Only One Man Will Do (20 page)

“Is Dmitri meeting you out there? Is that why you don’t want anyone else to come?”

There was a loud flushing sound then Alexandra opened the door to meet the worried look on her friend’s face with a shake of her head and a smile.

“No, Emma. I really do think being up there alone will be good for my head. I’m distracted at work, and not able to concentrate on much of anything. I can’t let my personal business interfere with running the company. So I’m hoping having time to myself will do the trick. Or at least get me ready for another grueling week that’s gonna start with a wake and funeral again.”

Emma reached out and Alexandra allowed the hug to happen. She wasn’t usually very comfortable with expressions of emotions, but Emma was her closest female friend. Emma seemed to take more comfort in it than Alexandra did, but as she pulled back, Emma smiled broadly at her.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for out there tomorrow,” Emma said. “You know, now I think about it, I’ve gotta pee too.” She pushed open the stall door and went inside.

Alexandra washed her hands and checked her appearance in the dingy mirror above the sink. With a final grimace at herself, she opened the door and called out, “See you back at the bar, okay?”

“Be right out,” Emma responded.

The rest of the evening played out as it usually did, with multiple pitchers of beer being consumed, along with some pizzas they had delivered to the bar.

I really miss having Dmitri around to drive me home,
Alexandra thought as she stood up to walk to the bathroom again.
I’ve been getting used to having him as my designated driver so I could drink as much as I want. But I should be leaving soon anyway. I don’t wanna be hung-over tomorrow morning when I’m gonna ride solo up to my place.

When the lights blinked and the bartender announced it was time for the last call for alcohol, Alexandra surprised everyone including herself when she slammed her beer glass to the table and got up.

“That’s it for me tonight, folks. I’ve gotta try to actually get some sleep before I ride solo tomorrow.”

There were good-natured jibes accusing her of wimping out and being a lightweight, but she stared them all down.

Angela grinned at her.

“That’s right, Queen. I’m the official lightweight around here now! I can’t have any drinks until the baby’s born. So no matter when you stop, you’re still drinking more than me!”

Alexandra made a face at her. “Honey, I’ve
always
been able to drink more than you!”

There was general laughter as Angela grinned, nodding to acknowledge the truth. Alexandra made her way to the door then pushed it open to stride into the humid heat of the outside air. She fired up her bike then straddled it.

I’ve never walked out while there was still drinking to be done. Dmitri, this more than anything, proves how I feel about you!

Smiling at her own wit, she revved the engine and shot out into the street, unaware she was being watched by two sets of eyes. One was watching her for her protection. The other was watching with a sense of anticipation.

Ah, nothing better
, Alexandra thought as she roared down the road, her red hair streaming behind her, the wind whistling in her ears. Once she had left the highway, the two-lane road was almost empty. So she thoroughly enjoyed herself, cruising along at any speed that felt right.

Why can’t more of life be like riding? As long as you pay attention, nothing can hurt you. You control your destiny. A woman can be as good as a man, and when we pass each other, the biker salute lets us know we’re not alone.

She enjoyed the ride so much she was surprised when she got to the turn-off that would take her to her family’s place.

Actually, since Dad had me sign those papers last year and I took over paying the taxes, I have to stop thinking of this as Gram and Grampa’s place. It’s mine now. And good thing too! I can’t even imagine the look on Dad’s face if he ever saw what’s in the barn! Yup, the pleasure area would blow him away!

She looked around carefully as she pulled onto the property. She had given the detective the code for the lock on the barn door. She hoped he was hiding in there…possibly with another cop or two, so that if the murderer did show up and confess, there would be enough muscle there to keep him from becoming violent. But since she had no idea if she was being watched, she resisted the urge to go into the barn and try to get anyone to respond.

There were no outward signs anyone was there. She had suggested a few places on the property where they could hide a car, but obviously there was no way to tell if they had taken her advice. She parked her Harley in its usual spot, right by the front porch and walked up to unlock the front door.

‘Honey? I’m home!” She grinned as she called into the empty house and walked in. She stuffed her keys into the front pocket of her jeans, which was no easy feat considering how tight they were. Her phone was in the back pocket, so she figured she was ready for any emergency. She tossed the backpack that held her wallet along with some bottled waters and fruit, along with granola bars, onto the counter in the kitchen.

She checked the fridge and smiled. “Yup, there’s beer here. Of course there is! I never let it get empty and we’re sure to refill it before we leave, so there’s cold ones waiting for us when we get here.”

She opened the freezer. “And here’s Dmitri’s vodka. I don’t know how he drinks that shit like it’s water. It must be because he’s Russian.”

She tossed the bottles of water into the fridge and opened one, taking a long swallow. “Ah, that chases the road-dirt out of my throat. Listen to me! I’m talking to myself! Must be because I’m never alone out here.”

She looked around trying to decide what to do. Her glance fell on a crossword puzzle book that Jim had left there on his last visit. She walked over and picked it up, then grabbed a pen off of the counter and headed out to the front porch.

She sat on one of the comfy couches on the front porch and began to work on the puzzle.
Jim wouldn’t mind me working on his puzzles, right? And I’ll burn this in the fire next weekend, so it follows you, okay, dude?

It’s really nice and peaceful out here. I should come out here alone more often. Maybe I really do need time to myself to recharge my batteries…or at least clear my head. That sun is really warm. I feel really relaxed…

Alexandra wasn’t aware she’d drifted off until she was awoken by the loud roar of a Harley coming up the drive. She watched through her mirrored sunglasses as he rode up and parked next to her bike. Then he got up and strode up the stairs to lean against the railing in front of her.

“Rich! I told you I wanted to be alone up here.” She tried to channel anger and not to let any fear or anxiety be reflected in her voice, but had no idea if she was succeeding or not.

He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag before he spoke. “Yeah, I know that’s what you said. But what I
heard
was that you wanted me to come up to be with you, just the two of us. That’s what you meant by alone, right?”

“What makes you think that?”

He stared at her intently, making her feel naked.

“You said you were hoping to have a king to ride by your side and rule the gang with you. Now Dmitri is out of the picture, I figured I’m the best candidate. So I’m here to audition for the part. I figure we can have a whole lotta fun out in the barn by ourselves. All those toys to play with, and no one waiting around for their turn. Just you and me and all of my nasty ideas of what I want to do to you.”

Alexandra kept her eyes on his face, but was grateful she still wore her sunglasses, hoping they would hide how creeped out she was by his words.

“So, I’m gonna grab myself a beer from the kitchen. In fact I think I’ll grab a few. Once we get busy, I’m not gonna want to stop for a beer run…even just into the house.”

Shit! What do I do now? I’m supposed to let him into the barn then make an excuse to come back into the house. I sure hope this plan is going to go down like it’s supposed to. I’m not looking forward to being the sole recipient of all of the violence Rich likes with his sex.

She forced herself to smile when Rich walked back onto the porch carrying a six-pack of beer.

“You think that’ll be enough?” She tried for a light-hearted joke.

Rich nodded gravely. “To start with, but it’s gonna be a long day.”

She led the way as they walked across the yard to the barn. Alexandra could feel his eyes burning into her butt as every step brought them closer to him presumably getting what he wanted from her—capitulation.

Why didn’t I notice this about him before? Shit, shit, shit! Poor Tom and Jim would still be here if I’d have thrown him out of the gang for excessive violence. I’m sorry, guys. It’s all my fault.

She stopped at the barn and punched in the numbers to unlock the door. She could feel his body heat as he pressed himself closer to her back.

“Uh, there’s a slight problem, dude.”

“Problem?” His eyes narrowed as she turned around to face him and saw raw lust on his face.

“Uh, yeah. I wasn’t expecting any company so I stopped for a burrito at El Grande on the way up here. You know what that shit always does to me.”

He grunted. “I’ll deal with it. I may have to punish you if it smells too bad.” He leered.

Alexandra shook her head, “No. I mean I gotta go to the bathroom now. The sooner the better.”

He took a step to the side and nodded at the house. “Then go. Get it out of your system now. I’ll go in and get out some of the stuff I wanna use to play with you. That way I’ll be ready and waiting for you when you get back.”

“Fine. I’ll be back in a few…”

She strode rapidly up to the front porch and went into the house. Once the door was closed she leaned against it weakly, trying not to hyperventilate.

Shit! Shit! Shit! It’s really him! It’s Rich! And he thinks that now he’s eliminated the competition, he’s got me where he wants me! Fucking A! What am I gonna do? If I spend too much time in the can he’ll come up and drag me out! And if it doesn’t stink in there he’ll know I’m lying!

Taking a deep breath she walked up the stairs to the bathroom next to her bedroom.

It’s got a better lock. Not that he’s gonna let any lock keep him out.

She locked the door carefully then sat on the toilet seat and tried to take deep breaths. She looked at her watch
. I wonder how long I can get away with staying up here before he comes looking for me?

Those ten minutes of watching time pass took forever. Alexandra was dripping with sweat and trying to control her racing heartbeat. She felt so nauseated she was toying with sticking her finger down her throat to make herself puke.

Suddenly the peace and quiet was shattered by the rumbling of another Harley roaring up the driveway. She looked out of the window and saw Dmitri pull up and park next to the other two bikes. He looked around before beginning to walk towards the barn.

Shit! If I tap on the window and he looks up, Rich might see if he’s watching from the barn. That’ll tip him off it’s a set-up. So I can’t call out to Dmitri either. I just hope his training as a spy included dealing with violent psychos.

She watched as Dmitri slowed down as he got closer to the door. He stopped and appeared to be listening, with his hand on the doorknob. He straightened and stood taller, as if he was getting himself ready for battle. He turned the handle and pushed the door open and went into the barn. The door closed behind him.

I know he told me to stay out of the barn, but I’ve got to know what’s going on in there!

Alexandra rinsed her face with cold water and unlocked the door to follow Dmitri into the barn.

* * * *

All of Dmitri’s senses were on alert as he walked through the door.

This guy’s an amateur, but he’s big and nasty
, he thought as he carefully stepped into the dimly-lit barn.

Rich stood by a bale of hay cracking a whip. He wore only his jeans and a leather vest. When he used the whip, his muscles bulged. Rich stopped dead and growled when he saw who had come in.

“What the fuck are you doin’ here?” Rich demanded.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Dmitri said blandly, hearing the door close behind him while he examined every detail around them, looking for threats and weapons.

“
I’m
here with Alex,” Rich growled. “I rode up with her, so I’m invited. You’re not. In fact you gotta lotta balls to be up here, considering you’re on the run from the cops.”

“What makes you think I’m on the run?”

Dmitri moved over to lean against a bale of hay, appearing to be totally relaxed and at ease, while staying alert to any movement the other man might make.

“You ran outta Tom’s wake like your ass was on fire when the detective showed up. Oh, that’s right. You’re illegal, aren’t you? But that’s not the only reason you ran, I’ll bet.”

“Oh? Why else do you think I’d be avoiding the authorities?”

“Cause you’re ex-KGB, right? Probably got cops all over the world looking for you. Only this time you’re going down.”

“For something I didn’t do? You’re a lot dumber than I thought if you think I’m afraid of some two-bit hustler who thinks he’s hot-shit because he enjoys violence.”

Rich growled and advanced, still holding the whip.

“What’re you going to do with that whip, dude? Going to draw blood on a man? I thought you were more into hurting women before you fuck them. Kind of softens them up. They’re so grateful you stopped hitting them, they act like they’re enjoying you.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Who told you that?”

Dmitri smirked. “Who do you think? Alexandra told me a lot about all of her guys. That’s why when the murders started, I knew it had to be you doing it. You’re the one who likes violence so much the rest of the gang’s been wanting to throw you out for a while. Too bad they didn’t, ‘cause then Tom and Jim would still be alive.”

“You’d know about that, asshole. Since you’re the one who killed them.”

Dmitri shook his head. “Nah. You did. And you wanna know how I knew it was you?”

Rich stood still but everything about his stance suggested he was coiling himself like a spring, getting ready to attack. Dmitri braced himself while continuing to give the appearance of being relaxed.

“Everyone in the bar knew Tom always ran outta cigarettes sometime during long Friday night parties. He’d always run across the street to the gas station. It wouldn’t have been hard for you to hide the rental car somewhere nearby, then go to the can right after he headed out. You snuck out the back door, got into the car and ran him down. You hid the car then went back in through the back door while everyone was out front, and when you appeared you could say you were in the can so you missed all of the action.” Dmitri stopped talking and smiled at Rich. “Am I right so far?”

“Like you said, everyone knew that. So you could have just pretended to be out of town and done that. It’s your word against mine and I’m a citizen…you’re not.”

Dmitri nodded. “Ah, but you’re forgetting I have no idea where Jim worked. So I’d have no way of knowing where his territory was, or where he always made deliveries on Saturday afternoons. That was only known to the long-time members…like you.”

Rich grunted. “But the cops talked to the rental place guy. That’s how they figured out it was you.”

“And how would he point them to me?”

“The accent. The guy who rented the car had your accent.”

Dmitri stared at Rich who looked triumphant, like he’d won the argument.

“Dew yew mean y’all cain’t thank of me doin’ eny other kand of accaint? Sure’n Alex me luv kin tell ye aboot the miny accents and brogues ah kin do. In fact, you stupid asshole, I can do lots of accents in at least five different languages. Why the fuck would I use my own accent, to point the finger right back at me?” Dmitri smiled at the surprised look on Rich’s face. “And besides, how did you know about any accent used by the guy who rented the car? The owner only told that to the police. And they only shared that with Alex, and I know she didn’t share that with you.”

With a roar, Rich hurled himself across the space between them and tried to wrestle Dmitri to the ground. Dmitri had seen the tensing of his legs and was expecting the advance. They were evenly-matched in height and strength, with Rich’s street-fighting skills a match for Dmitri’s years of training.