“So, you ready for this?” Nico asked.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Viktoriya was looking over the list of applicants for the security position open with her father. The perfect candidate had to be trustworthy, no drugs, no run-ins with the law — well, other than the good kind. She looked at her watch and sighed. Four more hours until her flight left. This was her dad’s way of keeping her busy. She knew that. Young Jordan, grandson of Stefan’s cousin Bethany, was seeing some woman who he worked with — causally, so he said — but it was enough for her to know she had to back off for a bit. She couldn’t condemn him for it. She had dated too.
“Miss Markov?”
Viktoriya pushed the speaker button on her intercom system. “Yes?”
“Next applicant is here.”
“Send him in.” Viktoriya sat back, twirling her pencil. Anyone who worked for her dad had to have a death wish. Not that he was crazy… well, yeah. He was.
The door opened, and Viktoriya looked up. Way up. He had to have been six-foot-four to her five-foot-five, and his icy blue eyes bored through her. He had short blond hair, cut military style. The look on his face seemed to tell her he had been expecting her father. He was built, very athletic-looking.
“Have a seat Mr —?”
“Tostov.”
“First name?”
“Luka.”
Viktoriya flipped through the folders and found his name. She opened his bio and skimmed it. This one she remembered. There hadn’t been a picture, but she had read his info. Graduated top of his class, went straight into the military, and was discharged due to “disciplinary action.” He had called a higher authority a shithead. Viktoriya smiled at that. A chip off the old Daddy block, but this one was much younger — in his early twenties.
Luka was looking her over. He had heard of Viktoriya Markov, the adopted daughter of Vince and Andrei. To work for them would be an honor. But to have to interview with a woman? Luka’s mouth filled with distaste. Women were weak. Although this one was at least beautiful. Her long black hair hung over one shoulder, she had full lips that were lipstick-free, and her eyes were a fierce grayish-blue.
“So, tell me why you want to work for my dads.” She had heard the same shit over and over from hundreds of hopeful applicants. Her father only chose two in the end. He hired once a year, and the men just kept coming, hoping to work for Andrei Panchenko or Vince Markov — a job with either would set them up for life. If they lived.
“I want to do more with my life.”
“Bullshit.” Viktoriya looked at him dead on.
“Pardon me?” Luka spluttered.
“Oh, please.” Viktoriya rose and walked around the room. “I want to be a better person. I want to defend the head of the Russian mob. I want to change the world. I want to teach the world to sing.” Viktoriya leaned toward his ear. “Just for once… be honest.”
Luka stood. “I do not need this from a woman.”
Viktoriya smiled. The first kick, to his kneecap, knocked him down, the second went to his throat. Luka bent over, coughing and spitting blood. Viktoriya crouched beside him. “Now, let’s try this again.” She handed him a tissue and sat on the edge of the desk. “Why do you want to work for my fathers?”
“I like excitement and the thrill of the kill. I have much respect for each of your fathers and how they treat traitors. I would give my life for either one of them,” Luka snarled.
“What about me? Would you take a bullet for me?”
“If I am asked to do so.”
“You think I’m weak, don’t you? It’s okay. I get that a lot, Luka. I’m a girl.” Viktoriya rolled her eyes. “I’m helpless and I need a man. I’m scared of my own shadow.” Viktoriya ran her hand over Luka’s firm shoulders. She grabbed the muscle at the base of his neck and squeezed. “Except, I’m not. I’m highly trained and could kill you where you sit with my bare hands.”
“I am sorry. I meant no disrespect.”
“Vikki?” Nikolai came bounding into the room and smiled at the huge guard who had fallen prey to his sister. “Ah, another one with woman issues?”
“Luka here is hired.” Viktoriya let him go. “Please tell HR to put him on the payroll effectively immediately. Goodbye, Luka.”
Viktoriya left and Nikolai hopped on the desk, smiling at the huge guy his sister had just bitch slapped. He put his hand out. “Nik Markov.”
“Asshole extraordinaire.” Luka put his hand out.
“She liked you. The last guy left with a broken leg.”
“She is quite…voracious.” Luka stood, hissing at the pain in his knee.
“Nikolai!”
“In here, Pops. Time to meet Poppa One.”
“Did your sister just beat up another applicant?” Vince walked in and stopped. Even at six-foot-two, Luka stood taller. “I hope she hired you.”
“Yes, sir.” Luka put his hand out. “Luka Tostov.”
“Legs or knees?”
“Knee and throat.”
Vince and Nikolai clapped softly. “Oh, bravo!”
“She is a force.”
“Oh, don’t even get me started.” Nikolai rolled his eyes.
“Where is my husband?”
“In here, babe.”
Andrei came in and stopped. “Viktoriya’s bodyguard?”
Luka stepped back. “I was told I would be working for you, as a personal bodyguard.”
Andrei took a good look at Luka. He was perfect for the job. Viktoriya had done well. “I am sending my daughter to Turkey when we return from Ireland. She is to meet with the Turks. You will accompany her, and if anything happens to my daughter…” Andrei shrugged. “I think you are aware of what my husband and I are capable of.”
“I will guard her with my life,” Luka said solemnly. “She does not know?”
“No. We’ve told her nothing as of yet. She will be infuriated.”
“Good luck, buddy.” Nikolai winked.
Stefan and Jordan waited in the pub for everyone arriving in Ireland. Phoebe was early, as always, spending time at her grandparents’ graves in the old cemetery and taking in the beauty of the castles and beaches. One by one, all of them arrived outside of the pub. As soon as Colin got out of the car, he was on the ground with Nikolai on top of him, smiling.
“God, I missed you!” Nikolai held him tight.
“I missed you.” Colin tightened his arms around Nik’s neck.
“Jensen!” Hunter ran.
Jensen met him halfway and they hugged tightly. Hunter wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in Jensen’s neck. He had missed him so much.
Jordan strolled up with a woman on his arm and Paul cocked an eyebrow. He smiled and hugged him as Jacob and Isabelle hugged her dads, Stefan and Jordan. Her daughter, Lucy, went running for the rest of the kids.
“Where’s Charlie and Michael?” Isabelle asked, not seeing her sister and husband.
“Coming tomorrow for the ceremony. You look good, Izzy,” Stefan answered.
“Thanks, Dad.” Isabelle hugged him tight.
“Ryan!” Evan crashed into him and hugged him tight.
“God, I missed you.” Ryan held him. They talked almost every night, but it hadn’t been enough. He wanted to feel Evan in his arms, wanted to kiss him and hold him. Ryan became aroused and backed away. “How’s the roommate?”
“An asshole.”
Joshua noticed Landon and Juliet pull up and moved toward them. Landon picked Joshua up.
“God, I missed you!”
“Put me down!” Josh laughed loudly.
Juliet wiggled between them and told Joshua, “Ask him about the cheese.”
“The cheese?” Josh asked puzzled.
“Come on.”
Tanner was walking the beach. Nico and Stefan were due to arrive later. He didn’t want to sit in the pub just yet. Drinking would come later. He watched the waves gently stroking the sand. He loved it here. Over the last few weeks, he and Nico had spok
en almost every night. Tanner had loved it. He wanted to be with him, to touch him and kiss him, but Nico always treated him as if he were still a kid.
The night of Homecoming he had been sure they were going to kiss, but afterward, Nico never mentioned it, and their conversations never steered in that direction. It was frustrating to want someone so much and not be able to have them. Tanner heard a loud whistle and turned around. Nico was standing on the other side of the beach.
He ran.
Nico took off running as fast as he could. This was his Tanner. He had missed him more than anything, and it hadn’t even been that long. He knew he was in love and he always would be — there would never be anyone for him except Tanner. They collided into each other and Nico picked him up and swung him around.
“I missed you!”
“God, I missed you, too!” Nico held him and nuzzled Tanner’s hair.
“It’s like watching a movie.” Caleb smiled as he watched his son with Tanner.
“God, they are so in love.” Tyler sighed.
“And stupid.” Damon snorted.
Tyler wanted to say something to his son. They were being stupid. They were in love with each other and too afraid to voice it. The subject of helping them along had come up more than once, but in the end, they had all agreed that when the time came, Nico and Tanner would get together on their own with no interference from anyone.
They all sat around the pub talking, almost everyone in their own conversation. Jensen smiled at Hunter and took his hand. If anything, his feelings had gotten stronger. He knew he was in love; he always had been. The feelings had never gone away.
“I missed you, man.” Hunter squeezed his hand.
“I missed you, too.”
“How’s England?” Hunter ran his thumb across the top of Jensen’s hand.
“Cold, rainy. You know, dreary.”
Ryan was watching Evan down yet another pint of beer. The guy could drink. “Jesus, Van…”
“Well, I go to school in England. If you can see over the bar, you can drink. Besides, if I stay drunk, I don’t have to deal with the roommate from hell.”
“Oh yeah, what’s his name? Cameron?”
“His name is asshole,” Evan corrected. “I want to smother him with a pillow.”
“Wow. That’s harsh.”
“You should see our dorm room, then you’d understand what I’m saying.” Evan loved Ryan’s eyes. They were so beautiful.
“What?” Ryan rubbed his hand over his face.
“Your eyes are so beautiful.” Evan slurred his words.
“Oh wow, you are drunk.”
“I love you, you know that, right?” Evan squeezed Ryan’s hand.
Ryan looked into his eyes and saw something more. Evan was looking at him with lust, but that couldn’t be right… he was the one who was gay, not Evan. He was the one who was in love.
“I love you too. I think you should slow down.”
“Pffft… I can handle my alcohol.”
“So, the cheese?” Josh prompted Landon.
“Oh, Bree.”
“Yeah? She cute?”
“She is and feisty.”
Viktoriya was watching Jordan with his girlfriend; she had a hold of his hand and Viktoriya felt a stab of jealousy, but this was how things went with them. She hadn’t dated much, basically dinner once and then a meeting with the dads that sent them running for the hills. Viktoriya sighed.
“Are you tired?” Luka raised an eyebrow.
“Tired of you,” Viktoriya snapped.
“Someone is bitchy.”
Viktoriya turned on him. “Is that a time of the month joke? I bleed for five days and I’m still alive asshole. Back off.”
Luka crossed his arms. “I was not making a reference to your menstrual cycle.”
His blue eyes were blazing at her, and Viktoriya saw his jaw tighten. “I may have to use the restroom. Are you going to follow me?”
“Do I have to help you wipe?”
“God, I hate you.”
“It is your own fault. You hired me.” Luka kept his face expressionless and fixed his eyes on hers.
“Shouldn’t you be watching my dad? You’re his bodyguard.”
“I am.” Luka kept his eyes on hers. “Right now, he is talking with your uncle, and he just took a drink of his beer.”
Viktoriya looked around him to gaze at her dad. Sure enough, he was talking to her Uncle Paul and had the glass to his lips. “How did —”
Luka walked away, leaving her fuming. God, that man irritated the shit out of her.
Jordan walked over to her. “Vikki.”
“Jordan. She’s pretty.”
“Pretty stupid.”
Viktoriya rolled her eyes. “Why do you date them if they are stupid?”
“Bored, and I can’t be with the one I really want to be with.”
“Did you have to bring her with you?” Viktoriya asked.
“I thought you were with him.” Jordan pointed to Luka.
“No!” Viktoriya almost shouted it. She looked around and lowered her voice. “I’m not.”
“Well, shit.” Jordan sighed. “I brought her because I thought you had someone and I didn’t want to stand around watching you with someone else. Shit.”
“Well, you can’t just dump her. We’re in Ireland.” Viktoriya took his hand. “So, you don’t love her, right?”
“I only love one woman, Vikki.”
Viktoriya sighed her relief. “I love you too.”
Jordan pulled her in his arms and held her close. “I’m sorry. God, this was stupid of me.” He pulled away, looking into her eyes. “She’s not my girlfriend. She’s my assistant. I’ll fix this.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Vikki watched as Jordan’s assistant was eyeing Luka.
“Wow, that was quick.”
They had the ceremony on the beach, followed by fireworks at the gardens, counting down the seconds. Mark pulled Paul against him and kissed him. His husband’s hands smoothed through his hair before he was swept up into his arms. This place had always been special to them. They had married here, and while they had been apart for months, they had come back together in the same spot —even more in love.
“I love you.”
“Until my last breath.” Mark ran his fingertip over Paul’s lips.
Conner, Colin, and Phoebe watched their parents and smiled, holding hands. They had heard all the stories and watched their parents grow even more in love. They had been very lucky in life… and love.
Nico was determined to kiss Tanner at midnight and finally got his wish. It was a short kiss on the lips, but it had been enough. They were both looking at each other and Tanner knew he had wanted more.
Nikolai, in his rush to kiss Colin, caught half his lips and they both blushed furiously. “Sorry.”
“Happy New Year, Nik.” Colin could still feel the tingle in his lips.
Stefan strolled the beach. He’d had a few beers and needed some air. Phoebe hadn’t really spoken to him much over the last few months. She had her own life and her own job. Things had gotten a little better between them, but not by much. When he called, she actually answered, and they had spoken once or twice. He still loved her. He would never stop and he knew that. He would spend the rest of his life alone loving the one person he could never have.
“Stefan?”
Stefan turned to see Phoebe standing there. “Hi.”
“How are you?” Phoebe thought Stefan had gotten even better looking. His face was a little more rugged and he had gotten taller.
“I’m good, working a lot.” Stefan resumed walking and Phoebe fell into step with him.
Phoebe didn’t know if it was the beer making her light-headed or being near Stefan, but she grabbed his hand. He stopped and looked at her, then down at their hands. He threaded their fingers together and resumed walking. She relaxed a little. He hadn’t pushed her hand away and Phoebe watched him out of the corner of
her eye.
“So, are you dating?”
Stefan stopped. “You know I’m not.”
“Actually, I didn’t know that.” Phoebe remembered the girl she had seen hugging him in his office.
“But you are, aren’t you?” Stefan dropped her hand. “So let’s not pretend anything has changed. I was set up, you fell for it, and here we are years later still apart because you can’t forgive me for something I didn’t actually do.” Stefan walked away as fast as he could. He couldn’t do this anymore.
Phoebe sat down on the beach and cried. She missed Stefan. She would always love him, and that was one thing she knew she could never change.
Hunter was laughing his ass off. He had fallen in the parking lot and Jensen threw him over his shoulder for the trip to their cottage.
“You are so strong.”
Jensen shook his head. “You are so drunk.”
“Uh uh… am not,” Hunter argued.
Jensen put him down on the bed, pulled Hunter’s shirt off, and then undid his pants. “Stop moving around.”
“Hey!” Hunter put his hand over Jensen’s. “What are you doing?”
“Taking your pants off, moron. Get in bed.”
Hunter sighed and lay back as his pants came off; Jensen pulled the comforter back and rolled him over. He sat on the edge of the bed threading his fingers through Hunter’s hair. He loved him. He always would.
“Jensen?”
“Yeah?”
“That feels good.” Hunter sighed. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Stay with me,” Hunter mumbled.
Jensen got undressed and crawled into bed with him. Hunter’s arms wrapped around him and he sighed. He loved him so much.
“Jensen?”
“Yes?” Jensen whispered.
Hunter wanted to say he loved him… was in love with him… “Goodnight.”
Assassin's Angst: The Santorno Series Page 8