Lev: a Shot Callers novel (33 page)

Her emotion hit me hard.

I felt like an asshole. “It wasn’t just you, Maggie. The whole situation was out of control.” I sighed. “There was no way you would have let James and me be together. Even if somehow you were okay with it, which you weren’t, child services would have placed me in a different home when they found out. I was seventeen. I didn’t want to go to another home.” My breath caught as I let out a broken, “This was my home.”

At my sudden distress, Maggie broke down. She placed a hand over her face and cried silently. The mood at the table had dampened a notch and a half. John sat quietly while James frowned down at his hands.

This was something I caused. I needed to do something,
say
something. “For what it’s worth, you guys were the best. I loved you, and I never thought badly of you after what happened. I just needed to go. Be on my own. I was sick of being someone else’s burden.”

At that, James stood suddenly. “I’m out.” He didn’t look at me. “Glad you’re not dead, Mina.”

Before anyone could respond, he was gone. I stood before I realized what I was doing and followed him. He was not going to make me feel guilty, dammit.

When I stepped out the front door, he was already unlocking his car. “What is your problem, James?”

He opened the car door. “Go back inside, Mina.”

He tried to sit and close the door on me, but I caught it before it shut, pulling it open. “No. We’re going to have it out. What is your deal?”

James scoffed. “Go back to your man, Mina. Forget about us. Again.”

Oooh. We were finally getting to the point of things.

“Why are you so mad at me?”

His expression turned vicious. He stepped out of the car and stood a foot away from me. “Why am I mad?” He glowered. “
Why
am I mad?” He blinked a moment before throwing his arms out and shouting, “
You left me
!”

Uh…what?

His jaw ticked. “You didn’t even say goodbye, just packed a bag and ran. You left me. You left us,” he panted. “I loved you.”

My heart sank. “I loved you, too. But when push came to shove, you didn’t show me at the time I needed it most. Your mother said some vile things to me, and you said nothing.”

He dipped his chin, shaking his head. “I was a kid, Mina. You were my girl. She was my mom. We both knew what we were doing was wrong. Why else would we have kept it hidden? We knew we shouldn’t have been doing it, but we loved each other. Nothing else mattered.” He sighed. “If you’d have just given her some time to cool down… She was shocked.”

I gritted my teeth. “I was seventeen years old. She called me a tramp. She had hate in her eyes. And you…you wouldn’t even look at me.” I told him the honest truth. “You were a coward.”

His hands came up to rest on his hips. He nodded slowly. “Yeah, maybe I was. But I would’ve given up everything for you. I loved you that much. I would’ve dropped everything. My football scholarship, my family, none of it mattered. If you just asked me to pack a bag, I would have come with you. We could’ve been together,” he finished on a whisper.

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” I told him. “I would never wish the life I’ve lived upon someone I loved. I wouldn’t even wish it upon someone I hate.” I leaned against his car and looked out into the street. “I was starving, James. Literally starving before Lev busted me stealing his brother’s wallet. I wasn’t ready to die. I just wanted to get something to eat. Stealing that wallet turned out to be the best thing that happened to me. It changed my life.”

James huffed out a breath, leaning on the car in the space next to me. “I would’ve always provided for you. You never would have gone hungry if we’d done that together. But you didn’t give me the opportunity.”

I changed the subject. “I heard you got divorced.” I turned to him. “What happened?”

He looked at me, those baby blues full of sadness. “I was still in love with another woman. My wife resented that so she left me.” He blinked slowly, reaching out to take my hand. “It’s only ever been you for me, Mina. Only you.”

His hand was warm on mine and a sudden rush of emotion hit me. I squeezed his hand and spoke quietly, “You need to move on, James.”

“Like you’ve moved on?” he uttered sternly as he released my hand.

I nodded. “I moved on seven years ago.”

He puffed out a long breath. “That sucks.”

No, it didn’t suck. It was wonderful. I had Lev, and he gave me things no other man could, not even James.

There was nothing more to say. I held out my hand. “I hope you find what you’re looking for, James.”

He took my hand, shaking it lightly. “I already have, but she doesn’t want me anymore.” He shrugged. “That’s life, I guess.”

It was life, unfortunately.

Just when I moved to let go, James pulled me forward so quickly that I was thrown into his body. His arms came around me and his lips came down on mine hard.

Wide-eyed and my body rigid, my mouth remained slack as he groaned into my lips.

Well, that certainly brought a new definition to the saying ‘stealing a kiss’.

Chapter Forty-Three
Mina

The rest of the afternoon went off without a hitch. Maggie and John apologized for James’ abrupt departure. They apologized even more so for what happened that night seven years ago. I told them that it was long forgotten and that I wished them well. And best of all, Maggie left a moment and came back with the leather-covered photo album I’d left behind. Flicking through, I could see it was untouched apart from some new additions at the end where Maggie had added some photos of us as a family. I couldn’t wait to show the photos to Alessio. We left close to five p.m., and Maggie asked if we could get together sometime for lunch. I hugged her tight and told her that I would love to, even though I was somewhat sure that wasn’t going to happen.

As we drove home, Lidi fell asleep, which gave me the perfect opportunity to speak to Lev without distraction. “What did you think about Maggie and John?”

He thought about it. “I think they regret causing you pain. They seem like nice people.”

“And James?”

His jaw tensed. “He was an ass.”

I agreed in a sense, but now I had to tell him the awkward part.

“He kissed me today.” I turned to look at him. His hands had tightened around the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. “After I followed him out, we had it out. He was angry with me for leaving. He told me he was still in love with me. That it was why he got divorced.” I paused before landing the biggest blow. “He told me to leave you today and asked me to marry him.”

At the last part, Lev turned to me, his face slack. He gathered himself before clearing his throat and asking, “And what did you say to that?”

I feigned indifference, “Well, after I slapped him for that rude kiss he planted on me, I told him he needed to get a grip. I explained that I only wanted to marry one man, and I was already with that man.” I let out a breath of frustration. “You called it, baby. I was wrong. He definitely wanted a slice of Mina pie.”

Lev uttered an irritated, “I’m not sure whether to find him and beat the shit out of him, or just sit here and be thankful in the knowledge that you wish to marry me one day.”

I grinned saucily. “How about a kiss of gratitude?”

He glanced at me and his hard face softened, a small smile gracing his lips. He leaned over and I pulled back. “Not on my lips.”

He looked confused. “Then where?”

I smirked, turning to look out the window. “I’ll show you when we get home.”

His low growl caused goose bumps to trail up my arms. And when we got home, he kissed me well and good.

In fact, he kissed me boneless.

It was the night before the club reopened, and Sasha called together a dinner meeting before the grand affair. It was held at the main house. Ada had prepared a wonderful banquet in celebration, and I was salivating at the look of it all.

We ate. We talked. We laughed.

Everything was going well. Almost too well, if you know what I mean. So when Anika turned to me and said what she did, it was hardly a surprise. It was expected. “So, Mina, what’s happening? Are you looking for your own place yet?”

The entire table went silent.

“Ani.” Nas stared at her. “Honey, don’t.”

Anika had been drinking since we arrived. She was currently on her fourth glass of wine and she looked rather mellow. She waved Nas off and blinked slowly. “What? We’re all friends here.”

We were?

I wasn’t so sure of that.

I cleared my throat and responded, “Well, actually, I have been looking online at apartments.”

Nas sounded taken aback. “
What
?” While Lev stated a firm, “No.” And Sasha… Oh, Sasha. All he said was, “Good.” They did this simultaneously, stopping to look at each other after they heard the others’ response.

Lev cleared his throat, putting his napkin down. “Not that it’s your business, Anika, but there would be no point in Mina moving.” He lifted his glass of wine and sipped at it. “Mina proposed to me two days ago.” The table went silent. He placed his glass down. “And I’ve accepted.”

What?

What what
what
?

Where the heck was I when this proposal was happening?

I was surprised that Lev’s pants hadn’t caught fire, because he was clearly a liar.

“Um…” I started as everyone turned to stare at me.

But Lev helped me out. “Remember? In the car. You told me that you planned to marry one man, and that one man would be me. I agree with you. I think you should marry me.”

I leaned forward, forced a light laugh, and then whisper-hissed, “That was hardly a proposal,
sweetie
.” I said sweetie like it was sticky and needed to get off me, like, now.

“Sure it was,” he uttered conversationally. “And I accepted.” He looked around the table. “We’re getting married.”

Nastasia chuckled, and that chuckle turned into a laugh. Viktor grinned, and soon, he was chuckling too. Sasha looked to Anika, and Anika looked as though her world was ending. I hated that for her, but she needed to understand Lev and I were together. That we loved each other. And that I was not going anywhere.

I turned to him, a smile spreading across my lips, but I did this shaking my head.

He winked at me.

I drew my face toward his shoulder, resting my lips there. “You know, we probably should have done this in private.”

He kissed the tip of my nose. “Nonsense. Like Anika said, we’re all friends here.”

I grinned. “So we’re getting married?” He nodded, smiling down at me, his tender expression softening his hard face. I asked on a surprised laugh, “And when will this wedding of ours take place?”

He shrugged lightly, looking all too pleased with himself. “I’ll leave that up to you, mouse. A day from now, a week from now, a year from now, I don’t care. As long as you wear my ring and promise to one day be my wife, I’ll be a happy man.”

His lips came down to kiss mine in a slow, warm kiss. When we separated, I looked around the table and announced with a smile and a shrug. “Looks like we’re getting married.” I finished by putting a hand over my mouth and laughing out loud, my disbelief evident.

It was surreal.

Three months ago, I was living in an alley,
my
alley, and struggling to keep myself alive. Today I was engaged to be married to the most handsome, thoughtful, kind man in the world. A man who saved my life. A man I loved with every beat of my aching heart.

It was finally happening for me.

Life
was happening.

And I loved it. Every hard, trying, demanding second of it.

Right now, life was good. And although I wanted more out of it, I didn’t need it. My happiness was restored by the faith of one man.

One imperfectly perfect man.

My smile was bursting to show itself, but I had told myself that I needed to be cool. “Birdie?” I called. When she turned, I motioned with my fingers for her to come to me. She looked worried when I told her, “Sasha wants to see you in his office.”

“Is everything all right?” she asked slowly, carefully.

I forced a sigh and gave her a grave look. “Not really. Come on. We’ll talk about it.”

Down the hall, she paused before we went into the office. “Have I done something?”

I threw her a sad smile, opening the door, and she went inside. I followed and closed the door behind us. While Birdie moved to sit opposite Sasha, I stayed by the door, hiding my giddiness.

Sasha sat back in his chair. “How you doing, pretty bird?”

Birdie frowned. “F-fine, I guess.”

“Good.” He sat forward. “I’ve noticed you working with the girls. And after today’s rehearsal, I gotta tell you…” He paused for effect. “…I’m wondering why you never gave me an opportunity to give you a management position. Because I gotta say, Birdie…I need you.”

“Wha…?” She turned to look at me before facing Sasha. “What is this?”

Sasha grinned then. “This is you getting a promotion. A well-deserved promotion, if you want it.”

Her eyes bugged out. “Are you playin’, baby? Because that ain’t funny. I got two babies to feed and I need the money. So if…”

Sasha slid over a piece of paper. Birdie picked it up with shaking hands and she whispered, “What’s this?”

Sasha smiled softly. “That’s your base wage. Underneath that is the bonus you’ll be getting for last week’s overtime.”

Birdie stuttered, “But…but…but…” Then rasped, “But that’s double what I’m getting now.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “You saying you’re not worth that? Because I can adjust it to—”

She cut him off with a firm, “Don’t you dare! You hush now.”

And Sasha laughed. “Does this mean you’ll accept my offer?”

She raised a brow. “Slow down, sugar. You haven’t even told me what it is I’m gonna be doing. How about you start with that?”

I stepped forward, moving to stand by Sasha’s desk. I smiled down at my friend and told her, “Sasha was hoping you’d be the stage manager. Which puts you in charge of the girls, ordering new costumes, helping to choreograph their dance routines, setting up nightly rosters…that sort of stuff.”

Sasha nodded in agreement. “It also means you’ll have to work longer hours. Not too many, but at least another five hours a week.”

Birdie thought about it for a long moment then smiled up at Sasha. “I’ll make it work.” She held up the paper that Sasha had scribbled down her management wages on and waved it around. “For
this
, I’ll make it work, baby. You got yourself a stage manager.”

She squeaked excitedly as she stood and hugged the both of us, leaving Sasha and me for a moment alone. I smiled after her, clapping my hands together at the feeling you got from seeing someone you cared about succeed in a way they never thought possible.

I took a seat in the chair that Birdie had vacated and sighed lightly, “That was awesome.”

Sasha’s eyes narrowed at me.

My eyes widened. “What?”

He searched my face before muttering, “Who the fuck are you, Mina Harris?”

I rolled my eyes at him and his goddamn dramatics. “You know who I am, Sasha.” I mumbled, “I’m just a girl.”

He shook his head. “No. You’re not.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but he said it softly, and there was less acid in that statement than I had ever heard from Sasha. My brows bunched. “Hey. Are you okay?”

He ran a hand down his face. “No. Not really.” I wasn’t prepared for that admission, nor when he, suddenly looking weary, confessed, “If this doesn’t work, we’re going to have to shut down. We’re losing too much money.”

I knew this. It hadn’t been said, but we all knew it. It was one of the reasons the girls were working as hard as they were, and when Sasha surprised us all with an all-new interior, our excitement for opening night doubled.

The club looked classier than ever. While the stage remained the same, new flooring had been put down, and gone were the red velvet drapes, replaced with heavy black curtains that looked elegant and stylish. Most tables were replaced with booths with black leather seats and white pins. The bar stools were exchanged for high-back chairs. The walls had been painted black, and Sasha had paid a man an exorbitant amount of money to have the photographs I took of the girls in playful and provocative positions spray-painted every few feet.

Our flyers were a hit. Lev, Vik, Nas, Anika, and I made our way all over, posting posters on the walls of popular hangouts and handing out flyers. It had been a long few days, but the hype was showing. Our social media page—which was Nas’ idea, God bless her—skyrocketed overnight, with people tagging their friends in interest. Women who wanted to dance for the club had contacted us via email and expressed how thrilling it was to have a local burlesque act.

The current reaction was a positive one. Now we had to wait and see if our hard work had paid off.

“It’s all going to work out,” I told him, my confidence flaring.

He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes tightly. “If it doesn’t, we’re fucked. We invested everything into this place.”

I stood, walking out the door. “Ugh. No negative Nancy’s allowed.” I called back, “We’re going to make it work, dammit.”

As God was my witness, we were going to make it work.

When I got home that night, I told Lev I would be up to bed in a minute, wanting a moment alone before I picked up my cell and dialed the number.

I was calling in a favor.