Niko went to the police station and filed a missing person report. Judging by the generic questions the police were asking, he didn’t have high hopes that they were going to spend any time searching for his friend.
It was only after a month of no word from Reid that Niko became convinced that something bad had happened to his one true friend.
That was also around the time when Niko realized it might be time for him to start planning his escape. It was clear that Mikhail and his crew had no intention of ever letting him orany of the other men and women who worked for them go. He had made Mikhail more than enough money to cover any costs or fees involved in bringing him to America all those years ago, yet Mikhail still insisted that he continued to entertain clients.
It was now abundantly clear that they had all been trafficked by Mikhail and were never going to be free to leave.
There were only two ways out of this mess: death or escape.
Or maybe there was also a third option…
“So, here you are,” Reid announced, stepping out of the bar and passing him a water bottle. “Been looking for you the past twenty minutes.”
Nikolai looked down at the bottle and raised an eyebrow at his buddy.
“Yes, I know. Your body is made up of ninety-eight percent vodka, but here, in America, we like to stay hydrated by drinking something called water,” Reid responded, shaking his head with a tiny smirk.
Nikolai unscrewed that cap and took a swig. He appreciated that his buddy cared about his well-being and made sure that he had what he needed. God, the guy was so sweet.
Lowering the bottle, he nodded toward the door. “Let me guess, the gossip guild had you cornered? Trying to get all the juicy stories out of you?”
Reid leaned against the wall next to the door.
“Come on, Niko, our stories are way too raunchy to share with these amateurs.” He gave Niko a wink.
The man had a point.
Other than Marcus, no one else knew about Niko’s past working as a high-end escort. He didn’t see a need to share that part of his past with the guys who had become his brothers.
“That’s one of the things that I’ve always liked about you. You know when to keep your damn mouth shut.” Nikolai chuckled.
“Or when to open it,” Reid added, giving Niko a wicked smirk.
He shook his head at his buddy. The man was an idiot.
“So, are you going to tell me what happened?” Nikolai asked, the smile fading from his face as he shifted into serious daddy mode. “I tried giving you some space, but it’s been a few days now.”
Reid locked eyes with Niko, holding his breath as he seemed to struggle.
“Not tonight. But soon. This isn’t something that we should discuss when surrounded by drunkards and horny customers.”
The man was right. This was a conversation they should have in private, with a big bottle of vodka glued to the palm of his hand.
16
REID
The next morning, Niko burst into Reid’s bedroom, tossing a pair of running shoes onto the bed and neon-green workout shorts at his head, then waited.
“Rise and shine, princess, it’s time for our run,” Niko announced before walking over to the bed and ripping the bedsheet off Reid’s body in one swift motion.
“Hey!” Reid protested, flailing his arms around like he was angry at the world and all those who moved around him.
A rush of cool air swept across his ass, reminding him that he had fallen asleep without any clothing on. He wondered what sarcastic comment would fall from Nikolai’s mouth once he got an eyeful of his plump, juicy cheeks.
“It’s all your fault. You made me run yesterday, so now Daddy’s body is craving endorphins.”
“Argh, I’ve created a monster.”
