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But he will never get his hands on Charleigh.
That’s when I stop watching the camera feed and hustle down the hall to interrupt their little rendezvous.
“Dimitri!” I say as if I’m happy to see him.
Fucker knows I hate him. But inside the club, I pretend otherwise. At least, I try to.
I clap him on the back, a little harder than I would anybody else. Just to be a dick, of course, and as I do, he inches closer to the oblivious Charleigh, who is trying her hardest to smile in a situation she doesn’t know how to handle.
“Niko, my friend,” Dimitri booms. His minions follow his lead, smiling broadly with their hands clasped in front of them.
I don’t know how he can stand being followed around by a bunch of suck-ups. But right now, I want him the fuck away from Charleigh.
I shake his extended hand because, what choice do I have, making a mental note to run to the men’s room as soon as I’m free to scrub off his slime.
As if on cue, Dimitri throws an arm around Charleigh’s shoulders to see how I react. I know exactly what he’s doing, and he knows I know, and yet we must still have this fucking standoff.
It’s like a fight you get into as a kid. Circling, sizing each other up, waiting for someone to throw the first punch. Except that as adults, we don’t throw actual punches. We do shit like use veiled threats and draw firearms.
Some things don’t change. Much.
Charleigh looks at me, her eyes wide. I have no doubt she picked up on the tension between Dimitri and me. And now she’s looking to me for answers. What to do next. What is expected of her?
I don’t blame her. He’s not only pulled her so close she can’t move, but with his free hand he’s grabbed her chin and pulled her head towards him. It looks uncomfortable. It’s uncomfortable to watch.
And I’m getting pissed. Asshole is lucky my brothers are not here. They have much shorter fuses than I do.
“My friend,” Dimitri starts to say while Charleigh looks at me with begging eyes, “in the spirit of goodwill, you know, as a gesture, so to speak, you Alekseevs will give me this lovely lady for the night. Okay Niko?”
Charleigh’s eyes bulge and her one arm that is not pinned by Dimitri starts to flap. She’s reaching for me.
But I don’t move. This will be resolved with words.
Until it can’t.
“Dimitri, there’s no way in hell you will ever spend a minute of time with this woman,” I say through a huge, fake-ass smile.
His only reaction is a slight twitch of his left eye. “Oh, Niko. You know it’s time for us to become… good friends. No more rivalry. Think how much thePakhanwill like that.”
Yes, thePakhanwants peace between us. For old insults to be set aside. But he’s a reasonable man and does not expect peace at any cost. Even if he did, Dimitri would still never get his fucking hands on Charleigh.
In fact, his arm around her is starting to bug me. Really bad.
I reach for her free arm, the one that’s flailing toward me, and yank her so fast she spins out of Dimitri’s arm and right into mine. In spite of herself, she squeals from the fast move, and for a moment I can imagine I know what she sounds like when she’s happy.
Would that I could hear that again…
I not only pull Charleigh into the crook of my arm, but to further secure herself, she wraps her arms around me, gripping my suit jacket in tight fists as if really anchoring herself.
Her hair smells nice. Recently washed, I guess. Her arms are thin but solid and she has me in quite the grip. I pull her tighter. I could encircle her with both arms, but I know to keep one free when dealing with a dick like Dimitri. You never know what a scumbag like him might try.
One of the first things I learned. Keep your shooting hand free.
I like having Charleigh cling to me, especially in front of this asshole. She feels good, nestled against me. Like she belongs. Like she fits. I slowly turn, directing her down the hall and toward my office, our backs fully turned on Dimitri as a bigfuck you.
This is going to piss him off, which I am immensely enjoying.
“Niko,” he calls after me. I debate ignoring him, but he is a member, and besides, it’s so much fun to patronize him.
