Mafia Soldier's Irresistible Lover (The Karzhov Crime Family Series Book 3)

by Leslie North

  Val watched the tears flow down her cheeks and grew concerned. Had he hurt her in some way and not known it? “Chelsea, why are you crying?”

  He gently lifted himself from her body and discarded the condom before pulling her into his arms and snuggling her close as she continued to cry softly. “Tell me, please. Did I hurt you?”

  Chelsea shook her head and tried to explain what she was feeling through her tears. “No, it was beautiful. You didn’t hurt me. I just felt too much, I guess. It was like you could see into my soul.”

  Val nodded, kissing her on the forehead before hugging her close. “I felt the connection as well. Never have I enjoyed being with someone more.” Never have I wanted to just be with someone.

  Val thought about that long after they had showered together and partaken of the snack tray he’d brought up from the kitchen. When Chelsea finally fell asleep, he slipped from her bed and went back to his own room.

  Chapter 15

  He placed a call to Nikolai, knowing that in Vegas things were probably just getting started even though it was close to midnight now. What he found out did not set his mind at ease. Rather, it had him alert and making plans in haste.

  “My tech crew was able to gain access to the surveillance tapes at the airport. The Asian man you described is none other than Taro Hodama.”

  “Why does that name sound familiar?” Val tried to place the name, but it eluded him.

  Nikolai’s voice was edged with concern. “To put it very simply, he is the Yakuza’s equivalent of Grigori.”

  “A cleaner? Any idea who he’s after?”

  “We have to assume he is after Misha’s daughter. I assume you have made contact with her guardian?”

  Contact? Yeah, you could say that. Val tried to keep the grin from his voice. “I’ve become indispensable to Chelsea by helping rid her of the nuisance brother. By the way, did you receive the e-mail regarding the proposed partnership the Cordoba cartel is wanting with your family?”

  “I did, and I have discussed it at length with several of my leaders. Colorado provides a unique opportunity, one which the San Moreno Bratva would be wise to take advantage of. As for working with Raul’s group, we will let them have a small piece of the action, but only temporarily. They will either need to combine their resources with our own or find someplace else to operate. Colorado will be ours by the time the new year rolls around.”

  That was only a few months away. Nikolai moves fast when he sees something he wants. Don’t forget that. “Will you be working with Terrence?”

  “After everything you have told us about his character, that does not seem to be a wise choice. I will let Raul know that Terrence would be better in his South American operations. If the man refuses to comply, his defiance will be dealt with—Bratva style.”

  Val nodded as he replied, “I have already warned him that failure to meet your requirements would result in a penalty he might not like. I guess his fate lies in his own hands. Now, about Taro. Do I have your permission to take him out?”

  “Yes. Do whatever you have to do to keep the girl safe. Katya would like to extend our hospitality to her and her guardian.”

  Val smiled. “I think Chelsea would be willing to take you up on that offer. Her brother figured out who I was pretty quick, but I don’t think she has any idea. I will need to tell her about the family before I get her agreement.”

  Val paused for a moment, then made his intentions clear. “I am claiming right of protection over both of them from here on out.”

  Nikolai raised his brows and questioned softly, “Valentin, do you understand the responsibility you are taking on?”

  “I do. Nikolai, there is something about Chelsea that stirs a place inside of me I didn’t even know was there.”

  Nikolai understood perfectly. He’d felt the same way about Katya. And he knew from speaking with Grigori that Desi had a similar effect on him. It seemed that the dominant men of the Karzhov family were destined to lose their hearts to a member of the fairer sex this year. That only left Kostya, but he would be heading to Colorado to head up the family’s new enterprise there. At only twenty-three, he was young and impulsive and in no danger of falling in love at this time.

  “Welcome to the group. I will tell you that it is not easy caring for a strong woman. But the ride is worth every hill and valley.” Nikolai thought about the new life he and Katya had created and smiled tenderly. He was going to be a father in the near future, and that had him thinking along different lines. He needed to secure a future for his children, one that didn’t include all of this upheaval. No, he and Katya would create an empire that no one would think to threaten.

  “I am going to suggest she bring Darya back to Las Vegas tomorrow. That is if Taro doesn’t show up beforehand.”

  “Get rid of Taro however you have to. Danil has a meeting with the head of the Yakuza at the end of the week. One way or another, this will end there.”

  “I wish you well. I will let you know when we will be arriving. Thank you for the information.”

  “Keep her close to you until you have neutralized this latest threat. Taro is sneaky and will strike when you least expect it. We don’t know if he is aware that you are already there. We believe Danil may have gotten wind of it, but cannot be positive about that. Be careful.”

  “As always. Have a good night.” Val hung up the phone and headed back to Chelsea’s bedroom. If she was still sleeping, he would have to wake her. Dawn was only a few more hours away, and with the rising of the sun would come a new, more dangerous threat to Darya than one Chelsea had ever faced. Taro.

  Chapter 16

  Val slipped back into Chelsea’s bed, smiling when she moaned in her sleep and snuggled up into his arms. He stroked her back for several minutes, enjoying having such a warm and inviting woman in his arms. She’s not just any woman. She’s Chelsea.

  When she started to stir, Val kissed her awake. “Chelsea, I need you to wake up so we can talk.”

  “What time is it?” Chelsea said around a yawn as she rolled out of his arms and flopped onto her stomach beside him.

  “Almost three a.m., but we need to make some decisions before the sun comes up and Darya comes home.”

  At the mention of Darya’s name, Chelsea came wide awake and pushed herself up off the bed enough to look Val in the face. “What about Darya?”

  “Chelsea, I need you to listen to me. Remember the family I mentioned earlier when we were talking? Well, that family is the San Moreno Bratva and is run by Nikolai Tsarkso, one of the most powerful Pakhans in the northern hemisphere.”

  “Pakhans? Val, I don’t understand any of what you just said.”

  “I am a member of the Russian mafia, and Darya’s biological father was a leader of an East Coast family until his recent death.”

  “What?” Chelsea shook her head, pushing herself up to sit against the headboard, pulling the sheet around her chest as she did so. “I know Alexandra was Russian, and that Darya’s father was probably on the wrong side of the law, but I never imagined he was so powerful. Why would Alexandra have run from him?”

  “That I don’t know. But a man who believes he should have been made Pakhan instead of Nikolai has been working with several other entities to take over.”

  “Like in the Godfather movies?” Chelsea asked in disbelief.

  “Sort of. Nikolai would be the Godfather in this case.”

  Chelsea thought about this new information, then asked, “So, exactly what is your position in the family?” She’d watched enough TV to know that everyone had a function and a purpose. She also realized that Darya was probably the reason Val had chosen to stay at her B&B. Had he slept with her only to gain closer access to Darya?

  Chelsea’s heart didn’t want to believe that. She knew what she’d felt when they made love not long ago, and she’d seen the emotion in Val’s eyes as well. Wait. Is Val his real name? She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until he answered her.

  “Yes
, Val is my real name. Chelsea, I haven’t lied to you, except about being a photographer. Honestly, I don’t know one end of a camera from the other. I spent the first years out of high school as an MMA fighter on the national circuit. That was all true, as was my reason for quitting.

  “Now I do the occasional job for Nikolai. I help him find something that is lost, or ensure people meet their commitments. In this case, I was looking for Darya.”

  “You came here to take her away?” Chelsea asked, trying to keep the note of accusation from her voice.

  “No! I would never try to take Darya away from you. I didn’t even want to take her away from this place, but things have changed. The Asian man looking for you is a cleaner for the Japanese equivalent of the mob. He doesn’t just want to kidnap her; he wants her dead. Those were his instructions, and he will do everything within his power to succeed.”

  Chelsea started shaking and couldn’t stop. “I have to go get her and get out of here. Right now!”

  “No, you need to stop and think things through. I know for a fact that Taro is still in Denver at a hotel. I imagine he will make an appearance tomorrow sometime, and I plan to be ready for him. In the meantime, I want you to consider coming with me. You and Darya both.

  “Nikolai has extended his arm of protection to you both. And I have claimed the right to make sure that happens.”

  “What does any of that mean? Where does Nikolai live and how long does he want us to stay? What about this house and—”

  Val kissed her to stop her from panicking any further. “Chelsea, listen to me. If Taro knows where you are, that means the Yakuza knows how to find you. On top of that, Terrence is not going to be happy with the deal Nikolai is planning to make with the Cordoba cartel. He knows how to find you. It simply isn’t safe for you to stay here any longer with Darya.”

  Chelsea felt like her world was falling apart, but she’d already been over all of her options. She had already decided to use the money sitting in the Cayman account to purchase a new life for herself and Darya. Half a million dollars should be able to buy them some sort of security net.

  “I can take Darya and we can go—”

  “Where, and with what? How are you going to provide for her? The first time you register for employment, your social security number will pop up in one of their databases and they will know where you are again.”

  “No. I mean, someone—I’m assuming Darya’s father—left money in an account each month. It stopped a while back, but the last time I checked, there was almost six hundred thousand dollars sitting in a Cayman account.

  “I wasn’t going to use it, at least not until I figured out where the money had come from, but now it seems like a gift.”

  Val nodded his agreement. “It will certainly give you some peace of mind, but whoever deposited that money is probably watching it as well. In order to withdraw that money, you will have to provide the bank with all sorts of paperwork.”

  Chelsea’s heart sank. It seemed she wasn’t going to be allowed to decline his boss’s generous offer. She was out of options, and Darya’s safety had to come first.

  “Chelsea, I know this is all coming at you fast, but Nikolai is trustworthy and I have already promised my protection for both you and Darya. In my family, our word is stronger than any contract or legal ruling. I will protect you and Darya with my life, should the need arise.”

  “I don’t want you to protect us with your life. Don’t you understand?! It’s my job to protect Darya. “

  “So make a good decision and protect her. Trust her safety to me and let me take you both somewhere you will be safe.”

  “What about the money? Do I just leave it there?”

  “For now. I will inform Nikolai about the account, and if you can provide some numbers and such, his tech guys may be able to trace the origins of the funds.”

  Chelsea shook her head. “I don’t think so. I know that both the state and feds have tried, but because the account is outside their jurisdiction, they didn’t get anywhere in their investigation.”

  “Nikolai’s men do not have such problems. Trust me. We will find out the source of the funds.”

  “So I’m just supposed to pack up Darya and myself and leave Clear Springs?” When Val nodded, Chelsea sighed. “What about the house and our belongings?”

  “We’ll have professional movers come in, pack everything up, and deliver it to Vegas. As far as the house goes, you can sell it. Now that you’ve turned it into a profitable business, you should have no problem selling it as such.”

  Chelsea hadn’t thought of selling the house as part of a business, but that was exactly what it was. “It seems you’ve thought of everything.”

  “Not quite, but I’m making up the rest as I go here. I want to leave tomorrow. I know it’s very quick, but Taro will not waste time waiting for the right opportunity. He will show up tomorrow and storm the castle. I plan to be waiting for him.”

  “What are you going to do?” Chelsea looked at Val’s face and cringed. “I don’t want Darya here if you’re going to kill him. What if she sees something?” What if I see something? I can handle knowing that Val is going to rid the world of another worthless scumbag, but that doesn’t mean I want to witness it.

  “Look, Chelsea, I know it’s not ideal, but you can’t say anything to the teenagers who work for you, or anyone else for that matter. It needs to look as if you just suddenly disappeared. Our family-owned moving company will take care of your belongings, and they are very good at misdirection.

  “As for Darya seeing or hearing anything when I confront Taro, hopefully it will be over quickly and that will not be any real concern.”

  Chelsea’s head was swimming and she was overwhelmed with the need to make sure she wasn’t making a huge mistake. She couldn’t afford to make huge mistakes now that Darya’s safety was involved. She needed to make the right decision the first time around.

  Chapter 17

  Chelsea’s worry about Darya seeing anything was completely for naught. She was awakened at six o’clock after having spent many hours lying awake worrying about what today would bring.

  The knock on the front door came, and she rose from the bed and prepared to open it, only to have Val pull her away from the door moments before it was blown into a million little pieces. If she had been standing any closer, she would have been impaled by the numerous shards of wood the explosion sent flying into the air.

  Val pushed her into the sitting room, drawing two guns from his waistband and leveling them at the intruder who was just bursting through the doorway.

  He fired six shots off in quick succession, stopping only when the intruder collapsed to his knees.

  Chelsea watched from between Val’s knees, holding her breath as the intruder swayed on his feet while clutching his chest. She watched as blood bloomed across his shirt, but still the man attempted to stay on his feet.

  Val fired one last shot into the head of the man who’d thought to use an innocent child in the games of men. Games that at times were much more violent than the actual truth.

  She could tell by the unmistakable black and white hair that it was Taro, the man sent to kill Darya. When Taro fell to the ground, Chelsea watched as Val cautiously felt for a pulse before closing the man’s eyes and bowing his head momentarily. When he lifted his head, there was no trace of sorrow or regret in his eyes. He’d done what needed to be done. No more. No less.

  “Go finish packing what you and Darya need for the next few weeks. I will go get Darya from Margot’s house and let her and James know they have the next week off.”

  “What about him?” Chelsea asked, refusing to look at the deceased body lying in a pool of its own blood in the middle of the foyer.

  “I’ll come around to the kitchen entrance. Just pack a few bags. Whatever else you need we can get down there. Nikolai will have men here to sterilize the site before the day is done. They’ll even repair the front door. No one will ever know what happened here t
oday but you and me.”

  Chelsea nodded her head, then turned and pulled two suitcases from the closet beneath the front stairs. One was pink with Disney Princesses on it, and the other was a deep red color and had seen much better days.

  She left the red case standing in the hallway and took the pink case with her into Darya’s bedroom. She quickly filled the case with Darya’s favorite clothes, including her favorite pajamas, and her bathroom essentials.

  Spying the backpack lying halfway beneath the bed, she emptied it of school books and replaced them with pictures of Darya and Alexandra, scrapbooks, and a few stuffed toys she knew were very special to the little girl. Last, but not least, she tossed in several handfuls of hair ties, ribbons, barrettes, and headbands. Darya was a very girly girl and loved having her hair done just right.

  Hauling the suitcase to the kitchen door, Chelsea then returned for her own suitcase and dragged it up the stairs. She paused at the entrance to the room Val had been assigned, shocked to see that he had already packed all of his belongings and they were sitting in a neat pile in the middle of the room. So that’s what he was doing when he left me earlier this morning.

  She shook her head, entered her own room, and began throwing in various items. She made sure to pack an extra pair of shoes, and only hoped the movers Val had talked about would be quick about delivering their belongings. Her mind was in such a mess, she really couldn’t decide what she needed to bring along.

  She was still standing in front of her dresser when she heard the crunch of tires on gravel as Val returned with Darya in tow. She wasn’t sure what explanation Val had given the young girl for their sudden trip, but Chelsea was surprised to see Darya stay seated in the car as Val approached the house.

  She zipped her bag up, grabbed her purse and the small lockbox that had her meager savings in it, and headed for the staircase. She met Val coming up, and he easily picked her case up and carried it the remaining way down the steep staircase. It still amazed her to see a man so strong.