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“She couldn’t know. I mean she could hear rumors, maybe even believe some of them. But to go to this extent, and to wind up fucking over Andrei Renoke? Goddamn, I wonder why Dmitri didn’t even talk her out of this,” York added.
“Dmitri doesn’t know how we feel about her, just that we’re protective of her because of Porter. This job doesn’t help us to get out of the business, it brings us deeper. We’re under Dmitri Sanclare’s payroll. You all know whom Dmitri answers to,” Storm said.
“Whether Aspen was the one to negotiate this deal or not, Storm, if Dmitri got it, then we would have been hired for it. You’ll do whatever you can to put a deeper wedge between you and her. It’s not going to work,” Zin stated.
They got quiet and Storm knew why. He started walking away from the computer.
“I know you don’t want to go over this again, but we haven’t seen Aspen in weeks. Not even by chance at the café downtown or at any events. I kind of miss seeing her,” York admitted.
“Who the fuck doesn’t, York? She’s all we ever think about, but you know the deal, so why torture ourselves?” Zin said.
“We don’t need to torture ourselves. It was torture enough knowing what she went through and not being able to find her sooner,” Weston added.
“We’ve been over this. We watched over her with Porter and his team for the past six years with her only knowing about us the past three. It’s better this way. She deserves better than a bunch of fucking retired Navy SEALs who have connections to the mob and could get her fucking killed,” Storm stated firmly.
“Like fucking around in Andrei Renoke’s business dealings isn’t going to get her killed, or at minimum threatened or hurt by the fucker?” Winter asked.
“He’s fucking right. The fuck already has his eyes on her and she doesn’t even know it. She ignores just about every man that flirts with her. She won’t see him for the dangerous man he is. If she finds out that Andrei was connected to that sex slave operation the Feds nearly busted, she might do something rash,” York said.
They were all quiet and Storm thought about that a moment and something clicked.
“Like maybe sabotage a major multimillion-dollar business deal to get revenge on him for what she went through years ago?”
Winter whistled. “The shy, scared little seventeen-year-old who can’t sleep in the dark, sure has grown a set. That’s if what you just said pans out to be true,” Winter told Storm.
Storm looked at his team, his best friends and family.
r /> “For her sake, I hope I’m wrong. The Russian mobs are not the type of individuals to screw over.”
* * * *
Aspen Brooks took a sip of Bordeaux from the heavy crystal wine glass. The venue for the fundraising event was top notch as usual. This year Dmitri hosted it at the Fairmont, in Chicago. Through the elaborate dining area and along the massive windows a view of Grant and Millennium Park could be seen. It was impressive.
She scanned the area trying her hardest to avoid particular people she had no tolerance for exchanging false pleasantries with. She wondered where India was. That woman couldn’t stand still for too long. She more than likely was searching for tonight’s lover. Her closest friend and fellow cohort when a Friday night of blowing off some steam and stress were needed, was currently flirting with a Brazilian gangster named Pantaro.
Aspen shook her head. Sometimes she wondered if India did this type of stuff to get under her brother Silas’s skin. Even Aspen knew better than to mess with a Navy SEAL. Her own brother, Porter, was part of the same team as Silas, along with Piers, Ren, and Reid. Three very attractive men with bodies that could blow the socks off most male models. But Aspen wouldn’t even think about hooking up with any of them.
No, it seemed she had more dangerous, exotic tastes when it came to men. She preferred the fantasy over the reality. She didn’t do relationships, commitment, and closeness. In fact, she wondered if she were even normal. As most women, India included, talked about their sex lives, their fantasies fulfilled, and guys they would do again, or even consider settling down with. Aspen was different. Her heart was sort of cold, distant, and surrounded by a protective shield. So much so that sex did nothing for her. She tried it three times and none were anything to reminisce about. She knew where that wall, that desperate need to keep on guard came from. She wasn’t going to think about it now. All it would do is make for another sleepless night. It was bad enough that she was twenty-seven years old and couldn’t sleep in the dark.
She heard the roar of laughter and then India’s gasp. The woman sure did know how to lay on the charm. Five men gathered around her as she told some sort of story that had them intrigued and mesmerized by her beauty and her voice. It didn’t hurt that she was a platinum blonde, with big boobs and gorgeous blue eyes.
Aspen smiled and took another sip from her glass as she looked around the room again.
Dmitri Sanclare sure knew how to raise funds for his newest interest. The Star Haven. What had started out as a fundraising event to help underprivileged teens looking for ways to advance in high school and receive academic funding for college, had turned into so much more. Now young students who spent time volunteering to tutor and assist younger members of the program, earned free tuition for some of the top colleges in the nation. Eventually it led to career placements in Fortune 500 companies, too.
She worked for a few of those Fortune 500 companies. She attended as a representative along with the CEO, Brad Smothers and CFO, Roger Benning. Of course they were schmoozing Dmitri Sanclare right now and trying to get him to partake in one of their new business ventures. Gary Sparks, their boss and a man known to be involved with the Slavs, wanted Dmitri’s support. Word was that even Storm and his team were interested in taking over Sparks Industries.
Good luck with that.
Apparently the company was prime location with major international connections of the illegal and legal kind. But Dmitri was already flying high on the latest contract he landed, thanks to her. A silent partner, Aspen just secured the deal of her life and all unbeknownst to anyone but Dmitri and the wealthy businessman and philanthropist, Clarence Cartwright.
In fact, she may have just helped Storm, Weston, York, Winter, and Zin get a few steps closer to taking over Sparks Industries.
She avoided the CFO and CEO as Brad and Roger tried to get her attention. She knew those expressions. They were sinking and needed her help to persuade Dmitri. She wasn’t going over there. Dmitri had a way about him that put Aspen on guard despite his sworn promise that he wouldn’t try to seduce her. She wasn’t sure what it was that put her on guard but she had learned at a very young age to trust her gut instincts. The man was a gangster. He also had a reputation of being a ladies’ man, like most multimillionaires in business. She wouldn’t be another notch in his Louis Vuitton belt just to help the men she worked for now and then land the deal.
Aspen was getting tired of the long hours, wild nightlife trying to keep up with all the new people in businesses in Chicago to network. She preferred Texas and even the smaller suburban towns like Tranquility and Salvation. She missed hanging out with her friends Gia and Mariana and hanging out at Casper’s. It was so down to earth and nothing mattered but having fun, talking the days and nights away. No one cared that she had been a victim of violence or that she was wealthy. She could be herself. Let her hair down and get dirty working on one of the ranches, or even help Mariana at the art gallery in the city. It wasn’t stressful. Besides the fact that Salvation, specifically Casper’s, was filled with so many retired military that it gave her peace of mind, and made her relax a little.
She was even getting tired of her job. It was becoming monotonous. The past year she worked on slowly pulling away from the larger contracts and focusing on small businesses. Eventually she could take on jobs less frequently, but she was too young to retire. A life of beaching it on the shores of exotic resorts for the filthy rich didn’t entice her. That hadn’t been the incentive of all the strategic moves and business dealings she did.
