by Leslie North
“How could I not? When I heard that Ivan had you, I wanted to rip Florida apart piece by piece until I found you.”
“But how did you know where he was taking me?”
“David Patterson called me. I had already told him to leave town before this afternoon’s events took place. Ivan didn’t know what was going down and called David to boast about your capture. David had the foresight to send him to the ship and tell him that he was sending someone to meet him. He’s never met me, so it was easy enough to pose as the person who was taking possession of his prize.”
“Is he dead?” Desi asked, searching his eyes for the truth.
“They’re all dead. The Ryndins. Ivan. Leonid. And the cops that killed your father and brother.” He watched the tears come to her eyes and pulled her head against his chest. “Please don’t cry. It’s finally over. Stefan’s making sure their families don’t suffer for their treachery by making it look like they were heroes.”
He pushed her away until he could see her eyes. “You wouldn’t want their wives and children to suffer, would you?”
“Never.” Desi hugged him, then kissed him with all of the pent up feelings inside her. “Thank you. You really are a nice guy.”
Grigori laughed and shook his head. “No, doll. I’m not. A lot of men died today because of me.”
“Name one of them that didn’t deserve to die,” she countered, much to Grigori’s amazement.
“How can you be so blasé about men dying? I thought you were sworn to uphold the law.”
Desi shook her head at him. “Not anymore. Before I headed to the diner this morning, I used the hotel computer to send my resignation to Captain Peters, effective immediately. As of 8:03 this morning, I’m no longer a member of the Clearwater Police Department.”
Grigori looked at her with a question on his face. “Why would you do that?”
Desi smiled and kissed him again before answering, “Well, you see, I never really wanted to be a policewoman. It was merely a means to an end. And I couldn’t see a relationship between us going anywhere if everything you did was going to have me trying to arrest you. Especially when I wouldn’t be able to say that those things were wrong. Sometimes men just need to die to prevent their evil from spreading and infecting the world around them.”
Grigori stared at her for a moment, then rolled her over to her back. “Desi, I’ve never been as scared as I was when I heard Ivan had taken you.”
“I prayed that you would somehow figure out what had happened to me and come get me. He was either going to give me to Leonid or send me to South America. I think they were intending to sell me.” Desi shivered. “I’m so glad that didn’t happen.”
“You and me both. Now that you no longer have a job here in Florida, are you interested in heading west with me?”
“Right now?” Desi asked, letting her hands begin to trace the swirling designs that curved around his pecs, down across his abdomen, and farther south.
Grigori sucked in his breath when her fingers found the evidence of his desire for her. “Maybe now isn’t the right time. How about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow sounds good.” Desi let her fingers wrap themselves around him, arching against him as his fingers found her core at the same time his lips covered hers.
Grigori made sure she was ready for his possession and then fitted himself to her wet core, pushing himself through her fingers until she was forced to let go of him in order to complete their joining. He kissed her as if he would never have the opportunity to do so again, unwilling to let even one minute go by where she didn’t understand how right they were together.
He wasn’t sure what the future held for them, but for now, the chemistry between them was enough to build upon. He teased her breasts while he devoured her mouth with his lips. The sounds of her little moans of pleasure went straight to his groin, and he increased the tempo as he pushed them up the pinnacle of pleasure.
There was no time for prolonging their mutual satisfaction this time, and he crashed over the edge with her, sealing the feelings he was developing for her with a kiss.
After several minutes, he left the bed and returned a few moments later with a warm washcloth. As he cleaned up the evidence of their desire, he watched her, looking for signs of regret. “This is becoming a habit,” he told her.
Desi knew what he was speaking about, as they had briefly discussed the possible consequences of their lovemaking in the wee hours of the night before. They hadn’t used any type of protection, and Desi wasn’t on birth control.
Normally Grigori wouldn’t have even considered not protecting them both, but the chemistry between them was so fresh and new, and the thought of her becoming pregnant with his child was not an unwelcome one.
When she said nothing, he finally put voice to the question rolling through his brain. “Are you okay with the possible outcome here?”
Desi watched him and slowly nodded her head. She hadn’t given much thought to her future, or a family, since burying her father and brother. Now that those responsible had paid for their acts of treachery, she was free to pursue a life not focused on revenge. Having a family—a husband and children—seemed like a perfect way to do that.
“I can’t think of anything that would make me happier than to find out I was pregnant with your child.” Desi was ready to start living again, for the future, and for once, she was determined to be selfish and go after what she wanted. Right now, she wanted Grigori!
Epilogue
“Danil, there was a huge upset on the East Coast last night. Leonid, along with a smaller organization that had been trying to connect with him, were taken out by the Clearwater Police Department during a drug raid.”
Nikolai watched for his reaction, not surprised when Danil gave no reaction at all.
“Is that so? Any word on who is going to step in and save the Ogalla organization from spinning out of control?”
“Stefan Padrov has my blessing. He may be young, but he has the respect of his peers and the support of the other Pakhans on the East Coast.”
Danil nodded and shortly thereafter excused himself to take care of some business. Nikolai’s men followed him and watched as he made a very terse phone call. “The East Coast is dead. Take care of the girl.”
Pyotr wasn’t sure what girl Danil was talking about, but he made a call to Nikolai as instructed. Nikolai was lost as well, but that would only last a few days. Grigori returned to Las Vegas, bringing with him a beautiful young woman, and upon hearing of Danil’s conversation, he knew exactly whom he’d been talking about.
Nikolai offered to send one of his best investigators to find the little girl who’d had the misfortune to count Misha Ryndin as her biological father. Grigori was tired of the conflict and, after a brief discussion with Nikolai and Desi, decided to make his retirement official. It was time for the next generation to step up and take over.
That next generation came in the form of twenty-five-year-old Valentin Tolstov, a young man who had shown great promise and had an uncanny knack for using technology. He was given access to Danil’s information, including his banking history, and Nikolai had faith that if there was anything to find, Val would find it.
“When you locate her, I want you to insinuate yourself into her life. This thing with Danil is not yet done, and until we figure out whom he was working with in the Yakuza, we need to allow him to continue to hang himself. Find the girl and keep her safe until you hear from us.”
*****
“Darya, you need to come inside now. It’s starting to get dark.” Chelsea Barlow watched as the little girl jumped off the swing and ran to her.
Darya would be ten in two weeks’ time, and hopefully she would be Chelsea’s legal daughter a short time after that.
Darya’s mother had been diagnosed with a rare form of heart disease shortly after Darya’s birth, and Chelsea had been hired to help out as both nanny and housekeeper. When Darya’s mother had passed away ten months prior, Chelsea
had been awarded temporary custody by the State of Colorado.
The state had been unable to locate any information on her birth father, and the anonymous deposits that showed up in her checking account each month had mysteriously stopped six weeks prior.
Chelsea had allowed the state to try and trace the deposits, but they had only been able to trace them back to a bank account in the Caymans, and those accounts were untraceable. Chelsea had refused to use any of that money; Darya’s mother had done the same. There was over six hundred thousand dollars in that account right now, but until she knew where the money came from, she wasn’t going to use a dime of it.
Instead, Chelsea had used the life insurance from Darya’s mom to pay off the house, and she had turned the extra bedrooms into a thriving bed and breakfast. This allowed her a chance to design websites on the side while Darya was in school, and the B&B provided just enough extra income to pay for their day-to-day living expenses. It was a good setup, and even though Darya still missed her mom, she seemed to be adjusting well.
Chelsea would bide her time, and one of these days she’d have enough money saved up to hire a private investigator to more thoroughly research where the money had come from. Until then, she and Darya would continue to live their lives and look towards the future. A future that included the newest resident of the small B&B—a visiting photographer named Valentin Tolstov.
END OF BOOK 2
BOOK 3 OUT LATE NOVEMBER 2014
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Julia Thompson sat at the bar and watched the crowded dance floor, once again trying to find her best friend, Tonya, amidst the masses of writhing bodies. She pushed her glasses up on her nose, and her brown hair off her forehead, fanning herself to move the air around.
It was Friday night and they were supposed to be celebrating Julia having won the coveted exchange position in her company. Every year, three employees from the American-based mining company traded placed with three employees from the Russian-based mining company. Prior to this year, all of the exchange positions had been filled with men, but Julia had proven that she could hold her own in the financial world. Much to her counter-part’s dismay, she had been given the chance to fill the position for the upcoming year. She would be leaving for Russia within the next few weeks and needed a break before the madness of preparing to leave the US for a year began.
She had been ecstatic and she and Tonya had gone out to celebrate. The hottest nightclub in the city was DYSH and they had waited for thirty minutes to gain access to the inside. The crowd was to be expected so early on a Friday evening, and Julia hoped that as the night progressed, the people would begin to thin out.
She loved to dance, but being pressed up against five other people while she did so was not her idea of a good time.
While she waited for Tonya to return, she glanced around the large room once more, focusing once again on the group of good-looking men sitting at the corner table. They were all tall, with dark hair, and great physiques. The two younger men kept going out on the dance floor, but the third man simply watched.
Feeling someone staring at him, Dmitry raised his head and once again caught the young woman sitting at the bar looking directly at him. He raised an eyebrow at her and then smiled when she held his gaze and didn’t look away.
Julia wasn’t sure why she kept staring at him. He gave off an aura of power and danger, but she was feeling on top of the world at the moment, and the alcohol buzzing through her system helped her project a confidence she normally didn’t have.
Dmitry motioned with his head for her to come to him, pleased when she slipped from the stool and sauntered over to him, a small smile upon her face. “Hi,” she said when she was standing next to his table.
“Hello. Would you care to join me?”
Julia nodded and slid into the booth, “How come you’re not joining your friends on the dance floor?” She tossed her head towards the throng of people and then looked back at him.
“Too many people. What about you?”
“Same. I love to dance, but getting trampled on isn’t my idea of fun.” Julia let her eyes roam over his face, loving what she saw. His gray eyes were striking and very intense. This man seemed like someone who had trouble relaxing. His accent was unusual, and she wondered where he was from, “You’re not from around here.”
It wasn’t said as a question, but a statement of fact and Dmitry nodded, “No, I’m not. My brother and cousin are here with me on business.”
Julia looked around the crowded bar, “You conduct business in a nightclub?”
Dmitry looked at her, smiling at her jest, “No, we concluded our business earlier today. My brother and cousin wanted a chance to unwind before we returned home. Hence, the reason I am sitting here.”
“Oh. You don’t sound like you’re having fun.”
“Not at all. Now that you are here, the night is looking much better.”
Julia blushed prettily and then lowered her eyes before replying, “So…”
Before she could finish her statement, the two younger men returned, sliding into the booth and forcing her to press up against the third. “Hey, I’m Alexey. What’s your name?”
Julia couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm on the younger man’s face, “I’m Julia.”
Alexey took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it before reluctantly letting her pull it from his grasp. “So, you want to dance?”
Julia shook her head, “Not really.”
Alexey looked disappointed, but then seeing Tonya heading towards their table, he brightened up, “Do you know that girl?”
Julia had seen Tonya leave the dance floor and nodded her head for her to come over. “That’s my best friend, Tonya.”
“Think she might dance with me?” Alexey asked, never taking his eyes off the gorgeous red-head coming towards them.
“Probably. Why don’t you ask her?”
Alexey didn’t even wait for to reach the table before he jumped from the booth and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the dance floor at her nod of acceptance.
The other younger man excused himself and headed back to the dance floor, leaving Julia alone once again with the man whose name she didn’t even know. “I told you my name. Care to return the favor?”
Dmitry smiled and then nodded, “Dmitry. Since you don’t want to dance, would you care to head over to the small diner next door and grab a coffee? The loud music is beginning to wear.”
Julia had been thinking the same thing and nodded. Dmitry scooted from the booth and then pulled her from the booth. Her ankle twisted as she attempted to stand up and she fell against him, plastering herself across his entire front.
/> Dmitry wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close enough that he could smell her perfume. She smelled delicious! It had been many weeks since he had last spent time with a female as beautiful as Julia and he found himself reluctant to loosen his hold.
Julia looked up at him, knowing she should pull away, but somehow liking the feelings rushing through her body. He was hard in all the right places and she looked up into his face, wondering if his lips were as firm as they looked.
Dmitry gazed down upon her face, leaning in slowly to place a chaste kiss upon her lips. A firestorm of desire rushed through his body at their contact and he found himself deepening the kiss, regardless of the fact that they were in a crowded nightclub.
Finally regaining some self-control, he murmured, “Come, let’s get out of here.”
“Wait! I need to text my friend and tell her where I’m going. We kind of have a system for keeping each other safe, you know?”
No, he didn’t know, but if texting her girlfriend was some sort of ritual that allowed her to leave with him feeling safe, so be it. “Quickly.”
Julia looked at him, and then grabbed her phone from her purse and quickly typed out a message.
Dmitry escorted her from the crowded room, breathing a sigh of relief once they were outside in the cool night air and quiet. He placed his hand at the lowest part of her spine and felt the shiver that snaked up her vertebrae and the goose bumps that came out on her arms.
Julia had never reacted so strongly to a man in her life. She’d dated plenty of guys, but this one was something special. Too bad he was only in town on business! Making a quick decision, she decided that since he wasn’t going to be around long-term, there was no reason she couldn’t indulge in a little making out before heading home for the night.
She was too conservative to jump into bed with someone she just met, but making out with them, trading kisses and touches was just fine. She sensed him watching her as they stood on the sidewalk and glanced up at him, stepping in his chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck.