Glazov

“Your lip is looking like you got busted in the mouth.”

Novak laughs, ragging me as he sits on the opposite side of my desk in my home office.

“Fuck you! You just better hope you got the only tape showing our faces.”

He ignores me and continues trying to instigate shit with me.

“I’m wondering if you won that fight. Are you losing your edge in your old age?”

“I don’t know, cousin. Maybe you’d like to get in the ring with me and find out.”

That seems to shut him up. He knows how ruthless I can be in the ring, and he wants no part of it.

“I don’t have a death wish, Glazov. You don’t know when to stop. You ignore all the rules of the sport.”

“Well, I’m glad you have sense enough not to try because if you do, we both know it will be no holds barred. Being family won’t save your ass either. Once I’m inside those ropes, all bets are off. I have one mission, and that’s to beat the shit out of my opponent for being stupid enough to challenge me in the first place. You can’t talk to stupid; you have to beat the shit out of it.”

“Spoken like a true Neanderthal.”

I change the subject; having made my point, it’s time to move on to something other than my fat lip.

“Are you guys settled in?”

“My wife hired help to do that shit. I’m smart enough to get out of her way.”

“I hear that. On another note, what did Katrina have to say about Logan the day they saw her at the library?”

“She said when they asked her what she was doing, she said homework. She did observe that the girl acted like she was scared of them.”

“She would do well to be scared of them. They’re bad enough separated. Put them together, and there’s no telling what kind of mayhem they’ll wreak. I don’t doubt the girl is timid; that’s one of the reasons Kodiak is so enamored with her. I do doubt her intentions though.”

“What do you think she’s up to?”

“That’s the problem; I don’t know. I don’t like not knowing either.”

I reach over and push the speaker button to summon my son.

“Kodiak, get your ass in here.”

I wait for my son, and I watch as he saunters in and sits down beside Novak, stretching his long legs out like he doesn’t have a care in the world. The man seated before me is anything but the helpless little boy I rescued from a burning building. It’s easy to see why he’s such a hit with the ladies. His dark, brooding good looks, coupled with the perpetual five o’ clock shadow he keeps, seem to draw the women in like bees to honey. Although, here of late, it seems he has no time for any other woman besides Logan.

“Have you fucked her yet?”

I question him, but his only answer is a smirk.

“That bitch is up to something. Don’t fuck around and fall in love because she could very well end up locked in the basement dungeon away from civilization.”

“Seriously, Dad? Is that supposed to dissuade me? You, of all people, should understand that the thought of a woman being caged and at my mercy is a turn-on for me.”

I just shake my head.

“What is it about the men in this family and their penchant for taking women captive?”

“Like you say, Dad, it’s in our DNA.”

“You don’t have anything on Logan?”

“Not yet. She leads a pretty boring life. She goes to school during the day and comes to work for you at night. The only other place she goes is the library.”

“No boyfriend?”

“Have I killed anyone yet?” my son growls.

“So, you do have it bad? Take a word of advice from your old man; stop fucking other women. If this girl is drawn to you at all, and she finds out you’re fucking a different woman every night, you’ll lose any chance you may have with her.”

“I’m not fucking anybody else.”

“So you are fucking her. That was easy enough to get out of you.”

He ignores me and continues talking. I know he heard me. My boys don’t miss anything; they are their father’s sons.

“Yeah, I’ve already thought of that. Some of the other women at the gambling house are being mean to her because I’m not interested in any of them.”

“I don’t care what you have to do; you keep that girl in your sights. I’ve spent my whole life listening to my gut, and there’s more to that girl than meets the eye. She’s up to something, and I’m going to find out what it is. Now, if you want to keep her safe, find out what the fuck she’s up to. I’d hate to have to kill the first woman you’ve ever shown any true interest in.”

The scowl on his face clearly lets me know that he isn’t happy about my announcement. The scowl on mine should clearly let him know… I don’t give a fuck.