Cruel Enforcer by Maggie Cole

23

Kora

Last night,Sergey and I went to a basketball game then stayed at my place. We had a great night. It was late when I fell asleep, and like always, he didn't close his eyes until I passed out. When I wake up, he's lying on his stomach with his arms under his pillow.

I've not gotten bored looking at his sexy body. It's chiseled perfection, inked with beautiful designs. His back intrigues me like always, and I stare at the unique and stunning artwork.

I wish he would tell me what happened.

I should give him a massage. I bet he's never let anyone give him one.

I can't help myself. I grab my massage oil, slide on top of him, and start working the knots out of his shoulders.

"Kora, what are you doing?" His voice is firm.

I lean over and press my naked chest over his flesh. I glide my hands over his shoulders. "I'm giving you a massage."

"I'm good. Roll over, and I'll give you one."

I kiss his cheek. "No. I'm giving you one." I move my hand down his back and find a knot in his deltoid. My fingers graze the tip of one of his stars, and he flips me over so fast, it freaks me out.

"Sergey!"

His eyes are lit with anger. The scowl on his face is a mix of hatred and sadness. It tears at my soul. His pecs move up and down faster than they should be after just waking up.

"Sergey." I reach for his face, and he jerks his head toward the window. The tic in his jaw pulses.

Within seconds, he gets off me and goes into the bathroom. He shuts the door.

I sit up in bed, cursing myself for touching his back.

What was I thinking?

I should be allowed to touch my man's back.

He should tell me what happened to him. Maybe I could help him.

He's never going to let me.

I go into my closet and put on my robe. The sound of the shower fills my ears. I sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for him.

Twenty minutes pass. The door opens, and I jump off the mattress. "Sergey, I'm sorry."

A towel is around his waist. He stays positioned so only the front of his body faces me. "You're fine. I need to go."

"It's five thirty."

"I have a workout with my brothers." He throws his shirt on from the night before then steps into his pants.

"Your workouts are at seven."

He freezes, closes his eyes, then releases a stress-filled breath. "I need to go, Kora."

"I'm sorry. I didn't—"

"Don't be sorry. You're fine." He fastens his belt and slides his feet into his shoes. He steps toward me and kisses me. "I'll call you later."

I hold his cheeks. "I'm sorry."

He gives me another chaste kiss. "I have to go."

I stare at him with my insides churning and kicking myself for creating this type of reaction. I've triggered him, and I'm not sure where it puts our relationship.

He leaves. I work out, shower, then meet the girls at the bridal shop. Nora invited my friends and me to her dress fitting, and we all agreed to take the day off work.

At least I have my friends.

All goes well until Hailee gets a call and doesn't take it. Skylar wrestles her for her phone to see who it is then tosses it to me and tells me the code. I open her missed calls.

"Ohh, Liam. You should call him back." Hailee met Nora's cousin, Liam, at the reopening. He's got the hots for Hailee. She won't admit it, but she's dying to go out with him. He's an Irish bad-boy, with gorgeous blue eyes, strawberry-blond hair, and tattoos covering his rock-hard body. The chemistry was sizzling between them, but she's always scared of the bad boys and chickens out for the safe, boring guys.

Hailee goes back and forth, telling us to give her the phone back, and when Liam texts her, asking if she will go to the wedding with him, I reply for her.

Hailee: I'd love to.

I smirk and hand the phone to Hailee. "Here. You can thank me later after your trip to O town."

Hailee snatches the phone and sits up. She reads the text. "I can't believe you did this."

"Oh, come on. Live a little for once. You were totally into him. And you gave him your phone number, so you obviously want to go out with him. All these prim and proper guys aren't doing anything for you," I claim.

"You shouldn't interfere with other people's business. You don't know a thing about him."

"Okay, tell us what's wrong with him."

Hailee stares at her phone. My stomach drops. I sit up straighter.

Crap. Maybe I shouldn't have replied.

Nora quietly asks, "Liam told you, didn't he?"

Hailee glances up, and guilt fills her face. She winces. "No. I did an online search on him last night."

The color drains in Nora's face. "Are you scared of him?"

Why would Nora ask that?

What did Hailee discover online?

Hailee's expression turns red from distress. "Should I be?"

Nora confidently states, "No. Liam is a lot of things, but he would never hurt you or any woman."

In the next few minutes, Nora informs us about Liam's long stint in prison for killing the murderer of her father.

The guilt I feel consumes me.

I'm seriously messing up big-time today.

Dmitri's wife, Anna, softly says, "I really like Liam. I don't get any bad vibes from him. Maybe you should give him a chance, Hailee."

Nora blinks back tears and spins. She says to the sales lady, who looks super uncomfortable, "Can you add my veil, please?"

She nervously nods and adds it.

"Can you give us some privacy?" Nora asks.

"Sure." She leaves the room and shuts the door.

I want to tell Nora how gorgeous she looks, but before I can open my mouth, she says, "I think we should get something straight."

"What's that?" I ask.

"Let's not pretend we all believe the O'Malleys or the Ivanovs are always law-abiding citizens. You all grew up in Chicago, minus Anna. You've undoubtedly heard of my family. And I think you understand from your run-in with Wes Petrov at the Cat's Meow, the Ivanovs aren't to be messed with."

We sit in silence, avoiding each other's eyes.

Nora points to me. "If you're going to play in their sandbox, don't pretend you don't understand what they are capable of and use it as an excuse to run down the road. If you do, especially with Sergey, you'll have me to deal with, so fair warning."

"I think Sergey is a big boy and can handle himself," I reply.

"Kora." Aspen shakes her head.

"What? He's a freaking animal, as alpha as they come, and I'm pretty sure emotionally unavailable. And he's made it clear he isn't into relationships."

"He said that?" Anna asks in surprise.

I shrug. "Not in those words, but two plus two is four."

I can't even touch his back. He won't tell me anything about his childhood or demons. I'm not sure how we can ever be anything more than friends with benefits.

"What does that mean?" Nora snaps.

I put my hands in the air. "Easy." Nora's six months pregnant, but I don't think it's her hormones. I've obviously struck a nerve.

She releases a big breath. "Sorry. I've known the Ivanovs and their history forever."

"What's so crazy about their history?" I ask, hoping to find out something about Sergey he won't tell me.

Anna, Aspen, and Nora exchange a glance.

"What?" I repeat.

"They didn't have it easy. It's all I'm going to say. I'm sorry. I think my hormones are messing with my pregnancy brain."

Are you kidding me? You're the one person who could give me some sort of insight, and you're going to play hush-hush, too?

It's her dress fitting. Don't be nasty to her.

I need to speak to Aspen alone. She knows their history if she's marrying Maksim.

I hesitantly smile. "No worries. But for the record, I'm not out to hurt Sergey."

"I know."

The conversation turns to what Hailee is going to do about Liam. I wince then apologize again. I do feel bad I put Hailee in this position. I like Liam, but I didn't know he served time for murder. Hailee isn't the type of girl who is going to be able to deal with that. The worst thing she deals with is kids sniffing glue in her class.

He's an O'Malley. His father is the head of the crime family. Think before you act from now on.

Nora gives Hailee a stern lecture to tell Liam and be honest. The rest of the time is awkward.

There go my invites for any future dress fittings.

When the dress fitting is over, Hailee, Skylar, Aspen, and I get in Maksim's car he reserves for Aspen. Bogden is driving and seems to have become Aspen's new bodyguard. I've met him a few times.

"Hailee, I really am sorry."

She doesn't say anything and turns toward the window.

Skylar and I exchange a guilty look.

Aspen puts her hand on Hailee's. "You like him a lot, don't you?"

Hailee stays silent and still won't look at us.

"Did you go out with him?"

She shakes her head. "No. We've only talked and texted a lot."

Aspen meets my eyes then softly asks, "And you felt a connection?"

Hailee wipes her face. "It doesn't matter."

Aspen tugs Hailee into her chest. "Maybe you should give him a chance? Go to the wedding and see?"

Hailee turns. Her eyes glisten. "I'm not like you three."

"What does that mean?" Skylar asks.

"You all have great sex, hot men, and tons of confidence. I can barely form a sentence when I'm around a man."

"You aren't having hot sex with hot men because you keep choosing to play it safe," Skylar points out.

"You have confidence. You're just more reserved than those two," Aspen says, alluding to Skylar and me and trying to make a joke.

Skylar and I don't respond. It's no secret we're the wildest out of the four of us.

"It's not funny. Liam's the only guy I've been able to talk to...well, ever."

"Then go to the wedding with him," Skylar says. "He did his time. Nora says he wouldn't ever hurt you, and I don't think he would, either."

"I'm not scared of him hurting me. Not physically."

"Then what's the problem? I don't understand," Aspen asks.

Hailee scrunches her face. "He didn't tell me. I had to find out on my own. He said he was living in southern Illinois and was happy to be home."

My chest tightens. "Was Liam in Tamms?"

"Yes. That's what the article said."

"Jesus," I mutter under my breath.

"What?" Hailee asks.

My stomach twists. "Well, he didn't lie. He was down south, and I'm sure he is happy to be home. Tamms is a supermax prison. They treat prisoners like animals. My cousin was there for a few years. Plus, I had to learn all about it during law school. I can't imagine Liam in there or the hell he went through."

Hailee bites on her lip and stares out the window again.

"Hailee, stop being a chicken and go to the wedding with him," Skylar says.

"He murdered someone," she says.

Aspen shifts in her seat. When her eyes meet mine, there's no hiding the fact she's marrying a killer, and I'm sleeping with one.

"You don't know why he did it or anything about the man he killed. Maybe he deserved it," I say.

"Kora!" Hailee says.

"She's right," Aspen says.

Hailee's eyes widen. She gapes at Aspen. She finally says, "Since when are you okay with murder?"

Aspen stays silent for a while, gathering her thoughts. She gently but firmly replies, "I don't think the world is black and white anymore. There are lots of gray areas. I think love drives people to do a lot of things. When evil pops up, it's not always a black and white choice."

"The world isn't the sunshine and rainbows you teach kids about all day long, Hailee," Skylar adds.

Hailee's face turns red, and she glares at Skylar. "You're going to minimize what I do now?"

"No. I wasn't—"

Tears well in her eyes. "Yes, you did. Well, you know what? I may not be in fashion, or a big-shot attorney, or an important person for the city, but I'm proud of what I do. I'm paid a crappy salary and underappreciated by most parents. But I love what I do. And my kids, they have enough doom and gloom and need some sunshine and rainbows." The car stops.

"Hailee, I didn't mean—"

Hailee opens the door, gets out, and shuts the door. She runs up the steps of her building.

"I'll call you later." Aspen gets out and goes after Hailee.

"Crap!" Skylar exclaims.

I sigh and roll the divider window down. "Next stop, please." I hit the button for the divider to go back up.

"You shouldn't have said that," I tell Skylar.

"She's reading into what I said."

"I know, but she's hurting right now."

Skylar groans. "I feel so bad."

I put my arm around her. "Me, too. It's been a shitshow of a day so far."

She turns. "What else happened?"

I haven't told my friends a lot about Sergey and me. Work is hectic right now. My free time involves my limbs wrapped around Sergey's. And my friends all seem to have a million things going on, too. We haven't seen each other as much as we usually do. "If I tell you something, will you keep it between us?"

"Sure."

"I've been seeing Sergey."

"Duh. We all figured you two were banging."

"Yeah, but I like him."

She turns in her seat more. "Let me guess. Emotionally unavailable, cocky as hell, ruler of O town, and you're in over your head and not sure how you're ever coming out because he's going to crush you like a bug one of these days?"

"Wow. You've thought a lot about my relationship," I tease.

Her face falls. "He's an Ivanov."

I tilt my head. "Skylar, are you okay?"

"Yeah. No. I don't know."

"So something is going on with you and Adrian?"

Tears well in her eyes. She closes them. I don't speak for several moments, giving her space to collect her thoughts.

Too much time passes without her answering me or opening her eyes. "Skylar, has Adrian hurt you?"

She shakes her head. "No. But he will."

"Why do you say that?"

"I can't resist him. He's like the oxygen I need to breathe."

That's how I feel when I'm with Sergey.

It slaps me in the face and takes me a moment to recover."And this is bad?"

"He's not the type of guy to commit."

"He told you—"

"No! We've not talked about it."

"Why not?" I ask.

She swallows hard. "I heard his brother and him talking. Obrecht didn't know I was there."

"And?"

"Obrecht was complaining about their mom being all over them to marry and have kids. Adrian said, "Mom needs to stop living in la-la land, thinking that scenario is for either of us."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. I may date a lot, but I want to find the one and get married. I know I'm almost thirty-seven, but I still have some time, don't I?"

"Yes, of course you do."

"I'm not saying I want kids. Honestly, I don't know if I do or not. But I want someone to want me to be theirs forever. You know?"

I nod. "I do."

"I'm knowingly giving up marriage and kids if I stay with him."

"You should discuss this with him. Maybe you misheard something," I adamantly say.

Skylar squeezes her eyes shut then pins her gaze on mine. "I didn't."

"Maybe he'll change his mind about it with you."

"No, he won't. He's Adrian Ivanov. He knows who he is and what he wants. He's not going to change his viewpoints or what he wants because of me."

"Skylar, you should talk to him."

She nods and blinks hard. "Should and reality are two different things. He won't even let me into who he really is. He's not going to cave on marriage and kids."

"What do you mean he won't let you into who he really is?"

"He gets calls in the middle of the night. Then I won't see him for days until he shows up at my door."

Sergey did that.

Doesn't mean Adrian is a killer, too. He could be seeing other women.

"What happens when he does appear?"

Her face turns red. "There's an animal in his eyes. I-I don't ask questions. My body just submits to him. I-I don't understand it and can't quite explain it."

"He ties you up?"

"No. He...umm...it's like he owns my body."

I rub her back and admit, "I think I know how you feel."

"I think I'm addicted to him. It's freaking me out." The car stops. Skylar looks out the window. "This is me."

We hug. I'm worried about her, but I'm not sure what to say right now to convince her to talk to Adrian. I have my own issues with Sergey I'm not sure how to get past. "I'm here if you need to talk."

She smiles. "I know. Thanks."

I sit back in the seat on the way to my place, thinking about what Skylar admitted. I don't know about kids, but like Skylar, I want someone to want me forever, too. The entire time, all I see is Sergey's face.

I messed everything up this morning by touching his back.

There's so much I don't know about him.

Why does it matter? I agreed that knowing who he is with me was enough.

But is it?

Aspen's statement about black and white and gray replays in my mind. It's my situation with Sergey. He's not black and white. He's gray. If I'm going to be with him for the long term, I need to find peace with it.

I think back to the month I didn't see him and how much it hurt. I didn't even know him as well as I do now, and I could barely breathe some days. I had a hard time focusing on work, and any free time I had, I obsessed over him.

He's the only man who's ever made me feel alive.

I ruined everything this morning.

I don't want to lose him.

When the car pulls up to my building, I get out and walk toward the front doors. I don't notice the black car in front of us.

"Kora!" Sergey's voice calls out, and I freeze.

His arms wrap around me, and he kisses my neck. I melt into his body, feeling protected and loved. It chokes me up. He murmurs in my ear, "Lapa, I'm sorry about this morning."

I nod, but the tears flow.

He spins me into him. His hands hold my face. He wipes my tears with his thumbs, stares into my eyes, then kisses me. He pulls back, looks at me again, then kisses me some more. He repeats it over and over while people bustle all around us.

"I don't want to lose you," I admit, in a barely audible tone.

"Then don't ever let me go."