Page 8 of Double or Nothing
“Who is Igor? One of the men who tried to kill you?”
“Yes, and his brother, Ivan, must be here somewhere too. Natasha said they’re always together.”
“Oh, fuck!” Seven says. He tugs me closer and puts his lips against my ear so only I can hear him. As Seven pulls me close, his strong arms encircling me protectively, I feel the tension in his muscles, the heat of his body seeping into mine.
“Don’t worry about Ivan,” he whispers, his voice low and urgent. “He’s been taken care of, but you can’t tell anyone. If you care about any of us, you can’t tell a single soul. Not even Natasha.”
I draw back from him and nod. He doesn’t need to give me details now. I won’t put the guys in danger more than I already have. If he tells me to keep my mouth shut, I will.
Natasha whirls around at the sound of our voices and her mouth drops open in shock when she spots Seven. “First, it was the Cat Man and now the Magic Man is here with you, too? What special skills do you have, Jade?”
I quickly make introductions, as we don’t have time to lose. “This is my friend, Seven,” I explain. “Seven, this is the woman I’ve been looking for.” I don’t say her real name out loud in case her staff might hear me since I remember her going under another name here.
“Nice to meet you,” Seven says politely, as if we’re at a dinner party instead of trying to find a murderer. “I need to get Jade out of here before the Russians spot her. I’m sure you understand.”
Natasha raises her eyebrows at his comment. “Does the whole fucking world know about the Russians now?” she asks me.
“No, just me and three guys,” I reply, before spotting Leroy trying to make his way through the crowd to us. “Correction, four guys; and that’s it, I swear. You can trust them. I trust them with my life.”
When I say the words out loud, I realize it’s one hundred percent true.
I trust Seven, Kit, and Vulcan completely.
They’re on my side and are doing everything they can to protect me, while I’ve made things difficult for everyone. From here on out, things will be different between us.
“We need to leave now,” Seven says again, gripping my arm tightly. “I won’t take no for an answer if I have to carry you out of here.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time a man has carried her out of here,” Natasha says.
Leroy finally reaches us, sweating heavily, his breath coming in ragged gasps from the heat of the packed club. His wide, panicked eyes speak volumes. He points to the front of the club. “I saw another one of those ugly ass men heading out the door. He looked just like that other guy. How many are here? We’ve got to go!”
“He went out the door?” I yell. “Dammit! He’s getting away!” I twist out of Seven’s grip and start rushing toward the entrance with Natasha right on my heels.
By the time we reach the front door, Eva is already standing there with a tall, black-haired man dressed in an Elvis impersonator costume. She grabs Natasha’s arm to prevent her from going outside into the dark parking lot.
“He’s gone,” Eva tells her firmly. “King tried to stop him, but he pushed right past him. Knowing Igor is armed, I instructed King not to follow him into the parking lot. You’re not going out there to confront him, either. Let him go. He’ll be back and we’ll be waiting for him next time.”
“He got away?” Natasha spits out in a furious voice. “What about his brother, Ivan? The bastards are always together. Always!”
Eva shakes her head. “King didn’t see a second man with him. We’ll go through all the security tapes of the club and parking lot to check if Ivan was here, too.”
Natasha lets out a frustrated sound. “I knew this day would happen and now it has. I can’t believe he got away!”
“Calm down,” Eva says. “This will give us more time to come up with a plan to keep you safe. We’ll be watching and waiting for him next time.”
“Do you believe what I told you now?” I ask. “This man was one of the two who tried to kill me. His brother, Ivan, is the other one.”
“I never doubted your story,” Eva says. “But I wanted confirmation from the hacked files to confirm it.”
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on,” Seven speaks up from behind me. “All I know is that I’m taking Jade out of here now. She’s not safe.” He slides a protective arm around my waist, and pulls me close against his side. “Leroy, go get the limo and pull it up to the entrance. I’m not walking Jade out through the dark parking lot.”
“You got it, boss,” Leroy replies and heads out the door.
“I should stay and talk more to Natasha,” I say. “We have a lot to discuss.”
“No fucking way,” Seven replies. “Get her cell number and call her later. You’re coming with me.” His grip tightens more around my waist, and I sense there’s more to the story than what he’s telling me.
“Take my number,” Natasha says, pulling out her cellphone. “Call me tomorrow; we have many things to discuss.”
