Cruel Enforcer by Maggie Cole

2

Sergey

Kissing Koraand leaving is the equivalent of giving a kid a present on Christmas and telling them not to open it.

She's had too much to drink.

I leave and wait to hear the locks click. When I stick my head back inside, she hasn't moved from the wall. Her breasts are still rising and falling quickly. She gazes over at me, and I internally fight with my cock not to go any farther into the condo. If I do, I'm staying. I'll hate myself in the morning. She can't give me her full consent in her current condition, and one thing I can't stand is men who prey on women in any way. So, I tell her to lock her doors, leave again, and wait until I hear the click.

When I get in the car, the pink-haired girl is straddling Adrian, and he's holding her hands so she can't move. The blonde is wincing and shaking her head.

"Stop touching my cock," Adrian tells her.

"Skylar," the blonde says.

The pink-haired girl leans into his ear and says something. Adrian's face hardens, and he gives me a blank stare.

I'm not sure what happened in the club when he was supposed to be watching Aspen, but I know Adrian well enough to know this girl did something to piss him off. But he also must like her; otherwise, he wouldn't be letting her straddle him or look so upset.

I turn to the blonde. "I'm Sergey, by the way."

"Oh, sorry! I'm so rude. I'm Hailee." She shakes my hand, and the car pulls out. "Sorry for..." She cringes. "Everything."

I grunt. "You're good. I glance at Skylar. She's whispering something else to Adrian. He clenches his jaw, staring at the floor. I turn back to Hailee. "You're the good one, aren't you?"

Her face turns beet red. "No. Yes. Maybe?" She bites her lip.

I laugh. The car stops, and she says, "Skylar, you're home."

Adrian moves his head to the side, away from Skylar's mouth, and lifts her off him. He gets out then reaches in for her, but she's unsteady on her feet and throws her arms around his neck, giggling.

I turn back to Hailee. "How much did you all drink?" I take my pipe out and crack the window.

Hailee bites her lip so hard, I worry blood might seep out. She scrunches her forehead.

I light up my bowl, take an inhale, and hold it out to her. "You don't have to answer that. Want a hit?"

Her eyes widen slightly, and she shakes her head. "No. I don't umm..."

"Sorry. Is this offending you?"

"No. I tried it once. I was in high school, and my friend dared me. But I didn't feel anything. So..." She shrugs.

"You must not have inhaled."

"I did. I coughed," she claims.

I snort. "Doesn't mean you inhaled."

"Isn't that a lie presidents claim?"

"Yep. But guarantee you didn't."

"Why do you do it? What does it make you feel like?"

I find it amusing in today's environment, I'm sitting in a car, explaining weed to a thirty-some-year-old woman. I blurt out, "It's one of the rare things that helps me relax."

"Why can't you relax?"

I glance out the window. "Life."

"What else relaxes you?"

"Huh?"

"You said one of the rare things. That means there are more."

Fucking Eloise. But I have a feeling your friend Kora would do wonders for my nerves, too.

"Working out."

"I always want to do more after a workout," she absentmindedly says.

I smile. I like Hailee. She's easy to talk to. Way too innocent for my taste but a nice woman. I admit, "Sometimes it does that, too." I lean closer to her. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a kindergarten teacher."

So cliché.

"And Skylar, the pink-haired girl. What does she do?"

"She works with a fashion designer. Her boss is an ass."

"Such a naughty word for a teacher," I tease and take another drag off the bowl.

"Ha ha!"

I casually ask, "And what's Kora's story?"

"You've probably heard of her."

I raise my eyebrows. "Oh? Why would I have?"

"She's always getting awards and press. She's the Kora Kilborn. Chicago's top divorce attorney."

"I've never heard of her. Of course, I've never been married, so I haven't had the need to get a divorce."

"All the uber-wealthy women hire her."

"So she takes men to the cleaners then cuts their balls off, huh?"

Hailee laughs. "Guess that's one way to describe it."

The door opens, and Adrian gets in the car. In Russian, I say, "Did your princess get inside all right?"

His face hardens, and he grabs my bowl. He inhales a large amount of smoke and holds it in.

"Easy, this shit's strong," I warn him. Adrian doesn't usually smoke, which is how I know Skylar got under his skin.

He turns toward the window and slowly lets it out. Then he looks down, realizes his shirt is still unbuttoned, and fastens it.

Hailee blurts out, "Sorry. Skylar drank a lot."

"I know. I was there," Adrian barks.

"Easy," I reprimand him.

He sighs. "Sorry, Hailee."

She quietly replies, "It's okay. I'm sorry we caused so much trouble for you. I hope we didn't get you in trouble with your boss."

Adrian and I both snort at the same time.

"What's so funny?" she asks.

"Adrian isn't in trouble. And we're cousins, so no matter how much he failed at controlling the four of you, it's impossible for him to get fired."

"Don't be a dick. If you were there on your own, you wouldn't have stood a chance, either." He points at Hailee. "You and your friends need to be more careful."

Her face reddens again. "I know."

"Lay off her. She's the innocent one."

"I'm not innocent," she claims.

Adrian and I exchange a glance. He says, "Sure. Whatever you say."

The car stops.

"This is me." She picks her purse off her lap. "I truly am sorry. Thank you again for getting us out of that room."

Adrian leans forward. "A woman like you doesn't belong anywhere near those types of men. Please make sure you're more careful next time."

Her face drains of color, and she nods.

I step out then reach in to help her out.

She smiles big. "Thank you. Have a nice night."

I grip her elbow and lead her into the building. "What's your floor?"

"Three. I can make it from here."

I smirk. "I'm sure you can. However, until you're in your apartment with the doors locked, I'm not leaving."

"Oh. Okay," she says and steps into the elevator.

I walk her to her door, wait until she's inside, then go back to the car.

"Jesus, those women," Adrian groans when I slide onto the seat. "Talk about a bad night at work."

I point at his shirt. "I don't know. It looks like you had a bit of fun. You missed a button."

He scowls and reaches for my bowl then takes another hit.

"How did they end up in Wes Petrov's suite?"

He shakes his head then releases the smoke. "I'm done talking about this. I don't want to hear it from you or Maksim tonight."

"Fair enough." I grab a bottle of water and down half of it.

"I thought Eloise was coming into town today?"

"Nope. She decided to call me after I waited for over an hour inside the airport for her like a pathetic loser. She forgot to call me earlier and isn't coming. She's going to a nightclub opening instead."

Adrian's head jerks back. "Shit, that's...fuck, that's harsh."

"Yep. I told her to have a nice life."

He whistles. "Are you going to let her come crawling back?"

"Nope."

"Really? Even if she showed up at your doorstep, groveling?"

I scoff. "Eloise and groveling. What a concept. Will never happen. She's always right."

"Dude, you have to admit she's a bit of a bitch most of the time."

"Watch it," I warn. I told her we're through, but I still won't let anyone disrespect her.

The car stops. I slap Adrian's hand. "See you tomorrow at the wedding."

"Yeah, tell Maksim to think before he comes at me. I'm not backing down on this one. Those women are out of control, and there is no way anyone could be responsible for all four of them."

"Maksim's going to tell you he gave you directions to protect Aspen."

Adrian scowls. "I did exactly what he would have done. What any Ivanov would do."

"Still his woman he wanted protected."

"Who sat on Wes Petrov's lap," Adrian says with disgust. My brothers and I may hate the Petrovs, but Adrian and his brother, Obrecht, may have a deeper level of abhorrence toward them.

"Good luck with convincing Maksim," I reply and step out. I go into my penthouse.

All night, I toss and turn. I replay my kiss with Kora, wishing she hadn't been intoxicated so I could have stayed and shown her what I wanted to do to her. I think of Eloise. I'm angry and hurt. I feel betrayed by her actions, but it's the last straw. No matter what our past is, I don't want anything to do with her. I refuse to be her doormat any longer.

My mind spirals to the war between the Rossis and Petrovs. I try to figure out any other reason Bruno Zielinski would visit Giovanni in prison, but I can't come up with anything feasible.

I think again about Kora, then Eloise, then the war. It becomes a vicious circle. I don't sleep. My insomnia never gives in. When the dark of night begins to turn into morning, I leave and meet my brothers at the gym.

We have a heated conversation about the previous night's events but put it aside. It's Dmitri's wedding day, and we all want there to be nothing but happiness for him and Anna today.

I shower, put on my tux, and freeze when I get in my living room.

In her French accent, Eloise says, "That tux was made for you." Black silk cascades around her body, accentuating every curve and stopping mid-thigh.

My heart thumps harder. She's perfect, as if she's about to walk the runway. I keep the emotion out of my voice. "What are you doing here?"

She steps forward and slides her hands under my jacket. "Since when don't you kiss me when you see me?"

My jaw twitches. It's something that started after my first night with Zamir. I can't control it, and every time it spasms, I hate myself more. It's a reminder of all the things I've done but didn't want to. The tiny vibrations continue, but I say nothing.

Eloise drags her finger over my jaw, and I jerk my head away from her. She quickly laces her fingers around my neck and puts her lips an inch from mine. "I'm sorry I missed last night."

My silence continues, but this time, it's from shock. Eloise has never apologized to me before. She doesn't believe in sorries.

Her eyes glisten, which throws me for another loop. "Do you want me to leave?"

I'm unsure what I want. Last night, I was clear we were through. Maybe she has realized the error of her ways?

Her face scrunches, and she nods. She spins to leave, but I stop her.

"Why are you fucking with me like this, Eloise?"

"I'm not."

"Then tell me honestly why you are here."

She hesitates. "I promised you I would come to your brother's wedding. I should have been here last night. You were right to be angry."

Her words seem sincere. She steps forward again. Her hand goes to my cheek. "Do you want me to go with you or leave?"

Spending the wedding on my own doesn't appeal to me. I cave. "I want you to come with me."

She smiles. "Good. Now kiss me. I've missed you."

I kiss her, but it doesn't light me up the way it usually does. All I can think while she kisses me is it isn't anything like the kiss I shared with Kora.

I take Eloise to the wedding, but we aren't there very long before she returns to her typical self. When she sticks her nose up and makes rude comments about what Anna designed for the wedding, it hits me. Eloise is a nasty person. No matter how long we've been together, I don't think I want her anymore.

The entire night, I keep wishing I knew more about Kora. I wonder what it would be like if she were here with me. Every time Eloise makes a snide remark, it's a slap to my face. Things are off between us all night. When the wedding is over and we get back to my penthouse, I pick up her bag.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"I've booked you a room at a hotel. Let's go."

Her eyes widen. "Sergey, what are you talking about?"

"It's time we ended this."

"Don't be silly." She reaches for my dick, and I grab her wrist.

"It's over between us. I wish you well, but find someone else's cock to use."

"Why would you say something so crude?"

I snort. "It's true. All you want from me is sex. You didn't come to be part of my family's event or my life. You came to get laid."

She doesn't deny or admit anything.

I nod. "That's what I thought. Let's go." I spend the car ride pushing her off me, reiterating her attempts to seduce me aren't going to work, and I finally get her into her hotel room.

She makes one final effort to get me to stay, but it doesn't work.

I've had enough of Eloise. From now on, I'll just have to work out or smoke more weed to relax. She's had me for years but never truly wanted me. I won't be hers to use any longer.