Alexei (Her Russian Protector #8) (26 page)

Nikolai shook his head. “I’ll handle him.”

“What about the motel?” Hector turned his attention to Besian. “Do you need my help with the cover up?”

“It’s done—and it cost me nothing,” Besian remarked with a bit of amusement. “Alexei’s girlfriend took care of that.”

“What?” Nikolai shifted in his seat. “What does that mean?”

“It seems that Shay was headed to the motel to help her sister escape the city.” Alexei hadn’t asked her for the details but he had assumed that to be the most likely scenario. “She was able to get her hands on ten grand at Abby Kirkwood’s pawn shop. By the time she arrived at the motel, her sister was gone and Lalo was waiting for her. She offered her cash as hush money.”

“Where is the sister?” Nikolai asked the question on everyone’s minds.

“We don’t know,” Alexei admitted. “There was blood in the bathroom. She left her phone. We think she ran.”

“Or Lalo kidnapped her and his men dragged her away somewhere before Shay and her friend got there,” Besian proposed an alternative theory. “We just don’t know.”

Nikolai blew out a frustrated breath. “That’s a loose end that needs to be clipped—and fast.”

Before Alexei could even try to plead for Shannon’s life, Besian said, “I’ll take care of her. Leave it to me.”

Something about the way Besian so quickly leapt at the chance to have that job bothered Alexei. Was there something else going on with Shannon that he didn’t know?

“What’s the punishment for Shay and her friend?” Nikolai put the issue that concerned Alexei the most right on the table. He held his breath as he waited to see what the boss would suggest. “My vote is that they get a pass. These were extraordinary circumstances.”

“I want this to end here,” Hector interjected firmly. “These two girls? I want them to walk. Untouched,” he clarified. “They have my guarantee of safety and protection. This shit ends tonight. There’s been enough bloodshed in this city. Let’s end the year on a better note than we started. Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Besian rolled the jawbreaker around his mouth, knocking it into his teeth. “Let’s put this to bed.”

“Then it’s settled,” Nikolai declared.

Sagging with relief, Alexei leaned back against his seat while the three bosses talked out a few minor details. Hector exited the vehicle first. Besian left a short time later. Alone with Nikolai, Alexei blew out a pent-up breath. “I know that sorry doesn’t even come close to apologizing for all of this.”

“It’s done, Alyosha. Leave it.” He rapped his knuckles on the window, signaling Boychenko. “Put on your seatbelt. We’re going for a ride.”

Not liking the sound of that one bit, Alexei did as told. He glanced back at his still running SUV and wondered if the damn thing would even be there when they got back. Waiting for Nikolai to say something, he stared out the window and tried to figure out where they were going. Very quickly, he realized they were headed back to the motel.

As if reading his mind, Nikolai said, “Since Kostya is still out on vacation, we had to call in some professional help for this one.”

The Professionals. Four anonymous brothers who proffered their services to Houston’s underworld and the city’s elite. The Collector. The Fence. The Cleaner. The Liquidator. They were men who were whispered about but never seen. Even the evidence of their crimes was nearly impossible to spot.

Up ahead, the blink of red, white and blue lights from emergency vehicles caught his attention. A police cruiser blew by them, the siren squawking so loud he winced. Wondering where it was headed, Alexei leaned forward for a better look. A violent wave of orange streaked the dark night sky and took his breath away.

The Spanish Trail motel was totally engulfed in flames.

Jerking back, he glanced at Nikolai in shock. “Why?”

“What else could we do? There were too many unknowns and too much risk. Was Shay’s blood on the carpet? Was the friend’s? What about the sister? What the hell were we going to do with Lalo’s body? That isn’t a death we can sweep under the rug, Alyosha. This isn’t a man that can just disappear.”

Nikolai had his lucky lighter in hand now. He flicked it opened and closed as he gazed out the window at the destruction he had wrought. “This was the best choice. Tomorrow, when the sun is up and the flames are out, they’ll find Lalo’s body and the right gun and that’s it.”

“The
right
gun?”

“We have a weapon in our possession that was used during Hector’s coup earlier this year. The bullet that killed Lalo tonight was removed and his gun was destroyed. The other gun was used to fire some bullets into the body and the wall. The cops will trace these rounds and the gun left at the scene to the deaths earlier this year.” He brushed his pant leg as if to sweep away lint. “It will keep them busy chasing their tails while we deal with the transition.”

It was all discussed so calmly. Alexei had been out of the life long enough that he had forgotten how blithely Nikolai decided these things. Who lived. Who died. Who to frame. It was a simple act of arithmetic for him.

“But the fire, Kolya,” Alexei protested. “It’s dangerous. The motel guests—”

“No one died in this fire. The brothers took care of it. It was all very clean.”

“God, I hope you’re right.” Alexei cringed as Boychenko slowly glided through an intersection and away from the frantic scene. Another fire truck raced toward the blaze. He prayed no firemen were hurt tonight. That was a guilt he didn’t want on his conscience or Shay’s. “Fire is nasty business, Kolya.”

“It’s never my preference,” the boss admitted, “but these were extenuating circumstances. Once Besian took a step back and truly considered the situation, he knew there were too many risks if he tried to haul that body out of there. We’re just lucky this all happened in the dark, in a shitty part of town, and in a rainstorm where it’s easier to manage the spread of the fire.”

“What happens to the people who were living in that motel? Where do they go now?”

“John Mueller is about to get some new tenants in his apartment complexes.” He snapped his lighter closed and dropped it into his pocket. “You can expect that bill soon.”

Alexei swore under his breath but accepted the out of pocket costs for housing those people were a small price to pay. Considering how badly this might have gone for Shay, he didn’t dare complain. It seemed uncouth to call tonight’s events a stroke of luck, especially when one man was dead and someone’s business had just been burned to the ground, but he silently called it that.

“I swear our lives were never this complicated before we started welcoming all these women into our inner circle,” Nikolai grumbled. “Who would have thought falling in love would be so fucking complicated?”

Out of habit, he started to correct Nikolai, to laugh at the very notion that he was head over heels in love with Shay, but the reality of what had happened in the last forty-eight hours slapped sense into him. There was no point in lying to himself or trying to convince anyone else that what he felt for Shay was anything less than love. It had crept up on him so slowly over the last year that he hadn’t even recognized the subtle shift from infatuation to friendship to love.

“Vanya, Dima, Yuri, Sergei, Kostya, you, me… Who’s next? Danny?” Nikolai laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke ever. “Hell, maybe it will be Ten!”

Up front, Boychenko snorted with amusement. Alexei shook his head at the outlandish idea. “I don’t think there’s a woman alive who can tame Ten.”

“Stranger things have happened,” Nikolai replied. “So—is it true? Did she really step in front of a gun for you?”

Alexei’s heart stuttered as the memory of Shay jumping in front of him flashed before his eyes. “Yes, she did.”

“She must love you very much.”

“I don’t know about that.” Alexei didn’t dare hope that Shay’s action was proof of her love for him. “She’s a good person. She would protect anyone from a bully like Lalo.”

“Yes, but she protected
you
. She saw you fight for her last night. She knows what you’re capable of doing, but she still stepped in front of a possible bullet for
you
. That was an action spurred by the heart,” Nikolai touched his chest, “not the head.”

“She should listen to her head more,” he said, suddenly uncomfortable talking about all of this with Nikolai. “I’m not the type of man who knows what to do with a woman’s heart.”

“You’ll learn.” Nikolai stretched out his legs. “I know what you’re thinking. You think no one could possibly love you because of the terrible things you’ve done, but you’re wrong. We’re all worthy of love. Even the worst of us,” he murmured. Their gazes clashed in the shadows of the rear seats. “A woman like Shay is an extraordinary find, Alyosha. It takes a big heart to love men like us, and those big hearts are easily damaged. She fucked up tonight. That’s not up for debate—but we’ve all made big mistakes in our lives. We’ve all done things we wish we could take back.”

They drove in silence, all three occupants of the Land Rover thinking of their misdeeds and blunders. When they pulled into the junkyard, Nikolai inhaled a deep breath. “Go home to her. Scold her if you must but show her love tonight. She needs to feels safe again. Her entire life has fallen apart in the last two days. She needs you to be her rock. Give her something to cling to,” he urged. “A woman who will throw herself between you and a gun? That’s a woman you should deny nothing and give everything. Even if you lose everything tomorrow, Shay will walk beside you.”

The boss’s powerful counsel made Alexei’s head spin. As he drove away from the junkyard he couldn’t stop thinking about everything Nikolai had said. Though he was still angry with Shay for taking such a risk and for defying him, he understood why she had made the decision to go after her sister. Hadn’t he done far, far worse and stupider things to save Ivan or Nikolai in the past?

When he entered the apartment a short time later, he discovered Shay seated at the island in the kitchen and staring at a bowl of melted ice cream. Stas sat on the opposite end of the polished slab, his expression hard and his arms crossed. Frosty was the first adjective that came to mind. The cheerful, easy friendship that he had witnessed between the pair last night had vanished.

“What’s going on here?” Alexei dropped his gym bag on the floor and glanced back and forth between them. Shay lifted her head, and her swollen, red eyes helped him fill in the blanks. Thinking of the cruelty she had known as a child, he cast a sharp glance at Stas. “What did you do to upset her like this?”

“Nothing,” she answered quickly. As if terrified to make either of the men in the room angry, she smiled brightly but it didn’t reach those beautiful eyes of hers. “We’re fine. How…how are you?”

“No, Shay. We aren’t doing this.” Alexei slashed his hand through the air. “You and I have always been honest with each other. You don’t ever have to pretend with me.”

Shay swallowed and bit her lower lip. She gripped the edge of the counter so tightly he feared her thin, delicate fingers would snap. “I’m sorry, Alexei. I’m so sorry.”

The words were whispered so softly he barely heard them. Certain they were on the verge of some new development in their relationship, he glanced at Stas and hooked his thumb back toward the door. “Go home.”

Stas gathered up his things and the garbage bag of ruined clothing. “She left her phone in the friend’s truck. I can pick it up tomorrow.”

“That’s fine.” He followed Stas to the door and locked it behind him. When he returned to the kitchen, he took a deep breath and finally met her anxious gaze. Hating to see her looking so wounded and afraid, he insisted, “I’m not the men who abused you when you were little. I’m not going to hurt you. There is nothing for you to fear from me.
Ever
.”

“I’m not afraid of that,” she assured him, her voice steady but soft. “I know you won’t hurt me…even though I nearly got you shot and dragged you into that nightmare at the hotel.”

“I dragged myself into this mess, Shay.” He combed his fingers through his hair and expelled a loud breath. “Look, I
am
angry with you for risking your own life. You had no business in that motel! You had no business going after your sister! You know what these people are like. You’re a very smart woman. Why the hell would you go after Shannon like that?”

Blinking rapidly, she said in a tremulous voice, “I thought I could get there quickly and get Shannon out of Texas. We were going to take her to Baton Rouge or New Orleans.”

“You were going to drive to Louisiana? With your sister? The girl who has a price on her head?” His blood pressure shot through the fucking roof. “And then what, Shay? What was the plan?”

She shrugged nervously. “I don’t know. Leave her there with some money and burner phones, I guess. She would have to figure out the rest herself.”

“And what did you think I was going to do when I came home and you were gone?” Had she considered the rampage that would have followed that discovery? The damage he would have done to this city to find her?

“I was going to call you and explain everything.”

“That call would have come too late. Stas had already called to tell me you were missing. I was gunning for Lalo. Because that’s what I assumed, Shay. I assumed he’d gotten his dirty fucking hands on you—and I was ready to kill him.”