Chapter 16

Courtney

As I close my eyes, I hear him whisper to himself, "I think I love you, baby."
The way he made me feel was indescribable. He let his beast out to play and I let my walls come crashing down. He was careful not to hurt me though. Something must have happened for him to be that tense. Alec had left with Lucien to meet with the Russian boss.
Apparently, he knows who Sergei is and hates him too. Nobody likes that deranged and psychotic jerk. I just hope this Nikolai doesn't screw us over and actually helps us. I don't think I can handle any more pain in my life. It would be the death of me. If Lucien and Alec trust him, then I guess I can trust him too. I can feel a kiss on my temple and his arms unwrap from my waist.
"Sleep baby." He whispers against my skin setting my body on fire. His footsteps fade away making me instantly feel empty. I hate the fact I let him in and steal my heart piece by piece not knowing if I was going to be heartbroken in the end. Maybe I wasn't supposed to hear him say those sweet words. He told me he couldn't love. He's just as broken as I am. We're just two lost souls wandering around in search of ourselves.
Each time he claims me he steals a piece of me. Eventually, he'll get tired of me and leave me. They always do. I shake my head trying to get rid of the negative thoughts running through my head.
"So are you and Lucien still fighting or are you guys cool now?" I ask Caterina as I dip the spoon in my chocolate chip ice cream.
She scrunches her nose up at the mention of him and scoffs at me. "He's such an asshole. I hate him!"
Lucien and Caterina have always been best friends ever since I've known them. They've always been inseparable but now are nothing but separated. They won't even look at each other and if one comes in the room the other leaves. Seriously, they both are acting like a kid that didn't get their toy at the store. I guess this is how they felt when Alec and I were at each other's throats.
"You guys are like a brother and a sister to me and I hate the fact you two are fighting like this. Please, I know you don't hate him." I try to convince her and she shakes her head furiously.
"I'm sorry you're having to suffer and you're right. I don't hate him but right now I just need some space. I don't think right when I'm around him." She whispers so nobody can hear her.
"Shit! You're in love with him." As I squeeze her shoulder, a tear rolls down her cheek.
"No...I-I'm not." She tries to deny and lie her way out but I know by that pained expression how she really feels about him. I know that look by experience. I pull her into a hug while her body convulses as she cries on my shoulder.
I look behind her and see Lucien and Alec frozen in shock as she clings onto me.
"Walk away." I mouth to them and they quietly walk out not wanting to be seen by her. She has calmed down and her tears have dried up.
Alec walks in pulling on my arm. I know what he's doing. "I'll see you later. Call me if you need me." He is doing this for Lucien, I'm sure of it. I saw how conflicted Lucien was when he saw her crying. He knew it was about me and I have a feeling he may have even heard some of our conversation minutes before.
"Are you sure it's a good idea for them to be in the same room?" I ask as he wraps his arms around my neck kissing my lips.
"Relax. It's fine." He mumbles closing the space between us. There went another piece of my heart again.
"Sweetheart this is Nikolai Vasiliev, Russian Mafia Boss. He's been helping us try to find Sergei." Giovanni informs me and I look up to the man and he's quite intimidating and stone-cold looking.
He looks into my eyes as if he's trying to figure out if I can be trusted. "Courtney. We have some things to discuss. I would like to invite you to have dinner with me. Giovanni will accompany you. Dinner is at six o'clock tonight."
The thought of being around that many Russian people make a cold chill run down my back and my body trembles.
"Sweetheart. Nothing will happen. Nikolai won't let anything happen to you. He just wants to help." Giovanni says as he places his hand on my shoulder.
"O-okay. I'll be there. We'll be there, but I want Alec to come with me too." Nikolai nods his head, letting me know he agrees and shakes Giovanni's hand on the way out. To say I'm scared is an understatement, I'm terrified. Let's just hope everything will turn out fine and I get back home safely.
The dinner goes by slow and I can feel multiple sets of eyes burning a hole in my head as I nervously take a bite into my steak.
"Let's get down to business, Courtney. Last night, Sergei attacked a woman in my club that does my bookwork there. She was innocent and he snuck out. So now this is my business just as much as it is Giovanni's. When he attacked that girl, he crossed me and that is why I'm helping you. You can trust me. We'll find him and take him down." He says as he takes his last bite.
Can I really trust this man?
"If Giovanni trusts you, I trust you," I say not knowing if I could or not.
The dinner ended and we arrived back home. Alec has been so clingy lately and I wonder if it's because of all the men looking at me during dinner.
He possessively wraps his arms around my waist and whispers to me laced with venom, "I didn't like how Nikolai's men were looking at you."
This is a side of him I'm familiar with and right now it has my body on fire.