by Cole, Jagger
“Answer me, Fiona,” I hiss.
“No!” she barks back. “I didn’t!”
“I’m going to ask you again—”
“What are you going to do, Viktor,” she sneers up at my face. “Torture me?”
I stiffen. The sass, the scent of her… it’ s fucking with my head. I want her—I’m lusting for her even if I’m furious with her. But the end result is the same.
It makes me want to savage her—to make her scream for me. I snarl and grab her, pinning her to the wall.
“Viktor—!”
I growl deeply as I whip her round, pushing her back to the wall again. She gasps when I grab the yoga pants she’s wearing by the back and suddenly yank them down to mid-thigh.
“Oh fuck, Viktor,” she moans.
I’m so fucking hard for her. I’m still furious, too. But the nearness of her, the feel of her skin, the scent of her—all of it is too much to resist.
“Tell me,” I hiss.
“Tell you what?”
“Did you betray me?”
“No—oh!”
Fiona yelps as my palm suddenly spanks her ass. She trembles, panting as a flush creeps into her cheeks.
“How about now?”
She shakes her head. I growl, and my hand spanks against her tight little ass again. Fiona makes a whimpering mewling sound.
“Did you?”
She turns her head to look at me through a tangle of her hair, panting. “Maybe you’ll have to do it again to see if I change my—”
My palm spanks her ass again, and she cries out. But it’s not a cry of pain. It’s a moan. And it sends me over the edge.
I growl, yanking her panties down and then spanking her bare ass again. I groan, my cock surging as I drink in the sight of her pink cheeks shaking under my punishment. I yank my pants down, and she moans. I stroke my fist up and down my shaft and then use my knee to spread her legs. Fiona pushes back eagerly when my head slips over her lips. I center, grab her hips, and ram my cock deep into her eager little cunt.
Fiona howls in pleasure, moaning. I snarl, and my fingers dig into her skin. I pound into her, fucking her savagely—mercilessly against the wall. But she’s reaching back to grab my hips, urging me on.
I slam into her, almost fucking her onto the balls of her toes with the force of my thrusts. She’s so fucking wet that I can feel it dripping over my balls. Her tight little pussy clenches and ripples on my dick. Suddenly, her body wrenches and shudders. She screams as she starts to come for me, moaning loudly with her cheek against the wall.
I groan. The feel of her release is more than I can resist. I sink my dick deep in her hot little cunt and let go. My balls surge, pumping my hot cum deep in her pussy. I’m gripping her so tightly, panting. Against her neck as the both of us sag against the wall.
I’m still sucking in air when she turns her face to me. Our eyes lock, and we suddenly hungrily seek each other’s mouths. I kiss her deeply against the wall, my heart racing and swelling for this girl.
“Viktor,” she moans. “I didn’t—”
“I know,” I groan, panting into her lips. “I know, printsessa, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
She twists in my arms. Hers wrap around my neck as she climbs up into my embrace. “Don’t be,” she hums happily, blushing. She kisses me again. “Viktor, I really never betrayed—”
“I know,” I whisper. I gather her in my arms. I carry her to the vanity, grab the goddamn notepad, and toss it in the trash. My lips find hers, and I kiss her the whole way back to my room.
16
Fiona
The hand over my mouth wakes me with a jolt. My panic surges, and I scream into the soft palm before her face leans over me with wide eyes.
“Shhh!”
I blink in shock with Nina hovering over me. She pulls her hand away, her face white.
“Nina?” I gasp. “What the hell is going…”
The lights playing and flicking through the curtains from outside catch my eye. Red and blue flashing lights. My heart lurches as I sit upright in the bed.
“What the hell is—”
“We need to go, now,” she hisses. She stands away from the bed, and for the first time, I realize she’s got a gun in her hand. She glances back at me and narrows her eyes. “Now, Fiona!”
“Is that the police?”
Her mouth tightens. “Yes. Viktor is being arrested outside. They haven’t—”
“He what?!”
Her mouth tightens. “It would be best if you weren’t here when they sweep the house.”
I frown. “Why—”
“Because you can help him, but only if you’re on the outside, not rounded up when they break down the front door.”
I purse my lips, glaring at her. “Come on, Fiona!” When I don’t budge, she sighs heavily. “I need you to trust me, okay?”
“Why the hell should I do that?”
“Do you love him?”
I blink. “I—”
“Forget that. Do you want to help him not go to prison?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“Then you need to fucking trust me, and we need to go, right now. Do you understand?”
I nod, my head spinning as I try and take this all in.
“Good, get dressed, quickly.”
In the week since Viktor carried me half naked from my room to his, this has basically become my room too. Which means half of my clothes are already here. I throw on jeans and hoodie quickly while Nina glances outside through a slit in the shades.
“Okay, ready.”
She glances back at me and nods. “This way.”
She leads me through the lavish master bathroom and into Viktor’s closet. At the far end, she reaches inside and opens a little hutch and slides out an elegant tray of expensive looking watches. I stare as she reaches under it and clicks something. Suddenly, the wall behind the hutch slides open, revealing a spiral staircase down. Nina glances back at me and nods.
“This way.”
I don’t question her, I just follow. We dash down the staircase, down more than a few stories, into what must be the sub-basement of the house. At the bottom, a long stone-lined hallway disappears into the darkness. Nina points her phone’s flashlight down it and starts jogging. I swallow my fear and rush after her, until finally, I can feel air.
Quietly, Nina opens the wrought-iron gate at the end of the tunnel. She steps out and pulls me after her. I glance around and realize we’re standing in a thicket of trees at the very back of Viktor’s property, with a little dirt maintenance road running past us.
“Nina, what the hell happened?!”
Her face is grim as she glances at her cellphone. “Viktor’s contacts in the Chicago PD were only able to give him a three-minute warning. He made the call to go meet them at the front gate, giving the rest of us enough time to shred anything that needed shredding and get out.”
She looks up from her phone, her lips thin. “He’s being arrested on racketeering charges, guns, drugs, kidnapping…” her eyes narrow at me.
“Holy shit,” I breathe, whirling as my head spins.
“Oleg is on his way to get us. There’s a rendezvous elsewhere where we can meet up with Lev and plan the next move.”
I nod. But then I look at her curiously. “Why are you helping me?”
Nina frowns. “Because he loves you.”
My heart skips. My jaw drops as I blink. “What?”
Nina rolls her eyes. “I said because he loves you. Obviously.”
I blush, sucking my bottom lip between my teeth. “Nina, I—”
“I don’t hate you, Fiona.” Nina looks at me plainly. “I get the impression that you do, but I don’t.” She shrugs, smiling subtly at the corners of her mouth. “I think I kind of like you, actually. I’ve just been skeptical of you.”
I hold her eyes firmly with mine. “Because you’re in love with him.”
She smiles. And then she starts to laugh quietly. She throws her hea
d back, shaking it and rubbing her eyes.
“Nina—”
“Because I’m his sister, Fiona.”
My jaw drops. “What?!”
“Well, half-sister.”
I stare at her. “Hang on, you’re—”
“Get back.”
She yanks me into the shadows of the trees as a Range Rover with the headlights off slowly rumbles down the dirt road. It stops about twenty feet away and blink the lights twice.
“That’s us. Come on.”
I’m still stunned as Nina drags me to the SUV. Oleg nods at me from the driver’s seat as we climb into the back seat. And then we’re off—first on dirt roads, then onto the highway back towards the city and away from the blinking lights.
And from Viktor.
“He found me eight years ago.”
Nina is looking out of her window at the city as we drive.
“I was in a group home in St. Petersburg. Our father—that’s Viktor and I’s connection—managed to abandon both of his kids. Viktor was looking for him, for answers, I guess. He was dead by then, but that search led him to me. He brought me back to the US, and I’ve been here with the organization ever since.”
I slowly shake my head. “You’re his half-sister…” I murmur incredulously.
She turns to look at me. “I love my brother, Fiona. But I am not in love with him,” she smirks. “Just protective of him.”
I groan. “Oh my God, I’m such an asshole. I really thought—”
“Yeah,” she grins. “I got that impression. And I’m the one who was a bitch to you.”
“Because you were looking out for him.”
“Always,” she nods.
The car pulls through some gates into a seedy looking warehouse and shipping area. We drive down until we get to two warehouses side-by-side with a few other black cars parked out front. At the front doors, two men with rifles nod when they recognize Oleg behind the wheel.
“This is a remote office of ours,” Nina explains as we step out. “Right now, it’s being used for—”
“Hey, I know her…” I frown when I see Dr. Turgenev, the woman who helped me with my ankle, stepping out of a car and into the first warehouse.
Nina pauses. “Viktor wasn’t sure about showing you this.”
“Showing me what?”
She frowns. “Come.”
The guards step aside for us, and Nina opens the door. Inside, there’s a small office area and another door.
“Nina, what is this?”
“Something you need to see.”
She opens the next door, and we step inside. Instantly, my heart jumps into my throat. The large space is built out into a kind of bunkhouse. There are dividing walls and rows of small but cozy looking beds and bunkbeds along one wall. On the other side, there’s what looks like a food pantry kitchen, with picnic tables. There’s also a big jungle gym, swings, a basketball hoop….
And children.
My heart swells as I stare at what must be two dozen kids of all different ages running around on the playground area, laughing and giggling with each other. Some are playing basketball. Others are sitting at table. Dr. Turgenev looks up from a little boy she’s kneeling in front of and waves at me.
“Oh my God,” I breathe. “Nina—”
“The land deal you helped with,” she smiles and gestures at the kids playing. “These will be its first tenants.”
I stare at them. “Who—”
“Rescued from trafficking rings.”
I startle at the rough voice behind me. I whirl and come face to face with Lev, Viktor’s gruff but ruggedly handsome second-in-command.
“When Viktor and I were on the streets when we were young, this threat was always around the next corner. Every kid on the streets knew it. The boogeyman—the Baba Yaga—waiting to abduct you and drag you into some sort of hell.”
My heart breaks. I turn to look in anguish at the kids laughing and playing.
“Viktor is no saint,” Lev growls. “Neither am I. But we do what we can to stamp out true evil in this world.”
“You rescued these kids?”
“Viktor did, yes,” Lev grunts.
A tall boy sitting with a group of the older kids looks over at us. He jumps up and runs over, his face full of worry.
“Mr. Nychkov?” Lev turns to him. “Viktor. He is in trouble, yes?” The boy says in heavily accented English. He holds up an iPad with “Breaking News” and a picture of Viktor’s handsome face filling the screen.
Lev scowls, nodding. “Da, Maxim.”
The boy’s mouth thins. “You are going to help him?”
“Yes,” I say icily. “Yes, we are.”
The boy nods. “Good. I want to help you.”
Lev smiles and pats him on the shoulder. “You can help him by keeping the other children safe here, Maxim.”
“No, I can do more. I can shoot.”
Lev frowns. “You don’t need to shoot anything here, Maxim.”
The boy nods. “Back in my hometown, in Russian, my father… he works for a man in charge. How you say…” he frowns, looking for the right word in English. “Mayor? I can try to find his phone number—”
“Oh holy shit,” I breathe suddenly.
Nine frowns. “What?”
“He said mayor…” my face goes white. “Oh my God, It’s my father.”
“What is?” Lev growls.
“The connection with Viktor, Drucci, all of it.” The dots are connecting in my head. And suddenly, I realize this has my father’s political meddling written all over it. “It’s my dad, pulling strings, Viktor backed him into a corner. But his whole professional and personal lives have been him learning how to weasel out of corners.”
Nina’s mouth thins. “I knew it,” she mutters.
I stare at my hands, connecting the pieces. “I told my dad we were going to the factory that day. He must have passed it along to Joey, who sent those two men for Viktor. He must have known about the fragile truce between them. I mean, he’s the DA. But when that failed….”
“He got reckless and used his powers as DA to call in the cavalry,” Nina finishes tersely.
I nod. “Yeah.” I frown and look up at Nina again. “What are the charges?”
“Illegal guns, some random gambling charges, kidnapping, blackmail, racketeering…” She shakes her head. “The part that doesn’t make sense is the timing. If they had enough to get him for this before, why wait and do it now? We’ve always assumed they’re watching the house. But Viktor conducts all business either through a secure internet line, or off-site, elsewhere. Even if they were pawing through our trash, they—”
“Shit,” I choke out.
“What?”
I feel sick; nauseous, like my head is spinning.
“I wrote some stuff down.”
Lev growls dangerously. Nina stare at me. “You what?”
“I—I wrote stuff down. I was hitting the wall about being kept against my will, before…” I blush deeply.
Lev smiles thinly but knowingly. “Things change,” he growls. “Viktor knew?”
I nod. “He did. He threw the notes I wrote away though. If they were watching the house….”
“Then they were searching the trash. They must have found your notes and your dad used it as grounds for arresting him.”
I nod. “That has to be it.
Nina frowns. “That would all just be hearsay though, right? Legally speaking?”
“It’s circumstantial, yeah. But it’s enough for them to start tacking on real charges.”
I feel cold and numb. I hug myself, staring at the floor. My phone dings. I glance at it, when suddenly, my face lights up. The ding is a text from Zoey—just a funny gif of a cat falling into a bathtub that we like to send each other randomly. But all of a sudden, I realize what I have to do.
Even if it’s not going to be easy.
“There’s a way to fix this,” I breathe. “I mean all of it.”
&nb
sp; Lev frowns at me. “How?”
My mouth thins grimly. “By backing my father into one corner he can’t weasel out of.”
17
Fiona
“I can’t believe you… ugh!”
“I know, I know!” I turn to Zoey, giving her a pleading look in the back seat of the town car. “I’m sorry, okay? I hated lying to you, I just…” I sigh. “You get why I couldn’t tell you, right?”
Zoey glances around the inside of the opulent town car, complete with custom engraved finishing, leather seats, and crystal tumblers snug in the little bar caddy. She rolls her eyes. “Ugh, fine. Yes.”
We’ve barely had time to talk since I surprised her at her apartment. First, she was elated that I was “back from New York” so suddenly. But when I started to tell her the real story, I’m amazed she let me even drag her into the car. But even though I can tell she’s ticked at me for lying to her face, I can see my best friend gets it.
She sighs. “So, Viktor Komarov. The Viktor Komarov?”
I nod, blushing. “Yep.”
“So, wait, you’re like with him now?”
My blush grows deeper, and her grin widens.
“Oh my God, I bet your dad loves that.”
“I don’t really care what he likes or not,” I mutter. “Not anymore.”
“He really gave you to Viktor fucking Komarov for a debt?”
I nod.
“Wow, what the fuck? No offense, I always thought your dad was…”
“A scumbag?”
She shrugs. “Well, yeah, a little. But this is something else.”
“Never underestimate Thomas Murray’s ability to throw people under the bus to advance his own career,” I grumble.
“So, you and Viktor…I mean is this like a crush, or…”
I grin, still blushing.
“Fiona!” she shrieks. “You bad girl!”
“Zoey—”
“Tell me! Did you finally…” she wags her brows. “You know.”
I groan as the blush blooms hot on my face. “It’s not like…” I bite my lip, grinning. Zoey squeals next to me.
“Yeah, I’m gonna need details.”