“Oh my god, totally.” She bobbed her head. “Anyway, no one was around, so I made my way to his office and set everything down, then went looking for him.”
She took a deep breath and shook her head.
“What happened, love?” I encouraged.
“I went into the back and the door lockedbehind me.” She crossed her arms and started to run her hands up and down her biceps. “I tried the handle, and it wouldn’t open, and there was just one lightbulb which was barely enough to see down the hall. It was so fucking creepy. I pulled my cell out and of course, wherever I was, blocked any kind of signal. I banged on the door, screamed, no one heard me. Until…”
Dani’s eyes filled with tears, and I frowned. “Bloody hell, honey, what happened?”
“A door at the end of the hall opened, and a man walked into the hallway. I didn’t know who he was, but he knew me. Nika Kozlov.”
“That crazy Russian guy who used to supply liquor to Blush?” I asked.
“That crazy Russian guy who used toshorthis liquor supply to Blush you mean,” she retorted.
“Right,” I conceded.
“Yes, one in the same,” she confirmed. “Anyway, he slammed me up against the wall as he tore my shirt and it didn’t matter how hard I fought, he was twice my size.”
I gasped. “Oh my god. He did that on Dogs property?”
She nodded.
“What the hell made him think that was a good idea?”
“I have no idea,” Dani ground out. “He was fuckin’ crazy.”
“Oh, Dani,” I rasped. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said through a watery smile. “Because Rooster burst through the door, and Nika was on the floor, unconscious, his face rearranged and Rooster’s boot buried in Nika’s crotch.”
“Oh my god.”
Dani nodded. “He’d seen me walk through the door from the upstairs window and came to investigate. Booker and Mack were in the basement checking on a liquor delivery that Nika had just made, and shorted them, apparently, but Rooster knew the door was sticky, so he figured he’d check on me before letting Booker know I was there.”
“Well, thank god he did.”
“Right?” Dani sniffed. “If he’d even been five minutes later…”
“He wasn’t,” I pressed.
“No.” She smiled again. “And Nika’s dead now. My man took care of him, so fuck him in his skull.”
“Absolutely. But I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that. It must have been terrifying.”
“It was. I am forever grateful for these men, you know?”
“Oh, I absolutelydoknow.” I grinned. “And I can absolutely see why you have a soft spot for Rooster. He saved you from a fate worse than death.”
“He absolutely did. And he was a bit of a watch dog for all of us after that. Very protective.” She bither lip again. “But I cannot figure out why he up and left. He broke Katie.”
“It looks like he broke himself,” I mused.
“So true, which doesn’t make sense.”
“Well, I guess we’ll need to let them figure it out.”
“God, you sound like my husband,” Dani complained.
