Naomi & Bradley, It All Comes Down… (Vodka & Vice, the Series Book 1) (12 page)
Read Naomi & Bradley, It All Comes Down… (Vodka & Vice, the Series Book 1) Online
Authors: Angela Conrad,Kathleen Hesser Skrzypczak
Seeing double
BRADLEY
Monday, February 14th
Luba takes Natalia by the arm the second we clear the door. “Bradchka, go and get us drinks. We meet you by the bar,” she barks over her shoulder and they're off toward the bathrooms. On the way to the bar I pass the buffet. The tables are practically sagging with ‘light supper,’ as the sign says: three different kinds of dumplings, veal, wild boar, hot and cold borscht, little potatoes in cream and dill, cucumbers also in cream, and on and on. No one’s in line. Later, after drinking and dancing, we eat. First things first: I procure three vodka martinis and wait for the ladies to return. As I sip the icy liquid, I survey the room. It's a sea of sparkling dresses and shiny black tuxes, like seals and mermaids crawled up from the crashing surf outside. Off in a back corner, there's a little lounge with couches and huge pillows. Red velvet curtains drape across it, I guess for people who want a little privacy away from the crowded dance floor. As I think about the possibilities of those couches, a red dress, exactly like Natalia's catches my eye.
Why
would
she
be
over
there
, I wonder, then I see a big man catch her with his arm and pull her in, behind the velvet curtain. I'm torn between worry that she's moving so fast with a stranger and relief that she's over me. I decide to keep an eye on her but from a distance.
I'm finishing my martini and eyeing up the other two when Luba swoops in, landing on the stool next to me in a cloud of perfume and pot smoke. “Darling, what a party. They have a hookah lounge in the ladies room!”
“What happened to Natalia,” I ask, starting on the second drink.
Luba plucks her olives out and pops them all into her mouth. Through chipmunk cheeks she says, “When I come out from stall, she is gone. This is how she is. Like puppy chasing ball. All over the place.” She downs what's left of her drink and signals the bartender for another round. He brings three again, apparently assuming she and I are having some bizarre one and a half drink each. Luba must see the concern on my face because she rests a hand on my thigh and says, “Don't worry; she will go home with us tonight.” She slides her hand up my thigh and gives my crotch a little squeeze. My brain is saying no way but my cock has other ideas, as usual, and I feel the first stir of an erection. The music picks up, gets louder, so I down the rest of my drink and tell Luba we should dance. I need some space.
We start dancing and it's good at first, but the alcohol, empty stomach, cigarettes and flashing lights start to get to me. The room’s spinning and I'm keeping it together—barely. It seems to be getting hotter, as though someone lit a fire under the dance floor and that's when I smell smoke. People are running toward the exits, Luba is laughing for some reason, and then we are carried with the crowd to the exit. Dizzy, eyes barely focusing, I have one thought: Natalia is still in there. I break free of Luba's talons and turn to fight the crowd. I have to get back in and make sure Viktor's little sister is safe.
“I have to get Natalia,” I shout over my shoulder, “meet you outside.”
I make it through the rushing throng and back to the bar. Then I see it, the red dress. I follow it through the gathering smoke, fighting with my stumbling feet to get to Natalia. When I reach her, she's slumped over a chair, face down. Firefighters have come in and they're shouting at everyone, pushing people toward the doors, hacking at walls with axes. Breaking glass flies around us, and the sprinkler system kicks in, drenching us in freezing water. Suddenly sober, I scoop Natalia up and throw her over my shoulder. Outside, I run about two blocks when I see Luba, leaning out of a taxi, yelling for me to get in. I throw Natalia in next to Luba and I jump in the front. I breathe, try to focus, give the driver an address. As the car waits for traffic to clear, I hear laughter from the back seat.
“Darling, you have rescued the wrong Natalia, ha ha,” Luba cackles.
I turn around to see what the hell she's talking about and that's when the girl comes to. She blinks at me a few times, and then Naomi says, “BRADLEY? What in the hell is going on here?”
Vodka & Vice, the Series
Book One
:
Naomi & Bradley It All Comes Down…
Book Two
:
Bradley & Naomi …To Me & You!
Books three & four coming soon.
The next book in the series:
Available on Amazon now
Book 2
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F7GH5TA
Books by Angela J. Conrad
Historical Regency Romances:
Livy (Rayburn Park Series)
Rogues of Rayburn Park
Young Bucks of Rayburn Park
Violet
Rose
Lilly
Contemporary Romances/Mysteries:
The Demon Within
Truly Loved
Deuces Wild Series:
#1 DELANIE, Breaking Free
#2 DENIED, Abby Fights Back
#3 MADDIE, Betrayed
Four Kings Series:
#1 Savoring Revenge in Spades
#2 Savoring Desire in Diamonds
Contemporary Adult Romances/Mysteries/Comedy:
Ace’s High Series:
#1 MISSING, A Dempsey Brother’s Story
#2 DECEIT, Jackie & Jax
#3 SAVED, Grace’s Story
Body Double –Million Dollar Legs-
Double Back-Regaining Sara-
Contemporary Romantic Comedies
Written with Kathleen Hesser Skrzypczak:
Vodka & Vice, the Series:
Naomi & Bradley –It All Comes Down…
Bradley & Naomi – …To Me & You!
Collection of Short Stories:
A Taste Of Terror, 31 Ventures into Madness
Boxed Sets:
A Regency Trio
Rayburn Park, the Full Series
Ace’s High Series
Deuces Wild Series
https://www.amazon.com/author/angelajconradaceshigh11
Books by Kathleen Hesser Skrzypczak
Contemporary Romantic Comedies
Written with Angela J Conrad
Vodka & Vice, the Series:
Naomi & Bradley –It All Comes Down…
Bradley & Naomi – …To Me & You!
BIO: Angela J Conrad
I nearly died before I was born. Perhaps that’s what made me both a risk taker and a safe player in life.
I drove peddle to the mettle, hither and yon across the states and Canada on my own. Life was my training ground, and now I write about gutsy people who go for it too.
I write full time -- got to -- colorful characters won't leave me alone. They're just like you and me, searching for love and redemption, that one last chance, worried they don't deserve what they've got.
My cast continually touches and surprises me, I'm sure they will you too, so say current readers in thirteen countries, from Australia to India, of sixteen books, four novellas and boxed sets, and over a hundred short stories on Amazon,
in news, and literary magazines.
With a background in managerial finance, to extreme chances with the market, and roll of the dice, I love numbers. Here are mine: over 9,300,150 pages have been read in the last eighteen months.
RECENT RELEASES:
Body Double, Million Dollar Legs
, (a rom com) – Feb. 12, 2016.
Double Back, Regaining Sara
– March 22, 2016.
A new series, Vodka & Vice, Book 1:
Naomi & Bradley, It All Comes Down
… --June 1
st
of 2016. (Co-author Kathleen Hesser Skrzypczak.)
Book 2:
Bradley & Naomi …To Me and You! --
June 1
st
of 2016. More books in the series coming soon! I can hear the crew whispering to me now, they've got places to go - come join the ride.
BIO: Kathleen Hesser Skrzypczak
Kathleen Hesser Skrzypczak was born and raised in Pine Grove, PA. A small town girl with big city dreams, she moved to New York City with two-hundred dollars in her pocket and a degree in English Literature from Gettysburg College to pursue a career in advertising. After winning awards for clients like Penthouse Magazine, Tanqueray Gin, and Johnnie Walker Black Scotch, she left the glamorous life of the city to live in New Jersey with her husband and raise her three awesome kids. Her most recent success was publishing a popular blog about a family RV trip to Nova Scotia. Her latest adventure is a romantic comedy book series she's co-authoring with accomplished Amazon author, Angela J. Conrad. When she's not writing, Kathleen loves to dance, sing, and cook, sometimes all at the same time.