By the time I finally make it to the clubhouse to meet with Stavros, I’ve had about twenty more calls. You would think that these fuckers were children and not grown ass men. Each call was the same as the last. Not one of my men seemed to know what the fuck they were supposed to be doing. Parking my car inside the Draconic Crimson compound lot, I rub the palms of my hands into my eyes and take a deep breath.
Just as I’m about to get out of my car, my phone rings again. “Hey, babe,” she says before I even have a chance to say hello.
“You all right?” I ask. Instantly my guard is up. She never says hi first when she calls.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just needed to hear your voice for a second.”
“What happened, doll?” When I look up, I see Stavros walking towards my car.
“I asked my mom if Leif is really my brother and she flipped out on me. She started yelling at me telling me that I was wrong and whoever told me that was trying to mess with my head. She told my dad too and now he’s angry with me as well.”
I close my eyes and lean my head back against my seat. “They got defensive?” I ask.
“Really defensive. Does that mean they are lying to me?” Her voice breaks and I know how hard this must be for her right now.
“You want me to be honest?” I hate being the one to give her information that hurts her.
“Please,” she whispers into the phone. Stavros knocks on my window and I hold my middle finger up. He smirks and shakes his head at me as he walks a few steps in the other direction.
“They are lying. People don’t get defensive if you ask them something that is true. They only get defensive if they are trying to hide something. I’m sorry, doll.” I hear her sniffle over the line and I want to make everything better, but I can’t. Not until I find out what Stavros knows about Salvi. “I need to go. I just got to my brother. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. One of my men will be at the bar during your whole shift.”
“Okay,” she says quietly. “Be safe. I’ll see you later.”
“See you soon,” I say before hanging up and getting out of the car.
“About damn time. I swear you take longer than a bitch.”
I roll my eyes at him and shut the door behind me.
“Just tell me what I want to know asshole,” I grunt out. I sure as shit don’t want to be here. I can think of a couple places I would rather be and each one involves a naked Ivelisse in my arms.
“If I give you this information, I need something in return,” he states as we walk through the clubhouse.
“I’m pretty sure it’s your ass who owes me the favors.” I grin. “If I recall, I’ve helped your ass three times now.” He shakes his head and mutters something under his breath. When we reach his office, he opens the door and lets me enter first. I watch as he scans the hallway that leads to the office before coming in and shutting the door, locking it.
“This shit that damn serious?” I ask with an eyebrow raised.
“You have no idea what you’re asking for,” he barks out.
“Then give me the damn information. I'll do whatever it is you want,” I finally state. I don’t care what it costs me as long as I’m able to get the information I need. If Leif isn’t a good guy there is no way in hell I’ll be letting Ivelisse go near the fucker again.
“He’s part of the Italian Mob. These fuckers are goddamn ruthless and won’t stop until they take the whole family out. You ever wonder who killed our old man?” I nod my head, but let him continue.
“Petrus Salvi did.”
I clench my fists and try to calm the anger that is currently growing inside of me. Looking up at Stavros, I see the mirror image. His anger typically takes him whole, but this time he’s still somewhat calm. He isn’t trying to figure out where he can find Petrus. Instead, he’s just staring at me, quietly watching me.
“How the fuck are you so damn calm?” I grit out. He’s pissing me the fuck off with his calm demeanor.
A wide grin spreads across his face and I don’t get what the fuck is so amusing to this asshole. “I gutted the fucker with my knife when I finally found him. He’s been dead for a few years.”
“Why didn’t you just say that shit when I fucking called,” I growl.
“I ain’t admitting that shit over the damn phone.” He still has that damn smirk on his face and I’m about to get up and wipe it off him.
"Are you fucking kidding me?”
“No, I’m not fuckin’ kidding you. I really did kill the fucker. If he wouldn’t have killed Dad, neither of us would be where we are today,” he states like it’s that fucking simple.
“You’re fucking delusional. If Dad was still alive we’d be right in with the family like I am. You would’ve never met Harlyn and you’d be in the same shoes as I am right fucking now.” I shake my head. The stupid bastard doesn’t get it.
“Well, at least then I wouldn’t be fucking miserable like I am now,” he bites out. “Just wait till you meet a bitch that you can’t live without. Then we can talk about it.”
My mind instantly goes to Ivelisse and how much she means to me in such a short fucking time. I know I’d go to the ends of the earth to make sure she’s always protected, even if I have to protect her from myself and Uncle Viktor.
“You don’t know shit about my life now. I’m trying to protect someone and that name came up. I need more information than you killed the bastard for killing our old man. Give me something I can use.” His expression hardens and I see the same look he had on his face when he needed help with Harlyn.
“Harlyn and Ruslan aren’t in trouble are they?” It’s always the first thing on his mind when I say I have a problem.
“No, they are both fine.” I ignore his questioning look, but I know it isn’t going to stop him from asking more.
“Then you met a bitch,” he states with a cocky grin.
Just hearing him call Ivelisse a bitch makes me see red. “Don’t fucking call her a bitch. You don’t know shit about her.” My hands are clenched at my sides and if I was standing, I wouldn’t even hesitate to swing at my brother.
“She means something to you then. So what do you want to know about Petrus Salvi?” He finally gets serious with this shit.
“She asked me to a wedding and said that her brother was getting married. I ran all her background and family when I was still trying to get her in my bed, she didn’t have a brother. There are no fucking records for a birth of a son to her parents and there are no adoption records.”
He nods his head but doesn’t say anything.
“I ran his name and only got a hit for a social security number and a birth certificate. Nothing else. So I ran his first and middle and got a few hits with the Italian Mob. Then I found Salvi’s name. I need more information than that. You and I both know what Uncle Viktor will do if he finds out she has any connection with the Italian Mob.”
He rubs his temples as he thinks about something. I don’t know if he’s trying to piece together the information I have or what, but it makes me nervous. “What are you thinking, Stav?” I know he hates when anyone but Harlyn calls him that, but right now I don’t care. I need him to say something.
“You think that maybe this fucker is related to him somehow?” His eyes meet mine and I shrug. How the fuck am I supposed to know?
“You think so? Maybe his son? Nephew?” I ask. There is no way that Ivelisse’s parents would take in an Italian Mob baby unless they were part of the mob themselves.
“The mob doesn’t just send one of their own out to some randoms. They protect their own, just like we do. They would have to be related or something for that shit to happen. Unless they are trying to hide him.”
I raise an eyebrow at that. I need to get back to my office to do some research on the family. I’ll go back as far as I have to in order to find out the information I’m looking for. “I’m going to head back to my office to do some more research on her parents. They are what hold the key to finding anything out.” Before I can get up from my chair, he stops me.
“She worth going to war over?” I know what he means and I’ll give him the same answer every damn time.
“Yes, she is.”
By the time I finally make it to the bar, I’m already two hours late. I called Stas and asked him for a status update when I knew I wouldn’t be getting there in time for my normal drink. He said the bar was fine and that no one looked out of the ordinary.
As I pull into my parking spot, I see Christov leaning against the wall by the entrance. When I get out of the car, he starts to walk towards me. “Everything good?” I ask when I come to a stop next to him.
“So far so good,” he murmurs. He doesn’t say anything else and I actually prefer it. I don’t need half dozen words if nothing is wrong.
“Good. Let me know if you see anything out of the ordinary.”
He nods his head in response and I make my way inside the bar. As soon as I make it through the door, I see that the bar is full. Half naked women are everywhere and you would think that it’s a damn strip club with how much these bitches have flaunted for everyone to see.
One of them comes up to me and runs her hand down my chest. I grab her wrist and stop her before she gets too far. She pouts up at me, but I brush her hand off of me, and walk towards the bar where my girl is currently standing. Ivelisse has a frown marring her beautiful face as she watches the girl try to flirt with me.
When I reach her, I lean over the bar top and grip the back of her neck, pulling her to me. My lips meet hers and I kiss her. Her hands reach out and come against my chest. Slipping my tongue into her mouth, I kiss her like she’s the oxygen I need.
Whispers behind us do nothing for me. The only thing I’m focused on is standing right here in front of me. A glass breaks nearby and I pull my mouth off of hers. When I look behind me, I see Stas holding a man behind me, a broken beer bottle at his feet.
“Что случилось / What happened?” I ask. I want to know what the fuck just happened.
“Дик попытался ударить вас с разбитой бутылкой / Dick tried to hit you with a broken bottle,” Stas answers. The man doesn’t at all seem fazed by Stas and I know that it’s going to change as soon as we get him back to the warehouse.
“Cклад / Warehouse.” He doesn’t wait for any further direction. My men know me well enough to know what exactly I need for this. The warehouse is where I take people I want to question. If that fucker was brave enough to take a broken bottle and try to stab me in the back, who the fuck knows who he’s working for. Grabbing my phone out of my pocket, I dial Surgei and tell him to get here with a few extra men. I need to make sure that no one else will come after Ivelisse.
After Stas takes the man out of the bar, everything starts to go back to normal. I walk over to my seat and when I look at the back booth, I see one more of my men sitting there, waiting for an order. I just nod my head at him and he nods back. I will never leave her unprotected. At least one man will be on her at all times.
When I sit down, she comes over to me and wraps her arms around my neck. “He could have stabbed you with that broken bottle!” She’s on the verge of tears.
“I’m fine, doll,” I whisper in her ear. I kiss her jaw before I pull away from her.
“What did you say before?” she asks so only I can hear her.
“I asked Stas what happened.” She frowns and I know she wants me to tell her what he said too. “He said that the dick tried to hit me with a broken beer bottle.” She gasps at that and buries her face into my neck.
Someone calls for a drink and I let her go. She still has to finish her shift and I need to get to the warehouse to find out what that bastard wanted and why he’d try and stab me in a room full of people.
“I need to go,” I state as she’s walking back behind the bar.
“Please don’t, Nikolai.” She stops and stares at me. The guy at the bar starts to yell at her, but I shut him up quickly with one look.
“Okay,” I finally say after staring into her eyes for a minute. She’s determined to not let me out of her sight now. “But once I get you home, I have to go for a while.” A frown forms on her lips, but she doesn’t fight me on that.
Who knows if someone will come after her next now that I’ve kissed her in a room full of people. If any of my enemies are here tonight, then they will know my weakness.