by Vi Carter
THE HANDLER
THE CELLS OF KALASHOV
BOOK TWO
A DARK BRATVA ROMANCE
BY VI CARTER
Other Books by VI CARTER
A BROKEN HEART SERIES
SAVING GRACE
CLAIMING AMBER
TAKING LAURA
WILD IRISH SERIES
RECKLESS (prequel)
VICIOUS #1
RUTHLESS #2
FEARLESS #3
MERCILESS #4
HEARTLESS #5
THE BOYNE CLUB
DARK #1
DARKER #2
DARKEST #3
PITCH BLACK #4
THE OBSESSED DUET
A DEADLY OBSESSION #1
A CRUEL CONFESSION #2
THE CELLS OF KALASHOV
THE SIXTH (NOVELLA)
THE COLLECTOR #1
THE HANDLER #2
THE YOUNG IRISH REBELS
MAFIA PRINCE #1
MAFIA KING #2
MAFIA GAMES #3
MAFIA BOSS #4
WARNING
This book is a dark romance. This book contains scenes that may be triggering to some readers and should be read by those only 18 or older.
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PROLOGUE
EVIE
I’m ten again.
I can smell the salt that the wind carries along its long arms and dips into my hair, stirring the long strands. My lip tugs up painfully as the broken shells, and small pebbles dig into my bare feet. My toes automatically curl around the pebbles to keep my footing.
I grip my hair and push it back while looking at the small light that shines in the cottage window, guiding me back to the warmth of my bed.
It’s tempting.
My dad always said the water called to me like a sinking ship called to the captain. He’s right. I know I shouldn't be out here this late at night, but the salt on my lips has me stepping closer to the crashing waves.
My skin tingles with the whip of the harsh breeze and the anticipation of the ice-cold water. I’m walking faster. The smile on my face is growing. An excited scream that I can’t hold in pours from my mouth and collides with the roar of the waves.
Water rushes over my feet, and I have a sense of belonging. Even at the age of ten, the water is where I am free, where I’m on an adventure. The water embraces me and bites me at the same time. Sound shifts as a wave takes me under, and I open my eyes. Nothing makes sense, really, but I know it’s the ocean. I know I’m being swallowed into a different world. My body grows weightless, and I let the ocean carry me along, the white spray of another wave rolls closer, and I’d laugh if I weren’t underwater. I’m spun out of control, and I give myself over to the ocean. The surface splits above my head, and I take in a lung full of air as I ride the wave back to the shore.
I’m breathless with happiness and turn to the sea again. I’m ready to take another ride. I pause. An old wooden boat that’s bigger than a rowboat moves across the waves, too fast. Even at ten, I think it’s too fast. I can’t see anyone in the boat but watch as the waves raise it into the air like an Olympian raising a trophy.
It’s flung around as it rides up onto the shore, the impact against the stones tearing it nearly apart. The sea spits it out, and I wait until the waves recede before running along the shore to the wreck. My ten-year-old brain is excited about finding treasure inside the boat. The idea of a hidden message or even a hidden map has my small legs pumping faster.
A green tarp covers half the inside of the boat. Gripping it, I pull it back. I’m aware of the wave rising up again behind me as I pull the tarp off completely. A small body is curled up on the floor of the boat. Her legs are so white, and that’s what makes the red marks on her ankles so stark. Her frame lays motionless on the bottom of the boat, and I think she’s my age, but I can’t be sure as her hair covers her face.
I jump in, ready to pull her out, ready to help her when the wave that I had forgotten about covers us both. I have a split second to reach out and grab her raw wrist before we are lifted and dragged back into the sea. I know fighting with the ocean is pointless, so I try to allow it to take me.
This time, when we spin and shift, it isn’t like before. I’m afraid for the girl I have in my grasp. The water keeps us under longer than it normally does. My lungs burn, and I open my eyes to the darkened sea before my head collides with something sharp. I hold her hand until I can’t any longer, and I’m sinking.
I open my mouth to call out for my dad. Water pours in, and the burn in my lungs has me gripping my chest. That’s my last memory of home.
CHAPTER ONE
LUCCA
“Lucca, take a seat.”
The silver-haired man is not one I have had the privilege of meeting.
“Thank you, Igor. It’s an honor.” Unbuttoning my suit jacket, I sit down across from him. Behind Igor is the steel and glass jungle of our city. A city that Igor rules with no mercy.
“This is a sensitive topic. One I want my best man on.”
I reel with the compliment. Igor leans closer, placing his joined hands on the desk. A silver band with a ruby in the center is the only jewelry on his thick fingers.
I’m tempted to drag my leg up, but I remain still as Igor’s small blue eyes roam across my face.
“You are good at what you do.” His lips that hang low on his face turn up slightly as he wags a finger at me. “That job in London..” He trails off as his smile grows, and the admiration in his gaze would give the illusion that we are friends and I should relax.
An illusion, that’s all this is. “Thank you.”
He nods several times before his lips crumple back into their down-turned positioned on his face.
“A yacht that was transporting highly valued assets was attacked as it was docking.”
I’m sitting forward now as this was business. This is what I did. I handled situations. More precisely, I handled people. Ones that the bratva needed eradicated for good. I got the call, did the job, and no one ever asked how I did it or where the person disappeared to. It was a gift.
“The full security team was wiped out quickly. Camera footage, of course, is gone. All the assets were taken.”
“I know this isn’t your area, Lucca.” A soft knock at the door has Igor glancing at it. “Come in.”
I’m tempted to turn in my seat. I’m tempted to see the face the voice belongs to. I have a knack for faces and names.
“The Torpedo is here to see you, sir. I knew you would want to know.”
The Torpedo was a contract killer for Igor. Is he putting two of us on the job? I work alone.
Igor’s gaze slides to me. I haven’t taken my eyes off the man. He nods at whoever is at the door before he continues speaking to me.
“Another matter, Lucca.” He exhales loudly and turns to his laptop. He hits a few keys before he pauses, stares at the screen, and turns it to me.
An image of a young woman pacing a room fills the camera. She doesn’t look up, so I can’t see her face, but the white lace gown that hugs her body makes my trousers tighten. Long black hair flows down her back. She turns and looks up at the camera. Frightened eyes darken before she looks away and sits down.
She’s beautiful.
“She is the only asset that wasn’t taken,” Igor says.
I haven’t looked away from the screen as she sits down on the bed and drags her legs up to her chest. Her bare feet dig
into the mattress.
“Why wasn’t she killed?” The moment I say it, my skin grows tight across my bones at the thought of anyone destroying something so beautiful.
The screen is moved, the image of the young woman disappears.
“She hid. That’s what she told my men. She’s the only witness.”
A tingle races along the back of my neck, but I don't reach back and scratch it. I’m assuming the other assets were women too. The fact that they are highly valued can only mean one thing; they must be virgins. They make a lot of money on the black market.
“I need you to find out what she saw and get my assets back.”
Igor moves papers around his desk.
“No disrespect, sir, but this isn’t my area.”
Igor looks up at me. “I know that. That’s why I want you on the case. You have always shown great discretion, and every job, you get done.”
I sit forward. “Assassinating people.” I remind Igor. That was my job, my role in the Bratva. I wasn’t a detective.
Igor’s lips drag up. “You will get to assassinate people, no doubt about that, Lucca.”
Irritation makes my skin tight.
“I want you on this.”
I can’t refuse. I’ve already spoken out of place.
Igor picks up the phone and presses only two buttons. He was ringing someone within the building. “Bring her in here.” He hangs up.
Igor pushes documents over to me. “All the information about the layout of the yacht, codes.” He waves a hand in the air as the door opens behind me. Footsteps are heavy—a male. There is a second set that is cushioned, and I think of the barefooted woman. I don’t turn but take the papers off the desk as a large security man steps to the side.
She appears a second later. Her blue eyes shine with fear. Tears have left marks on her creamy skin.
Igor stands and walks to her, taking her hand, and presses a quick kiss to it.
“My beautiful Evie, everything will be okay.”
This was very personal to Igor. The fact he knew the beauty by her name made me pay even more attention. A small blue diamond mark on the side of her thumb clarified my suspicions about the girls. They were virgins. The marking was a brand that men with lots of money knew; Men who could pay millions for someone like Evie.
“This is Lucca, and he will be taking care of you.”
For the first time, Evie looks at me. Her collar bones jut out sharply as the air is dragged into her lungs. Fear lights up her blue eyes.
“He will help us.” Igor takes her chin in his thick fingers, dragging her gaze away from me. “You need to help him, Printsessa.”
She doesn’t answer, and Igor releases her before sitting back down.
I want to keep looking at Evie, but I know better and focus on Igor, who has returned to his laptop.
“Any information you find out, you can update me here.” He turns away from the laptop and copies a number down from the screen onto a small piece of paper that I take from his outstretched fingers.
I put the piece of paper in my jacket pocket. This whole situation wasn’t standard, but once again, I remember my place and don’t question Igor. Circling in the back of my mind is that I’ve been set up to fail.
I rise as Igor walks around the desk. He pauses at Evie. “Don’t disappoint me.” His words have her nodding.
He takes my outstretched hand and pulls it to his abdomen. His gaze meets mine. He doesn’t have to say the words. They are shining in his eyes. I’m not to disappoint him either. He releases me. For Evie, her sentence might be a brothel, but for me, it would be death.
The large security man leads Evie outside, and I follow. My eyes can’t help but take in the curve of her ass. She glances at me over her shoulder as if sensing me watching her. She’s quick to look away as I bypass her. My own security men rise as I step into the lobby. All three fix their headsets and adjust their suit jackets.
They fall into step around Evie and me as we leave the lobby and step into the elevator. Only then does Igor’s security veer off. My gaze searches the lobby for the Torpedo, but he’s nowhere in sight.
The ride down is long from the top floor of the building. Evie’s shoulders are hunched; a small rise of them lets me know the beauty is breathing. She’s terrified, and that’s not always a bad thing. I need her more than she can imagine.
The doors open, and we file out, my men flanking us as we leave the building and enter the waiting limo. Evie and two of my security join me in the back. Michail rides up front with the driver.
The limo shifts as it moves into a lane of traffic. She’s leaning towards the blacked-out windows, staring at the steel world as it moves by slowly.
“What did you see?” I ask her.
She sits back, like my voice startled her. Blue eyes flash from me to my security. I could tell her no one would hurt her, but that was a lie. One dead girl and the rest saved would be better than no girls for Igor. I would do what I needed to in order to complete this task. No matter how strongly her beauty drew me in.
Even as I think of hurting her, my skin grows tight again, and I open my suit jacket. Her eyes dart to my fingers before bouncing back up to my face.
“There were men.” Her accent is unusual, a mixture of Russian and something else that is sharp. She swallows and toys with her hands in her lap.
“Lots of men.” Her gaze is fixated on her hands, and when I don’t speak, she looks up at me. Her gaze glazes over. “They were so quick. Like ghosts.”
“How many?” I keep my tone sharp, so it pierces through her foggy memory. Fear is curling her thoughts tightly up. I’ve seen the look in so many eyes, the same look she is giving to me now.
Pain often pierces it, but right now, I would try with my tone.
Her brows drag down, and she scrunches up her face before relaxing it again. “Five, six…” Her lips move like she wants to throw out more numbers, but when she looks at me, she slams them shut.
“What did these men do?”
Lenny, who’s to my right, is leaning slightly towards Evie, hanging on her every word, or hanging on her beauty.
“Anything you want to add, Lenny?”
Lenny snaps back in his seat. “No, boss.”
I haven’t looked away from Evie, but she is glancing at all three of us. “They… they killed all our security.” Now she won’t look at me at all, and her lack of sharing piques my interest. She’s hiding something.
“All the security were in one place?” I ask.
Her head snaps up to me. “There was an incident on the boat.” Her fear is gone, a defensive tone takes over.
She doesn’t expand on what the incident was, and I don’t push; instead, she squirms, and when the limo stops, Pavel opens the door.
“After you,” I say to Evie.
She gathers the white material around her and climbs out, giving me a nice view of the curve of her ass. I follow, and Lenny moves behind me.
The ride up to the penthouse is quiet. Evie places herself close to the doors, and I don’t mind standing at the back and taking her in. A body like hers, never having been touched, is a fucking temptation. The doors open, and she steps out into the penthouse.
My men go to their usual spots. Lenny stays by the door, Michail moves into the main room, and Pavel starts a search of the house. I can hear the radio in Lenny’s ear buzzing with the word clear as Pavel checks each room.
Evie doesn’t move. I remove my jacket and hand it to Lenny before pulling off my tie.
“All clear.” Pavel returns to the room moments later, and I’m released from my spot at the doors. I have too many enemies, so I can never be too careful.
“Sit down.” I point at the large L-shaped couch that takes up a portion of the main room. Evie moves towards it and sits on the edge while staring straight ahead. Now that I had her in one of my homes, I would continue my questions.
“The incident that attracted all the security, what was it?” Her shoulders sti
ffen at my question.
I pour myself a small vodka and walk over to the couch. I don’t sit down. Instead, I stand across from her, leaning on the fireplace that I don’t think has ever been lit.
“One of the girls wasn’t well.” The lie falls from her lips, and once again, I’m fascinated with her accent. I can’t place the mix. Her bottom lip is larger than the top; both chewed from all her distress.
“Is that normal that the whole security team would attend to one sick girl?”
She tightens her hands in her lap again. I can see the nervous tremble that takes over her fingers. No matter how tight she holds them in her lap, I see them shake. “No.” Her one word is a whispered lie.
I empty the glass of vodka. “Why don’t you get some rest.”
Her blue eyes widen, and she’s nodding in agreement like it’s the best idea ever. She rises, and I step closer to her. “The rest might clear your head and stop all the lies from pouring from your lips.”
She’s shaking her head, color pouring into her creamy skin.
I take another step closer, and instead of her fear growing, her eyes harden, and she juts out her chin and holds her head higher.
“Do you know what they do to pretty liars?”
Some of her defiance shrivels away. She’s smart enough not to deny she’s lying, but I still don’t like how defiantly she is staring at me.
I take another step. I don’t touch her, but I’m close enough that if I wanted to, I could. “Girls like you can make a lot of money from one buyer. But it’s not the only option. Have you heard of the mill?”
She holds up a shaking hand with the small blue diamond tattoo.
I laugh, and she flinches.
“Oh, Printsessa.” She flinches again at the endearment that Igor had used for her. It means Russian Princess. “That little diamond won’t save you.”
I step away from her terrified stare. “Get some rest and clear your head,” I say over my shoulder. Lenny holds out my jacket, and I take it.