Page 13

After the horrible Saturday night dinner, the weekend passed in peace.

Well, all except the call from Mom.

She snuck and called me and Cady separately on Sunday.

She apologized for our father and begged us to forgive him.

She made excuses for his behavior, but for once, we pushed back and told her that if she wanted to remain with him, that was her business.

But we wouldn’t see her in his presence, nor would our children be exposed to him.

If she wanted a relationship with us and them, she had to grow some backbone.

Either divorce him or do what she wants, regardless of how he would react. It was hard, especially when she cried, but it was true.

Today, I returned to work after dropping Alexandra off at her job.

I had a relatively full day, but arranged to hold a personal meeting at the office.

It was one between Mikhail, Iker, Hoss, and me.

It was time to decide what the next step would be regarding Reef.

Iker ended the surveillance of him yesterday. We were meeting at three o’clock.

The morning went by quickly and smoothly.

I was able to catch up on the things I postponed on Friday.

After a half-hour lunch with my three employees, where we chatted about our weekends, I was back at work.

When the first one showed up for our meeting, I was wrapping up my final phone call.

I had Odelia show Iker to the conference room. By the time I was done with my call, Mikhail had arrived.

I entered the conference room and went to greet the two men.

As we shook hands, the door opened, and Hoss strolled in.

Odelia was with him.

She checked to be sure we didn’t need anything, then left.

Finishing our hellos, we sat down at the table.

“Nice office you have here, Carver.

Wish I was seeing it for a better reason than we have to talk about that shitstain, Reef,”

Hoss grumbled.

“Thanks, Hoss. I wish we didn’t have to talk about him, but now that he’s not being followed, we have to figure out what to do. Iker, did your men mention if they saw him easing up on his stalking attempts?”

I asked. Might as well get to the point. We could talk about general stuff afterward if we had time.

He shook his head wearily. “I wish I could tell you yes, but no. He was spending as much time as ever. To be honest, I don’t know how the fucker was making a living. He works from home, but as much time as he was out watching Lustz, her place, and her work, or in transition between them and his home, he didn’t get much done. He’s not giving up. She can’t go back to her apartment. If he finds her out alone, he’ll try something. He’s got to be spiraling without a glimpse of her for weeks.”

“Unfortunately, I agree with Iker. This man isn’t someone who’ll walk away,”

Hoss stated.

“Do you believe he can be warned away by one of us?”

Mikhail asked.

Hoss and Iker exchanged looks, then looked at me, then Mikhail, and they both said, “No.”

“Son of a bitch, I knew you’d say that. I don’t see a choice. We have to try a nonlethal approach. What if we were to have someone scarier warn him and back it up with a beatdown? He’d live, but maybe he’d think before attempting to come near her after his recovery?”

Mikhail suggested.

“You want to see if Matvey’s Bratva guys can scare him straight?” I asked.

“They can either do it, or we can ask the Archangel’s Warriors MC if they will. Either is a scary prospect. Who wants the Russian mob or a motorcycle club after them?”

Iker asked.

“Your average sane person, no one, but I’m unsure if this guy is sane. I think we have to talk about the possibility of those not working. If they don’t, you know what the options are. Either let her go about her life, and if he pulls anything, hope you can protect her and have his ass arrested. Or see to it that he can’t harm her,”

Mikhail threw out.

We sat there in silence. We all knew he spoke the truth, and as much as I wanted to believe there was no reason to go that far, I didn’t. This was Alexandra we were talking about. If anything happened to her, I’d never forgive myself or get over it. After several ticks of the clock, I spoke up.

“If your cousin and his people or the Warriors can’t persuade him to forget he ever met her, then we have no choice. He’s dangerous, and I can’t let her be harmed,”

I told them.

“Agreed,”

Hoss said.

Iker nodded. When I looked at Mikhail, he nodded and said, “I agree, too.”

“Then let’s get them involved. Can we call them and see what they want to do? Who do we start with?” I asked.

“It’s kind of a toss-up. Both are scary. Why don’t we let Matvey’s guys take a swing at it since they’re here in Nashville? We’ll see if they do the job. They’ll make sure he doesn’t end up talking or spending more than a week or two in the hospital. If he continues after that, I’ll talk to Outlaw and Payne. Not to say the Bratva aren’t terrifying, but Payne is diabolical,”

Mikhail stated.

This suggestion earned murmurs of approval from around the table. We had apparently all been told a few stories about both groups. Because of the nature of his business, Mikhail decided to wait and call Matvey from home—that way, the message would be encrypted somehow. I had no idea how, and I didn’t need to know. With this sorted out for the moment, we spent time talking. We filled in Iker and Mikhail, although he’d heard it from Tajah, no doubt, on the disaster of a dinner with the parents and the Perrys.

Hoss shared that Reggie had called him earlier today to ask if he had time to meet with him this week. Reggie said he had a business opportunity to pitch to him. Hoss agreed and said he would meet with him on Wednesday afternoon. I was curious to find out what it was.

I hated seeing them go at four, but I still had something to finish quickly, and then off to pick up Alexandra. Somehow, everyone in my office was ready to leave at five o’clock. It was some kind of miracle. We joked about it as we walked out to our vehicles together. Wishing them all a good evening and a safe drive, and getting the same back, I headed to the VA to pick her up. It was a huge campus, but if you knew where you were going, it wasn’t bad. Since it wasn’t on a base, there was no gate guard to show an ID to get onto the campus. I wish it did. Then, Reef wouldn’t be able to go near her office building.

The guard at the parking structure for the staff waved and opened the wooden arm to allow me inside. He recognized me, and I didn’t even have to show him her parking card anymore. I drove to where the first set of elevators came out onto the first floor of the structure. Alexandra was standing there chatting with a female coworker. When she saw me, she waved, and the coworker smiled and waved at me, which I returned, and then she walked off. I got out and rushed around to open Alexandra’s door and get her tucked inside before I reentered and secured myself.

“How was your day, babe?”

I asked first as I put the car into gear, and we moved toward the exit.

“It was good. Steady work, so I didn’t get bored, or the time didn’t slow down. What about yours? Did your meeting with the guys go well?”

“Work was good, and I’m caught up on everything I pushed off on Friday. As for the meeting, we’ve got a plan. We just pray it works and doesn't have to go beyond the first two phases.”

“What are the first two phases, and what is the last one you dread?”

“Alexandra, I wish you wouldn’t ask me that. It makes me feel funny to say, and I know you won’t like it. We don’t either, but we see no other way. We all agree. Reef isn’t the type of man who’ll give up and move on. And if he were, he’d do it to someone who might be unable to do what you’ve done. Some people cannot change.”

“I understand that there are those who can’t. It’s hard-wired into them. Reef may be one of those people. But whether I agree or not, I know you guys will do what you believe is best and safest. Tell me, Carver. I need to know what to expect.”

“Fine, I will, but can it wait until we’re at home, seated on the couch? I want to be able to see you and touch you when I explain,” I asked.

She sighed but agreed, “Okay, we can wait, but as soon as we’re home, I want to hear it all.”

“I promise you will.”

The remainder of the drive was done mostly in silence. When we reached the house, we didn’t waste time getting out. I still parked the car in the garage, and we closed the door before she exited. She still donned the hat and her sunglasses. I hustled to her car door before she got out herself. Escorting her inside, I disarmed the alarm and then reset it once we were inside. I went to the fridge and got us a drink while she went to sit on the couch. We might be at this for a while. Coming to join her, I prayed she wouldn’t freak out about the plan.

“Carver, enough procrastinating. Is it that terrible?”

“I don’t believe it is. Or it isn’t when you take into account protecting someone you care about. Then it isn’t.”

“Then just spit it out,”

she insisted.

“The first thing you need to know is that Iker’s men, who’ve been following and watching Reef, reported that the amount of time he spends doing it never decreased. They have no idea how he had time to work. He does something from home, but even so, they said he wasn’t leaving enough time to do a full-time job. That’s important because it speaks to whether he’ll be someone who loses interest and stops. Our assessment is that he won’t. And even if he did, he’d find someone else to fixate on.

“The next thing is to have someone scare him into leaving you alone. And I’m not talking about Mikhail, Hoss, or me doing it. You know of Mikhail’s family connection. It could be some of the Bratva soldiers who work for Matvey or some of the guys from the motorcycle club Mikhail is friendly with. We decided to go with the Bratva first.”

As I paused, she asked, “And when you say scare, you mean more than talking to him, right?”

“We mean more than talk. He wouldn’t have permanent impairments, but he’d spend time in the hospital healing up. And the only reason for getting physical is that words won’t work with him. If they would, we would be talking already.”

She didn’t say anything for several seconds as she absorbed it, and then she asked the question I dreaded. “If the beating doesn’t do the trick, what is the next move?”

“We could try to have the MC do a second beatdown. But if we do and it fails, we have two choices, and I refuse to consider one of them. We could take away all the precautions. Let you go back to your normal life and routine, and wait for him to try something so we can call the cops and pray something will stick and he’ll go away for a bit. That’s the one I can’t do, Alexandra. It would mean putting you in harm’s way and potentially getting hurt or worse. I wouldn’t be able to live if something were to happen to you.”

“Okay, then what is the one you can handle?”

she asked. We were holding hands at this point.

“He’ll be removed from the equation permanently by whatever means are necessary. Read between the lines. And don’t ask me how because I have no idea. I imagine those who give the beatdown would be the ones to come up with this final plan.”

Her fingers tensed around mine, and then she eased off. Her face was pale, which was hard to do with her honey-toned skin. Her eyes widened, and she stared at me in disbelief. I didn’t say more. After a solid minute of silence, she broke it.

“Carver, you’re suggesting that someone kill him! I don’t want that. Surely, there’s a way around it. A way to put him in jail so he learns a lesson. Or he is sent to get professional help with this mental illness he has. I’m not crazy about him being beaten, but that’s better than this.”

“Alexandra, how do we get him arrested? I work as a lawyer, and even if it’s not criminal law, I know and hear enough from my fellow lawyers to know how inadequate the justice system can be. In cases like this, the victim has to be egregiously harmed before they might get harsher jail time. Or the victim is killed.

“As for mental health help, that’s happening with that employee who went after Tajah and Mikhail. She’ll never get out of there, but it’s due to how she’s behaved since entering the program, not that she tried to burn the two of them alive. She’s attempted to kill more than one employee. There’s no guarantee Reef will be like her. And would you be able to live with him being free and obsessing over someone else whom he might harm?”

“Of course, I don’t want him to harm or kill someone. And I don’t want him to do that to me. I just don’t want to agree to end a life if there was another nonlethal response.”

“Neither do any of us, but we have to be prepared for the fact that it may be necessary. If it is, can you live with it? I don’t want anything to ruin what we’re growing here, but we can’t look over our shoulders for the rest of our lives waiting for the axe to drop from him, either.”

I didn’t want to put her on the spot and demand a decision, but I had to. If it destroyed what we were building between us, then as much as it would hurt, it would show me that we weren’t meant to be together. Squeezing her hand, I gave her a slight smile.

“I’m going to work in my home office for a while. Why don’t you take time and think? I’m not forcing you to tell me this second. But I need to know if we can proceed with Matvey’s guys. Mikhail was calling him when he got home. They tend not to wait around. They get things done.”

“It’s horrible of me to say it, but I agree. See if they can scare him off and give him a reminder that lingers. As for the rest, I do need to think. I’m sorry, Carver.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. I’ll be down later, and we can order something for dinner.”

We’d gotten in the habit of ordering on Monday nights since the first day of a new week could be somewhat uncertain. Tonight might end up being a long night.

I kissed her before I went to my office and shut the door. I didn’t really have any work to do. It was more about giving her time and privacy. After sitting there doing nothing for several minutes, I wondered if I should call Mikhail and get an update on his cousin. I found his contact information and hit call. It rang twice before he answered.

“I had a feeling I’d be getting a call from you. Tajah and Cady are on a three-way one with Alexandra. I assume it means you told her of the meeting and what we discussed.”

“Shit, that didn’t take her long. Yeah, we did. I’m in my home office. I’m giving her time to think it over. She’s reluctantly alright with the beatdown by your family and the second one if it becomes necessary. It’s the other final step that she’s struggling with. She doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. Alexandra wants him to get help. I explained what that’s turning into with Laura, but that’s not the standard. Most will only be in for the short term and then let out. Prison is the same if they ever get time, which is seldom.”

“Hey, I hear the stress in your voice. Take a deep breath. Are you thinking she’ll say no way, which’ll cost you both?”

“Hell yeah, I do, Mikhail! If we do that, I could lose her because that sick bastard ends up hurting her or, God forbid, killing her. If I eliminate that chance, she could hate me and never want anything to do with me because I chose to keep her safe the only way I thought would work,”

I snapped.

While he remained quiet, I counted to ten in my head. When I hit ten, I spoke again. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take this out on you. This isn’t your fault. I wish I didn’t have to ask her to choose. I’m scared, Mikhail. What if she says she can’t? Or worse, since I suggested it, she can’t see herself with a man who would do such a thing, even if I haven’t done it yet. Things have been going great despite the way we came together. I’ve never had a relationship with someone this good. I haven’t told anyone this, but I truly believe she’s the one.”

“Wait to see what she says. Don’t borrow trouble. She may surprise you with her answer. As for how you feel about her, have you told her?” he asked.

“No, we’ve both agreed it’s wonderful and the best we’ve been in. She’s divorced. From what I know, he was a bastard, and she doesn’t have the best experience in a committed relationship. I’ve hinted at how I feel, but was afraid I’d scare her off if I outright said that to her. It’s too soon, but I’m falling in love with her,”

I confessed.

He hooted and said, “Congratulations, Carver! I’m happy for you, man. It’s wonderful to have someone to love. As for it being too soon, that timing is your own. I began to fall for Tajah from day one, and it took no time. The same goes for Hoss and your sister. Who is anyone to dictate when it’s acceptable for us to fall in love? You must tell her even if the worst happens, and she says she can’t live with our final method. She has to know.”

“It won’t make a difference if she’s already made her mind up.”

“Maybe not, but she deserves to know. However, I think she’ll surprise you.”

“Well, let’s hope she does. Oh, she reluctantly agreed to have Matvey’s guys visit him. And if that fails, then Payne’s club. Did you talk to your cousin?”

“I did. He’s ready when we are. He’s glad to do it. He says it’ll help keep his men on their toes and prevent them from becoming bored. All we need to do is give him the green light, and he’ll make it happen within forty-eight hours. I swear, he sounded tickled to do it. He wants to know when we can all come to his place to have dinner. Victoria is chomping at the bit to play hostess. I promised him we’d all come. It was all he wanted in return for the favor.”

“Mikhail, going to dinner is the least we can do. I’ll let you know whether to have him do it after I hear what Alexandra says. Thanks for listening to me whine. I panicked.”

“You’re welcome. Call anytime. I know he’s married to your sister, but you can talk to Hoss, too. Unless it’s something that might harm Cady or you, he’ll keep your counsel.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. I’ve not known him as well, but it’s getting there. I won’t keep you any longer. I’ve got to check on some emails and stuff. Thank you again, and we’ll talk soon.”

“Anytime. Have a good one. ‘Night.”

“Goodnight, Mikhail.”

As we hung up, I felt slightly better. I woke up my computer to check my personal emails to see if there was anything I should handle while I waited. As long as I kept busy, time would pass faster.

Alexandra:

I was calmer than I was after Carver dropped the load on me about what the men had decided should be the course of action for ridding ourselves of Reef. He wasn’t going anywhere, was the consensus, and I couldn’t disagree. I wasn’t keen on the idea of just returning to my old routine and waiting for him to either do something or not. And the thought of him being beaten to teach him a lesson, even if it was deserved, hadn’t set completely well with me either. However, to go to the extreme of killing him. That was the one that had my head spinning.

Once Carver excused himself to work and let me think, I knew I had to talk this out with my closest friends, who were Tajah and Cady. I was getting closer to Sharlena. We’d mainly talked on the phone rather than in person due to my keeping a low profile. I liked her. And she always told me that Sawyer asked about me to be sure I was okay. He could be a friend, too, as long as he had no ideas about him and me. I told Sharlena as soon as Carver and I became a couple, so she could pass it along to her brother. She congratulated me and didn’t act weird, so hopefully, that meant Sawyer was okay with it.

After I told them why I was calling and what Carver shared with me, it was apparent that their men had already informed them. They let me talk it through, and when I was done telling them the choices and what had me upset, I was asked to tell them what alternatives I had proposed to deal with Reef.

I’d gone through the mental health help idea, which Tajah snorted at. After some back-and-forth, I was left with two big questions to answer. Tajah posed the first, with Cady tacking on the second one. Would I be willing to make Carver endure something he couldn’t handle or to walk away from him forever over his attempt to protect and free me from Reef? Could I do that and be happy and have no regrets?

We hung up after they told me to call them anytime and sent me love and positive energy. I paced the living room. It was too claustrophobic there, so I went outside to walk in the backyard. I would’ve taken a walk, but I didn’t want to worry Carver if he found I was gone. I circled that yard so many times I lost count.

I was a caregiver at heart, which was why I became a nurse. And I did try not to harm others. But a part of me felt guilty, and I think that was what I was battling. The guilt came from my willingness to set aside my moral standard of doing no harm when it came to protecting myself or those I cared for. It should be an absolute, shouldn’t it? Either I was, or I wasn’t for harming another.

Cady and Taj had their ideas on that, and they were more fluid than mine. They didn’t see it as conflicting with my professional ethics. Depending upon the circumstances, you could be one way professionally, another personally, or even have both. They both clearly stated they’d be behind someone being killed if there was no other way to ensure safety.

I didn’t know how long I’d been out there circling and thinking. What stopped me was Carver coming outside. He wore a look of dismay. He was slightly frowning.

“Alexandra, babe, why don’t you come inside? You’ve been out here for over an hour. We need to talk. There’s no need for you to be stressing yourself like this. Come on.”

He held out his hand to take mine.

I walked over and took it. He gently squeezed mine and then led me back inside the house.

“It’s late, and we need to order dinner. Are you alright if we do that first, then we can talk? Or would you rather talk first?” he asked.

I was hungry and knew he would be, so I chose option one. “Let’s get the food ordered. I’m starving. Are you still good with what we talked about last night?”

“I am. Do you want what you said yesterday you’d get?”

“Absolutely, I’ve been thinking about it on and off all day, if I’m honest,”

I confessed.

He smiled. “Give me a few minutes to place our order.”

“Take your time. I need to use the bathroom, and then I’ll pour us something to drink.”

He nodded and watched me leave the room for the half-bath off the living area. I was back and filling glasses with ice when he entered the kitchen. I tried to drink water during the day and then have my not-so-good-for-you beverages at night. My weaknesses were lemonade and cherry Pepsi. His was mainly water and maybe an occasional root beer. Tonight, he chose the root beer, and I poured my lemonade.

We gravitated to the couch, which was our favorite spot. After sitting down, I turned enough so I could see his face. He did the same, but before I could say anything, he did. “I know this is tearing you up. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I don’t want to lose you over this dilemma, so I take it off the board. If you can live with the beatdown, we’ll do that. I hope it’s enough to fix him. We’ll just have to remain vigilant.”

“Hang on, I know you’re saying that to make me feel better, but it’s not what you want. I’ve warred with two sides: what stance I take professionally versus what I’d do personally for those I care about, or someone in danger. As I paced and thought out there, I realized it’s okay to have separate ideals or ones that are more fluid. And that even in my work, I have a different outlook in special circumstances. For example, although it’s illegal in all states except six, and I don’t say this to everyone, in cases where someone is terminal and wants to end their suffering and pain, I wouldn’t be opposed to assisted suicide. If you’ve ever watched someone suffer, you can see when it might be acceptable.”

“What does that mean for us and this situation?” he asked.

“It means that if this ‘talking’ doesn’t stop him. And he continues to stalk me or try anything, then if it comes to that being the way to stop him, I’ll accept it.”

“But can you? The last thing I want is for you to say yes and then find out you can’t live with it. Not only are there people’s lives other than ours that can be destroyed if this becomes known, but it could end us even if no one knew.”

“Carver, I would never tell anyone, let alone the police, what was done. As for it ruining us, I don’t believe it would, but I know I can’t lose you and what we’re building. I refuse to let us be derailed or ruined by someone like Reef. We’re in a good place, and I love where we’re headed. I want to see where we end up.”

“And I want the same, Alexandra. I have to tell you something. It has nothing to do with this situation with Reef, other than it made it more imperative that I tell you. I’m looking at a forever future for us. You might believe it’s too fast to say that, but for me, it’s not. I know this because I’m already falling in love with you. I’m not asking you to say the same back. I’ll wait and pray that you feel the same way about me one day. But if you do, know I’m right there with you and want it all. I want what my sister has with Hoss and Tajah has with Mikhail.”

His declaration made my heart jump. His confession took my breath away. Looking into his eyes, I saw he was telling the truth. Carver Anderson wanted me for the rest of our lives and was well on his way to fully loving me. After Germain, I knew I’d be cautious and wouldn’t lose my heart to someone until I knew without a doubt he loved me, and we were meant to be together. However, there was no way I could sit here and not tell him what I was feeling.

“Carver, thank you for saying that. It’s fast and scary to think of it. I haven’t had the best experience, as you know. You’ve had relationships that didn’t work out. But I want you to know I want the same thing you do. I feel like we’re headed there, and when it comes to my emotions, I’m already falling in love with you. I guess we’ll dive in headfirst together and see where we end up.”

His expression morphed from concerned to astonished. The next thing I knew, he had pulled me onto his lap, so I had to straddle him, and he kissed me until I forgot everything but him. As I fell further under his spell, I knew that even if it weren’t always perfect, we’d be okay if we were together. Reef was in this category. It was time to start living fully, not worrying and sneaking around all the time to avoid him.