Dangerous Liaisons (Crimson Legion MC #1)

11. CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

F resh from his bath, Mikhail giggled at the cartoon playing on the television. Isabella watched him from the kitchen doorway with a soft smile on her face, a glass of vodka cradled against her chest. He had looked up at her with those large brown eyes pleading for more time before bed, and having missed him, she couldn’t say no.

“You are drinking too much.”

“Americans refer to that as the pot calling the kettle black.” She didn’t look away from Mikhail and took another sip of her drink. “Leaving again? ”

Kira seemed uncomfortable as she contemplated her answer. “Eddie has… invited me to a movie.”

She coughed into the cup and cleared her throat. “You have a date?”

“It is a movie.”

“That’s a date. He’s taking you out to a movie theater. Have you ever been on a date?”

“I am leaving. I will be back.”

Isabella grabbed her arm before she could move away. “You’re in all black, as usual. That won’t do. Borrow something of mine.”

“I will not. That is improper! You cannot offer that to me.”

“Oh nonsense,” she snorted. “Mikhail, we will be right back! Kira needs to borrow a shirt from Mommy.”

“Okay, Mamushka!”

Despite her protests, she pulled Kira down the hallway to her room and into the closet full of clothing and shoes. “It is only a shirt. You can return it to me.”

“But-”

“You would insult me to reject my offer. I will find you something that pairs with your black jeans and a clip for your hair. Oh, earrings!”

Kira grumbled, but she allowed Isabella to dig through her closet without protest.

Isabella pulled out a pink silk shirt. “This one?” Seeing her friend’s eyes twitch, she chuckled. “Okay, maybe not this time.” She threw it back onto the rod and spotted one of her favorite red floral tops. “This one will do.”

“But I don’t think this suits me.” Kira looked up from the shirt with a panicked gaze. “I’m not worthy of your kindness.”

“You are more than worthy. We are sisters, and you will let me do this for you.” Isabella patted her on the arm. “It is only a shirt. You are the same woman underneath any fabric. Trust me. Eddie will like this.”

Kira chewed on her bottom lip. “Are there shoes?”

By the time they finished, Isabella got her to wear the top and some six-inch red heels. The Russian had also miraculously agreed to light eyeshadow and a red lipstick, a clip in her hair that pulled the long black strands from her face.

“You look beautiful.”

“I am uncertain. I do not feel… myself.”

“Nonsense.” Isabella shook her head as they returned to the living room. “You are yourself, only amplified. Mikhail, say good night to Kira.”

The little boy sprang off the couch. “Kiki, you look so pretty!”

She blushed, and Isabella was stunned at how beautiful the woman was when she was happy. It was so rare and endearing. Her friend’s life had been one of misery and pure hunger before Nikolai had taken her in as a teenager. She deserved to be happy.

She paused when Kira shifted on her feet. “What’s wrong?”

“Perhaps I should not go. My eye is still-”

“No! Trust me, we can fix that. Wait one second.” She ran back to her room, returning with concealer and foundation. Kira stood still while she applied the makeup and, satisfied, she took a step back with a nod. “Perfect. Barely noticeable.”

“Thank you, Moya Koroleva.”

“None of that, I forbid it. You look beautiful, Sister.”

Kira stared at her when she stepped forward and pulled Isabella to her. She hugged her close for a brief second before removing herself and stepping back. “I will return tonight.”

“We’ll see about that,” she chuckled. “Go, have fun on your date.”

Kira paused again to hug Mikhail. “Sweet dreams, little prince.”

“Bye!”

She waited until the woman left, the front door shutting behind her before she glanced down at her son. “Time for bed, Mishka.”

“Aw,” he pouted, “I want to stay up and play with you!”

“Tomorrow we can play to your heart’s content and even go out for lunch, but now we must get some rest. Come along. I will tuck you into bed.” She extended her hand and together, they made their way to his bedroom .

As always when she could, she read him a book before putting him into bed, tucking in the surrounding covers. She lowered herself onto her knees by his bed, elbows on the mattress. “Sleep tight, little one.”

He gazed at her with sadness in his gaze.

“What is it?”

“I miss Uncle Sergei.”

“As do I, but he will be back soon, I promise.”

“Do you miss Baba?”

Blinking back tears, she met his eyes with a gentle smile. She leaned forward to brush her lips against his forehead. “I miss your father every day, but I know he watches over you. Sweet dreams. I love you.”

“I love you, Mamushka.”

She exited his room, and as soon as the door clicked shut, she slid to the floor. She muffled her cries into her hands, and when the tears would no longer flow, she forced herself back onto her feet.

The vodka in her glass was watered down, condensation clinging to the edges. With a sigh, she dumped it into the sink. Her hand twitched to reach for the bottle again, but she ignored the urge, instead rinsing out the glass before placing it into the drying rack. A hard knock on the front door had her looking toward the surveillance monitor. She sighed at seeing Xavier standing there with a guard. She had no choice but to make her way to the door, repeated knocks echoing through the hallway.

She jerked it open. “I told you-”

“I don’t care what you told me over a text message.” Xavier glared at the guard, who was staring a hole through him in warning, before he focused back on her. “We need to-” he paused. “What’s wrong?”

Not wanting to argue in front of an audience, she motioned him inside and shut the door. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“You’ve been crying.”

“Xavier, I told you it wasn’t a good idea for you to come tonight.”

“And I told you, I don’t care. Come here.” He pulled her into a tight hug and, unable to stop herself, she trembled, tears streaming down her face. He said nothing as he cradled her to him, a hand stroking her back while his other rested gently against her hair. “It’s okay, Baby.”

“You cannot be here.” Sniffling, she was too tired to argue about the term of endearment. “Ava knows about us.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised, but she hasn’t told Hunter. Trust me, I’d know.”

“She said she wouldn’t, but that could change.”

“I’ll speak to her.”

Extracting herself from him, she wiped her face and put distance between them. “She could find out. Others will, too. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I don’t care about them finding out. ”

“Don’t say things like that.”

“If you’re worried about our deal…”

“Of course I am! It is important to me, but to your club as well. You don’t have a clue what I’ve had to do to get to this point, the things I’ve had people do. I feel things for you I shouldn’t. I will not sacrifice what I am building because we are good between the sheets.”

“You think that’s all this is to me?”

“You’re not listening. It doesn’t matter!”

He reached out to grab her by the shoulders. “I will not ask you to give up your life, just like you wouldn’t ask me to give up mine, but fuck if I haven’t felt things I thought were long dead.”

“He will ask you to pick a side,” she whispered.

“And you know what I would tell him, Isa. Our deal is going to get the club and their families on the right track to a normal life. I won’t ruin that for my brothers. I won’t risk it for you either.”

She closed her eyes as his arms pulled her close to him again. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Let me worry about that. You need to get some rest.”

“Please don’t do something foolish. Ava will keep her word.” She tilted her head to gaze at him, her hands grabbing onto the leather of his kutte. “Can we not talk about this anymore?”

He pressed his lips against hers, shifting to brush his lips across her forehead. “I won’t, but don’t ask me to ignore what this is between us. I can’t walk away from you, not now.”

She nodded, and as hard as it was, she took a step away from him. “Did you plan to stay? I didn’t see a bag.”

“I wasn’t sure you would want me to, but I’ve got one on the back of my bike. Is that what you want, Isa? I told you before that decision is always up to you.”

“My son is here.”

His dark gaze studied hers. “Do you want me to leave?”

“I want you to stay.”

The fact she didn’t hesitate brought a smile to his face, and he stepped forward to kiss her again. “Stop putting distance between us,” he teased. “I want to be close to you.”

“Go get your bag. I’ll be in the bedroom.”

“I won’t be long.”