A Very Russian Christmas by Roxie Rivera

the back room and ended up in the hallway there. Besian looked up and down the hall before lowering his voice. “One of my guys locked up down in Beaumont got me a message about a certain machete-wielding psycho.”
    Machete-wielding psycho? There was only one man who fit that bill—and he was Vivian Valero’s father. “Romero?”
    “The one and only,” Besian confirmed.
    “What’s he up to?”
    “He’s talking to the Feds.”
    “Which ones?”
    “The Marshals.”
    Kostya didn’t like the sound of that. There was only one reason a man like Romero would talk to that group, and it was an incredibly dangerous one.
    “I know that Nikolai has…,” the Albanian seemed to be choosing his words carefully, “…a soft spot for the daughter. If her old man is thinking about turning against his cartel or his outlaw crew? It won’t be good for her.”
    That was putting it mildly. “I’ll let the boss know. He’ll appreciate the heads-up.”
    “I’m counting on it.” Besian smiled slyly. “One good turn…”
    He chuckled softly. “Yes. I’m sure he’ll be happy to repay the favor someday.”
    Leaving Besian, he headed out of the strip club, stopping only long enough to drop tips on the satellite stages for the dancers who weren’t getting much attention. The crowd was thinning, and the girls who weren’t as popular were going to have a hard time making much money tonight.
    “You leaving already, baby?” Sapphire sidled up close to him. Like most of the entertainers, she wore too much perfume and too much makeup. She was a beautiful woman beneath all that, but the men who frequented the establishment expected a certain look. It was all about providing a fantasy, and Sapphire understood the theater element better than most.
    “It’s late.”
    “Not that late, honey.” Her hand glided down his chest and along the flat plank of his stomach to cup his cock. Though he wasn’t interested in her like that, his body nonetheless reacted to her skilled touch. “I can think of a reason to stay out tonight.”
    “I have somewhere else to be.” He carefully removed her groping hand from his body. “You know my rules. I don’t date the employees.”
    “That’s a shame, sugar.” She patted his chest. “You’re a curiosity I would love to satisfy.”
    “I’m flattered, but I’m not your man, sweetheart.”
    He disentangled himself from the gorgeous dancer and left the club. His body’s reaction to her touch annoyed him. Not because he had gotten hard but because of the smiling face of a different woman that had flashed before him. Her . God, of all the fucking women in the world, why did it have to be her that made his chest tighten and his cock stand at attention?
    Refusing to think about Holly Phillips, he started his SUV. Driving home, he couldn’t help but think of all the free pussy he declined night after night. Between the four clubs he owned with Besian in the greater Houston area, there was always some dancer trying to seduce him. While his partner often sampled the endless buffet of women, Kostya preferred to find his dates elsewhere.
    His position as Nikolai’s right hand man seemed to draw women to him but for all the wrong reasons. The tattoos always brought out the questions. What was he supposed to say?
    Oh, I got this one after I committed my first robbery. Yeah, this dagger was my first hit—but not with the mob. This one I gave myself to commemorate the end of my government contract. This one marks me as Nikolai’s man. That one marks me as a cleaner.
    There would be two reactions to that sort of honesty. The smart women would scream and run away from him, and the crazy ones who were aroused by danger and violence would attach themselves to him like a parasite, always wanting more gruesome details.
    No, it was much simpler to just keep to himself. Now that he was staring forty in the face, Kostya had begun to accept his fate. He had made choices in his life, some out of necessity and