by Zoey Parker
Her eyes clouded over, and she shifted away from me, though we were still touching. “You would have expected me to stay here, to do nothing, when I found out my mom was in the hospital?”
Way for her to kill the afterglow. “I would expect you to not leave without your bodyguard.”
“Ah, yes, my bodyguard. Because that’s normal.” She snorted and pulled away completely, disentangling her limbs from mine. Her back to me, she started to get dressed. Even her movements showed how upset she was, all jerky and forceful.
“Our agreement is so normal,” I tossed back. I thought about sitting up but opted not to. My bed was too comfortable, and maybe I would seem less threatening if I stayed reclined. I could be an intimidating man, but one person I didn’t want to intimidate was her. “You will be safe within these walls. That I can promise you. If you leave without a bodyguard, then I can’t guarantee your protection, but that would be on you, not me.”
“Right,” she muttered, shaking her head, her back still to me. “Should’ve known…”
“Should’ve known what?” I asked.
“Should’ve known you wouldn’t want me to know more about you than is absolutely necessary.” She finished dressing.
“Damn straight.” I crossed my arms, muscles flexing. “That’s not in the contract, and it’s not up for debate.”
Now dressed, she stood, turned around, and stared at me, her grimace tearing me apart. She inhaled deeply, and her face turned curiously blank. Kelly nodded. “Understood,” she said stiffly. Like a robot, she marched out the door and slammed it shut behind her.
Well, that hadn’t gone well at all, but I wasn’t about to tell her everything. It wasn’t her place to know every little thing about me, and the more she knew, the more danger she would be in. I couldn’t — and didn’t — blame her for wanting to visit her mother, but she needed to be smart about it.
In my world, only the smartest and the most cunning survived. I had every intention of being the smarter and more cunning of the two between myself and Mikhail Vasilev. Looked like I would have to be even more so if I also wanted to ensure Kelly survived, as well, despite her too-caring heart.
Damn it all. How had Vasilev found out about her already? And to threaten her after leaving the hospital from visiting her sick mother was especially cruel.
The sooner I have my revenge, the better for everyone’s sake.
Chapter 17
Kelly
What the hell? Andrei had been so kind and tender and almost loving when we had sex. It hadn’t been fucking this time. It had been so much more. And it had been just what I needed. It made me feel alive again after the taint of death that always seemed to hover over me with Mom. It made me forget about my grief and my guilt and my worry. It burned me with life, even gave me hope.
And afterward, I knew bringing up the guy might set Andrei off, but I had every right to know. I had been the one threatened. I was the one being tailed. And it was because of him. He was the reason why I was in danger. That the guy had approached me outside of the hospital my mom was currently getting treated at only made things that much more terrible for me. What if he went after my mom to get to me in order to get to Andrei? This was making my head spin. My chest ached. Fear and anger brewed inside of me, generated at myself, Andrei, the guy, and the guy’s boss — he had said we after all.
I shouldn’t have been blinded by the dollar signs, should’ve never agreed to this. I certainly shouldn’t have had sex with him again today when it had been more times than the contract stipulated. I had been desperate, and I would be just as desperate now if I backed out and had to repay him the money I had already spent, but was it worth it to stick around and fulfill my obligation? I should’ve done more research. I should’ve demanded more information up front. I should’ve done a hundred things differently.
How could he act like he had a right to keep me closed off from the details that were pertinent to the whole threat? He hadn’t acted surprised at all, only furious. But it hadn’t been unexpected. And that, in turn, only fueled my fury. What the hell kind of a twisted mess had Andrei ensnared me in? I had signed the contract, but he hadn’t disclosed all relevant details. Wouldn’t that be enough to get me out of the contract legally?
I should’ve walked away the moment I suspected he was a mob boss. That a mob boss was paying two million to have a baby should’ve been another red flag. He wanted a kid as soon as possible for some reason.
A reason that was becoming slightly clearer.
Because someone was after him. Someone was threatening him, too. And now they were threatening me to get to him. Too bad they didn’t realize I wasn’t a girlfriend. I was just a uterus. And since Andrei had this bull’s eye on his back, and now that there was one on me, for that matter, how could I possibly give a child to him? The child would be in danger from day one! And to grow up under the guidance of a mob boss…it would be irresponsible of me to give him a child.
I had made a huge mistake in signing that contract. But what the hell was I going to do about it? The last thing I wanted was to piss off a mob boss. If Andrei turned on me, what would happen then? I had no illusions that I meant anything to him, this last bit of mind-blowing sex notwithstanding. Sure, it had been more intimate, and he had given himself to me, but he didn’t care about me as a person. Maybe he couldn’t care about anyone period.
So I couldn’t back out. Or at least not yet. If only I could find another well-paying job before I got pregnant. But what there the chances of that? I had tried to find a second job before I got canned, and there hadn’t been any jobs available other than Andrei’s offer.
I was screwed. In more ways than one.
***
The next day, I waited until Andrei left and decided it was well past time to do some snooping in this huge house. I had seen a few of the rooms, but now I wanted to see the ones off limits to me, the ones the servants had turned me away from on more than one occasion when I had just been walking around the place, not even trying to be nosy.
Lucas, my bodyguard, was busy on the phone, so I ducked down the hall and around the corner out of his field of vision. I had a feeling Lucas was going to hear about it from Andrei, and I sure hoped he wasn’t fired over my leaving the house. I wasn’t a child. I didn’t need to be babysat. And if I wanted to leave the house, I was going to leave the house. This place wasn’t my prison. I’d always thought it strange that Andrei had Lucas assigned to me as my bodyguard. Well, now I knew why.
Damn. I had gotten so upset with Andrei that I hadn’t even managed to ask him about my mom and leaving in the future. Because if something came up again, I would not hesitate to leave again. If he wanted to keep me around as his surrogate, he would grant me the ability to come and go as I pleased. I signed the contract, but this was a partnership, and I was going to have some say whether he wanted me to or not.
If I had to bring Lucas next time, so be it, but I was going to go. Andrei wouldn’t stop me. No amount of money in the world would stop me from being there for my mom when she needed me the most.
Time for some digging. If Andrei wouldn’t talk to me about himself, I would just have to learn more through good old-fashioned detective work.
Some of the rooms I peeked into were boring and looked like studies or extra living rooms. Nothing worth exploring. A few rooms were locked, and that really had me intrigued. I had no idea where the keys might be, and I didn’t know how to pick a lock, so I had to pass them by, unfortunately.
The room next to Andrei’s bedroom was unlocked, which surprised me. Hadn’t one of the servants turned me away from it before when I had been looking for Andrei’s bedroom? It looked like another bedroom, but when I opened the wardrobe, there weren’t any clothes inside. It was full of nonperishables. What in the world? What was this for? A stockpile for emergencies? Feeling like a thief, I walked over to the closet and opened it. No supplies, at least not food supplies.
There were so many guns and bullets and other weapons that I
gasped. Andrei had quite an impressive collection — enough to start a war. Did the guy who threatened me belong to another mob? Had I gotten myself in the middle of a mob war?
“Kelly. There you are.” Lucas appeared in the doorway, arms crossed.
I jerked back and shut the closet, my heart pounding. It wasn’t that I was afraid Lucas would do anything to me. I trusted him, even if I wasn’t sure I could trust his boss.
“You shouldn’t be in here,” he said.
“Then why isn’t it locked?” I asked, mimicking his stance by crossing my arms.
He motioned for me to exit the room and go into the hallway.
I ignored him and stayed put. “Lucas, what’s going on?”
My bodyguard shook his head and shrugged. “It’s not my place to say.”
“Please?” I begged. “Andrei’s not exactly the talkative type.”
He said nothing, his gaze dropping to the floor.
Maybe making him uncomfortable would provoke a response out of him. And I knew the perfect way to make him uncomfortable.
“He doesn’t talk to me,” I explained with a slight grin. “He just moans.”
Lucas’s face turned bright red. “Yes, well…” he sputtered.
I pointed to the weapons. “What’s all this?”
His face twisted into one of compassion. “You really should know better. You’re too naïve.” He shook his head.
I glowered at him. “He sleeps next to an arsenal large enough to do some serious damage. How can he sleep at night?” I demanded.
“Some things are better not to think about,” was all he said.
“Doesn’t make it go away if you ignore it,” I muttered.
“Maybe not, but you should worry only about how you can sleep at night, not Andrei. Come on. I’ll escort you back to your room.”
I took one last look at the weapons before following Lucas out.
You should worry only about how you can sleep at night.
It was a small wonder that my sleep hadn’t been affected by more than just Andrei’s late night activities. What exactly was he capable of? His eyes, his face…he had looked almost murderous for just a split second when I mentioned the guy who accosted me. Would Andrei have that man killed? And the one who sent him? Somehow, I didn’t doubt that.
And the terrible thing was that in that moment, I wanted both men to die. They frightened me — the guy who threatened me and the faceless, nameless one who had sent him. If they were willing to go after me, they would be willing to go after the baby.
I really shouldn’t have signed that contract, but if I hadn’t, another woman would have. Andrei shouldn’t have had the contract in the first place. Not if his life, and by extension his unborn child’s and the baby’s mother’s, was in danger. He should have taken care of the threat first.
And if taking care of the threat first cost Andrei his life? What then?
That night, I didn’t sleep a bit.
Chapter 18
Andrei
Weeks passed, and Kelly was fantastic in bed, but something was different about her, and I didn’t have the time to worry about what was wrong. To my knowledge, she hadn’t left my house again, though I did notice she was calling her mother a lot more, as well as a woman I could only assume was Aleksey’s ex and her best friend. As long as she was here, she was safe, and that was what mattered. If she felt like a prisoner, I did feel badly about that, but her being safe was more important, and maybe one day she would realize that.
I did want to keep her safe. Not just because she might already be carrying my child. Kelly was a woman I wanted to get to know. She wasn’t like the other women I had been with before, who wanted to try to use me for my power and prestige and money. Sure, I was paying Kelly, but she hadn’t once asked for more money, and had even offered to pay for food. She had laughed at the look on my face. She had felt embarrassed that I had bought her clothes, but I told her she should leave her clothes at her house. I wanted her to feel secure in knowing she could return home to her items. It might help her to adjust to the knowledge that our agreement was temporary. Once she gave me an heir, she would go back to her life with another million dollars.
None of the other women would have offered to pay for food. They would’ve expected it. Some might have demanded designer clothes and jewelry and to get their hair done every other day. I honestly thought Kelly didn’t realize that some of the clothes I had bought her were top of the line, not that she wore clothes for long once I came into her room. She asked nothing of me and willingly gave me her body.
I wanted her to be safe, of course, but I did not want her to feel like I was preventing her from living her life. It was a fine line, and the only place I could guarantee her safety was within these walls. Surely she must realize that. Through Claire, the nurse I hired to watch Kelly’s mother, I knew the mother remained in the dark about Kelly’s job. Kelly was smart to keep her mother out of it, and while I was sure the thought of asking for her mother to stay here had crossed her mind — and I was sure I would tell her yes if she were to ask — I commended Kelly for keeping her mother away. Kelly didn’t know everything about me, especially not why I needed an heir so badly, and I didn’t want that to change, but she had to realize something wasn’t right. Better for her mother to not come here and possibly become a target, too. Yes, I would keep her mother safe here, just as I was keeping Kelly safe, but her mother was not going to become involved.
Just in case, I’d assign a bodyguard to them. He could pose as Claire’s chauffeur. Vasilev had already had a man move on Kelly. If he wanted to get to me through her or her mother, it would be better to be prepared than to be caught with my pants down and my cock buried deep in Kelly’s pussy.
I just hoped Kelly wouldn’t grow to resent me for keeping her here. If she did…well, it couldn’t be helped.
Like it or not, I had other pressing concerns to worry about, as well. In these weeks, I hadn’t been able to get any useful information on Mikhail Vasilev, and I was beyond pissed. The thought of him getting one up on me was enough to make my blood boil. I couldn’t handle the stress of it all. Vasilev had to have had a reason to wait until now to come back, but I had no idea what it was. For a decade after my parents died, I had lived under a different name, something that had always bothered me, but the men who had survived the attack on my father’s mob insisted, so Vasilev would not realize I had lived. When I turned eighteen, though, the decision to reclaim my birthright demanded I also reclaim my surname. But that had been fourteen years ago. What would make Vasilev wait so long to make a move against me? If I were honest with myself, it wasn’t until my early twenties that I relaxed. I thought for sure that if Vasilev were going to make a move, it would be sooner rather than later.
And maybe that had been the simple reason for Vasilev to appear now. He figured he would lie in wait, lull me into a false sense of security, and then make his move. After all, I hadn’t immediately learned about his return to my city. Someone had alerted me to his presence, and for all I knew, since the person hadn’t named themselves, that person could very well have been sent by Vasilev himself.
I had upped my security, hired more men, had eyes and ears on every street, especially his place of employment. I hadn’t gone over there to see him for myself. Didn’t think it would be wise to. I needed to keep a somewhat low profile, though I wouldn’t stop living my life and conducting business. I wouldn’t keep Kelly from her mother or her friends, just like I wasn’t going to keep myself from doing what needed to be done in my own life.
When Vasilev made his move, I would know. But he had to know that. Must have anticipated that I would seek him out and beef up my security. Every move I made, he could have anticipated. Like it or not, I couldn’t help feeling he had the upper hand.
So far, he hadn’t tipped his hand. He was waiting for something, but no way would he wait forever. I thought maybe he would move quickly after Kelly had been threatened, but that hadn’t been the
case. I was too uneasy to relax, though. I wouldn’t relax until my revenge was completed.
That afternoon, Aleksey finally showed up. His phone calls had been infrequent, mostly because there had not been much in terms of news for him to share, but also because I didn’t want him to risk blowing his cover. No news meant good news.
Apparently now he had news and I hoped it was good, given that he had just come straight here without a phone call first.
I brought him to one of my studies and closed the door behind us. “Well?”
“Got some intel for you. Fresh. From last night.” He gave a leering grin as he stared off in the distance.
“From the girl you seduced?” I deduced.
“Yeah. Mikhail’s youngest daughter. Jacquelyn.” Aleksey smiled viciously.
“And?” I was anxious, and I curled and uncurled my fingers. I hated feeling so on edge. I couldn’t relax. Maybe Kelly could give me a massage later.