I’d thrown on a pair of sweatpants and shirt. Lifting the shirt, I see the bandage covering my left shoulder, just over my heart. The doctor had told me that it had missed by a few inches. So close to death. The doctor came every other day to clean the wound and to check on it. With the shirt pulled up, I look down and see the one covering my stomach. This was healing quite quickly.
I was healing fast, but my mind was where I was having the real problem. My memories felt like they were destroying me. Well, they weren’t real memories, just passing silhouettes that gave a hint of what might have happened.
For some reason I see Nathan. I had gotten a text from him on that day saying he was going away for some business and wouldn’t be back, but he’d keep in contact. He never called. All I got were random texts asking how I was. It was strange.
Nathan didn’t know I had been shot, but the way he asked, I felt like he did know. Was he there? What was I missing? Then Leo. Why wasn’t Leo able to take care of me anymore?
What about Andrei? He was far more attentive, but I had to wonder if that was down to guilt. Did he shoot me? Did Leo put my life in danger?
What was I missing?
The doctor also was vague as well. People were keeping secrets from me and I found that harder than ever before.
I drop my shirt, splash some water on my face, and head back toward the main living room, but I stop when I hear Anna on the phone.
“You know you’re not supposed to call me like this,” she said. There’s a chuckle. “You pay for that privilege.” Another pause. “Am I looking forward to your big cock?” Anna looked toward me, but I’m hidden, so she doesn’t notice me. “Well, Eric, I can tell you that I am.” She let out a moan. “Yeah, I am, I want you so badly right now. Would you make me suck it?”
I’d heard enough. Stepping out from behind the wall, Anna spotted me, her face bright red as I walk into the kitchen.
“I’ve got to go.”
Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, I fill it with water. I hear her coming into the kitchen.
“You heard that.”
“Kind of hard not to.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Belov.”
I spun around to face Anna. “Have you ever fucked Andrei?” I asked.
“What? No. Of course not.”
“Do you know if he … has any other woman or women visit him while you’re at the casino? Someone from one of his brothels?”
“No. No. He doesn’t. When he comes to the casino, it’s to work. Nothing else.”
I press my lips together. “Then we don’t have a problem.” I nod at her.
Anna smiled. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually accept calls but one night Luke had an accident and I was working, and well, Eric was … there. It just sort of happened that he got my private number.”
“But you enjoy talking with him?” I asked.
“Yes. I do, a lot. I’m not looking for a relationship. It’s just … sometimes, it’s hard to keep the line straight, you know. Eric’s a good man, but he’s a workaholic. Rich, and he doesn’t like having to work to screw a woman. I’m probably one of a dozen women. Not that we’ve had sex or anything.” She frowned. “I know what you heard, but … we’ve … I’ve not … it’s all been in banter, you know. It’s kind of fun.”
The happiness dims from her eyes, and I hate myself. Going to Anna, I put my arms around her and pull her close, holding her tightly. I don’t know if this Eric is a good guy or not. He is trying to get her to have sex, so for all I know, he isn’t a straitlaced guy. He might be trying to string her along. I don’t know. I don’t have all the answers, but what I refuse to do now is to add to her heartache.
Anna, like me, is trying to navigate this world we’d both been plunged into. Me with marriage to a Bratva brigadier, and her because of her husband’s gambling. We were involved now, and even if we were both totally different, she was the first person who seemed to offer me friendship.
Bethany wasn’t here to destroy it.
Rather than push her away, I hold her a little tighter. She might not be my friend for any other reason than Andrei paying her, but for now, I can fool myself into thinking it was something more.
Andrei
I stare across the room, hearing the sounds of pleasured moans. Leo is on my right, Terrance, my left. All my men are stationed around the room, and the women were providing enough distractions to the customers.
Ivan was no longer in my territory, but I still had a job to do, and as I glance down at my watch, I see he is late. I don’t like when people are late.
Sipping at my whiskey, I hold my cell phone within my grasp. The temptation to look at Adelaide is strong. The doctor told me she had made a full recovery. With her listening to his advice and resting, the wounds had healed nicely.
The doctor had told me there were some lasting effects from the pregnancy, but they would go away in time, once her body realized she was no longer pregnant. I’d not allowed him to tell her she’d been pregnant. There was a lot she didn’t know, and for now I wanted to keep her in the dark.
I was aware of the texts Nathan had sent her, which I didn’t like, but there was nothing I could do to stop them. They had been friends some time now. She had no idea he was a hired hit man.
I was starting to feel that Adelaide was a fucking magnet to problems. It was turning into a task just to keep her alive.
The man I’d been waiting for, entered. He wasn’t wearing his leather cut, as he told me he wouldn’t. Evil Savages MC wouldn’t be seen here. Not in a Bratva brothel.
Rage, the VP, was the man I needed to see, to come to some arrangement. Ive had already taken Lottie into his territory, and I had a feeling Ivan was preparing his plans for her. The man looked positively vicious. I’m surprised he’s not the prez of the Evil Savages MC. My men had done their workup on him, and he wasn’t one to be messed with. Rage wasn’t his name out of coincidence. It was said he was a man with a very short temper, and the moment you set him off, even the Devil himself quivered in fear.
He was large. Scary-looking motherfucker.
But then, so was I.
Rage sat down at the table, and I already knew he’d assessed the room and figured exactly how to escape if this went south.
Neither of us spoke. Each of us were watching each other, trying to decipher what the other was up to. I knew what I wanted, but as for Rage, I needed to know his agenda, and fast. Was he going to be a team player, or would he become another problem?