Secrets Read online

  As I rounded the corner and entered the bar area, I didn’t have to search to spot her, my eyes were immediately drawn to her. Among a group of locals, scantily dressed and grinding against each other, she stuck out like a sore thumb. Approaching her, I was struck by her beauty, high cheekbones, long, golden hair, piercing blue eyes and slender build impeccably dressed in a black pants suit.

  Feeling my eyes on her, Anastasia turned her head and her gaze caught mine. As her lips spread into a wide smile, I swear to God my cock jerked alive with such enthusiasm it left me breathless. I’m a male slut, I admit it and am hardly ashamed of the fact, but not so much that I get hard from a simple smile. This was a first.

  “Jaxson?” She extended her hand to me.

  “Yes, and you’re Anastasia.” I accepted her hand and gave it a shake, holding onto her hand a moment longer than necessary, but loving the feel of her soft skin against mine and reluctant to break the connection. Releasing her hand, I lowered my gaze to the little blonde boy, a replica of his mother. “And you are?” I extended my hand to him.

  “Ura,” he supplied, taking my hand and giving it a firm shake, making me smile.

  Ura… I tossed the name around my head a moment. Eastern European I suspected, but where exactly, I didn’t have a fucking clue.

  “So you’re here to see the apartment?” I asked, knowing the answer. Way to state the obvious, a voice at the back of my mind taunted.

  She nodded, continuing to smile up at me.

  “Then follow me, I’ll take you up from the inside, but there’s also an outside entrance.”

  She took the little boy’s hand and they followed me through the bar, down the hallway, passing by my office and to a door leading to the upper levels, which housed four apartments, one being mine.

  “So, it’s a two-bedroom. Nothing fancy.” We ascended the stairs to the second floor.

  “That’s fine.”

  Stopping in front of the apartment door, I turned back to her and gave her another quick scan. I didn’t know much about fashion, but my mother was a luxury handbag collector – collecting extravagant bags she couldn’t really afford was somewhat of an addiction for her – so I noticed the handbag on her arm and immediately knew it was Chanel, costing at least five grand. Something wasn’t right about this picture. Someone with money for handbags worth five grand didn’t rent apartments above bars.

  “Is there something wrong?”

  “No, of course not.” Embarrassed she’d caught me staring, I gave my head a quick shake and quickly unlocked the door and stepped aside, allowing Anastasia and Ura to enter before me. The light from the hallway allowed enough light in the living room for me to find the light switch and flick it on.

  “So it’s two bedrooms?” Her eyes scanned the empty living room, taking in everything from the hardwood floors to the large window overlooking the street. She released the child’s hand and Ura began doing his own exploration, running from room to room.

  “Yea and –” I jerked my thumb toward the door, “– and I live right across the hall so if there’s any issues, you just have to knock.”

  She graced me with a wide smile and placed a hand on my forearm. Warmth radiated up and down my arm from her touch. “It’s good to know I’d have a landlord who is easy to find.”

  “Of course.”

  I trailed behind her as she examined the bedrooms, which were a decent size, one significantly larger than the other and then carried on to the kitchen and bathroom. By the time we reached the living room again, to my surprise, she was smiling wide and nodding.

  “I’ll take it. I can give you the deposit, first and last month’s rent right now if you like.” She pulled her lower lip between her teeth, awaiting my response.

  “Well, I need to ask you a few questions.”

  She hesitated, her eyes becoming uncertain, but nodded. “Sure.”

  “Are you employed?”

  She looked down at her feet a moment then back up at me. “I’m in between jobs currently.”

  “I see.”

  “I’m thinking about going back to school in the fall,” she quickly added.

  Our eyes locked and I knew instantly she was lying. “All right, I’m going to need to see some identification so I can do a background check. I’m aware this isn’t exactly lavish accommodations, but I like to ensure my tenants are…”

  She cringed and stepped up to me, placing her hand on my forearm again. I looked down at her hand and my eyes focused on her ring finger; there was a faint outline of pale skin in contrast to the brilliant tan of the rest of her hand where a band had once been. Recently divorced? Still married? I didn’t know, couldn’t even wager a guess. Lifting my eyes to hers, our gazes locked.

  “I’ll be honest, I don’t have any ID,” she confessed.

  “Mamo. I wanna stay. Let’s stay.” Ura came back into the living room to stand beside his mother and looked up at me. “Can we stay? No one lets us stay. I hate the motel.”

  “Ura! Go look some more. Let us talk.” While I’d been hearing a slight accent her agitated state amplified the accent she had been trying to hide.

  He huffed, but did as told disappearing into the kitchen again.

  “What does he mean?”

  “We’ve looked at a lot of places, but no one will rent to us because of no ID. We’ve been living out of a motel for a month. Ura needs a home.”

  I frowned. Who doesn’t have ID? Especially someone who has money and seemed to have a head on her shoulders. There was no reasonable explanation for it. No legal explanation for it. As I looked into her eyes I saw the plea in them, begging me to let her stay. My cock joined in the begging, wanting her to stay as much as she wanted to. But my head was telling me to send this beautiful mother-child bundle of trouble away if I knew what was good for me. My gut told me there was some bad shit following behind them and my instincts on these types of things were never wrong.

  I glanced over at the kitchen. She could be anyone. A murderer, a thief… What if she and the kid took off and there was a father with an Amber Alert out? I could be harbouring a criminal if I let them stay. Of course that would be easy enough to find out, I could just go online and search once I got back to my office.

  “Why don’t you have ID? Can you give me a driver’s licence number, or, I can take you to the DMV if you’ve misplaced it.”

  “It’s complicated and I can’t talk about it. I never did anything wrong. Please believe me.”

  “Well, if you didn’t do anything wrong then why can’t you supply the information any reputable landlord would require? Even if you know the numbers off of the top of your head.” I wasn’t trying to be combative, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around the idea. As much as I wanted to let my dick make the decisions, I had to make responsible decisions, this was my business and my livelihood.

  “Please. I can pay. We won’t be a bother.”

  “That’s not the issue Anastasia…”

  With her shoulders slumping in defeat, she tore her gaze from mine and sniffed, wiping at her eyes with the backs of her hands. “Юра, ходімо. Ми йдемо. Thanks for showing us the place.”

  The little boy appeared from the kitchen and rushed to his mother’s side, taking her hand. “I don’t wanna go,” he whined. The look he gave her and then me tore at my heart. Children were another weakness of mine, in an entirely different and dangerous way than women, and I stayed far from them. Loving a child could break your heart worse than any woman could dream of doing, without even trying.

  “Ura.” Her tone was no-nonsense. She took his hand and gave it a tug, brushing past me, making a hasty escape. She didn’t even give me a second glance.

  Well, fuck, fuck, fuck. I thrust a hand into my short dark hair in agitation. It wouldn’t hurt to let her stay for a little while, would it? No matter what the reason for them being there, the kid couldn’t continue living out of a motel. I could do a little investigating and see what I could find out about he
r and the kid, if the name she gave me was real then I should be able to dig up something. If something came up in my searches then I’d notify the police and they could handle things from there and I could continue on with my life knowing I’d done my civic duty.

  “Anastasia, wait!” She was already out of the apartment and halfway down the hallway before I caught up with her. I’d never seen a woman able to move so quickly in obscenely high heels in my life. She had the grace of a prima ballerina; it just added to the mystery and my attraction to her.

  Sucker… Chump… Gullible… A voice in the back of my head screamed at me. I ignored it.

  She froze in her tracks, squaring her shoulders as she turned back to me. “Yes?”

  “Just tell me one thing. Trust me enough to give me this little bit of information and I’ll trust you to move in.”

  She eyed me with suspicion. I suspected that I wasn’t the first to offer her a deal, although the other deals she may have been offered I doubted were genuine requests for information.

  “One thing and I think we can work something out and get you moved in,” I insisted. “Your son’s name; what nationality is it?”

  “We’re American,” she growled and was about to turn away from me, but I caught her upper arm in my hand, stopping her.

  “Ura isn’t an American name and I can hear your accent, it’s thin, but I can hear it. Give me at least that much. I’m willing to go out on a limb for you, more than I suspect others have done for you, so meet me a little ways here.”

  She took a deep breath in, her chest featuring smallish, pert breasts lifting and slowly lowering. She eyed me with intense scrutiny as if deciding whether the apartment was worth giving up something about herself. “We’re originally from Ukraine. But, we’re American citizens now. We’re not illegal immigrants if that’s what you’re getting at.”

  “That wasn’t what I was getting at.” Although, admittedly, that had been one option that had been running through my mind. Even though my cock and brain were battling it out, it was my sense of compassion that ultimately won out. “When do you want to move in?”

  The tension in her body drained and she hit me with a smile so wide and genuine, so filled with gratitude that I swear my heart skipped a beat. “Дякую.”

  I was shocked when she released Ura’s hand and gave me a fierce hug. The smell of her sweet, floral perfume drifted to my nose and my cock jerked in my jeans. Embarrassed she may feel my throbbing – and aching – erection, I released her hastily, taking a step back.

  “We can move tomorrow, yes?”

  “Sounds wonderful.”

  Chapter 2

  Alexander

  Watching the patrons of the hottest nightclub in Miami dancing from my office a floor above I barely heard a word Boris was saying to me. My mind was focused on the whore. The fact it had been over a month and we hadn’t found her yet was gnawing at me. “And what about our little runner? I expected results by now.”

  “Ummm.”

  Turning from the window, I turned to glare at him. “You’ve had over a month.”

  “I realize that Sir, but she has money and items to sell to keep her afloat. It’s a needle in a haystack. We tracked her as far as New York, so we expect that she’s somewhere in the Northeast.”

  I snorted. “Well, it’s good to know you’ve tracked her to millions of people.”

  Boris’s face turned red. “We do know she travelled by bus, we just have a few more bus drivers to interview. One going to Niagara Falls, NY, one to Philadelphia, Pa. and one to Bangor, Maine. We’ll know in a few more days.”

  Crossing my arms across my chest, I continued to glare. “And what if none remember seeing her?”

  “Then we dig deeper. She’ll run out of money soon, without identification she’ll need to start selling off the jewelry and when she does, we’ll have her. Don’t worry Sir, she won’t get away for much longer.”

  Anastasia

  “I can help,” Ura announced, coming into the bedroom of our new apartment and picking up the baggie containing an assortment of nuts and bolts.

  I looked around me at the components of the bed sorted on the floor. Putting a bed together by myself was a pretty daunting task. “That’s okay honey.” Ura was such a sweet kid, always eager to help, I was happy to finally provide him a home, even if it was a small apartment above a bar, which was bigger than our place had been in Ukraine.

  Jaxson, surely he’d be able to help, but did I really want him to? If I asked him and he agreed, it would no doubt be inviting more questions that I wasn’t willing to answer. I’d thought for sure he was going to be like all the rest and refuse the apartment to us last night, but thank God, he’d had pity. That being said, I’d felt the bulge beneath his jeans as I hugged him. Pity may not have been the only factor in his decision, but he hadn’t been inappropriate so I’d take what I could get.

  With a loud sigh, I got to my feet. If Ura and I planned on sleeping in a bed tonight then I had no choice but to seek assistance. “I’m going to ask Jaxson to help.” Besides the beds, we also had a kitchen table and chairs sitting disassembled in a box, a coffee table and several smaller pieces of furniture.

  He gave me an inquisitive look.

  “The man who let us stay here,” I explained. I walked over to him and mussed his hair. “How about you go watch some television.” Cable television, Internet and electricity were included in the rent, thank goodness; I wasn’t sure I’d have even been able to get utilities without identification.

  He nodded and rushed into his bedroom where I’d set up a small television for him, borrowed from Jaxson.

  Leaving our apartment I crossed the hall and stood before Jaxson’s door. I was actually nervous as I raised my hand to his door and knocked. He opened the door almost immediately, startling me and causing me to take a step backward.

  My eyes did a scan of him, and widened in surprise. “Oh my god… I ummm.” What startled me more than the fact that he’d opened the door so quickly was the fact that he’d answered the door wearing only a white terrycloth towel tied snug around his waist. My eyes started at his bare feet and slowly took in his powerful thighs, over the towel, lean torso, muscular chest, broad shoulders and to his face. An amused smirk spread across his lips and his dark eyes twinkled with his amusement.

  “Can I help you with something or did you pop on by to browse?”

  I cocked a brow at him, crossing my arms over my chest, attempting but failing to cover my embarrassment. “Excuse me, I didn’t expect you to answer the door almost naked.”

  He chuckled, giving the end of the towel around his waist a tug, drawing my eyes to the thin strip of hair running down his stomach and under the terrycloth. “I have a towel.”

  “That’s not clothing.”

  “I just got out of the shower!” He gave me a wink. “Gotta smell good for the women tonight.”

  I let out an exasperated groan, rolling my eyes. “Oh my god, so my landlord is some sort of player? Maybe I should have been asking the questions last night. Is my child going to be hearing hoochie sex going on in the hallways every night?”

  “Oh, not every night. I usually take Sundays off.”

  “Pfft. Never mind.” I turned, intent on getting my furniture put together on my own – one way or another – when his hand on my arm stopped me and spun me around to face him.

  “I’m just messing with ya.” His eyes continued to twinkle with his amusement. “What do you need?”

  “I bought some furniture, but it came in boxes and I’m hopeless at assembling it.”

  “Hmmm. You know, if I help you it’s going to cost ya.”

  I cocked my head to the side, eyeing him intently. “I thought you already had that covered for tonight.”

  “No, Anastasia, I don’t want to fuck you.”

  My cheeks grew warm, both with increased embarrassment and a little bit of anger. I wasn’t sure if I should be insulted or not.

  “In return, I ge
t to ask another question – or two. Depending on how much work you’re planning on making me do over there.”

  Questions… Questions could be dangerous. He already had a few pieces of information that he shouldn’t have.

  “Come on,” he coaxed, “I’ll even let you ask me anything you want. I’m an open book.”

  I laughed, but could feel myself being drawn into his charm. The man was sex on two legs, I had no doubt he had a new woman to warm his bed each night. “That’s supposed to sweeten the deal?”

  “Hey, women usually want to get to know me.”

  “Little hoochies who fall for your looks and because you own the bar. Don’t get too much of an ego, they just want free drinks.” I matched his cocky grin with one of my own.

  “They’re not all hoochies.” He feigned insult, but I knew different; the twinkle in his eyes betrayed him. Was he actually proud of his behavior?

  “Uh-huh. You meet them at the bar?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you take them on a real date, establish a relationship where you learn their last names or just the tour of your apartment?”

  It was his turn for his face to turn crimson. His mouth dropped open and he snapped it shut; he couldn’t come up with any type of defense.

  My eyes widened in surprise that he didn’t have a rebuttal for my assumption. “Oh my god. I was joking!” I put my palm up to him. “I don’t want to know. Just get dressed and come over if you can help me. And I promise I’ll answer some questions.”

  Jaxson

  Okay, I’ll admit it, being called out on my man-whorishness by Anastasia was slightly embarrassing especially considering it was by a woman who I’d been sporting wood for, off and on, every time I thought of her since the previous evening. It was one of the first times that I felt some shame over my behavior.

  Pulling a t-shirt on and jeans, sans underwear, I made my way across the hall. I knocked on her door before letting myself in without waiting for approval to enter. One thing that struck me as soon as I entered the apartment was the lack of moving boxes. Literally none, aside from the boxes with furniture still in them. I could have sworn she’d said they were living in a motel room, so did they have stuff in storage? Were they just going to leave it there?