Just Business (Aegis Group Dangerous Ladies Book 1)

by Sidney Bristol

  What was Konstantin doing to put his daughter in so much risk?

  Haley knew there was some inherent danger just by being who they were. The family connections made them targets. But Konstantin’s businesses were all above-board. Haley had asked about that before taking the job and Zain had vetted the guy. Which left Konstantin’s consultant work for the government. Haley knew nothing about that and wasn’t cleared to know. Was Konstantin doing something with the feds? Had they pissed off the wrong people?

  Haley swung her head left, then right, always looking.

  She was passing between the two newer buildings when she peered into the courtyard. The space had been designed as a sort of sheltered area for outdoor meals. There was a fountain and flowers.

  Her heart felt as though it stopped.

  She skidded to a halt and stared.

  An elegant, older woman sat on the edge of the fountain. Zasha was directly in front of the woman, both hands clutched around her Mother Goose stuffed animal. Her body language at this distance was tense, uncomfortable. And standing just a little behind Zasha was Ivana.

  Haley shoved her hand in her pocket and pulled out her phone. She didn’t dare say anything and draw attention to herself, so she fired off a text to Konstantin alerting him that she had eyes on Zasha.

  Since Haley had her phone out, she snapped several quick pictures of the moment.

  The elegant woman leaned forward and said something to Zasha, who just nodded.

  The child didn’t appear to be in immediate danger. There were no guards with guns. Ivana was too frail to be a threat. Zasha was physically fine. She wasn’t bleeding, her clothes were still clean and tidy.

  Haley took a step forward between the two buildings, then another.

  The trio still hadn’t noticed her.

  Did she draw her weapon and escalate the situation? Or did she wade in and act calmly?

  Chances were Zasha didn’t even realize what was going on. Haley wanted to maintain that. She’d managed to keep Zasha from realizing how close they’d come to dangerous situations by staying calm. That had to continue.

  Haley was halfway to the fountain when the woman sitting on the fountain glanced at her. It was a quick look, and then Haley was dismissed.

  “Hey, guys,” she called out and pasted on a bright smile.

  The woman reached out and caught Zasha’s hand in hers. She said something, but Zasha was already looking at Haley.

  Her little face was lined with confusion.

  She knew something wasn’t right.

  Haley widened her smile. “Hey there, big girl.”

  The elegant woman stood and said something to Ivana before turning and walking away from Haley.

  “Haley!” Zasha sprinted for her the moment she was free.

  “Whose your friend? Ivana?” Haley braced herself as Zasha ran full tilt into her and wrapped her arms around Haley’s waist, clinging tight.

  Ivana followed behind the unknown woman. She ignored Ivana completely, walking away at a brisk clip with her camel colored trench coat flaring around her knees.

  Haley wanted to follow the woman. She wanted some damn answers. But her first and only priority would always be Zasha.

  Haley went to a knee and stroked her hands down Zasha’s face, shoulders and arms. No scratches. Her clothes weren’t dirty or even wrinkled. She was perfectly fine, except her face said she had sensed danger.

  “Hey there. Guess who decided he wanted to see you?” Haley mentally scrambled for a way to explain her father’s presence.

  Zasha’s lower lip trembled and suddenly there were tears.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. Everything’s fine.” Haley reached out and pulled Zasha to her, while staring daggers at Ivana.

  The elderly nanny stood in the shade staring off after their mysterious visitor.

  What the hell was Ivana thinking?

  After a few moments, she turned and walked toward them.

  Haley bit her cheek to keep from saying anything, all while Zasha cried.

  First Ivana stole photographs. Now she was putting Zasha at risk. Just what the hell was going on here?

  “Zasha? Haley?” Konstantin’s voice echoed off the brick.

  “Here,” Haley called out.

  “D-Daddy?” Zasha sobbed, yet her hold on Haley didn’t loosen.

  Ivana edged closer and reached out her hand. “Everything’s fine, child.”

  Haley scowled and pulled Zasha just a little bit closer.

  Ivana pulled her hand back and turned to face Konstantin, flanked by two of his bodyguards as they came into view.

  Konstantin’s tie was askew and his hair wild.

  His gaze landed on Haley and his daughter. “Zasha!”

  “Your dad’s here,” Haley whispered.

  Konstantin dropped to his knees next to Zasha, but the little girl wouldn’t let go of Haley. Her little sobs shook her body.

  “What happened?” Konstantin twisted to look at Ivana. “What did you do?”

  Haley reached out and grabbed his hand. Just for a moment. “She’s fine, just scared. She’s fine.”

  Take it down a notch or ten.

  Konstantin looked at her for a long few seconds, pulling in deep breaths of air. She’d never watched a man reel himself in like that. The effort it took Konstantin to calm himself was visible.

  “You don’t want to say hi to your dad?” Haley asked Zasha.

  In response, Zasha’s arms tightened.

  Well, shit.

  “Is everyone here, or is anyone going to join us?” Haley asked. She needed to know if the cops were coming.

  “No. Just us,” Konstantin replied, catching her meaning.

  “Then, why don’t we go home?” Haley suggested.

  They needed to get to the bottom of this, but that had to happen somewhere safe. The condo was the obvious choice. It was nearby. They had security and that was where Zasha would feel safest.

  Konstantin jerked his head in a nod, then rose to speak to the men at his back. One of them took Ivana by the arm and turned her.

  Haley watched the elderly woman hobbling away.

  What had she been trying to do?

  “Come on, kiddo, we’re going home, okay?” Haley tugged on Zasha’s arms, but she wasn’t budging.

  Haley drew in a deep breath. If she needed a reminder that Zasha was getting bigger, this was it. Haley wrapped her arms around Zasha’s waist and legs, then lifted. Like a good little monkey child, Zasha wound herself around Haley as if she were five again.

  Konstantin opened his mouth, his hands twitching at his side. No doubt he wanted to take Zasha, to reassure himself she was okay, and here Zasha was clinging to Haley.

  “Car’s coming around, sir,” the remaining guard said.

  “Great. Haley?” Konstantin fell into step beside her.

  They all had questions, but no one dared to ask them. Not yet.

  Haley, Zasha and Konstantin slid into the back seat of his white SUV. Zasha immediately curled up, clinging to Haley’s arm while Konstantin leaned back and watched his daughter, a tortured expression on his face.

  I can’t leave.

  Haley stared straight ahead.

  She’d planned to leave for this very reason. Zasha was too attached. Haley felt like she was family, and she wasn’t. Things were too muddled. But Haley couldn’t take Zasha’s entire safety net away. Not with Ivana likely on a fast track out of the house.

  Haley was stuck and she wasn’t entirely unhappy about this development. She knew she should be, but as she stroked Zasha’s soft hair part of her was relieved to get to stay for just a little longer.

  5.

  Thursday. Home, Arlington, VA.

  Konstantin paced the living room, taking care to step over the line of stuffed animals each time. He didn’t know why Zasha had them there, but he wasn’t going to fuck it up.

  He wanted to be in the bedroom, soothing Zasha, but he couldn’t deny that this job was best done by Hale
y. She had become Zasha’s security, the person who made Zasha feel safest. And Haley was going to leave them.

  That was not today’s problem.

  He glanced down the hall at Ivana’s open door.

  Konstantin had told her to go in there and wait until he could speak to her. At least that was what his head had wanted to say. He was pretty sure he’d snapped, “Get out of my fucking sight,” at her when she’d tried speaking to him. He’d also told the rest of his security to cool it in his condo, out of Zasha’s sight, but still close enough they could be useful if anything happened.

  His rage was simmering and very close to boiling over. He had to stop, stare out the window and draw in a deep breath. His fingers ached from how hard he clenched his fists. None of it helped chase the anger away.

  He’d trusted Ivana with his daughter. Ivana who actually knew what they’d run from. Ivana who’d come back to help when she’d heard that Konstantin would be a father.

  Why would she do this? Who had gotten to her? How? Was there something he’d missed? Or had it been there all along?

  He braced his forearm on the glass sliding door and peered out at the patio. Zasha and Haley’s bikes were stowed out of sight behind the sectional so they wouldn’t get a fine for breaking the rules. Someone had left a cup sitting out and one single crayon. Then there were the flowers mounted to the railing. He’d assumed the few plants in the condo and on the patios were housekeeping’s doing. But now he had to wonder, was this Haley? Who would look after them when she was gone?

  What the fuck was he going to do now?

  It seemed like most things in his life started with that question.

  Konstantin had left his father’s home with a shoddy plan in mind. It had failed him almost immediately, but he’d made do. His one true goal was simply to get away.

  The Americans had been hungry for news, information, anything and everything he knew about his father’s operation, how he ran, who he talked to. Konstantin had realized early on that he actually had room to bargain. But he’d still been alone in a new country with a one-year-old.

  And then Ivana had shown up close to two months after Konstantin’s arrival in the US. She’d come with suitcases of his things. Clothes for him and Zasha. And her desire to help him raise another generation.

  Konstantin had never questioned Ivana’s motives or why she’d done what she’d done. In truth, he’d been young, stupid and drowning. She’d given their lives order. He’d been able to sleep finally and think. Ivana had pitched in and helped him take control of the businesses in his name. They’d built something. Or so he’d thought.

  He heard the soft thud of a door shutting.

  Konstantin glanced over his shoulder.

  Haley stepped around the corner. Her expression was grim, worried. She glanced at him. “She’s curled up in bed with her tablet watching Viewer.”

  “Is she...?” He didn’t know what to ask or where to start.

  “She’s mostly confused. I don’t think she understands what happened today. Throw in our reactions and she knows she should be upset or scared, but she doesn’t know why and until we tell her...” Haley perched on the arm of the sofa and blew out a breath.

  “What the hell just happened?” His voice was rougher than intended.

  “I took Ivana and Zasha to piano, met Jeff, handed them off and came back here. I watched the new video and that’s when I saw Ivana at around four this morning go into your office and take more pictures.”

  “But that wasn’t when you called me?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “No. At the time I thought there had to be a reasonable explanation, so I returned to the center to talk to Ivana while Zasha was in lessons. That’s when I found Jeff in the lobby and realized I’d grossly underestimated the situation.” Haley’s voice was calming as she related the events in a brisk fashion. She tipped her chin up and looked him in the eyes. “I messed up.”

  “What? No.” He shook his head.

  “I should have notified you as soon as I saw the video.”

  “Haley?” He took a step toward her and let his arms drop to his side. “Neither of us saw this coming. What was she doing?”

  “The woman.” Haley’s eyes widened. “I mentioned her, but I don’t think you really heard me. I found Ivana and Haley with this woman.”

  “Who?” He tried to think back to any woman he’d ticked off, but couldn’t think of any. The Russian crime world was mostly men.

  “I’d never seen her before.” Haley pulled out her cellphone. “I took these pictures when I realized Zasha wasn’t in immediate danger. They’re blurry and far away, but there she is.”

  She handed the phone to Konstantin.

  He blinked at the image.

  The woman wore a camel colored coat with stylized, split sleeves that showed off the red, floral print blouse underneath. Her hair was in a classic bun and she wore dark high heels.

  There was something familiar about the picture.

  He frowned at it, but couldn’t place the woman.

  “I don’t have the faintest idea who this is.” He handed the phone back to Haley.

  “I’ll send it to your email.”

  He sank down on the sofa and stared at his reflection in the TV. “I just can’t believe this. Ivana? Really?”

  “We—I mean, you—should talk to her.” Haley sat on the coffee table facing him. “Ivana loves Zasha. It’s hard to see her do anything that would hurt her.”

  “People change,” he said softly.

  “I have a really hard time seeing Ivana changing that much. What else are you going to do? Fire her and kick her out? We still don’t know why she took the pictures.”

  He looked her straight in the eyes. “I don’t know that I can be in the same room with her, Haley.”

  “I get that.” She gripped the edge of the coffee table. Her lips twisted into a grimace. “I was so scared and angry and... You had to be feeling ten times that much. And she’s the obvious target here. But we need to know why. For Zasha’s safety and yours.”

  Konstantin nodded. She was right, but he still didn’t know if he had it in him to be civil. This was his daughter’s safety they were talking about.

  “Let’s just hear her out,” Haley said.

  He did want answers.

  Someone was after him. Someone he hadn’t seen coming. And they’d managed to hit him where he was most vulnerable.

  His daughter.

  Haley reached out and placed her hand on his. He froze, startled by the act, and stared at their hands. There was so much strength in those small hands.

  “We’re going to fix this,” she said.

  He nodded, though his mind was still scrambled by that brief touch.

  Haley stood and he had the intense urge to wrap his arms around her waist and hug her, but he didn’t. The desire would pass. He hoped like hell it would.

  Konstantin rose to his feet again and paced back to the windows to stare out at the city.

  He was going to lose Haley and Ivana in one swoop.

  Zasha would be devastated.

  He’d need to make more time for her on top of dealing with this threat and finding new staff.

  There just weren’t enough hours in the day to be good at everything. Something was going to fall through the cracks.

  Footsteps heralded the two women.

  He turned and watched Haley escorting Ivana into the room.

  Ivana looked older and older every day. She was still active, but the years had caught up to her. Frail was an apt word for her, especially as she leaned on Haley just to walk from her room to the arm chair next to the sofa.

  He’d bought that specifically for Ivana, with the matching footstool.

  “Why don’t I get us all some water?” Haley suggested once Ivana was settled.

  Konstantin studied Ivana in those moments.

  She smoothed her hands down her skirt, picked at some lint, but she didn’t look at him.

 
; One of the few things his father had said that Konstantin took to heart was that an employee who couldn’t meet your gaze was no longer loyal.

  So who had Ivana’s loyalty now? And when had that happened?

  “Here we go.” Haley passed around three bottles of water.

  Konstantin set his down without taking a drink.

  Both Haley and Ivana twisted off the caps and drank.

  Haley glanced from him to Ivana, then sighed. “Want to explain today, Ivana?”

  Ivana looked up at Konstantin then and began speaking fast and furious in Russian.

  He held up a hand. “English.”

  While he understood her, he needed Haley to be part of this. He needed her reasonable mind to weigh in when he would act out of emotion.

  Ivana sighed and muttered something under her breath. “Your mother. She wanted to meet her grandchild.”

  “Wait, what?” Haley planted her hands on her hips.

  Konstantin stared at Ivana.

  His mother?

  She was dead.

  Wasn’t she?

  “That’s not possible,” he said.

  “She’s alive,” Ivana said.

  The woman in the picture had looked familiar.

  He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and brought up the email with the picture attached. He enlarged the photograph and looked at the woman’s profile.

  Konstantin’s mother was only a vague memory. He’d never felt a strong bond with his parents. Least of all his mother. Which was why he hadn’t noticed when she just stopped being around.

  He’d heard the rumors all his life. His father killed her in a fit of rage. That they’d fought and she’d died. Some said she’d run away. But Konstantin had put little stock in those. His father was a vengeful man. The need for constant security was evidence of that. If his mother had gotten away, his father would have moved heaven and earth to find her. It made sense that he’d have killed her.

  Only, that profile looked an awful lot like the woman in the pictures he had in his office...

  “How? How is she still alive?” he asked.

  “She let your father think he killed her, then escaped here where she reinvented herself. She misses you. She just wanted to meet her grandchild. Konstantin, she’s afraid you will reject her after all these years. It’s why she didn’t come to you first.” Ivana’s eyes were large, full of feeling. “She just wants the chance to be a family again. To meet her grandchild. To see you. Can you blame her?”