In Kelly's Corner

  He was probably the last man on the planet who should lecture anyone about getting some rest but he was really worried about Bee. She meant too much to him to stand by and watch her work herself to the point of exhaustion.

  "So what's the story with you two?"

  Kelly didn't even glance up from the schedule as he started jotting notes in the margin. Those morning stops at her favorite coffee spot had to go. They were much too predictable. "She's my best friend's sister."

  "And?" Sully continued to fish for information.

  "And what?"

  "Is she seeing anyone?"

  Kelly's glared at the former Spec-Ops man. His reputation as a lothario was well-known around LSG headquarters. "I'll have your balls in a vise if you put one fucking hand on her."

  "Whoa." Sully laughed and held up his hands. "Calm down, Kelly. Shit!" With a leer, he added, "I can think of a dozen different ways I might have a fun with our hot little protectee without using a single hand."

  Kelly didn't find the joke even the slightest bit funny. "You realize I'm the one drawing up the duty rotation, right? Because I'm sure Winn would love the dayshift."

  "Come on!" Sully gave him a good-natured smack. "I'm just messing with you. It doesn't take twelve years in black ops to read the situation between the two of you." Reaching for one of the printed penthouse floor plans, he asked, "So what does her brother think about his best friend robbing that cradle?"

  Kelly's teeth clenched but he tried to remember that Sully had no idea about Jeb. "There's less than six years between us. That's hardly cradle robbing."

  "Touchy," Sully said with a laugh. "And big brother?"

  "No idea," Kelly replied honestly. "He's been dead for four years."

  Sully's smile faded. "Shit. Kelly, I didn't realize—"

  "It's fine."

  "It's not." Somberly, he asked, "How?"

  "Firefight," he answered, his ears starting to buzz as those awful memories washed over him. He could almost smell Jeb's hot blood and feel the slick fluid spilling onto his hands as he had desperately tried to stop the bleeding. Shaking himself from the gruesome vision of it, he added, "2010 was a bad year to be in Afghanistan."

  "Yeah, it was." Sully's tone convinced Kelly he had been there too. Maybe they'd crossed paths there without even knowing it. "When did it happen?"

  "July." Unwilling to travel down that path of memories any longer, he cleared his throat. "Did you and Winn decide on your accommodations?"

  "We sure did." Sully took the hint. "We left the room next door to the master suite for you. We assumed you'd be, uh, bunking with the protectee and might like the buffer."

  Kelly let the assumption slide. The fact was—he hadn't quite decided where he would be sleeping either. He'd be a damned liar if he said those few hours of sleep he'd snatched earlier that morning hadn't been some of the best he'd had in years. Bee's body heat called to him even now. It had been a long while since he had looked forward to bedtime.

  What would happen once they were under the covers together? Well—Kelly didn't have that answer. He figured it was best to leave that decision up to Bee. He'd made the first move this morning. Now it was her turn to make one.

  "Kelly?" Dimitri popped his head into the kitchen. "May I speak with you?"

  "I'll be right there." He tapped the floor plan in front of Sully. "Draw up the escape routes. Bee needs to memorize the various ways out of here in case of fire, etc."

  "On it."

  Leaving Sully occupied, Kelly left the kitchen and found Dimitri on the rooftop terrace. The gorgeously decorated and intensely private area was instantly his favorite spot in the entire penthouse. He joined his boss near the railing. "What's up?"

  "Bee asked to have authorization for two extra guards. If you feel like you need them, call Lev and he'll arrange it. I'd like a status report every morning and evening."

  "Done."

  Stepping closer, Dimitri reminded Kelly of just how damn tall he was. "This personal business you wanted to take leave for? Would it have anything to do with a certain Albanian mob boss?"

  Caught, Kelly rubbed the back of his neck. "Yuri?"

  Dimitri shook his head. "Nikolai."

  Kelly's eyes widened. "Kalasnikov?"

  "The one and only," Dimitri replied. "He likes to keep an eye on you."

  "On me? Why?"

  "You're one of Vivian's friends. He's very careful when it comes to the company she keeps." Dimitri's shoulders bounced. "I think he may have been under the impression that you and Vivian were…closer once upon a time."

  Kelly didn't often experience fear but the thought of a man like Nikolai harboring jealousies toward him? The Russian mob boss was not the sort of man Kelly needed as an enemy. "Vivi and I never crossed that line. From the first day I met her, I knew that there would only ever be one man in her life—and he's her husband now."

  Dimitri waved his hand. "You don't need to worry. Nikolai can be…overprotective…when it comes to Vivi but he's not the type to fly into a jealous rage over imagined slights. Besides, one look at you with Bee and no man could ever imagine there was anyone else for you."

  Kelly shifted uncomfortably. "I'd prefer not to discuss my private life."

  "What you and Bee do is your own business. It's not against the company policy for a man to be in love." He clapped his hand on Kelly's shoulder. "I'm more concerned about the precarious position you find yourself in with Besian. Can you honestly say that you're able to dedicate your full attention to Bee's safety when you have the Albanian mob breathing down your neck?"

  "It's about to be handled."

  "How? You're going to take Paulie's place and fight for Besian?"

  Kelly frowned. "Jesus, Dimitri. Is there anything you don't already know? Let me guess. You also know what I had for breakfast?"

  His icy stare served as a reminder of how Dimitri had gotten where he was today. "Knowing you? Bagel. Eggs. Probably hot sauce."

  Neatly put in his place, Kelly sighed. "Look, I don't have any other choice. The debt is huge and it's got to be settled."

  Dimitri studied him. "You're a good fighter, Kelly. You impressed me the times I watched you in that cage. It's one of the reasons I approached you to work for Front Door when I was just getting the security company off the ground."

  "I know."

  "Have you ever seen Nikolai's man in the cage?"

  Kelly nodded reluctantly. "I've watched Sergei fight a few times."

  "Then you know that he will tear your fucking head off to win."

  "I know he'll try."

  Dimitri shook his head. "This isn't the time for bravado, Kelly. This is a time to be serious." He hesitated. "Maybe you and I could work out a loan—"

  "No," Kelly cut him off before he could finish the offer. "No more debts for the Connolly family."

  "Kelly, please, it wouldn't—"

  "Would you take a loan from me or would you find a way to make it work on your own terms?"

  Dimitri didn't answer him. Instead, he exhaled roughly and reached into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet and a pen. He tugged an LSG business card from a sleeve and neatly printed a name and address on the back. "Go see him. He's expecting you."

  Kelly took the card and turned it over to read the information written on the back. "Alexei?"

  "He used to fight with Ivan. He's the only man who ever came close to beating Vanya. He's your best bet."

  "How the hell am I supposed to convince a Russian trainer to help me get ready to fight against Nikolai's champion?"

  "It's been arranged." Dimitri tucked his wallet into place. "Alexei owes Kolya a favor, and Vivian made sure her husband called it in when she heard about your situation."

  Kolya? Oh. Nikolai. "I suppose I owe her a big thanks."

  "After Alexei gets finished with you, you may have other ideas." Dimitri clapped him on the back. "Good luck, Kelly."

  "Thanks, D. For everything," he added sincerely. "You've always been a great friend to me
."

  "As your friend, I'm telling you to be careful with this girl. I know what losing her brother did to you. If something happens to her—"

  "Nothing is going to happen to her."

  "You forget that I've been where you are with Benny. She and I barely survived that attack on her bakery, but we did it together. You have no idea how many times I've replayed that night, wishing that I'd taken the time to properly educate Benny on self-defense and firing a weapon. Don't make my mistake. Give Bee the skills to save herself."

  His advice given, Dimitri left Kelly to contemplate his options. He fingered the card his boss had given him. While Jack was a damn good coach and trainer, he wasn't comparable to Ivan Markovic. If this guy Alexei had fought with Ivan, he would know the man's tricks. Since Kelly really hoped to survive his time in the cage, he figured Alexei was his best chance.

  Back in the penthouse, he discovered Bee sitting at the kitchen island between Sully and Winn. The two guards were talking her through the emergency exit plan and giving her safety pointers. Certain she was in good hands, he waited until Bee had successfully repeated the four routes five different times before asking her about that shopping list.

  "Here." She handed it over to him. "There are a couple of other things I'll need but you can only get them at the salon I use. I hoped I might be able to run over there on Monday."

  "We'll make it work." Kelly didn't want her to feel like a prisoner in the penthouse. "When was the last time you fired a weapon?"

  Her gaze flicked to a spot just beside him as she rolled back through her memories. "The weekend we buried Mom. Jeb took me out to a range and we went through dozens of boxes of ammunition. It actually felt kind of good to blow holes in targets."

  He could empathize with that feeling. "Tomorrow, we're going to take you down to the range and get you comfortable with loading, clearing jams and firing. I'm also going to talk to Jack about getting you into some self-defense classes. Have you ever taken one?"

  She seemed a bit dazed by his plan. "No. Well—they have these, like, two hour courses on campus every semester. I went to one my freshman year. We learned a lot of useful stuff but it was very basic."

  "I can show you some moves, sweetheart," Sully offered with a sly smile. "I'm a master when it comes to hands-on training."

  Kelly had never wanted to wring a man's neck more. He started to question his ability to work in close-quarters with Sully but Bee simply rolled her eyes and asked, "I could have sworn Mr. Stepanov assured me that you men had all undergone sexual harassment training. Maybe you need to sit through another course?"

  Sully's playful grin melted. Kelly could tell that Bee was joking but the other man didn't know her well. "No, ma'am."

  "Mmmhmm," she murmured. She motioned to Winn who had remained stoic and silent, his usual operating style. "This one I really like. Would you mind being the guard who accompanies me to work and meetings? I think I'll actually be able to get work done with you. That one?" She gestured to Sully. "I have a feeling he'd be chasing skirts up and down the office floor."

  Winn actually allowed the barest hint of a smile to crack his stony façade. "Yes, ma'am. I would be more than happy to escort you to business meetings."

  "Fantastic."

  Glad to see that Bee could handle these two, especially Sully and his smart mouth, Kelly relaxed some. "I'm going to head out and take care of your shopping. If you need anything, text me."

  Bee shadowed him to the front door. She started to step close to him but a glance over her shoulder stopped her. He grasped her hand and tugged her forward. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Is this okay?"

  He trailed his finger down her cheek. Since giving himself permission to touch her, he couldn’t get enough of her silky skin. "You tell me, sugar."

  Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "It's perfectly fine with me. In fact, please, continue." She gestured behind them with her head. "I meant Sully and Winn. Is it going to be a problem?"

  "No. They understand the dynamics of the situation."

  "Okay." She drew a shape on his forearm. "Will you be gone long?"

  He understood what she was asking. "I have to make a couple of stops."

  "You'll be safe?"

  "I can handle myself." Unable to help himself, Kelly leaned down and pecked her cheek. "Do exactly what they tell you." Thinking of Sully's outrageous flirtation, he hastily amended, "Do whatever Winn tells you. You can use your best judgment with Sully."

  She snorted and whacked his arm. "You seem to forget that my big brother was a Marine. I've got this."

  Convinced that she did, he reluctantly left the penthouse and took the private elevator down to the parking garage. He sat in the blasting A/C for a few minutes while he tried to decide where to go first. The business card with Alexei's name on it was burning a hole in his pocket. He figured that getting his training situation squared away was more important than seeking out the Albanian mob boss who held his father's loan.

  He tapped the address into the GPS and left the parking garage. The drive took him to one of the mega luxury car dealerships along I-45. Sitting in the parking lot there, he thought he must have been in the wrong place. He whipped out his phone and punched in the name of the dealership.

  Skimming the information, he learned Alexei Sarnov owned a string of high-end dealerships around Houston as well as a trucking service. Kelly wasn't at all surprised about the trucking company part. A man who could have trucks available at a moment's notice was probably very useful to someone like Nikolai. Even the men who had gone legit seemed to have kept at least one of their fingers submerged in the dirty waters of the underworld.

  Sliding out of his truck, Kelly crossed the parking lot. He had barely set a foot upon the sidewalk when a young man in a neatly pressed suit hurried over to greet him. Before the guy got any ideas about making a sale, he explained, "I’m here to see Alexei."

  The younger man looked him up and down with a scrutinizing eye. "You must be the Connolly guy we're supposed to send to the main office."

  "Yeah. That's me."

  "Come on."

  Kelly followed the salesman into the sleek building. With all the glass lining the front, he shuddered to imagine what the electricity bills were like to keep this joint so damn cold. It sure felt good to escape the muggy heat though. Unlike the other prospective buyers who were offered water bottles and snacks and taken to cushy seats before they had their wallets emptied by the credit experts, Kelly was simply led through the sales floor to a set of stairs that led to offices overlooking the bullpen of car salesmen.

  The younger guy hesitated, almost as if frightened to disturb his boss. That was enough of a clue for Kelly. His timid knock was answered by an aggressive looking man in his early forties. He wore a crisply tailored suit and stark white shirt. The neck was unbuttoned enough for Kelly to spot the bluish tint of prison tattoos.

  Alexei didn't even look at Kelly as he growled at his employee in Russian. The man paled and nodded and scurried away from the door. Finally deigning to acknowledge Kelly's presence, Alexei asked, "Did you understand any of that?"

  "No. Russian isn't a language I speak."

  Alexei made a grumbling noise that communicated his distaste before gesturing for him to enter the office. "I told him that if he approaches his sales as weakly as he does his knocks he'll be out of a job by the end of the month."

  "I see you're a fan of positive motivation," Kelly dryly replied.

  Alexei actually laughed. "You might be all right after all, Mr. Connolly."

  "Kelly," he corrected. "If you're going to be screaming in my face, we should be on a first name basis."

  Alexei leaned back against his desk. "You realize that training you puts me in an awkward position with my friends, yes?"

  "I can imagine."

  "And you also understand that I'm only doing this as a favor to a friend?"

  "I do."

  He inhaled a long breath. "Nikolai tells me you've fought before a
nd that you have talent. We're on an incredibly tight schedule here. There's no time to properly condition you or teach you the finer points of surviving in a cage match." Alexei tilted his head. "You look like you're in good shape. Nikolai says you're a Marine?"

  "I'm working in private security now."

  "With Dimitri?"

  "Yeah."

  Alexei made that humming sound again as he studied Kelly from head to toe. "I'm going to be upfront with you. I'm not sure anyone can beat Sergei. You look like you might have a good chance but it will be very close." As if to encourage Kelly, he added, "I'm reasonably certain he won't cripple you."

  "Wow. Thanks."

  Alexei shrugged. "I make it a point to tell the truth."

  Kelly motioned to the bullpen behind him. "You own a car dealership."

  With a quirk of a smile, Alexei amended, "Whenever possible." Stretching out his legs, Alexei said, "We'll have to start tonight if you're going to be ready in two weeks. I would have recommended we head to Ivan's warehouse but…"

  "My family owns a gym. Connolly Fitness."

  "Yes, I know it." Alexei pushed up the cuff of his jacket to see his watch. "Does six work for you?"

  He didn't want to be away from Bee again in the evening but there was nothing else to be done about it. Alexei's remark about being crippled wasn't lost on him. Sergei wouldn’t hesitate to put the hurt on him if it meant walking away with the victory. He needed to get into the ring and get working. "Sure."

  "I'll have a set of instructions for you tonight. We'll need to watch your diet and your sleep." His eyes narrowed. "No drugs. No alcohol."

  "Not a problem," Kelly assured him.

  "Try to keep the extra-curricular activities to a minimum."

  Kelly got the message. He wasn't about to make a promise he couldn't keep, not with his own personal temptress in such close quarters. "I'll try."

  "Fair enough." Alexei shoved off his desk. "I'll see you this evening."