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it's got to be settled."
Dimitri studied him. "You're a good fighter, Kelly. You impressed me the times I watched you
in that cage. It's one of the reasons I approached you to work for Front Door when I was just getting
the security company off the ground."
"I know."
"Have you ever seen Nikolai's man in the cage?"
Kelly nodded reluctantly. "I've watched Sergei fight a few times."
"Then you know that he will tear your fucking head off to win."
"I know he'll try."
Dimitri shook his head. "This isn't the time for bravado, Kelly. This is a time to be serious." He
hesitated. "Maybe you and I could work out a loan "
"No," Kelly cut him off before he could finish the offer. "No more debts for the Connolly
family."
"Kelly, please, it wouldn't "
"Would you take a loan from me or would you find a way to make it work on your own terms?"
Dimitri didn't answer him. Instead, he exhaled roughly and reached into his back pocket to
retrieve his wallet and a pen. He tugged an LSG business card from a sleeve and neatly printed a
name and address on the back. "Go see him. He's expecting you."
Kelly took the card and turned it over to read the information written on the back. "Alexei?"
"He used to fight with Ivan. He's the only man who ever came close to beating Vanya. He's your
best bet."
"How the hell am I supposed to convince a Russian trainer to help me get ready to fight against
Nikolai's champion?"
"It's been arranged." Dimitri tucked his wallet into place. "Alexei owes Kolya a favor, and
Vivian made sure her husband called it in when she heard about your situation."
Kolya? Oh. Nikolai. "I suppose I owe her a big thanks."
"After Alexei gets finished with you, you may have other ideas." Dimitri clapped him on the
back. "Good luck, Kelly."
"Thanks, D. For everything," he added sincerely. "You've always been a great friend to me."
"As your friend, I'm telling you to be careful with this girl. I know what losing her brother did
to you. If something happens to her "
"Nothing is going to happen to her."
"You forget that I've been where you are with Benny. She and I barely survived that attack on
her bakery, but we did it together. You have no idea how many times I've replayed that night, wishing
that I'd taken the time to properly educate Benny on self-defense and firing a weapon. Don't make my
mistake. Give Bee the skills to save herself."
His advice given, Dimitri left Kelly to contemplate his options. He fingered the card his boss
had given him. While Jack was a damn good coach and trainer, he wasn't comparable to Ivan
Markovic. If this guy Alexei had fought with Ivan, he would know the man's tricks. Since Kelly really
hoped to survive his time in the cage, he figured Alexei was his best chance.
Back in the penthouse, he discovered Bee sitting at the kitchen island between Sully and Winn.
The two guards were talking her through the emergency exit plan and giving her safety pointers.
Certain she was in good hands, he waited until Bee had successfully repeated the four routes five
different times before asking her about that shopping list.
"Here." She handed it over to him. "There are a couple of other things I'll need but you can only
get them at the salon I use. I hoped I might be able to run over there on Monday."
"We'll make it work." Kelly didn't want her to feel like a prisoner in the penthouse. "When was
the last time you fired a weapon?"
Her gaze flicked to a spot just beside him as she rolled back through her memories. "The
weekend we buried Mom. Jeb took me out to a range and we went through dozens of boxes of
ammunition. It actually felt kind of good to blow holes in targets."
He could empathize with that feeling. "Tomorrow, we're going to take you down to the range
and get you comfortable with loading, clearing jams and firing. I'm also going to talk to Jack about
getting you into some self-defense classes. Have you ever taken one?"
She seemed a bit dazed by his plan. "No. Well they have these, like, two hour courses on
campus every semester. I went to one my freshman year. We learned a lot of useful stuff but it was
very basic."
"I can show you some moves, sweetheart," Sully offered with a sly smile. "I'm a master when it
comes to hands-on training."
Kelly had never wanted to wring a man's neck more. He started to question his ability to work
in close-quarters with Sully but Bee simply rolled her eyes and asked, "I could have sworn Mr.
Stepanov assured me that you men had all undergone sexual harassment training. Maybe you need to
sit through another course?"
Sully's playful grin melted. Kelly could tell that Bee was joking but the other man didn't know
her well. "No, ma'am."
"Mmmhmm," she murmured. She motioned to Winn who had remained stoic and silent, his
usual operating style. "This one I really like. Would you mind being the guard who accompanies me
to work and meetings? I think I'll actually be able to get work done with you. That one?" She gestured
to Sully. "I have a feeling he'd be chasing skirts up and down the office floor."
Winn actually allowed the barest hint of a smile to crack his stony façade. "Yes, ma'am. I
would be more than happy to escort you to business meetings."
"Fantastic."
Glad to see that Bee could handle these two, especially Sully and his smart mouth, Kelly
relaxed some. "I'm going to head out and take care of your shopping. If you need anything, text me."
Bee shadowed him to the front door. She started to step close to him but a glance over her
shoulder stopped her. He grasped her hand and tugged her forward. She dropped her voice to a
whisper. "Is this okay?"
He trailed his finger down her cheek. Since giving himself permission to touch her, he couldn t
get enough of her silky skin. "You tell me, sugar."
Her eyes sparkled with mischief. "It's perfectly fine with me. In fact, please, continue." She
gestured behind them with her head. "I meant Sully and Winn. Is it going to be a problem?"
"No. They understand the dynamics of the situation."
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