6. Lennox

Waking up alone after one of the best nights ever sucks a big bag of dirty, slimy dicks. The fact Ghost left without so much as a goodbye, pissed me off. I can admit that freely. It's also why I have ignored Weasel's calls and stayed away from the club for the last week. It's stupid because it is postponing my plans yet again. I can't help it, though. A girl has to have a little bit of pride. Who knew me and my sperm donor have something in common? Seems like some of him leaked into my genes after all.

The fucking bastard.

"Hey, Miss Lennox, what can I get you?"

"I told you to call me Lenny," I murmur with a grin to Mrs. M.

"Pfft. Lennox is a beautiful name. It's sacrilege to shorten it."

I laugh. "If you say so. I'll take the usual, except make the coffee an extra-large this morning."

"You got it. Go get your usual seat. I'll have Bart bring it over to you."

"Thanks."

She waves me off and I smile as I walk off to my corner table in the back. It's next to the window and allows me to people watch. The street outside is busy and watching all the people moving around outside can be fun. Also, it calms me. I need to figure out what I'm going to do. I hate to toot my own damn horn, but fuck, men normally like me. They even try to get clingy. Having Ghost just leave and not say goodbye hurt my ego. It shouldn't have bothered me, so I'm frustrated with myself. I figured as good as the night was, he'd search me out in a couple of days. After a week, it's clear that is not going to happen. Ghost was my way into the club, but apparently, I failed at reeling him in. I have a couple of options to consider. I keep using Weasel, which honestly is not appealing in the least. Making a move for one of the other members is a possibility. Rage and Iron are two of the single members that spring to mind. The good thing about Bones and his cronies is they're dead now. None of the older members in the club know me. They never even saw me. Shadow is the only member whom Bones might have spoken with concerning me. Since Bones was cheating the club, I don't think that happened. I'm willing to gamble that he doesn't know me, at least.

If Teddy was alive, he'd yell at me about holding the Titans responsible when none of the current members were involved. He'd probably be right. The thing is, I need to take them down. I want to set fire to the club and watch it burn, knowing I tore them apart for what was done to me and the only family I had. I've been resisting, but there is another way I could go about this. I have markers I could call in …

Shit.

I'm being a big baby. It's time I man up. I thought Ghost would be an easy mark. So what if he fucked my brains out and gave me a fantastic night. So what if he left me and didn't bother to talk to me again. Fuck him. I don't need him.

I take out my phone and dial.

"Finally. Thought you'd forgotten me, hot stuff."

I roll my eyes. Seriously, hot stuff? Are we back in the disco era? "How could I forget you? I've just been busy setting up my new business."

"Oh, yeah, you're like a clothing designer, right?"

I roll my eyes. God, I really don't like this guy. "Web designer."

"Okay, whatever. We're having a party tonight. Do you want to come over?"

"You guys have a party every night." I let out a fake laugh.

"That's the life. Are you comin' or what?"

"Not sure."

"Bring some girls with you. This club could use some new talent."

"Bye, Weasel." I click my phone off before I end up telling him to go fuck himself. He's annoyed me for a while now, but one taste of Ghost and I'm ready to decapitate Weasel. I don't want to be around him at all now. How stupid am I?

I think it might be time to call in the bigger markers. It's not like I will need them. After I take care of the club and my father, I'm out of the business.

"Hey, Lenny."

I look up to see Mrs. Miller's son, Bart, standing by the table. He's a sweet kid. I think she said that he's just started high school. He's a tall, lanky kid with wavy blond hair and bright blue eyes. I imagine the kid is a heartbreaker among teenage girls.

"Thanks, Bart."

"Mom sent you one of Dad's banana nut and pistachio muffins. She thinks you'll love it."

"Give her my thanks."

He nods and walks away. I look at my phone again, blowing out a breath. I should have just done this a year ago and been done with it. Ivan would have my back. I think Mikhail would, too. Viktor is another story. Most of the time, it feels like he tolerates me. None of them like my father, so perhaps that's the reason. I understand why. Hell, I despise him more than anyone.

I dial my phone, knowing I need a meeting with Ivan. I ignore the butterflies in my stomach as I do it. Ivan may support me, but he sure as hell will try to talk me out of it, too. It rings a couple of times and I smirk. One advantage of having the head of the Bratva's personal cell is that you know if he ignores your calls. To date, Ivan never has…

I jerk in surprise as the chair in front of me is pulled out and a mountain of delicious man sits down. Ghost.

"This is a surprise, my little Lennox."

I ignore the effect the man across my table is already having on me. I do maintain eye contact with him but continue talking to Ivan. Part of it is because I want to ignore Ghost for a bit. I'm not sure what to say to him yet. Another reason—and perhaps the most important—is that one doesn't simply hang up on Ivan Levkin. Well, they don't do that and live.

"You know me, I'm like a bad penny. I always turn up somewhere," I murmur. I'm rewarded with Ivan's laughter.

"You are much more delightful than you know. What can I do for you, my little doll?"

I smirk. Ivan calls me his deadly doll. Brags that to look at me, no one would know that I'm lethal with one taste. Most of the time, I think he sees me better than anyone in the world. Even my brother mostly ignored the dark side of me. Admittedly, I kept it hidden from his view, but it was still there.

"I was hoping you'd be willing to meet with me. I have a favor to ask."

"You? Asking for favors? This would be a first."

"I'm thinking of retiring. I have a few loose ends that I need to wrap up for Teddy first."

"That is dangerous, Lennox."

"That is life. Can we meet?"

"I assume you are still in Phoenix?"

My eyebrow shoots up in response. "I wasn't aware you knew."

"Even you aren't as smooth as you think you are," he gloats. "I'm in Kazan at the moment, dealing with bullshit. I'll be back in two weeks."

"Two?"

"You could always speak with Viktor. He's in town."

"I'd rather have a root canal," I mutter, making him laugh.

"I'll text you a time and day when I return," he says when he finally gets control of his humor.

"I'll be waiting. Just don't leave me waiting too long."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he croons and cuts the call.

I break eye contact with Ghost and put my phone up with a heavy sigh. One can't say dealing with Ivan Levkin is boring.

"Retiring?"

"Did you need something?" I ask him, ignoring his question entirely.

"You're avoiding the club."

"I'm not. I just have no reason to be there."

"You were a regular before we did our thing."

"Is there a point to this conversation, Ghost?"

"Against my better judgment, I want another taste of you."

I study the man who rocked my world in a single night. He looks the same on the outside, and yet he is colder. There's something about his voice, the way he's looking at me, and his posture that makes him appear almost robotic. Most of all, he looks angry. I also think that anger is directed solely at me for some reason. What the fuck?

"Gee, Ghost. That's such a sweet offer. With lines like that, I'm surprised you can take time to see me. It had to be hard. I can just imagine all the women overcome by your sweet words and falling on you, begging you to award them with just one chance to have a few inches of your mighty sword. It had to be taxing crawling out from under all those eager women just to spare time for little ole' me."

I think I see a hint of shock and then full out laughter. It sounds even better than it did the night we were together—which is just another reason to hate him.

"You're something else, Tiger."

"Glad I could entertain you. Here's hoping I don't see you again," I mutter, standing up. He has no way of knowing, but that last line wasn't a swipe at him—not really. It's a reminder to me that this man has the power to derail me from my goals and I can't let that happen. I leave my food and drink on the table untouched. I toss some money down and start to walk away. Ghost stops me by reaching out and grabbing my arm.

Shit …