by Ruff, K. S.
She burst out laughing. “Why do you think we wear these? The further we are from the hole, the better!”
I shook my head, and the room spun. “I can’t throw up in there. I’ll try to hold it down until I get outside. Maybe I’ll make it to the hotel.”
Oni glanced at her cell phone. “Nonna has the car waiting out back for you. I have to go distract Mr. Markov. He’s going to be mad when he discovers you’re gone.”
I reached for her arm. “I don’t want you getting hurt. Why don’t you come with me? Nonna can give him my apologies and tell him I was sick so I had to return to the hotel.”
She smiled tightly. “Mr. Markov wants you… bad. He isn’t going to risk losing your affections by hurting me.”
I shivered. “Do you think he’ll try to track me down?”
She nodded. “I’d bet my life on it. Now, let’s get you out of here before he sends someone into the bathroom.”
“My purse,” I protested. My purse held my passport. I couldn’t leave it behind.
Oni shoved me out of the bathroom and navigated me further down the hall. “Sammi has your purse.”
Igor popped his head through a door at the end of the hall. “Hurry!”
Oni pulled me in for a quick hug. “Go with Igor. He will take you back to the hotel and get you access to your room. Don’t answer the door for anyone. Pretend you aren’t there. I have to go distract Mr. Markov.”
I backed toward Igor as Oni ran the opposite way down the hall. Igor reached for my hand and yanked me out the door. He gentled as he settled me into the front passenger seat. He ran around the front of the car, then climbed into the driver’s seat. “Nonna will have the rest of your team at the hotel within the hour. She’s trying to get Shae away from Konstantin and smooth things over between Cory and Maxim.”
I sank down into the seat. “We’re supposed to help resolve conflict, not increase it.” I sighed heavily. “This is all my fault.”
Igor glanced at me questioningly. “Why is this your fault? You had no idea what you were walking into, and it’s not like you can tell Maxim no. None of us can.”
I shook my head. “I should have brought Rafael.”
Igor’s eyebrows shot up. “Who is Rafael?”
I looked out the window and groaned. The storefronts passed by at a dizzying pace. “My boyfriend.”
Igor shook his head. “If you had brought your boyfriend, there’s a good chance he would have ended up dead. Maxim isn’t going to let some random guy stand in the way of what he wants. My guess is he’s going to want you even more after tonight because you ducked out of there. You might want to think about catching the next flight out of the country.”
I cradled my head in my hands. “God, it never ends.”
“What never ends?” Igor asked curiously. He turned to face me as he pulled in front of the hotel.
“The endless stream of bad guys who want to rape, kidnap, and murder me,” I responded dejectedly.
Igor stepped out of the car. He walked around the front of the car and opened the door for me. “Maybe you should cut your hair and try not to look so pretty.”
“Wow,” I breathed as I refused his hand. “Way to blame the victim.”
Igor shrugged as he waved in my general direction. “You can’t fault men for wanting you when you look like that.”
“I’ve flown straight into the Stone Age,” I grumbled irritably.
* * * * * *
I carefully opened one eye. I couldn’t bear to move any other muscles. Shae was sleeping next to me in bed. I glanced over her shoulder while trying not to move my head. Sammi and Cory were curled together on the other bed. When did everyone decide to sleep in our room?
Shae stirred next to me. “You okay?” she inquired softly.
“I feel like death,” I responded miserably.
She nodded. “Me too.”
I winced. As quietly as Shae had spoken, it was still too loud. “Is their alcohol a hundred proof?”
“Yes,” Cory moaned from the other side of the room.
I glanced over at him. “Is that why it hit me so hard?”
Shae pulled the pillow over her head, then promptly removed it. “You’re skinny to begin with, and you didn’t eat lunch or dinner… not a good combination when you’re drinking hundred proof vodka.” Her eyes narrowed at me. “How many shots did you have anyway?” She pulled the pillow back over her face before I could respond.
“I don’t know. Six, maybe seven shots. I kind of lost track there at the end.”
“I was sitting next to the dean, so I couldn’t dump my shots into the water glass,” Sammi moaned miserably.
“I had to do four more shots with Maxim and Konstantin after you left,” Cory complained. “It was the only way I could think to make the peace.”
I lifted Shae’s pillow. “Did Konstantin kiss you?”
She giggled. “Yes.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe I let Maxim kiss me.”
“He didn’t exactly give you a choice,” she mused.
I sat up in bed and nearly cried from the pain that shot through my head. “What the hell? Why isn’t anyone allowed to tell them no?”
Cory sat up on the other side of the room. “I think the government officials have just learned to pick their battles. They look the other way on things like this, and then use it as leverage when they negotiate on the important stuff.”
I tucked my knees under my chin. “What are we going to do? What if they come after Shae and me? Do you think it’s safe for us to stay?”
Sammi sat up in bed and narrowed her eyes at me. “You said you could handle this.”
I stared at her incredulously. “This? This was not on your list of things I’d have to endure.”
She shrugged. “Wouldn’t you rather be seduced by some guy in the mafia than end up dead in a back alley?”
My voice rose at least three octaves. “Who says those are mutually exclusive things? I’m not sleeping with the guy to maintain the peace. I have a boyfriend. I’m not going to cheat on him, especially with someone who’s associated with the Russian mafia.”
Sammi sighed. “Nonna, Oni, and Igor made it pretty clear last night that no one tells that guy no. If he propositions you, and you tell him no, then you may very well end up dead. Maybe you should go out with him. I’m sure he’s just looking for a challenge. He’ll get bored if you don’t resist.”
I glared at her. “I have tried the path of least resistance. It does not work like that.” I threw the pillow against the door. “Arghh! Why does this keep happening to me?”
A knock sounded at the door.
We exchanged glances. Cory put his finger to his lips and shook his head.
The person knocking spoke up. “U menya yest' dostavka.”
I looked at Cory. “Did he say delivery?”
Cory nodded, then climbed out of bed.
I held my breath as he cracked open the door.
Cory muttered something under his breath as he swung the door open. He pointed toward Shae and me. “Over there.”
The delivery guy shot Cory an admiring glance as he eyed the three of us girls sitting in bed. We were all wearing pajamas. He ducked back into the hallway before hauling two large vases of white roses into the room. He handed a vase to Shae and a vase to me. He left the room and carried in two more vases, which he handed to Sammi and Cory.
I peeked around the flowers to look at Shae.
She laughed as he brought two more vases into the room. By the time he was finished, there wasn’t any place left to stand.
“Holy crap,” I breathed. “Are these roses for you or me?”
Shae shifted the vase in her hands to the windowsill. “I don’t know, but this is already proving to be the best birthday ever!”
* * * * * *
We ended up splitting the flowers between our two rooms so Shae and I could clear a path to the shower. Once we were showered and dressed, we decided to take the flowers
to a nearby children’s hospital. Shae and I sifted through the roses to ensure there weren’t any thorns. We found a card addressed to Shae and a card addressed to me in two separate but identical arrangements.
Shae read her card first. “Not everything is as it seems. Some men are labeled with ominous names even though they seek honorable things. I hope to see you soon. Konstantin.”
I was stunned. “That’s a pretty powerful statement. Why would he write that instead of something more romantic?”
Shae shrugged. “Maybe he doesn’t want me judging him or assuming the worst. I don’t know. The message is very odd. What does yours say?”
I read the note aloud. “I think, but dare not speak. Maxim.”
Shae’s eyes widened. “That’s a line from Shakespeare. Macbeth, I think.”
I studied the card. “What do you think it means?”
She looked thoughtful. “He’s afraid of scaring you off. He suspects that if you knew what he was really thinking, you’d probably run screaming in the other direction.”
I nodded. “I don’t have a clue what Maxim is thinking, and I still want to run screaming in the opposite direction.”
Shae and I tucked the notes into our purses and gathered two vases each. We walked to the room next door to retrieve Cory and Sammi. I kicked at the door. “You guys ready?”
Sammi opened the door. I propped the door open with my foot while she scooped up two additional vases. “I think this is going to take a couple of trips, but maybe we’ll luck out and find a van big enough to hold all of these.”
Cory grabbed two vases. He balanced one on his knee as he locked the door. He trailed after us as we walked toward the stairs.
Nonna was sitting in the lobby. Surprise flitted across her face when she saw the roses. Then her face fell. “Maxim,” she breathed.
“And Konstantin,” Shae added with a soft smile.
I eyed Nonna nervously. I was concerned she might throw a wrench into my plan, so I hurriedly explained. “There are twenty four vases total, with a dozen roses in each. Shae and I are each going to keep one vase of roses, so as not to offend Konstantin and Maxim, but we want to take the remaining flowers to the children’s hospital down the street. Can you help us?”
Nonna fisted her hands on her hips. “You are going to insult Maxim if you give those flowers away.”
I waited patiently for her to concede, knowing that silence could be an effective conflict resolution strategy.
She huffed out a breath and threw her hands up dramatically. “Fine. Set those down here and go get the rest. I’ll load these into the trunk of my car.”
Nonna came around by the time we arrived at the hospital. The nurses were easily swayed, once they learned the roses had already been stripped of thorns by the florist. We wanted to hand individual roses out, so each child could have his own flower. I was thrilled to discover there were enough flowers for all of the children in the hospital who were old enough to have one. It took us over two hours to hand out all two hundred and sixty four flowers.
Nonna whisked us off to lunch after we delivered the flowers. She insisted on ordering for us. The waitress brought sparkling water, soup, salad, and bread. Oni and Igor showed up a few minutes after the food arrived. Oni settled in next to me.
I pushed my salad plate toward Oni and offered her my fork. I shot Nonna an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but I can’t eat the salad. It would be a shame for it to go to waste.”
Nonna nodded in understanding.
Oni immediately dug into the salad. “Thanks!”
Igor reached for a piece of bread. “What are you guys doing after lunch?”
I swirled my spoon through the soup and eyed it warily. My stomach was still feeling queasy. “We were planning to do some sightseeing over the next two days, since we don’t have to be at the university until Monday, but none of us are feeling particularly well after drinking all that alcohol.”
Cory nodded. “We’re going back to the hotel to sleep after lunch. Hopefully, the weather will hold so we can go sightseeing tomorrow.”
Nonna buttered her bread. “I think you guys should get some rest this afternoon. Do you want me to have some food delivered to the hotel, or would you like to go out for dinner this evening?”
I glanced at Shae. She shook her head. Clearly, she didn’t want Nonna knowing it was her birthday. I suspected Shae was fighting a losing battle on this front. If we had been investigated as thoroughly as Oni had suggested, then Nonna already knew it was Shae’s birthday.
Sammi spoke up. “We’re going to stay close to the hotel tonight. There’s a restaurant right next to the hotel. If we get hungry, we can always eat there. Please don’t worry about us, Nonna. We are used to fending for ourselves.”
Nonna looked at us knowingly as she sipped on her Perrier. “You will probably run into Maxim and Konstantin if you go out tonight. As you learned yesterday, they already have someone following you.”
My eyes skimmed the other patrons in the restaurant. “The guy obviously knows where we are, since he had flowers delivered to our room. I’m not sure we’re safe staying at the hotel. Maybe we should switch hotels.”
Nonna laughed. “That would be pointless.”
My shoulders fell. “Maybe I should just go home.”
Nonna’s eyes flared. “You made a commitment to my university and my students.”
“Yes, I know,” I responded dejectedly.
Her eyes locked on mine. “You will stay and you will see that commitment through.”
I nodded in understanding.
Shae reached for my arm. “I think we should head back to the hotel.”
Nonna paid the bill. We said goodbye to Oni and Igor, then filed into Nonna’s car. Not a single word was spoken on the drive back to the hotel.
* * * * * *
The sun was down by the time I woke. I glanced at the clock on my cell phone. “It’s already seven o’clock!”
Shae rolled over in her bed. She curled back into a ball as she turned to face me. “I know you’re scared to go out tonight. Why don’t we just stay in?”
I shook my head as I sat up in bed. “No way am I ruining your birthday. You want to go out for dinner and dancing? Then we’re going out for dinner and dancing. Besides, we’re probably safer out in public than we are sitting here at the hotel.”
Shae nodded. “Are you going to call Rafael before we go out?”
I shook my head again. “No. I spoke with him just before we left for dinner last night, and I texted him when Igor brought me back to the hotel. I’ll text him again in a few minutes, but I don’t want to call him again… not just yet.”
Shae walked to the dresser. She glanced at me as she began digging through her clothes. “Why not?”
I sighed. “Rafael will pick up on the fact that I’m hiding something when he hears my voice. I don’t want to lie to him, but I don’t want to tell him what’s going on with Maxim. Igor said he’d end up dead if he got in Maxim’s way. If Rafael gets wind that some mafia guy has his sights set on me, he’ll be on the first plane over here. So I want to hold off talking to him until this thing with Maxim blows over.”
Shae nodded. “I understand why you don’t want Rafael here. I wouldn’t want my boyfriend going up against the Russian mafia, but this may not blow over any time soon. You may have to talk to Rafael before this thing with Maxim is resolved.” She offered a sympathetic smile as she set a dress and a pair of heels at the end of her bed. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”
I sent text messages to Rafael, Lexie, Kadyn, Cenia, and my mom. Then I pulled out a pair of blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt and tossed them on my bed. I slipped into the shower when Shae was done. She had left the bathroom all steamy and warm.
I tied a towel around my chest and opened the door to the bathroom so the steam would roll out while I dried my hair. I tackled my makeup as soon as the fog cleared from the mirror. I swiped dark brown eye shadow and plenty of mascara over
my eyes, but I kept my lip gloss and blush light. Then I curled my hair so it fell down my back in waves. I was planning to dress down, but I didn’t want to look like a complete wall flower.
I tightened the towel around my chest and walked back into the bedroom to retrieve my clothes. I stopped short of the bed. “Hey, what did you do with my jeans?”
Shae glared at me. “You are not wearing jeans. You’re wearing this.” She pointed to the fitted black dress with the bolero sleeves that I had worn on my first date with Rafael. She had also dug out my four inch glossy red heels and the same red, black, and silver beaded bracelet that I had paired with the dress when I wore it for Rafael. “I know what you’re trying to do, but I want to go someplace nice, and they may have a dress code.”
I shook my head as I reflected on Rafael’s reaction to the dress and shoes. “This is so not going to end well.”
Sammi rapped on the door. “Are you guys ready?”
“Just a minute!” Shae called as she fastened the straps on her sandals.
I cursed under my breath. I dropped the towel, tugged a black lace thong and bra on, and pulled the dress over my head. I reached for my purse as I stepped into my heels. I was still tugging the bracelet over my wrist when Shae opened the door. I smoothed down the dress and fidgeted with the bracelet all the way down to the lobby.
Oni grinned when she saw the four of us file out of the stairwell. Igor rolled his eyes.
I smiled at Oni. She was wearing a silver sequined top with a black miniskirt and black fishnet stockings. “Do you guys take turns hanging out in the lobby just in case we decide to go somewhere?”
She laughed. “Pretty much. I heard it was Shae’s birthday, and I figured you guys would be going out.”
I looked at Igor, who now appeared to be taking wardrobe instructions from the mafia. He was dressed entirely in black. “Do you guys want to join us for dinner?”
He smiled tightly. “That’s the order we received from Nonna.”
Shae linked her arm in Igor’s. “Good, then you can be my date.”
Igor brightened instantly.
I linked my arm in Oni’s as Cory tracked down a taxi. The six of us climbed into the broken down van. Since we had no particular restaurant in mind, we let Oni choose. We arrived at the restaurant twenty minutes later.