A Stranger In Moscow: A Russian Billionaire Romance (International Alphas Book 7)

by Lacey Legend

  “Everything okay, Olivia?” Joseph asked. She shook her head. She was always pretty quiet and standoffish, so Joseph didn’t think much of her strange exit before she headed to the bathroom. She looked across the table and realized Ruslan was sitting with the family in between two empty seats. Soon enough, the monster and the small man sat down next to Ruslan.

  “Olivia, these are my associates, Nikolai,” Ruslan said pointing to the monster, “and Pasha,” he said, gesturing to the small man.

  “I just met Nikolai in the women’s bathroom actually. Turns out he forgot how to read,” Olivia said, proving she wasn’t down to just keep their run-in on the hush.

  “Whoopsie, too many drinks, right?” Nikolai laughed, shooting Olivia a deathly glare. She wanted to get up and attack all three men, but she knew that wasn’t the smartest thing to do. She was so much more confused than she was the night before. What if Joseph was in on the robbery too?

  “So, Ruslan, you put this all together for Peter? That’s so sweet!” Vera asked Ruslan in a flirty way. He was certainly someone that Vera would love to trap down. He was built like an Olympian and had the face of a model. Olivia knew from what she read about the family that he was only in his thirties and had never been married before. He was a millionaire by age 20 and only got wealthier by the second.

  Along with his entrepreneurial skills, Olivia knew that he was also a pretty notable philanthropist, spending millions of dollars to help out those in need. He seemed like the ideal bachelor, but Olivia knew better. There was something he was hiding, and it was in that black box. Who could she trust?

  “Yes, well, Peter was an amazing colleague and friend, and I miss him every day. I would spend the rest of my time trying to honor his passing if I could,” Ruslan said, raising his glass. “To Peter, an amazing partner, friend, and person.” Everyone else raised their glasses and cheered to the fallen businessman as well.

  “So, Olivia, you’re from Chicago, right?” Ruslan asked. Olivia nodded and sipped her champagne. It had been a while since she had anything to drink so she was already feeling the alcohol hit her nerves as she was on her third glass. “Are you enjoying Moscow so far?”

  “Not really,” she said firmly. “Got robbed last night.”

  Joseph choked on his food and cleared his throat. “Olivia was home during the ordeal I mentioned to you earlier. It was really an unfortunate way for her to experience Moscow, but luckily we’re all okay.”

  “Yeah I’m fine now. Those men were sloppy and didn’t seem to know what they were doing,” Olivia said sassily, taking a bite of her food. She didn’t even realize until she was chewing her filet mignon that they had even been served.

  “You must have been scared though, right?” Nikolai asked devilishly.

  “Not really. Their guns were clearly compensating for something.” She chugged the rest of her champagne and motioned to a server to fill her glass.

  “Well she’s fine now, and we’re glad she could enjoy a night away from the cabin with us,” Margot said, looking at Olivia’s empty glass with a judgmental glare.

  “Olivia, if you would like to experience the city more, I would love to take you out after dinner and show you the nightlife of Moscow, that is, if Mr. and Mrs. Touhy are okay with that,” Ruslan asked. Olivia was confused.

  “Nah, I’m good. Margot needs me,” Olivia responded, chewing her steak. She was drunk and ready to fight.

  “Olivia, you could take the night off. After what you went through last night I’m sure you could use a little bit of fun to help relax you a bit,” Margot responded. “Take Vera too, and we can have the house to ourselves.”

  “That sounds amazing. I bet you guys really know how to party,” Vera said. Olivia wanted to throw up, seeing the way she was so flirty with these three men.

  “Really, I’m fine. I’d rather just go home,” Olivia responded.

  “Well I’m definitely down to hang out,” Vera flirted. Of course, she was. Olivia looked at her, concerned, and thought about her going out with these three men. Although she froze up at the cabin, Olivia knew she could handle herself if anything were to happen. She worried about Vera and knew that she wasn’t smart enough to take care of herself should she run into trouble.

  “Well I guess if Vera is coming I’ll join you,” Olivia responded. She was curious to get these men alone and away from the rest of the family to try and figure out what it was they wanted the night before when they attacked her. Clearly, they had something planned. Joseph and Margot knew that Olivia was going out with them, so if anything were to happen to her, it would be obvious that it was them.

  She knew if they wanted to kill her they could whether she agreed to go out with them or not. She figured she should at least enjoy one good night in Moscow.

  Chapter4

  The limousine bearing Olivia, Vera, Ruslan, Pasha, and Nikolai pulled up to a large hotel in downtown Moscow. As they exited, Olivia quickly realized there was a club built into the bottom of the hotel they would presumably be entering. A long line stretched around the outside and Olivia wondered why anyone would wait in the bitter cold to get into the club.

  Olivia certainly enjoyed a night out and a decent party, but waiting outside in a long line to her was not appealing. She wasn’t prepared to go out that night, so her legs would surely freeze inside the dress she had borrowed from Vera. She could hear the music beating from outside and was looking forward to experiencing Russian nightlife. She also reminded herself that she was with the very people that had robbed her the night before. What were their intentions?

  She surely wasn’t looking forward to hanging out with them in the long line in front of the bar. Luckily for the five, they didn’t have to. They walked right up to the doorway and were immediately let inside by the bouncer. Olivia knew right away that these weren’t just normal Russian partygoers. The bouncer didn’t even have to check the list. He took one look at Ruslan and the rest of the crew and immediately allowed them to bypass the long line of people waiting outside.

  The music pounded through Olivia’s entire body. She wanted to let loose, get a drink, and go wild, but she knew she needed to focus. She had no idea where she was as soon as they walked in, and immediately lost control of all her senses. She didn’t see an easy way out, an easy trigger for her panic. Although she was in a room with hundreds of people packed wall to wall, she knew she wasn’t safe with these men.

  She tried to get Vera to follow her away from the boys, but immediately lost her and Ruslan in the crowd. She felt someone tug on her arm and figured it was just a drunk dancer but realized quickly that Nikolai had a tight grip around her elbow. She tried to get him to let go and even screamed a bit, but no one could hear her in the crowded room.

  She looked around and saw no one she knew, not even Pasha. Nikolai was tugging her towards an empty hallway with no labels. It wasn’t the restroom or even a place for the staff to go. The hallway was only long enough to have two doors, and Nikolai dragged her through one. The door opened to an empty room with black floors and gray walls. It was quiet, though you could still hear the Russian club music pounding through the walls.

  “What the hell is going on?” Olivia said, looking angrily at Nikolai.

  “Just wait for the boss,” Nikolai replied.

  “No, let me out of here. You can’t do this. You can’t keep people hostage in the back of the club!” she yelled, pushing him out of the way. Although she shoved her hands into his chest as hard as she could, she realized it was like trying to push a brick wall down. There was no way he was going to let her out of that room.

  “You can do whatever you want when you own the building,” Nikolai replied as an evil grin spread across his face.

  Frustrated, Olivia made her way to a beat-up couch in the corner of the room. It was the only piece of furniture in the room besides a metal table and an old light fixture. Nikolai reached in his pocket, pulled out a cigarette and lighter, and lit up right in that room.

  “
Do you mind?” Olivia said sassily, pointing out the fact that there were no windows in the room. Nikolai didn’t even acknowledge her. She had her coat on again with access to her phone, but what good would that do? These men were probably more powerful than the police. Maybe they were the police. It’s not like Olivia knew any better. She barely had any idea what was going on.

  Olivia thought about how they could kill her, and no one would probably ever know. She had a few friends back in Chicago, but no one who would think twice if she didn’t report back to them. Anyone would just assume that they drifted apart if they didn’t hear from Olivia.

  Margot could surely hire another nurse before she passed, and the rest of the family would certainly buy any line that Ruslan decided to feed them about her disappearance. Although she knew that they would be able to get away with hurting her, Olivia wasn’t scared of that outcome.

  She figured if they wanted to kill her by now, they probably would have. Why would they take her to a busy club if that was their intention? They had something else in mind, and Olivia was at least willing to stick around long enough to hear what Ruslan’s explanation was for breaking into her house the night before and terrorizing an otherwise peaceful Russian vacation. She couldn’t be too angry at them all. This was, after all, her first time away from the cabin since arriving in Moscow. If the robbery hadn’t happened, it was likely she would have never left at all.

  Finally, the door burst open and Ruslan and Pasha walked in. “Vera’s in the restroom. Go take care of her,” Ruslan told Nikolai.

  “Don’t touch her!” Olivia screamed. Nikolai gave an evil grin and Olivia knew there was nothing she could do to stop them from doing anything.

  “No one is getting hurt here, Olivia. That’s the last thing we want,” Ruslan said as he walked over and sat next to Olivia on the small leather couch. He placed his hand on her knee. “You don’t have to be afraid.”

  She slapped his hand as hard as she could. She didn’t mind feeling his warm palm on her smooth and cold knee, but she didn’t want him to know that. “I’m not afraid of anything,” she said. She wasn’t lying, too much at least.

  “I need you to know that we never wanted to hurt you when we broke in the other night,” Ruslan explained.

  “So, it was you,” Olivia said, confirming her suspicions. She knew since the moment she made eye contact and knew that Ruslan knew she knew. Still, she needed to keep him thinking she was dumber than she was.

  Ruslan gave her a look suggesting he realized her gimmick. “Olivia, you’re not working for who you think.”

  “Joseph and Margot are great,” Olivia responded.

  “Of course, Margot is an angel. Joseph might not be the man you thought. He’s dangerous, Olivia. It’s probably best for you to go back home as soon as you can,” Ruslan told her.

  “Why would I ever believe you over them? I’m not leaving Margot and I’m certainly not going to let you keep dragging Vera around this city alone,” Olivia responded. She felt responsible for the two and didn’t want to run away from a potentially dangerous situation leaving the two women closest to her in the hands of so many corrupt men.

  “I know I’ve given you no reason to trust me. But do you remember Peter? Joseph’s original partner?” Ruslan asked.

  “Yes. He slit his wrists last month. How could anyone forget that?” Olivia responded.

  “No, he didn’t. Someone else did, and only made it look like a suicide,” Ruslan replied.

  “Those are just crazy rumors. Why would anyone kill Peter?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, but that’s what I’m trying to figure out. And I think Joseph might have some of the answers. The other day, we just staged the robbery. We only took the jewelry and cash to make it look like a normal break-in. We were looking for something else,” he replied.

  “The black box,” Olivia responded.

  “Yes. Do you know what was in that black box?” Ruslan asked. Olivia shook her head no. “It was a knife. I think it was the one used to kill Peter. Joseph having it only makes me think that he had something to do with it.”

  “Joseph always collects strange things. Why would you think this particular knife was the one used to kill Peter?” she asked.

  “We looked into the details of the crime scene. Peter was found with a small razor, but the coroner’s report stated that the cuts on his wrists were inconsistent with ones caused by that small of a razor. A knife like the one we found was more likely to cause the fatal wounds on Peter. Joseph, or someone working for Joseph—they might be coming after me next. I have to do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Ruslan explained.

  “So why not go to the police? Why not just confront Joseph?” Olivia asked.

  “The police were already involved, and you know what happened. They said it was just a suicide. If Joseph did do this, if he’s capable of killing his best friend since college, I don’t know what else he could be capable of. If he didn’t do this, I can’t just blindly accuse him or else I risk losing another partner. I just need more time to figure out what’s going on. All I ask of you is to leave before it’s too late. You never know what could happen to you,” Ruslan said.

  “I’m not leaving. If I did, don’t you think that would look suspicious?”

  “Then all I ask is for you to stay quiet. The less involved you are the safer things will be. If Joseph knew we were talking to each other like this, that would put you in serious danger, Olivia,” Ruslan explained. Olivia felt her pocket start to vibrate. She pulled out her phone and saw that Vera was calling her.

  “We should get back,” Olivia said, giving Ruslan a reassuring look. She wasn’t going to believe him right away, but she also didn’t want to go running back to Joseph to tell him about the conversation she had. She was going to stay quiet and keep to herself, just as she usually did.

  ****

  After what felt like thirty minutes of pushing through people, Olivia, Pasha, and Ruslan finally found Vera and Nikolai ordering a round of shots at the bar. Olivia certainly needed a drink after the conversation she just had with the other two men. She might as well drink as much as she can, knowing that her alcohol was going on the owner’s tab. She threw back the shot with ease, realizing only once it hit her lips that it was tequila.

  Pasha emerged with a bottle of top shelf whiskey and motioned for the group to follow him. He led them to an upstairs balcony overlooking the crowd below. Olivia observed that they were in the VIP section, a smaller and quieter place away from the swarm downstairs, though there were still plenty of people surrounding them on that level.

  Olivia knew that Ruslan was wealthy, but she hadn’t realized how far his power went. She knew Moscow was big, but she felt like she was in the center of it all right there at that club. Pasha had found a few girls that were lingering in the VIP section to dance with, and Nikolai and Vera were snuggled on a couch, taking swigs from the bottle Pasha had before.

  “Livy! Livia!!!” Vera shouted at Olivia. She hated being called by anything other than her full name, and Vera knew this. She always seemed to forget. Olivia ignored her at first but then walked over. “Want one?” Vera held out her hand and revealed four pills to Olivia.

  Normally if offered a pill in a club, Olivia would be a little freaked out that it was ecstasy or molly. She knew her pharmaceuticals well, however, and saw that Vera only had a few generic Xanax pills. “I scored them from some guy by the bathroom,” Vera teased. Olivia wondered what Vera thought she had bought and hoped she didn’t pay too much for them. Still, she took one, Nikolai took one, and Vera took two. “Get ready to get wild!” she screamed, chugging from the bottle and dancing on the couch.

  Olivia knew the dosage was low too, so she hoped she would actually feel something. She felt a bit overwhelmed and still had a strange feeling after her discussion with the three men in the back room. She only kept getting more and more confused and wondered what the truth of the situation was. She had known Joseph for a couple
years now, and he did not seem like a killer. There was something about Ruslan’s deep brown eyes that made Olivia want to believe everything he had to say. She looked around and realized she didn’t know where he had gone. She walked over to the railing on the edge of the VIP balcony and saw Ruslan standing there looking down.

  He had taken off his suit jacket and tie at some point and was just wearing black pants and a white button-up. Olivia felt her stomach flutter seeing the way his sleeves were rolled up and unbuttoned slightly. She liked seeing him more relaxed.

  “I’m sorry if this isn’t your scene. I needed to talk to you somewhere private,” Ruslan told Olivia.

  “It’s fine. I’m sorry for slapping your hand.”

  “I deserved it,” Ruslan said smiling.

  When his face revealed that sweet smile and those dark eyes, Olivia felt something strange, and she knew it wasn’t the Xanax. She wanted to go back before the robbery and meet Ruslan on different terms, but she knew that would never happen. She wondered what Ruslan thought about her. Something pulled her towards him magnetically that she couldn’t describe. The tequila was pushing her towards him and she wondered what it might feel like to be wrapped up in his arms.

  “Guys what are you doing! Come dance!” Vera screamed obnoxiously at the two, grabbing Ruslan’s hand and pulling him towards the upstairs dance floor. Ruslan reached his hand out towards Olivia as he was being dragged away by Vera. She hesitated for a moment but eventually reached out and grabbed his hand back.

  When they made it to the dance floor, Olivia felt everything hit her at once. The stress of the past two days, the confusion brought on by the situation, and of course, the drugs and alcohol. The music pulsed through her body and she felt light and free. Vera came up and grabbed her hips, dancing with her close. Vera was certainly feeling everything too. She leaned in close to Olivia and screamed, though Olivia could still barely hear her.

  “Dance with Nikolai! I want to get with Ruslan!” Vera screamed at Olivia. Olivia had played this role before. Most men who saw Vera and knew who she was were interested in her immediately. This usually meant Vera had a wide selection of who she wanted to spend her night with. Sometimes men would take notice to Olivia too, but she would usually blow them off. This would leave her open to step in and distract a guy that got a little too handsy with Vera, so she could make her move on the man she actually wanted to be with.