by Roxie Rivera
Crawling to the counter, Yuri grabbed the note and photo. He flopped down on his ass and stared at them. How?
He read the note twice before the words finally started to make sense. Someone knew. Someone knew every sordid detail of what he'd done. Of what he'd done to save Nikolai.
Hands shaking, he fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed Nikolai.
Always business, Nikolai answered with the all-important question. "Did you get the painting?"
Yuri cleared his throat. "Yes. It's safe."
"I'll make the arrangements. Do you want to go tomorrow or should I—"
"Someone knows," he interrupted.
"Knows what? About you and the cartel?"
"Someone knows about Pasha." He spoke the name that hadn't left his lips in more than twenty-five years.
Dead silence stretched on the other end of the line. Yuri hated himself for bringing up the nightmare that Nikolai had survived.
"Someone left an envelope addressed to Lena on our bed. It held a note and a photograph—of the warehouse," he added reluctantly. "The writer put details in the letter, details only someone who was there that night would know."
"Are they threatening to turn us over to the authorities?" Nikolai's voice had taken on a gruff tone.
"No, the writer says we'll get a different kind of justice." He thought of the shooting Lena had barely survived. "This is why someone tried to shoot Lena. They wanted to hurt me."
"No jury would ever convict us for what happened that night. That man was a monster. The things he did to—" Nikolai's voice abruptly cut out. "I'm not a little boy anymore and a letter isn't going to scare me."
"It's not just the letter! Someone tried to kill Lena. Someone that I trust enough to be on this ship came into the room tonight. Do you understand how it feels to be unable to protect the woman I love?"
"Yes."
Yuri realized that was the closest Nikolai had ever come to confirming his feelings toward Vivian. Blowing out a noisy breath, he asked, "What the fuck do we do?"
"You get that painting to Mexico and make the trade for Lena's father. Then we regroup in Houston and figure out who is after us. I'll touch base with my contacts back home. This has to be someone close to that monster. Only a friend or relative would hold a damn grudge this long."
"That makes sense."
"I'll call you later with the details about the exchange." Nikolai hesitated. "Did Lena read the letter?"
"She might have tried but her Russian is terrible. I doubt she showed it to anyone else." He understood Nikolai's desire for privacy. "I'll ask her in the morning."
"I'll talk to you soon."
Yuri placed his phone on the counter and shoved up off the floor. Desperate for a shower and to feel clean again, he stripped and turned on the hot water. He stood under the spray for at least ten minutes before giving himself a mental shake. Lathered up, he scrubbed his skin until it was pink and raw. The memory of all the blood that night still haunted him. That had been one hell of a thing for a twelve-year-old to process.
As he dried off and brushed his teeth, his thoughts turned to Nikolai. God, how he loathed the idea of his best friend having to relive that experience. With palms flat on the marble countertop, Yuri stared at his reflection in the foggy mirror. What the hell do I tell Lena?
She was going to be curious about that letter and the picture. If he lied to her, she would know—but he couldn't tell her everything. Not yet. How much did he dare reveal?
* * *
I came awake to the comforting sensation of Yuri's strong arms wrapped around me. Content to feel his big, warm naked body pressed against mine, I remained perfectly still and enjoyed the silence of morning. The privacy shades had been lowered on the windows but pale rays of sunlight still streamed into the room. It was going to be a beautiful day.
My fuzzy brain finally cleared enough for me to remember that weird letter and Vivian's cryptic, worried advice. Even though there were a million questions I wanted to ask Yuri, I decided to let him sleep in. He'd been running himself ragged lately. Everything I wanted to know could wait. I had a bad feeling the discussion that letter would entail wasn't going to be one I would enjoy.
Carefully, I slipped out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom. I showered and brushed my teeth but didn't put on my makeup or fix my hair. After working in some moisturizer, I threaded my arms through the sleeves of the silky dressing gown I'd brought with me and returned to the bedroom. The thought of crawling back into bed with Yuri tempted me.
Crossing the room, I became aware of something on the far side of the room that had been hidden in the shadows when I'd first awakened. I damn near tripped over my own feet when I realized I was looking at the painting.
I hurried across the room and gazed upon the piece of fine art. It was a strange, haunting scene depicted on the canvas. Definitely not the kind of thing I'd want hanging in my house but clearly drug lords had different tastes.
Excitement bubbled within me like fizzy champagne. He'd done it! Yuri had done it!
"As lovely as that painting is, I'd rather stare at you without that robe."
Turning toward the bed, I grinned at Yuri and tugged on the silken belt keeping it closed. The fabric pooled around my feet. Overcome with joy, I ran across the room and leapt onto the bed. Yuri laughed and pulled me onto his naked body until I straddled his hips.
Cupping his handsome face, I whispered, "You big, sexy, wonderful Russian! How will I ever repay you?"
Tangling his fingers in my damp hair, Yuri captured my mouth in a passionate kiss. "I have a few ideas."
His stubble rasped my face as he nuzzled me in between sensually erotic kisses. He ran his hands over my bare skin like a sculptor admiring his work. Palming my breast, he tweaked my nipple and pressed his face against the crook of my neck. "You're so damn beautiful, Yelena. Every time I touch you I find something new that I love."
I looped my arms around his strong, muscled shoulders. "I love you, Yuri."
"I love you, Kitten."
His nickname earned a smile from me. I gasped as he started to nibble my throat and play with my nipples. My sensitive flesh puckered to tight peaks that Yuri tormented with his tongue and fingers. Every tug of his mouth around my breast sent erotic shivers straight to my clit. The pink pearl pulsed to life. My pussy started to ache with need.
Yuri's hard cock rubbed against my inner thigh. When I shifted on his lap, the thick, blunt tip bumped my clit. I hissed at the delicious sensation and rubbed against his shaft, stimulating myself on his steely length.
Grasping my bottom with both hands, Yuri aligned our bodies and breached my slick, wet sheath with just the crown of his cock. Our gazes held as he rocked into me a little deeper before pulling back. We both knew what was different this time.
Shaking with arousal and excitement, I whispered, "I've never—"
"I'll stop. Tell me to stop."
His husky voice did crazy things to me. I didn't want him to stop. I wanted to share this experience with Yuri. Biting my lower lip, I sank down on his hard, thick cock, taking every last inch of him into my pussy. We both moaned and breathed a little faster as the heady experience of making love without a latex barrier between our bodies gripped us.
"You feel so good." Yuri's shaky breaths buffeted my cheek. "So damn hot and wet." He fell back on the bed and grasped my hips. "Ride me, Yelena."
With my hands on his chest, I swiveled my hips until I found the perfect rhythm. He watched me with such awe. I felt so incredibly beautiful and desired. Yuri's hand swept up and down my front before settling on the spot where my neck and shoulder curved together. He thrust up into me and I cried out at the exquisite delight. "Ah!"
Back and forth, I rocked my hips. This position felt so damn good. My clitoris remained in constant contact with him. Every thrusting motion he made left me gasping. "Oh. Oh."
His thumb brushed my mouth. "Yes."
My pace hastened. The first curls of pleasure u
nfurled in my core. That blissful knot of shuddery vibrations grew and grew. My pussy clenched Yuri's cock tighter and tighter. He urged me on and thrust into me harder and faster until I hovered on the edge. Closing my eyes, I tried to draw out those wonderful flutters as long as possible but one more thrust broke my control.
"Yuri!" I clawed at his chest and gyrated wildly atop him, desperate to wring ever last ounce of pleasure from that orgasm. When I fell forward against him, Yuri gathered me close and flipped our positions. He grasped my legs and dragged them up higher until my knees rested against those broad shoulders of his.
"Unnnhhh." I let loose a guttural groan as his cock slid deeper. Clinging to his rippling arms, I gazed into his hazel eyes while he started to chase his own pleasure. I didn't think he'd ever looked sexier or more handsome to me than in that moment. My heart threatened to burst in my chest as I realized how much I loved this man.
As if having the same moment of clarity, Yuri dipped his head until our breaths mingled. He pounded into me now, his cock gliding in and out of me faster and harder. Every plunging thrust made me grip him tighter. I watched his face with fascination as he climbed closer and closer to his climax.
"I love you, Lena." He slammed into me with enough force that I slid up the bed. His cock swelled inside me as he shuddered in my arms and filled me with his blazing hot seed. "I fucking love you so much."
I caressed his face as he shuddered again. "I love you, Yuri. Always."
His mouth found mine in a demanding kiss that branded me with his passionate love. My legs fell from his shoulders, and he rolled onto his side, dragging me with him. With his spent cock still buried inside me, I relished the sensation of being so intimately joined to him.
After a few minutes of sensual kissing, Yuri pushed the damp hair away from my face. He ran his thumb down my cheek. The serious look in his eyes worried me. "I have to tell you something."
My tummy twisted with fear. "What?"
"I read the letter."
"Oh." My hand slipped under my pillow but the envelope was gone.
"I destroyed it early this morning. I couldn't risk anyone else reading it. Did you show it to anyone else?"
I couldn't lie to him. "I snapped a photo and sent it to Vivian." The horrified expression on his face scared me. Quickly, I explained, "She told me to delete the picture and to keep the letter hidden until I gave it to you. She wouldn't tell me what it said, just that I needed to be careful and not go anywhere without you."
He seemed to relax. "I trust Vivian to understand that what she read must never be spoken aloud to anyone."
"And me?" I tried not to sound hurt. "Don't you trust me?"
"I do. I truly do." He touched his forehead to mine. "I can't tell you everything. Some of the details in that note—" He swallowed and shook himself. "I can't. I will tell you this much. When I was a child…" He dropped his gaze as if ashamed to look at me. "When I was a child, I killed a man to save Nikolai."
For a long moment all I could do was stare at Yuri. The pain and shame radiating from him shook me from my stupor. I rubbed his arm and forced him to meet my gaze. "Tell me."
His eyes shimmered with unshed tears as he made his confession. "We were boys, so young, and I was jealous of Nikolai, of the treatment he received at the orphanage. I didn't understand then…" His voice trailed off and he shook his head again. "I followed him one night and…and he was being hurt. I reacted like any twelve-year-old boy would at discovering that terrible, terrible thing. I picked up a pipe and hit Pasha across the back of his head. I didn't know my own strength. He hit the floor and—and there was so much blood. So much blood." He gulped as if he might be sick. "Nikolai and I ran back to the orphanage, grabbed Ivan and Dimitri, and we left that night."
My eyes grew hot as I processed his confession. The few details he'd given were enough for me to piece together what young Nikolai had endured. I could only imagine how horrifying it would have been for a twelve-year-old boy to stumble upon his friend being hurt like that.
"So you see—I'm a murderer."
"You are not a murderer. You were a child trying to save your friend." I grasped his face in my hands and held his gaze. The pain reflected in his eyes left me breathless with sympathy. "What happened was an accident. It was manslaughter at the very worst. No jury in their right mind would have convicted a little boy for saving his friend from a…monster like that."
"Maybe," he said, blinking rapidly. He cleared his throat and tried to get a grip on his painful emotions. "But someone knows and someone wants to make me pay for what I did."
"By trying to kill me?" The pieces began to fit together.
"I'm starting to think this whole thing—from your cousin to your father to the pipeline—it's all a setup."
"Last night, I wondered the same thing. It's too convenient, you know? Too neat." I hesitated. "But this thing with my dad and my cousin started before we were officially together. How would someone know you were attracted to me? How could they know that hurting me would hurt you?"
"Lena, I was more than simply attracted to you. People close to me would have been able to see the difference in the way I reacted to you and the way I reacted to every other woman."
"So it is someone close to you," I whispered, suddenly uneasy.
"Yes."
"What are we going to do?"
"We stick together until we get your father home safely to Houston. After that, I'm honestly not sure where to begin. Nikolai is digging into Pasha's history. We think it might be a friend or relative of his that's playing this ugly game." Reluctantly, he added, "I think it's best that we stay away from our friends to avoid collateral damage."
"Yes. Absolutely." I thought of Vivian. "If someone is trying to hurt me because they want to cause you pain, what about Vivian? Nikolai may not be willing to come right out and say that he feels strongly for her but it's evident to anyone who sees them that he cares deeply about Vivian."
"She's still with Ivan and Erin and has Kostya shadowing her constantly. I assume that cousin of hers, the detective, is watching her like a hawk. She's probably safe, but at the first hint that she isn't, Nikolai will hide her away where none of us can find her."
"Should we think about doing that? Going into hiding, I mean?"
"I considered it last night but I feel safer in public. For now," he amended. "This is a highly dynamic situation and we'll have to adjust on the fly." Pulling me into his embrace, he kissed the top of my head. "Right now, let's focus on getting your father safely home."
Suddenly, saving my father from a cartel seemed like the very least of our worries…
Chapter Nineteen
"Relax," Yuri urged and put a comforting hand on Lena's back. She fidgeted non-stop next to him as the private jet made its final approach and descent toward the private airstrip.
They were arriving in Mexico after dark. He didn't like coming into what he considered enemy territory in the dark but the thought of leaving Lena's father in the cartel's hands another night wasn't one he could stomach. Too much could go wrong. He wanted the exchange done quickly.
"Sorry." She chewed her lower lip as the jet touched down and slowed to a stop.
"Don't," he whispered and brushed his fingers across her pout. "This will go smoothly. Everyone gets what they want tonight."
She gripped his hand but didn't say anything. He read her easily. She didn't believe him but she didn't want to call him out on it while surrounded by their bodyguards. He didn't blame Lena for feeling uncertain or doubtful. After everything they'd been through in the last week, it was expected.
Leaning closer, he pressed a comforting kiss to her cheek. A look passed between them that said it all. Despite her fear, she trusted him to handle this. "Wait here, Kitten."
Unlatching his seatbelt, he rose from his seat and made his way to the front of the jet where Derek and Jake were discussing the security situation while Kelly chatted with an impromptu recon team. The Marine had a couple of friend
s who happened to be in the area on a vacation. They'd been only too happy to come in to scout the area for them. Yuri imagined the men found it a bit fun to use their dormant soldiering skills again.
Kelly finished his phone conversation and quickly filled them in on the situation on the ground. From the sounds of it, the men had staked out the airstrip for hours. Kelly's phone dinged again and again as texted recon photos were sent to him. They crowded around the small screen to study them.
"You should put these two in touch with Dimitri," Yuri suggested. "I realize they're doing you a friendly favor but that is damn impressive groundwork."
"That's a Marine for you, Boss." Kelly pocketed his phone and reached for the thin jacket he would be wearing to hide his shoulder holster. Glancing back at Lena, he asked, "Is she still coming off the plane?"
Yuri nodded. "I don't think I could keep her on here if I tried."
"No," Kelly agreed, "but Vasya sure as hell could." Lowering his voice, the gruff Marine said, "Let me handle it. She'll be pissed at me, not you."
Realizing it was the easy way out but also recognizing it was the best way to keep her safe, Yuri acquiesced. "Thank you."
While he stepped closer to Derek and Jake and listened to their game plan, Yuri allowed his gaze to jump to Kelly and Lena. Her frosty body language prompted a surge of sympathy for poor Kelly. When she crossed her arms and snapped her gaze to the window, Yuri made a decision to stay right where he was. The last thing he needed was a verbal wallop from that beautiful mouth.
Jake came back from the cockpit. He gestured to the door and sent one of the attendants to unlock and secure it. "The crew will keep the plane ready to go."