Ch. 11
Carlos Santos surveyed the stranger sitting across from him who looked exactly like his daughter. Once well-mannered, quiet, and rather agreeable, this spitfire that refused to listen to him was someone he did not recognize.
“Laura, be reasonable-“
“I think I’ll have the check, Papa, if you must insist on talking about this.” She said sharply, closing her menu and looking around for the waiter. He scowled at her.
“Fine, I won’t mention it, but we both know you’re making a mistake-“
“I know I am ordering the linguine with white sauce and hand rolled meatballs, and a glass of wine. That is all I know, Papa.” Laura replied, pushing her hair away from her face and sipping her water.
He just won’t stop, Laura thought, fuming from her side of the table. If she could have gotten out of having dinner with her father, she would have, but he’d been waiting for her when she’d gotten out of work, and he would have caused a scene if she’d refused. God, he was such a child at times. Whatever Carlos Santos wanted, Carlos Santos got, Laura mocked, rolling her eyes. Her father was one of the most powerful men she knew, his name alone moved people to get whatever he wanted, as quickly as possible. But Laura was not one of those people, was not someone who worked for him. She was his daughter, his family, and he should treat her with more respect than he did. She shouldn’t have to book an appointment with his secretary to talk to her father- no, no, she wasn’t going to do this. Laura took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She wasn’t going to let him upset her again just by thinking about it. She was going to let it go and just enjoy a free meal.
“How is work?” Carlos finally asked, reaching for the butter to put on his bread. Laura moved his hand from the butter on reflex and put the small plate of olive oila dn herbs in front of him instead. His cholesterol was probably through the roof, and she wasn’t going to let him make it even worse, at least not while she was around. Carlos frowned at her, but resigned himself to the olive oil.
“Work is good, I’m working with this Peruvian architect-“ Laura was interrupted by her phone going off, and she hesitated when she saw it was Alexei, but figured she should probably still answer it.
“Ciao?”
“Meet me for dinner.” Alexei suggested smoothly, and Laura glanced at her father then back down.
“Non, I can’t, I’m already at dinner.”
“Coffee then.” He replied easily, not even asking who she was with, which made Laura more pleased than she should admit.
“Perhaps.”
“Laura,” He said her name like a caress. “You know you want to.”
She hesitated, and her father frowned at her.
“Who is that on the phone?” Carlos demanded, and Laura looked away from him again.
“I….I don’t know.” Laura said to Alexei, who sighed.
“Think about it, call me back.”
“Okay.”
“Ciao, bella.” He purred.
Laura blushed, even through the phone. “Ciao.”
Hanging up, Laura was saved from answering Carlos’ probing questions by the arrival of their waiter with their food, and successfully avoided the subject of Alexei for the rest of the night.
By the time Carlos’ driver pulled up to the curb, Laura’s phone was already ringing. It was Alexei again, and Carlos scowled as Laura gave him a hurried goodbye and scrambled from the car with a smile, the phone already at her ear.
“Ciao? Well you didn’t even give me time to call you back!” Laura was saying as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. Walking to her building, Laura laughed as she fished her keys out of her bag and unlocked the door to her building before stepping inside.
“Come out with me.” Alexei demanded, and Laura sighed as she got in the elevator.
“I don’t know, Alexei, this is just aggravating my father further-”
“So now you aren’t allowed to have friends? He controls who you spend time with as well?”
“Non, of course not, I’m an adult and I do what I please-“
“And yet you want to come out with me, but you are still refusing to do so.” He stated, and Laura rolled her eyes as her elevator doors whooshed open and she walked down the hall to her apartment door.
“Why are you so sure that I want to see you? You’re just as demanding and pushy as Marco.” Laura insisted, unlocking her door and pushing her way in. Switching her phone to the other shoulder, Laura switched on the light to her apartment, and froze, before letting out a blood curling scream.
Pillows slashed, vases broken, the contents of her fridge strewn across the kitchen, the night air blowing in through the open patio doors. Laura dropped her phone and purse as she continued to scream, unhearing of Alexei’s frantic yelling of her name. She had been robbed.
Ten minutes later, Alexei Giovanni was running up the stairs to Laura’s apartment, not bothering to take the elevator, two of his most trusted men running behind him. When they got to the door for the eleventh floor where Laura lived, Bruno halted him from opening it with an arm across his chest and a gruff “Sir”. Alexei made himself calm down, even though the only thing he could hear was the rushing of his own blood through his ears and the wild pounding of his heart as his adrenaline sky rocketed. His body was readying itself for a fight, and eh was more than happy to oblige. Bruno had the foresight to put on his gloves, and Alexei felt like a dumb rookie. Of course gloves, for fingerprints. Fucking idiot, he scolded himself. Bruno put a finger to his lips as he and Yanes, his right hand man and childhood best friend, pulled their guns, complete with silencers. Alexei’s gun had been in his hand since they entered the building, and he adjusted the familiar weight in his hand before nodding to Bruno that he was ready. Bruno opened the door, checked left and right, then proceeded them. Yanes next, with Alexei bringing up the rear. Moving silently, they did a sweep of the hallway before coming to Laura’s apartment, in which the door was wide open. Bruno and Yanes went in first, doing a swift and thorough sweep of the remaining rooms, while Alexei’s blood boiled to see Laura’s apartment ransacked like this, and the bile rose in his throat. Whoever did this was going to pay, and pay big. Anxious, Bruno finally gave Alexei the okay to check the bedroom.
“Laura!” Alexei yelled, stepping around the overturned furniture and racing to the bedroom, slipping his gun in the back of his pants, under his jacket as he found her huddled on the floor of the closet. “Laura.” He said again, softly this time. Hunched over a pillow, Laura had a death grip on a kitchen knife and was shaking too badly to use it properly. Her eyes were open, but unseeing, and he lowered himself down to a crouch cautiously, should she lash out. “Laura.” He tried again, trying to get her to hear him. Alexei reached out to her cautiously, touching her forearm lightly, and even then laura jumped a mile and screamed. Alexei swore, wrestling the knife from her. “Laura! It’s me, it’s Alexei! It’s me, you’re okay, you’re okay!” She finally relented the knife, and her eyes looked up to him. He had never seen a more heartbreaking sight, this strong, independent girl, vulnerable and raw. Laura didn’t burst into sobs as he expected, but simply allowed him to pull her into his arms and hold her close. She was limp at first, unresponsive, and Alexei carried her out of the closet and to the bed. Not wanting to take her out of his arms, Alexei sat on the bed and arranged her on his lap. Bruno and Yanes stood by the door, waiting patiently for orders, and Alexei spoke over Laura’s head in Arabic as he held her close.
“Yanes, get me some whiskey or bourbon, something warm, then get to work. I want this asshole caught within 24 hours.”
With a nod, they got to work. Alexei murmured soothingly to Laura, who had yet to say anything, just chew on her bottom lip and look lost. He coaxed her to drink some whiskey, and she seemed to come a little more to life after the second shot. Laura tilted her head back to look up at his face.
“What are you doing here?” she asked him.
“You started screaming on the phone.” He replied, and she frowned slightly.
“So you came over?”
“I had to make sure you were okay, Laura.” He replied, frowning back at her, and she looked away again. Glancing around the room, Laura murmured.
“I need to call my insurance….” She groaned at that, rubbing her temples and shifting on his lap. Alexei schooled his body not to react to her, as difficult as that was, and scolded his body internally for reacting to her when she was this vulnerable.
Yanes came in the room then, and Laura jumped upon seeing him, but Alexei held her a little tighter.
“Hush, he is with me.” Alexei told her, then turned to Yanes. A big guy, Yanes was a true Spaniard, complete with the dark hair, eyes, and coloring. With a military background, the man had been schooled to hid his emotions and thoughts at all times. They had been fast friends growing up on the streets of Madrid together, both abandoned too early to know a life apart from stealing to eat and fighting to survive. It was in their blood, and they’d made a pact early in life, to have each others back no matter the price, and to get out of the slums. Now that they were out of the slums, they still had each others back, a fierce love between them that nothing could destroy.
“Did she see them?” Yanes asked in Arabic, and Alexei responded in kind.
“She hasn’t said, but I don’t think she did. Find anything?”
Yanes nodded slowly. “The patio doors were open, but that was not how they got in or out.”
Alexei frowned and looked at Laura. “Laura, run me through what happened.”
She sighed heavily and pushed away from Alexei, squirming to get off his lap. He relented, unhappily, but held her hand as she spoke. She allowed him that, smoothing her glossy hair behind her small ears, and he had to resist the urge to stroke her slender neck.
“I um, I was on the phone with you,” She glanced at Alexei, then back at her hands. “I opened my apartment and then I….saw that.” She gestured to the rest of the house and then sighed. “After that I’m not really sure, I think….well, I’m not really sure. The next thing I knew, you were here.” Laura looked back at Alexei and shrugged.
“Did she unlock the door?” Yanes asked Alexei in Arabic, and Alexei shot him an irritated look before asking Laura in English. She nodded.
“Yes, I used my key. I remember because I couldn’t find them at first. They must have come through the balcony!” She said suddenly, looking at Alexei with wide eyes. “The doors were open! But I couldn’t have sworn that I locked them…” She mused, while Alexei and Yanes shared a look. She had locked them. Whoever had broken in had come in through her front door, and left through her front door, locking it behind them.
Alexei shrugged. “Maybe you forgot, it does not matter. All that matters is that you are safe now.”
“Oh my God, I’m so stupid.” Laura said, standing up and moving for the phone. “I should have called the police!” She picked up the phone, but Yanes shook his head at Alexei.
“They’re on their way, cara, there’s no need.” Alexei said, and Laura put down the phone, rubbing her arms and looking around her apartment.
“What a mess.” She murmured, and Alexei snorted. That was the understatement of the year.
“Now, you say the door was locked?” The police officer asked Laura for the third time, and she rubbed her temples, forcing herself not to let her irritation show as police officers traipsed in and out of her usually pristine apartment, taking pictures, dusting for fingerprints, and annoying the hell out of her with their questions.
“Yes, it was locked. Yes, I’m a hundred percent positive that it was locked.” Laura answered, and he wrote something on his note pad, for the third time.
“Where were you coming back from this night?”
Next to her, Alexei answered, his sharp eyes watching the police as they did their work. “From dinner at Lulu with her father, Carlos Santos.”
The police officer looked up at that. “Carlos Santos?”
“Yes.” Laura replied, wondering why Alexei was speaking for her.
“And you two had dinner with her father before coming directly here?”
“No, just myself. Alexei came over afterwards, and by then, this was here.” Laura said, gesturing around them.
“You were here before the police, but after Ms. Santos?” The cop asked Alexei, an eyebrow raised. Alexei’s gaze was sharp as he looked at the officer.
“I was on the phone with Ms. Santos, en route to her flat, when I heard her scream into the phone. You can check the phone records, if you find it necessary.” He said coolly, and the officer made a note on his pad.
“And you arrived at her flat alone?”
“Yes,” Alexei lied, and Laura schooled her features to remain blank. Alexei was lying, now why was that? How strange.
“Okay, Ms. Santos, we’ll be in touch. Looks like whoever it was came in through the balcony and left that way. Be careful locking your doors and double checking them. This is probably going to take a while, to tag everything. You have somewhere you can stay tonight?”
Have to call Liz and crash at her place, Laura thought, nodding. “Yes, of course. Thank you.”
“Ma’am.” He nodded to them and strode away. Laura sighed and rubbed her shoulders, cold even though Alexei had made her put on a sweater nearly half an hour ago.
“I should go back a bag.” Laura said, but Alexei held up her Vera Bradley extra large traveling duffle.
“Packed already.”
“You packed for me?” Laura asked, surprised, and he nodded before gesturing for the door. Laura proceeded him out of the apartment and to the elevator, closing her eyes as she leaned against the wall. “I’ll have to call Liz.”
“I called, she said to let her know if you need her, and to call her on your lunch break.” Alexei replied, and Laura snapped her eyes open as the elevator doors opened and Alexei proceeded her.
“You called my best friend?” She asked, astounded, following him unthinkingly through the lobby and to his waiting Range Rover, Bruno getting out to hold the door open for them and take her duffle bag.
“Careful, please, that’s Vera Bradley.” Laura said unthinkingly, the same thing she said to anyone who handled her favorite traveling bags, and Bruno nodded, and she swore she saw a hint of a smile on his stony face. Climbing in beside Alexei, Laura did up her seatbelt and then turned to look at him.
“You called Liz?”
“Yes.” He replied, shifting in his leather jacket, and Laura cast a careful eye over his clothes. The most relaxed she’d ever seen him in, Alexei had on dark wash, form fitting jeans, a dark grey shirt that molded lovingly to the magnificently sculpted muscles beneath it, and a smartly cut black leather jacket. From the Italian leather square toed shoes on his feet, to the Armani Exchange shirt, he practically screamed money. But somehow, Laura just new the jacket was something he’d had for years. Besides the fact it looked comfy and lived it, it also looked authentic on him.
“Why?” Laura asked.
“Why? I assumed you would want her to know of what had happened and that you were okay.”
“Oh…well, thank you.” Laura said, sitting back. Looking at what street they were on, Laura frowned. “You missed the turn to Liz’s house.” Laura spoke up, so the driver could hear her, but Alexei shook his head slightly.
“You are not staying at Liz’s. You are staying with me.”
“With you?” Laura asked, surprised. “Thank you for everything, Alexei, really, but no thank you. I can’t stay with you.”
“You will.” He said with finality. “You refused to let me protect you before, and I will not allow that to happen again. I let you make the decision before so as not to make you uncomfortable, but.” He shrugged. “Sometimes you must be made uncomfortable.”
“I am not staying with you, Alexei, it’s completely unnecessary-!”
“This is not up for discussion!” Alexei suddenly snapped, pinning Laura with those midnight blues. “I do not intend to arrive on the scene to see you lying there dead next time! Whoever was in your apartment tonight did not just come in to shred your pillows but steal nothing! They came to harm you. So yes, you may pout and scream and tell me you don’t want anything to do with me, but as long as you are safe I can live with that.”
Effectively put in her place, Laura remained silent the rest of the ride. Somehow, Laura hadn’t envisioned Alexei living in a townhouse, the inside decorated very modernly, with granite counter tops and stainless steel everything. Alexei showed her to a room upstairs, off the main hallway. It was spacious, yet not very warm, much like the rest of the house. Placing her bags down, Laura murmured a thank you and stepped around Alexei to stand by the bed, hugging her arms over herself.
“My room is just up the hall, should you need me.”
Laura nodded, and Alexei hesitated for a moment, then nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. Suddenly exhausted, Laura barely shrugged out of her clothes and into an oversized shirt before collapsing on the wonderfully soft bed.