I practically jogged down the halls and finally stopped outside Vince’s room, my heart hammering in my chest. I knocked hard on his door, gently rocking Alexei to keep him calm.
No answer. Panic began to rise up through me as I knocked again, louder and more insistent.
“Hold the fuck on,” I heard from inside. “I’m coming.”
Relief washed over me as Vince pulled open the door. He was wearing only a tiny pair of black workout shorts, and I couldn’t help but stare at his muscular chest.
“What a surprise,” he said.
“I heard about the attack,” I blurted out.
He stared at me for a second and then sighed. “Come inside.”
I followed him into his room, still gently rocking Alexei. Vince hadn’t even given Alex a second look; he just collapsed onto the couch. I sat down on a chair across from him.
He looked exhausted, but still absolutely handsome. I was glad I had Alexei with me, since he would act as a buffer between the two of us. Ever since I’d given in and slept with Vince, I couldn’t get him out of my mind, and now seeing him without his shirt on was driving me crazy.
I couldn’t believe how badly I wanted him again, even despite all the madness and violence happening around us. It was pure animal lust, and I felt my pussy soaking through my panties already.
“How’d you hear?” he asked.
“Staff was talking,” I said. “I overheard them.”
“Damn,” he said. “I was going to tell you eventually. I needed sleep first.”
“Did I wake you up?”
“Yeah,” he grunted.
“Sorry about that.” I bit my lip. “Someone died?”
“Yeah,” he said again, looking away. “Just some guys from my crew.”
“I’m sorry, Vince.”
“It’s war. That shit happens.”
“Were you involved?”
“I was there,” he said.
“What happened?”
He sighed, stretching out on the couch. He seemed strange, maybe a little distant. He was usually so fast to make some kind of comment, but maybe it was because of Alexei that he was holding back his normal dirty banter.
“Your family ambushed us when we left a deal.”
“The whole mob isn’t my family.”
He shrugged. “Fine. Call it whatever you want. The Russians shot first, but we’ll shoot harder.”
“Vince,” I said softly, “this is crazy. I never wanted a war.”
“Doesn’t matter what you wanted, does it?” he asked. “It’s happening, probably was going to happen eventually no matter what.”
I sighed, bouncing Alex slightly. “I don’t want people to get hurt because of me.”
“Nobody is getting hurt because of you,” he said. “This is because your mob doesn’t respect its superiors.”
I clenched my jaw. “They may be mine, but I don’t feel like I’m one of them right now.”
“Fine. Is this all you wanted, to ask me questions?”
“No need to be an asshole.”
He shrugged. “Been a long fucking night.”
“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m okay.”
I stared at him and then stood. “You don’t have to keep protecting us. I never asked for a war.”
“He’s my son.”
I nodded. “Yeah, he is.”
I walked past him, opened the door, and then left.
That man was so infuriating. He couldn’t see past his own wants and desires, and he seemed to think he was the center of the world. So what if he was tired? He could at least take a second to talk to me. I’d thought he was dead.
But he didn’t owe me anything, and he was doing the best he could. I sighed as I opened my own door and went into my room, annoyed that I was pushing him, and annoyed that things were spiraling so far out of my control.
I walked over to Alexei’s little bouncy chair and set him down. He seemed more tired than anything else, and so I let him lie back and bounce around while I got out my phone and dialed Sophie’s number.
She answered on the third ring.
“Hey,” I said. “How are you?”
“Hi, Kaley.” Her voice sounded tense.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s a lot happening right now,” she said. “I can’t really talk much.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
There was something going on here, too. I had no clue what it was, but it had to have something to do with the attack.
“Is everyone else okay?”
“Look,” she whispered, “I heard some attack happened. Some guys got killed—nobody we knew—but things are really tense here.”