Chapter 29

Michael

I spotted Rainey by the bar the moment I arrived. I had a feeling she’d be at the club tonight, especially because she feigned interest in the conversation I’d had with Frederick earlier. I knew she was still suspicious of me, so I wanted nothing more than to prove her wrong when I got the chance.

I forced myself not to look down at the dance floor. I wanted Rainey to see me first, then think she had the upper hand. I’d make my move after I got the information from Frederick.

Natalia was already there when I arrived. Frederick had a sixth sense about her ever since we were kids. The two of them flirted incessantly, and I frequently felt uncomfortable around them, feeling as if I were a third wheel most of the time. I had been in the brief time they dated in their twenties. Thankfully the breakup was mutual, and we all remained good friends.

Natalia and Fredrick were speaking to each other; their faces were close together. I hoped I wasn’t interrupting anything.

“Fredrick,” I said loud enough for him to hear me over the music.

He stood up straight and reached his hand out. “Way to be fashionably late.”

I shook his hand. “A billion dollar business doesn’t run itself.” In truth, I’d lost track of time that evening. Rainey had wriggled her way into my mind, and I nearly forgot that I had this meeting with Frederick.

My priorities had shifted so much since I met her. I hoped I could get back on track soon enough. At least before the charity event.

Natalia hugged me then air kissed me twice. “See, I’m learning.”

I laughed. “Good girl.”

Frederick’s eyebrows drew together.

I shook my head. “Inside joke.”

Annoyance flashed across his face for a moment until Natalia took his arm and led him into our private room. Frederick had his moments of jealousy around me. Especially when women or Demetri were involved. I’d told him many times that he had nothing to worry about and that family always came first in my mind. But I had a lot more money than he did and Demetri and I had the same business sense about us. There was nothing I could do to ease his mind no matter how many times I tried.

We all sat down on the couch, and Frederick poured Natalia and me twin scotches. He was sipping on martinis tonight.

“From here on out,” Frederick said to Natalia, “you aren’t to speak with anyone about Teddy or Sal. No matter who they are.”

Natalia took a sip from her drink. I noticed her hands were trembling slightly. “Okay.”

“Can you tell me what they looked like?” Frederick asked.

“They were huge,” Natalia said. “Rippling biceps and probably a little taller than you, Michael. One was bald, and the other had this tight buzz cut.”

“Is that all?” Frederick asked.

Natalia sighed. “Well I dunno, fuck Freddy, they looked like bodyguards of some sort. I suppose I could point them out if I saw them. I was terrified seeing them at my doorstep. I told them everything I knew. Which as I said to Michael, wasn’t much.”

Frederick touched her thigh and rubbed it a few times, soothing her. “I’m taking care of it. I think you should sit tight.”

“Like hell am I sticking around here,” she said. “I’m going to Colorado and packing up all of Teddy’s things and shipping them back to his place. I’m taking that house. It’s rightfully mine. And I want to be as far away from this place when the shit hits the fan. If it hasn’t already.”

“That’s a good idea. You’ll be safe there.” From more than her husband. Whoever was snooping around for Sal’s killer was dangerous enough. Natalia didn’t need to get involved. “And I’ll be sure to draw up all the paperwork for your lawyer.” Natalia had followed my advice and kept only her name on the Colorado lodge deed. And thank god I had. Teddy’s assets added up to much more than that, so I doubted either her or his lawyer would even put that place in the mix to be divided up.

Natalia lifted Fredericks hand from her lap and held it between her two hands. “Thank you so much. The both of you.”

She touched Frederick’s cheek, and I was thrown back to the time when they dated. Had they rekindled something since she arrived? It wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility for those two. But she would need to be careful during the divorce. Teddy could afford the best lawyers, and if he thought she had cheated too then, she wouldn’t get the deal she deserved.

“So what do you know about all of this?” I asked Frederick. He had to have something for me after demanding I meet with him tonight.

Natalia knew of our involvement with Demetri. Being a good friend of ours had put them in contact a few times. And as much as I tried to keep her out of it, whoever had questioned her had thrown her into the mess we were in. Keeping her involved was our only option to keep her safe.

“Our friend, Sal Rossi, had his hands in multiple projects. And in addition to Teddy as an investor, he had another one who was fit to gain a boatload of money from Sal’s dealings. And now that Sal is dead, he’s not going to see a penny of that money. Especially if he wants to keep his dealings out of the papers.”

“Do you know what this investor is planning?” I asked.

“Right now, he’s doing his own investigation. The initial report said Sal died of natural causes, but this guy is challenging that diagnosis on his own. This could be an issue for us, especially if they catch wind of Demetri’s involvement.”

“Shit, Fredrick! This was supposed to be taken care of,” I said. “What did Demetri say?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“I told him everything my contacts told me, everything I just told you. He said he’d get back to me.”

I stood up and tugged my fingers through my hair. It must be nice for Demetri being in Chicago when we were here dealing with this shit storm. It was only a matter of time before those men came to me for some clarity. I could deter them but then they’d come for Frederick, and as much as I loved him, he wasn’t great under pressure. And if any of us left town, that would be a clear indicator of our involvement.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” I said, trying to wrap my head around this. We’d never been this close to getting caught before. And it wasn’t the police. It was some rogue investor who was out for blood because of his dealings.

“I know, man,” Frederick said in an attempt to calm me down.

I wanted to wallow in this for a little while. For some reason, I had a clear head when I was under pressure. We were on our own for the time being, and I needed to think of something.

“Do you think I should skip town too?” Frederick said.

“No,” I said. “We need to live our lives as if we aren’t affected by this mess. Besides, if they come around, that will give us an opportunity to get more information. We can see what they know and bring that back to Demetri.”

Frederick looked at Natalia. They were still holding hands. Both of them looked pale as ghosts. I had to step up and protect my family if we were going to make it out of this unscathed. We had no choice. Our fearless leader was doing who knows what in his cozy palace hundreds of miles away. Like hell would anyone run me out of my city.

“That’s what Demetri said,” Frederick admitted. “I hoped you’d have another response.”

I leaned over the table, holding Frederick’s eyes. “You listen to everything Demetri says. You’re the one who wanted to do Demetri favors. I don’t want two hot-heads on my ass. Do your job and get this sorted as soon as fucking possible. My business and livelihood are on the line.”

“So is mine—” Frederick started.

I laughed a sharp bark. “You’d have nothing if it wasn’t for Demetri. And if he takes this away from you where are you going to come crawling to?”

Frederick didn’t meet my eyes, and his chest lifted and lowered in slow, deliberate breaths. “You.”

“That’s right, brother. So you better work hard to protect the both of us.”

I shoved away from the table and grabbed my glass. I needed to clear my head and get away from my brother and this whole situation for a minute.

I leaned over the railing and found Rainey right away. Her ash blonde hair was unmistakable in the crowd. She was smiling as she danced with some guy. He twirled her around, and she knocked into someone. She laughed and came back into his arms. My body raged on the inside, seeing her enjoying herself with another man.

I watched her dance for a minute before she looked up at me. I raised my glass to her and smiled before downing the rest of it.

She turned back to her partner, pulling him into a close embrace. Her hair shrouded her face. I couldn’t look at her anymore. I turned around and stared at the floor. I hated seeing her with someone other than me, but most of all I hated that I could put her in danger just by being around her.

I wasn’t pissed at Frederick, but I didn’t want to be around him either. He and Natalia could catch up with each other. At least watching the rest of the people below us, I could pretend I was just a rich bigwig who had a VIP suite. It was better than the alternative. We were all in hot water, and I was pissed at Demetri for leaving us hanging, not that it mattered. The bastard would always do as he pleased.

I wondered if I’d made a mistake in accepting Sal as a client. We still had no idea about his intentions for competing against Kadia. And I normally didn’t want to know anything about Demetri’s dealings. This time was no different. I only wanted it to be over and soon. Though I had a feeling it wouldn’t stop until Demetri got involved. But it may alert his involvement if he tried to fix what was happening now.

I squeezed my glass hard enough that if I applied any more pressure, it might break in my hands. I didn’t have time to have a shredded hand, and I feared for the people below.

In my reverie, I lost Rainey in the crowd. I clenched my jaw. Had she left with her date?

My blood boiled just thinking about her soft hands on some other man.

I paced to the end of the hallway overlooking the dance floor to see where she was. But I couldn’t find her.

I needed to stop this!

I stormed back to the VIP room where Frederick was saying something to Natalia and making her laugh.

I placed my glass down on the table and poured myself a double.

“What’s wrong with you?” Natalia asked.

“Nothing,” I said.

“It’s a chick,” Frederick said.

I glared at him, and he gave me a goofy smile.

“Your assistant?” Natalia asked.

“Your assistant?” Frederick repeated.

“Thanks, Natalia,” I deadpanned.

She shrugged. “Whatever happened with that?”

“Absolutely nothing,” I said wistfully.

“That’s a first,” Frederick said. “Most chicks would love to latch onto a billionaire.”

Rainey was different. She didn’t want me for my money. That was apparent when she broke things off with me. She was different from other women, in so many ways. So why didn’t I fight for her like I should have?