Page 33 of After the Chase

He pulls me toward the bedroom, and I follow willingly. Because this is what we are now, two souls bound together for eternity, by a love that exists outside the boundaries of morality.

And I wouldn't change it for anything.

The call comes the next day while Noah and I are having breakfast in our hotel suite. Noah's phone buzzes and he glances at the screen before answering.

"Dima," he says quietly, a few seconds pass before he responds to whatever Dima has said. “Yes. See you then,” he says before he ends the call and sets the phone down on the table.

"Dima? What did he want?" I ask. Dima is one of the Kozlov brothers, he and his brother, Lev, are the head of the mafia family and they are also the cousins of Ivan, who works for them.

"He knows about my meeting with Marcus and he wants to discuss it. I expected it. We’re going over to his home to discuss.”

“I’m coming?”

“Yes, Tyler will be there.”

“What do you think will happen?”

“Dima will want to know what leverage I have and no doubt stick his nose in and want a piece of the action. All of this bravado of a “meeting” is exhausting, when we could just discuss it over the phone. I’m not sure I can manage in that house for more than ten minutes before bashing one of them over the head with my bat.”

I chuckle to myself as the anti-human part of Noah has become more endearing over time. I don’t think Ivan will let him get away that easily.

The Kozlov mansion is as beautiful as I remembered it, although it has undergone some changes since we were last here. Dima and his brother Lev have used their expansive land to build each of the senior guards their own home for them and their partners, one of which Tyler lives in with Ivan. This is how Tyler and Ivan met, as the Kozlovs hired Ty to design the properties and oversee the build. I’m so proud of him as he is a very talented architect.

The gate opens for our taxi to take us through the driveway until we are at the grand entrance where two men I recognize wait for us. Jules is one, who is the longest serving guard for the brothers, and Dima himself. Both of them stand by the door with a large presence of control. We get out of the car and Dima greets us first.

“Noah, Chase, good to see you both again.”

He reaches out and shakes Noah’s hand first before reaching for mine.

“Good to see you too, and you, Jules.”

“Hey, Chase. Noah,” Jules greets and smiles as Noah sighs at having to shake his hand too. Noah fits in here, as these are his kind of people. He just refuses to submit to it.

“The others are waiting inside for us. Chase, Tyler is waiting out back for you, you can go via the side gate.”

I have to admit I’m relieved not to be part of this meeting, but I’m anxious for Noah. He gives me a subtle nod before following Dima and Jules inside, while I head out the back to see my brother.

When I enter the grounds at the back of the property I’m blown away by the scattered homes there. They have done such a good job and they blend perfectly with the main house, but everyone has their privacy. Tyler comes walking toward me and embraces me.

“Can’t wait to show you my home. Come on,” he says as he eagerly pulls me toward his one story property that’s all open plan when I walk inside. The large windows take advantage of the extensive land and trees around here. It’s gorgeous.

When we get to the kitchen I see we have company, Seb, Dima’s husband and Aaron, who is Lev’s partner are sitting around the kitchen island. There is another guy here who I vaguely remember, I think he is Jules’ partner Kai. He was very quiet the last time I saw him so didn’t really have much of an interaction. It’s hard to stand out amongst these guys, especially Aaron.

“Hey Chase,” he says, nodding at me as I walk further into the kitchen area.

“Great to see you back here for social reasons,” Seb says, and I laugh.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Lev has been bitching about meeting with Noah. I think he is challenging his inner alpha,” Aaron laughs as he takes a sip of his coffee.

“To be honest, I doubt Noah notices,” I say as Ty pours me a fresh cup of coffee and hands it to me. I sit on the vacant stool, across from Aaron and Seb.

“He’s pretty detached. I’m sure he’ll be fine. Anyway, Dima likes him and only wants this all to work out,” Seb says.

“You mean take control,” Tyler mumbles under his breath.

“It’s not like that and you know him. He still has a job to do, Ty,” Seb says, defending his man.