Page 33

Alina:

Starbucks is extremely busy today.

I thought it would help calm my nerves, but it’s making me more antsy. All the talking and people rushing around inside the building is amplifying my anxiety. I also can’t help but wonder if any of these customers are spying on me and Bash. I know Luke has been keeping a close eye on us, even though I’m never quite sure how information gets passed to him. I just make sure to watch my back and try to enter every situation knowing what we’re up against.

I’m bouncing my right leg under the table we’re sitting at and waiting on Bash as he orders for us. I haven’t seen Gilda yet, and I’m praying that she doesn’t bail last minute. These last few days with Bash have been the best of my fucking life. The trauma we’ve helped each other through. The trust we’ve reformed. I just want it to stay like this forever and I’m not scared to say that anymore. I am scared it might not happen though.

Bash comes to sit on my left, smirking at me as our legs graze each other. It feels like a flame shooting up my thigh as I smile and take this small moment to be grateful for him. “Have you seen your friend?” he asks quietly. I shake my head no. “Well, let’s give her a few minutes. Who knows what she could be thinking.”

“What do we do if this doesn’t work out, Bash?” I grab his arm, sinking my nails into it as I panic.

“ Ouch , Lina Girl,” he says softly as I release him with an apologetic curve of my lips.

“I’m sorry, I’m just so nervous. A lot is riding on this,” I sigh, tucking my hair behind my ear. He grabs my arm, the one he bruised last night and lightly runs his fingers over the marks.

“I understand,” he says faintly. When Bash saw the bruises this morning, he almost started crying. I admit, I was a little worried last night when he grabbed me. More because the feeling he was experiencing was so intense and real for him, I didn’t know if I could talk him down if it escalated. I’m just glad it didn’t. My assurance I was ok didn’t curb his remorse and he ate me the fuck out for it. I wasn’t complaining.

“To answer your question, I’m not sure. But we’ll make a new plan if it comes to that,” he says gently as I nod. My stomach feels like it’s about to drop out of my ass. I’ve been in a cocoon of Bash and his surroundings while staying with him and experiencing the actual world again is making this all the more real. But it’s necessary. This is real and the quicker we take care of Luke, the quicker we make the life we want to be living a reality.

Bash leaves to grab our drinks as I continue to wait anxiously. I’m checking my phone for the millionth time when I feel a hand on my shoulder and jump hysterically. Gilda jumps too as we cover our mouths with our hands, mimicking each other.

“I’m sorry Alina! I didn’t mean to startle you,” she apologizes as I shake my head, holding my chest while my heart beats rapidly.

“Holy fuck, Gilda. It’s ok, it’s me! I’m freaking out today!” I reply quickly. “Grab a coffee on me?” I ask as I hand her a five-dollar bill. She smiles graciously.

“Be right back,” she says as Bash passes her with our order, returning to the table.

“Is that her?” he asks, and I nod. “Great. First part of the plan is going well. She showed.” He takes a long sip of his iced coffee and looks at me. “Breathe, babe. Let’s just get this done and then it’s back to our place. It’ll be worth the wait, I promise,” he teases me. I can’t help but melt as he nuzzles my neck. All I want is to be back in bed with Bash, getting my fucking pussy rocked.

I watch as Gilda gets to the front of the line and then orders. She walks back to us, smiling as she joins the table. “And who is this?” she asks as she turns to Bash, and he holds his hand out politely.

“Sebastian, ma’am. And you are?” I swear my panties slicken the second his manners make an appearance. Gilda smiles sweetly and introduces herself, shaking his hand. Bash makes small talk for a few minutes to break the ice. He’s so much better at handling stress than me, so I’m silent as he does the work at first.

Gilda eventually quiets down and looks to me curiously as I shift, uncomfortable. I feel like she’s seeing into my soul. “I know this isn’t just a coffee date to catch up and shoot the shit. So, out with it, Alina. You’re running around with an ex-rockstar, causing trouble when you never have before. You’re planning something. Aren’t you?”

“She’s sharp. I like her,” Bash says cockily and Gilda, despite herself, blushes.

“You’re not wrong, young man,” she says back. “This one here has never done anything to step out of line. And now, all of a sudden, she’s got a new boyfriend out of the blue and Luke’s been freaking out ever since. Why are you causing problems, Alina?” Gilda sips her coffee as both she and Bash settle their eyes on me. I feel ridiculous because I’m feeling defensive. But I decide to just go with the truth.

“Bash and I met in high school. We were lovers back then and reconnected recently when he found one of my client’s sexually assaulting me behind the bar earlier this week,” I start in a rush. Gilda nods, grabbing my hand with her own.

“You’re a strong woman, Alina. I’m sorry you’ve had to be for so long. So, he shows up and what happens next?” she asks.

“Bash returned the favor to Albert by beating his ass, and then I left with him. Luke killed Albert to keep him quiet but wasted no time finding out who Bash was. I mean, it’s not that hard to look up a former rock god slash junkie drunkard who got their tour canceled for partying excessively,” I explain way too detailed in my nervousness.

“ Jesus, fuck , Alina,” Bash says as he looks at me with wide eyes and an open mouth.

“Yeah, that was fucked. I’m sorry, babe. Anyway, he figured out who Bash was and assumed we had a relationship,” I continue.

“You obviously do . The chemistry is impossible to ignore,” she says as she waves her hand between us. I can feel my cheeks glowing red. “Luke came after you, I’m assuming.”

I nod. “He attacked me in my home. And that made it personal. For both of us.” I look at Bash, who touches his forehead to mine, before I look at Gilda again. “I went to get my purse from work yesterday. I left it when I originally ran out on the job with Bash. But Luke had taken it and hidden it in his office. Then took me inside of it to try and punish me.”

“And you couldn’t sit back and allow it to happen anymore, could you?” she questions, understanding the situation perfectly. I shake my head.

“How’d you know?” I ask.

“How could you not? ” she throws back at me. “Your long-lost lover shows up and rescues you from multiple men who put their hands on you, hurting you as part of your day job and overall life. You think I don’t see that spark in your eye? You’re different, Alina,” she finishes.

I don’t really know what to say, so I just look at Bash. And to my surprise, he’s wearing the warmest, most loving look on his face. I’m confused but focus in on his hand squeezing my thigh under the table. “ What? ” I ask in a desperate whisper, but he just shakes his head at me and looks back to Gilda.

“I’ll be frank. We’re taking Luke out. And we need your help,” Bash lays out for her as I freeze. Gilda’s face is blank as she takes in the information and considers his words for a minute.

“Oh, looks like my drink is ready. Give me a second?”

She gets up from the table and leaves. My eyes widen. My heart begins to race, my palms sweating as I turn to Bash.

“Is she leaving?!” I ask in a panic and as I do so, I see that she has indeed grabbed her drink and is now motioning for one of Luke’s guards to follow her to the table. I thought I had been watching well enough the whole time. I’m completely blindsided. I didn’t see him come in and I definitely didn’t see him sitting across the café when we arrived.

“We need to go. Now! ” I whisper-yell at Bash as I jump up, who doesn’t move at all.

“This is a new development,” he says casually as I try to make him rise from the seat by repeatedly pulling on his arm. He isn’t budging and I’m growing frantically frustrated.

“Why the fuck aren’t you running with me right now?” I demand as the two of them approach the table.

“Because I want to see where this goes,” he answers me as Gilda brings her newest addition to the conversation over to us. My eyes are huge as everyone stares at each other. Luke’s man sits at the table quietly. Gilda joins him and then I’m standing there like a fucking idiot, watching everyone else look at me like I’m crazy.

“ What the fuck is going on ?” I angrily demand.

Sebastian:

I place my hand on Alina’s forearm and her eyes whip to me. For whatever reason, I have a good feeling about this. I can tell Gilda isn’t a fuck-around. But Alina’s on edge. I need to get her to at least sit down so we aren’t drawing too much attention to ourselves.

“ Lina Girl ,” I tenderly speak in a soothing voice. She immediately finds my eyes with hers. “Baby. Why don’t you sit and give Gilda a chance to explain herself?”

“Are you a fucking cop, bro?!” she yells instead at the man, making him smirk as Gilda sips her coffee amused. I slap my fucking face with my hand.

“You’re hard to fool,” he says as Alina begins to freak out next to me. I grab her arms and force her to sit as she seethes in the seat on my right.

“ Alina ,” I say with a little more of an edge as she stares menacingly at the man. He just shakes his head, unphased as he smiles across the table. But Alina is furious, and I can feel her trembling in my hands as she tries to control herself.

“Everyone knows what the fuck I’m doing behind the Bengal, ok? I don’t fuck around with cops. I don’t care if you’re here to capture Luke or not. I don’t trust any of you and I’m not going to fucking jail after I’ve been living in a prison of Luke’s making for the past five years!” she hisses as the man nods his head, clearly listening to her.

“I understand, Alina. And to be honest, I am a cop,” he replies. She starts twisting in my arms again, trying to get away.

“Alina. Calm down. Let’s hear him out,” I urge her, but she’s about to cry. I can feel her sweating beneath my hold. I forget about the other two at the table and gently take her face in both of my hands. Her bottom lip is trembling as she clings to my shirt.

“I just got you back. I can’t lose you again,” she cries out. I nod my head, fearing the same thing constantly. But I don’t tell her that. She needs me to be the strong one.

“Let’s assume this is the next step to making sure we never go without the other again,” I whisper to her. She doesn’t fully believe in my hope; I can see it in her eyes. But she finally settles down, looking to Gilda and her friend across from us.

“Alina, this is my son, Cade.” Alina’s brows shoot up in surprise at Gilda’s introduction.

“Your son? ” she asks skeptically and they both nod.

“To put your fears to rest, I’m here to take care of Luke. But there are other guys at the precinct who are dirty and are benefiting from Luke’s activities. They’re watching me and if I make a move personally, or this falls on me, I will go down for it. And I’m trying to avoid that, just as you are, Alina,” Cade says. She crosses her arms and sniffs. It takes everything in me not to laugh at her attitude.

I know she’s scared, but she’s so fucking sexy when she gets that glare in her eyes.

“ Oh . So now we’re here to do your dirty work?” she spits at Cade. I squeeze her leg, leveling her with a stare. She scrunches her nose at me and turns away.

“Lina Girl, take a breath please,” I beg as she rolls her eyes and closes her mouth. “Cade. Are you asking us to partner up with you on this shit?” I throw at him and he nods his head yes.

“Isn’t that what you’re looking for?” Gilda asks us.

“I’m still deciding that,” Alina answers sarcastically. The silence at the table is uncomfortable as the women glare at each other.

“I don’t think you have any other options,” Gilda challenges as she leans onto her arm, moving further into the center of the table.

“ You may be right ,” Alina reluctantly admits. “I want immunity, though. I’m at the point I’ll rip the fucking throat from that fucker, but I want to be protected, and I want Bash to be protected too. That’s only fair, seeing as we’re the ones who will be spilling the blood.”

“ Done .” Cade stares at Alina as she quietly assesses him back. “You’re both safe. I’ll take down the dirty cops along with Luke so nothing will be put back on any of us.”

“How do we do this, then?” I ask him and Alina, thankfully, keeps her fucking mouth shut so he can answer.

“I can get him alone and subdue him, but we’ll have one shot at this,” he says seriously. “If Luke isn’t taken care of, he will freak out and double security while redoing the rounds, making it virtually impossible for me to get close to him again.”

“We get it! We’re not gonna fuck this up!” Alina says defensively. I roll my eyes, hoping to any god this is all over soon. My head is pounding from the tension my girl is giving off.

“Our original plan was to get him at his home,” I say quickly, taking over the conversation. “When Alina doesn’t show for work Friday, I was going to pay everyone on his staff to grab any weapons and walk away. Direct deposit, thanks to your mother and her access to payroll. We wanted to be waiting for him when he couldn’t find Alina at her house or the bar or wherever else he thinks she’ll be.”

“It’s not a terrible plan, but I could save you the money and still have everything take place in an area that would make it personal,” he offers.

“The Bengal,” Alina says and Cade nods.

“He loves that bar more than his home,” he says.

“I don’t care! I’m setting his fucking Dobermans free on him, and they live at his house,” seethes Alina.

“ Wait . That’s not a bad idea,” Cade considers.

“So, what? Are we back to paying the staff to leave?” I ask. Cade shakes his head no.

“Not necessarily. They’re scared of the dogs, though. If I can set them loose, everyone will flee on their own. I’ve worked with them personally, and they’ll mind me to return to their cages so you can come onto the property after it’s been cleared,” Cade says and Alina scoffs.

“You’re a guard, not a dog trainer. What makes you so sure?” she throws at him. Gilda clears her throat and interlaces her fingers together in front of her.

“Some skills are ours since birth and Cade has always been excellent with animals. He works with the dogs on his own time because he can’t stay away from them. That’s more of a connection than one who just feeds them, and barks orders their way,” she says with a bite and Alina throws an eyebrow in the air, but says nothing, to my great relief.

“Ok, great. Dogs are set loose after Luke leaves. The staff flees. We arrive and wait for you to corral them?” I ask him and he nods. “Then, what?”

“The rest is up to you,” Cade says quietly, and Alina grabs my arm. “I’ll supply the bastard and clear out anyone remaining that the dogs didn’t take care of. You worry about taking care of him . I just have to get back to a place where someone sees me before it’s announced he’s dead in order to prove that I wasn’t the one who killed him. And unfortunately, we need his body, so don’t release the dogs again. I can’t guarantee your safety either if you do.”

“Great. We’ll take care of the details from there,” Alina says, leveling me with a knowing stare. I nod, trusting her. “Let’s make sure we message each other Friday morning and that things are set to go by the evening then.”

“As you wish,” Cade says with a nod. He and his mom are silent as the conversation dies. I start to squirm, not sure how to end this meet up.

“Let’s exchange numbers,” I suggest to him. We flip our phones across the table, entering each other’s contact information into the devices.

“That’s that, then,” Gilda says matter-of-factly.

We all nod before leaving through separate doors.