Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

VAR

I f I forced Serg to deal with a fourth dead body this week, I would be the fifth.

With ripping the man's head off and showing it to his corpse off the table, I was forced to deal with the situation in a more civilized manner.

Leaning down, I wrapped my arm around Vivian's waist and pulled her off the should-be-a-dead-man's lap. "I will deal with you later," I warned as I tucked her behind me.

Before the idiot had a chance to respond, I grabbed the back of his head and slammed it forward onto the cocktail table. The loud music deprived me of hearing the satisfying crunch of his nose breaking, but the gush of blood was a decent consolation prize.

Vivian tapped me on the shoulder. "Are you really here?"

"Baby, I'm a little busy trying not to kill the man who laid hands on you. Can we discuss this later?"

She smiled as she patted my shoulder. "Oh, my God, that sounds exactly like something you would say if you were really here."

I kept the pressure on the back of the man's head so he couldn't raise his torso. Scanning over the people at his table, I asked, "Are we going to have a problem?"

Two of them raised up their palms in submission and shook their heads. The third lifted his drink and toasted me. "Nah, the guy's a dick." He then took a swig from his drink.

I wrenched the man's head back. As his head bobbed, he looked at me through glazed, half-lidded eyes.

"Hey, listen. This is important." Once I slapped him, I had his attention.

"What the fuck, dude? Did you break my nose?"

Ignoring his stupid question, I said, "Here's the thing, asshole. Only men with power, money, and balls can pull off anti-Me-too caveman shit. By the looks of it, you have none of this."

His eyes teared. "Damn, that's mean. By pigeonholing my existence into my economic status, you've hurt my feelings."

I inhaled deeply through my nose. Fucking snowflake millennials.

Was it any wonder women were flocking to older men? They wanted a man in the bedroom and a gentleman on their arm. Someone who knew how to cage them against a wall and pick up a goddamn check.

As I was about to respond, Vivian tapped me on the shoulder again.

I turned my head. "Yes, krasivaya . How can I help you now?"

She leaned her chin against my upper arm. "Can you promise not to tell Var about this? I have this weird feeling he'd be super pissed," she said as she threw her head back and laughed.

My baby was high as a kite.

I cupped her jaw as I leaned my forehead against her. "You'd be right, baby. He would be furious at you putting yourself in danger like this," I responded, playing along.

She put her finger to her gorgeous matte red lips. "Then shhhh . It will be our little secret." She then gave me an exaggerated wink.

Fuck, she was adorable.

It was hard to stay pissed at her. And until a few moments ago, I was very irrationally angry with her. The fact that I had absolutely no right to be annoyed, let alone angry at her being at a club with friends, did nothing to assuage my rising rage when I pinged her phone at the new club in Fulton Market.

She was too beautiful, too tempting, too fucking sexy to walk into a place like this without drawing male attention.

Even as a child, I'd refused to share my toys.

And I had no intention of starting now.

Vivian was mine.

Her body, her smart mouth, her gorgeous smile, the mischievous glint in her emerald eyes—it was all mine. I planned to jealously guard every bit. If I had my way, no other man would even get treated to the sound of her voice, let alone the pleasure of her company.

Already having lost interest in the idiot, I leaned over and elbowed him in the jaw, knocking him out.

With my arm around her waist, I pulled Vivian toward the private door where I had entered. "We're leaving."

She dug in her heels. "I can't!"

I pulled her against my side as I wrapped my hand around the side of her neck. "Don't try my patience on this, Viv."

Her face lit up with a dazzling smile. The crimson on her lips made her skin look like sweet cream. "Awwwww… you just called me Viv. We're nickname buddies. You're Var and I'm Viv." She then giggled. "Oh, my God, that makes us sound like a cheesy couple who goes on bowling dates. Viv and Var."

Apparently, she had at least realized I was physically here right now, if her brain hadn't quite caught up to the ramifications of that fact.

"I'm getting you out of here."

Her eyes widened. "I can't. Michelle and Stacey are here. I can't just leave them."

My head swiveled to search the crowd. "Point them out to me."

She grabbed my hand. "I'll introduce you."

After weaving through the crowd for a few minutes, we approached two attractive women, who were both about late-twenties like Vivian.

"Girls! Girls!" shouted Vivian over the music as she gestured with her thumb to me. "This is the guy I didn't tell you about because he's this super scary Russian Mafia dude."

Several heads turned.

"Girl, where have you been hiding him?"

"How did you two meet?"

"Does he have a friend?"

Vivian giggled again. "Holy crap, you girls should see this man's magic penis. It's huge. Like huuuuggge. And oh, my God, the things he can do with his tongue."

Magic penis?

That's a first.

Vivian's friends stared at my crotch with wide eyes and open mouths.

I pulled Vivian to my side as I pressed her face against my chest. "Okay, now. That's enough out of you, little one."

They both swayed to the music as one spoke up. "It's about time Vivian got laid."

I smiled indulgently. "Nice to meet you both," I said as I raised my phone, intent on getting a photo I could send to Serg so he could organize a pickup.

Both girls squealed. "A photo! Vivian, get in here."

Fuck.

Before I could stop her, Vivian joined her friends.

My simple identification photo for my men became an impromptu photoshoot as the three women posed. First, there was the usual female huddle photo, then the Charlie's Angels pose, then the playfully pushed out, exaggerated pout.

I gave them a thumbs up. "Very good, ladies. I think I have enough."

They crowded around me.

"Let's see. Oh! That's a good one."

"Michelle, your eyes pop in that one."

"Vivian, you need to tell me the shade of that lipstick."

"It's Chanel. I think I have it somewhere in my purse. Let me check."

"Yikes. Delete that one."

"Stacey, we should totally put a champagne filter on that one."

"Can you send these to us?"

"You should post these."

"What's your IG?"

Wrenching my phone from their grasp, I called for reinforcements.

Serg answered, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Help!"

"Var?"

"Send help. I'm overrun."

"What kind of gun power will I need? How many men? What's your location?" came the rapid-fire questions as Serg went into security mode.

"No guns. At least four men. You'll need two for each woman. I'll send you the GPS."

"What the fuck is going on?"

"I need a capture and contain. Their names are Michelle and Stacey. See that they get home safely. I'm securing Vivian."

All I heard in response was laughter.

Disconnecting the call, I lifted Vivian off her feet and carried her out of the club.

"Where are we going?"

Fresh air greeted us as I opened the private side door where my SUV was waiting in an alley. "I'm taking you home."

I opened the passenger side door and placed her inside, leaning over her to buckle her seat belt.

Her cheek brushed mine. "You smell good."

My lips quirked. "So do you, baby."

As I got behind the wheel, she rolled her head along the headrest to stare at me. "Am I in trouble?"

The car sped out of the alley as I steered it toward the Four Monks. "Yes."

Her brow furrowed. "Why?"

As I pulled up to a red traffic light, I reached over and stroked her cheek with the back of my hand. "Because I've decided to keep you."