“Yes? I wasn’t drying off or anything.”
Viktor hears my sarcasm and raises an eyebrow, slowly scanning my body. He starts at the foot propped up on the side of the tub. He follows my calf to my thigh, pausing for a beat. He gazes between my thighs taking in a deep breath as he catalogs my pussy.
I watch, amused, as he licks his lips while looking at my breasts until he makes his way to my eyes. I shoot him a peeved look, raising my eyebrows and flaring my nostrils, all though I’m fairly entertained after that long glance he just gave me.
Vik grunts and says sternly, “Stop fooling around, Elaina. I’m here because we need to head to another one of my places.”
Snorting, I playfully reply, “Really? I was under the impression you were in here to stare at me. Surely you can’t be hungry for more already?”
He studies my eyes for a moment as he grits his teeth, then he practically growls, “You have no clue what my appetite can be like.” Viktor quickly scans my body again, “Get dressed and get to the Jag.” With that he turns, slamming the bathroom door behind him.
That went well. He’s normally so sweet to me and helpful all the time; this moody shit has my head spinning. I know he’s stressed out about everything going on, but this sucks. I feel like he wants to put me over his knee and spank me for being bad or something.
I pull my skirt and shirt on from before since I don’t have the luxury of a change of clothes here. I refuse to wear dirty underwear though, and Viktor got them soaked earlier. Hmm, where can I put these? I snatch a fluffy wash cloth to roll them up in and toss them into my ginormous purse.
I venture out of his office in search of the garage door from earlier. I know we pretty much just walked straight but his house is huge; like fit-ten-of-my-apartment–inside-his-house type huge. I should have asked him if he turned that alarm thing off. Ugh! Where is that man?
I glance into a sitting area as I walk down the hall, another bathroom and what looks to be the entry to the kitchen, but no Viktor. Stubborn man will just have to get over his temper tantrum if I trip the alarm. At least I’ll know where he is if I do.
After the lengthy hallway I end up at the giant metal door we came in from. I make it through and thankfully there are no lights or sirens and no metal blinds coming down over everything. I release my pent up breath that I hadn’t realized I had been holding since I walked in the door, and head toward Viktor’s beautiful Jaguar.
I lightly graze my fingertips along the smooth lines. I wonder if he would let me drive this bad boy. I know she’s a whole lot faster than my little white Camaro. I love my car but come on, this is a Jaguar! Surely he won’t have it unlocked, being Mr. Security. Screw it, if the alarm goes off, oh well. I seem to be a little risk taker today anyhow.
I lightly pull the door handle and sure enough it comes open silently and smoothly. I slide right in. I’m already this far, so I’m going to sit here and soak up the brilliant feel of the leather and imagine myself making this beauty jet down the highway.
I feel something cold press against my temple and my lungs seize up immediately. Oh my gawd.
“Click-Clack, bitch. Guess who’s going to be bleeding now?”
No. Fucking. Way. I know that voice. I don’t know if I can speak though as my stomach churns crazily. Bile starts to climb my esophagus and I clench my throat closed tightly. I’m pretty sure I just want to puke all over everything. I’ve never had a gun held to my head and I’m not sure what the fuck to do. This bitch is just plain stupid.
“Kendall, are you crazy? This is Viktor’s house! When he finds you, he will slaughter you!” I wheeze, breathing deeply to try to keep from expelling my stomach contents all over Viktor’s butter-smooth interior. “How on earth did you even get in here?”
Kendall laughs shrilly and I clench my eyes closed at the noise. “You dumb piece of filth. You really think I would come alone? I’m not stupid. You thought you could humiliate me in that club? I don’t think so, bitch. Viktor is supposed to be mine. He doesn’t need to be wasting time on you!”
“If Viktor sees you in here doing this then any chance you think you may have had of having him, will be gone. Think about this for a minute.”
Kendall shoves the gun against my temple harshly and I wince.
“Shut up!” she screeches in her nasally voice.
There’s a loud crash to the side of us. Kendall turns to watch Alexei tackle her man and I use the distraction to try to get the gun away. I will probably end up being shot regardless, but it’s better than point blank range in the side of the head.
I grip onto her wrists tightly, growling and thrusting her arms away from me. Kendall fights back, desperately trying to aim the gun at me. I struggle, screaming at her angrily, fighting for my life.
She shrilly yells, “Let go, you cunt!”
“No way, you psycho! Give it to me!” I scream, leaning over to bite a chunk out of her boney little arm. I move her arms back and forth as much as I can, attempting to free the weapon from her.
Suddenly I’m hit with a blinding pain on the side of my head; it momentarily dazes me and I lose focus of what I’m doing. I release my teeth and let go of her arms, trying to blink and shake away the pain. Ouch.
I feel like I’ve been hit with a Mack truck, and I realize I’d let go of the gun. Turning rapidly I see the gun pointed at me for a split second. I gasp in a deep breath and close my eyes. This is it, I’m dead. I wait for a beat then hear Kendall scream savagely.
I open my eyes and see the back door open, with Viktor bent inside the car. Viktor has Kendall in a tight choke hold with one arm and has his other arm pointing her hand with the gun toward the ceiling.
I swear it’s like a rush of adrenaline hits me as I leap through the two front seats. I grab her tit in one hand and squeeze as hard as I can. She starts stomping her feet and I get kneed in the face as I lean over to take a large bite of her exposed thigh.
Kendall wails and lets go of the gun, flailing her arms crazily. My hair is ripped upward for a second before she is dragged out of the vehicle. Alexei is there waiting and grabs Kendall forcefully from behind.
She glares spitefully at me. “You stupid bitch! I will kill you, I promise you that. And if I don’t, then my daddy will kill all of you!” Alexei yanks her arms back even further and I swear they could pop out at any time. He mutters something in her ear and she shakes her head angrily.
Suddenly a hand pops in front of me. Blinking rapidly, following it, I meet Viktor’s worried gaze. I grab it tightly and let him pull me out of his beautiful, mistreated car.
“Princess?” he inquires quietly.
I shake my head. “No, you got here in time. I’m alright.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, I’m okay.” I nod and attempt to fix my screwed up clothes. It looks like I just took a roll through some prickly bushes. I can only imagine what my hair looks like after that spaz got ahold of it.
Viktor takes a step back and in doing so, reveals the man Kendall had brought with her. Only now, the guy is on the floor. He’s perched on his knees, badly beaten and in handcuffs.
“You realize, Kendall, that I get retribution now, right? I know you have heard the stories, probably from your own father about me. Is that why you’ve become so infatuated with me?”
She adopts her naïve, innocent expression and attempts to appear coy with him. “Retribution for what, Viktor? Daddy said we were meant for each other, so I was only taking care of this pest for you.”
Viktor’s eyes widen. “Meant for each other? That’s positively ludicrous. You don’t have a chance; you’re not even on my radar, Kendall.” He turns toward her man and raises Kendall’s gun—“You took a very close guard from me”—and shoots her guard right center in his forehead.
The guard drops to the ground and I swallow forcefully. Kendall starts laughing like a hyena and looks at me happily. She really is insane.
She nods to me, grinning. “Look at her, Viktor! She can
’t even handle a kill! I’m not worried about it, he was just a guard. I will easily get another.”
Viktor glares at her as if he wants to kill her. “Consider this is your only warning. Tell your father that next time I will not hesitate to kill you.” Viktor nods to Alexei and he starts to drag her toward the door, she giggles as he does and it shoots chills down my body.
That chick is a complete Looney Tunes. I’m now sure that she wouldn’t have hesitated to shoot me. She gave off that impression when we were fighting in the car, but one can always hope that the other person is not as bad as they appear. I don’t know how Viktor does it. He looked completely blank when he pulled that trigger. I know he said he ran the Bratva, but it feels like that title is really hitting me full force right now. I like to think he would never hurt me like that, but he looked completely zoned out. It didn’t affect him at all to pull that trigger. I may be on the tougher side, but I could never kill anyone like that. What on earth have I gotten myself into?
I notice the guard’s blood and cough, rushing to the side of the vehicle. I regurgitate everything left in my stomach all over Viktor’s shiny grey, speckled garage floor. After blowing chunks for a few minutes I feel a hand on my back.
I can’t help but cringe away. I can’t be touched right now, especially by a hand that brought someone pain. The guy was bad, here to hurt me, but it still screws with my head.
Viktor murmurs and it brings tears to my eyes. “Moy lyooBOF, paZHAALoosta?” (My love, please)
I have no clue what it means, but the Russian sounds so beautiful, it flows out of his mouth like water flows down a stream. Hiccupping, I take in his features. Even after committing murder, he’s beautiful. His hazel eyes stare longingly at me, worried and sad. Why? I have no idea, but I’m curious.
“What, Viktor?” I tremble and the first tear makes its way down my flushed cheeks.
He reaches his hand toward me slowly, cautiously, gazing at me fearfully. “Please, don’t fear me, Elaina,” he replies softly.
Nodding, I reach out and accept his hand. I know I should be more cautious, but he promised long ago to never hurt me. Viktor promised my sister and Tate, I know this, Emily told me. I have to trust that, right? My gut tells me he will protect me and to go to him. My gut usually tells the truth, I’m not sure yet about my heart, and lord knows my mind is torn on what to do.
He pulls me toward him. I hop over the puke and let him clutch me tightly to his chest. He whispers something into my hair but I can’t hear him over my sobs. It’s surreal, like I have no idea I’m even crying this hard. I didn’t pull the trigger, so why is it affecting me so strongly?
“Shhh, shhhh, it’s okay, Princess. Calm down, it’s over with now,” he says as he delicately pets my hair. It’s soothing and after a few moments, I’m able to slow the flow of tears and catch my breath. I hate being a mess and not being able to pull myself together right away. I’m usually pretty decent at hiding my emotions. I guess murder is my breaking point. God. Murder.
We’re all going to go to jail now. Fuck. I can’t believe this, I wonder if the cops are on their way right now. Did anyone hear that gun shot? The neighbors aren’t that close, but still the garage had to have echoed. Damn, I wish I could hear if there are sirens coming. What can I do? Run? Yeah right.
No, this is Viktor, he said he cleans stuff up and takes care of things. The way he looked, surely he knows what to do. He’ll know how to clean this up and, knowing his stubbornness, he will take care of everything. I need to chill out and see if he will tell me his plan.
“What’s going to happen?” I ask foggily, gazing past him to the ceiling. I can’t focus on him right now, I’m scared what I may find in his eyes if I look at them right now.
“Lovely, this is Bratva business. I will fix it and keep you safe.” I blink, cataloging his scruffy jaw while he speaks then stare off solemnly for a few moments. Right, this is his business.
“I just don’t know what to think right now,” I utter and he nods understandingly at me.
“I know, and we will discuss it more later. For now we need to get into the car. Alexei and Spartak are coming with us. My house has obviously been compromised. I had the alarm off for ten minutes and that loophole was utilized by my enemies. I will not take any more chances with your safety. I would never forgive myself if anything were to happen to you,” he says kindly and helps me back into his Jaguar.
The guys load up and next thing I know we are driving along through hills full of trees. I have no clue how long we drive, but it feels like I stare out of the window for hours.
Chapter 8
I must have fallen asleep during the ride, because I awake drowsy and confused. I take in my strange surroundings. We’re parked in front of a beautiful little log cabin, and it appears to be surrounded by forest.
There’s a small private gravel drive that ends in front of the charming little porch. It has four steps leading up to the door and a hanging bench swing off to the side. I bet it would be amazing to sit out here on the swing in the morning, sipping a sweet coffee or hot chocolate.
It feels like we are enclosed into our own little bubble. The trees and bushes make a natural curtain around us. There’s a detached garage or shop building off to the side, and a little toward the back of the cabin, all along the side is lined with rows upon rows of chopped wood.
“Miss Elaina?” I’m brought out of my thoughts by Spartak.
“Yes, Spartak? Where are we?”
“Come inside please, ma’am. The boss had me wait out here until you awoke, but wants you inside as soon as possible.”
“He made you wait for me? That’s crazy! Where are we exactly?”
“We are at Mr. Masterson’s cabin.”
“You don’t say? Clearly I can see we’re at his cabin! I meant as in here here. Where are we? Are we even in Tennessee still?” I ask dramatically and he blushes a little.
“Oh. Yes. We are just in the mountains, didn’t leave the state or anything. You actually weren’t asleep for that long.”
“Hmm, it feels like it. I thought we drove for forever.” I slide across the leather seat and make my way out of the car.
Poor guy has been stuck on babysitting duty for me again. Ugh, my neck is stiff and my jaw is sore. It must be from Kendall. I have no idea what to do about her and I don’t want to even think about it right now. I need to find Viktor and figure out what he plans on us doing.
I glance over at Spartak as I make my way to the porch stairs. “Say, Spartak?”
“Yes, ma’am?” He looks over at me curiously and follows me up the stairs.
“Where is Viktor anyhow?”
“He’s inside handling business.”
I step to the side for Spartak to enter first. “What is his business, anyhow?”
“He has a storage business.”
“Sure, if that’s what you call it.”
He smirks a little at me then shakes his head, locking the thick wood door securely behind me.
The inside of the cabin is just as fairytalesque as the outside. I wouldn’t have believed in a thousand years this was Viktor’s had I not driven here with him. His house seemed very plain and sterile; whereas here it’s quaint and homey feeling.
There’s a giant fireplace as the focal point with a large square rug in front of it. The tan couches look more worn than new, but the kind of worn where you know they are really comfortable. A few wooden side tables with lamps and coasters resting on them are placed conveniently around the couches. There are family photos all along the decorative mantle, many of Viktor and Tate. They seem to be so different, yet so alike at the same time.
The living area is open and leads into a cozy kitchen. The kitchen is decorated in a wine theme, with matching pictures and hand towels to coordinate. I can’t make out much more besides a wooden staircase and a hallway. I’m guessing the bedrooms are upstairs.
“Does he come here a lot?” I gesture around the living room, taking in all the sm
all details.
“When he gets some time off he does, especially in the summer. This is Mishka’s favorite place.”
“Oh! That’s his gran, right? I think that’s the name Emily had told me was hers.”
“Yep, she comes sometimes and will cook for us, good Russian meals. I haven’t eaten like that since I was last in Russia with my family.”
“Wow, Russia! When were you in Russia last?” I hear Viktor on the phone as he comes closer to the living room, he tells whomever he’s speaking to that they need to hold on for just a second.
“Elaina, that’s enough. Spartak, go do a perimeter check,” Viktor barks and I scowl at him in return.
“We were having a conversation,” I bite back and Spar looks like a deer trapped in headlights. I see his Adam’s apple bob quickly as he gulps and rushes toward the door. I don’t know what that was all about but whatever. He may boss Spartak around all the time, but he’s lost his marbles if he thinks I’m okay with him talking to me that way.
“Yes, I will get back to you,” Viktor says in a monotone voice to the caller and hits end, pocketing the cell phone.
He looks at me, amused, then steps closer, adopting the look of a hunter stalking his prey. He circles around me and I stand stock still, waiting for the yelling or anger to come. Whatever I did, Spartak sure was quick to bolt. Thanks, friend. If it ever comes down to it, I guess I know who my allies are.
I feel warm breath close to my ear, caressing my skin, giving me goose bumps, and my stomach flip flops crazily. I draw in a deep silent gasp of air, holding it, trying to be as still as possible. I don’t have a clue why I’m still trying to not move, but it just seems like the right thing to do. Like when you’re faced with a powerful beast and you’re told to stand still so as to not provoke it. This man makes my body go wild for him, stirring up emotions and feelings I’ve never encountered before.
In a raspy rumble close to my ear he says, “You don’t need to be nosing in his business. You are here for me, not him.” He licks up the outer shell of my ear and I squeak slightly, licking my lips in return. It’s like a conditioned response, picturing him licking me in other places.
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