Russian's Innocent Love (Drobilka Family Series #1)

by Lee, Leona

  “I brought everything I own, which happens to fit in two suitcases.”

  “So, what, you’re one of those extreme minimalists?”

  Bethany laughed. “No, I just didn’t know where I was going to be…” her voice trailed off before she finished her sentence. Crap! I almost said assignment. Taking a deep breath she continued, “There are studies that talk about how the things that happen to us in childhood can have a profound impact on us as adults. And well, sometimes I go through phases where I feel like any minute now, my world will be turned upside down and I’ll have to move quickly.”

  “Did you learn that in college?”

  “Psychology 210,” she answered with a tight smile. At least it wasn’t a complete lie. Changing the subject, “So, um, why did you come by tonight? And while we’re at it, how the hell did you get into my apartment?”

  Taking a sip of his tea, Vadim appeared to think about his answer. “At first, when I figured out that you understood Chinese, I was pissed at you for lying. But then, when you told me that the translator was lying, I went back into the office and asked him to go back over something he had translated earlier and when he gave me a different response, I knew you were right. And as to how I got into your apartment,” Vadim said slowly as he sat back and looked at her, “your landlord is a drunk and easily bribable.”

  “Wh…what happened to the boy?”

  “He left the club richer. Turns out, he has an uncle who’s a member of the Triads, and he was worried that he would get into trouble, but when he found out that he wasn’t there and that there was more money in it for him, he redid the translation. But, and this was why I came, I want you to listen to the recordings and provide me with a translation so that I can compare it to the first one.”

  “Do you have it with you? If you want to leave it, I can…”

  “Nyet, it will be handled at the club. You have morning class again tomorrow, dah? Do you have anything after?” Shaking her head, Bethany tried not to show her surprise that he knew her schedule. She would have to be very careful around him. “Good. Come to the club when you are done and meet me in the office. You can go over it then.” At her nod, he stood up. “I have to get to the club. I will see you tomorrow.”

  When she rose to see him to the door, he swept her up into his arms as he kissed her before setting her back on her feet. “Until tomorrow, Malyutka.” As Bethany was about to protest, he silenced her with another kiss. “Don’t be late.”

  Shutting the door behind him, she sagged against it. This was the break they were looking for. She couldn’t wait to talk to Marci. And maybe change the locks on her door.

  Chapter 12

  The next morning, Bethany was up early. She’d expected to sleep deeply, but her night had been marred by bad dreams. Waking unrested, she showered and went to the nearest Starbucks where she enjoyed a triple, espresso-shot latte and a blueberry scone as she looked through the New York Times. She really missed New York. When she had been contemplating her future assignment, she was really hoping that she could stay on the eastern seaboard. She had never anticipated returning to Texas.

  Her phone beeped as a message came in. Looking down, she was surprised to see that it was from her mother, as she wondered how she knew that she was in town. Hitting ignore, she threw her phone in her backpack and went to order a second cup to go.

  Arriving at the UT campus, she headed to the Liberal Arts building and climbed the stairs up to her handler’s office. She cringed to see that Sanderson was already sitting in the office.

  “You’re late,” he stated, as he took in the dark circles under her eyes. “Did you and your boy toy stay up all night fucking?”

  “Excuse me? What are you…”

  “You think that the Russians are the only ones who have you under watch?” he sneered as he looked at her. “Let’s hope that you finally have something worth reporting.”

  Before Bethany could respond, Marci walked in and frowned at Sanderson. “We weren’t supposed to meet until eleven. You’re early. Significantly so,” she told him as she looked at Bethany in apology.

  “I’m here to see how our newest undercover agent is doing,” he replied as he glared at both of them. “So, let’s get on with it.”

  “As you wish,” Marci replied. Turning to Bethany she continued, “I see that you have coffee, would you like anything else?” As she was about to shake her head no, Sanderson interrupted.

  “Oh, for crissakes, can we get on with it? I have things to do today.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t have crashed the meeting,” Marci shot back, as she sat down at her desk. She motioned for Bethany to sit in the chair across from her that left Sanderson to stand or take a seat farther away. Grunting in response, he settled on the credenza a few feet away.

  As Bethany filled them in on the private party with the Chinese, even Sanderson shut up long enough to hear what she had to say. When she told them that since Vadim now knew that she understood Chinese, he wanted her to come to the club this afternoon to translate the recordings.

  “What happened to the translator?” Sanderson asked.

  “Vadim thinks that he was more truthful with his second translation, but he wants to be sure. My thinking is that if I do a good job, he’ll use me for other private parties, as well. Particularly since he doesn’t seem to want the Chinese to know that they were recorded. This may be the opportunity we were looking for.”

  Nodding her head in agreement, “Excellent work, Bethany,” Marci replied. “Although I’d like to get a recording device of our own in there.”

  “Well, I won’t be wearing my uniform this afternoon, so got anything I can take in with me?”

  Marci opened a locked cabinet and looked through some boxes. Walking back with a couple pairs of sunglasses, “Normally, these are used for video recording, but we can set it for audio only. When you get inside, place the glasses close by while you translate, and we’ll pick up the recording.”

  Taking the glasses, she compared them to her own; they were close enough that she didn’t think Vadim would notice that she had a different pair. “How do I turn it off?”

  “Just fold them. Now, shall we test them?”

  Bethany spent a few minutes practicing turning the audio recording device on and off and determined the best location for the glasses. They figured out if she was unable to set the glasses nearby that so long as she didn’t move her head too much, she could leave them on her head without picking up too much static.

  As she left her handler’s office, she decided to take the back stairs and come down near the library. Cutting across the lawn, she went inside and walked through the antique manuscripts section before walking into the nearest bathroom. After a few minutes, she walked back out, picked up a couple random books in Spanish and headed to the checkout counter. Flashing her student ID, she checked out the two books and headed to her car.

  When she got to the club, there were only two cars in the parking lot. Bethany assumed that one belonged to Vadim and the other was probably the onsite security guard. Walking inside, she waved to the guard before heading back to Vadim’s office.

  She smiled shyly at him, not sure what to say, but it was evident that he was in work mode as he patted the seat beside him without saying a word. Setting her backpack down on the floor, she placed her sunglasses on his desk. As they sat together at his desk, he pulled the audio file up on his computer. For the next two hours, she listened to the various conversations and translated as they spoke. Vadim would interrupt her at times to ask questions, which she did her best to answer. When they finished, he sat back with a grim look on his face.

  She at him with concern. “Is there a problem?”

  Shaking his head, he replied, “Nyet. But you caught things that he didn’t.”

  Trying to avoid any physical pain for the guy, Bethany replied, “Well, those men were at one of my tables, of course I remember what was going on.”

  “So, are you one of those ey
e-det…”

  “Eidetic? I wish. It would have made learning languages so much easier. No, I had to work at it like everyone else, but I think that because I spent so much time at it, it has helped my memory.”

  “What languages do you know?” Before Bethany could answer, one of the men from the usual afternoon crowd came storming into the office, shouting in Russian. He stopped short when he saw her.

  “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take that as my cue to leave,” she said as she scooped up her sunglasses and planted them on her head. Reaching for her backpack that she had intentionally left open, one of the Spanish books fell out, and Vadim reached down to retrieve it. She smiled in thanks as he handed it to her and she stuffed it in her pack. Smiling at the other guy who waited impatiently, she left the office, but stopped short of going too far. She pretended to rearrange the contents of her backpack, hoping to hear what was said, but they were speaking in low tones and she couldn’t make anything out. Sighing, she slung the pack over her shoulder and headed out into the afternoon sun.

  Before Bethany could make it to her car, Vadim caught up with her. “Have dinner with me. Sunday.”

  “Where?”

  “My place. I’ve seen how you live, let me cook for you.” Smiling, she nodded her head. “I will give you the address later,” he told her before he returned to the club.

  Chapter 13

  The remainder of the week flew by quickly, and other than some brief interactions at work, Vadim maintained his normal professional demeanor, which kept Bethany guessing as to how serious he was about her.

  As she was changing out of her costume Saturday night, Sasha walked in. Normally, she kept her locker on the other side, but tonight, they were close together. Slipping on her shoes, Bethany grabbed her backpack and prepared to leave, but Sasha stopped her.

  “Have fun with the boss tomorrow night.”

  “What?”

  “You are seeing Vadim, right?”

  “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”

  “You don’t know, do you?

  “Know what?”

  “Vadim is the man in charge.”

  “Well, I know that. He gives us our pay at the end of the night.”

  Sighing, Sasha walked up close to Bethany and lowered her voice, “No, I mean that he is the man in charge. As in, in charge of everything. All those men that come and go around here, they report to him.”

  Bethany stared at her as comprehension began to dawn on her face, “But how can that be, he’s just a…”

  “Henchman? Muscle?” Chuckling, Sasha went back to her locker, “Yea, folks don’t seem to pay much attention to you if they think that you’re only hired muscle. And he has a front man who deals with the cops, so no one knows that he actually owns the club.”

  Oh shit, Bethany thought as she considered what Sasha had just shared. He had told her that he owned other businesses, or at least was the money behind it. Just how deep was he? Worried that she might be in way over her head, if that was even possible, she made a mental note to check the files on the Drobilka cartel from their time in Russia.

  ###

  Bethany decided not to mention any of this to her handler until she was sure that the information was true. And if she was being honest with herself, she was hoping to have sex with Vadim again before she got yanked from the case.

  As she got ready for her dinner date with him, she stared at her limited clothing options. It was still blazing hot outside, and other than her typical shorts or jeans, she only had three dresses to choose from. Reaching for her maxi dress, she slipped it on over her head and turned to look at herself in the mirror.

  The formfitting dress hugged what assets she had before cascading down her legs. A slit up one leg made it easy to walk in as she slipped on her sandals. Dragging a brush through her hair, she decided to wear it down, as it tumbled about her shoulders. With this humidity, her normally straight hair had taken to curling, and she had to admit that she liked the look as it softened what she considered to be her severe features.

  Keys in hand, she walked downstairs and was surprised to see a Town car waiting for her. Raising her eyebrow in surprise, the driver stepped out to open the door for her, “Mr. Sannikoff thought that if you had decided to drink tonight, you might not want to drive.” Nodding her head in thanks, Bethany got into the back as the driver walked around to get behind the wheel.

  They didn’t have to go far, as the car headed into downtown Dallas toward one of the more affluent neighborhoods comprised of high rises. They pulled into the garage of one of the more expensive buildings, the driver stopped in front of an elevator and opened the door for her. Escorting her to the elevator, he used a cardkey to access the top floor before stepping back. As the doors shut, Bethany watched him walk back to the car.She looked at the elevator and realized that this was a private penthouse car.

  When the doors opened, she was surprised to see that Vadim had the entire floor. Stepping out, she gasped at the wall-to-ceiling windows covering all the outer walls. She walked out into the living area and turned around in a circle as she took in the understated furnishings that were designed for comfort. Kicking off her sandals, her feet sank into the luxurious carpeting as she sighed.

  “You like, Malyutka?” Vadim asked her as he looked at her in amusement. Opening her eyes, she peered at him. Dressed in his usual dress slacks and white button down shirt, he looked like he belonged here as he casually leaned against the doorframe.

  “Oh yes,” Bethany replied, as she tried to force her pulse to stop racing in anticipation. “Especially my feet.”

  Chuckling at her response, “Make yourself at home, I won’t be long.” Turning, he returned to the kitchen while Bethany walked around the main living space. The inside walls were covered in photos and paintings, many of which were snow scenes. Walking closer, there were what appeared to be family photos along with some from the military. Bethany tried to figure out which ones Vadim was in when he joined her. She took a tentative sip of the glass of wine he handed her.

  “Are you in any of these?” Nodding his head, he pointed to himself in many of the pictures, as Bethany kept turning to look at him. “You look so different in these photos, I wouldn’t have recognized you.” Turning to the paintings, these are beautiful. Are they all of Russia?

  “Dah. I grew up in a small town near the Siberian border called Belaya Lisitsa. It always snowed.”

  “It sounds lonely,” Bethany blurted out as he gave her an odd look. “Is that why one of your tattoos is a white fox? After the town?”

  “Something like that, yes,” he replied, although from his tone, he didn’t sound like he wanted to say more, and he changed the subject. “You don’t have any photos in your apartment.”

  Taking another sip of her wine, Bethany wandered over to the windows to look out over the city. “Do you ever feel like you’re in a specimen jar with the world looking in on you?”

  “The windows are tinted, so no one can see in. And you didn’t answer my question.”

  Shrugging her shoulders, she turned to look at him, as she leaned against the window. “I would prefer that most of my life remain in my past, and the only way I could do that was to try to forget about it,” she answered. “Besides, I’m making new memories now, and I do have some pictures, they’re just on my phone,” she replied as she tried to smile.

  “Our past is what shapes us. Either by following the same path or choosing a different one. But we should never hide from it, we must learn from it.”

  “Oh, I’ve learned from it,” Bethany replied. “But I also want to put it behind me.”

  “By returning to Texas?”

  Laughing, she said, “Yes, well, the university made me an offer too good to refuse, and well, maybe it is time to confront some of my past. Just not yet.”

  He nodded and held out his hand to her. “Come, join me in the kitchen while I finish dinner.” Taking his hand, she followed him into the kitchen. S
he set her wine down and slid onto a chair as she watched him move around the kitchen with ease. He had a cutting board filled with sliced vegetables and set a large skillet on the stove to heat. As the pan began to heat, he added olive oil. Once it began to bubble, he added onions and garlic and the whole kitchen began to smell, making Bethany’s mouth water. She watched, fascinated, as he added the different vegetables and various spices while he continued to sauté them.

  Pouring in a can of diced tomatoes, he looked up at her, “I never asked. Do you like Italian?”

  “I love Italian, but where did you learn to cook?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve always loved food, and it wasn’t always easy to come by and when it was, most of it tasted terrible. My grandmother taught me to forage for roots and herbs to help make food taste better and when I was in the military…” Vadim paused, realizing that he said too much. Taking a deep breath, he spoke quickly, “Let’s just say, being raised where I was, I learned to hunt at an early age, which meant that I didn’t go hungry when shipments didn’t make it out to us.”

  Not wanting to press him, she prompted, “So that translated to a love of Italian cooking?”

  “And Indian, Greek, Mexican, French…I’ve yet to find a type of food that I can’t appreciate, but I also want to know how it’s made and if I can make it better,” he laughed as he added fresh pasta and shrimp to the pan.

  “Makes you sound competitive.”

  He nodded his head as he dished the food out onto plates. “Oh, I am, but it also means that if I have a taste for something and there isn’t a restaurant close by, I can make it myself,” he answered as he carried the plates over to the table.

  “Oh, you aren’t one of those people who carries travel spices do you?”

  He lifted his head to look at her. “There are travel spices?”

  Laughing, Bethany replied, “Oh yes, saw it in a catalog.”

  “I must get some. Now, come, enjoy.”