Page 80 of Maxim
“Aleksander,” I growl. He goes quiet, recognizing that he’s crossed a line. Again. “Do we know who the dead guys are?”
“Yeah. They’re all members of some low-level street gang. Or were. Small fry. Absolutely no reason why they’d attack a bar where it’s common knowledge our guys drink.” I scratch my chin while Sasha pauses. He has more, I can tell.
“Spit it out, Sasha,” I snap, not in the mood for his dramatic flourishes.
“The AK-47s they had were from our stolen shipment, so whoever took it armed these guys with our own weapons.”
Rage bubbles up my throat like toxic bile. The glass of water I have in my hand shatters, splinters of glass falling all over the floor. There’s a gasp from the bedroom door and I look up to see my malyshka staring at me with confusion and concern in her eyes.
“You’ve cut yourself!” She rushes over and I look down to see blood dripping from my hand. Fuck.
“Natalya! Stay! You’ll cut your feet!” She freezes and looks at the shards of glass.
“Sasha, meet me at the apartment. I’ll be back in 30.” I hang up before he can reply, staring down at my bleeding hand. The worst of the white-hot anger has dissipated, but I’m still furious that some asshole thinks he can come after my Bratva and walk away unscathed.
We need to verify who’s behind this bullshit and take them down.
Natalya disappears and returns a few moments later with some sliders on her feet. She’s wrapped her body in a silky bathrobe but it doesn’t stop me from admiring her curves. My cock stirs in my loosely zipped pants and I inwardly curse.
I need to get going not entertain fantasies of bending my malyshka over the counter and fucking her into a coma.
“Here, let me wrap this,” she says in a soft voice, looking up at me through thick lashes. Me talking to Sasha must have woken her. I feel bad for that. She needs her sleep. There are dark circles under her eyes and she looks exhausted, which is hardly surprising with all the stress she’s endured lately.
Once I have things under control, I’m taking her away somewhere hot and luxurious, where she can relax and forget about work.
Her soft hands carefully pluck glass shards from my palm and then clean the wound. The cuts aren’t too deep. Nothing that will prevent me from using my hand. Luckily it’s my left hand, not my right.
“There,” she says once the wound is wrapped. “What happened anyway?”
“Nothing, I just squeezed the glass too hard. An accident.” My tone is dismissive but she looks unconvinced.
“You should get it checked out, it might need stitches.” She turns away to sweep up the glass, missing my smile. I love how she wants to take care of me. It feels so damned good.
“I’ll be fine, baby.” I step back and quickly pull the rest of my clothes back on. Sasha will be waiting for me if I don’t get a move on.
“I have to go, there’s a problem at work.”
“OK, that’s fine,” she says, pushing her fingers through her messy hair. “I have stuff to do anyway.” The distance I’ve sensed between us for the last few days is back. She’s distracted, messing with the edge of her robe, chewing her lip as she looks away.
I reach out and grasp her chin. “Hey, I’ll call you later, OK?”
“Sure,” she says, offering me a weak smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
The way she avoids looking at me makes me uneasy but I don’t have time to find out what the problem is, so I put my sense of disquiet on the back burner for now.
Whatever is going on with Natalya can wait. She’s safe here in her apartment, and once she leaves, my guys will be on her tail.
They know that if they see anything amiss, to call me immediately. And if someone attacks her, they'll step in.
Chapter fifty-seven
Nat
The screen blurs and I rub my eyes ineffectually. I’ve finished the article on the most popular dog breeds for families, which will be published in the weekend magazine supplement, and have reverted to my article on the mayor.
The outline is done and mostly I’m filling in the blanks. The shelters he’s put in place for vulnerable women and children warrant a closer look. Everything I’ve learned so far about the guy tells me he didn’t set up the scheme out of the kindness of his heart.
Mickey pulled up the financials for me - I didn’t ask how he came up with information that wasn’t in the public domain - and everything looks legit. Money comes in via grants from the government and also donations from the private sector.