Page 33 of Dangerous Liaisons
He swore under his breath and walked over to Hunter. He studied the dead body. “You recognize this man?”
“These guys aren’t from here. The kutte says Valhalla MC, but none of them have any patches besides that. Several were in regular clothing. They weren’t aiming for anyone in particular.”
Sergei eyed Xavier where he stood, watching the man’s gaze linger on Isabella. “It was just the two of you?”
“Yeah, they must have entered through the back door right when Alexie came in as a distraction.”
“It’s always locked with a security pad.” She didn’t like the look on Sergei’s face as he studied the tall biker. She cleared her throat. “He must have given them the security code.”
Becka had entered the room during the conversation. “PD is on the way, thanks to a shit ton of 911 calls from patrons. I suggest anyone thatdoesn’t want to get caught up in the shit storm leaves before they get here.” She glanced at Ava. “It’s going to be a longer night than we expected. Do you need to clean up?”
“I’m fine, Becks. I want to watch Chief Mitchell’s face when he gets a look at everything. He turns a delightful shade of green at the sight of blood.”
“Isabella, come,” Sergei commanded. “We need to get you away from this.”
“But-”
“Seychas. Now,” he growled. He let out a bark of Russian toward her, eyes flashing. “This is not up for discussion.”
“You don’t give her orders.”
His gaze swung back to Xavier. “And you do not concern yourself with her.”
“Stop it. I will go,” Isabella interrupted them. “I’m not a fan of the police and would like to avoid questions I cannot answer. More importantly, I need to get home to my son.”
Xavier didn’t look away from Sergei, the two men locked in a silent battle of who would break first. “I’ll come by to check on you later, Isa.”
“That will not be necessary. I will look after her from here on out.”
“Sergei, that is enough.”
Kira cleared her throat from the doorway. “Boss, we need to leave.”
Isabella didn’t wait for Sergei andheaded for the exit.
He was slower to follow, looking away from Xavier to direct his attention at Hunter. “We will talk soon about this and come to a swift agreement about the next step. Do nothing before that. Is that clear?”
“I don’t work for you.” Hunter grabbed Ava’s elbow the second she stared at Sergei. “Out of respect for Isabella and what looks to be an attempt on her life, I’ll wait to make any decisions until I’ve met with her.”
With another pointed look at Xavier, the Russian strode out the door.
Despite the blood soaking her clothes, Hunter pulled Ava close to kiss her. “Let’s check on the others. This place is about to be crawling with cops.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“You will explain to me what you were thinking!” Sergei was overflowing with anger as he paced the living room. “Tell me who this biker is to you!” He stopped to glare at her from where she sat on the couch, a glass of vodka in her hand.
“Perhaps now is not-”
Head snapping to the side, he fixed his flashing, furious gaze on Kira standing in the doorway. “You do not have permission to speak.”
Her jaw snappedshut, and she lowered her head.
“I warned you that the distractions you have allowed her would cloud her judgment, Isabella. She left you unattended to...to...”
“You will leave her alone. She is not responsible for what happened tonight.”
“No, but she handles your protection, a protection which she failed to do.”