Page 30 of No Longer Mine

She stabbed me with a goddamn stiletto.

The heel might not have pierced skin, but it sure as hell bruised muscle, and now every time I moved my shoulder, a sharp ache pulsed through me. I rolled it back, stretching out the soreness as I stepped out of the women’s bathroom, still clutching her shoes—one intact, the other missing its weaponized heel.

I hadn’t meant to be so rough with her, but when I got my hands on her, something feral emerged. I couldn’t stop myself. I slinked through the shadows to the back of this low-end establishment. Alexei was finally waiting for me. His brows jumped up at the shoes still clutched in my grasp. My hand rubbing circles on the sore spot the little vixen gave me.

I never thought I would run into her in one of our establishments, never in a million years. And if I was being honest with myself, I expected more of a fight out of her, but judging how she’d swayed slightly getting off the stage, she was tipsy and fighting tipsy could get you killed. It made her smart, which explained why she hadn’t been caught until now.

“What took you so long?” Alexei’s voice cut through the dimly lit room.

I shrugged. There was no point in him knowing about my little problem, at least not yet. The cat burglar would be my problem for now. “I’m here now,” I growled. I pulled a ski-mask down over my face for good measure. I couldn’t let anyone know who I was. I couldn’t risk this election, not for some petty shit like this.

Alexei grinned and yanked the hood from the man handcuffed to the back wall. He hooked his thumb at the man he held captive. “Someone has been drugging my girls.”

The man paled, and a puddle appeared beneath his chair. That didn’t take much. A growl? A scowl from my brother? The man was already pissing himself? His khaki pants were pressed, and besides the cut on his brow where Alexei had evidently pistol-whipped him, he was clean. Much cleaner than anyone else I’d ever dealt with. My lips curled as I looked at my brother. “This isn’t our guy.”

The captive immediately relaxed against his restraints. Alexei rolled his dark eyes. “I fucking know that.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What am I doing here then?”

Alexei’s lips thinned out as if it were obvious. “He won’t talk.”

My gaze dipped to the man, and he began to shake. “I’ll talk.”

My eyes rolled to the ceiling. “Anything else?”

Alexei let out an exasperated sigh. “Start talking then.”

I crouched down next to the preppy man. “If you don’t, I’ll rip your dick off.”

His eyes widened, and I laughed. “Just kidding. I’ve never done that before, but I feel like it would be fun.”

“It’s Tony Galphonzo,” he said in a gasp. “He told us we needed to go into your clubs and start roughing up the women, but I can’t do that. I have a daughter. He said we needed to atleast drug them. I couldn’t do that either, but Jones Delfy did.” The man took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “He took them home or, well, brought them into the alley. I don’t know what happened to them after that.”

Alexei pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why are you doing this? You have a daughter. You have money.”

“Tony threatened my family. He wanted it to look like rich kids trying to get their rocks off. I don’t know what he’s up to, I swear.”

I rolled my neck on my shoulders. “How does this sound? You get to live to see another day? I go home and ice my shoulder, and if Tony calls you again, you call my brother here. It’s time we take care of ole Tony like we should have done ages ago.”

“What’s the plan?” I asked as we both walked out of the back room. One of Alexei’s men would take care of the man still shaking in his boots, and we would take care of the thug, Tony.

Alexei ran his fingers through his hair as his eyes tracked the heels still held in my grasp. The many rings on his fingers caught the dim lighting as he motioned at them. “You gonna tell me what those are first? You aren’t getting involved with a stripper again, are you?’

“I saw someone I knew, and she, unfortunately, left her shoes behind.” What I didn’t say was that I was absolutely itching to find their owner as soon as possible.

Alexei narrowed his eyes at me. “I don’t believe you, but I’ll let it slide. I know you don’t like guns, so we will have to get him quietly. Quickly and quietly.”

“You want me to do it?” I asked as we stopped walking.

Alexei’s jaw worked for a second. “You’re all I have in this fucked up world. You’re the only one I can trust. I know you will get him out and you will do what needs to be done without guns. We can’t afford the unwanted attention.”

I ran my tongue over my teeth as I considered his words. “You want him to disappear.”

Alexei grinned with all of his teeth. “Make it hurt.”

My home was unfortunately empty when I got home. I told Don he could take the night off when we entered the city. It had been a long drive, and I didn’t need him waiting for me after illegal activities. I liked Don. I knew he could keep a secret. I knew he would if I asked him to be discreet, but I didn’t want to put him in that position if I didn’t need to. He would eventually need to be my alibi, but not for tonight.

The broken stilettos landed on the counter with a thunk, and I exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of my neck. Benson could find her if I asked him to.

---