Page 50 of Pistols and Plush Toys

Elliot’s fingers tightened around the body of the bear, and he made an aborted motion to bring it closer to his body, as if he was going to wrap it in his arms but then thought better of it.

“Thank you,” Elliot whispered, gazing back down at the bear.

“Is good you like it,” Nikolai said, shoving his hands in his pockets to feel out the little lock picks he was never without. A nervous habit.

Elliot nodded, making a tiny little whimper of a sound that had heat licking up Nikolai’s spine.

He hurriedly took a step back—when had he gotten so close?—and cleared his throat. “I’m take you back to your room now. Then shower time for you later, if you’re wanting it. Okay?”

“Okay,” Elliot said. “Thank you.”

Nikolai gestured for Elliot to start walking in front of him, as usual, and together they made their way back to Elliot’s bedro—the room Nikolai was keeping him in.

Elliot went to sit on the bed, still looking down at the bear in wonder, and Nikolai made himself turn away to shut and lock the door.

When he went back to his office, intending to get more work done, he found himself sitting at his desk, replaying Elliot opening the box and discovering what was inside. The moment a soft and vulnerable emotion had crossed his face.

The way he’d touched the bear, gentle but covetous. Like it was precious.

The way that just before Nikolai had closed the door, he’d caught sight of Elliot pulling the bear to his chest, and wrapping his arms around it in a tight hug.

***

“So this is the guy?”Nikolai asked Gerard in Russian.

An older, Italian man was cuffed and badly beaten on the cement floor. Nikolai was almost surprised he had no knife wounds, but Gerard’s knuckles were freshly bandaged.

Gerard nudged the man with the toe of his boot.“Yeah.”

“Went hands-on I see,”Nikolai said.

Gerard shrugged.“Felt a little personal.”

“Wasn’t there a second one?”

“Yeah,”Gerard, pulling his pen knife out of his pocket to flip it.“But he was found in the bay two days ago.”

Nikolai hummed.“Thought it would be a bigger operation.”

“Me too. But if there were more, I could only get two names. The fall guys.”

“You going to finish him or me?” Nikolai asked, switching to English. Just to be menacing, since the man on the floor could still likely hear them.

They weren’t going to kill him. He’d get to go limping home where the Vitale family would probably see to his end.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Gerard replied. “But before that, we should talk. You have Alex with you?”

Nikolai did, and before he could even answer, Alex was stepping into the room. He’d been waiting just outside.

“Perfect.” Gerard nodded to Alex. “Watch him, will you?”

Alex gave a nod of his own, and then Nikolai and Gerard walked out, leaving the blubbering man behind.

They were out at one of the more rural properties that Nikolai owned. One similar to where he’d taken Elliot for filming. Just a location that Nikolai kept at the ready for just-in-case purposes.

They walked a ways from the building, stopping beneath a tall tree casting shade.

“I didn’t want to say this over the phone,” Gerard started, still flipping his knife. “But word is that Vitale’s family isn’t happy with him.”

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