Chapter Twenty

TWENTY

"I wish I could have seen the way the merry widows distracted the outside security guards," Azelie said. "It must have been hilarious."

Maestro was finding it hard to retain a sense of humor, even though Code had footage of the three women flirting and acting like tourists when they approached the security guards. Doug played the part of China's long-suffering husband while she prattled on about dancing and what was the difference between the Adventure Club and the Pleasure Train.

The swelling had gone down quite a bit on Azelie's face, but she was still heavily bruised, and her lower lip was a mess. She would have scars. She had stitches in both thighs, three places in her right thigh. One laceration had been deep enough that she'd had to have stitches inside and outside.

He was happy to have her in Caspar at his home. The first few days she'd been on the coast with him had been spent in Steele's home, where Steele could watch her closely for infection. Knife wounds tended to become infected. Sometimes the stab wound wasn't that deep or in any way life-threatening, but the bacteria on the blade was deadly.

"Code has video with audio," he told her, trying to contain restless energy by pacing up and down the length of the bedroom.

He hadn't thought about decorating his home when he'd first bought it, other than with his piano and other musical instruments. He had an extremely large workshop that was well stocked with every kind of tool he could possibly want or need. But his house…He hadn't really considered it home, and he rarely stayed there.

While Azelie was at Steele's, he had a very good bed brought in, along with a few other items Lana and Alena helped him choose. Breezy, Steele's wife, sat with Azelie while he was gone, reassuring her that she was safe and so were her friends. His brothers and sisters in the club hastily put his house together, including stocking the pantry and refrigerator.

Maestro wanted the chance to be alone with her. He liked taking care of her, but now that she was there, looking pale beneath her bruised and swollen face and body, he feared he might have insisted on bringing her home too early.

"You're frowning."

He wasn't. Inside maybe, but he had on his expressionless mask she wasn't supposed to be able to read. He deliberately scowled. "Zelie, you aren't supposed to be able to read me. I'm the one that reads you ."

She flashed a small smile and then gasped, putting her hand over her lower lip where the gash had been sewn. "Don't make me laugh."

His scowl deepened. "You're supposed to take the things I say very seriously. There are rules in place for a reason."

"Well, give me the reason, because I always know when you're frowning. I don't like you upset and need to do something to make things better."

"I'll look like a fuckin' pussy if I show too much concern. You have no idea how I've already had to eat my words, thanks to you. If the others have any idea how you've wrapped me around your little finger, I'll never live it down. At least pretend you can't read me."

She tilted her head and studied the mask that settled over his face. He might joke with her in an effort to put things right between them, but how was he ever going to make what happened to her right? He couldn't. Her eyes were still a little swollen and very bruised, but she still gave him that penetrating look of hers. She knew he was bullshitting her, trying to throw her off the subject.

If he voiced his underlying fear aloud, it would give her an opening to tell him she wanted to leave as soon as she was able. The worst of it was he knew the merry widows and Doug and Carlton were on their way from San Francisco. Doug had called and made it very clear that they were coming to see "their" girl, whether he approved or not. It wasn't said in so many words, but the resolution was there. She would have a way back to San Francisco if she wanted to leave.

He knew the merry widows would take care of her. They'd be more than glad to have her in their homes while she was recovering. He might be able to convince them the doctor didn't want her traveling yet, that the danger of infection was still too high.

"Talk to me, Andrii." Her voice was very soft. Persuasive. Loving.

"I can't lose that."

"What can't you lose?"

"The way you look at me. That tone in your voice."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm waiting for you to tell me you're out of here the moment you're able to fend for yourself," he admitted. "The widows are coming with Doug and Carlton to see for themselves that their little chick is alive and well. You know they would do anything to be the ones to take care of you through this."

"And you think I'd want to go with them?"

He couldn't read her this time. Not even her speculative tone. "I told you I'd protect you, and I didn't. I thought Billows was dead and you were safe. They pulled your protection and didn't tell me. I should have checked that Rock was still on you, but I went to the debriefing with the thought that once it was over, I could get back to you. It didn't occur to me they'd send Rock to look after the women."

She didn't ask who Rock was. She didn't ask about the women or what that meant. She looked at him, her eyes looking like two bruised flowers pressed into her face.

"You haven't asked a single question, Solnyshkuh . Not one." He ran both hands through his hair in agitation. "It stands to reason you aren't asking because you're leaving me. You don't want to know because, like with Billows, you know things I do aren't exactly legal." Harshness crept into his voice.

She sighed. "I haven't asked you any questions, Andrii, because I've been in so much pain and I didn't want to think about what happened. I know my fingerprints are in the club, and once the cops sort through everything, they're bound to think I was involved with whatever the Billows family had going on. I wanted to enjoy the way you were spoiling me, not making me think about anything that happened or was going to happen. I figured you would talk to me about everything given time."

He turned away from her, swearing at himself under his breath. "There you go again, baby. The voice of reason. That's supposed to be me."

He got her laughing with that absurd statement. The sound was low and cut off with a gasp that had him swinging around to face her again. "Don't laugh, Solnyshkuh ."

"Don't make me laugh."

"I love you." He blurted it out like an idiot. "As in real love. The real thing."

Her expression changed. He got that look from her he craved. So loving. Almost adoring. She didn't seem to think he was being a pussy when he confessed insecurities to her.

"I didn't know I was capable of feeling love. I didn't even know if such a thing existed until you came to me. I saw Czar with Blythe and Reaper with Anya. And others with their women, especially Savage and Seychelle, but I still didn't get it." He knew she had no idea who he was talking about, but he wanted her to understand how overwhelming, just how big it was that he realized love was real. That she was real.

"We'd been tracing a human trafficking ring for well over two years. We finally got the names of a couple of people the women were sent to after they were taken. Billows' responsibility was to train them as sex slaves before they were auctioned off. After they were trained, they were shipped to the next rung in the ladder, the man holding the auctions."

"That's where I came in," she murmured.

He nodded. "We got into the clubs but couldn't find a way to get to the underground rooms. In researching, we discovered you. We focused our attention on you, and after three weeks, I made my first contact with you."

"But you still had your suspicions I was involved."

"You were the bookkeeper. Your office was below the Adventure Club. It stood to reason that you knew what was going on. But then I met you. I was already halfway falling before I ever made my approach. Just watching the way you were with other people convinced me you couldn't possibly have anything to do with human trafficking."

"You asked me out to look for the key to the offices." There was no accusation in her tone, just a neutral acknowledgment.

"Full disclosure, when you would leave your apartment, it was searched by various members of the team. No one could find the key. We were afraid if we waited too long, if Billows did have women he was training, he'd ship them off before we could find them. Once they're gone, you don't have a very large window to retrieve them, and at that point, we didn't have any way to track them."

"Were there women in the rooms I couldn't get into?"

"Yes. There's a tunnel system leading to that subterranean floor. The women and teens were brought in through the tunnel. They never went through the club."

She looked down at her hands. He followed her gaze to see her twisting her fingers together until they were white.

"I left her there." She said it softly. With sorrow. "That woman I heard screaming, I just left her there. She was probably sold and is in a situation she can't ever get out of." She lifted her anguished gaze to his. "If they were treating her the way they did me and then sexually assaulted her, she would have been desperate. I felt desperate. I was terrified that they wouldn't just kill me outright."

He should have known she would feel guilt for not being able to rescue the unknown woman. "If you had gotten to her, the Billows brothers would have taken you too. They couldn't afford to allow you freedom if you knew they were sex traffickers. We don't give up on the victims, Azelie. We'll continue to look for the ones they sold. It takes time to sort through the information we acquire and find a new direction to get to the top, but we don't stop. All of us experienced atrocities at the hands of offenders, and we're committed to stopping as many as possible."

"We don't even know who she was," Azelie said. "I can't even give that to you as a starting point."

"Have faith, baby. That's all any of us can do."

"Thank you for risking your life to help those women," she whispered. "I know you must have felt you were risking your relationship with me. I love you even more that you would make such a personal sacrifice. I know those decisions had to have been difficult for you."

She was his everything. She seemed to be able to be there for him, no matter what. Wrong or right decisions, and he had no clue sometimes which was which. When he felt insecure, weak, the pain of his past swamping him, she was there, standing for him. Loving him. How could it be?

"I did my best to give you truth. To give you the real me. I didn't want you to ever wake up one morning and feel used. I want you to feel loved, Zelie. I may not always go about it the right way, but I want you to feel loved even when I'm a complete ass."

She started to laugh and gasped again, her hand covering her lip. "Stop making me laugh. Seriously, Andrii, I thought we were going to be positive about ourselves."

"No. You're supposed to be positive. I can say whatever I like about myself. And most of my brothers and sisters call me Maestro. We call one another by our club names. We left most of who we were behind when we escaped Sorbacov's school."

"But your birth name is Andrii?"

"Yes. You're the only one who has called me that in a long time."

"You know the cops are going to question me. You killed the Billows brothers. You can't be anywhere near the cops."

"Baby, even the women we freed will give a different description of their rescuers. We wore silicone masks to alter our appearances. You were rescued by the same men. You have no idea who they are. When you're questioned, you'll have a lawyer present. He'll shut down anything he doesn't want you to answer. I'll give you a full description of what I looked like, what Keys and Player looked like. They were the only ones you saw."

"What about the merry widows and Doug and Carlton? They had to know it was you who came for me. Especially since you brought me here."

"We used the tunnel entrance. They weren't anywhere near the tunnel. They were at the club, distracting guards. We told them you'd been rescued by some team and brought to us because we had a doctor waiting."

She kept her gaze steady on his. "They won't believe you, Andrii. They think you're James Bond. Doug and Carlton especially won't believe you."

"Doug and Carlton would never betray us. They wouldn't because they wanted someone to rescue you, and they knew they could never get in. They're coming here and will meet some other Torpedo Ink members. They wouldn't take a chance on crossing us. They can read what we are. The widows will love believing they're putting one over on the cops. They can honestly say they didn't see anyone."

"You sound very sure the police aren't going to try to get you and your friends for this."

"Fortunately, we have alibis. We're very good at planning. Any time I go out on a mission, I want you to remember that."

She looked around her. "This is a beautiful home."

"Perfect for writing your books. And we aren't that far from the widows. We have plenty of room for them to visit."

"You want me to move in with you?"

"Yes."

She was silent for a minute. He pressed his hand to his chest. Bog , this relationship shit was fraught with land mines. He'd given her honesty and had no idea if what he wanted from her would drive her away. Was it too soon? Why hadn't he studied romance the way he'd studied kill tactics? He should have at least read a few books. He knew if he voiced his thoughts, she'd laugh, and it would hurt, so he remained silent.

"I do want to move in with you, Andrii, but I have to finish school first. That's important to me. I'm in my last semester, so close to getting my degree." She made a little face. "This has probably set me back. It isn't like every professor I have is the understanding type."

"They'll understand." He kept his tone very mild. Velvet soft. He didn't fool her for a minute.

Her gaze jumped to his, and she narrowed her eyes. "I know you aren't thinking of talking with my teachers."

"I had Absinthe meet with each of them separately and explain your situation. They were very understanding and sympathetic."

"Who is Absinthe?"

"He's one of the brothers and our lawyer. Very soft-spoken, but he can be persuasive."

"I suppose I should question you more about this, but I'm too tired and sore. And I think you're rather wonderful to remember how important my classes are to me. Thank you for letting the school know I was attacked."

Maestro decided he may as well go all in. So far, she was with him every step of the way. She seemed to believe she loved him. It was there in the way she looked at him, her lack of condemnation for his actions. Her protectiveness. She hadn't even considered giving him up to the Billows brothers to spare herself pain.

He pulled the little jewelry box from his pocket and crouched down beside the bed.

Her eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

"Marry me, Azelie. Be with me forever. Grow old with me. Take your last breath with me. Have our children. I love you more than life. I sometimes can't breathe without you. Just say yes."

Her gaze moved over his face, feature by feature, and then dropped to the open jewelry box. She gasped. "Andrii."

"Ice is a jeweler, and he made it for you. I picked out the design and stones. The blue reminds me of your eyes. Such a gorgeous color."

He loved the vintage look of it, and it was reminiscent of the things he loved about Russia. The main stone was a rare blue Russian diamond with extraordinary color and clarity. The stone was set in white gold. Going up both sides of the ring was scrollwork made of very small blue diamonds. Three blue diamonds representing suns were set on either side of the ring just below the larger diamond. The ring was dainty looking, even loaded with all the tiny blue stones.

"Marry me."

"I might have to just for that ring. It's amazing. And perfect."

"Say it."

"Yes."

He actually choked up. To cover his idiocy, he pushed the ring onto her finger. "Looks like it was made for you, which it was. One of a kind, a rare beauty just like you."

"Take a picture with my cell phone. I want to send it to the widows."

"They'll be here shortly."

"I know. I love it and want to share. They'll go crazy and scream in the car and make Doug and Carlton crazy."

He took the picture with her cell phone. "They might put those women out on the side of the road. You're an instigator."

She giggled and hastily tried to stop. "I know. I shouldn't encourage them, but I can't help myself."

She sent the photograph of her hand with the ring prominent. It looked perfect on her if he did say so himself.

"If I forget anything important to you, let me know. I like taking care of you, Solnyshkuh . With what you give to me, it's very little in return." That was Maestro being honest.

There was a knock on the outside frame of the master bedroom door, and Lana stuck her head in. "You feeling up for a visit? I know the widows are coming, so I promise to make it short."

Maestro assessed Azelie's features. She was tired, but he could see she wanted to visit with Lana. She touched the stitches on her lip with her fingertip.

"I look a little like Frankenstein, but if you don't care, I don't either."

Lana flashed her high-wattage smile. "You look great to me. I saw you several times in the early days, and your face is looking more like you and less like a shattered pumpkin."

Azelie laughed, gasped and covered her mouth.

Maestro scowled at Lana. "Don't make her laugh. It hurts."

"That's going to be difficult, especially when the widows get here. Azelie laughs at everything. She makes life fun."

"The widows make life fun," Azelie corrected. "I just sit in the coffee shop and laugh. Most of the customers come there to eavesdrop on their conversation as much as for the coffee."

"That could be true," Maestro said. "They're a little addicting."

"A lot addicting," Azelie corrected.

"She's waving her hand under your nose, Lana. You're supposed to be very observant," Maestro said.

Lana caught Azelie's hand and stared at the ring. "It's beautiful and unique. I'd recognize Ice's work any day. I absolutely love the scrollwork." She let go of Azelie's hand. "Are you certain you want to tie yourself to Mr. Bossy Pants?"

Azelie burst out laughing, this time interrupting the beautiful sound with a gasping cry.

"I told you not to make her laugh." Maestro glared at Lana.

"Sheesh. You see what I'm saying, Azelie?"

She didn't seem in the least fazed by Maestro's stern look.

"Alena is cooking dinner for your guests," Lana said. "She'll have it here around five or six, whichever you prefer. She said to let her know." Lana sat on the edge of the bed. "Wait until you meet Alena. She's supersweet and the best chef I know. Well, I don't know a lot of chefs, but I've eaten a lot of food, and hers is spectacular. She owns Crow 287 in Caspar. People come from all over to eat there, and she's never advertised."

"That's so nice that she'd bring dinner for my friends," Azelie said.

"Those women are a hoot," Lana said. "Have you seen the video of them?"

"Not yet. Andrii said he'd play it for me. More than likely, they'll want to see it too. If for no other reason than to have Doug and Carlton lose their minds."

"They should have a reality show," Lana said.

"Don't give them any ideas," Maestro said. "They'd do it just to tweak Doug and Carlton. Those men have enough on their plates trying to watch over those three firecrackers. And we're not introducing them to the Red Hat ladies." He pressed his palm to his forehead, horrified at the thought. "Those women are out of control as well. Lana, we need to get a handle on our senior citizens."

"I'm going to be just like them when I get older," Azelie warned.

He sighed. "You already are. I've decided wrapping you in bubble wrap and keeping you pregnant is the only safe thing to do."

Azelie tried to make a face, but she was on the verge of laughter. Maestro wasn't that certain he was joking. Lana knew him well enough to know he was half-serious.

"He's obsessed with babies," Azelie said. "Even though he's admitted kids would probably eat him alive."

"That's because he's a pushover with them. Not so much with women, but kids run all over him," Lana said.

"He's kind of a pushover…"

" Don't say it. Don't even think it. The alarm was triggered, which means your friends have arrived. Be prepared to be mobbed. And I'm going to be interrogated and lectured." He was resigned to his fate.

Azelie giggled and pressed her hand to her mouth again, sobering.

"That's my cue to leave." Lana bent forward to brush a kiss on top of Azelie's head. "I'm so happy for you and Maestro. Thank you for being so perfectly wonderful. Someone had to tame him."

"Not tamed," Maestro muttered as he walked her to the front door.

"How is she really?"

"Nightmares. A lot of pain. She doesn't talk about it. She hasn't once condemned me or considered any of it my fault, including the fact that I didn't protect her."

"That's because you found one of the good ones. Like Blythe and Seychelle and Soleil. They have this light in them and manage to find a way to make our lives so much better."

Maestro hadn't been wrong when he said he would be interrogated and lectured. He showed them through his house, noting that all three of the widows observed he had very little furniture.

"A beautiful home," Blanc commented.

"But a bit sparse on décor," Penny pointed out.

The speculation in her voice and the way the three women exchanged suddenly bright looks had him sweating. Little kids ate him alive, and it seemed that older women did as well. They looked as if they might rush right out and buy every piece of furniture they could find.

Doug saved him. "Clearly, he wants Azelie to find the things she likes when she moves in with him." He pinned Maestro with a stern eye. "She apparently has a ring. We know this because all of a sudden three women started shrieking at the top of their lungs. We almost wrecked."

Blanc rolled her eyes. "You're always so dramatic."

"I didn't believe it because no one asked Carlton or me for her hand. That's mandatory."

"I have no problem with formally asking you," Maestro said, "but only if you're going to give me the green light. Azelie would love it, but I'm not giving her up. She's rare and wonderful."

"We know," Carlton agreed. "And she deserves the best."

"You're aware lookin' at me I'm not the best man in the world, but I'm going to make her happy. No one will love her the way I do. Or need her as much. Azelie must be needed to be happy. It's essential she has a buffer between her and the world. She may have experienced trauma, but she still doesn't protect herself the way she should. She sees the good in people. It takes a lot for her to see the bad."

Maestro wasn't a man to explain himself, but these five people were Azelie's only family. They obviously loved her. He felt they deserved the respect he gave to the women his brothers had married. They were family.

"Good you see that," Carlton said gruffly.

"I love that woman and want to spend my life with her. I can swear to you I'll do everything in my power to make her happy."

The merry widows squealed so loud he winced. All three put their hands to their hearts. "Well said," China approved.

Doug and Carlton simultaneously rolled their eyes. "You don't quite get the seriousness of this moment. The three of you are utterly impossible."

"He means yes," Blanc interpreted.

"Ask again so I can record it on my phone," Penny said. "I wasn't ready."

"He isn't asking again," Carlton declared. "Yes, you can marry her. But you'd better take care of her and make her happy."

Maestro led the way to the master bedroom without further comment. He might need to take up smoking. Or try drinking again.

Everything changed the moment the widows stepped into the master bedroom. They forgot all about him. Joyfully and tearfully, they surrounded the bed with both squeals of happiness at seeing Azelie and tears over her appearance. China dared to sit on the edge of the bed to put her arms around Azelie.

"Tell me if my hugs hurt," she said through a sob.

"Hugs never hurt," Azelie lied.

Maestro cleared his throat. "She has multiple wounds in both thighs, and her ribs were cracked. Movement can be painful."

"Honey," Blanc said, her voice gentle and sympathetic. "What can we do?"

"You're here," Azelie said. "You drove all the way to see me. I love that you came." She looked up at Doug and Carlton. "Thank you. It makes me so happy to see you."

Doug reached down to cup the side of her face. The gesture was fatherly. Loving. It made Maestro's heart lurch. These people loved his woman. They really did think of her as their daughter. He realized none of them had children. They had given their love and loyalty to Azelie.

"We had to see that you were healing, honey. All of us were worried," Doug said.

"Andrii kept us informed on your progress every day," Carlton added.

Azelie lifted her gaze to Maestro. There it was, that look he craved so much. He could fall into her eyes and drown in her love, and he'd be perfectly happy. He loved her so much. More than he'd ever thought possible and growing every day.

"Show us the ring," Blanc said. "It looks so beautiful in the photograph."

"Andrii designed it," Azelie said proudly, lifting her hand so they could admire the ring. "It's absolutely perfect. He chose the stones as well. He has a friend who is a jeweler who made it for him." She smiled up at Maestro, her heart in her eyes.

The women exclaimed over the ring with ooh s and aah s, giving their approval.

"We have the security tapes from the outside of the club," Maestro said, to cover the unexpected burn in his chest. "Azelie wanted to see how you handled the guards at the club, distracting them so her rescuers could get inside without detection."

China, Penny and Blanc clapped their hands in delight while Doug and Carlton made a show of groaning.

"We've already seen their outlandish behavior," Carlton declared. "China and Blanc showed off their dancing skills to the guards. China tried to get Doug, who played her husband, to jitterbug with her."

"That wasn't even the worst of their behavior," Doug said. "Penny chased one of those poor guards around a tree because he gave her a compliment."

The three women erupted into laughter. Penny sobered, managing to look demure and innocent. "It's called acting, Carlton. The three of us regularly star in plays at the theater. I managed to distract not only him but three others as well. They fell over themselves laughing at the darling boy. He was very young to be a security guard. I targeted him on purpose."

"You targeted him because he was considered hot. How do I know this?" Carlton demanded. "Because the three of you went on and on ad nauseam about how truly hot he was."

"Well, he was," Penny defended them. "If I'm going to flirt and proposition a man, he'd better be hot or why waste my talents?" She patted Azelie's hand. "I sacrificed for you, dear."

"Sacrificed?" Doug spluttered. "You were having so much fun harassing that poor boy you forgot what your mission was."

Maestro was listening to the familiar teasing between the widows and their male friends, but mostly he was watching Azelie's face. She was happy. For those few moments, she'd forgotten the bruising and pain of her lip, thighs and ribs, enjoying the bantering between her friends.

"We're immortalized on the video," China declared. "I'll want a copy of it to show to Shaila and David. They come to all our plays."

"It was truly our finest acting," Blanc agreed.

Carlton threw his hands into the air. "Save me, Andrii. Show me around your property while the sex-crazed lunatics review their performances."

"I'm going with you," Doug declared.

Maestro stepped between China and Blanc to gently cup the side of Azelie's face that wasn't so swollen. "Text me if you need me. I won't be long." He straightened. "Ladies, she tires easily. If you see she needs to rest, come into the living room. A friend is bringing dinner, and we have rooms available if you'd like to spend the night instead of driving all the way back to San Francisco tonight."

He got the look from Azelie, her eyes adoring, her features soft with love. His heart nearly exploded in his chest. He had that beauty when he'd never considered it possible.

"Love you, Solnyshkuh . Be good while I'm gone."

"I love you too, Andrii. The three of you behave yourselves."

That brought laughter from all five of her friends. Bog , but he loved that. She'd already turned his cold house into a home. He'd gotten a miracle after all.