The Nines (The Nines #1) (17 page)

I get ready as quickly as possible and search the house until I find him in his office typing away on one of his computers.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I ask.

He spins around in his office chair and looks at me. “Sure.”

I want him to smile, but his expression is neutral.

I clear my throat. “I’m sorry if I said or did anything to hurt you or upset you.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. You gave me something wonderful and I’ll always be grateful for that.”

I don’t like that he makes what we just did sound like it was a one-time thing. Was that the impression I gave him?

“I’m confused,” I admit. My voice starts to crack and as much as I don’t want to cry I find myself blinking back tears.

He jumps from his seat and closes the distance between us. Then he pulls me close and just holds me for a few seconds. I melt into the warmth of his embrace.

“Please don’t cry.” He sounds as pained as I feel. “You’ll crack Humpty again.”

“I’m supposed to be putting you back together again. Not breaking you.”

He looks deep into my eyes as he wipes at the tears that are now streaming down my face. “I know I’m no Prince Charming. Hell, I’m not even as attractive as the frog you’re supposed to kiss. I know I have no right to expect you to want to be with me. But I’ll take what I can get, whatever you’re willing to give to me. I’ll take leftovers, scraps, whatever. I’m yours. But I don’t expect you to be mine. It was ridiculous to even suggest.”

I open my mouth, but no words come out. I’m stunned into silence by his admission. Does he honestly think so little of himself? Does he really believe he doesn’t deserve a real relationship? That he doesn’t deserve to have all of me?

And does he think I’m that shallow that I wouldn’t want him because of his scars.

“I didn’t know you before…” the words escape my lips before I’ve even had a chance to truly process them.

“What?” His eyebrows are knit in confusion.

“I didn’t know you before you were burned,” I clarify. “This is the only Alexander I’ve ever known. “ I kiss his scarred cheek. “This is the Alexander I want to be with.” I run my fingers along the length of his damaged face. “You deserve to have all of me. You don’t have to settle for anything less.”

“Are you saying you want to be with me?” He sounds both hopeful and unsure. “I mean really be with me.”

“Like a couple?” I offer.

He nods. “Exactly. Like a couple.”

“You already told almost everyone I know that we’re together. Did you hear me argue or complain?”

He gives me the slightest hint of a smile. “You’re sure you want to be with me?”

“What will it take to convince you? I’ve already given you my body. And my virginity. What else do you want? My soul?”

We both laugh.   

I look into his dark eyes again. “You have me, Alexander. All of me. I’m not going anywhere. And you bought an extra-large box of condoms. It would be a total waste not to use all of them.”

That brings a big smile to his face. “I don’t like to waste resources.”

We kiss. It’s soft and tentative at first. But then the heat between us quickly rekindles and soon we’re all over each other in the office.

“Let’s get to work on the box of condoms,” I whisper into his ear.

Without a word he lifts me off the floor and carries me out of his office.

***

I’m surprised to hear my cell phone ting and for a private message to pop up. The only person I’ve ever received a private message from is standing right next to me.

When I click it open to read it I gasp when I see it’s from Luci.

“What’s wrong?” Alexander asks. I’m sure he can see the look of concern on my face.

Luci asked if we’d stop by to see her. She’s scared and she says she feels very alone.

“Why is she scared? She’s in a hospital. As much as I always hated spending time in hospitals I can’t say I ever felt scared. They’re probably one of the safest places you could be. After maybe a police station.”

I shrug. “I have no idea. She didn’t elaborate.” I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Her plea almost has an ominous quality to it.

When my eyes meet Alexander’s he heaves a sigh. “You don’t even have to say it.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“That look…”

“What look?”

He points a finger at me and circles my face. “That look that you get when you want something. You sort of bat your eyelashes and then open your beautiful brown eyes so wide that there’s no way I could ever say no to any request you’re going to make.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”

He tightens his lips. “I know exactly what you’re going to ask. You’re going to ask me to go back to the hospital with you so we can find out what’s bothering Luci. And I’m going to go with you, even if I can’t stand hospitals and I don’t want to leave the house because you’re giving me that look with your long eyelashes and your wide eyes.”

I can’t help but smile. “Is it really that bad?”

He shakes his head. “Awful. You’ve got me wrapped so tightly around your little finger I’m surprised I haven’t snapped.”

“I’m worried about her,” I admit.

“I am too. Let’s see what’s going on.”

***

The hospital is a little busier than the first time we visited Luci. I assume there are certain times of the day or week that are busier than others. I guess this is one of those times.

We stop by the reception area just to make sure she’s still in the same room. This time the receptionist doesn’t seem to be as taken back by Alexander’s appearance, which is a blessing.

The elevator is packed when we get inside and I notice that the other passengers are doing everything in their power not to have to make eye contact with Alexander. They’re actually looking everywhere but directly at him. I’m not sure what’s worse. Gawking at him, or pretending not to see that he’s different.

Luci’s eyes are closed when we enter the room, but they spring open when she hears our shoes squeak on the slick tile floor.

She puts her hands to her chest and takes in a deep, calming breath. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” I say as I pat her shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re here. You got my message?”

I nod.

She glances around as if she’s trying to ascertain if there’s anyone else with us. Then she whispers, “They were here.”

I furrow my brow. “Who was here?”

She swallows before she continues. “The guys who attacked me.”

My eyes immediately go to Alexander and I can see every muscle in his body tense. “What the hell were they doing here?”

“No one stopped them. I guess they said they were visitors.”

“What did they want?” I ask.

“They told me not to press charges against them. At first they were trying to be nice. They told me they had money. They could pay for my hospital bills and a little extra if I told the police I had no idea who did it. I was horrified. I was shaking. I could barely even speak. But I did manage to say no. I don’t want their money. They can’t pay me off.”

I can see she’s starting to shake just telling us the story. I grab her hand. “It’s okay. Take your time. We’re not going anywhere for a while.”

“They got mad that I wouldn’t agree to take their hush money. They called me a bitch who had more coming. The bigger of the two leaned down so close to me that I could smell his spicy cologne. It was a trigger. The whole attack came flooding back to me. Even stuff I was having a hard time remembering. I felt like I was going to be sick. I just wanted him away from me. That’s when he whispered in my ear that if I told anyone it was them that he’d finish the job next time. He threatened to kill me. Then the smaller guy said his dad was a judge and that he’d never get arrested even if I did point a finger at him. And then he’d sue me for defamation and slander.

“I was so shocked and I felt so violated I wasn’t sure what to do. I’m going to call the nurse was all I could think to say and then I grabbed my call button and pressed it. The big guy was still close to my ear so he whispered again.
Remember what I said. If you tell anyone I’ll find you and kill you. And I’ll fuck you again just for fun before I do it.
Then they both took off before the nurse got here.”

“You need to tell the police,” I urge. “It’s the only way you’ll be safe.”

Alexander shakes his head. “She can’t. The big guy’s dad is the Chief of Police. I seriously doubt they’d take her allegations seriously. They’d probably try to minimize everything she tells them. They’d try to plant seeds of doubt. That it was dark. That she didn’t really see the guys who did it. That she had a bad dream. That they weren’t really in her room. It’s easy to discount a victim when you don’t really want to hear their testimony.”

“She’s not safe here,” I protest. “And it’s not like she can leave. She’s not close to recovering.”

Alexander bites his bottom lip like he’s giving the situation some thought. “There’s a Russian guy who lives close by. His family owes me some favors. I think he’ll help. He’s a huge guy and would make a great bodyguard.”

“Contact him,” I say before Luci has a chance to protest.

“But…” Luci’s jaw is flapping but no more words are coming out.

“No buts.” I tell her. “Alexander isn’t going to take no for an answer.” I make sure to bat my long lashes at him, just to tease him.

He gives me a little half smile in return. Then he says, “I have to contact him from my house, but I want you to call us immediately if those guys come back. I’ll tell Van it’s an emergency. Hopefully he can be here by tonight. You may have to tell the hospital he’s your older brother, so they’ll allow him to stay past regular visiting hours.”

“Okay,” Luci agrees. “I want you both to know how much I appreciate your help. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Alexander just nods. He’s not great at taking compliments.

“Maybe I should stay with her until Van gets here?” I offer. “I can always take the bus back to your place.”

Alexander is shaking his head before I even get the last few words out. “You’re not going anywhere without me by your side. Not with those predators on the loose. It’s still initiation week and they’re still crazy.”

“I’ll tell Van to text me when he’s on his way over and I’ll meet him here. We’ve never seen each other in person even though we’ve been associates for several years.”

When I glance over at Luci it looks like she’s starting to fall asleep again. I give Alexander a kiss on the cheek and tell him I’ll be okay. “I’m very proud of you, by the way.”

He frowns. “For what?”

“For not even thinking twice about meeting Van, in broad daylight. For putting Luci and her safety in front of your own insecurities about how you look.”

He pulls me close and kisses me. Then he whispers in my ear. “I’m not going to let anything bad happen to her again. And I’m never going to let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”

When I look into his eyes I can see that he’s dead serious. I have no doubt he’ll keep his word or die trying. Both options terrify me.

While I wait for Van to arrive and Alexander to come back I carefully remove a book from the small pile that Luci has stacked on the table next to her bed. I have to laugh when I see that it’s a biography of Carl Jung. Even recovering in the hospital she still obsessed with psychology.

I realize I’ve dozed off when I feel my phone buzzing in my pocket. It’s a message from Alexander that he and Van are on their way up.

“Luci,” I whisper and I ever-so-carefully touch her arm. The last thing I want is to startle her, but I also don’t want her to wake up and see some strange Russian man standing in her room.

“You’re still here.” Luci’s voice is still hoarse with sleep.

“I don’t want you to be alone. The bodyguard that Alexander hired is on his way up here.”

“Good,” Luci replies.

Alexander looks a little sweaty when he enters the room and I know it’s because he hurried to his house and back. He made it in record time. I’d love to know what he did to help the Russians that they got someone to serve as a bodyguard for him at a moment’s notice, but I know better than to ask. Maybe someday he’ll trust me enough to tell me all of his secrets. And maybe I’ll trust him enough to tell him all of mine.

Van is even bigger than I imagined he would be. Alexander is a tall and muscular guy, but the Russian easily outweighs him by at least fifty pounds of pure muscle. The guy is a walking wall of flesh.

I rise when Alexander makes eye contact.

“Ivan,” Alexander says. “This is my girlfriend, Roxie.”

Van gives me a strange look. Maybe it’s because my ancestry is Chechen and he thinks I look familiar.

He says something to me in Russian.

I shake my head. “I’m American. I only speak English.”

His eyes narrow like he doesn’t believe me. “You look Russian.” His English is rough and his accent is thick.