Page 25 of Maxim
Max leads me back into the bar. He wasn’t lying. The girls are half asleep in our booth. Amanda is snoring lightly and Jane rests her head on the sticky table. Two older men are watching them with predatory expressions but one look from Max and they soon disappear.
The door opens, bringing two tall, muscular guys in suits in on a cold draft.
“I need their address, Natalya. Artem and Kolya will escort the ladies home.”
“Are they going to be safe with these… scary dudes?” Both of Max’s guys have shaved heads and visible tattoos, not to mention more muscles than any man needs.
The two muscle-bound men look less than impressed by my judgmental attitude but I don’t give a fuck. I’m not letting two random dudes take my friends home without questioning their motives.
“Natalya, they are my men. I trust them with my life. They would not harm a hair on your friends’ heads. If they did, their lives would be forfeit. OK?”
I roll my eyes. It’s crazy but I trust him.
Deciding I’m way too drunk to argue, I rattle off Jane’s address. Amanda was planning to stay with her tonight, which makes things easier.
Scary dude one scoops up Amanda in his arms. “Ooh you’re cute,” I hear her coo as she wakes up just enough to flutter her eyes at her knight in shining armor.
Dude two picks up Jane but she doesn’t stir.
I quickly grab their bags and pass them to the guys.
Amanda’s guy grits his teeth but remains stoic as she strokes his face and giggles. He nods at Max and then he and his buddy carry my two best friends out of the bar like they weigh nothing.
It’s kind of impressive really.
“What about me?” I ask before hiccuping.
Chapter seventeen
Max
Drunk Nat is adorable. She’s so wasted she can barely stand up straight, but at least she has the presence of mind to worry about my intentions.
“What about me?” she asks, now her friends have been taken care of by Kolya and Artem. No doubt they’ll be bitching at me later. Rescuing drunk women is not in their job description.
It was pure chance I ended up in the same bar as Nat and her friends.
OK, so maybe not so much of a coincidence.
This was where I first saw her, so I figured there was a good chance she’d be back here again, with it being a Friday night.
And thank God I did check up on her.
Getting this drunk is fucking stupid. Once she sobers up, we’ll be having words. If she wants to go out with her friends and drink until she can’t walk, then she needs a security detail.
I saw the guys watching her friends. From the way the two women had passed out, I have a strong suspicion their drinks were spiked. I plan to ask Sasha to review the security footage from the bar to be sure, but if I’m right, those fuckers will get what’s coming to them.
“You’re coming home with me,” I tell my malyshka.
“No, I can’t do that,” she protests. “You’re too…” She gestures at me, trying to make a point about something. Not sure what, exactly, but it’s cute. “Big.”
“Big?”
“Yesh … big.”
“Oh, malyshka, I am big, but right now, you’re drunk, and before long, you’ll be passing out or puking. Or both. So let me take care of you.”
As I watch with amusement, the fight leaves her and she slumps a little. The bar crowd is thinning out and the bartender nods in my direction. He knows me and isn’t concerned about the fact my guys just carried two drunk women out.