Lost and Found: A Mafia Romance, page 10
"Don't you forget it."
Dimples, her secret nickname for Johnathan, was talking to her about the performance he just did. The crowd at Vital loved the song, judging not only by their reaction but the I-tunes purchases. Letisha was the first to show her the growing sales on her phone. In what seemed like forever Misha finally smiled in complete joy. The ability to get to taste the success she has been working so hard for was simply euphoric. Not to mention "dimples" was making the moment even better with his flirting. God, he was cute.
Probably under normal circumstances she would never allow herself to laugh and flirt on a private couch of the VIP section with her client. But what the hell. The last few weeks were probably some of the worst in her life, she needed this. Thankfully Vital was designed in the most clever fashion. The large industrial looking nightclub had a large dance floor, a wall to wall bar on one side and a stage on the other. Above the crowd were two loft areas on either side, with two separate stairwells. She and her friends were on one side while management permanently reserved the other side. Management tonight, unfortunately, included Mikhail. Jay warned her Mikhail was here with his new arm candy.
Just thinking of him and this new woman made her inside cringe. No, do not think of him, she commanded herself. She had been doing great all night, refusing to look across the space to catch a peek. He might have made a fool of her before, but she would be damned if he stole all her pride. Taking a deep breath, she smiled even brighter at the cute singer in front of her.
"You look really good tonight by the way." Johnathon leaned in to yell over the music.
"Thank you so much," she wanted to add that Letisha helped her pick out the incredibly tight, not to forget short, white dress. But she just smiled instead.
"So I have been wanting to tell you something," his dimpled smile leaned in closer while his arm slid to the back of the sofa behind her head. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted.
"Misha," Leo's harsh voice cut in between them. "Krill wants you to come see him." She looked up to see his face held a stone hard expression, very unlike the charming Leo.
"Oh ok," carefully she stood up in the insanely tall patent leather white heels which let her reach eye level to Leo, "I will be back," waving at Johnathan before taking Leo's offered arm. Quickly he steered her away from the private booth.
"What's wrong with you?" confused at his menacing attitude. The supportive grip on her waist tightened, as he pushed people out of the way as they walked across the dance floor to the other stairwell.
"I hate that damn dress. I really hate your tall ass shoes. And I fucking despise that fairy fucker hitting on you." he snarled pushing the last person out of the way before leading her safely to the stairwell.
Pausing at the bottom of the stairs Misha stared at him in shock. "Leo you don't have to be so protective, we were just talking, and besides you said I looked good earlier tonight."
"You do look good dammit," he groaned, rubbing the back of his neck in annoyance. "Too damn good to be honest. You have been attracting every fucking dude in here, making my life and job a living hell."
She wanted to apologize, but he was already ushering her up the metal stairs. Getting to the top it hit her, Mikhail was sitting up here with that woman. Finding Krill standing to the side, she walked directly past the large VIP booth Mikhail occupied in the middle. She could feel his dark presence in her peripheral, everything in her body wanted to turn and look at him but dammit she refused.
"My angel you were wonderful." Krill's booming voice was easily heard over the loud music. Hugging the only man she would ever consider a father she smiled.
"I didn't even do anything, we just stood there and watched Johnathan perform." she laughed.
"Nonsense, it was all you that we heard. That boy was nothing but an instrument for you." she couldn't help but blush as he and other men from his crew complimented her work. Turning to thank another compliment, the fates cruelty allowed her to catch a glimpse of Mikhail.
He was staring directly at her.
Her heart nearly fell out of her body as his fiercely dark gaze pinned her down. There was a rage behind his eyes. Misha could feel those winter orbs sweeping over her whole body with immense displeasure.
Normally her first reaction would be immediate contrition. To feel an overwhelming sense of guilt for her actions, but the more she looked at him, the more she felt her own ire flare. How dare he. How dare he even try to get angry at her after his actions. He made his decision, the angry blonde staring daggers at her was his choice, so she needn't be concerned. Tilting her chin up she coolly turned her head and smiled at the chatty enforcer at her side.
"Misha!" the harsh sound of her name was easily heard over the thumping music. Instantly the guy she was speaking to backed off and disappeared. Steeling her nerves she carefully turned to Mikhail. His blue eyes were now literally ablaze with anger.
Slowly, partly due to the tall heels and fear, she walked over to stand in front of him and the infuriated blonde. Thankfully he was still seated on the sofa, making her feel just a little bit more in control as she towered over them.
"We need to talk." his sharp command an equally sharp gaze took away any feeling of control she might have had.
"Do you really think this is the time or place?" she asked, doing her best to sound aloof. Though she meant what she asked, the fact he was talking to her as if the blonde next to him didn't even exist.
"Time or place?! I am the fucking time and place. What is not the time or place is that fucking dress." he barked in return. At first glance, the laid back position he was sitting in portrayed a look of cool control, but the whitening knuckles in his tattooed fist signaled that he was holding back his anger.
Exasperated at how he could dare be angry with her and the random turn of the topic, she just shook her head and turned away.
Wrong decision.
She didn't even hear him get up, she only heard the blonde's startled gasp and the feeling of his powerful grip on her elbow. With no choice but to halt, Misha carefully turned to look up at the now standing mob boss. Despite her tall shoes, she still had to look up. Inches away from her he stared down at her with glittering blue eyes.
"You and I will talk tonight." his words were a whisper through set teeth, but she heard him loud and clear. Probably so did the men surrounding them, trying to witness the scene.
She wanted to argue, she wanted to hold her chin up and just walk away and let him figure it out. But it was something about the way he looked at her that caused her to just nod in agreement. The rage filled eyes held something else besides his displeasure, a look almost like the night in his bedroom. A desperate need.
The hand on her elbow lightly traveled up to her cheek, caressing it softly, in front of everyone before he stepped back allowing her to retreat. Misha didn't dare look back at him nor Krill. She just wanted to leave and deal with her pounding heart on her own. Meeting the stone-faced Leo at the stairwell she requested a stop at the bar before going back to her lounge.
What in the world just happened, she thought.
"What in the world just happened?!" Letisha's excited voice broke her out of her thoughts.
Turning Misha watched as Letisha squeezed herself in front of Leo, successfully shooing him away from the seat next to her forcing him to stand further away. Hopping onto the bar stool with such ease as if she wasn't wearing insanely tall heels, Letisha stared at her in rapture.
"Girl I was nearly hanging over the edge of the railing trying to see what was going on over there." Letisha was Misha's number one supporter when it came to her love for Mikhail. Though she tried to keep it secret Letisha claims she caught on to Misha's feelings long ago. Jay said the same thing, stating that Misha was so obvious.
"Nothing happened really, Mikhail just told me we have to talk later." Misha carefully sipped on the blue drink, Letisha borrowed the white dress she was wearing from an expensive designer Misha could not afford.
"Oh no, something happened," she bubbled loudly over the music. "He just touched you quite intimately in front of both his captains and a half a dozen of men. So something happened. Now tell me!"
"She is a whore that what she should tell you!" the area they were in turned silent at the sound of the shrieking insult.
Getting up from their stools both Misha and Letisha turned to see the blonde that was with Mikhail earlier.
"Excuse me?" Misha needed to clarify if she heard that straight.
"You heard me, your just a little slut trying to get in the away." Misha should have noticed the red drink in the woman's hands earlier as if in slow motion she watched the blonde flick her cup in her direction. With onlooking people on either side of her Misha had no room to exit the line of fire. Motionless she watched and felt the liquid coat her face and white dress.
The chaos broke out.
"No, the fuck you didn't." Letisha's angry yell was the last thing Misha heard before Letisha punched the blonde. Both women fell to the floor in a scrambling pile of heels and short dresses. Predictably the club crowd began to feed off the violent fight. Misha had no time to react, she felt herself being lifted over someone's shoulder and carried away. A brief moment of panic swept through her before she recognized the white designer jean-clad backside of Jay. His grip on the back of her thighs was painfully tight as he carried her swiftly through the now raging crowd.
"No Jay," she yelled desperate for him to put her down. "Letisha! Letisha is in that fight," she tried to turn in his arms, but he ignored her continuing in the direction of the back door. Frantically from her position over the crowd she tried to see Letisha. Thankfully she noticed the familiar faces of the bouncers breaking apart the crowd, and she caught a glimpse of Leo hoisting Letisha off the sprawled blonde. Misha wanted to cry when she saw the raw anger on her best friends face.
That was the last thing she saw before she felt Jay kick open the back door. Cold wind whipped up her bare legs when he stepped outside.
"Jay put me down dammit." she yelled.
"Sorry no can do," Misha could swear that Jay was smiling, judging by his voice. "I have been instructed in any situations like this, that you are my only priority."
"What the hell are you—oomph" he plopped her unceremoniously into the back of a black SUV.
"It's like a kind of training I have been doing with Mikhail." he informed her, as he jumped into the driver seat and gunned off.
"We can't just leave!" she yelled out. The ringing of Jay's phone cut her off, grabbing his phone while he maneuvered through traffic.
"Yes sir?" he answered, "Yes I got her...I'm taking her to the house now...yes sir...OK, I will tell her." disconnecting the line Jay tossed his phone into the empty passenger seat. Looking up in the reviewer he smiled widely at her. "No worries sweety, Mikhail told me to tell you Letisha is OK, and he got your purse and coat."
"Since when have you been training with Mikhail and why might I add?" she was yelling now, she didn't mean to but she was just so angry Misha couldn't help direct it towards Jay.
Pulling into the garage, Jay stopped the SUV near the elevator. "I will have to tell you about it another time, Misha. But I got to get back to the club and make sure our first client isn't confused or trampled on by the crowd."
Feeling a bit ashamed she forgot about Johnathan, she nodded before getting out. Waving goodbye, she went up the elevator. Walking through the door, she stopped to lean on the wall to take off the painful heels. Looking down she caught a glance at the damage to the dress. The red liquid now stained the once white cotton, pink ruining the entire piece. She could feel herself just about to give into her tears when she heard the door open and close.
"Misha," Mikhail's voice was behind her, taking a deep breath she turned to face him showing him the damage. "My God sweetheart I'm sorry."
Though his eyes held a rare glimmer of regret, her rising anger would not let her care.
"This is your fault." she accused him, hoping her voice stayed steady through her growing rage.
Eyes widening for a moment Mikhail stepped forward. "Ok, I understand you're angry..."
"No Mikhail I don't think you do." Now he was really taken aback, never before has she yelled at Mikhail. Not once has she ever talked back in any form, granted she never really had a reason to, but tonight she was so mad she was shaking. "This would never have had happened if you didn't bring your whore to my event."
Mikhail was momentarily stunned, his sweet little Misha was in a full rage—at him. When he heard what happened to Misha at the club, he almost had the bitch killed. However, Letisha's revenge was much more fitting, she all but destroyed the woman's face. After checking with Jay's on Misha's whereabouts, Mikhail made sure Letisha was taken to home.
Mikhail wasn't sure what he expected from Misha when he got home, but the raging ball of fire was not on his list of expectations. Doing his best to stay calm at her accusations he tried to think of something reasonable for a response. Despite the huge stain on the criminally small dress and the slight dampness in her massive curly hair, she looked gorgeous. Then he remembered his earlier anger when he watched her from across the club, flirting with that fucking singer.
"No this wouldn't have happened if you didn't wear that fucking dress." watching her reaction to his sentence made him regret every word of it.
"My dress," she yelled. "Are you insane, my dress has nothing to do with this. Furthermore how I dress has nothing to do with you." Misha realized she hit a nerve. The man before her seemed to grow larger as he stepped dangerously close to her, his blue eyes were like winter storms.
"Everything you put on, everything you take off, and everything you say or do Misha is all of my concern," he was right in front of her now. Refusing to relent at his overbearing tactic he used with his men, she lifted her head to stare at him directly in the eye.
"I don't see how?" she scoffed. "You already made is clear to me the other night you want nothing to do with me."
"Nothing to do with you!" he raged, "You don't know the lengths I have gone to, to keep my fucking hands off you Misha," he didn't wait for her to voice her confusion. "Besides that has nothing to do with this," he pointed out.
"Umm yes, it has everything to do with this. You just left me on your bed like an idiot. You will never know how much it hurt for you to walk away from me like that." she heard her voice crack as she quickly swiped away the tear forming in her eyes.
"I am not what you deserve or need. My God Misha, can't you see that? You have no idea the levels of sick and dark shit I get into. I willingly get into," he startled her as he cupped her face in both hands, allowing her to feel the radiating heat from his body while staring directly into the harsh blue eyes. "You don't need a man that lives his life on the outside of the law. You sure as fuck don't need someone who is ten years your senior Misha." his anger had a desperation to it. "Frankly sweetheart I shouldn't even be in your life."
"How can you say that to me?" by now she was crying she didn't give a damn about her pride anymore, hearing those words come from his mouth broke every bright emotion, destroyed every glimmer of hope and happiness.
Walking away in frustration he paced further into the living room before turning back around to her. "You deserve someone who...who is better dammit."
"I don't understand...do you...do you want me to try and find someone else."
"Of course the fuck I don't," he snapped, "I nearly had the little shit you were flirting with tied to an anchor."
"I wasn't flirting with Johnathan!"
"The hell you were," the look in his eyes told her she wasn't going to win that argument.
"I don't understand you say you want me to find someone else but then if I were to flirt with somebody you get angry. What do you want me to do Mikhail?" she yelled. "Do you just want me to sit around playing my little violin and pining away for you?"
A silent roiling fury seemed to radiate off his body, making Misha momentarily regret her choice of words. Giving her the iciest expression she has ever seen before he turned without saying a word he turned and left out the front door.
She didn't know her heart could break anymore, not once had she ever raised her voice to him much less argue. It made her sick to her stomach to even do so. But she had to stand up for herself on this, no matter how much it hurt. She was just so tired of being hurt. All she wanted was his love and if he wasn't willing to give it at least give her his blessing to find love. Closing her eyes, she wiped away the subsiding tears. This was the second time he walked out on her, he wasn't going to get a third opportunity.
Chapter 13
Sitting in Leo's living room, Misha absently stared at the masculine décor. The large olive green comfy sofa she was on went well with the beige walls and natural tones of the room. Though his furnishings were sparse, the room had an overall comfortable, masculine vibe. It was completely opposite of the white on gray she grew up around. Clenching her eyes closed Misha willed herself no to think about Mikhail and what she was doing. Leaning back on the sofa, Misha tried to relax.
