“Yo. I just got off the phone with Storm in Minnesota,” Quino said as he entered the bar. “One of his members is Russian. Did either of you know that?”
Jefe and I shook our heads.
Storm was the president of the Knight’s Legion MC. They had several chapters in the Upper Midwest and were decent. Good on Quino for contacting them.
“And?” Jefe asked.
“Well, Wolf is from Russian and his family was Bratva along time ago, but when he came to America, he changed his name and joined the Knights. He’d been estranged from his family, but he’s reconciled with his brother, Kira. Now he’s married to awoman whose family is Mafia, Remotti is the last name.” Quino took up a stool.
“I’m sure Fabio knows who the Remotti Mafia is. He seems to know everything,” I said, feeling a massive amount of envy toward Fabio at the moment.
“Probably,” Quino replied. “I’m waiting for Wolf to call me. Hoping he can give me some insight on Kozlov.”
“Good.” Jefe continued to eat potato chips. We were all starving. Tequila had gone to his restaurant to get food for us since we hadn’t stopped on the way back from The Bay. “In the meantime, get the guys ready for tonight,” he told me.
“I’m on it.” What I wouldn’t do for a chance to kick someone’s ass. It didn’t matter who. I just needed to fight someone.
It could be pent up sexual tension. I hadn’t fucked in a while. Each time Suzy came around or any of the other club girls, it was hard to resist the temptation.
If all this blew up in my face and Cass never wanted to see me again, I would let her go and move on with my life.
I hated riding solo year after year, wishing Cass would be my ride or die.
Saving her from Alek would be my last attempt at getting her back.
The ball would be in her court.
Goddamn, it would break my heart to lose her, again. But it was better to find out while I was young enough to find someone else and have the family I’d been dreaming of for years.
It’d hurt but I’d let her go if that was what she wanted.
9
Cassandra
We closed in ten minutes and Alek hadn’t returned. Couldn’t say I was worried or disappointed. I hoped he wouldn’t come after all. That was mean of me but honestly, I just didn’t have romantic feelings for him.
Yes, Alek Kozlov was handsome. Charming. A nice diversion from the man who still owned my heart.
But at the end of the day, I only thought of him as a casual acquaintance… An interesting customer.
Gosh, I hoped I hadn’t led him on.
I’d feel horrible if I’d given him mixed signals. Then again, he had caught me wrapped up in a passionate kiss with Chris. That should have made things crystal clear for him.
“You look nice,” Lucy said as she washed her hands at the sink behind me.
“Thanks, but I not sure about dinner with Alek.” I managed to freshen up in the bathroom, washing my face and armpits. I redid my makeup and put my hair in a bun. I was presentable at best.
I prided myself on always being prepared for anything. I had a tote bag in the trunk of my car with an extra change of clothes, emergency gear, and tools in case I got a flat tire. Not that I wasvery good at changing flats. But as a single woman, I wanted to be able to take care of myself.
Here at work, the bottom drawer of my desk was packed full of all kinds of things: toothbrushes, mouthwash, tampons, deodorant, makeup, body spray and dry shampoo. And a bunch of other items.
Makayla and Jazz teased me about it because I rarely went out after work and I just liked to buy stuff. They weren’t wrong, I did like to shop but I was a bit of a preparedness nut.
At home, I had enough food to last a couple of months… Just in case the shit it the fan.
And hey, I needed the stuff today for my unplanned dinner with Alek. I’d call my preparedness a win.
