“What is this about?” Vlad asked, placing his glass on the desk and leaning back in his chair. He studied Boris, taking in the brutally serious features.
“I must go home.”
Vlad nodded. It was as he expected.
“There is trouble in the homeland and it is past time I reclaim what is mine,” his dark eyes pierced Vlad’s, not as an enforcer, but as equals.
Pain stabbed through Vlad. Boris was like a brother and there was no better enforcer – or friend – to be had. He had been instrumental in placing Vlad in a position of power and had helped him hold that position, killing anyone that threatened them. He would be missed. Smiling sadly, he reached across the desk and lifted the bottle of vodka, filling their glasses once more.
They lifted their shots.
“Bezopasnoye puteshestviye, moy brat.”
Safe journey, my brother.
They drank and set their glasses back on the desk. Vlad sat back in his chair again and ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. The scar that ran down from his scalp to his chin marred an otherwise good-looking face, giving him a chilling visage. He eyed Boris with concern. “You will take good care while you are overseas, my friend? There is still an absurdly large bounty on your head.”
Boris flashed him a grin. “Fuck bounty, I long to see my homeland. To taste my old nanny’s pirozhki once more.”
Vlad laughed. Not something he did before Jane’s appearance in his life. It was good to see the tiny firecracker lightening up her too-serious husband. “You think with your stomach, old friend.”
“It takes a lot of calories to maintain this much bulk,” Boris defended, flexing his biceps. It was true. Vlad had picked up the bill more than once when they’d eaten out together.
The smile slid from Vlad’s face. “I don’t like it.”
Neither man spoke. They didn’t need to. They knew this call would come. They both understood that eventually Boris would have to go back and fight for his birthright. It didn’t make it right though. Boris would be walking into a bloody war with no idea who his friends and who his enemies were. If he could, Vlad would keep Boris in America, safe at his side. But he knew it wasn't a fair thing to demand of a man who was his equal by birth and by honour. Russia was a trap. They both knew it. Yet Boris would go anyway.
“I’m on the no-fly list,” Boris pointed out. They were both high up in the Russian mafia and as such, subject to federal regulations putting them on the watch list. Boris had been in prison twice making, his ability to fly even more difficult.
Vlad snorted. “Fuck the list. I will take care of your transportation. I have a cargo ship leaving harbour in two days. I’ll ensure your place on it.”
Boris nodded his gratitude. The reality of leaving in two days began to set in. He dropped his head between his hands and rubbed his face wearily, hunching his massive shoulders. Tattoos rippled down his arms and across his flexed knuckles.
Vlad studied him contemplatively. “What will you do about the girl?”
Boris lifted his head and looked at his boss with heavy eyes. If Jane were not in the picture, this conversation could not happen. But Vladimir would understand. “She is my future,” he said simply.
Vlad nodded, satisfied with his answer. They were men cut from the same cloth. They did not live easily and they did not love easily. The women they chose might fight, but in the end, they would surrender. “You will take her with you?”
Boris smiled grimly. “I have tried wooing her and she has resisted me at every turn. I have enjoyed the chase, but one way or another, she will leave on that ship with me.”
Vlad flashed him a grin and shook his head. “I do not know if I envy you, my friend. She is at least as deadly as my lovely wife. You will spend almost two weeks in a small cabin with her. Take my advice and make sure she has no way to create weapons out of anything. Or nothing.”
Both men laughed heartily. Jane Sitnikov, after all, had managed to turn something as innocuous as a toilet against her husband.
***
“No, absolutely not,” Laney said vehemently.
“Please,” Claudia begged, batting long mascaraed eyelashes at her young, deadly bodyguard. “Just one? I’m about to go to New Zealand on my honeymoon. You’re about to go to Japan to visit your family. We won’t see each other for a whole month! Who will it possibly hurt?”
Laney kept the desk between them and glared murderously at the tall, beautiful blond woman. “The last time I let you hug me you cried and nearly ruined your wedding makeup. You almost made me cry. This hugging thing is unacceptable. Everyone around here wants hugs. Hugging is not part of my contract.”
Claudia looked stricken and then nodded slowly, hanging her head. Her bottom lip quivered slightly and she said quietly, “I understand. You don’t want to cross that line with me. You… you’d rather just be employee and employer.”
Laney tipped her head back and stared at the ceiling causing her braids to slither over her back. She sighed heavily. She was being played. Again.
“Fine,” she snapped in annoyance. “You may hug me.”
“Thank you!” Claudia squealed, flying around the desk toward her.
“Just one!” Laney yelled as Claudia enveloped her in a flowery scented hug. She was much taller than Laney in her high heels, so Laney’s head was cushioned on Claudia’s generous breasts.
“Now this would make nice video,” a deep, accented voice said from the doorway.
“Don’t you dare, Russian,” Laney snarled, extricating herself from Claudia who was sniffling and patting Laney’s back like they were never going to see each other again.
Laney snapped a tissue from the desk and handed it to Claudia who dabbed at her eyes and turned to Boris with a bright smile. “It’s so good to see you again. Thank you so much for the wedding gift. $500 to Victoria’s Secret was both over the top and uniquely designed to piss off my husband.”
He grinned back and shrugged. “I like you. Thought you could use a treat. He’s got enough money of his own.”
“Very true,” she agreed happily, “which is why I made sure he wasn’t able to dispose of it.”
“Good girl,” he said approvingly. His dark eyes moved to Laney, lingering on her serious features. “May I have few moments with your bodyguard.”
Claudia glanced at Laney who nodded after a moment of thought.
Claudia smiled and touched Boris’ arm as she left. “Treat her kindly, she’s a little emotional right now. We hugged.”
“I am not!” Laney yelled as the office door closed behind a snickering Claudia.
As soon as Boris and Laney were alone in the office, the atmosphere turned thick with tension. Boris strode toward her. Laney stepped back, her ass bouncing off the desk. She didn’t want him touching her again. She lost all reason when he touched her. She couldn’t be trusted around him. Her hands went to her hips in a quick weapons check. One gun, two blades.
He smirked, giving her the impression she didn't have enough weapons.
“What do you want?” she asked eyeing him warily.
He ignored her question, instead stopping in front of her and looking down at her hungrily. She shivered, reading in his eyes the memory of their time together. The way he had pleasured her with is tongue and his fingers. The breath caught in her throat and her knees suddenly felt weak and shaky. She had to lock them so she would remain standing. She dropped her eyes so he wouldn't see the sudden heat in hers.
“It is true? You are going to Japan?” he growled.
Ah, so he had overheard her conversation with Claudia. It was better than she’d hoped. She wanted word to get back to him that she planned on going home for a while, but she hadn’t anticipated his turning up and actually overhearing her plans.
“Yes,” she confirmed.
“You are going back to him,” he said in a lethal snarl.
Her head snapped up, her cheeks firing with heat. How could she keep forgetting about her imaginary fiancé? Boris
certainly never forgot about him. He had been a convenient fabrication at the time, but was now becoming a serious point of drama and contention between them. What could she do? Admit that she’d lied? He would demand to know why, which would lead to even more lies.
She nodded dully and dropped her eyes from him. He growled and curled his hands into fists so he wouldn’t grab her. She shivered, very aware of their great difference in size. She reminded herself that he never hurt her, no matter what she’d said or done to him. She wasn’t sure that would continue to apply if he found out she was charged with killing him.
“I… I’m sorry,” she whispered. Truly, she was sorry. It was becoming harder and harder to crush this big man’s feelings beneath the heel of her combat boots. It was beginning to affect her heart, too.
He sighed and ran a large finger down her cheek. She frowned as she caught sight of a fresh tattoo on his wrist. Frowning she grabbed hold of his hand and yanked it down. Taking his thick wrist in both hands she turned it over so the inside was facing her. He had two bands on his wrist, which indicated two stretches in prison. This did not interest her. She’d had this information before she’d even met him. It was the tattoo above this, a black outline of a sleek cat sitting primly with its tail wrapped around the name ‘Laney.’
Her mouth fell open. She let go of his hand and jumped away from him as though he were on fire. Covering her mouth, she stared up at him. He stared back with dark eyes that said to her the words she would refuse if he said them out loud.
“You. Did. Not,” she gasped, eyes wide and shocked.
“Day after the wedding,” he confirmed. “I knew there would be no other for me.”
“You are insane,” she declared, but her voice was filled with awe.
He reached for her, dragging her into his arms. She tried to resist him but he pulled her hands behind her back and held them easily in one hand. She was still too surprised to seriously fight him anyway. The gesture of getting a tattoo with her name, it was too much, too romantic. She was having trouble processing it. He pressed kisses along her forehead and down her cheeks.
“You are going to Japan and I am going to Russia, moy kotenok,” he breathed against her. “Let us go together. I am bound to leave on container ship in two days. It will take ten days to get to Hong Kong. From there, we can separate. You will not have to see me again if you do not want, but please grant me those ten days. Do not fly to Japan, do not fly away from me. Sail with me to Hong Kong instead, Laney. I promise you won’t regret it.”
She stared at him with wide eyes, frozen, the Master’s words ringing in her head. Here was her opportunity, presented to her on a platter, yet she was hesitating. Because she knew her heart and soul were becoming more and more wrapped up in this man. How could she accept his proposition and come away from the experience heart whole?
“I… I… don’t know,” she whispered, biting her lip.
He dropped to his knees in front of her still holding her wrists behind her back. He was so tall he was able to press his face between her breasts. He tilted his head up and looked at her, his eyes filled with possessive longing. “Please, kotenok, you must say yes. This is our time. I am perhaps going to Russia to face a death sentence. I have never loved as I love you. Say you will come with me.”
Laney stared back at him, remembering the way he could make her feel. Wanting more of the same. Wanting the feel of his hands and his mouth on her. Knowing he was right. This was their time. Her decision had nothing to do with the Master or her mission.
“Yes,” she whispered.
CHAPTER EIGHT
What am I doing here? Laney thought wildly, wondering if there was enough time to flee. Tearing her eyes from the massive cargo ship, she glanced back desperately at the departing taxi as it left the parking lot. Light from the setting sun glinted off the window, momentarily dazzling her.
She blinked rapidly and clutched her duffel bag tighter. She looked up at the ship with trepidation and wondered how she could possibly bring herself to step foot on such a massive beast. She’d never in her life seen anything like it. She had to tilt her head way back, shade her eyes and squint, her braids tipping over her shoulders, to even see the top. The ship itself was huge, but with rows and rows of tightly packed containers on top, it was unimaginably colossal. She began counting out of sheer, panicked curiosity. Eight high. Although they weren’t all even, some were nine high and some were seven. Her eyes flew down the rows as far as she could see. She couldn't tell how long the damn ship was, it was just too big! But if she had to guess she would say maybe twenty shipping containers long.
Laney grew dizzy from staring up at it. She closed her eyes and swayed on the spot. Warmth enveloped her from behind as a hand wrapped around her arm completely, steadying her at the same time as ensuring she wouldn’t run. She opened her eyes and looked up into the bearded face of Boris. Concern and satisfaction shone in his dark eyes.
“You came,” he rumbled down at her.
She nodded, letting his solid presence fill her with strength. The ship was overwhelming, but she would get used to it. Laney was nothing if not adaptable.
Boris flashed a grin through his beard and waved a hand encompassing the length of the massive ship. “Is impressive, da?”
Laney rolled her eyes and tried to look unimpressed, though she had been anything but upon first seeing the ship.
Boris raised an eyebrow at her, his grin turning lascivious. “Ah, just wait until you’ve climbed aboard. I think you will be very impressed with the size once you see it up close.”
Laney snorted, but started laughing out loud at how ridiculous he sounded, which broke her earlier tension. Boris chuckled with her, his eyes tracing her features as though memorizing her. He took her bag, hefted his own over one massive shoulder and started toward the dock. He urged Laney forward so she would have no choice but to go with him.
They boarded the ship through a hatch and met with the commanding officer. Laney watched with sharp eyes as the men spoke in rapid Russian, though she suspected the captain was not Russian by birth. Ukrainian possibly. They spoke too rapidly for her to catch the entire exchange, but she heard enough to understand that Boris was the one giving instructions and not the other way around.
Oleg, as Boris introduced him, was probably in his late 60’s. He was a tall man and would have been considered broad if he had not been standing next to Boris. The man described a recent staffing situation that gave Laney some perspective on his personality. She thought he seemed stern but fair and her esteem for the older man went up. He was certainly mobbed up the ass, but he had scruples. Much like herself.
Laney yawned delicately and tried to hide it behind a hand. She’d spent the afternoon with Addison Sterling, who had kindly come over to ‘help’ Laney pack. Which was extremely inefficient given Addison’s lack of sight and Laney’s tendency toward minimalism. The time had been spent in Addison attempting to convince Laney not to leave with Boris, thus sending them both on an exhausting emotional rollercoaster.
“Please, don’t go,” Addison begged from her perch on Laney’s single bed.
Laney had never had a real woman friend before coming to America and, despite her friendship with Claudia King, Addison was the one person she had grown closest to. Addison was sweet, kind and always honest. She was the most uncomplicated of all of Laney’s new acquaintances. She was also the one person Laney had the most difficulty saying no to.
“Why are you so worried?” Laney hedged, pushing a stack of simple cotton T-shirts into her duffel bag.
Addison made a frustrated sound and shrugged her shoulders. “You know… I just feel things. I’ve always sensed something different about you, Laney. I feel like you’re going on this trip with Boris because you have to, not because you want to. I’m just so worried about you.”
Laney stilled and looked down at Addison’s earnest face. She wasn’t classically beautiful, but all of her features put together and combined with her confidenc
e made her quite lovely. Personality, looks and her mastery over the cello practically made her a national treasure. Of course, she was too humble to acknowledge that. It was a good thing her man was a vicious, barely-leashed guard dog.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Addison Sterling. You know I don’t like to discuss private details, but I will tell you that I… am curious about Boris. I can assure you, I want him in the way that a woman wants a man,” Laney said as confidently as she could, trying to channel some of Addison’s sexual bravery. Dammit, she could slice a man to ribbons without hesitation, but she turned into a freaking blushing bride when it came to sex talk!
“Besides,” Laney continued, defending herself, “I don't exactly remember you being all that happy with Daniel’s bullshit when he was going all stalker on you. Yeah, don’t give me that face. He had me track the credit card you used when you ran away to the Four Seasons hotel. Seriously, who runs away to a luxury hotel? And look how your happy ever after turned out?”
Addison burst out laughing. “You sound like Anya!”
“Oh, you did not just say that! Take it back or I’ll punch you in the boob. I don't even care that you’re blind. That’s just a bitch thing to say!”
Addison was laughing so hard she was almost fell off the tiny bed. Laney grinned, her face unusually relaxed. It made her very happy to see Addison this way. Addison had been far too serious the past few months during her recovery from kidnapping. The psychotic stalker had snapped and nearly succeeded in killing Addison, but the blind musician had bravely fought off her attacker and saved herself with a little help from her protective lover and Jane Sitnikov.
Bound by Blood (Fire & Vice Book 6) Page 7