Chapter 15

Tajah: Chapter 15

It had been three days, and I was still in a daze or whatever it was, after the amazing, mind-altering sex with Mikhail. After he got me in the tub, he took care of me like I was a fragile flower or something. He washed every inch of me in between massaging my body. His words still rang in my ears and remembering them made me smile like a loon.

The washcloth ran down my arm as he slowly and thoroughly washed me. I told him I could do it when he first started. When I did, he glared at me, so I shut up.

"Tajah, you're so goddamn incredible, baby. That was without a doubt the best sexual experience ever for me. I hit subspace, and that has never happened to me before."

"Is that what that utter feeling of being relaxed yet floating and elated at the same time was?"

He nodded as he smiled at me. I was twisted around enough, so I could see his face. "Lord, I've never felt that either. That was intense. The whole thing was so thrilling. While you were hunting me, I thought my heart was gonna jump outta my chest. I couldn't wait for you to find me."

He moved the cloth over to wash my upper chest and neck. It was the fluffiest and softest washcloth I'd ever felt in my life. As he washed me, his other hand trailed over my skin, causing goose bumps to come out.

"That's how it should be. I was afraid I went too far, too fast. If I ever do, you have to remember to tell me. Use your words. I don't ever want to hurt or truly scare you, my little Dove. I love you, and I don't want to destroy your love for me. I can't believe you love me, actually."

I twisted further around until I was straddling him. The tub was huge, more like a hot tub. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his head down to mine. I stared into his eyes. "Misha, why would you not be able to believe it? You're so incredible. How could I not fall in love with you? The real question is, how did you fall for me?"

He gave me an incredulous look. He gripped my face between both hands. He gave me the tiniest shake. "How could I not love you? I can't put it into words all the things you make me feel and think. I'm fascinated with you, and I want to be with you, even if all we do is sit in silence. You soothe me as well as excite me. I never knew love felt like this. You're beautiful, smart, and talented. I know things didn't work out with your ex-husband, but to have two more men be fools and not snag you, or someone else coming along after them to do it blows my mind."

"Those others were threatened by my success and they couldn't cope when I would need time to do my thing. They wanted me to be available for everything in their lives, but they couldn't do the same. I was treated as an object, an afterthought unless they wanted sex or someone to hang on their arm. They didn't want to hear my thoughts on anything. It was kinda the whole ‘be seen but not heard' thing. After the second guy did it, I decided I sucked at picking men, so I stopped dating or even trying to date."

"They were goddamn idiots, but I have to thank them. I don't know what I would've done if I met you and you were someone else's? I would like to say I would've been a moral man and left you alone, but I don't know if I could've. It's likely I would've tried my damndest to get you away from him. Something I never would've done until you. The thought of you not in my life makes me sick."

That had led to us kissing which then led to us making love slowly in the tub. When we were done, both of us could barely make it to bed. I fell asleep with a smile on my face. I was still smiling three days later.

However, I was reminded I had a question for him minutes ago. He just got off the phone with someone. He'd been talking quietly in his home office. I walked in and he stopped talking after giving me a funny look. That made me think of Friday and his hours away with Reuben conducting business. I walked out but waited for him to come back to the living room. It was a good ten minutes before he did. He tried to appear relaxed, but I could feel the tension running through him from across the room.

"Can I get you something to drink, Dove?"

"No, I'm good. Come here and sit with me." I patted the couch beside me. I saw his gait falter the ever slightest, then he was across the room to me and he sat down. He picked up the remote to the television.

"Let's see if there's a movie on."

"I'm not really in the movie or TV mood. I'd rather talk." I told him. He reluctantly laid down the remote. Or to me it seemed reluctant. Maybe I was creating something in my head which didn't exist. My writer's brain did that sometimes.

"We can do that. What do you want to talk about?"

"On Friday, you and Reuben said you had business to do away from here. I was wondering what it was and how it went? You usually talk about your business meetings and decisions, but not that one. Also, I saw you didn't go out dressed like you typically do, either."

He tried to hide it, but I caught the grimace before he smoothed it out. "It wasn't anything exciting. There wasn't a reason to dress up for it, so we went for comfort. We ended up deciding not to have a repeat meeting."

I eased away from him. "Mikhail, if you don't want to tell me for some reason, just say so. Hell, if you think it's none of my business, say that, but don't lie to me. That's one thing I can't stand. No, it's something I won't stand for." I went to get up, but he grabbed my arm and held me there. I tried to shake him loose, but he hung onto me. I was beginning to get really upset. I needed to walk away before I said something I shouldn't.

"Babe, please, don't."

"Don't what? Ask? Tell you I won't stand for it? What? Now I'm going crazy wondering what it is. I had one man who lied to me for years. I can't deal with it." I tried not to let tears fill my eyes, but I couldn't stop them. I closed my eyes instead. He groaned. The next thing I knew, I was folded in his arms and pressed to his chest.

He whispered in my ear. "I just don't want you to think badly of me, okay. It's not exactly something I go about broadcasting, and I sure don't brag about it."

"Tell me," I whispered back.

"We went to have a talk with Dominus about him accosting you on the street."

That wasn't bad in my opinion. "So? What's so bad about that?"

"When I say talk, I mean fists were involved. Your man isn't far from the trees or the cave, whatever you want to call it. Someone fucks with you, and I want to beat their asses. If they do more, I want to kill them, Tajah. He already laid hands on you and scared you once. He did it a second time. I should've talked to him and warned him away from you right after I kicked his ass out of Lustz. It's my fault he did that last week. I had to fix it so he hopefully never does it again."

I didn't say anything for a few moments as I digested what he said. As I thought about it, I realized a couple of things. One, I wasn't at all surprised he would get physical. As sophisticated as he was, he was a primal and this went along with it. Two, I didn't feel a bit sorry for Duncan if he got his ass beat. I pulled away from him, so I could see his face. He had an apprehensive expression.

"Misha, stop it. It's no surprise you would do that, now that I think about it. As for being upset you did it, I am…" I paused when he jerked and groaned then I continued, "But only because I didn't get to see it. You took Reuben, but not me." I pouted out my bottom lip.

His eyes widened then he burst out laughing. He gave me a kiss then shook his head. "Only you would say that. I was afraid you'd be upset with me."

"My only worry is he'll go running to the cops. If he does, you'll be in trouble. I don't want that."

"Believe me, he's too scared to do it. He knows what'll happen if he does or if he bothers you again."

"How can you be sure?" I pointed out. He took a deep breath like he steeled himself. Oh great, what else didn't I know?

"I know you haven't been around here long, but did Carver ever mention anything when you were working to get in here about my background? My connections? Rumors about me?"

I quickly thought about it then shook my head. "Not that I recall, why?"

"It's been fairly common gossip for years that I'm part of the mob. I'm not, I swear, so no worries, but it's persisted as something those in business in Nashville talk about, and a lot of them believe. It's leaked out to others. I admit it's kept people overall from fucking with me. I don't say I am, they just assume."

"Why would they assume you are? Because you're successful?"

"Well, I'm not in the mob, but it doesn't mean I don't know anyone who is," he said slowly.

This surprised me. "Really? Who?"

"Well, my last name is Ivanova and many associate it with the Russian mob. You've heard of the Bratva, haven't you?"

"Of course, but that's silly just because you're Russian."

"I'd agree, except in my case, it's not totally wrong. My dad's family is Bratva, babe. Dad and I were never involved. Or at least he wasn't after he came of age. He didn't want anything to do with that life, and it so happened his family allowed him to go his own way, which is kinda unheard of. He moved here to the States as a young man, where he met and married my mom and they had me. However, the family also had members here, and they ensured he wasn't lost to the family, even if he was lost to the family business. I have cousins and such in it, and they and I still speak and on rare occasions I even visit them."

I knew my mouth was hanging open, but I couldn't help it. Mikhail was a strong, even scary man, but I never thought of him as being associated with criminal activities. Finding out his family was involved stunned me. I sat there saying nothing for several seconds. He was giving me worried looks. I knew I had to say something to reassure him, but what?

"Please, say something. I'm dying here, Dove. I don't want my associations to ruin what we have and are growing, but I can't help who my family is, just like you can't. The association I spoke of is an occasional dinner at one of their homes or out to celebrate something like a birthday or anniversary. Business is never discussed with me or around me. I don't want to know, but I have second cousins and their parents who I consider aunts and uncles who are part of it."

"Wow, I don't know quite what to say, Misha. I never expected you to tell me this. So Duncan knows this, and you scared him by telling him you have the connection."

"Well, not just telling him. He got a visual along with it," he admitted reluctantly.

"Tell me all of it. I can't make a decision on how I feel about this if I only know pieces. And dragging it out is making me anxious."

He wrapped his hands around mine, which were clenched together in my lap. He gently squeezed them. "Okay, so I needed to find Duncan. He wasn't at his home, and I wanted to get him somewhere that wasn't his turf, so we could have our talk. I didn't want witnesses or someone calling the cops. I did something I haven't done before, and I asked my family if they would locate him for me. My second cousin Matvey is the local Pakhan, the boss. He happily agreed and a couple of his men found him and brought Duncan to a place where we could talk undisturbed.

"Reuben knew what I was doing and he insisted on coming with me. You've really made an impression on him and he hates what Duncan did, almost as much as I do. We went to the location and had a talk. We reinforced it with a beating and warned him what would happen to him if he ever approached you again or went to the cops. I admit, I pointed out my connection to the Bratva to scare him into not doing either. I don't regret it, baby. I'd do almost anything to protect you."

"Misha, I, well shit, what can I say to that? I love you want to protect me, but I can do that myself, you know? I'm not some helpless damsel you have to rescue. I know my interactions with Duncan haven't shown that, and it's my fault. You said you'd do almost anything to protect me. I'm afraid to ask what you would and wouldn't do."

"I'd threaten, scare, beat, and even kill if I had to. The only thing I won't do is hurt someone innocent. There would be no going after an enemy's family unless they were as bad as my enemies. I've had people in the past I had to warn away. I've never used my family directly to do it. I don't see you as helpless, but I can't turn off my need to protect you, either. It's ingrained in me. Fuck, please tell me this isn't a game changer for you. I don't know what I'll do if you say it is."

He looked like he was in physical pain the way his brow was wrinkled up and the grimace on his face. I tugged my right hand free of his grip and touched his cheek. "Honey, I love your protective instincts, just know I can and will protect myself, too. I've not had anyone who wants to do that since my dad died. He was a big alpha male in a lot of ways. Although he wanted to protect me, he also equipped me to do it myself since he couldn't be with me all the time.

"I know self-defense and I know how to shoot. Cops' daughters and sons are usually taught this along with being cautious. I screwed up with Duncan when he kept bothering me. I knew better, and I promise it won't happen again. Also, I know you can protect yourself, but I feel the need to do the same with you. Don't do anything that could get you hurt or taken away from me. I couldn't handle that." I said the last as a whisper before I kissed him. He eagerly kissed me back.

As he let go of my other hand, I threaded it though the back of his hair and sank my fingers into his head. He groaned, and I moaned as our tongues fought with each other. Desire was quickly rising inside of me. My nipples were hardening and my tits were starting to ache. Further down, my pussy was becoming slick. The man wrecked my panties all the time. I swear, I shouldn't even bother with them, but then he'd be destroying my other clothes. I squeezed my thighs together to help combat the ache.

A distant annoying buzzing sound interrupted what I knew was about to be another intense sexual experience. He hissed as he drew away and fumbled in his pocket. When he took out his phone, it clicked what I'd been hearing. The man could befuddle me so easily. I eased back and waited. Hopefully, it wasn't anything urgent. He read the text then swore.

"Goddamn it! What the hell is going on?"

"What's wrong?"

"Reuben said there's an electrical inspector here from the Department of Commerce and Insurance. Apparently, they received a complaint that we aren't in code for our electrical and he is demanding to do an inspection right now. Who the hell is doing this? It's ridiculous. They'd better hope I don't find out," he snapped.

I didn't blame him for being frustrated. It was a silly and immature thing to do like the fire inspection was. I didn't want to make it worse, but I had to ask. "Do you think it might be Duncan causing trouble?"

"If it is, he's a dumbass, especially after Friday. It might be but if not, who? I can't think of anyone I've pissed off with my business dealings lately."

"Maybe not, but it could be personal. Tessa is upset with you about me. Would she do it?"

He paused to think then shrugged. "I guess she could be the one."

"Is there a way for us to find out?" I asked as he texted back to Reuben. I knew he'd be heading down momentarily, and I planned to go with him. Even if there was nothing I could do, I wanted to be there to support him.

"Actually, yeah, there is. I'll need to make a call later. First, I have to get rid of this inspector. I gotta go."

"Let's go," I stood as he did.

"You don't need to come with me. I know you need to work."

"I need to support my man. No arguing. I'm coming."

I was happy to see my insistence put a smile on his face. He put his arm around me. "Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's get this shit over with. Then we can get back to what was so rudely interrupted."

"I love that plan."

It took a scant couple of minutes to get to the first floor. We found Reuben and a woman I'd met once, Sheila. She was another floor manager like Freddy. With them was a portly man who I guessed to be in his late forties or early fifties. He was scowling and scanning the room. When he saw us, he puffed out his chest and drew himself up. It didn't help him. He was only a few inches taller than my five foot five.

"About time. I'm a very busy man. Mr. Ivanova, I presume?"

"I am Mr. Ivanova, and I'm a very busy man as well. I had to drop everything to come do this. A few minutes to do so shouldn't be a problem, especially since I didn't know you were coming. Your name is?"

The man's face turned slightly red and his mouth tightened. What was his problem? Did he just hate to wait, or was he that egotistical to think everything and everyone should fall all over themselves to do what he wanted? I immediately didn't like him or trust him.

"You can call me Inspector Thompson. Complaint inspections are always unannounced," he said snidely.

"Since I know everything is within code, I have no idea who would call in a complaint. Let me guess, it's anonymous," Mikhail said with a roll of his eyes.

"It is. We wouldn't want anyone to be targeted for doing something right."

"Whatever. Let's get this done. I need your business card with your complete information, including your license. Before we go forward, I need to ensure you are who you say you are, and that your credentials are current to do this inspection. You can't be too careful. People try to con business owners all the time to gain access to their premises and such." He held out his hand.

Inspector Thompson gave him an affronted look. "How dare you?"

"I dare a lot, inspector. Card." Mikhail wiggled his fingers impatiently at him.

Thompson seethed as he dug in his wallet to get one. He slapped it in Mikhail's hand. All my man did was smirk, then handed it to Reuben who smiled and said, "I'll be back as soon as I check him out. Hopefully, it won't take long. Sheila, why don't you come help me?"

I saw her look glad as she followed him. I figured it was just to get her free of the man in front of us. The more he talked and reacted, the more I thought of him as being an asshole. I knew he had a job to do, but you could still be courteous.

"While we wait, can I get you something to drink?" I offered. Even if he was a jerk, I could be nice.

"I don't drink alcohol on duty. Who are you? The bartender or are you one of the women who work here, doing those acts I've heard about?" he asked with a sneer.

"I wasn't offering alcohol, we do have water and sodas. And no, I don't work here."

"Then why are you hanging around? Leave." He waved his hand dismissively. I felt Mikhail go rigid. Oh no, here it comes. I tried to soothe him by placing my hand on his arm and patting it, but it was a no go.

He crowded Thompson, who went pale as he gazed up at him. Mikhail towered over him. "Listen, I might have to allow you to do an inspection if you check out, but I don't have to put up with your attitude, and I sure as hell won't put up with you talking like that to my woman. She has every right to be here, and she'll remain as long as she wants. The offer of a drink was her being polite. You might want to try it sometime."

"D-does she own the club too?" he stuttered. He stepped away from Mikhail, which was a smart idea.

"Soon. We're in the middle of making changes. Do you want a drink or not?"

"No, thank you."

"We should sit and get comfortable while we wait." he pointed to the closest table. Thomson scurried to it and sat on the opposite side of the table from us. Mikhail made a production of holding my hand on top of the table. I had to fight not to giggle. "You won't tell me who lodged the complaint, but can you say when and what the particulars of it were? I think that's more than acceptable to share."

I could see Thompson didn't even want to share that much with him, but why? I studied him to see what I could pick up. A lot of the time I noticed things about people just from their non-verbal cues. He had a film of sweat on his forehead. It could be because he was scared of Mikhail, but thinking about it, I realized it was there when we came down. His eyes were bouncing around the room. His hands were in his lap, but I bet they were clenched. Mikhail kept staring at him. Finally, he broke.

"It came in last Wednesday. Like I said, it was done anonymously. The complaint was that you had exposed wiring and wires not up to code. Those are serious infractions."

"They are, but they're not true. I pay for a top-to-bottom inspection on the structure, electrical, and plumbing every year to be sure. I had a fire inspector in here barely a week ago on a trumped-up complaint. He found absolutely nothing, and you know he would see things like exposed wiring. Don't the different inspectors talk? It seems like a waste of funding to do the same work twice."

"We can't talk about every case and no offense to whoever did it, but he might've missed something. Surely you don't want your customers or employees hurt?"

"No, I don't. I'd be an idiot to risk my livelihood by not fixing things if they exist. I don't doubt you see shoddy work, and people trying to get away with stuff, but I don't work that way. I've had this club for close to fifteen years and no one has ever been hurt because of something like that."

"Things can change. If your focus becomes diverted to other things, there can be slipups." As Thompson said it, he glanced quickly at me then back. What the hell? How would he know we were in a new relationship? Warning bells began to sound in my head.

I leaned over and made sure to smile before I whispered in Mikhail's ear. "He's up to something. How does he know we're newly together? Someone put him up to this. He knows who made the complaint."

Mikhail kissed my cheek and whispered back. "I caught that, too. If he comes back as legit, believe me, he won't go anywhere alone. I have cameras everywhere, too. I usually keep them off if I'm here. I'll activate the ones in the apartment. Not all of them are obvious. I bet he'll want to inspect it."

I nodded and said, "Good."

I waited to see what Mikhail would say next, but we were interrupted by Reuben coming back. He had a bland look on his face. He nodded to Mikhail. "He's with the Department of Commerce and his license is up-to-date. I verified with the office a complaint was filed against us."

Mikhail got up. "Well, then let's get this started. We have work to do to get ready for tonight. Reub, I'll stick with him, so you can get your work done. Tajah, you can hang with me, or go back upstairs. It's up to you. I expect you'll get bored though."

"I'd like to watch at least for a while. You never know when I might decide to write about an electrician. I can call it research."

"Write?" Thompson asked. He sounded nervous.

"Yes, I'm an author and I find inspiration everywhere. I never know when something will end up going into a book."

"You can't write anything about me! If you do, I'll sue you," he said in a panic.

"I would never use your name or anything that would identify you. However, you can't tell me I can't talk about an electrical inspector in one of them. Or use your attitude to inspire one. That's why I like to tell people beware how you act, you may one day find yourself in a book. I prefer if they do due to their wonderful attitudes, but sadly often they're because they were jerks or assholes," I said sweetly. My evil side was peeking out.

He had his mouth gaping open like a fish. Both Reuben and Mikhail outright laughed. I winked at them so Thompson couldn't see it.

"Let's go," Mikhail ordered.

As Thompson stumbled to get his documents out, Reuben came over to me. "You're evil. No wonder Mikhail loves you. Lucky bastard."

I patted his arm. "I'm the lucky one. I never expected to find someone like him to love."

My declaration of love for his friend made him smile harder. He gave me a kiss on the cheek. I heard Mikhail growl then he was there, crowding Reuben out of the way. "Lips off. She's mine."

"I know. We were just talking about that, and how lucky you are. Find me one like her, will ya?"

"I'll give it my best. Kisses on the cheek then are fine, but only occasionally," Mikhail conceded.

This made Reuben and I laugh. Thompson cleared his throat to get our attention. Reuben left to do whatever and we got to work. The intervening hours were boring, but I stuck it out for most of them. You could tell having us along made the inspector nervous, and we watched his every move. Mikhail pestered him with questions. Thompson tried several times to get us to leave him alone, but we refused. It wasn't until he moved upstairs to the apartment that I went to do something else. I went to the office to write out notes on him. He would make a great character the readers would love to hate. I saw books and e-readers possibly being thrown over him when I was done.

I was still chuckling under my breath when he came into the office. Mikhail raised his brow at me but didn't ask. I kept tapping away on my keyboard. Thompson didn't take long, but as he and Mikhail left, I heard the annoying inspector asking what was on the opposite end of the apartment. I had to see his reaction to our special room. He'd appeared disgusted downstairs. I popped out of my chair and rushed out to catch up to them. I grabbed Mikhail's hand as he followed him.

I could barely stand to wait for him to get done in the gym then he pointed to the scanner-protected door. "What's in there? I have to see it, too."

"I'll open it. Give me a sec," was all my man said.

As he unlocked it and opened the door, I moved so I could see at least the side of the inspector's face. I saw his mouth drop open and the red invaded his cheeks. He turned to glance at us and his eyes were bugging out. Why the reaction when he saw many of the same things downstairs, I didn't know. Did he think Mikhail ran a kink club, but wasn't personally into it? He walked into the room like he expected something or someone to jump out and attack him.

"Just tell me what you want to see. If you wanna check that the various toys work okay, we can do that. They run on batteries except for a few. This fucking machine plugs into an outlet." Mikhail said ultra casually, as he hit the on switch and it started moving the dildo attached to it up and down.

I almost busted my gut holding in my laugh as Thompson squealed and ran across the room. As Thompson trained his eyes elsewhere, Mikhail kept casually talking about various toys and things in the room. The St. Andrew's cross seemed to fascinate and repel the inspector. By the time he was done looking, I was almost in tears. I stood there watching him stutter and tell Mikhail everything was up to code.

"When can I get a copy of the full, official report? I need it for my files."

"I-well, I'm not sure. I should have it done this week."

"It better be. I don't want you all coming in here every damn week on some nuisance complaint. Someone is doing this to be an asshole. I promise you, I will find out who and they better watch out when I do."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a damn promise. Now, if you don't mind. I have actual work to do."

I left Mikhail to escort him off the premises, while I was back to thinking about who was doing it and how we could find out. When Mikhail returned, I asked him since I remembered what he said earlier about having a way.

"Thank goodness he's gone. What a weasel. Okay, you said you had a way to find out who is making these complaints. Who? And how? Is it your cousin Matvey you mentioned?"

He shook his head. "No, it's not Matvey. Just wait a minute. Reuben is on his way up. I'll explain then we can make the call together."

I pretended to pout, which earned me a swat on the ass and a kiss. If that was my punishment, I'd do it every day. I told him that, which made him laugh and whisper naughty suggestions in my ear of the other things he could do to me. I was getting wound up when I heard a beep and the door opened to the apartment. Mikhail had it set to warn you if someone was entering. When Reuben saw us, he shook his head.

"You two need to cut it out. No sexual tension while I'm here. It makes me jealous and horny."

"Oh my God, really? I can't believe you said that."

"Believe it. Now, what's your plan to find the asshole making those false reports?" He asked as he plopped down on the couch. I was in the big chair on Mikhail's lap.

"It's a simple one. I just need to make a call. Hang on." Mikhail said as he took out his phone. I watched as he opened his contacts and chose a name. I couldn't see who it was. He pressed the button. After a few seconds he spoke when the call was answered. "Hey Outlaw, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time. I need to see if I can use your skills to help me with something. Is it alright if I put you on speaker? I have Reuben here and my lady, Tajah." He paused, then laughed. "Yeah, I finally got one and I'm an old, settled man like you. It's great."

He pushed a button then we could hear a man's voice on the other end. "I've been telling you that for a couple of years and so has Payne," Outlaw told him.

"Yeah, I know. Hey, you're on speaker now."

"Oh hey Reuben, you need to get a woman next, man. And Tajah, hello. We have to talk about your taste in men."

Reuben groaned at his remark and muttered, "Tell me about it."

All I could do was laugh before I answered him back. "Hello, Outlaw. I've heard good things about you from Mikhail. Good to at least get to chat with you. We'll talk later about my taste."

"There won't be any of that shit, Outlaw. You scare her off and I don't care if you have a big bad club and a bunch of others backing you, I'll come after your ass."

"Truce, truce, okay tell me what you need so I can save myself." Outlaw pretended to plead. I heard the laughter in his tone. He was holding it back.

"I've had a problem the past week or so. Someone is calling inspectors out on us with bogus complaints. First, it was the fire inspector. Today, an electrical inspector showed up. They say the complaints are anonymous and they can't tell me anything, but I'm not so sure about that. The one today gave off other vibes like he was here with an agenda not just doing his job, you know what I mean. He actually looked upset when he didn't find anything. Of course, I never left him alone, so if he planned to sabotage anything, he was prevented from doing it."

Outlaw whistled. "Damn, you do have a mess. Any clue who might be doing it? Have you pissed off anyone lately?"

"I have. My ex-sub has been bugging me about getting back together. She isn't happy I have Tajah. The other is an ex-patron who was kicked out because of what he did to Tajah. I had a ‘come-to-Jesus' talk with him on Friday. The inspector today said the complaint came in last Wednesday, so it could be him. I think he's too scared to do it after Friday but this was already in motion. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head."

As he talked he was tapping out something on his phone. I found out what it was when Outlaw spoke again. "I got the names you sent. Thanks. I'll look into them. Either could be the culprit. A jealous woman scorned can get ugly. Of course, the guy could be bent, too. Tell me what he did to Tajah." I could hear him typing on his end. Mikhail filled him in on my two run-ins with Duncan and then what they did last week to him. That made Outlaw chuckle.

"Damn, are you sure you're not a biker? That sounds like us. Good for you. Fucker deserved it. Okay, I'll do some digging and see if I find anything. In the meantime, if you have any more inspections or think of anyone else, let me know. Hey, you should bring Reuben and Tajah to the club on our next family and friends' day. Tarin would introduce her to the other old ladies. We've kept trying to get you here forever. It's time."

"Let me know when and I'll see what I can do, but you can't try to steal her away for one of your single brothers. If that's your aim, fuck you."

"Hey, no stealing but if she ends up liking a biker over you, well that's not my fault," Outlaw teased.

"That's not happening," I told him.

"Good. Reuben, make his ass bring you. If he won't, then you come alone. Okay, I hate to run but it's my turn to watch my kid. Later. I'll let you know what I find."

"Thanks, man," Mikhail told him right before he hung up.

"Interesting guy," I said.

"You have no idea. I've heard enough to know they all are in one way or another. I've only really spoken to Payne and Outlaw. If you'd like to go, I'm game."

"I wouldn't mind. Who knows, maybe I'll write an MC series next."

He groaned as Reuben smirked. "You're in trouble now. Sure, why not? It might be fun. I hear they get wild at those parties."

"They can, but only after the kids are in bed. Alright, enough of that. Hopefully, he'll find something. Anything you need me to help with before we open?" he asked Reuben.

As they talked about this and that, I zoned out and tried to imagine myself meeting a real-life MC. Excitement began to grow and thoughts flashed through my brain. God, why did he do this to me? Now I was outlining another new series when I didn't even have this one launched yet.