Chapter Three

Rogue

I looked down at my watch for the third time, wondering if Bri would defy me right away by being late or if she was foolish enough not to come at all. Having second thoughts about what I had offered her this morning was foreseeable. She was nervous, afraid, unsure of what she had agreed to, and her fear roused something in me. It excited me more than anything I had experienced in a long time.

Steven had kept me informed throughout the rest of her day and had sent me a text as soon as the car pulled up in front of the club, but Bri had yet to appear. I watched for her, eagerly waiting to see her transformation. Thoughts of her had distracted me most of the day. I had imagined her wearing the new designer clothes I had purchased for her and me taking them off later when I had her all to myself. An image of her lying naked on my bed popped into my head, and I narrowed my eyes as I continued to watch the door for her to make an appearance.

Blaze was entertaining my guests upstairs in my private suite, and I was anxious to join them. I took out my phone to call Steven to see what the hell was keeping her when I finally caught a glimpse of my sweet little obsession as she moved through the crowd. The mass of people parted for her and rightly so. She was stunning. The dress I had selected for her to wear tonight hugged the curves of her body and showcased her extra-long firm legs. Her hair was styled in long chocolate-colored locks down her back. She was every man’s vision. A fantasy that could easily drive a man to madness.

As she walked through the crowd toward me, a guy stepped in front of her blocking her path. I watched as she glanced at me over his shoulder and then gave him a small smile. The monster inside me roared and a fierce possessiveness surged through me. My hands clenched into fists, but I maintained my control until she made to move around him until he made the dangerous mistake of reaching out and grabbing her wrist to keep her from moving past him. That I would not tolerate. Nobody touched her, nobody was allowed to put their hands on what belonged to me.

I stepped forward quickly, gripping his hand and yanking it away from her. “Do not touch her again, and if you value your life, you will get the fuck out of my club.”

For a minute, I thought he would disregard my warning. I leveled my gaze and let my eyes communicate what would happen if he didn’t decide to back off. He must have sensed the danger and his courage quickly melted away. He held up his hands and backed away. I nodded toward one of the club bouncers who would make certain that he left the premises and was not allowed admittance again. I did not have a forgiving nature and touching my angel was unpardonable.

I turned to see her standing just a few feet away, her arms crossed over her chest and a disapproving look on her face. “That was uncalled for. I could have dealt with him myself, and you really should stop acting as if I belong to you, I only work for you…whatever this arrangement is between us, it is strictly professional. I don’t need you following me around wreaking vengeance on anyone that talks to me.”

This was not the time or the place to discuss the fact that, yes, she did indeed belong to me; she signed a fucking contract to that effect. She had just not accepted it yet.

“Wreaking vengeance is kind of my thing, Angel, and he didn’t just talk to you, he grabbed your wrist and tried to prevent you from walking past, and you are late.”

Her look of censure immediately turned contrite. She shifted from one foot to another. “It wasn’t Steven’s fault, so don’t do anything like fire him or something. I was waiting out in the line too nervous to come inside. I still don’t think this is right for me. You haven’t told me what I am supposed to do, other than being the girl on your arm for the night, and the only job training I have received so far is learning how to swipe your credit card.”

I stepped closer to her, close enough that I could smell her perfume. God, I needed this meeting to be over with so I could have her all to myself. “You are worrying again, Angel. And what’s this about you waiting in line? Darling, you don’t wait in line…anywhere. You don’t wait for anything. Not anymore. Come with me.”

I took her hand, interlaced my fingers with hers, and walked toward the stairs as I sent piercing glares to anyone stupid enough to look in her direction.

We took the stairs toward my private suite. When we entered, I watched as every eye in the room feasted on her. The hungry looks and grins from the other men caused me to feel very protective. I had an almost overpowering urge to claim her before them all, to mark my territory, to brand her. It was unsettling. I was still holding her hand, so I raised it to my lips to press a kiss to it before releasing her.

I walked purposefully toward the table where Blaze was already sitting with Nickolai, and I motioned for Bri to have a seat on the other side of the room while I conducted business and got some answers from the Bratva leader. I wasn’t sure she was prepared to know the types of businesses I was involved in or the dealings I had with the Russian mafia.

“Blaze said you had some information for me. Tell me what you know about the man in town. He claims to be Russian, but we both know that can’t be true. Why would he be here drawing attention to himself and causing trouble in my city?”

Nickolai Volkov glanced at Bri before turning his icy blue stare to me from across the table. We have been friends and business associates for many years now; however, he still regarded me with caution. It was the way of the Bratva and as the leader of the Volkov Bratva, he had to always be on alert. He was flanked by two of his men while another three were in the room standing along the glass windows where they could watch and vigilantly monitor the activity in the club. I’m certain there were more downstairs, mixing in with the crowd.

Blaze sat beside me and watched all of them carefully. That was the thing with Blaze, he never fully trusted anyone.

Nickolai raised an eyebrow at my request. “The man you speak of is not associated with any family that I am aware of. He most likely isn’t even Russian. Possibly just someone foolish enough to run his mouth hoping people will think he has powerful connections.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But using the Bratva name, especially when you aren’t Bratva, to intimidate people is signing your death warrant. If it continues, we will handle it.”

“The man is in my city, making trouble in my territory, since he is not Bratva, I will handle it myself.”

Nickolai’s lips turned up just a fraction on one side of his mouth. “If I allow you to handle it, things might get messy.” He looked pointedly at Blaze. “Especially, if our bloodthirsty friend here has anything to do with it. But as long as whatever you do doesn’t interfere in my affairs, I will allow it.”

My eyes narrowed. “Allow it? Have you forgotten who runs this city?”

His smile widened. “Don’t let my choice of words annoy you. I realize Chicago is your territory. But don’t be mistaken about how powerful and far-reaching the Bratva can be, my friend. To do so could be deadly.” He then broke eye contact with me and looked around the room. “Business looks to be good. It seems as if the club has become more than profitable. But I shouldn’t be especially surprised since you are partnered with Alessio Messina. Anything the man touches turns a profit.”

The grin that formed on my lips was not one of mirth. “You underestimate me, Nik. You know everything I touch turns into a fucking gold mine. Don’t believe for a minute that I required Alessio’s assistance to turn a profit. Besides, I didn’t know our partnership was public knowledge.”

“Public, no, but I do try to keep an eye on my competition.”

I leaned forward, keeping my voice low and controlled. “Are we in competition, Nickolai?”

“We are all in competition, my friend. Luckily, our competition has been affable so far, and if you stay out of Las Vegas, it will remain so.”

I watched as his eyes shifted back toward where Bri was sitting looking like every man’s dream. The dress she was wearing had risen higher up her thigh as she crossed her legs. Her legs had a silky sheen to them that made me want to run my hands from her ankles to the juncture of her thighs. I had been around many women in my lifetime, but none of them looked like her. And none of them made me feel hot burning jealousy when I saw the eyes of the other men in the room rake over her body. I frowned when I noticed one of Nic’s men watching her appreciatively, his eyes lingering on certain parts of her body.

She stood and walked toward me, her hips swaying pertly from side to side, and a nervous smile played on her lips. “Is there anything I can get for you? Something to drink perhaps?”

I looked at the bottle that was already sitting on the table and picked it up to pour myself a glass. She shouldn’t be here, and I didn’t like the way Nickolai was watching her. I opened my mouth and was about to tell her to go back downstairs and wait in my office, but the Russian Bratva leader spoke up before I had the chance.

“You are new here. I haven’t seen you before, ptichka”

Bri turned to face him, and her smile brightened. “Today is my first day.” She glanced back to me and then hastily replied, “I’ll go mingle.”

She walked away toward the other men standing along the wall and my eyes followed every movement.

“I’ll make you a deal.”

My eyes moved back to Nickolai, curious as to what deal he was about to offer.

“Give me the girl, and I’ll handle your problem with the masquerading Russian for you. You won’t even have to hear about it. I’ll make it quick and neat; there won’t even be a body, nothing to link it back to you.”

My eyes narrowed as I leaned a bit closer, keeping my voice low. “The girl isn’t for sale, Nickolai. I don’t operate like that. And I don’t need your help getting rid of my problem. I am more than capable of handling an errant Russian on my own without the help of the Bratva.”

Nickolai grinned as his eyes darted back to where Bri was standing beside one of his men. “Have you claimed her then?”

“She is off-limits.”

I heard one of his men speaking in Russian and while my knowledge of the language was limited, I did understand the meaning behind the words he uttered. I drank the remainder of the whiskey, then slammed the glass down hard on the table.

“Let it go, Rogue,” Blaze murmured as he sat beside me.

I heard the words Blaze uttered as I pushed myself from my seat, but I had seen and heard enough. I stormed over to where Bri had moved to the other side of the room. I heard her politely ask the men surrounding her if this was their first time in Chicago, but she did not get a chance to hear their reply.

When I reached her, I bent lower and swept her up, tossing her over my shoulder. She shrieked as I began carrying her from the room. I was done having her body, a body meant only for me, on display for other men to see, and I was not going to have her subjected to Nickolai’s men’s comments and leering stares. If I had to make a statement so everyone in the whole fucking world knew that she belonged to me, so be it.

I carried her down the stairs toward my office, ignoring the people we passed along the way. Thankfully, she didn’t draw any more attention than was necessary by yelling or screaming, but from the tension I felt in her body, I was certain she would have plenty to say once I got her back into my office.

Once I had her behind closed doors, I leaned forward and let her slide from my shoulder back to her feet. The shock on her face was evident and the firm set of her jaw and the flashing of her eyes let me know she was more than a little angry.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Her question was asked in a low, calm voice, but her clenched fists hanging by her side as she waited for my answer showed she was anything but calm.

“I am removing you from the situation. I never should have let Nickolai see you.”

She narrowed her eyes confused with my statement. “You were the one that brought me upstairs, and since I was hired to be your…companion or whatever I’m supposed to be, I thought I was doing what you would want. You did tell me that part of my job was to be congenial to the people you are doing business with, not to just sit in a corner while you do whatever it is that you do.” She waved her hand in the air flippantly. “I don’t understand why you felt the need to behave like some kind of caveman and carry me out of there. Do you plan on doing that anytime a man looks in my direction?”

“If men are foolish enough to look in your direction and I feel it is necessary, then yes.”

She slapped her arms at her sides in exasperation. “You know what, I knew this was a mistake. I never should have come to this club or accepted your offer. I will go change or better yet, I will have the dress returned here in the morning, and I will go wait for a ride. There is no need for you to send me home in your car; the bartender offered to drive me home after the club closes, or I can just take a cab.”

She turned to walk away from me, and I allowed it because I knew she wasn’t going anywhere. Her hand reached for the doorknob, but the door wouldn’t open. She turned the handle again and started pulling on the door before she turned back around to face me.

“Unlock the door.”

I leaned back against the edge of my desk and waited for her reaction.

“We aren’t finished yet, Angel. Would you like a drink?”

She put her hands on her hips and looked so magnificent in her fury.

“No, I don’t want a drink. I want you to unlock the door.”

“Are you certain? Whiskey can be quite calming.”

She moved away from the door to stand before me and took a deep breath. “Mr. Delaney, I am trying to be calm, but the way you have behaved tonight, and the fact that you will not allow me to leave is quite disturbing. There is nothing you can say that will make me stay.”

Since there wasn’t anything I could say, that would convince her, perhaps more intimate methods would be more persuasive. I wanted her to let go of her anger and accept everything I was offering. I was about to reach for her when shots fired outside the club got my attention.

“Was that…?”

I shoved my hands into my pants pockets and studied her reaction.

“Gunshots? Yes.”

“And you are not concerned?”

I leaned back against the desk. “Of course I am concerned. Gunshots are always taken seriously.”

The way her expression changed from fear to disbelief and then to irritation was almost comical.

“There are gunshots outside your club, and you aren’t going to investigate?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Is that what you want me to do?”

She put her hands of her hips. “It does seem like an appropriate action to take.”

“Very well, stay here.”

Before I could reach the door, Blaze pushed it open, the deep frown on his face was indicative of the seriousness of the situation.

“Someone took shots at Nickolai as he was leaving the club. One of his guards was injured, and Nickolai is understandably pissed.”

“The shooter?”

“Dead, but there was another one that got away.” He looked over my shoulder to where Bri was standing. “She needs to leave.”

I turned around and frowned at the way her complexion had paled. “Sit down, Angel, before you fall.”

I watched as she sank into the chair near my desk and then turned back to Blaze. “She stays. No arguments about it. Do you know anything about the shooter?”

Blaze’s eyes narrowed as his gaze moved from her back to me. “He wasn’t wearing a t-shirt advertising who was working for, but perhaps Nik will know something.”

“The body?”

His lips lifted on one corner. “The Bratva has already taken care of it.”

I nodded. “Make the necessary calls so that the police don’t show up here. I don’t want any unnecessary attention here at the club. Offer a free round of drinks on the house. Let’s keep it business as usual.”

“I will see that it’s done, but you need to do something with her.”

I looked back over my shoulder to where Bri was intensely listening to our conversation, the fear evident on her face. “I will take care of it, and then I will call Nik. Something doesn’t feel right. He rarely leaves Las Vegas, so who would even know that he is in town?”

“For someone to make a move against the Bratva, it is always serious and I’m certain Nik has many enemies. He has never been a fucking Boy Scout.”

He turned and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with Bri. I walked past her to my desk, opened a drawer, took out a bottle of whiskey, and poured a small amount into a glass before walking over and handing it to her.

“Here drink this.”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure what is happening, but I am more convinced than ever that I made a mistake by coming here. Will you take me home now?”

“There are things I need to take care of first and when I get back, we can continue our discussion.”

She jumped to her feet. “There is no discussion. I don’t want to be a part of this. Take. Me. Home.”

I pushed her back into the seat and leaned down close to her face. “You are already a part of this.”

Her lips clamped together as she stared up at me.

“Now is not the time to be brave, Angel. Don’t try and defy me. There will be time to talk about your future once I have made certain it is safe for us to leave. Now sit down and stay quiet.”

Bri

I waited a total of five seconds after he left before I jumped from my seat and looked around the room for another way out. How could I have been so stupid to get involved with a man like Rogue Delaney? A man was just killed outside his club, and he behaved as if it were just an ordinary day. Now I understood why his club was aptly named Sinners . I moved over to the desk and looked for anything that might help me escape. I rummaged through the drawers, not caring if I made a mess, but I didn’t find anything other than another bottle of whiskey and two glasses along with your typical office supplies, pens, notepads, etc. none of which looked as if they had ever been used. It was as if this wasn’t a real working office, just a room made to look like one, like a movie set.

I started pacing the room, my brain conjuring up all sorts of horrible things that could happen once he returned. My heart began to beat faster. I still had my cell phone, and I contemplated calling Allison and asking her to come help me, but that would more than likely just get her into trouble, and I couldn’t keep relying on someone else to rescue me. I had to find a way out of this mess myself.

Surely, he wasn’t going to kill me. What if he planned on selling me? Young women went missing all the time and were never found. The thought made me a bit nauseous. No, if he was going to kill me, he would just do it or have one of his goons do it for him.

Whatever he had planned, I didn’t come this far escaping a deranged stalker in Colorado just for this guy to attempt to hold me hostage or to get killed by getting mixed up in some kind of war between criminals. There had to be a way out of this, and to find it, I had to be smart. I took a few deep calming breaths and slowly moved about the room, taking in as much of it as I could. The room itself was very sparse. A desk containing nothing significant, with a black chair behind it, and two black leather chairs in front. A small bar on one side of the room, but nothing else of importance. No pictures of him, no pictures of anyone or anything. The walls were bare, and the room was well-lit.

After realizing that I would find nothing here that would help me get out of this situation, I sank back down into the seat and covered my face with my hands, knowing there was nothing I could do but wait. Wait to see what this arrogant devil of a man had in store for me. But he couldn’t watch me 24/7. There would be an opportunity to escape, and once I found it, I would not hesitate to take it.

Rogue

After leaving Bri in my office, I went back upstairs to find that most of the patrons in the club had no idea what had gone on outside. My employees had done a good job of offering distractions, so no one became aware of the attempted assassination or shooting that occurred just a few feet from where they were all drinking, dancing, and performing more intimate acts. Blaze was standing by the stairs, his phone in his hand and a glass of bourbon close by.

I walked toward him and took a seat at a table nearby. “Any news from Nickolai?”

Blaze turned the glass up and finished off the contents before pouring another. “He said that he would be seeing you soon. I imagine that after your little possessive display with the girl, he thought you might be otherwise occupied for some time, and he obviously had other things to do.” He took a sip of bourbon. “If you aren’t going to send her on her way, you need to think of ways to protect her. It would be very easy for someone like her to be hurt, caught up in a world she knows nothing about. What is she to you? Is she just another employee, a fling you have taken interest in, or is it more?”

I poured my drink and leaned back in the chair. “For now, she belongs with me; I am claiming her. That is all anyone needs to know.”

“And is she accepting?”

I smirked as I drained the glass of liquor, letting it burn my throat. “Since I had to lock her in my office to return here, I would say no.”

Blaze closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cushion of the chair. “Hmm, taking advice on women from Alessio?”

“Alessio blackmailed and married his beautiful Cara Mia. He was concerned with cementing his legacy and protecting the Messina family from Benedict Russo. I just want to have her in my bed. She will be well compensated for the time she spends with me and once I have had my fill, I will let her go.”

Blaze stood from his seat. “Hmm, we will see. I have never known you to stay interested in a woman for more than a night and with an assassin trying to take out the Bratva leadership, now might not be the best time to play around with the girl.”

He spoke the truth. I had never had any kind of relationship that lasted longer than a one-night stand, but this woman was different. I had been instantly drawn to her, and after getting a small taste of her last night when she first wandered into the club, I knew I wanted more, much more, and I always got what I wanted. But Blaze was right, I needed to find a way to protect her for as long as she remained with me. How long that would be was still uncertain.