Yeah.” He nodded, the movement slight.
“I want you to watch him like a hawk,” I ordered.
“Will do.”
“Do not fail me,” I said sharply.
Now Aleksey stared at me, surprise flashing in his eyes. “I won’t.”
“Ah, but you’re the one who spread word I was looking for a surrogate.”
His nostrils flared, but he nodded again.
“Why?” This was the worst possible time for this to happen. I needed to be able to trust my men, especially the two I sought council with the most.
“I was dating a girl, and her best friend knew I wasn’t good enough for her. But my girl kept talking to me about her friend, what a good girl she was, about her sick mom…I knew she needed the money, and that desperation would get her to agree and that she has zero ties with any mob. She’s clean. And you went with her so…”
“So that’s reason for me to just forgive you for deliberately disobeying me?”
Aleksey nodded slowly. “I’ll take whatever punishment you deem worthy.”
“Start being loyal and true to your word, and we’ll see. Start with that guy.”
He cracked his knuckles. “Can do, boss. For what it’s worth…”
“What?” I growled.
“I am glad you picked her.”
I snorted and walked away. Aleksey being the one behind Kelly finding me had surprised me, but it was what it was. Aleksey, in a way, had done me a solid, but he had also defied me. One of my closest men or not, he would have to be dealt with. At least I knew he would accept his punishment like a man.
I had some business to take care of, and I took an appointment in the back office. Drinks, cards, smokes, they all helped to loosen people’s tongues and their wallets. I could handle this part of the business and trust Aleksey to do what I didn’t have time to handle personally. Being focused helped to ensure I had stability in a world where everything could be sniffed out with a few properly placed slugs, but I couldn’t operate fully if I were distracted by the thought of Vasilev or one of spies.
It didn’t take long for me to set in place a deal that would prove quite profitable both for myself and my new business partner, and I was feeling rather good about myself when I heard a commotion out in the main gambling area. After sending my new partner off to enjoy a few drinks on me, I wasn’t at all surprised to see Aleksey come inside, dragging the large-nosed man.
“What’s going on?” I demanded, his gaze firmly on the man.
“I saw him trying to sneak off into the back. Wanted to see what he could see. A snoop.” Aleksey picked up the guy so he was standing and threw him against the wall, pinning him there.
“Who are you working for?” I asked, approaching them, getting in the man’s face, as much of it that wasn’t smashed against the wall.
He said nothing.
“Fine. Would you rather an easier question to start? What is your name?”
“Called himself Joe somethin’ when he checked in,” Aleksey offered.
An obviously phony name. I pursed my lips. I planned on having a few choice words with the bouncer when I was done here; how could he have allowed someone who was so shady to begin with? But this was far more important to deal with first.
“I would much rather get to know you. The real you,” I stressed. I smoked on my cigar and blew it out, directly into the man’s face. “Your real name. I would know it.”
Still, the man maintained his silence.
“Well, you know what they say, don’t you? That there are ways to make you talk?”
In the blink of an eye, Aleksey had the man strapped down and tied to the chair. I did the next part myself. I would question the man, tease him, give him a chance, and then when I would get nowhere, I would pull out his fingernails until eventually he cracked.
“Stop, stop, please!” he blurted out. Tears streamed down his face, and he was shaking as much as the restraints would allow. “Ask your questions. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“Who do you work for?” I demanded.
“Mikhail.” The man shuddered and closed his eyes.
“Look at me,” I commanded. “What does Mikhail Vasilev want? Why did he send you here?”
“I was supposed to find out information about the gambling ring.”
“Why?” I growled.
“To use the info against you. To try to take you down. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to come. He made me. I had no choice. I swear I didn’t!”
A likely story. The man was basically pleading for his life, and honestly, I didn’t feel murderous — at least not yet. I would kill Vasilev myself, but this man, who I still did not know his real name, was not on my list.
“Let him go,” I told Aleksey.
Aleksey nodded and moved to comply, but I stepped in front of the man and waited until he looked up at me.
“I am sparing your life,” I started.
“Th-thank you. You are most kind. So good. So kind. So generous. I will do anything for you. Just say the word and—”
“I want you to deliver a message to your boss.”
The man had been nodding vigorously, but now he winced and wiggled his large nose. “Y-yes. Of…of course. Anything you like. What should I tell him?”
“Tell Mikhail Vasilev that I, Andrei Petrov, am not someone he wants to mess with.”
Chapter 11
Kelly
Not even ten minutes had passed since I signed
the contract when there was another knock at the door. I was just settling in to start reading that romance novel of mine, but I guessed that would have to wait. Maybe it was Stacy. It would be like her to take an hour off work to come and visit. She was sweet like that.
Nope. The same man had returned.
I gaped at him. “N-now?” I squeaked. I hadn’t showered yet, hadn’t eaten. My mother needed food.
“The sooner, the better.”
No. I might have signed the dotted line, but I wasn’t going to be a sex slave. I wasn’t going to come the second Andrei snapped his fingers.
“I’ll come as soon as I’m ready.”
The bodyguard blinked a few times. Obviously, he hadn’t expected me to have a backbone.
“I won’t be too long,” I added, suddenly wondering if he was afraid he’d get in trouble if I dashed to the bathroom and took the quickest shower of her life. Then I made toast for myself and inhaled it as I made another batch of toast for my mother. I poured a glassful of green tea and put it on the tray next to the toast and carried it into my mom’s room and placed the tray on the nightstand.
“Oh, good. You’re awake.” I smiled at Mom. “How did you sleep?”
Please don’t tell me you’ve heard voices, that you didn’t hear me talk to the bodyguard either now or earlier.
“Like a rock. Didn’t dream, hardly moved. I actually feel a little better today.”
I exhaled a sigh of relief. Hearing this made leaving slightly better. Nothing would make it completely better, so I would take what I could get. I reached to help her sit up, but she waved me away and was able to sit up all by herself. I handed her the tray and waited for her mom to eat some of her food before clearing my throat. “Mom?”
“Yes?” My mom glanced up at me, and for the first time in a long while, I saw some of the strength she used to have, back before she got sick. She raised an eyebrow. “What do you have to tell me?”
I forced a laugh. “You act like I’m about to confess to sneaking out or something.”
“You did seem a little guilty. What is it?”
“It’s not guilt, Mom,” I said. Or maybe just a little bit. I sat beside her mom. “I got a new job.”
“You did? What’s the catch?”
“It’s in another city,” I lied. No way could I tell my mom the truth. Eventually, Mom would realize I was pregnant and then realize I didn’t have a baby, but I would work around that later. “I’ll be gone for days at a time, but don’t worry. I’ll be back to take you to all of your chemo appointments.”
It was so hard to say all of this, to hide the real reason for my going away, to leave my mom behind, but what choice did I have? She needed to focus on getting better. She didn’t need to worry about money. That was all on me. I would do whatever it took to ensure she didn’t miss a single chemo appointment.
“I have my good days and my bad days, and either way, I’ll be fine.” She had stopped eating the moment I started to talk, but now she resumed eating her breakfast. “You do what you want to do. I hate that I’ve been such a burden on you—”
“You aren’t a burden!” I hugged her hard. “Don’t ever say that.”
She looked away and lowered her toast to the plate. “I never thought you would have to be the one to take care of me. That’s my job.”
“You can’t blame yourself for getting sick. It’s all right. We’ll get through this. You’ll get better, and then you can go back to being the mom again, and yell at me if I turn the TV up too loud.”
She didn’t crack a smile at the joke. Actually, one of the first things I had cut back on was cable.
“Or if I stay out too late or sleep over at a guy’s place.”
She stared at me now. “You do need to find yourself a man, one who can take care of you.”
I did find a guy, but he’s not the kind you bring home to meet ma, and he’s not the kind you’ll approve of, Mom.
“Not the usual guys you date either,” my mom continued. “One with a steady job with good income. One who wants to settle down and start a family.”
I snorted.
My mom narrowed her eyes. “Snorting isn’t the kind of sound a guy wants to hear.”
“Mom!” I laughed. “You must be feeling better.”
“Yes, well…” She paled slightly, and she drank some tea. “If you have to go, go. I don’t want to hold you back, Kelly.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I gave her one last hug that ended up being a long one because I couldn’t bring myself to let go first. Be strong, Kelly. I pulled away, stood, and managed to walk to the door without looking back.
But then my mom called out to me. “Promise me one thing, Kelly.”
“Anything.” I turned around and waited expectantly.
“Don’t put your life on hold for me. Okay?”
I hesitated.
“And don’t you dare stop living if I die,” my mom added firmly. “I want you to have everything life has to offer. Okay? Promise me.”
“Mom! I can’t—”
“Promise me.”
“Fine. I’ll promise if you promise not to die.”
Her eyes clouded over. “You know I can’t—”
“Promise me you won’t stop living until…”
Understanding flashed in my mother’s eyes. “I promise.”
“I promise, too.”
For a moment, the amount of time it took for me to leave my mom’s room to return to my room and start packing, I felt better, but then the fear of leaving her here alone formed a terrible pit in my stomach. I threw some clothes into a suitcase, grabbed some toiletries, and hurried to the front door, where the bodyguard was still waiting for me. He took the suitcase from me, and I grabbed my cellphone and charger. There. Now I was set to go…well, as set as I could be.
Before he could open the door, there was a knock. Confused, I sprang forward and opened it.
A kindly gray-haired woman smiled at me. “Hello. You must be Kelly. I’m here for your mother.”
“You are?”
“Yes. I’m to be her nurse.” And she bustled into the place, walking straight in as if she had every right to be there.
What in the world? How did she know? Who was she? She could be anyone. A crazy person. A serial killer.
I glanced at the bodyguard. He nodded.
So Andrei was behind this. He was making sure my mom was taken care of while I was away. It was a touching gesture, and something I hadn’t at all expected from someone like the kind of man Andrei was. This was all happening way too fast. I had wanted to do some research on Andrei, to learn who exactly he was, but it was too late now. What was done was done. The ink had dried on the contract, and now I was legally bound to have sex with Andrei up to four times a week until he got me pregnant. And if nine months passed, and I gave birth to a girl, I would have to go through it again. Another sex binge session. Another pregnancy. Another baby to give up.
Still, he obviously wasn’t a complete monster. He had not been obligated to send a nurse here to stay with Mom. It was kind of moving. It made leaving a little bit easier, and it made my heart soften a little bit toward him. Mom will be taken care of. She’ll be looked after. She’s in good hands.
“Ready?” the bodyguard asked.
I nodded and squared my shoulders. Time to leave. Time to take the next step.
The bodyguard walked out first, and I followed him out to a sleek black car. He put my suitcase in the trunk and opened the back door.
I pointed to the passenger door. “I’ll sit up with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Are you a bodyguard or a chauffeur?”
He grinned. “It is possible to be both.”
“You aren’t transporting goods. You’re transporting a person. I’m not a special delivery. I’ll sit up front.”
He closed the back door and opened the front for me. “If you insist.”
“Thank you.” But I hesitated. “I don’t need you to open doors
for me.”
“Force of habit.”
I frowned. “Because of working for Andrei.”
The bodyguard laughed. “No. My mom instilled good manners into me. A man should open the door for a woman. I swear, I’m doing it to be nice, not for the job.”
“In that case, thank you.” But I still hesitated. “I didn’t mean to come across—”