THE OUTLAW’S BRIDE Read online

  She hurried to the kitchen as fast as her hangover would allow. “Sorry, I don’t have anything,” she said as she rounded the corner. “I meant to go grocery shopping…” Fiona stopped, realizing she was speaking to an empty room.

  She turned in a circle, double checking to make sure she hadn’t somehow missed him in her six-hundred-square-foot apartment. “Ace?” she called once more.

  Fiona peered out one of the bullet holes in her front door—a new, custom peek-hole courtesy of Alexei. Ace’s motorcycle was gone.

  Must have taken one look at the kitchen and gone out to get breakfast for us, Fiona optimistically thought, even as her stomach sank. She hobbled back to her bedroom to put on some clothes.

  As she was pulling a tank top over her head, she heard a loud pounding coming from the front of the house. Thinking it was Ace, she hurriedly went to answer it.

  She slowed suddenly. What if it was Alexei? Fiona bent into a crouch, and cautiously snuck over to the door, peeking through one of the lower holes in it.

  It wasn’t Ace or Alexei; it was Melanie.

  Fiona watched as her friend raised her fist to hammer the door again. She quickly shot up to quickly to open it, almost getting punched in the face in the process.

  “Come in, come in.” Fiona ushered Melanie inside where it was safe.

  Melanie said she was okay taking the risk, but Fiona didn’t see the need to hang around on front steps chatting, completely open and vulnerable to a certain Russian mobster who might decide he was tired of waiting around, and that today was a good day to go for a ride his car with an AK-47 hanging out the window.

  Fiona shut the door and turned to look at Melanie. “Do you have any food?” was the first thing out of her mouth.

  Melanie’s jaw dropped and she stared at Fiona. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Melanie asked. “After the shit you pulled last night, the first thing you do is ask me for food?”

  Fiona grimaced. “I’m sorry, but I’m really hungry.”

  She knew it wasn’t cool of her to be making requests from Melanie right now, especially when she was already doing so much to help Fiona.

  “Well, if we had gone home together like we had planned, I could have driven you to get breakfast this morning,” Melanie replied scathingly.

  Fiona felt bad, but she was in no mood to be yelled at right now. Her head and stomach felt like they were joining forces against her in an effort to make her life hell. “You’re pretty upset for someone who didn’t even seem to notice I was missing.”

  Melanie froze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means,” Fiona began, growing angry, “I was gone for almost an hour, and when I get back, you were hooting and hollering, having a grand ol’ time with them! You had no idea where I was, and you were having too much fun to care—as usual.”

  Melanie was always trying to drag Fiona out to clubs and parties, saying Fiona worked too hard and needed to learn how to relax. However, these outings more often than not resulted in her abandoning Fiona to find a taxi home alone while Melanie caught a ride with a handsome stranger.

  “What did you want me to do, Fiona?” Melanie cried. “I’m in a biker bar, surrounded by people who wouldn’t think twice about murdering me, even if they didn’t know we were lying. Did you want me to completely freak out and demand you stay right there next to me?” Fiona looked at her feet. “I was terrified for you, Fiona,” Melanie said, putting her hand on Fiona’s shoulder. “You went into that back room all alone with that man, and then suddenly you were gone. I didn’t know what had happened to you, or what to do, so I stuck to our plan and I played the role of rowdy, partying biker babe.”

  Fiona hung her head. “I’m sorry, Melanie. I didn’t mean to leave you.”

  “Then why did you?” Melanie pushed. “What happened in there?”

  Fiona bit her lip, avoiding Melanie’s gaze. Suddenly, in the bright light of day, the harsh reality of what she was doing hit her full force. She burst into tears.

  Slowly, with many tissues and much coaxing from Melanie, Fiona told her how she had desperately pleaded with Ace for his help. “I told him I would do anything,” she said, sniffling. “He asked me if I meant…you know, anything, and I said yes.”

  Once again Melanie found herself with no idea what to do or say, except this time she didn’t have a character role to fall back on. She didn’t want to be judgmental, but Fiona was being incredibly reckless, and Melanie didn’t think she fully understood the gravity of the situation.

  Fiona was a little more reclusive than most, having often experienced the negative effects of partying secondhand from her father and brother. While that withdrawn lifestyle had protected Fiona from a lot, Melanie wasn’t sure that was a good thing in this situation. She worried it wasn’t in Fiona’s nature to even consider the possibility Ace might just screw her and then screw her over.

  “I see why you felt this was your only option, Fiona,” Melanie began carefully. “I’m just not sure if you’ve entirely thought this through.”

  Fiona frowned, puzzled. “Why do you say that?”

  Melanie hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. Thankfully, she was rescued by the sound of Fiona’s phone ringing in the other room. Fiona gave Melanie a long look, then hurried into her bedroom to retrieve her phone.

  Walking back to the living room, Fiona looked at the number on the screen. It was an unknown caller.

  “What if it’s Niko?” Fiona said hopefully to Melanie.

  “What if it’s Alexei?” Melanie countered.

  Fiona bit her lip, then tapped the answer button. “Niko, is that you?”

  “Yeah, it’s me, Fi.”

  Relief swept through Fiona’s body at the sound of her little brother’s voice. She nodded, answering Melanie’s questioning stare.

  “Where are you? Are you okay?” she asked frantically. “Why didn’t you call me from your cell phone?”

  “I had to ditch my phone; Alexei has William trace them for him to find runners like me all the time,” he replied. “I got a burner phone so he can’t send anyone after me. You should probably get one, too. He might have bugged your phone to listen in, so I probably shouldn’t say where I am.”

  “But you’re okay?” Fiona repeated. Her heart was racing and she knew she wouldn’t be able to calm down until Niko told her he was safe.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I was able to shake Alexei’s guy right away, so they have no idea which direction I’m headed in. I’ll keep moving though, just in case,” Niko told her.

  Fiona thought he sounded exhausted, but otherwise al lright. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding in.

  “Were you able to visit our friend?” Niko asked, carefully avoiding names in case Alexei did have someone eavesdropping on them. Ace wouldn’t be able to do much good if Alexei had a forewarning that he was coming.

  “Yes! I did. He promised he would help us, but he hasn’t said how yet,” Fiona told her brother, fervently hoping he wouldn’t ask how she managed to convince him to go after Alexei.

  “Really?” Niko exclaimed, shocked. “That’s awesome, Fi! What did you say to him?” he asked.

  Fiona froze, the word anything playing on a loop in her mind. She flashed back to Ace looming over her as she begged him from her knees and everything that followed. Images from last night kept creeping up on her, causing her to blush randomly throughout the day. At one point Melanie even asked her if she had a fever. Fiona blamed it on her hangover and hoped that excuse would suffice until she could control herself.

  “Don’t worry about it, Niko. Just focus on keeping yourself safe.” She sounded like a liar even to her own ears.

  “What did you promise him, Fiona?” Niko asked suspiciously. “I can take care of myself; don’t give him something you can’t give for my sake,” he told her determinedly.

  “It’s not like that at all, Niko. Relax,” Fiona fibbed. “I just don’t want to talk about it on the phone. Alexei could be listen
ing, remember? We should keep this short.”

  Melanie gave her a look and Fiona glared at her, turning her back to Melanie. Truthfully, Fiona didn’t want to hang up; she was terrified this could be the last time she spoke to her little brother, but she didn’t want to have to explain how she convinced Ace and The Hell Brothers to help them. Niko would come back immediately, and then Fiona would lose everything she ever cared about.

  “You’re probably right,” Niko said. “Thanks, Fi. You think of everything. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  Fiona bit back tears. “Get going—I don’t want you to get caught just because we’re being sappy.” She wasn’t lying now, but she also wanted to make sure her persuasion tactics didn’t come up again.

  She told Niko she loved him and hung up the phone.

  “Why didn’t you tell Niko about your arrangement with Ace?” she heard Melanie quietly ask from behind her.

  Fiona closed her eyes, begging the Lord for patience. “I know what I’m doing, Melanie,” she said, turning to look at her friend.

  Melanie stepped forward, concern in her eyes. “I’m worried about you, Fiona.”

  “That makes sense,” Fiona said cynically. “There’s a high probability I’ll be murdered in the next few days.”

  Melanie rolled her eyes, frustrated with Fiona’s attitude. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. This guy Ace is bad news. For all we know, he could be worse than Alexei.”

  “Niko told me he would help us, and he’s helping us!” Fiona cried, conveniently forgetting she had accused Ace of taking advantage of her only last night. “How does that make him a bad guy?”

  Melanie narrowed her eyes at Fiona. “I’m trying to help you, so don’t pretend like he’s some romantic guy, dashing off to protect your honor, Fiona. Ace is an opportunist and he sees you as an opportunity, that’s all. When he’s done with you, he’ll move on.”

  “Please, Melanie,” Fiona scoffed. “You’re talking like I would want him to stick around. I know what he is.” After the way he abandoned her last night, how could she forget? She definitely wasn’t going to tell Melanie about that part—it would just add fuel to her fire. “I’m hoping he moves on. He and I made a deal, and the sooner it’s over, the better. Besides,” Fiona added, “you’re always after me to let loose, and this is a great opportunity for that!” She wasn’t ready to admit to herself how much she had liked what happened last night—or how upset she was Ace had left.

  Melanie shook her head. “From the second you met this guy, you’ve been acting totally different, Fiona. Ditching me, lying to your brother.”

  “That’s not because of Ace, Melanie. That’s because I’m doing whatever I have to, to keep my family alive,” Fiona said flatly. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. If I want Ace’s help, I have to have sex with him.” She was surprised to feel a rush of heat down below at the thought of Ace being fully inside of her. Fiona cleared her throat, hoping Melanie didn’t notice her sudden blush. “Since I can’t change anything, can we not talk about it? I don’t want to argue with you,” she finished, offering a crooked smile.

  Melanie pouted for a few seconds, then eventually smiled back. “Okay, okay. You’re right. We need to stick together if we want to get out of this in one piece.”

  Fiona fixed the corners of her own smile in place as she remembered what Niko had told her about Alexei. She wasn’t sure any of them were going to make it out of this, let alone in one piece.

  ***

  Despite the fact that it hadn’t rained in days, Paul kept feeling droplets fall on him from above, the cold wetness rolling down his neck and along his spine. No matter where he stood in the dark alley, he got dripped on.

  “Come on, William, where are you?” Paul grumbled, wiping the back of his neck with his sleeve.

  William was Alexei’s pet rat at the local precinct. Privately, Paul thought it was a terrible idea to entrust someone who so very obviously looked like a rat to do their dirty work, but no one asked what he thought so he didn’t say anything.

  Maybe that’s the trick, he thought as William turned into the alleyway, his headlights dimmed for covertness. Hide in plain sight. It’s never the guy you first suspect. He waved to catch William’s attention, pointing to a large garage door that slowly began to open to allow the driver to enter.

  Another droplet fell as Paul waited for the car to pull in, the large, wet bead hitting his nose and splashing across his face. He scrubbed at his eyes furiously, wondering how tetanus was contracted.

  “C’mon,” he said as William got out of the car. “Alexei wants to talk to you right away.”

  Paul desperately wanted to ask William if he had found where Niko was hiding, but he knew if he acted like he cared, Alexei would see it as a weakness. Alexei got rid of weaknesses.

  “Easy there, Paul,” William said, grinning. “I only just got here. I’ve been driving around for hours. Let a guy get a drink and a bite to eat first.”

  Paul didn’t say anything. He stared down at William for a moment, then turned, walking through the plastic flaps that separated the garage from the warehouse. William followed him into the other room, his little feet scraping against the concrete floor, echoing loudly.

  Huge shelves lined the walls, most filled with car parts, guns, and drugs. The shorter wall along the front had miscellaneous items: illegal plants and animals, and other valuable items the Russian mob had smuggled into the states.

  Half a dozen men milled about the room, taking inventory, removing or replacing merchandise. A set of metal stairs led up to a second floor where security oversaw both the inner workings and outside activity of the warehouse. Three men stood guard, two at the bottom of the stairs and one at the top. They wore heavy black body armor and held automatic rifles.

  In the center was a massive glass and metal coffee table resting on top of a large polar bearskin rug. Alexei was lounging in a white, plush leather armchair, toying with the four-carat diamond ring he wore on his thumb.

  Next to him, on a matching leather couch, sat Vlad. He was talking to Alexei about the remaining gangs that were still causing them problems downtown.

  “…I don’t see why you continue to tolerate them,” he said. Noticing Paul and William, he waved lazily.

  Alexei pointed to another couch for them to sit on as he replied to Vlad. “We have a lot of power here, but not even we will be able to escape unscathed if we do as you suggest and kill everyone we see on a motorcycle.”

  Paul took a seat, resting his elbows on his knees. He folded his hands to keep them from shaking.

  “Not everyone,” Vlad corrected. “Just enough to decimate them. They only threaten our business as long as they’re able to organize.”

  Alexei shook his hand dismissively. “We can finish this conversation in a minute. William,” he turned to address the man who still had not yet sat down, “what have you discovered?”

  “Have you got anything to eat around here? I’m fuckin’ famished,” he said, rubbing his stomach.

  Alexei held William’s eyes for a moment, then nodded to Vlad, who pulled out his phone.

  “How about a steak, huh? Well done?” William asked. “Thanks,” he said, winking.

  Paul tried to pretend he didn’t notice Vlad’s murderous stare. If he were William right now, he’d be wetting his pants. Vlad wasn’t the kind of guy you ordered around. Vlad was the kind of guy that would lay under your bed for hours, waiting for you to go to sleep, then suffocate you with your childhood stuffed animal just because you pissed him off.

  Vlad ordered the food, and William finally sat down.

  Alexei stared at him expectantly. “Well? Did you find Niko or not?”

  Paul felt Vlad staring at him and he made sure to keep his face carefully blank.

  “It’s only been a day, relax,” William said, putting his arms behind his head, his badge reflecting the overhead light. “Now, I can report the car as stolen, but they’re gonna want to talk to the o
wner of the car, which, from what I understood, was undesirable.”

  “How are you unable to find him?” Vlad asked coldly. “He’s a fucking junkie. Have you checked any abandoned houses lately?”

  “Hey,” William shot back, his voice thin and reedy, “it’s not my fault he left you in the dust after his sister damn near roasted all of you alive, and it’s not my fault he was smart enough to ditch his phone. If he’s just a fucking junkie, then you find him.”

  A knife appeared in Vlad’s hand so fast, Paul wasn’t even sure if William saw it. Alexei reached over and put his massive hand on Vlad’s shoulder, calming him.

  “Find something for us to use, William. Quickly,” Alexei ordered. “And get your steak to-go, understand?”