Darya glanced at Ninette and Sylvie as though double checking to ensure they were still there. Both had forgone any pretense of busy work in favor of watching the scene unfold, but in that second, some womanly communication shuttled silently between the three of them. Darya turned her attention back to Sergei and rubbed her hands together in an uncustomary nervous gesture. “We have some coffee left. Maybe you could have a seat with Jace and Axel, and you can tell us what brought you here.”
A pleasant buzz moved through Knox, a little warm fuzzy and a whole lot of male pride pushing his shoulders back a notch. As much as he’d grown accustomed to Ninette and Sylvie commandeering the bulk of their family gatherings, having Darya be the one at the helm slathered up his ego like nobody’s business.
Sergei dipped his head in a regal nod and moved in beside Darya as she led the way.
It was only when Sergei approached the table, that Jace and Axel found their feet, each offering respectful handshakes and stern faces in greeting. Danny and Beckett fell in right behind them, introducing themselves in clipped, businesslike tones. In between it all, Darya snagged her coffee off the countertop and a fresh mug for Sergei, then aimed her ass for the empty chair beside Knox.
Yeah, it was a total caveman move, but Knox rerouted her before gravity could gain much headway and redirected her into his lap. The second her body settled into his, a good chunk of his tension unwound, leaving him as focused as if he’d settled into a code. He locked stares with Sergei. “The guards said we had a mutual acquaintance to discuss.”
Sergei nodded. “My men noted you leading Darya from her apartment with a suitcase. They also noted heightened security at your building and that neither you or Darya left the building for work as is your normal routine. I can only assume from those actions that you’ve surmised she’s being watched.”
“By Ruslan,” Knox said.
“Not by him. Not yet. But his men, yes. They arrived in Dallas Tuesday morning and immediately started tracking her movements.”
“Okay, that explains why we’re interested in him,” Knox said. “Now share what makes him a mutual concern.”
“Because he has become a detriment to many important families.” Sergei’s gaze darted to Darya long enough to consider his words, then refocused on Knox. “I take it Darya explained the term pakhan?”
“In the most fundamental way, I call him your boss.”
Sergei pulled in a slow, assessing breath then let it out. “Too simple of a term and lacking appropriate respect, but close in essence.” He circled the ring on his thumb. “Ruslan has drawn attention for years and disregards our code. Many pakhans have grown tired of his behavior and no longer wish to tolerate it.”
Clearly tired of the slow and steady approach, Beckett cut in. “Still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.”
Before Sergei could even open his mouth, Axel answered, his voice deep and sinister. “Because he’s been using Darya for bait and the bait disappeared.”
The room buzzed with an eerie silence.
Sergei held himself freakishly still and, for a second, Knox worried Danny or Beck might have missed a concealed carry. Finally, eyes still locked on Axel, Sergei dipped his chin in acknowledgment.
Once loose and comfortable against him, Darya pushed tall in his lap. “What? Why? You know what my life will be like if he finds me.”
Sergei redirected his attention to Darya. “I did. But his actions have escalated. As has his paranoia. He is never unprotected. Never vulnerable.”
“You’re his weakness,” Jace said to Darya.
“Indeed.” Sergei’s lips quirked in an ironic smile and he scanned the men at the table. “Darya’s disappearance was quite suspect. Nothing more demeaning to a man like Ruslan than a woman escaping his reach.” He shrugged and smoothed a nonexistent wrinkle from his pants. “A body was found. Unrecognizable, but staged so that he could save face and accept it as hers, or besmirch his reputation by digging deeper.”
From his place at the far end of the table, Danny filled in the blanks. “And since then he’s gone off the rails.”
“He is impacting business,” Sergei answered. “He has no honor. No reason behind his actions save his ego. The families cannot afford to ignore the situation anymore.” He zeroed in on Knox. “It is my job to address the situation.”
“Only you can’t do that if your bait’s under lock and key,” Beckett said.
Sergei nodded. “Precisely.”
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” In that second, the only thing that kept him from surging to his feet and strangling the asshole was Darya’s sweet body against him and the death grip she had on his thigh. “Darya’s told me what this guy’s like. How the women in his life end up. You actually think you’re going to waltz in here and suggest we put her in a situation where this sick bastard can get his hands on her?”
“She has never been at risk,” Sergei said. “Ruslan only left St. Petersburg yesterday afternoon after his scouters confirmed her existence and location. My men have looked over her since the day we leaked her presence in Dallas to one of Ruslan’s acquaintances. They are the ones who diverted Ruslan’s men long enough for you to leave her apartment without being followed.” He cocked an eye at Knox. “They were even watching when you dared to break into her home.”
White-hot anger seared through him, so fierce and overpowering his whole body jolted beneath its force.
But before his mind could rally with a physical or verbal retort, Darya fired off a string of words in Russian so clipped and biting it was a wonder Sergei didn’t flinch under their attack. By the time her voice died off, her chest heaved and her cheeks were a mottled red.
Sergei stared back at her, a small smile playing on his lips. He must have realized his amusement didn’t sit well with her, because he finally ducked his chin and schooled his features before he turned his attention to Knox. “My apologies. Darya has reiterated that there will be no secrets from her family, nor will she tolerate any disrespect.”
Okay, the whole lady of the manor thing might have nudged his pride up a notch, but seeing her throw down for not just him but his whole family cranked his ego up bigger than the Jolly fucking Green Giant. Knox fought the need to pull her back against him or blow their unexpected guest off and show his appreciation in a far more thorough fashion.
Unfortunately, Sergei kept them all on track. “I must confess, I am curious. What tipped you off to their presence?”
“He tried to hit one of our servers,” Knox said. “It looked like a random hack to me, but Darya recognized a word in the URL.”
“Koschei,” Darya said.
Already primed to collaborate, Beckett pulled up the footage Darya had found and directed it onto one of the screens on the wall. “She found this a few hours later. Footage just on the outskirts of our camera range.” He zoomed in on the tattoo she’d shown him and freeze framed. “This look familiar?”
Sergei scoffed, obviously disgusted. “Unfortunately, yes. Though we didn’t realize they were so foolish to be caught on camera. His men are as arrogant as he is.”
“Or they think we’re stupid.”
Sergei cocked his head and gave his thumb ring another twirl. “We both know your intellect is the last thing in question. Your security is one of the few my men have been unable to access.”
Son of a bitch.
Talk about your passive aggressive statements. Knox didn’t know whether to smirk at the open nod to his security skills, or gut the bastard for having tried to get past his firewalls in the first place.
Thankfully, Jace redirected things before Knox could indulge either option. “So, your boss and his peers reap the rewards when Ruslan’s gone. What’s in it for you?”
Deadpan and without so much as a blip to his casual demeanor, Sergei turned his gaze on Jace. “
I accomplish my task.”
“That’s shite,” Axel said. “A hit this big, one you’ve put a nice lass like Darya at risk for, there’s gotta be something sweet for you in the end.”
Silence filled the loft.
Sergei held utterly still for long seconds until he turned his gaze on Darya, something Knox could only describe as approval shining behind his eyes. “You’ve chosen well in your new life.” He folded his hands in his lap, a refined movement a father from some upper-crust family might take before he lectured a disobedient daughter. “Perhaps you could give me a minute with your protectors, moya zvyozdochka?”
Darya studied him a moment, then slid her attention to Knox.
Knox squeezed her hip, hoping she’d take the gesture as the encouragement he intended it to be. Yeah, it was her life and future that was predominately on the line, but if what Sergei had to say was bad enough to keep it a secret from a woman he considered a little sister, then Knox damned sure didn’t want her exposed unnecessarily. He glanced back at Sylvie and Ninette and motioned toward his suite. “How about if you two help Darya get the rest of her stuff unpacked and figure out what else she needs from her apartment.”
For once, neither Sylvie or Ninette added any snarky quips to Knox’s not-so-subtle direction. But then, Sergei wasn’t one of them, and one thing his mothers would never do was undermine family in front of a stranger.
With a soft kiss that went way too fast for Knox and a brotherly hug for Sergei, Darya made her way to Knox’s suite, Ninette and Sylvie trailing right behind.
The door had barely shut when Sergei spoke. “You are correct. My reward is significant.” He paused and stared out the row of windows overlooking the industrial district and I-45. “I was educated in the United States. You have much here to appreciate.”
Always impatient with unnecessary theatrics, Beckett chimed in. “Not seeing how that ties to any kind of payback.”
Sergei dragged his attention away from the windows and locked on to Beck. “It ties because I want to make your country my home. Dispatching Ruslan will earn me the right to start my own family. Here, in the place of my choosing.”
Well, fuck.
Not exactly the gory info bomb he’d expected after politely asking Darya to leave the room, but still a bomb all the same. Especially since family in Sergei’s context didn’t mean a wife and two-point-five kids.
Jace cocked his head. “So, you’d be branching out.”
Sergei nodded. “Indeed. And I would be indebted to the men who aided me in doing so.”
“You can’t seriously think I’d trade Darya’s safety to earn future payback.” Knox said.
“The payback, as you call it, would be a benefit, yes. But you forget who would benefit the most.”
Darya.
Sergei didn’t have to say it. Everyone in the room knew Ruslan had to be eliminated to make her safe. Still he kept going. “No more running. No hiding. Her name could be her own.” He grinned and tilted his head as if throwing down the ultimate dare. “Or yours.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
One thing Darya had learned about Dallas weather in the last many months was that it had a way of keeping you on your toes. True it wasn’t as cold as Russia, but it wasn’t predictable like San Diego either. More like a passionate child with a penchant for moodiness.
Curled up on the buttery soft leather sofa in Knox’s home office, Darya stared out at the slate gray clouds coating the horizon. Where most of the day had shone with sunlight and heat so fierce it made the air waver off the tar-covered rooftop across the street, a powerful cold front had forged its way through near six o’clock, spawning a round of thunderstorms so fierce the thunder made the whole building shake. Now rain pelted the windows and every few minutes shards of lightning pierced the landscape.
The patter of Knox’s fingers against his keypad served as a constant white noise. Almost nonstop, he’d been glued to his computer, pausing only long enough to check on her and stretch his legs. Even during his brief intermissions, his mind was obviously still at work. Never in the time since she’d worked with him had she seen him this focused. This fixated on one thing.
And she hated it.
Hated knowing that whatever he was buried in was because of her, but more so because she missed his lightness. His quirky sense of humor and razor-sharp wit.
Damn Ruslan.
Stretched out lengthwise on the sofa with her elbow braced on the back, she fisted her hand and pressed it against her mouth. Her whole damned life had been one defensive maneuver after another. First rebounding from her mother’s loss. Then running from Ruslan and losing Yefim and JJ. True, she’d been shocked and a little terrified when Sergei had shared his reasons for leaking her existence to Ruslan, but the more she thought about it, the more she saw the wisdom in his plan. For once in her life, she had the chance to take the offense instead of mere reaction. There was power in that. Freedom.
She shut her laptop and slid it onto the chocolate leather ottoman beside her. From her place across the room, she couldn’t make out any of the code displayed on Knox’s computer screens, but she’d bet their future he was looking for a way into Ruslan’s networks. Some foothold that would give him the advantage he needed to make her safe.
Another person taking a stand on her behalf. Several, actually, if you considered how his family had rallied around her.
I’m not sure where you got the idea there’s some karmic tally being kept, but to my mind, family doesn’t work that way. Especially not ours.
Ninette was right. There was nothing wrong with her wanting to give back after so many people had helped her, but there was also something to be said for holding your own. For standing up and making your own mark.
She palmed the dog tags hanging heavy between her breasts and squeezed them tight, the metal cool against her over-warm skin. “We need to talk.”
Knox’s fingers stalled the second she spoke and he canted his head just enough to bring his handsome face in profile. “Something wrong?”
Any other day, she’d have taken a different tactic. Would have started slow and moved in with logic. Today, if she had any chance of breaking through his need to shield and protect her, she’d have to go in guns blazing. “Yes.”
He spun in his chair, worry instantly wiping the tenacious focus from his face. His gaze dropped to the closed laptop in front of her then scanned the room as if it might conjure up some clue as to what was wrong. He locked on to her hand fisted around his tags and his expression shuttered. “If you’re thinking of leaving again, you can toss that idea out the window.”
“I gave you my word and my love. Whatever we do, I want us to do together.” Like a beacon, her gaze drifted to the screens behind her, gifting her with the words she needed. She refocused on him. “But we’re not together in this. It’s only you. You and your brothers. It’s my future. You are my future. I should play a part in it.”
He stood and frowned, more than a little wariness pinching his brow as he prowled toward her. “Babe, the things I’m doing take years to learn. And no way in hell would I recommend you hone your chops with some of the safeguards Ruslan’s got in place.” Reaching the couch, he sat and pulled her across his lap so she straddled his hips. “If you want to learn this side of my business, I’ll teach it to you, but one misstep with this guy and he’ll know we’re digging.”
“I’m not talking about hacking.”
Silence stretched between them for two heavy heartbeats and his mouth pressed into a hard line, too stubborn to broach the subject.
“I think Sergei’s plan is a good one,” she said. “I could—”
“No.” His chest rose and fell a little quicker, and his eyes sparked with barely contained anger. The loose grip he’d held on her hips tightened in such a way she wasn’t sure if he’d jerk her agai
nst him, or push her away. “That’s not happening. We’ll find a better way. One that doesn’t put you at risk.”
“And what if I want that risk?”
His head snapped back and his eyes widened. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m very serious.” She framed his face and let her fingers tangle in his hair. It was always unruly after he’d spent time on his computer, but it was more so today, the quirk of running his hands through it as he untangled whatever riddle kept his focus leaving him with the look of a man who’d just had a healthy tussle in bed. “My whole life I’ve reacted to events. Been the recipient of others standing up for me or giving of themselves.” She paused long enough to hold his sparking gray gaze. “I don’t want to be passive this time. I want to make a stand. To take action and claim the future I want.”
“I get that. I want it for you and I’ll help you, but not at a time when taking that stand can mean you end up dead.”
“You won’t let that happen to me. Neither will your brothers. Or Sergei. I trust you. All of you.”
His jaw slackened just enough to show she’d made a dent, so she forged ahead. “It’s the right move. The cleanest, fastest and safest one for everyone involved. Me included. Sergei knows Ruslan. Would have already planned to accommodate every scenario, but with you and your brothers aiding him, we can get this over with and move on with our lives. You know this and you’d admit it if the woman in question was anyone but me.”
He swallowed hard and his hands moved up her back as though he needed the tactile connection to ground him. “You don’t realize what you’re asking me to do.”
“I do,” she whispered, hating the wound she was asking him to inflict on himself. “I’m asking you to risk the future you’ve always wanted. But for me to walk into that future with you, I need to be whole. To know that I had a part in building it beside you.” She paused only enough to ensure the weight of what she had left to say reached him with added emphasis. “You told me the women in this family are free to live the way they want. To make their own choices. This is me making mine.”
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