“Listen,” he said. “I’m not sure about the floor.”
“Oh, good,” I said, picking my coffee back up again. “Why don’t you just go back to the hotel? I’ve got it here. I don’t need you around.”
“That wasn’t what I was going to say,” he said.
I rolled my eyes.
“I was thinking about having someone pick up an air mattress.”
“Okay,” I said. “Tell them to bring cream and sugar while they’re at it.”
He dug out his phone, but before he started to dial, he hesitated. “I’m not sure about us being in the same room.”
“Why not?” I said. “We both want to hear it if Nikolai does something, right?” Although I had to admit that I would be glad of the privacy. “Admittedly, it’s more important if I hear it—”
“No, it’s not,” he said. “This is my job here. I’m running this sting. So, it’s more important for me to hear.”
“I’m not sleeping in a different room,” I said. “I’m sleeping here. With the computers.” And then I realized that sounded vaguely dirty and deviant, and I blushed again. I was setting the world record for blushing this morning.
He sighed. “It’s only that… when you’re in here with me, I…”
“You what?” I set my coffee down again, waiting.
He looked back at his phone. “Never mind.” He dialed.
The rest of the day passed in complete and utter monotony. Nothing was happening in Nikolai’s office at all.
He had two phone conversations with people about shipments to the docks, nothing that would help us.
And then he left for a three-hour lunch.
During that time, Danger and I ate more cereal. I was already sick of cereal, and it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours.
Ambrose and Cass showed up with an air mattress. It had a little foot pump, but the two guys insisted on making a big production of pumping it up. But then, after it was all inflated, it was taking up half of the room, and it was a pain to walk around it. So, they propped it up against the wall.
Cass brought us some sugar and amaretto-flavored coffee creamer. She also brought an assortment of ramen noodles. The kind in a cup that you could microwave. I looked through them. They were barely more appetizing than cereal. At least they’d be hot. I told her thank you, of course. I was stuck here, and having ramen was better than nothing.
After a while, though, Ambrose and Cass left, and it was just Demetrius and me again.
Nikolai eventually came back to the office.
I began playing solitaire on one of the computers. I don’t know what Demetrius did, but I didn’t really care. That went on for quite a long time. It was starting to get to be late afternoon, and the sun was hanging heavy in the fall sky.
I yawned and double-clicked on the Queen of Hearts.
“Somebody just came into Nikolai’s office,” said Demetrius.
I sat up straight. “Who is it?”
“It’s…” He nodded. “Yeah, it’s Popov.”
Over the speakers, Nikolai was speaking, but I couldn’t make it out.
I turned the volume way up, and his voice filled the room.
He was speaking Russian.
My heart sank. “Fuck, why didn’t we think of this?”
Danger raised his gaze to the ceiling but didn’t say anything.
Popov responded to Nikolai, also in Russian.
The two men kept talking, speaking rapidly in their native language.
“You’re recording this, right?” said Demetrius.
“I’m recording everything,” I said.
“Well, this part, we’ll find someone to translate it,” he said. “Maybe, um, maybe what’s-his-face?”
“Hawk?” I said, naming another of the hitmen who worked at our organization. He was of Russian descent. “I don’t think he speaks Russian.”
“Sure he does.”
“Do you speak Italian?” I said, raising my eyebrows.
He pressed his lips together. “Okay, point, but I do know a little bit. And my family has been in this country for generations.”
“So has his,” I said.
He sighed. “Whatever. The point is, someone will be able to—”
“Shh,” I said.
They had switched to English.
“I like that one very much,” said Nikolai. “She is fiesty, that one.”
Popov laughed. “Da, feisty.”
“I like it when they try to fight,” said Nikolai. “I like to watch them break.”
I flinched.
“You break them well,” said Popov, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “You show them who is the boss.”
“Yes,” said Nikolai. “You will bring her to me.”
“Of course.”
I wanted to switch it off, but I couldn’t. I felt sick inside, thinking of what that meant Nikolai was going to do to some innocent girl.
“Good,” said Nikolai, and then said something else in Russian.
The two men went over to the door.
Popov left, laughing at something Nikolai had said.
Nikolai chuckled too, shutting the door in his wake.
Danger got up out of his chair and started to pace. “Who could translate?”
“We need to do this faster,” I said, staring at the screen.
He stopped pacing. “Faster? I don’t even know who to call.”
“I don’t mean the translating. I mean the whole job. We have to get those girls out. Nikolai is going to torture some poor girl, probably this evening, and we’re not doing anything about it at all.”
“We’re doing what we can,” he said. “Anyway, that’s the whole reason I don’t want you alone here, you understand? These are the kinds of men we’re dealing with. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
I didn’t say anything, probably because I’d been putting myself in the place of that girl that Nikolai was talking about and so I was still feeling vulnerable and frightened. I turned back to my computers. I guessed that if anything happened, having Demetrius around did make me safer. “Well, thank you,” I said in a quiet voice.
“What was that?” he said. “Did you just—”
“Shut up,” I said, whirling and pointing at him. “If you think I’m going to repeat it, you’re insane.”
He smiled.
I smiled back.
Then he looked back at his phone. “Translators. There’s got to be someone.”
* * *
Demetrius
Eighteen phone calls later, I had finally found someone trustworthy to translate the Russian. Kiera was in the middle of sending them the audio files right now.
I was sorting through various flavors of ramen noodles that Cass had brought by. None of them looked vaguely appetizing. Not to mention that there wasn’t enough in one of these little cups to sustain me. All I’d eaten today was cereal, and I needed something substantial. I needed some protein, something to stick to my stomach. I didn’t overeat or anything, but I had a healthy appetite. All day, I’d felt like I was starving.
It didn’t help that I was also watching Kiera all day, wanting her.
I felt hungry and horny, and it wasn’t easy to deal with.
I knew that I couldn’t have Kiera, but I felt that I at least should have some food. Real fucking food.
So, I went back into the room where she was hunched over her computer. “You done sending the files?”
“They’re uploading,” she said. “I’ve got a crappy Internet connection, and it’s taking time. It’ll probably be another five minutes.”
“I think we should order food. Pizza’s probably the best bet.”
“Nikolai ordered pizza last night. I don’t think I want to eat pizza.”
“Oh, come on. You’re going to let Nikolai turn you off on pizza for the rest of your life?” I said.
“Not the rest of my life,” she said. “But for tonight maybe. I mean, we just heard him talki
ng about how he likes to torture women. That really didn’t give me much of an appetite.”
“Then you won’t care,” I said, “since you’re not hungry.” It was strange, because she and I had a moment where we understood each other, not more than a couple hours ago. And now, all that seemed to be ebbing away, because she was annoyed with me. I was beginning to think that she simply picked fights with me to have something to fight about.
“I never said I wasn’t hungry.” She glared at me. “I think it’s a good idea to order out. That ramen in there is not going to cut it. But let’s order something else. Like Chinese.”
I shook my head. “I need more than fucking rice, okay?”
“What’s wrong with rice?”
“Whenever I get Chinese, I’m hungry an hour later,” I said. “I want some cheese. I want some sausage. I’m thinking sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms and peppers.”
“Eew,” she said.
“Seriously?” I said. “You’re just arguing with me as a kneejerk reaction, aren’t you? You can’t actually disagree with everything I think.”
“Well, what would you care if I was? You don’t care about my opinion. You always just barge in and do it your way. For instance, I don’t want you here at all, and yet here you are. You told me the way it was going to be, and what I thought didn’t matter.”
“This is pizza, Kiera.”
“Yeah, this is pizza,” she said. “And I told you I wanted Chinese.” She got up out of her chair and stared me down.
“Don’t be a child.”
“Stop saying that about me.” She clenched her hands into fists.
I looked over her body. Yeah, she wasn’t a child. “Listen to me, you and I have got to figure out what it is that makes it so hard for us to work together.”
“We don’t have to work together,” she said. “You’re the one who insists on being everywhere that I am all the time.”
“That’s because I’m worried about your safety.”
“That’s because you’re a big, controlling asshole.”
“Asshole?” I shook my head. “You get insulted because I call you a child, but then you call me—”
“Well, you are,” she said. “And go ahead and get whatever you want on the pizza. Don’t consult me. Because that’s how you are. You’re this big, lumbering oaf who just does whatever he wants.”
“It’s not my fault that I’m bigger than other people.”
“Oh, right. You were born with those muscles. You don’t lift weights or anything.”
“I prefer strength training to cardio,” I snapped. “And I don’t do it to intimidate people.”
“Yes, you do. You like being in charge. You like being in control. You like it when people are scared of you.”
I thought of my fantasy, of her wide eyes, of her squirming little body in my grasp, and my jaw twitched. “No, I do not,” I said, but my voice wasn’t strong.
She lifted her chin, triumphant. She knew she’d scored a point somehow.
“People aren’t afraid of me,” I said. “You’re not afraid.”
“No, that’s because I know I can take care of myself.”
“That’s because you’re stupid,” I said through clenched teeth. I thought about taking her by the shoulders and shaking her.
It was her turn to flinch. “Stop saying that. Stop calling me stupid.”
“I’m sorry,” I said in a nasty voice. “I’m hungry, and I’m not in a good mood. Maybe you should stop testing me, or I’ll give you a reason to be afraid of me.” I advanced on her.
She stood her ground. “You are not in charge of me.”
“I’m the one running this sting.” I pointed at my chest. “And if I want pepperoni, I’m going to damned well get it.”
“Oh, that is so like you.” She pushed past me and stalked out in a huff.
I watched her go.
Man. Screw her.
I got out the phone and dialed the pizza place.
My fingers were not shaking. Not at all.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kiera
The pizza smelled really good.
I tried pretty hard to stand my ground and refuse to eat it, but my stomach was growling, and it smelled awesome.
So, I slunk over to where he was sprawled out on the floor next to the box, opened it up, and took out a slice.
He raised his eyebrows at me.
I took a bite.
“You don’t have to eat that if you don’t want,” he said. “I can call the Chinese place. Order you something.”
“It’ll take forever,” I said. “This is fine.” It was actually really good. It was really greasy, which was a thing that I pretended to hate but secretly adored.
When I was in high school, I remembered that one of my friends had taken out a napkin and soaked the grease up off her pizza slice, all the while going on about how disgusting it was. I had felt as if I had to follow suit. But I liked the grease. Anyway, I usually never got pepperoni on my pizza anymore. I just couldn’t justify it.
Biting into it now… it was crispy, spicy bliss. I chewed slowly, my eyes closed, savoring the flavor that burst into my mouth.
“Fine, huh?” said Demetrius. He sounded amused.
My eyes popped open. “Yeah. Fine. It’ll do. It’s not what I wanted, but—”
“You just looked like you were having a pizza orgasm.” He laughed.
“I was not...” I looked up at him. I started laughing too. “Okay, okay, it’s a little bit better than fine. It’s delicious.”
He snagged himself another piece. “Yeah, you were in your own little world there.”
“I just don’t usually let myself have pepperoni, that’s all.” I took another bite and chewed.
“Why not?”
I swallowed. “Just fattening is all. I mean, you’ve got all those carbs on the crust, and then the really fatty cheese. You don’t need to add greasy meat on top of everything.”
He folded the last bit of his slice over the crust. “You’re one of those kinds of girls, then.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. You’re all repressed when it comes to eating.”
“I’m not repressed. You watch me eat every day at lunch.”
“I bet you wish you ordered the whole sandwich instead of just half.” He grinned and took a bite. Chewed.
“I don’t. I wish I ordered the salad.”
He laughed. “You should eat more pizza.”
“I don’t want to get fat. If you eat too much—”
“Just exercise it off, then,” he said.
“Oh, right,” I said. “That’s just like a man to say. You know, you don’t understand that there’s a fundamental difference between male and female anatomy. Women’s bodies hold onto more fat than men’s, because of needing to be prepared to nourish babies. And so, sure, you can just get away with lifting weights and eating whatever you want, but I can’t do that. And I hate exercising.”
His gaze slid over my body. “Maybe there’s a different reason that women hold onto more fat. Maybe it’s evolutionary. Maybe the women with bigger asses attracted more mates and thus passed down their genes.”
“Oh, that’s bullshit.”
He shrugged. “I don’t think so. I don’t think women are really trying to make themselves attractive to men. I think they’re just competing with other women. It’s some kind of weird hierarchy with the skinny bitches on top or something.”
“So, you’re attracted to fat chicks?” I did not believe this for a second.
“No.” He popped the last bite of the slice in his mouth and reached for another. “I don’t like it when women are enormous and when they gain so much weight they lose their figure. I’m not attracted to people who look like Jabba the Hut.”
I contemplated the pizza box. I really shouldn’t eat another slice, but it had been so good… I took one. I took another bite. Oh, man. Pepperoni was amazing.
He laughed again
. “You’ve got that look again. The pizza-orgasm look.”
“It’s not sexual,” I muttered. “It’s just good.”
He hesitated for a minute. Then, when he spoke, his voice was deeper. “Food can be sexual.”
I plucked a piece of pepperoni off the pizza and ate it. I licked the grease off my fingers. “You mean like when people lick whipped cream off each other’s bodies?”
He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean that exactly, but thank you for that visual.” He got up and walked across the room to look out the window.
“What did you mean, then?” I said.
“Nikolai’s gone. Did you notice him leaving?”
“Yeah, like an hour ago,” I said. “Why did you say food was sexual?”
“I just meant that it’s kind of all the same part of your brain,” he said. “It’s pleasure. People are wired to like it for survival. You enjoy eating because you need it to survive. You enjoy sex because the species needs you to do it to survive.”
“But the pleasure makes you do things you shouldn’t,” I said. “It makes you give in to things that aren’t good for you. Like pepperoni.”
“Well, your body doesn’t see it that way. The more fat it can store, the better. It’s wired to think that there’s a dark, cold winter coming, when food will be scarce. It knows nothing about grocery stores.” He turned to look at me. “And what’s so bad about sex?”
I blushed again. Jesus. “It’s not bad for everyone. It’s just… For me… Never mind.”
“You don’t have sex?”
“Well, I’m not a virgin or anything,” I said. Fuck, why had I said that? It was a total lie. I stuffed pizza into my mouth. I just knew that he already thought of me as young and inexperienced, and I didn’t need him to think that— Damn it. I couldn’t take it back now, but I felt like an idiotic teenager. Hell, maybe Demetrius was right. Maybe I was a child.
His lips parted. “Okay.” His voice was husky.
“I just…” I picked off another piece of pepperoni. “I, um, am focusing on my job is all. I need to… It’s important that I get… established.” I put the pepperoni in my mouth, but it didn’t taste as good. I set the rest of my piece back down in the box. I shut the lid. Why were we talking about this, anyway?
He was still watching me, and his gaze seemed penetrating.
Rough: A Hitman Romance Page 8