Alexei (Her Russian Protector #8) (10 page)

Because that was the real question, wasn’t it? Nothing in this life was free. A man like Alexei, a man who had survived prison and escaped the mafia to become a successful, wealthy businessman wasn’t going to stick his neck out for me without expecting something in return. Would I be able to meet his price?

He’s not Lalo. He won’t make you trade your body for his protection. He’s not a monster. He’s a good man.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes.” My voice was still dry and rough after all that crying and running. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not dizzy? Are you hurting anywhere? Bleeding?” He gave my hand a light squeeze. “I can take you to an emergency room if you need one, Shay.” His grip tightened. “If they hurt you…”

“You got there in time,” I said quietly. “They were just getting started when you showed up.”

He muttered something in Russian, something angry and harsh. His grip changed and he threaded our fingers together again. “And before those skinheads found you? When you called, you said Lalo was bleeding.” He paused, and I could see the profile of his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he kept his gaze fixed on the windshield. “Your shirt is missing. You were crying. Did he—?”

“He tried,” I cut him off before he got more worked up about it. “But he didn’t get very far.”

Alexei’s teeth grinded together so hard I expected his jaw to snap. “Did he hit you?”

I touched my still aching cheek. “Yes.”

Alexei snarled angrily in Russian before switching to English. “I’ll fucking kill him for touching you.”

That wasn’t hyperbole. He wasn’t saying outlandish things to impress me. He meant it.

Remembering the bloody scene I had left behind, I whispered, “You may not get the chance.”

“Why?” The lines in his forehead were prominent when he glanced at me. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t have a choice.” I started to bite my lower lip with worry but hissed when I experienced the sharp sting of pain.

Alexei must have realized what I had done because in the next instant he gently chided, “Be careful. You have a busted lip. We’ll get some ice on it soon.” He stared at me as we waited for a red light to turn green. “How badly was Lalo hurt?”

“I slammed a crystal paperweight into his head,” I admitted somberly. “Twice.”

He didn’t even blink at the revelation that I had done something so violent. “Was he breathing when you left him?”

“Yes, but there was so much blood.”

“Head wounds gush. If he was breathing, he’ll probably survive.”

Fearful of the answer, I asked, “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

He eased on the gas and flicked on his blinker. “It’s good for you and bad for me.”

That didn’t make sense to me. “Why would you say that?”

“It’s good for you because you won’t have Lalo’s crew or their friends in the Hermanos street gang hunting you down to win a bounty.”

“Why is it bad for you?”

“You don’t need to worry about that.” He guided his SUV through the intersection. “You’re safe now. That’s all that matters.”

Alexei’s voice had that edge of finality to it so I didn’t protest. And honestly? I was so tired. I sagged in the seat and leaned my head back against it. As if sensing my exhaustion, Alexei said, “We’re almost there. We’ll get you cleaned up and find something for you to eat. It will help you feel better.”

A thousand questions raced through my mind.
Where are you taking me? When can I go home? What about my sister? Where am I going to find clothes? What’s going to happen tomorrow?

I didn’t ask any of them. I had a sinking feeling I wouldn’t like any of the answers.

When Alexei slowed down and flicked his blinker to enter a private parking garage, I perked up a bit. A sticker with an RFID tag allowed Alexei to pass through the guarded entrance to the garage attached to the soaring building that housed million dollar hi-rise condos and penthouses.

“What is it?” he asked as he began the looping climb to his assigned spot in the garage.

“I just never figured you for the type that would live in a condo.”

He cast an approving smile my way. “You’re right. I don’t.”

His reply confused me. “But if you don’t live here—”

“This is the apartment I keep for…” His voice trailed off as he swung his SUV wide and backed into his slot.

“For?” I prompted nervously.

Alexei shut down the engine and turned in his seat. With his hand still clamped between both of mine, he explained, “This is the home I keep for my mistress.”

Tense seconds of silence stretched between us. “Your mistress?” A horrifying thought struck me, and I tried to jerk my hands away. Faster and stronger, he placed his other hand on mine and held me in place. “Alexei! Are you married?”

“What?” He laughed as if that was the most outlandish thing imaginable. “No. Never.”

“Then why—”

“Girlfriend is a teenager’s word but mistress? That suits me just fine.”

“Because?”

“Because it’s an arrangement,” he said matter-of-factly. “There are clear rules from the first day. It doesn’t get messy or uncomfortable. It’s as simple as outlining a business transaction.”

The cold, distant way he described his romantic relationships saddened me. I tried to mesh together everything I knew about him with this new discovery. It didn’t jell. “You’re happy with that, Alexei?”

There was a brief moment of hesitation before he nodded. “Yes, I’m perfectly happy with it.”

I didn’t believe him. He might be able to fool other people but that subtle shift of his eyes spoke volumes.

It’s none of your business, Shay. Don’t push.

Was his mistress upstairs in bed right now? Had he left her to come find me? Was she going to be super pissed off when I walked into her home?

Worried that I might be walking into a minefield of awkwardness, I said, “I don’t think this is such a good idea. I don’t want to cause any problems for you with your mistress.”

“It’s no problem.” He untangled our hands and reached down to unbuckle my seatbelt. “The apartment is empty.” He pushed the seatbelt away from my shoulder and hip and tugged his jacket closed around my naked torso. He tipped my chin with two fingers and met my questioning gaze with a steady one of his own. “It has been since February.”

“Oh.” What was he trying to tell me? Not wanting to read more into that statement than he intended, I let it go.

“Let’s get you inside.” Alexei left the SUV. He grabbed his gym bag from the backseat before coming to my door. Before I could move, he had slipped one arm around my shoulders. In the next instant, he scooped me right up and out of the SUV.

I gripped two handfuls of his shirt. “What are you doing? I can walk!”

“I’m sure you can.” He pushed the door closed with his foot. “But I’m not taking any chances.”

I started to tell him that he was going to hurt his back carrying me and his gym bag but he moved effortlessly. When we reached the elevator, I could feel his hard, well-honed muscles rippling beneath my thighs and across my back as he shifted me in his arms. His hand dipped under the borrowed jacket I was wearing and into the pocket hidden away there. I tried not to think about the brush of his warm skin against mine as he retrieved his wallet and presented it to me.

“Can you open this and find the keycard?”

“Sure.” I took the wallet from him and pried it open. There weren’t enough slots for all of the items he kept in there so it bulged in places. “You need a new wallet.”

“I just bought that two months ago.” He gestured with his chin toward the cards jammed in the slots. “It’s the white one with the gold lettering. Yes. That one. Swipe it, please.”

Seconds later, we were in the elevator and zooming up eleven floors. Alexei stepped into a beautifully decorated hall and carried me to a door at the far end of the hall. “Will you grab the keys from my pants pocket?”

I swallowed nervously and carefully dipped my hand into the front pocket of his trousers. I refused to meet his heated gaze as I retrieved them and did my very best not to touch anything except for the cold metal and plastic. Though I had dated a lot of nice guys, I had never stuck my hand in one of their pockets or gotten that close to…well…
you know
.

“You keep that up, and I’m going to make you buy me dinner.”

Mortified by his teasing, I quickly retrieved the keys and studiously avoided his sinful grin. “Which one?”

“The silver key with the red dot on it.” I held it up to be sure, and he confirmed it. “Yes.”

After I unlocked and opened the door, he carried me inside and slapped the light switch in the foyer. A warm light illuminated the entryway and part of the living area. Floor to ceiling windows lined the exterior wall of the unit. I suspected the downtown views would be breathtakingly perfect come morning.

“Sit still,” he ordered as he placed me on the marble slab covering the oversized kitchen island. His gym bag was dropped on the floor, and he started rifling through the cabinets and refrigerator. He found ice, a bowl, a dish towel and a small first aid kit under the sink but he wasn’t satisfied with that. He placed a call down to the building’s concierge and gave him a short list of groceries he wanted delivered as quickly as possible.

I waited until he had returned the phone to its cradle on the counter before pointing out the obvious. “It’s, like, one in the morning, Alexei.”

“And?” He turned on the faucet and wet one end of the dish towel.

Incredulous, I waved my hands. “And you’re asking that poor guy to go buy groceries?”

“That’s his job.” Alexei wrung out the fluffy cloth and brought an armload of supplies to the island. “This building has round-the-clock staff for a reason.”

“Still…”

Alexei moved to stand in front of me. For the first time ever, we were the same height. A small bruise had already formed from the contact his forehead had made with that man’s nose. This close, I could see that his eyes were actually a mix of green and brown. The fine lines around them were crinkled with the hint of a smile. I wanted to reach up and run my fingers along them, to trace the line of his strong jaw to the barely visible cleft in his chin. “Will you feel better if I give him a big tip?

“Yes.”

“Fine. That’s settled.” He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled up his sleeves. I tried not to stare at the new swaths of Russian mafia tattoos revealed to me. Under this brighter light, the blood spatter on his shirt was clearly visible. Following my gaze, he frowned. “We’ve got to get rid of all this. Everything you’re wearing tonight has to be destroyed. As soon as I’m done getting you cleaned up and in bed, I’ll take care of everything.”

It was such a sordid, dirty thing but I understood he was just being practical. He seemed so calm about it though. “Have you done this a lot?”

To his credit, Alexei didn’t lie. “What you saw tonight? That was my old job. I was a street soldier and an enforcer.”

“Oh.” I tried to wrap my head around the idea of Alexei beating the crap out of people to make them pay protection money or to force them to toe the family line.

His peered down at me, his jaw tight and his eyes slightly narrowed. “Are you afraid of me now?”

“No!”

“You probably should be,” he grumbled. “I’m not a very nice man, not when you get right down to it.”

“I don’t believe that.”

He expelled a harsh breath. “Then you are more naïve than I ever imagined.”

His remark pissed me right off. After everything I had been through tonight, I wasn’t going to take that kind of crap from a friend. “Don’t talk to me like that!”

Taken aback by my outburst, he dropped his gaze and seemed instantly chastised. He leaned forward and shocked me by pressing his forehead to mine. With that bruise there, it must have hurt him but he didn’t flinch. “I’m sorry, Shay.” He pulled back slowly. “That was a dick thing for me to say.”

“Then why did you say it?”

“I don’t know.” He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. “I could say that I’m tired but that’s just an excuse. Maybe I said it because I know what a shit person I was ten years ago and what an incredibly good and kind person you are and I know that eventually I’m going to hurt or disappoint you.”

The self-loathing filling his voice surprised. Gone was the powerful, confident man who ruled in business. Here was the man with the wounded soul who tried so hard to distance himself from feeling anything close to love. His insistence on keeping a mistress suddenly made sense to me. He didn’t want to expose himself to anything that might make him vulnerable.

“Maybe you were a terrible person ten years ago, Alexei, but you aren’t that terrible person tonight.” I reached for his closest hand. The mob ink decorating his skin no longer seemed as menacing as it once had. “You’ve never been anything but kind to me. Kind and generous and good. That’s the man I know. That’s the man I trust.” I squeezed his fingers and smiled up at him. “That’s the man who would die before he hurt me.”

“I won’t hurt you,” he promised. “I could never hurt you like this.” He brushed his hand along the bruise blossoming on my cheek. “But I will disappoint you.”