Page 16 of Nikolai

Pushing dark memories away, I shower and get ready for the workday ahead.

Before heading to the office, I swing by the bakery owned by Jake's woman. "Good morning, Nikolai," Grace greets me with a smile like always as I walk through the door. "What would you like today?" She places a fresh tray of blueberry muffins into the display case.

"Four of your warmest croissants." I pull my wallet from the back pocket of my jeans, then notice a small pyramid stack of miniature jars filled with various jam flavors sitting beside the cash register. "And a jar of jam."

"Which flavor?" Grace asks as she places my order of pastries into a small pink box.

I stare at the selections available, wondering which one Leah would like best. "Fig."

Grace nestles the small jar in the center of the croissants. "Good choice. Our neighbor's wife makes them, and they are so good. Oh," she looks around, retrieving a wrapped plastic knife with a few napkins, and sits them on top of the closed box. Handing her my credit card, I pay for my order. "How's Leah?" she asks as she rings up my purchase.

"Good."

"She's a sweet girl." Grace hands over my credit card along with my order.

I nod but decide not to reply. Instead, I tell her, "Thank you, Grace." I turn and walk toward the door.

"Be gentle with her, Nikolai." Grace's words cause me to pause as my hand hovers above the door handle. "I suspect she's suffered for a long time." There's a brief pause, followed by a soft sigh. "I see so much of myself in her. She probably feels like her life is beyond repair right now, but I've noticed the way you look at her."

I keep my eyes forward, staring out the glass door. "I would never hurt her."

"I know. You are a good man. Just…" Grace leaves the rest of her thoughts unsaid before adding, "with time, she'll learn to spread her wings. I have a feeling there is much more to Leah than she allows to show," Grace expresses, and I agree with her observation.

I look over my shoulder. "Have a good day, Grace."

"You do the same," she waves to me as I walk out the door.

The rest of the drive to work, I think about Grace's words and wonder if others have been just as observant of my feelings for Leah. As the office building comes into view, I notice her car parked in its usual spot and look at the time above the truck radio. She's almost forty minutes early. I park my truck beside it, cut the engine, and grab the bag sitting in the passenger seat, then climb out. The front door is unlocked, and the thought of Leah being so careless angers me. Anyone could walk in and harm her. I fling the door open, only to find her desk chair empty. Sitting the bag in my hand on her desk, I stride down the hallway, spotting the backdoor open. My pace quickens. The closer I get to the door, I hear the rumble of a man's voice and my pulse races. And the words he speaks as I close in on him makes my blood boil.

"Come on. A big girl like you should take what she can get, and I'll give it to you good too. You know you want it."

Clearing the opened door, I catch sight of Leah, pressed against the side of the building. The man who currently has his hands on my woman, John, one of two crewmen we hired three weeks ago. I'm on him in two seconds flat. Grabbing a fist full of his hair, I pull him off Leah, and slam him, face-first into the wall.

"What the hell?" The bastard falls to his knees, holding his face. "My nose. You broke my goddamn nose."

Leah blinks. The tears rolling down her cheeks, fill me with more rage than I've ever felt before. This piece of shit hurt her. Leah brings her eyes to mine. "Go inside," I order, but she makes no attempt to move. "Leah. Inside. Now," I raise my voice, which causes her to flinch. I hate to use such a harsh tone with her, but she needs to listen. Leah has seen enough violence in her life; I will not add to it by allowing her to witness what I am about to do. Without further prompting, she steps away. Once she's safely inside, I lift the guy off the ground. "On your feet, motherfucker."

"Shit, man." John grunts from the force of me, shoving his back against the brick wall. His eyes land on my face, finally noticing who the fuck he just pissed off. "Shit." He throws his hands up. "Look, dude, I'm sorry. I didn't realize…"

"Didn't realize what you worthless piece of shit." My accent is thick as I wrap my hand around his throat. "Didn't realize a man doesn't put his hands on a woman uninvited?" My grip tightens, causing his face to redden from lack of oxygen.

"I didn't know she was yours, man." He pries at my fingers, trying to remove them from his neck as I constrict them more. But before he passes out, I release my hold on him.

He coughs as he takes air into his lungs. "It won't happen again," John sputters.

"Damn right, it won't." My knuckles connect with his ribcage, making him double over in pain. The second he comes up swinging, something else inside me takes over as I land blow after blow to his face.

"Boss, Boss." A muffled voice begins to drag me from my rage-filled haze. "Nikolai. Stop before you kill him." Finally, I recognize Gary's voice.

Heaving, I take in the sight of John's face as I release the collar of his shirt, and he slumps to the ground at my feet, his face swollen and bloodied by my hands.

"Get yourself cleaned up," Gary tells me, and I look down at my hands covered in another man's blood.

"He touched her," are the only words I manage to say.

"I put two and two together once I took in Leah's appearance inside, then found you out here beating John half to death." Gary sighs. "I got daughters and a wife of my own. I get it." He pulls his phone from his back pocket. "I'm assuming I need to call someone to handle this?"

Walking to the hose laying on the ground at the corner of the building, I turn the water on and rinse the blood from my hands. "You have Jake's number?"

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