Page 7

Going to work from Lustz felt weird. This was my first day back since I moved over on Saturday. I was blessed that I worked day shifts Monday through Friday. It was due to working in a neurologist’s clinic. He saw patients and performed procedures only on weekdays. I’d spent the remainder of Saturday, Sunday, and yesterday trying not to dwell too much on Reef and my predicament.

This would be enough for most people to never return to Lustz. However, it wasn’t for me. It was a shame it had happened, but I couldn’t blame the club. Later in the day, on Saturday, after Carver had left, Tajah stopped by. She was upset that she hadn’t come to see me at my place. I assured her I wasn’t upset and understood why not. Mikhail didn’t know what kind of situation he was walking into, and he wanted to protect her. She spent a couple of hours with me and ensured there was nothing I needed before she left. Mikhail was downstairs doing something while we visited.

That evening, around dinner time, Cady called to see how I was. Both women and Sharlena repeated the same thing on Sunday and Monday. They invited me to a barbecue for the holiday, but I wasn’t in the mood. But the one to surprise me was Carver. He kept texting to ask if I was doing alright. It was hard to resist asking him to come over. He was offering friendship, but I wanted more than that from him.

Our meeting on Friday night impacted me hard. However, despite the circumstances, spending more time with him on Saturday only made my desire to know him better and see if he might be interested in us being more than friendly acquaintances burn in me. But what if he was only being nice because of his sister? Or I wasn’t his type?

I knew that he was a submissive, yet I might not be the type he liked to play with. Or what if I was, but the Reef debacle turned him off or scared him away? He might wonder if I’d done something to make Reef react like he did. God, the things that swam around in my head all weekend drove me crazy. It was a relief to go to work.

I hadn’t been to my apartment, so I was pretty confident I wasn’t followed to work. During the drive from there to Lustz the other day, I paid close attention to my surroundings. I watched for vehicles like the ones I’d seen going from the store to Sawyer’s and then home. I didn’t spot any. Also, I watched for any turning the same way I did every time. Again, nothing. However, I still scanned my environment on the way to work. Yet, with the amount of traffic, it would be a miracle if I did spot anyone.

When I walked into the office, I shed my worries about everything. It was time to concentrate on my job and the patients who deserved my full attention. I went through my usual routine of greeting my coworkers, exchanging a few words about the weekend, and then preparing for the first patient to roll in. We were typically swamped on the first day of the work week, so the schedule was packed. I liked it that way rather than slow and tedious.

The morning half flew by. I went from patient to patient or task to task with hardly a break. At lunchtime, I ate what I’d brought with me. The afternoon half was almost as busy, and the next thing I knew, it was quitting time. On my way out the door, I got a text from Tajah.

Tajah: Can we stop by tonight? We need to talk about your apartment.

I typed out my answer.

Me: Absolutely. What time?

Tajah: Is 7 alright? We’ll bring dinner. No objections. I’m craving.

I laughed as I responded.

Me: 7 is great. No need to make a threat, Mama Bear.

Pocketing my phone, I exited the building. I was back to being careful and keeping an eye on my surroundings. I thought I did that in general, but after this scare, I knew I was lax. I breathed a sigh of relief when I reached my car and got away unmolested. It took longer to get to Lustz than to get there this morning. By the time I was riding the elevator to the third floor, it was already six o’clock.

Entering, I put my things away and went to my bedroom. I wanted to shower and change before they came. After working all day, I felt better when I showered right away. I loved that the hot water here never seemed to run out. I could take as long a shower as I wanted. However, eventually, I had to end it and get dressed.

When I went to the kitchen, it was a quarter to seven. I excused my extended time in the shower due to shaving and then my moisturizing routine afterward. I was setting out glasses. I wanted them for when Mikhail and Tajah arrived, though it would seem odd to serve them their stuff.

I walked through to make sure the living room was tidy. A pillow was fluffed here, and my e-reader was taken to my room. Then I was done. I killed the remainder of the time, staring out the window. I liked it at night best when the city was lit up. It seemed magical then.

There was a knock at the door, startling me. I rushed to it and called, “Come in.”

The door opened, and Tajah came in with Mikhail on her heels. I went to her and hugged her.

“You didn’t need to knock. This is your place,”

I reminded her.

“I know, but if someone stays, we won’t barge in. It’s good to see you.”

“You, too. Hello, Mikhail,”

I said. He surprised me by giving me a gentle one-armed hug.

“Hello, yourself. Hope you’ve had everything you needed.”

“I have. This place is amazing. Please, let’s have a seat. I’ll get us something to drink. Where do you want to order dinner?”

“I took the liberty of ordering already. It’ll be here soon. Tajah assured me the place is one you like,” he said.

“It’s that French café you, Cady, and I went to that once,”

she said excitedly.

“Oh, that one is wonderful. I can’t wait.”

Before we could say anything else, there was another knock at the door. Assuming it was the food, I let Mikhail get it. The sound of more voices had me whirling around. In the door came Hoss and Cady. They were a surprise, but coming in behind them was the biggest. It was Carver. I tried not to stare as I drank in the sight of him. He was dressed in a suit. It looked sexy on him.

“We were about to tell Lexi you were coming, but you arrived too soon. She’ll probably kick our asses out now,”

Mikhail jokes. He was looking at Hoss when he said it.

I laughed when Hoss calmly gave him the middle finger as he said, “I say this with love, Mikhail. Fuck off.”

“Hey, watch it! There’s a damn baby who can hear you,”

Cady hissed. She looked so serious, yet she’d sworn, too. This cracked us all up. When she realized what she had done, she giggled.

“I appreciate the effort, but I think you’re all safe until the baby is born,”

Tajah said, smiling.

“Good, because that shit is killing me,”

Cady sighed.

“You don’t want the baby picking up a dirty mouth like his or her Aunt Cady,”

Carver said, smirking.

“You can be thrown out, brother. And you’ll regret it for more reasons than one. The food tonight is amazing. I can’t wait. Is it here yet?”

Cady asked as she came over to hug me. I was chuckling as I hugged her back. She was so funny in her own way. You never knew what she might say or do.

“It’ll be here soon. Hold on. Finish saying hello to Lexi, and then we can get drinks. She was offering them as you knocked,”

Mikhail informed them.

Like Mikhail, Hoss squeezed me. I was left wondering if Carver would or not. To my pleasure, he did. I wanted to moan when his arms surrounded me. His cologne hit my nose, and I inhaled deeply. Not wanting it to be over too quickly. I wrapped my arms around him and murmured, “I’m so glad you came.”

“I’m glad to be here,”

he whispered back. When we parted, I thought it was with reluctance on both of our parts, not only mine.

I moved to the kitchen to help the other two ladies fill the drink requests. We were seated around the living room with the men in no time. I thought they’d get right into the reason for their visit, but they didn’t. Instead, everyone talked about their first day back to work. I contributed a small statement since mine wasn’t exciting. We hadn’t had anything out of the usual happen.

Cady, Hoss, and Mikhail were more exciting. Tajah told us she was close to finishing a book and couldn't wait for us to read it. When I met her and found out what she did, I got her first book. After reading it, I wondered why I hadn’t found her sooner. I loved them. I couldn’t wait for this new one.

“You haven’t said how your day went, Carver. Anything fun happening on your end?”

Cady asked.

“I got a new client. That’s about it.”

“Anyone we know?”

Tajah asked.

“Taj, you know I can’t tell you that. It’s confidential,”

he chided her.

“I know, but it sucks. We don’t know who you help. Not unless it’s in the news or something. Your practice keeps growing, so we know you do a great job,”

Tajah added.

“That’s the way it should be. No one should know who I represent. And thanks, it is growing. In fact, I’ll be bringing on a second paralegal. It’s too much for me and my current one.”

We all congratulated him on that.

Mikhail’s phone buzzed. He took it out and looked at it. He tapped a few times and then put it away. “Good news, the food is here. Freddy is bringing it up.”

I’d met Freddy, so I knew he was one of the floor managers. There were a few of them. This got us up and going to the kitchen to get plates, utensils, and other items. Within a minute, there was a knock, and the door was opened. The food smelled incredible as the bags were brought to the counter. Containers were taken out and opened so we could see everything that had been ordered. It was a feast.

I was thrilled when I saw one of my favorites—coq au vin—a fancy way to say rooster in wine. It was a French stew of wine-braised chicken, mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots with crispy bacon. It was hearty, and when I had it last time, I raved about it. For dessert, I was drawn to the dessert crêpes with fresh fruit, cream cheese, whipped cream, and hazelnut spread. My mouth watered just looking at them.

Plates were filled, and we all sat at the table in the breakfast nook. It had seating for six, so it was perfect. There were a lot of compliments and moans, but not a lot of anything else. When we’d finished the food, we sat back to let it digest. That’s when Mikhail brought up why they were there. I’d been wondering, if it was just to tell me the work was done at my place, why was everyone else here?

“Okay, I guess it’s time we talked. Lexi, I had Tajah tell you we wanted to stop by to talk about your apartment. That’s true. However, it’s not exactly the only thing we need to discuss. Before you ask what else there is, let me tell you about the work done on it. Sawyer went in today and placed the extra sensors on the balcony. It’ll alarm using your wired system. I have no clue how he got it to do that, but it means you only have one alarm to worry about. He also had the dowel rod made for the slider. He tested the doors and windows. They all work on the alarm.”

He paused, so I responded. “That’s fantastic. So it’s safe. I can move back there and give you back your apartment. However, it hasn’t been a hardship staying here. It’s wonderful, and I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to use it.”

“You’re very welcome,”

Tajah told me.

“But there’s more. And it’s not good by the look on your face,”

I said to Mikhail.

He sighed. “It isn’t. After you left on Saturday, Hoss and I asked his friend, Iker, to have some of his men watch your place. We hoped it would tell us if Reef was lurking around or not.”

“Iker is the guy who provides all the security for my office and home. He also provides bodyguards if necessary, similar to what Sawyer does. He had some of his men take turns watching your apartment Saturday night through this morning. I’ve got to say, it wasn’t what we hoped,”

Hoss added.

“Hell, spit it out. You’re making her more nervous,”

Carver growled.

“Reef was spotted hanging outside your apartment for extended periods seven times in less than seventy-two hours. The last was this morning, around the time you would’ve left for work. He left when you didn’t appear, and Iker’s man followed him. He drove straight to your office. He knows where you live and work,”

Mikhail stated.

My heart was pounding by the time they were finished. It was a nightmare. Why fixate on me? We hadn’t ever had sex, and the three times we’d played had all been in the past month. Before that, after I joined Lustz, I’d played with a few guys, but they were one-and-done encounters. I’d seen Reef around, but he never approached me until about six weeks ago. The food I’d eaten threatened to come back up. The next thing I knew, Carver was sitting next to me. He had an arm around me. I leaned into him.

“The son of a bitch is truly stalking her. If he knows where she is, I don’t care if the alarm system is updated. She could still be in danger. Even if he can't get into the apartment, he can wait for her outside,”

Carver hissed. I thought the same thing.

“True, which is why we’re here. We don’t want you back there until we figure out how to handle him. There’s a chance he’ll get bored and stop, but it’s slim. Men who fixate like this seldom do. And when we make our next move, it’s likely to set him off. We don’t want you there when it happens,”

Mikhail added.

“What move is that?”

I asked hoarsely.

“His Lustz membership will be revoked. If he’s found on the premises, even outside, he’ll be trespassing, and the police will be called to arrest him. We can’t have a man like him here. It’s a risk for not just you,”

Tajah was the one to answer me.

“That’s fine if I’m here. But what about my apartment and work? It’s not like I can stay away indefinitely from my place, and I have to work. I need to get a hold of Sawyer and have him take me shooting and get my permit.”

“Whoa, hold on, don’t do that as a knee-jerk reaction. Yes, if you want to refresh yourself and do that, we’ll get it set up. Sawyer can do it, or Iker can. However, before that, you have to remain gone from your apartment. We’d like you to stay here. It’s empty the majority of the time. It’ll be ideal,”

Mikhail offered.

“It is, but you stay sometimes. I don’t want to be here imposing,”

I objected.

Mikhail was opening his mouth, no doubt to counter my objection, when Carver jumped in.

“It’s all well and good to have her here, but he knows she’s friends with Tajah. After you revoke his membership, he’ll definitely know it. It wouldn’t take a lot for him to figure out if she’s not at her home, that she’s here. All he has to do is follow her. And that goes for Cady and Hoss’s house. What she needs is to be somewhere he won’t think of looking. She can’t be seen driving her car. A way to hide in plain sight.”

“How do you suggest we do that?”

Hoss asked.

“You have her go home with one of you as her escort. She packs more of her stuff. Return here and make it look like she’s staying at Lustz. While he’s busy watching her car in the main parking lot, not the private garage, I leave in my vehicle. He doesn’t know it. Alexandra will be hidden in its backseat. I’ll take her to my house. I have an extra room. She can stay there.”

“But what about going to work? He’ll see her. Even though you take the train, and if he’s followed you, he knows you do. There’s a short walk to your office building,”

Tajah reminded me.

“She doesn’t take the train until this is resolved. The building you work in has a private garage for employees. Iker mentioned it. He said Reef seemed frustrated when he wasn’t allowed inside to see if your car was there. It has a guard checking passes at all times,”

Hoss said suddenly.

“It does, yes. It’s to keep patients from taking our spots. They have a large parking lot, but some dislike walking. We have to show a card that lets us enter,”

I answered.

“If Carver or someone else were to take you to work, you would stay hidden, and the driver could show the card and be allowed to enter. You’d stay hidden until you’re out of sight of the entrance, then you get out. Your driver can wait a few minutes before exiting. There’s no way he’d have to know they brought you to work,”

Hoss continued.

There were exclamations over the idea, mainly about how it could work and guarantee the most likely success. I agreed, but there was a problem. I had to get their attention by whistling to tell them what it was. Five pairs of eyes landed on me, startled. All talk died away.

“Those could work. However, I can’t have any of you do that. First, it’s a big ask and disruption to your lives. Secondly, it places you in danger if he figures out who is helping me. I’m not saying Carver will do it, but if he does, what if it leads Reef to Carver’s house? If Reef is as unstable as you think, he could target Carver. I won’t have it. I’ll go to a hotel. There are hundreds around. I’ll get one close to my work. I’ll rent a car and wear a wig so he doesn’t recognize me.”

“Like hell, you will. We’re not allowing you to stay alone. He hasn’t seen me before. Or if he did that night, it was briefly. I don’t believe he’ll think of you leaving Mt. Juliet except to stay with Cady or Tajah. And the two of them have security to keep him off their properties. Believe me, Hoss has the connections to hire security if he needs it. The same goes for Mikhail, and he has even scarier connections. If Reef figures it out, we’ll ask them to hook you up with security. But unless it occurs, the safest place to be is with me. I have a state-of-the-art security system, and I have guns and a permit to use them. We’re not letting you go to a hotel,”

Carver growled.

It was true. When it came to play and sometimes sex, I liked to be in charge. However, in everyday life and sometimes in the bedroom, I still loved for a man to take charge. I needed him to take care of me. The way Carver was acting told me he could switch it around. Something difficult for many people to do. His dominant stance was turning me on. The last thing I should be thinking of, but I was. I had to shove that thought to the back of my mind to concentrate on our debate.

“Fine, say she does that. It can’t be forever. Is there something the police can do to get him to stop? Or get rid of him?”

Tajah asked the men.

“Sweetest Dove, I wish I could say yes with one hundred percent certainty, but I can’t. They can arrest him if he trespasses. She can ask for an order of protection. If he violates that, they can arrest him, but not keep him. If he harmed her, that would change it, but that’s not something we’ll risk. I’m afraid he comes to the conclusion himself to leave you alone, or we take other steps,”

Mikhail told her softly.

“Other steps? What does that mean?” I asked.

I saw Hoss and Mikhail exchange looks while Taj and Cady did. The only ones who didn’t were Carver and I. “Tell me,”

I demanded in my best Dom voice.

“You must understand that we wouldn’t go this route unless we had no choice. My family is known in this area. Those who know of them fear them. It could scare him away if they were brought into it or if it was even hinted that they were involved. Or they could remove him. There’s also a group of bikers I know who deal with situations like this all the time. They could be asked to help,”

Mikhail informed me.

“Why would your family be feared? And bikers?”

I asked reluctantly.

“My family is Bratva, Russian Mafia. Before you ask, I am not. It’s through my dad’s side, and he left that life before I was born. However, I still have the connection, and they’re part of my life to an extent, just nothing on the illegal side. My second cousin, Matvey, is the pahkan, the boss. That has been enough to keep people from causing trouble in the past.

“As for the bikers, I have connections to a motorcycle club. They’re great people. They’re not into illegal shit. They have helped numerous people to get free of their abusers, kidnappers, and more. I first found them when a new patron joined Lustz. His name is Payne, and he played here often. He was in high demand by many.

“These days, he doesn’t come often. When he does, it’s with his wife, his old lady, Jayla. They met at my club. It’s through Payne, long before he met Jayla, that I got to meet and know Outlaw, one of his club brothers. He’s a computer whiz. He does the background checks for me. He can find it if I need to know something deeper about someone. I’d trust them to have my back anytime. They’re mostly family men with successful businesses.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Mikhail was related to the Bratva! You’d have to live under a rock not to know who that was and how dangerous they could be. And bikers, from the tiny bit I knew, were just as perilous.

“I think you just shocked her into speechlessness. Lexi, I assure you that Matvey and his wife, Victoria, are delightful, and you have nothing to worry about. If you’re not messing with their livelihood or family, you’re safe. As for the bikers, I’ve met them. We went to their compound and hung out with them a few months ago. They’re just like Misha said. They work to help rescue human trafficking victims and more,”

Tajah added.

I waved my hand for her to stop. “I admit, it’s a shock. I had no clue. However, I would never judge anyone based on their circumstances, such as who they’re related to. I like to let people prove who they are to me. With that said, I hope it won’t come to the point where we’ll have to ask either group to help. I’ve listened to everything you’ve all had to say. It’s a lot. I know you probably want an answer right now, but I can’t give it to you. I need time to think. Would you please give me until tomorrow after work to make my decision? I promise, by then, I’ll have one.”

I knew that wasn’t what they wanted, but I was relieved when they all agreed. I knew it was with reservations and reluctance, but they did. After that colossal revelation, it was hard to go back to talking about mundane things, so it wasn’t long afterward that we broke up for the night. They tried to stay until the cleaning was done after dinner, but I refused. I needed something to occupy my mind. Carver was the last one to leave. He told the others to go ahead. He stood in the doorway of the penthouse while they got on the elevator down the hall.

“I know your head is reeling, Alexandra. I just want you to keep in mind that my offer isn’t being rescinded, no matter the risk. I think you’ll be safe with me. If you want to talk things over with anyone, I’m here. And if there’s any way legally around this, I’ll find it. However, the concern is your safety. I won’t allow him to hurt you. As you noted on my bracelet the other night, I’m a sub, but that’s not the whole me. I am often the protector. It’s just food for thought. Watch yourself going to work tomorrow.”

His lips grazed my cheek. I almost turned my head so they would touch my lips, but I didn’t want to cheat like that. If we ever kissed, I wanted it to be a real one.

“Thank you, Carver. I will think about it,”

I promised.

He nodded as he walked away. I stood there watching him. He glanced back right before he got into the elevator. As the elevator closed, I shut the apartment door, locked it, and set the alarm. I had a long night ahead and wouldn’t get much sleep. What should I do?