by Bella Rose
Igor leaped to his feet. “Mikhail! You need to take your sister home then if she is not well.”
Josef could see Mikhail grinding his teeth together and trying not to lose his temper. In an attempt to give his friend a little nudge in the right direction, Josef stood up.
The Rusnak enforcers shot to their feet, hands reaching beneath their jackets. Josef stretched his lips into a thin smile. He held his hands out to show he was unarmed. “Relax, comrades,” he told them in Russian. “I have no ill intentions.”
The two men seemed to relax, but the brief episode effectively managed to shut down the meeting. Dani stood up, shook hands politely with Igor and his brother, and then turned on her heel to leave the restaurant. Josef followed her out. Mikhail trailed along behind them, bringing up the rear. Josef knew it was not going to be a fun ride home.
* * *
Dani was seething with anger after the bullshit breakfast meeting. She yanked open the door of the SUV and got inside before slamming it shut again. It took all of three seconds for Mikhail to get behind the driver’s wheel, and that’s how long she waited before letting him have it.
“How dare you do that to me?” she shouted. “What are you thinking? And you cannot make me believe that my papa actually wants me to marry that dolt!”
“He does. The two of us have discussed this at length,” Mikhail said irritably.
Dani refused to buy it. “You’re doing that thing again, Mikhail. I don’t believe you when you do that thing.”
“What thing?”
“That one where you get all pouty when you know you’ve been caught doing something bad. That’s what.” Dani reached forward and poked his shoulder. “You want me to marry that disgusting pig because you want the privileges at port, whatever the hell that means!”
“That means we’ll stop losing half our import shipments, you spoiled brat!” Mikhail shouted. “If you had any idea what it takes to run this business, you might appreciate that. But you just reap the benefits without a single thought for what I have to go through to make your life possible.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t taken a cent of family money for anything since high school,” she argued. “I’m taking student loans and getting scholarships like every other normal person out there.”
“What?” Mikhail looked surprised.
“Did you think that Papa was paying for my college?” Dani laughed at her brother. “You’re such an arrogant prick. You thought that because Papa and you were paying for my tuition, you got to tell me who to marry. Well you’re wrong.”
“You’ll marry him if I say so, Daniella,” Mikhail snarled. “Or so help me God I’ll cut you off without a penny.”
“I don’t want your bloody pennies,” Dani shot back. “I hate this business and I hate you.”
“But not Papa.” Mikhail looked smug.
Dani faltered. Did her father really want her to marry a man like Igor Rusnak? Would he do something like that? Her gaze cut to Josef, sitting silent in the passenger seat. Why wouldn’t he say something? Anything?
“When we get home,” Mikhail began in his haughtiest tone, “you, me, and Papa are going to have a little conference about what your duty to this family looks like.”
“You should be thanking me, not yelling at me,” Dani sneered. It was tough as hell to keep up her bravado, but she wasn’t going to back down now. “I didn’t turn that asshole down flat. I gave him hope by telling him I just wanted to finish school. Otherwise, you know he would have strung up your balls right there in the restaurant.”
She could tell she’d scored a hit on Mikhail, but she also saw Josef flinch. It confused her. Did he want her to marry Rusnak? Why? She was dying to ask him, but there was no way she could bring up the fledging relationship between her and Josef to Mikhail right at the moment.
Then another thought occurred to Dani. “Why don’t we ask Josef what he thinks about this ridiculous idea, Mikhail?”
Mikhail scoffed. “Why would Josef care who you open your legs for? He has more important things to worry about than my younger sister’s love life. Right?” Mikhail elbowed Josef.
“Well I think he has an opinion,” Dani argued. “Come on, Josef. What do you think?”
“I think you should do whatever your father deems right,” Josef said, his voice flat and emotionless.
“So if my father told me to marry Igor Rusnak, you would tell me to do it?” Dani struggled not to cry. It wouldn’t help anything.
Josef half turned in his seat, gazing solemnly at her. “If that were what your father truly wanted, then yes. I think that is what you should do.”
“Good man,” Mikhail said approvingly. “See, Daniella? That is what true loyalty looks like.”
Or idiocy. Dani couldn’t help but think that she was missing something. She stared out the window and let the scenery pass by as they drove back to the house. She thought about last night and her fling with Josef. Had it meant nothing? And what if that were true? Would she somehow be better off marrying a man like Rusnak to please her family?
They pulled up in front of the house and Mikhail shut the car off. He glanced back at Dani. “I’m going to go check in with Papa. He will want to know how the meeting went. I’ll send for you when he’s ready to talk this out.”
“Fine.” Dani let him go. He really wasn’t the one she wanted to talk to.
Josef started to get out of the vehicle. Dani reached out and grabbed his arm. He sighed. “What now, Dani?”
“How could you say that you want me to marry a man like Igor Rusnak?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“I heard you!” She struggled to fight back tears.
“No. You heard me say that you should do whatever your father truly wants you to do.” Josef’s steady voice soothed her ragged nerves.
Then it suddenly hit her. “You don’t believe that’s what my father wants!”
“I have my doubts.”
“But Mikhail says…” Dani trailed off, realizing what it must cost Josef to doubt her brother. “You and Mikhail are friends. You’re loyal to my brother, but you think he’s lying about this?”
“I think Mikhail is very desperate to keep his business together.” Josef pursed his lips, obviously struggling to find the right words. “I love your brother. He does what has to be done, no matter what happens. That’s hard. People don’t give him credit for how hard it can be.”
“But you think this time he’s lying because he needs this alliance so badly,” she concluded.
“I’m saying it’s a possibility.” Josef looked grim. “Only your father can say for sure.”
Chapter Eight
Dani pushed open her father’s bedroom door. It was so dim and stuffy in here. She wondered where the nurse was. It couldn’t be healthy for her father to be shut inside this room all day long with no fresh air. Landscapes from Russia covered the dark paneled walls. She knew her father had grown up in Moscow, but he had always seemed fascinated with the steppes in Siberia. When she had been little he had often talked of taking her there, but they had never had time.
“Daughter?” The thin voice came from the bed. “Mikhail says you are angry with him.”
“I think it’s less angry with him than with what he has done, Papa.” Dani perched on the edge of the bed, pulling her feet up and tucking them beneath her. “Mikhail wants me to marry Igor Rusnak.”
“Ah, yes.” Her father smiled, his lips so thin that they looked almost like paper. “Mikhail has spoken of this to me many times.”
“What do you think?”
“I think that it would be very convenient for Mikhail and for the rest of the Mikalevich family if you were to do that very thing,” her father said clearly. “The Rusnaks make trouble for us in many ways. Having an alliance with them would benefit everyone, even you.”
“But I don’t want to be involved in the family business, Papa.” Dani was so close to
whining that she felt almost like a little girl again.
“You might not want to be involved,” her father said, trying to catch his breath, “but you are. You are a Mikalevich, whether you like it or not.”
“What if I’m in love with someone else?” The question slipped out before she could think better of it.
“Who?” her father asked sharply, suddenly more alert.
“I said what if, not that I was,” Dani said lamely. “I just want to make my own choices.”
“Your brother told me that you wanted to finish school.” Her papa sounded thoughtful. “I think that is fair. But afterwards, you should consider your brother’s plan.”
“What?” Dani was dumbfounded. “You can’t mean that.”
“Igor Rusnak is a wonderful man. He will take good care of you.” Her father shut his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
“Wait.” Dani was confused. “Papa, have you ever met Igor Rusnak?”
“Certainly. When he was a boy.”
“No. I mean now.” Dani began to understand what had likely happened. “Papa,” she said urgently, “I think Mikhail has been telling tales on Igor that aren’t true.”
“What?” Her father’s eyelids fluttered and then drooped. “Your brother loves you, dear girl. He would never want you to marry a man not worthy of you.”
“Papa, that’s not true.” Dani could see that her father was fading fast. His energy was almost nonexistent these days. “Papa, you have to believe me.”
“You and Mikhail,” Papa sighed. “Always fighting. You never believe that he wants the best for you. He is your brother. He will take care of you.”
“Papa, do you trust Josef?” Dani asked urgently.
His eyelids fluttered again and he seemed to focus for a moment. “Yes, of course I trust Josef. I have known that man since he was a little boy.”
“Ask Josef about Igor Rusnak, Papa. Josef will tell you the truth.” Dani took her father’s hand and kissed it. “Please talk to Josef about it, Papa. It’s so very important.”
Papa patted her hand as he had when she was little and he was trying to make her calm down. “Of course, my dear. I will talk to Josef.”
Thank God!
Dani left her father’s room, feeling sick to her stomach with fear. So Mikhail had been both right and wrong. Her father wanted her to marry Igor Rusnak, but only because he didn’t know what kind of man Igor was.
As the door clicked shut behind her, Dani saw Mikhail leaning against the wall just outside her father’s suite. The smug expression on his face grated on her nerves.
“You are such a snake,” she told him with disgust. “You lied to Papa. You told him that Igor was this great gentleman who would love and cherish me and treat me like a queen.”
“He is.”
“If by queen you mean porn star, then yes. I would totally agree,” Dani said sarcastically.
Mikhail snorted. “Just because you have some ridiculous notion of finding a knight in shining armor to whisk you away to his castle doesn’t mean that’s what you’ll get. You heard Papa. He wants you to finish school and then marry Igor.” Mikhail turned to walk away. “I think I’ll go draw up the papers now.”
“You’re such a liar!” Dani said angrily. “It’s just like when we were kids. I swear you will never grow up!”
“On the contrary, sister, I grew up a long time ago.” Mikhail’s voice turned hard. “And you would do good to remember that. You live here under my sufferance. This is my house, and the business that funds your life is mine too. You’re nothing but a woman in a man’s world.”
“What century are you living in?” She threw up her hands, wanting him to know how fed up she really was. “You are not the boss of me.”
“What are you? Ten?” Mikhail laughed at her. “I think you’ve been telling me that since about then. And let’s face it, Daniella. I was the boss then. And I’m most certainly the boss now.”
* * *
Josef pressed his back closer to the wall and tried to keep as far into the shadows as possible. There was nothing to be gained from getting involved in this situation between Dani and Mikhail. He didn’t want to imagine how badly he would fail if he were forced to pick a side or got pinched in the middle.
Josef peered around the corner, barely daring to breathe. Dani pointed her finger at Mikhail. “Fuck off,” she told him. “I’m not your pawn, so you’d better go find yourself a new set of game pieces.”
“Ooo, nice and creative,” Mikhail taunted. “Is that what you’re learning in college? Are you taking Comebacks 101?”
Josef gave in and rolled his eyes. The two of them were ridiculous and that was the end of it. They were acting like playground enemies, not grown adults with responsibilities.
“You might as well start making wedding plans,” Mikhail called over his shoulder as he went in the opposite direction, presumably heading for the stairs.
Dani stood for a few more moments on the landing, staring after her brother. Josef could see the frustration in every line of her body. She was tense, her muscles coiled like springs ready to snap. Josef sighed in resignation. He had to say something to her. He couldn’t leave it like this and walk away.
Josef stepped away from the wall and into the main hallway where Dani stood. “Are you all right?”
“I wondered where you were.” She wrapped her arms around her midsection as if she were determined to hold herself together. “I suppose you heard us fighting like little kids?”
“All that was missing was the hair pulling,” Josef agreed.
“Yeah, I did like to go for hair.” She nodded her head, her gaze focused on something far away that he couldn’t see. “I scratched a lot too. Today I could have happily scratched out his eyeballs.”
“That wouldn’t be productive.” Josef moved closer, unable to let any distance remain between them. He caught her light, feminine scent. It was as enticing as ever.
“I need you to talk to Papa.” She turned and looked up into his face when she made the request. “You have to tell him the truth about Igor Rusnak.”
“What truth?” Josef frowned. “Your father has known Igor since he was a child. It’s not like it’s some big secret the way he’s turned out.”
“But Papa doesn’t know, Josef,” she argued. “Papa told me that Igor is a wonderful man who will love and cherish me. He seems to be under the impression that Igor is a fine upstanding gentleman. You can’t tell me that you believe that.”
Josef pursed his lips and tried not to seem as uncomfortable as he felt. “You’re putting me in a really tough spot here, Dani. Are you suggesting that your brother has deliberately deceived your father about Igor?”
“Hell yes!” Dani said emphatically. “Just talk to Papa, all right? Be honest with him. That’s all I’m asking.”
Josef sighed. “I feel like I’m going to regret this.”
“No, you won’t. I promise!” She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
The contact seared him to the core. It felt so good to have her against him. She was soft and warm. Instinct demanded he wrap his arms around her and kiss her until she was too sated to think about leaving his side.
Instead, he deliberately set her away from his body and turned toward the elder Mikalevich’s suite. He had been inside the room many times over the last year. Each time was a special sort of torture. Josef hated to see the man who had dominated so much of his youth lying in bed as though he were weak as a babe.
The darkness of the room was oppressive. Josef couldn’t see the nurse anywhere and wondered where she was. The man was supposed to have constant supervision. Instead he was lying in the bed alone with the covers pulled up. His frail body was barely half the size of the robust man he was only two years before.
“Papa Mikalevich?” Josef had used that title since boyhood when addressing the man who had more or less taken him in.
“Josef?” The elder
Mikhail wheezed and then tried to cough. “Is that you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Come in and sit with me awhile.”
Josef did as he was asked, taking the chair that sat beside the bed. Leaning forward, Josef rested his elbows on his knees and tried to get his thoughts together.
“You have much on your mind,” Mikalevich said gravely. “I might be almost blind, but I can feel your frustration.”
“You took me in when I was just a boy,” Josef said suddenly. He didn’t know where these words were coming from. Guilt perhaps? “You were my role model. I can remember being so incredibly jealous of Mikhail and Daniella that they had a father who cared so much for them when mine never even claimed me as his son.”
“That was his loss,” Mikalevich said quietly. “I believe he knew that eventually, but it was too late for him to go back.”
Josef hadn’t come here to talk about the man who had sired him. “I don’t like to see Mikhail and Dani at odds like they are right now.”
“Neither do I.”
Josef swallowed. This was harder than he’d thought. “Dani is concerned that you truly believe she should marry Igor Rusnak.”
“And you do not?” The old man’s eyebrows lifted as he tried to focus on Josef’s face.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Igor treats women like trash to be used and then discarded. The man has scattered bastards all across the city.” Josef thought about Dani. “I would hope better for a woman like Daniella.”
“I am confused.” The sunken face took on a deep frown. “Mikhail has told me that Igor has turned over a new leaf. That he has been solicitous toward Daniella and respectful toward our family. Mikhail believes that Igor wants this alliance as much as we do.”
“I imagine that much is true,” Josef concurred. “About wanting the alliance, I mean. Igor stands to gain quite a lot of cash should he start taking a small percentage of all of our imports as opposed to a large chunk of what he can manage to get his hands on.”
“Mutually beneficial?” The elder Mikhail sounded confused. “That doesn’t sound like enough of a reason to give a sister in marriage.”