Page 145

2 weeks later
I’m standing outside of an empty warehouse with Maksim, Parker, Niko, and Sasha in Staten Island on a gorgeous July morning. And bygorgeous, I mean it’s drizzling, and it’s cooled down about ten degrees. It reminds me of home, and I’m hit with even more guilt that I haven’t visited Charlie’s grave. The building reminds me of one I visited a while ago, and I shake off the memory as quickly as it came.
“Is this where you murder me?” I ask Maksim.
With a laugh, he takes my hand, and I very reluctantly accept it. The looks down at where we’re joined and he makes a contented sound, as though he’s content to simply hold my hand. Dark eyes find mine. “This is where Bianchi and Rossi train our guys to fight and how to use weapons properly.”
I take a quick peek over my shoulder, eyeing the ten foot fences surrounding the warehouse – barbed wire crowning the top. “Guns.” I whisper.
“Si, Duchessa,guns. Are you sure you still want to learn how to use them?”
Looking at the large building which seems to need a few repairs and a fresh coat of paint, or fourteen, I incline my chin once and we carry on. As soon as the doors open, I gasp in utter shock. The floors are waxed, and a blaring white, gleaming under the bright lights. There’s an older Italian lady working as a receptionist. I see Samantha leaning over her, peering at something on the screen. She stands straight when she sees me, walks around the large desk, and stretches her arms out for a hug. Holding back a shudder, I return it.
“Sabrina! Vincenzo told me you’d be by today! You look beautiful, Ilovethe pink. It fits you. Maksim! Niko! Oh, who is this?”
“Oh, this is my bodyguard, Parker.” I hate saying that. It feelswrong.
“Hi Parker! Welcome! Give me just a few minutes. I’m sure Vinny is on his way up here, but we can meet him halfway." She smiles, rounding back to the desk, but the small woman sitting behind it shakes her head and a makes a small shooing motion. Samantha chuckles. “Never mind, then. Come on, I’ll take you to my husband.”
We go through the corridor leading away from the vast receptionist area, and I’m dying to ask why such a large space is needed. But as soon as we exit the hallway, I’m met with what looks like a scene from a war movie.Men in tactical boots and pants, wearing tight black Under Armor shirts, walk past us carrying manilla folders. It almost looks like an army.
I murmur “bodyguard school,” under my breath, and Maksim squeezes my hand, muttering back, “Yeah, this is exactly that.”
If I thought the receptionist area was an abyss, the range here expands for what seems like a football field or longer. There is an area towards the back that opens like a garage. There are about eight desks in the last corner, and I see a familiar face. “Is that Aleksi?”
Maksim nods. “Samantha, hold on. I need to properly introduce Aleksi and my wife.”
“Oh, sure. Vincenzo is about to be here. Sabrina, I’ll see you for our brunch on Tuesday?” she queries, soft brown eyes on mine. She leaves with a hug and goes back the way we came.
“Aleksi!” Maksim calls out, and I have to take a step back when Aleksi gets closer.
He’s young, but he’s huge – like a bear. He towers over me and Maksim, and I wonder how I missed him at the wedding. Gigantor has dirty blonde hair in a neat knot on his head, warm honey eyes framed with dark brown lashes, his dark glasses, and tattoos on every inch of skin that’s visible. “Sabrina!” he says with excitement and familiarity. He reaches down and wraps his arms around me in averytight hug, and I yelp.
“Put her the fuck down!”
Aleksi’s soft brown eyes widen in concern, brows bunched together as he puts me down. His full lips frown, and I giggle, nervously shifting from foot to foot. He’s young – maybe only a few years younger than me – and the top of my head is still at his ribcage. He looks down at me. “Are you okay? I’m sorry. I think you’re the coolest woman I’ve ever met. Virtually, of course. The way you had the FBI raid Donahue’s was fucking fantastic. It was like watching an episode ofCriminal Minds. Areyou friends with that guy?” He talks a mile a minute, and he’s almost bouncing on his toes.
I nod.
“Can I meet him? I know he was at the wedding, but then there was food…” he trails off.
I giggle again, my nerves uncoiling in his puppy-like demeanor – reminding me of Jonas. “I’ll see what I can do. He’s a professor now and prefers his involvement with the FBI on the DL.”
Aleksi nods. “I can understand that. You’re still a baddie even if you can’t. You have any sisters?”
I shake my head. “Unfortunately, my sister is set to be engaged pretty soon.”
“Bummer,” he replies, then looks at Maksim. “What are you doing here?”
“My wife is meeting with Bianchi and Rossi to be trained.”
“Fuck, you just got way cooler.” Aleksi says with admiration in his tone, and I snicker.
“I’m not so sure. I just felt that with everything going on, I should probably be trained in the right environment.”
He nods. “Yeah, that’s actually a good idea. Let me know if you ever want to get together, and I can show you the tech side of everything we do.”
I scrunch my nose. “I may have to take you up on that. The most I can do on a computer is turn it off and on properly. Oh! You know, I do have my former assistant Lillian. She’s a law student.”