Finally, he released her and dragged her off the table. Laney was forced to stand shakily at his side. She saw that Boris had been shackled to the floor with his hands behind his back and prodded a few more times while his brother had manhandled her.
“I am going to let let you make amends, Laney Paul, for your failed contract,” Dimitri announced, yanking one of Laney’s daggers from its sheath and holding the tip to her chest just over her heart. She felt it press against the chain of her bra and silently thanked Boris for his thoughtful gift. “Let the virgin assassin finish the job and I will let you live.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. Though she didn’t feel the same depth of feeling from him that she did from Boris (she doubted he was capable of that kind of love), she felt the obsession. He wouldn’t kill her. He wanted her alive. He wanted to fuck her and keep her.
“Fuck you,” she spat.
“Laney!” Boris snarled, clearly not happy that she was baiting the psycho. She rolled her eyes toward him. She didn't need his help at the moment if she was going to find a way to get both their asses out of the Red Wedding alive.
Dimitri grinned down at her and shrugged as though okay with her calling his bluff. “Fine, little bird. I won’t kill you, but I know you have something precious that you wish to keep alive.”
He watched the flare of understanding light in her eyes and he watched as it morphed into hate. His grin turned feral. “I look forward to taming you, my dove. I don’t even care that moy brat had you first. And I don’t care about baby bird, but I know you do. If you don’t finish the contract, I will make a call to the Master and take away your Jin.”
As if to underscore his point, Dimitri took his phone from his pocket and raised a brow, giving her the option. Tears of helpless anger filled Laney’s eyes. She looked toward Boris who stared back at her with a mixture of confusion and pity. He nodded at her as if to tell her she needed to do what was best.
“I will follow you to hell, kotenok,” he reminded her.
She bit her lip to keep the tears at bay and held her hand out. Dimitri placed the blade in her palm. She turned and walked purposefully toward Boris. Now that she knew what she had to do, there was no point in putting it off. Two men held the shackles and two stood to his side. Though his hands were bound firmly behind his back, they didn’t seem to trust him. She didn’t blame them. She’d seen his incredible strength in action. Boris could move like nothing she’d ever seen before. It made her incredibly proud to have called him lover, even for a brief time.
She stopped in front of him and dropped to her knees. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes and reached back to unsheathe her second blade. She reached around him as though to hug him. Her arms barely reaching to his back. She tilted her chin up against his chest and looked into his dark eyes, trying to tell him without words how much he had come to mean to her. She tried to tell him of a lifetime spent in isolation as the only girl in a brutal world of men, constantly beaten, always bloodied, never protected. Until him.
A tear escaped her eye and made a thin trail down her cheek.
“Jin is not your fiancé, is he?” Boris rumbled, his eyes caressing her features as though memorizing her before she guided him into death.
She shook her head, never breaking eye contact.
“You love me, Laney kotenok?” he asked softly.
“Yes!” she whispered, more tears escaping. She let them fall unchecked. They soaked into the high neckline of her blue dress. God how she hated dresses. She felt Dimitri step up behind her. Boris ignored him.
“Then do this for your Jin,” Boris said to her, his eyes telling her of his love and trust. She had never in her life experienced such emotion as she felt for, and from, this man. She knew if she ended his life she would never feel such things again.
Laney nodded and whispered, “For Jin.”
Then with a heart wrenching sob she slammed the daggers into Boris’ back with all her strength. He gritted his teeth in pain and arched backwards, away from her bent form. She would have collapsed to the floor, but Dimitri bent over and swept her off the floor, cradling her in his massive arms.
He stared coldly down at his brother for a moment before spitting on him and saying arrogantly, “She is a cruel bitch to have condemned you to the slow and agonizing death of being knifed in the kidney. I thought she loved you, but it seems you really pissed her off by bringing her here against her will. I think she is fit to be my queen, don’t you think? Die slowly, moy brat, and know that I will rule your properties as I should have always done.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Dimitri strode through the halls of the estate mansion with purpose. Crushed in his arms, Laney had no idea where they were going. Her head was spinning from the events of the last few minutes. Her heart screamed in such agony that she could only cling to the man that had exiled his brother to death and walked away rather than watch the end. He was like a Bond villain. Perhaps they were going to his bedroom so he could really finish things with her villain-style.
He flung a heavy door open and they were suddenly outside. Laney gasped in shock as cold air struck her face. Dimitri strode toward a waiting vehicle that was already turned on with the driver’s side door open. It was a large all-terrain looking SUV with heavy-tread tires. Where on Earth were they going? Clearly there was no part of his evil plot left to chance. Like a spider, he had been waiting to pounce on Boris the moment he stepped foot in Russia. And apparently Laney would become Dimitri’s bonus. How had two twins managed to turn out so different?
Dimitri pushed her through the open door and deposited her on the passenger side. She thought briefly about jumping out of the vehicle, but she knew she wouldn’t get far in a dress and heels, surrounded by men whose loyalties could go either way. Men who would have no idea what her true loyalties were. She buckled her belt (she didn’t trust crazy ass Dimitri not to get her killed in a collision) and watched as Dimitri spoke rapid-fire Russian to a man who stood in the shadows of the mansion. She could only hear every few words.
“Finish… job… dispose of any still loyal to him.” He spat the last word like it was a swear.
Laney flinched back in her seat, tears filling her eyes. Hurry, Boris! she thought frantically.
Laney knew exactly where to stab a person to kill them instantly, where to stab a person to kill them slowly and where to stab a person to not kill them at all. She had slammed the short blades into a part of Boris’ back that would hurt like a bitch but wouldn’t touch any vital organs. She had also placed them just within reach of where his massive paws were shackled. If she knew her behemoth lover, he should be armed by now and cutting a bloody swath through the dining hall. Fuck yeah, the Starks were going to win this one! (She really needed to watch less violent TV.)
God, she hoped it was true! Any other scenario was not acceptable. Boris was indestructible. He would save himself, find the men who were still loyal to him and take his properties back. It was now time for Laney to stop worrying about him and take care of herself and Jin.
Dimitri swung into the vehicle beside Laney and slammed the door shut. He turned triumphant eyes to her as he switched the lights on and pulled out of the yard. She turned her face away from his and glanced out into the darkness.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He didn’t answer for a moment while he maneuvered the vehicle onto a dirt road through a forested section of the property. Laney clutched the window frame tightly as the SUV tilted precariously and then righted itself. Dimitri was perfectly comfortable in his seat and seemed to know the path well, despite the surrounding darkness.
“Hunting lodge,” he grunted. “Wanted some privacy while my men finished clean-up on property.”
Laney had to bite her lips to keep from gagging. Dimitri was one cold son-of-a-bitch. He really didn’t have a flicker of emotion about killing his own twin brother and anyone loyal to him. Boris had cared for him his entire life. The best he had done for Boris was to av
oid actively following through on the hit until Boris stepped foot in Russia to claim his inheritance. Then all holds were off.
“How do you intend to explain his death to the Bratva?” Laney asked boldly.
Dimitri finally glanced at her. She could just see his raised brow and glinting eyes in the dim interior lighting of the vehicle before he turned his gaze back to the road. “You want to be careful what you say to me, little bird,” he grunted. “My brother may have allowed freedom of tongue in his woman, but I prefer the silence I saw when I observed you in Japan.”
Laney shivered, part in fear and part in disgust. She hated the thought of him watching her while she was training and living under the thumb of the Master. Possibly seeing her with Jin. The thought made her really want to stab this one in the kidneys.
She licked her lips and forced herself to moderate her tone. “I mean no disrespect, Dimitri,” she purred his name, swallowing a gag as she did so. “I am worried for our future. What if the Bratva comes after us? They are very strict in their laws, are they not? You simply can’t kill your brother without some kind of penalty.”
“Ah, poor little bird,” Dimitri said in a pleased voice. He reached out to clasp her hand in his. She held back a shudder as he squeezed her. When he released her, she thrust her hands into the folds of her skirt and clenched them together. “It is simple. I will just take Boris’ place. No one has seen him in years, they will believe I am him. Eventually we will announce Dimitri’s death and I will be free to pursue all of Boris’ business interests as my brother.”
What. In. The. Actual. Fuck?
Laney’s jaw dropped and she quickly turned her face away so he couldn’t see her reaction. She’d realized from her first meeting with Dimitri that he was not quite right, but the fact that he thought this plan was actually going to work was beyond ridiculous. No one in their right mind would mistake the two brothers, despite their identical appearance. Boris had integrity, honesty, loyalty and trustworthiness. Even when he did stupid things like kidnap her and whisk her away to Russia. He’d never actually promised to let her go back to Japan. The man was careful with his words so he never lied to her. The loveable fucker.
Dimitri was a box full of psychotic, wrapped up in brutality and tied up with a bow of disloyalty. He wouldn’t even begin to know how to act like Boris. The first person he met that actually knew Boris would see right through his charade. She was tempted to allow him to go through with his stupid plan just to watch on the sidelines and see what would happen. She would love to see what Vladimir Sitnikov did to this guy when he first tried to pass himself off as Boris Grekov. No fucking way would that go over without seriously bloody results.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t let things go that far. She needed to get away from him, preferably unscathed. And so far, her track record of getting away from 50% of the Grekov brothers unmolested was not so good. Hopefully her odds would be better with this one. Perhaps he’d spent more time on evil plots and less time than Boris on bench-pressing and general ass-kicking. This one didn’t seem to have the same focus and determination his brother did.
They drove for another twenty minutes in relative silence. Dimitri seemed to be a man of few words, which was fine with Laney. She found when he spoke he either said something incredibly chilling or really stupid. Words weren’t his strong point. Perhaps he should take lessons with Lucy Miller? Though Laney preferred Dimitri when he wasn’t speaking. Same way he seemed to like her.
She couldn’t see much of their destination when he stopped the vehicle. She unbuckled her belt and slid from the vehicle as he cut the ignition and climbed out himself. He rounded the SUV and took her arm in a bruising grip.
“From now on, you wait for me to open doors for you. Don’t want little bird flying on her own,” he grunted and then began pulling her toward what looked like a cabin.
Laney didn’t bother dignifying his demand except to roll her eyes when he wasn’t looking. Mostly because she would normally answer that kind of stupidity with something sharp and pointy, but also because she didn’t intend on there being any “from now on.”
Dimitri pushed the door of his hunting lodge open and pulled Laney inside. The lights were already on and it was warm. Someone must have prepared it for them ahead of time. Glancing around Laney saw that even the queen-sized wood frame bed was turned down and ready for use. Totally villain-style. She wrinkled her nose, turned her back on the room and faced the villain. It wouldn’t do to turn her back on that one. He might stab it.
He was in the process of bolting the door before turning back to Laney. He looked her over, taking her in from head to foot, his eyes lingering on her hips where the empty leather sheaths emphasized the slim flare. She clenched her hands and then forced her fingers open. She took a inhaled steadily and then released it.
Easy, Laney, she told herself, this isn’t your first strike. Just treat him like any other mark. Despite his resemblance to Boris, or perhaps because of it, she badly wanted to kill this man. Perhaps that was what was making her so antsy. She needed to cultivate her usual professional calm if she were to do what needed to be done.
Dimitri’s eyes glowed with lust and possession as he approached her. She felt no answering heat as she had done with Boris. Her veins ran with ice for this man. Her heart beat in disgust and trepidation when he reached for her. He wrapped his thick fingers around her leather sheath and abruptly spun her around so her back was to him. She gasped as he brought an arm up to her chest and anchored her to him, while his other hand skittered down her back and worked on the leather. She felt it loosen and drop away from her body.
Laney shivered and almost cried out at the loss. Though she didn’t have the daggers anymore, losing the sheaths made her feel naked. He brought his other arm around her body and wrapped it around her stomach, drawing her tightly against him. She felt his arousal hard against her back as he forced her up on her toes and back hard against him. She stood stiffly in his arms.
He hunched his shoulders over her and spoke Russian in her ear. “I knew from first sight of you that we would be together.”
Laney suppressed a shudder when his beard brushed the tip of her ear. Tilting her head up, she swallowed and whispered back in Japanese, “And you are okay with having a woman whose heart belongs to another? A heart that feels nothing but hatred for you?”
He lifted his arm from her chest to take her jaw in a bruising grip. “From now on, you will speak Russian only. Forget your birth language, little bird. You belong to me now. I will negotiate your surrender with the Master. You will never leave Russia.”
Laney gritted her teeth against the pain in her jaw and stared up at her tormentor. “English was my mother’s tongue and the language of my birth, asshole,” Laney said in flawless English, knowing that he couldn’t understand her. Unlike his brother, he hadn’t learned any language other than Russian.
Dimitri growled and shoved Laney away from him. She stumbled back and, before she could recover, he backhanded her. She twisted sideways and reached out to grip a bedpost so she wouldn’t fall to the floor. The hit wasn’t hard compared to what she’d experienced in the past, but Dimitri was over a foot taller than her and had enough musculature that even a light tap could send her flying.
She pressed her hand against her flaming cheek and dropped blazing eyes to the floor as he approached so he wouldn’t see the hatred glowing in her eyes. He took her chin and lifted her face so he could inspect the damage. He pulled her hand away and made a clucking sound of contrition that made her extra want to fuck him up.
“You must learn your place and quickly,” he said softly, running his thumb over her stinging skin. She knew with a deep-seated revulsion that the evil bastard enjoyed her pain, despite his next words. “I have no wish to hurt you, little one, but I cannot have you running your mouth. In my world, women know their place.”
She forced all traces of derision from her gaze and lifted her eyes to his, pasting the most contrite look she cou
ld manage on her face. She lifted her hands and placed them on his chest, touching him voluntarily for the first time.
“I am sorry, Dimitri,” she purred in silky Russian. “I will learn to control my tongue for you as I have done for my Master in the past. You will be my new Master, won’t you? I must have a Master to give me commands or I am lost.”
He dropped his hands to her waist and jerked her roughly against his body so she could feel exactly how much her words affected him.
“Yes. Fuck, yes,” he growled, as he lifted her and dropped his head into the curve of her neck. She flinched when he bit through the material of kimono into the skin of her shoulder. She knew there would be teeth marks in her skin. She moaned in distress, but he took her moans as encouragement and continued to bite her.
“Dimitri!” she cried out and tried to push against his chest as he made his way toward her breasts. He tore open the buttons on the front of her dress, exposing the creamy skin and the silver demi cup bra with the chain halter neck. Buttons scattered over the floor around their feet, next to the bed.
“Call me Boris,” he demanded when she tried to push his hand away from her breast.
She froze and stopped struggling. Vomit rushed up her throat and she had to swallow hard so she wouldn’t throw up on him. Fucking ew! He wanted her to call him by his supposedly dead brother’s name?! She was going to be doing this guy a favour by killing him. No amount of therapy would fix what was wrong with this human.
Rage rushed through her and, unable to help herself, she reached back into her braids and pulled out a straightened hairpin. She jammed it into the softest part of his neck. It barely penetrated the skin, but enough to catch his attention. When he reared back in surprise and reached for his neck she punched him in the throat.
Bound by Blood (Fire & Vice Book 6) Page 16