"Alright. Don't stay up too long. Good night."
"Night," Royal said, watching him close her door. She rolled her eyes when she heard his feet head down the corridor. "Liar," she mouthed as she closed her laptop.
In less than a half an evening, she had conceived a master plan to save the very man who would rather die than tell her truth, beat the woman who tried to screw him and seen a very attractive stranger naked. To say that she had experienced a full day was less than explanatory.
She was surprised that she was still sane and valium-free.
A small grin crossed her pierced lips. She was sort of proud of herself too. This was more excitement than she had had in her life for three years.
* * *
In the morning, at the crack of dawn, Royal felt Dmitry stir beside her. He looked up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head thinking for a while and then reached over to see if she was awake.
She kept her breathing calm, even when he whispered her name and sank his lips into her neck to kiss her. His breath sent tingles down her skin and his tongue electrified her. It was impossible for her to keep her moans to herself when his large hand ran over her body, but she always did that in her sleep. He was never the wiser.
"Are you sleeping so hard that you can't wake for me?" Dmitry asked, pulling up her gown. "I need you this morning. I need my Royal Flush." His fingers trailed down the side of her thighs up to her abdomen and cupped her breasts.
When she did not respond, he sighed heavily. "Please understand that the only reason that I'm doing this is for the family. It's not for me," he confessed as he kissed the back of her head. "If I don't protect you, who will?" His words were more for himself than her.
Royal held back tears and clenched her eyes closed. She did not move though she wanted to reach out to him and hold him tight. She felt his large body embrace her from behind. The heat from his skin was against her own. His rigid, concrete muscles wrapped around her, and she found herself even with her eyes closed completely lost. She bit her lip and buried her face in the pillow to keep the torture from getting to her.
How much more of this could she take?
"I love you," Dmitry said finally.
He pushed the comforter from his legs and got out of bed. In the darkness of the room, Royal watched his massive, naked frame disappear into the bathroom and close the door. She rolled over in the bed, in his spot, in his heat and sighed. His cologne lingered on his pillow. She inhaled him and felt her heart skip a beat. My Dmitry, she thought to herself, I love you, too.
* * *
When she was certain that Dmitry's helicopter had picked both himself and Anatoly up, Royal jumped out of bed and ran to the shower a little more than an hour later.
Where she normally took forever to get dolled up, she only took minutes to run through the water, brush her teeth and wash her face. With no makeup and no jewelry, she pulled on a pair of jeans, a turtleneck and gym shoes and headed downstairs.
"Momma said she was going to take me to Disneyland one day, Davyd," Anya said, eating her cereal at the kitchen table as she watched the Disney Channel.
"I'm sure she did. Don't talk with your mouth full, darling," Davyd admonished.
"She can take you, too," Anya added.
"I've already been," Davyd smiled at Anya and put his hand over her small mouth. "Now, no talking with your mouth full."
"Good morning," Royal said, entering the room with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Mommy," Anya greeted. "Morning,"
Davyd looked on curiously. "You don't… don't look like yourself this morning in the jeans and everything. You look, I don't know, like you're 17."
Royal smiled, taking his observation as a compliment. "Well, I'm going to really get the back room of the boutique clean today. So, I figured that I better dress down."
Davyd nodded. "Dmitry gave me direct orders that you were not to go near the boutique today."
"Dmitry should have been man enough to give his orders to me then," she said with her hand on her hips. "I'm going."
Davyd didn't say a word. He didn't have to. Royal knew that if it were up to him, she would not get out of the house today.
"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Royal asked, finally trying to calm her bear of a bodyguard.
"I've already had two cups this morning."
"Have another with me. I want to talk to you."
"Alright. Pour me another," he passed her his mug.
Royal took the cup with a polite smile and ran her hand through Anya's hair.
"Mommy, didn't you say that we could go to Disneyworld some day?" Anya asked.
"Someday, darling."
"Why not now?"
"Because papa and I don't go to the states," Royal said, pouring Davyd's cup of coffee. She turned with her back to both of them, opened the capsules and dumped them into his cup. She looked back and smiled to make sure no one was looking. They were not.
Why would they not trust me, Royal thought to herself.
"Anya, honey, are you finished eating?" Royal asked.
"Yes," Anya answered.
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, ma'am," Anya said with a smile.
"Well then run into the great room and sit there while I talk big talk with Davyd."
Anya got up and ran out with Davyd's eyes following her as she did. Royal quickly fixed the other cup of coffee with creamer and sugar and returned to the table.
She sat down across from him and put her hands on her cheeks.
"You watch that girl like a hawk," she observed.
"I have to watch both of you like hawk. You're both always up to something. Speaking of which, what are you so happy about today?" Davyd asked, sipping his coffee.
"I wouldn't say that I am so much happy as I am eager."
"About what?"
"I was hoping you could tell me what Dmitry and Anatoly are doing in Sochi." She fluttered her long lashes and gave a sarcastic grin.
Her charm didn't work.
"Why didn't you ask them?" David grunted.
"So they could lie to me," she smirked. "When I can ask you and get the truth, why bother?"
"I don't know what they're doing in Sochi," he said yawning.
"Has he returned to the Vory?" she asked seriously.
Davyd frowned. "No."
"I don't believe you."
"Then ask him."
Davyd said something in Russian under his breath and pulled at the collar of his polo. "Is it hot in here to you, or is it just me?"
"It's warm," Royal said, scooting away from her seat. She eyed him. Was it already working? "Lets go into the study, I want to show you something I found that made me think that Dmitry was going back," she said.
Davyd's pensive lips curved around his words. "Now listen to me, Royal, you know better than to snoop."
"I wasn't snooping," she said calmly. "Just… come with me. Goodness, you look peaked."
"I feel faint." He looked down at his empty coffee cup. "Did you put something in my cup?
"Don't be ridiculous. Who do I look like to you, Victoria?"
Davyd growled. "Sorry, dear. Were all on edge lately."
"That's okay. Here. Let me help you." Royal went and helped him up, guided him to the great room, over to his favorite recliner and sat him down.
Before she could go and get a towel to wipe his sweaty forehead, he had passed out.
Anya walked over to Davyd and pulled on his large fingers to wake him as he lay unconscious in the chair.
"Why is he sleeping again already?" Anya looked up at her mother with bright blue eyes. Royal thought of Ivan but worked past it.
"He's tired, honey. Now stay in here until Brigitte gets here. She's going to watch you until Mommy and Daddy get back."
"Where are you and Daddy going?"
She knew better than to tell her daughter the truth. Anya would just tell Davyd when he woke.
"Mommys going to town for the garden," she said cleverly.
"Can I go?"
"No. Stay here and watch Davyd."
"Okay."
Royal went to the DVD player, put on an animated movie and left her daughter on the couch.
By the time that she got to her study, she heard footsteps down the hall.
She peaked out quickly. It was Brigitte and Victoria. She opened the door and waved them in.
"Hurry," she ordered, looking down the hallway to make sure that no one had seen them. They ran into the office and closed the door behind them.
"Brigitte, when I've gone, run to the security room and get rid of the footage from this morning. Watch Anya and wait for us to call. If Dmitry calls, tell him that I'm on in the garden with the gardeners again and have plans to be on the land all day."
"Oui, Madame," Brigitte said, confused but willing to help.
"Victoria, how long will David be out?" Royal asked.
"It's hard to say, but it'll be a while," Victoria whispered.
Royal shook her head. "Briggy, when Davyd wakes up, tell him that he must have gotten sick. Wash the cups out in the kitchen; make sure there is no evidence. He won't call Dmitry until he's certain that he can't find me. Tell him that I was out in the garden and then I left and went into the town for flowers. I'm leaving my cell phone here. Tell him, I must have forgotten it."
"What if he… " Brigitte worried.
"Tell him you don't know anything else. He'll believe you. It's damned near true."
"Alright," Brigitte said with her hands clasped together. "Good Luck."
"Thanks. And thank you for your help. I couldn't do this without you. Victoria, wed better go, quickly," Royal said, taking a deep breath. "Lets pray that this works."
They grabbed the bags and headed towards the garage.
Chapter 20
Dmitry and Anatoly arrived in Sochi to a large entourage of their men, who already had been instructed to get Russia immediately. Over fifty men were strategically placed around the city, many of them at the airport. Even Anatoly had to take note of his fathers flawless execution.
Dmitry was all business today. He went over the plan twice with his son on the plane, sent his top guys to prepare their teams for the possibility of an ambush, had the lawyers on call and was strapped like a black ops solider under his perfectly cut suit.
After seeing that Dorian had not only been in Prague but had interaction with his wife, he had activated a team in Prague, Sochi, Memphis, and Moscow. They could not be too careful now. He knew Dorian well, and if there was one thing he was good at, it was the element of surprise. Only this time, he'd be ready for him.
In watching his father, Anatoly realized that he still had so much to learn from the real boss. With his father, they moved with finesse and accuracy from one location to the other on time and seamlessly, even with their large numbers.
Dmitry had explained to Anatoly earlier that there was nothing more dangerous than closing a deal, even in the most public of places. And with the kind of money that they were dealing with tonight, there would be a need for a small army.
"Load them into different cars," said Dmitry's bodyguard as he routed the men.
"See you at the hotel," Dmitry said to Anatoly as he loaded in the back of his car with his men.
"Alright, lets go," Anatoly said, following his bodyguards to his car.
* * *
Dorian sat at the dinner table with the only representative from the Spentznas that would actively participate in the deal. The older man seemed relaxed and at peace. He ate his lobster slowly, relishing in the taste and occasionally sipping his wine.
Dorian found it odd that he drank wine and ate lobster when their restaurant served the best Beluga caviar in the city. But it was of no consequence to him.
"I trust everything is on schedule," the man said, dapping his weathered, tanned mouth with the napkin.
"Yes, it is," Dorian answered without looking up to make eye contact with the man.
"And the Medlov's are still prepared to buy?"
Dorian smiled casually as looked up from his plate. Although he inwardly cringed at someone second guessing his ability to coordinate a buy, he played along. He knew the line of questioning was going somewhere.
"They will be here tonight at the masquerade ball. Well meet briefly in a side room, where we will go undetected after their person purchases the art at the art show across town," he answered.
"I did a little checking on the Medlov's and found out that you have had dealings with them before, at least on the occasion when Dmitry tried to kill you." The man raised his brow and put down his napkin.
"All water under the bridge."
"I have worked in Intel for 25 years. I've seen my country turn from a dictatorship to a democracy. I know that there is no such thing as water under the bridge."
"Well, lets just say that our past relationship won't interfere with the deal. You'll be on your way with your money before there is ever even a word uttered."
"Good. Well then, you'll have your final fee tonight, and my colleagues and I will be on our way to a pleasant retirement."
"I'll toast to that," Dorian said, raising his glass of water.
* * *
When Royal and Victoria arrived in Sochi, they headed directly to the hotel where Anatoly had reserved a room for Victoria to dress before the art show. Hidden in plain sight, Royal blended in to the thousands of people rushing through the city going back and forth to the Winter Olympic Games.
She was amazed at all the activity and had not seen so many people crowded in one central location in her life. It was exhilarating for her to move on her own, make her own decisions and most of all to be unescorted for once. There was no entourage, no men with guns, no limos and diamonds—just her with a backpack and a dress bag.
She smiled to herself as the people zoomed by her, brushing against her, ignoring her—not fearing her like they often did when they saw the Medlov clan parading through a city.
However, when they arrived, she saw that being a Medlov had its perks and not being with her husband had its drawbacks. Checking into the hotel was actually more complicated than she had first thought.
All the rooms were booked, her money wasn't good enough to bump anyone out and to announce that she was Dmitry Medlov's wife would send alarms off to all the wrong people.
"No big deal. You can just stay in my room," Victoria said, taking her key card from the hotel desk clerk.
"That's probably not smart," Royal sighed. "Anatoly will surely come to see you before you go."
"Why would he?"
Royal raised her brow. "You don't know the Medlov men very well, do you? Hell come up before he goes to make the deal and pick up where he left off. Probably a quickie. But one things for sure. Hell come to you."
Victoria hadn't thought of that.
"Well, what will you do?" she asked, looking around the elaborate lobby perplexed. "There's probably not a hotel in the city that isn't booked."
She looked at her watch. "I have four hours. I'll get across town, find a hovel somewhere that's not on the tourist grid, and I'll make my way back here by show time. Do you have your phone on?"
"Yeah, you got your throw away?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, well good luck. We probably won't see each other before this all goes down."
Royal felt compelled. She paused and then reached out and hugged her. "Thanks for helping me."
"Thanks for asking. Anatoly didn't give me a choice with the other part." She pushed Royal's long black ponytail from her shoulder and rubbed her arm. "Take care of yourself, Royal."
Royal shook her head. "You too." She adjusted her backpack and headed out of the hotel into the streets of the city to catch a cab.
* * *
Davyd saw flashes of light as he came to. His eyes fluttered, and he realized that he was sitting in the chair with his feet elevated in the great room. Anya sat on his lap watching television and doing his hair, which consisted of a lot mouss
e and colorful barrettes.
He cleared his voice and shifted her off his left leg that had gone to sleep. Patting her back, he beckoned her to move.
"Up, up, Anya," he growled.
As bolt of lightning stuck through him as he noticed that it was nightfall and felt the sweat on his back. How long had he been asleep?
He looked down at his watch and realized that it was a quarter past ten. Jumping up, he dashed out of the room, screaming for Stepan and Brigitte.
"Where is everyone? Stepan! Briggy!"
His old bones rattled as he moved as fast as he could.
Stepan came down the hall with guns on his side and four men following behind him. Davyd instantly recognized them. They were men from Dmitry's small army in Prague. If they had been activated, then something was wrong. He straightened his pants and wiped his sweaty face.
"Where is Royal?" he asked, knowing without being told that she was not there.
"That is what we have been trying to find out. Brigitte swears that she went into town. But you were unconscious, and we haven't seen her all day. Plus, she hasn't been to shop."
"Has Dmitry been notified?"
"Of course." Stepan clenched his jaw. He knew protocol.
"What did he say?"
"He said if she wasn't here then she was there. He's sent a team to comb the streets and look for her in Sochi."
Davyd hit the wall with his fist and felt for his guns. They had been taken. Probably by Royal. Stepan looked at him in his frustration and looked back at the men. "We took your guns. Didn't want Anya to shoot you in your sleep." They all smirked at the older man.
"Well give them back and give me a few men. Were headed to Sochi," he growled.
"Dmitry said you'd say that. He said that what is done can't be undone now. He wants everyone here with Anya, just in case. Call him if you like. He has got over a hundred men on the premises here in trees and out in the barn, throughout the house. You name it. Were on lockdown until whatever is happening happens."
"Well if that's the case, then send ten men into great room. Well sit with Anya until Dmitry arrives back to this house with Royal. Send man to the insides and outsides of every exit and tell them to take their safeties off." He started to walk off. "And give me my fucking guns back."
Dmitry's Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen Page 17