Reaching for the Moon by ThePekingNoodle
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Chapter Thirty-Six: Playing With Fire
In which our hero and heroine find themselves in a tight spot…
Max waited a few moments for traffic to pick up on the street before she slipped out of hiding and crossed over to the Cottontail Club entrance. Bling had moved the limo about half a block away, and she used the cover of a rowdy group that was coming down the sidewalk to slip into the club undetected by him.
As she headed in, a bouncer stopped her in the entrance hallway.
"Is there a problem?" Max asked widening her eyes at him and striking a pose.
The bouncer ran his eyes appreciatively down her body and sent her a lascivious smile.
"Babe you ain't got no problems that I can see. What you want to waste your time in there for? I get off in a coupla hours. How about we party down then?"
Max winked and swept her eyes over him. "For a fine specimen such as yourself, I'd sure be tempted. But a girls gotta make a living. Course if I do well enough, maybe I'll have some free time available."
She swept on past him, jumping slightly when he swatted her butt as she strutted by.
"I'll be lookin for you, sweet thing," the bouncer called after her.
As Max entered the main room she ran her eyes over it in a quick scan. The room was crowded and smoky, and filled with men and their companions, all of whom were dressed much like Max was. Cocktail waitresses dressed in skimpy strapless satin leotards that endowed each and every one with world class cleavage, balanced on tiny high heels that caused the bunny tails on the back of their costumes to wiggle suggestively as they walked. Each one wore a set of bunny ears to complete the theme. A skimpily dressed diva was singing a torch song on a small stage in the front of the room.
Max spotted her quarry seated at a table in a rear corner with two other men. Each one had a female companion seated next to them. She smiled to herself and then squared her shoulders. Putting on her best strut she headed over to the table.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Logan was not happy with Bling. When he had climbed into the limo it was to find his red headed companion already seated inside.
Before he could protest, Bling had interjected. "Logan this is Nikki. She's a friend of mine trained in serious martial arts. I did some checking and you have to have a piece of arm candy tonight if you want to keep your cover. I asked her to fill in."
"Nice to meet you, Nikki." Logan smiled politely at the girl. "Bling, I don't need protection if that's what this is about."
Bling shot him a bland look. "Boss, if you don't show with a hot piece they start seriously questioning your manhood and your creds. I got a buddy who knows some of these guys. It's not an option. Nikki was free and willing to help out, and I figured with her training you wouldn't have to worry about taking care of her, is all."
"Mr. Cale, you won't need to worry about me. I'm a great admirer of your employer and I'm just along for the ride." Nikki assured him in a low sultry voice. "I'm deaf, dumb and blind tonight as far as anything is concerned."
Logan sighed. It was too late to do anything about it. "If Max gets wind of this you're doing the explaining," he warned Bling, giving in unhappily.
They entered the club without incident, and within moments Logan and Nikki were settled at a table with the players Logan was meeting. Logan noted that Bling had been right about having a companion. He still didn't like it, but he put it out of his mind.
"Mr. Iseson, meet my associates, Mr. Karcholsky and Mr. Stephanichek. I will leave you gentleman to get acquainted for a few moments. If all goes well we will talk some turkey when I return." Logan's primary contact introduced him around. Logan noticed that the women were ignored, as if they didn't exist. Nikki took her cue and slipped quietly into a chair next to Logan.
"Please call me Logan," he said as he shook hands with the two men.
"Vladimir, and this is Petr." supplied one of them. He held up a hand and a waitress was there on the instant to take their drink orders. Logan ordered for himself and Nikki, and within moments the drinks had arrived.
Logan was about to propose a toast to his new companions, when he felt soft hands caressing the back of his neck and he smelled the scent of cherries.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
When Max reached the table, she came up behind Logan. The other two men with him had been watching her approach appreciatively as she crossed the room. Logan was seated with his back to her, with the redhead in a chair pulled close to his.
She ran her hands down the back of his neck and said in what she hoped was a sexy voice, "Logie, I'm soo sorry I'm late."
Before he could react she had wiggled around to stand next to him. She looked at the redhead sitting next to him and frowned. "That's my chair. Nobody sits next to my Logie but me."
Logan caught Nikki's eye and signaled to her to leave. She shrugged and stood up. Logan pulled out his wallet and handed some bills to her, pulling her down for a kiss before she left, and patting her behind as she straightened. "Buy yourself a few drinks, on me." He winked at her.
In keeping with her role, Nikki pouted as she took the money and walked away.
Max shot Logan a sulky look, as she picked up Nikki's untouched drink and settled into the chair next to him. The other two men were openly staring at her, running their eyes over her in lustful admiration. Logan dropped an arm around Max's shoulders and pulled her up against him. He let his fingers play with the lush swells that her skimpy top revealed as he stared down the other men.
Vladimir shrugged and looked away from Max, reaching over to pull his own girl close.
"Very nice my friend." Petr approved to Logan. "You come with one beauty, and then discard her for an even more magnificent one."
"This one can be trouble, but she's learning her place. Next time she'll be on time when I tell her to be somewhere." Logan shrugged. Max pouted but he pinched her lightly and said to her, "Isn't that right, my pet?" His words were accompanied by a hard stare.
Max looked abashed. "I'm sorry, Logie. I'll be good next time." She gave him a sexy pout, running her tongue over her full lips.
"Yes, you will be. Now drink your drink and behave. I have business to conduct tonight. Your punishment will come later," he answered her sternly. The other men nodded approvingly at his show of mastery. Max shut up and picked up her drink, but under cover of the table Logan received a hard kick to his ankle.
The next half hour passed in hard drinking on the part of the men. The two Russians seemed to be testing Logan to see if he could keep up with them and he easily did.
Finally, Vladimir pulled out a cell phone and punched in a number. He spoke softly into it then nodded and snapped it closed. He rose and threw a handful of bills on the table.
Logan looked at him with a question in his gaze.
"Come. We go to meet Sergei at his place now."
"I prefer to take my own car." Logan stated calmly with a meaningful look at Max. "I have unfinished business with this one."
The two Russians looked at each other and then Petr chuckled. "It is best to take care of discipline at the earliest possible time, my friend." He scribbled an address on a slip of paper and handed it to Logan. "We will see you in fifteen minutes here. Then we finish off our business."
Logan nodded and pulled Max against him as they made their way out of the club. He let his hand wander over the back of her tiny skirt in keeping with the role she was playing. Max fumed inwardly, but kept a sultry smile pasted in place until they reached Logan's limo. Logan opened the door for her and she quickly climbed in.
Bling appeared unsurprised to see Max and Logan assumed that Nikki had filled him in on the events inside of the club. "Hey Max, you're looking hot tonight." Bling winked at her.
Max sent him a genuine smile. "Hey, Bling."
Logan handed Bling the slip of paper. "We're continuing this here. Let me know just before we arrive."
"Sure thing."
Before anymore could be said, Logan pressed a button and a solid partition slid into place between Bling and the back of the limo. As the car pulled smoothly away from the curb, Max opened her mouth to give Logan a piece of her mind.
"Max, not now." He gave her a hard stare. "We only have a few minutes to set the stage. I don't know why the hell you're here, but you need to do exactly what I say and follow my lead. These guys are the Russian Mafia and they play for keeps."
"So do I." she replied shortly, annoyed at his tone.
Just them there was a knocking on the partition. Logan glanced at his watch. "We're going to continue this later. I'm sorry but I need to do this." Max was about to reply when Logan drew his hand back and quickly slapped her, hard across her cheek leaving an imprint of his fingers. Her mouth dropped open in shock.
"Max, these guys are tough and brutal. You were out of line back there in their eyes, and if you don't climb out of this car with some evidence of my taking care of it, I lose all face and credibility with them. Then we end up dead."
Max continued to look at him silently. Logan swore to himself, and reaching over he ran his fingers through her hair, tousling and tangling it. The car slowed and he quickly pulled her to him so that she was straddling his lap. One hand pulled her face down to his and he began to kiss her roughly. The other hand slipped under her skirt. He pulled his head back in shock. "What the hell are you not wearing under that thing?"
"Shut up Logan, and set your little scene." she threw back at him angrily her eyes shooting sparks. The car stopped and Logan quickly resumed their former position. Bling popped the locks and in seconds the door was opened. Logan took his time in letting Max go, making sure their audience had a clear view of their position. Finally he lifted his head and smiled smugly at the two men watching them.
"We'll finish this later," he said to Max as she climbed off of his lap and out of the car. Max smiled sweetly at the two men, well aware of her tangled hair, and lips swollen from Logan nipping at them.
Petr looked at her reddened cheek as she came under a streetlight, and nodded approvingly at Logan, who was climbing out making a production of straightening his shirt and jacket. "The stick and the carrot my friend. This one needs a strong hand I can see. I admire a man who can handle his woman. Come. Sergei waits inside."
Logan nodded and Max silently followed the men into the small dark office building that they had pulled up in front of. She checked out the area for any signs of hidden guards and nodded to herself in satisfaction when she didn't spot any.
They entered the building and the door closed behind them with a click leaving them in utter blackness. Max had a sudden sense that something was wrong. Before she could focus her night vision the lights came on. She gasped as she saw Logan standing there with a third man holding a gun to his head.
End of Chapter Thirty-Six…TBC
