by Mia Faith
I took a long bubble bath after Andrei left and then spent some time applying some lotions and creams I’d bought two days before on my shopping spree. I loved using fine, brand-name products. I loved sitting in front of a floor to ceiling window and looking out at the lights of Manhattan as I did it. After having a nightcap of a glass of very well-aged wine I climbed into bed and snuggled down into the soft mattress on top of the Egyptian cotton sheets that felt like heaven against my skin.
I was in Igor’s bed, hoping that he’d make it home sometime during the night. I have to admit that I loved sex with Andrei just as much, but I did hope he didn’t try anything when Igor wasn’t home. I just wouldn’t feel right about it and I’m not sure how Igor would feel about it. I think after our talk tonight I didn’t have to worry about that much. Andrei respected his brother too much to go behind his back. I was grateful to have Andrei to talk to. He was so easy-going and his moods didn’t seem to change with the arrival of a text message or a phone call the way Igor’s often do. I had an easy time having fabulous sex with Igor. It was like we were made to fit together in bed. But once the sex was over, talking to him didn’t come all that easily. I found his dark moods to be intimidating and scary but at the same time something about his dark side turned me on. Sometimes I wondered if something was wrong with me for feeling that way, but who’s to say what’s right and what’s wrong where sexual urges are concerned.
Just as I started to close my eyes and give into the sleep that was tugging at me, my phone rang. I reached over to the nightstand and smiled when I saw it was Igor. I was so happy to hear from him I answered it, “Hello there, my love.”
There was a pause and then he said, “Your love, really?”
I was suddenly embarrassed. “Um…I’m sorry. I just meant…”
“Are you in bed with my brother?”
“What? No, Andrei is not here.”
“Not at the apartment or not in my bed.”
“Neither. He left after dinner.”
“So you two had dinner together. What did you have for dessert?”
“Nothing. Igor, I don’t understand where is this coming from. Aren’t you the one that wanted to share me with your brother?”
“When and where I say.”
He was annoying me. How dare he suggest all of this and then presume to act like I’m doing something wrong? “I agreed to that already and Andrei must understand because he hasn’t tried anything.” Except for that one hot kiss this morning.
“Oh, but if he had you would have taken him up on it?”
“Igor I’m hanging up now.”
“You’ll hang up when I tell you!” I felt a tickle of fear in my belly as I pressed the red off button. He intimidated me and I suppose I have to admit that I feared he’d renege on the engagement if I pissed him off. I have no problem submitting to him while we’re having sex, but I’ll be damned if he’s going to boss me around like I’m a simple-minded fool that needed him to tell me what to do. I’m an intelligent, independent woman and if he couldn’t handle that then too fucking bad. I still had my degree and my brain to fall back on. I sat the phone down and got comfortable once more. Again as soon as I closed my eyes the phone rang. I thought about letting it go to voicemail but knowing Igor he wouldn’t let me off that easily. I picked it back up.
“Hello?”
“Did you really hang up on me?”
“I’m sorry Igor but first of all, you were treating me like I was some kind of whore and second of all like I was too stupid to figure out right from wrong. I know the thing with Andrei turns you on but I’m smart enough to know you wouldn’t want me sneaking around with him behind your back. I’m also capable of taking care of myself so don’t believe because I choose to be here with you that you own me.” I waited and expected him to be the one to hang up this time. When I heard the sound of his laughter I was shocked. I waited, quietly for him to finish. When he stopped laughing he said,
“Ivan truly found a gem in you, Jessica. I’m sorry for presuming things about you that aren’t true. In all honesty, I’ve never cared before but I find myself growing attached to you.”
“Good, because I find myself growing attached to you as well.”
“I won’t be home tonight but I will tomorrow night if I have to kill someone to get there,” he said. It was sweet and a little creepy at the same time. I got the feeling he meant it.
“I can’t wait to see you,” I told him. In spite of my misgivings about him, it was true.
“Spend the day shopping for something sexy tomorrow. We’ll make a night out of it.” I wasn’t going to argue with that.
********
I spent the day going in and out of swanky little boutiques in Manhattan. As soon as the people who worked there realized who I was engaged to I was treated like a visiting princess. They served me champagne and suddenly seemed to have a fleet of models willing to try on lingerie so that I could see what they looked like on a real body. I read a lot of books and watched a lot of movies about rich people and I still had no idea just how overwhelming and incredibly seductive it could all be.
I had lunch at a cute little place on Fifth Avenue called E.A.T. The bill for my simple vegetarian lunch was over a hundred dollars. In my former life, I would have had a heart attack on the spot. In this one, I simply gave them Igor’s credit card and thanked them for a wonderful meal as I left a generous tip.
After lunch I asked Matthew, the driver to take me to Macy’s. I wanted to visit the cosmetics counter before I headed home. It dawned on me that he’d been patiently waiting outside for me when I went into each shop all throughout the morning and afternoon. It was after three p.m. and I hadn’t seen him eat or drink a thing save a bottle of water he kept beside him on the seat. “Matthew why don’t you get some lunch while I’m inside. I’ll probably be a couple of hours.”
He looked conflicted. “Are you sure Miss? I wouldn’t want to be away when you were ready.”
“I’m positive. Why don’t you leave me your cell phone number and I’ll just call you when I’m ready.” I was thrilled to suddenly be rich, but I wasn’t going to forget what it was like to simply be a worker trying to get by. The man deserved a sit-down lunch.
“Well if you’re sure…”
I smiled at him. “Really, I would feel so much better if I knew you had a nice lunch.”
“Thank you, Miss.”
I handed him a hundred dollar bill and said, “Have lunch on me today too, Matthew.”
“Oh no Miss, I couldn’t…”
“Please. I feel funny accepting so much from my fiancé. I’d feel so much better about it if I could give back just a little.”
He smiled again and said, “I’ll have lunch and donate the rest to a good cause.”
“Great.” He waited to leave until I was inside the large building. I spent about an hour at the cosmetics and perfume counters before I was suddenly just exhausted and ready to go home. I was all the way outside before I remembered that I had sent Matthew to lunch. I was taking my phone out of my purse when I felt a hand go over my mouth. Everything happened so quickly after that that I had to doubt any of the people on the street would remember anything if asked. I was propelled forward and shoved into the back of a big car. The door was slammed behind me and the car surged forward out onto the street. I reached for the door handle and I was suddenly crushed by a pair of meaty arms. There was a tattoo of a fish on the arm and whoever it belonged to had a barrel chest that he was holding me back against. I tried to fight, but I could barely move enough to breathe.
“Who are you? What do you want? Take my purse. My ring! Take my ring. Please, just don’t hurt me.”
“I don’t want your purse or your ring Miss Johns.” The accent was distinctly Russian and I felt the heat of his voice against my ear.
“Who are you?”
“Not for you to know,” he said. I felt his grip on me loosen slightly and he said, “Are you going to behave?” I nodded and as soo
n as he let go of me I went to the door again. This time, when he grabbed me it was around my neck in a choke hold. The last thought I remember having before waking up tied to a chair in a cold warehouse hours later was that I hoped Igor wasn’t mad at Matthew for leaving me alone.
CHAPTER EIGHT
IGOR
“So how are things working out with Jessica?” Ivan was hovering and I wasn’t in the mood. I’d gotten word that Mikel Rapava was in town with quite a few of his men. I had the feeling the showdown for the retribution he was looking for was coming and fast. I was working on a plan to present when I met with my men this afternoon.
“Jessica is fine, things are working out well. Now, back to business Ivan! Did you find out where Rapava is staying?”
“Yes, the Gorbachev family took them in like I told you they would. How many times have I told you we needed to court them and have them on our side?”
I rolled my eyes. “You spend so much time patting yourself on the back for being right it’s a wonder you ever get anything done at all.”
“Mr. Usmanov?” Marie’s voice floated through the speaker.
“Yes, Marie?”
“I know you said to hold all calls sir, but this man says you will want to speak to him. He’s very insistent.”
With a sigh, I said, “Who is it, Marie?”
“Mikel Rapava sir.”
Fuck! “I’ll take it.” She put the call through and seconds later Mikel’s gravelly voice floated through my office.
“Good afternoon Igor. I assume Ivan is there up your ass as well. Hello, Ivan.” Ivan flinched visibly. If it were up to him I would have killed Mikel by now. I was doing my best not to start an all-out war but I felt like I was losing that battle fast.
“What is it you want Mikel? I’m busy running a business here.”
He laughed and said, “Too bad you weren’t home getting busy with that sexy little blonde American of yours.”
The hair stood up on the back of my neck. “What do you know about Jessica?”
“That she’s a little spitfire for one thing. We have her tied up securely and she was still trying to bite my men when they got close to her. I didn’t want to, but I had to have them tape that pretty mouth of hers.”
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I knew this son of a bitch was coming for me. I never thought it would be Jessica he’d take. I should have had the bodyguards on her. What the fuck was I thinking? I’ll never forgive myself if anything ever happens to her. Mikel Rapava just declared war. “Let her go,” I said in a low voice through clenched teeth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ivan on his cell phone. He’s a pain in my ass but good to have in my corner at times like these.
“I don’t think so. I mean, I don’t want to hurt her but every time I feel my soft spot taking over I remember my poor dead brother that didn’t even get to celebrate his eighteenth birthday.”
“You know that nobody wanted to kill that kid. He got in the way…”
“He’s dead, regardless.”
“And you killed three of my men. This stops here!”
“I say when it stops. You didn’t care about those men. They were soldiers. This pretty little thing, however…I saw how you looked at her at the gala.” Fuck! I hadn’t even known any of his men were there. Maybe this thing with Jessica has me off my game.
“What will it take for you to let her go?” I was going to try and bargain with him if it would save her life…and then I was going to kill him, maybe with my bare hands.
“The way I see it there are only two people in the world you care about enough to lose a night’s sleep over. This pretty blonde and…” Andrei walked in just then looking frantic. He must have been the one Ivan called. “Your brother the orphan. I’ll give you an hour to decide which one dies. I’ll be in touch.”
“You mother fucker!” He had already hung up. I ripped the phone off my desk and threw it at the wall. I looked up at my brother and said, “Call everyone together.”
“Already done,” he said. “But you and I both know he won’t stop until he has blood. When he calls back, tell him we’re ready to make the trade.”
“No!” Ivan and I both said it at the same time. “He won’t kill anyone I love. I will kill him first,” I said.
“Easy enough said,” Andrei said. “But he won’t be there to face you even if you find him. They’ll whisk him away to safety and we’ll have a mini-war with his men. Blood will be shed, maybe even Jessica’s and when the smoke settles, Rapava will be back. You know it’s true.” I ignored him and said,
“Ivan get in touch with Gorbachev and find out what it will take for him to tell us where to find this mother-fucker. Anything he wants, I don’t care what it is.”
“On it,” Ivan said. I looked back at Andrei and asked,
“When and where are the men meeting us?”
“At the safe house in ten minutes,” he said.
“Let’s go.” Andrei followed me down to the car he already had waiting. We were taken the four blocks to the mansion we owned. Nobody lived in it. It was used to train our soldiers and for times like this when strategy was called for. On the way there I saw Andrei take out his phone and look at it. He was reading a text. “Who is that?”
“Ivan,” he said. “He’s meeting with Gorbachev and he’ll be in touch soon.”
The car pulled up in front of the house and I stepped out first. Andrei stepped out behind me and as I walked toward the door I heard a click of a gun. “I don’t want to hurt you Davit. Give me the keys.”
“What the fuck are you doing Andrei?”
“Saving the woman my brother is going to spend the rest of his life with.”
“You stupid ass! Davit does not give him the keys.” Andrei shoved his gun into Davit’s temple. He was an old man and he’d been with our family a long time. I didn’t think Andrei would hurt him but judging from the look in my brother’s eyes that might be a false hope. “Fine Davit give them to him. Andrei if you get her killed…” It suddenly dawned on me that he knew where she was. The sneaky bastard. Davit handed him the keys and Andrei pushed the old man toward me and sped off. Before he was out of the driveway I was on the phone to Ivan. “What did you tell my brother?”
“I gave him the address of the warehouse Gorbachev gave me, why?” I Text it to me now!”
“What’s going on?”
“Old man if you want to live to see another day I’ll have a text on my phone in one second.”
I ended the call and the text from Ivan was there that quickly. I gathered my men and we headed to the warehouse that was down near the docks along the Hudson River. I wasn’t a praying man but I said a little one that both Jessica and my brother were both unharmed. Once this was over I was going to kick Andrei’s ass.
********
The drive to the warehouse seemed to take forever. When I got there I saw the car Andrei had commandeered but no other vehicles or people in sight. I had my men surround the place and as I was getting into position near the door my phone rang.
“Let them go Rapava!”
Laughter floated through the earpiece. “Silly boy. Your brother is very brave you know. You should be proud of him. Be sure to mention in his eulogy how he was willing to sacrifice himself for you and your woman.”
“Rapava if you hurt him this will be a war that you have to know you can’t win.”
“We’ve been at war for years Igor. I haven’t won…but I haven’t lost yet either. Here is your brother, say good-bye.”
I heard the sound of my brother’s voice just as the doors to the warehouse were pulled open. I saw Jessica being pushed out, bound and blindfolded. I yelled at my men to hold their fire just as gunshots rang out on both sides of the phone. I heard my brother take his last breath. I motioned at my men to get Jessica out of the way and I charged into the warehouse in time to see Rapava being ushered out the back. I took aim and fired. The men surrounding him continued to protect him while firing back. I felt the top of my thigh rip open just a
s my own men surrounded me. As I fell to the floor I saw Andrei. He was lying on his back with a bullet hole in the center of his forehead. I didn’t care who was watching me I cried out in agony for my brother. He wasn’t my blood but I loved him and now he was dead because of a mistake that I had made.
Rapava’s men were gone within minutes and other than my sobs the warehouse was silent. I allowed myself that moment of grief and then I looked up at the closest man to me and said, “Where is my fiancé?”
“I’ll find her sir.” Ivan was suddenly there and bent over me trying to stop the bleeding in my leg. I let him fuss over me like an old Russian mother. I didn’t care. I felt numb.
“Igor?” The sound of Jessica’s voice, thick with tears sent a small surge of hope through me. I looked over and saw my man escorting her in. As soon as she saw me she ran to me and dropped down to her knees. She wrapped her arms around me and started planting kisses all over my face. “Thank God you’re okay. Oh my God, I thought they were going to kill…” That was when she saw Andrei and started screaming.
CHAPTER NINE
JESSICA
I’m not sure how long I was tied up in that warehouse. The men holding me captive only spoke in Russian and after I’d tried to bite more than one of them, they’d covered my mouth with tape. I heard Igor’s name and Andrei’s more than once but other than that I had no idea what they were saying. One thing I was certain of was that they intended to kill me and I’d never been so frightened in all my life.