“Fucking-A!” Weston cheered and they all laughed and hooted.
Storm cupped her cheek and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “We’re never going to let you go, baby. We love you. You’re our everything.”
“And I love you, too. All of you.” She hugged Storm tightly and he maneuvered her to the bed as she held him and kissed his neck. Weston moved in behind her as York, Zin, and Winter gathered around all of them on the bed.
She closed her eyes and relished in the moment of happiness. Eyes closed, breathing natural and calm, she thought about how perfect this was and how there was no other place she would rather be. Then she heard the voice in her head. The sound of the man who was giving the order to ship her out to be a sex slave and how she would make a good one.
Iakov. You slimy fucking bastard.
Did Andrei know? Andrei said that it had been a mistake. That she wasn’t supposed to be taken and sold, that she was supposed to be his. He said one of his men screwed up. Did he mean Iakov? It couldn’t be. Something wasn’t right. Why did Iakov try to get rid of her? He was a main guard to Andrei, too.
She would need to talk with Dmitri right away. Something was going on here. Andrei wanted to own her, possess her, yet he allowed her to come here and work Pro-Tech from the inside. Now either he was a pompous asshole who thought his threats and his position in the Russian mob so great that she would obey him, or he set her up. Maybe even counted on her falling in love with these men so he could hurt all of them. Maybe get rid of all of them.
She needed to clarify that list of names and find out who the rats were pronto. Andrei and Iakov were going down for good. No one was going to mess with her men, her family, ever again. No one.
* * * *
When Porter arrived at the house on Sunday he could tell that things were different. His friends, his family as far as he was concerned, had finally made their move and claimed his sister Aspen as their woman.
He thought he felt a bit of nervousness. Perhaps it was that brotherly protectiveness he always had when it came to
Aspen, but it quickly disappeared as she smiled wide, Storm’s hand protectively and possessively at her waist with the others surrounding her.
“Porter!” she exclaimed and ran to him. Her long onyx hair cascaded down her back and bounced as she closed the space between them. She looked so mature, sophisticated, and gorgeous one second, and then so youthful, energetic, and like a child who received the present she had been asking for at Christmas.
He lifted her in his arms twirled her around, like he always did, and hugged her tight. He kissed the top of her head and she squeezed him snuggly.
“I missed you, bro,” she said. Feeling her in his arms, safe and secure, in one piece gave him hope that she would be just fine. “I missed you, too, sis. God, I was so worried about you. About all this shit with Andrei Renoke.”
“I know. It will be okay, Porter,” she said, looking up into his eyes. He smiled and held her by his side until his own team members cleared their throats.
“Aspen, hot damn, girl, you look amazing,” Piers said as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek then hugged her. Porter shook Storm’s hand and then Winter’s as the rest of his own men, Ren, Reid, and Silas took turns hugging Aspen hello and then joining in shaking everyone else’s hands.
“So ya really got yourself into something good this time, huh, Aspen,” Silas said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and walking her away from everyone.
“Nothing too bad, Silas,” she replied.
“My sister India says otherwise,” he replied and continued to walk away with Aspen.
“So, how was your flight? Did you get in last night on time?” Winter asked Porter.
“Sure did. Got a good night’s sleep,” Ren said and then walked over toward York.
“What are you making for lunch and dinner?” he asked and York chuckled.
“You mean what are we making for lunch and dinner. Come on, let’s grab some beers for everyone and go out on the back porch,” York suggested. Porter watched Piers and Ren walk out of the room along with York and Zin. Winter, Weston, and Storm remained behind with Porter and Reid.
“Any new updates yet?” Porter asked Storm.
“Nothing but chatter. Got news that Andrei is still pushing into the family territory. We’ve got men on Sotoro and hoping to get some info to use against Andrei,” Winter said.
“Aren’t you guys worried about him taking over your territory and gaining more power?” Reid asked them.
Storm looked at Winter and Weston. He crossed his arms and kept a firm expression. “To be honest, Porter, we really don’t care. We love your sister, she loves us, and we’re together. Our fear in pursuing her has always been that threat to her life. With our connections, our positions in the Russian mafia, and ties to Chicago, we think it wouldn’t be such a financial loss, or power loss losing the businesses in Chicago and moving out here completely,” Storm told him.
“Are you serious?” Porter asked. “You’d give all that up for my sister and face the family and their lashing out? Because you know the bosses are going to flip.”
“I didn’t say that I was going to give it up to Andrei. I’m thinking of passing it along to someone close to me. Someone who already is there, has a good business sense, and of course the reputation of power even greater than ours.”