by Kimber Chin
"This was a mistake." Chan pressed a button. The divider between them and the driver lowered. "Take us back." The divider rolled back up again. "Please express my apologies to Kaerta for this." He gestured to her. "To offset any inconvenience, the two of you will have a seat at my table tonight."
That was not a request. They were having dinner with the wife-killer. "Thank you. I'm sure Nikky will be ecstatic."
"She's back, Boss."
Back? She was alive? Nik turned, dazed.
"Bring her here, Pavel."
"Grandfather." He would go to her. She was back. Back. His brat. Nik had thought, when they saw her on the surveillance video, struggling, Joey Chan's man tossing her into the limo, he'd thought...
"In private, Nikolay." Grandfather puffed on his cigar. He had spent the entire morning chain smoking. "You don't want them to see you like this."
Like he cared what other people thought. "She's my fiancee." His. He thought he'd lost her.
"Showing weakness in front of others puts her at greater risk."
What a hypocrite. "If it had been Grandmother?" Wars had been waged over his grandmother, their tempestuous relationship a thing of family legend.
The cigar was crushed in the ashtray. "We are not talking about your grandmother." No one did since she passed.
"No, we're talking about my fiancee." His. "And I will kill Chan for taking her." If she'd been harmed...
"You will not." She stood in the doorway, hands on her hips, so tiny, so defiant.
All his worry converted into anger. "You will not tell me what to do, Brat." He directed that anger at her. "You gave up that right when you left me." She left him. That cut him to the bone.
"For your own protection, ass." She looked absolutely beautiful in her Walmart t-shirt, black pants, and her hair loose and frizzy. "And I didn't do that so you could get your idiot self killed. You are not messing with Joey Chan. The man murdered his own wife, his pregnant wife. He'd kill you in a heartbeat."
"He messed with you." Nik stepped toward her. She left him to protect him?
"I needed a ride, he gave me a ride. I wanted to come back to you, he brought me back to you." She tilted her chin up.
He cupped it with his palm. She came back to him. "He took you."
"He made a mistake." That mud green gaze held his. She was the strongest woman he'd ever met. "As did I."
What was the mistake? Her leaving or her coming back? "You will not leave me again, Brat."
He kissed her, crushing her to him, reassuring himself that she was there, that she was okay. When his lips left hers, her eyes were soft, her body supported by his. "Never again."
"For as long as you want me, I'll stay...or until you die." A sad smile. "That could be first, Nikky. Death has found me."
"Not you." A snort originated from the corner. He'd forgotten about Grandfather. "Chan's men. What did he have to say about that?"
"Chan's men?" Her eyelashes fluttered.
Nik groaned. Those weren't the deaths she referred to. "Who else is dead, Brat?"
"Men," she repeated. "More than one. How many, Nikky? And who?"
"Three very bad men," he clarified, staring straight at Grandfather, willing him to remain quiet. "They were trouble makers, all of them, it was bound to happen."
"I didn't meet them?" She chewed on her bottom lip.
"You didn't meet them. It has nothing to do with you, Brat," he lied.
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure." Another lie, to reassure her. "Now, who do you think you killed?"
"Think?" She stiffened.
Wrong choice of words. "I need to know who's dead." They could have their much needed fight later. In private. Where clothes could be freely discarded along with emotions.
"The nurse who admitted the pregnant lady, Joey Chan's wife. He didn't even ask about her, did you know that? Only about the baby. And then only about whether it was a boy.
He's another male chauvinistic ass." Nik assumed he was also in that unflattering category.
He steered her back to the topic. "The nurse. How did she die?"
"Brutally murdered," she muttered into his chest.
That told him nothing. "Gun? Knife?"
She hesitated. "Gun."
Chan's men had been shot. "What type of gun? How many shots? Where?"
"I don't know." She frowned at him. "What does it matter? She's dead."
"It matters." It would help him find the bastard, keep Tatyana safe.
That got him an eye roll from the brat. Not that she appreciated it. "It's all in today's paper.
You can read about it yourself."
"You'll have to deal with Chan," Grandfather reminded him.
"You can deal with him tonight, over dinner, politely, like civilized men." She tapped his chin. "No killing, no threats, Nikky."
She invited the rival mob boss into his casino? "We are not having Joey Chan over for dinner."
"Of course not, ass." She gave him another eye roll. "We're having dinner at his place."
Grandfather chuckled.
A large stranger followed them to their room. "Where's Boris?" Had he been hurt? Was he still alive?
"He's been replaced." Nikky's words were curt.
In other words, fired. It was her fault. "No, he hasn't. He's my bodyguard. I'm keeping him."
"His job was to keep you safe. He failed. He's been replaced." Nikky slammed the door behind them. "Don't question my decisions, Brat."
"My bodyguard. My decision." She might eventually kill the young man, but she wouldn't be responsible for him losing his job.
"No."
"NikkyȄ"
"Listen to me, damn it. To me. They call me boss, haven't you heard that? Because that's what I am. The boss. Of everyone," he exploded.
"Not of me," she yelled back. Then she got an idea, a risky idea, but she wouldn't let Boris pay for her actions. It wouldn't be fair.
"Brat." Nikky approached her.
"But you could be." She tilted her head. He stopped, his forehead wrinkled. "If you let me have my bodyguard back, you can be my boss for one whole day." She gave him her best come-hither smile.
"You'd listen to me?" She heard the intrigue in his voice.
"I'd listen to you, I'd agree with you, I'd do anything you wanted me to do." She unzipped her pants, sliding them down. "Anything. I'd be your slave."
"Anything." He unbuttoned his shirt.
"But," she touched his bare chest with her fingertip. "I want Boris back as my bodyguard permanently."
"Agreed." He brushed her fingertip aside. "That day starts right here, right now." He placed his warm hand on her hip, his thumb stroking her stomach.
She checked her watch. It was noon. "Right now." She smiled. "As you request, Boss."
Nik entered Joey Chan's casino pleased with himself. The brat at his side, appropriately dressed for once in a black sheath of a dress, had been neatly outmaneuvered and knew it.
Boris was reinstated, but as her bodyguard, reporting to her, a woman, much to the young man's consternation. Ivan, a happily married and extremely homely man, had been added to guard the brat. Ivan took all his orders from Nik.
As she did, for another eighteen hours. A temporarily submissive Tatyana, the delicacy of this game appealed to the gambler in him. Nik stroked her frizzy hair back. He'd been given an opportunity to fulfill his every fantasy, yes, but if he pushed her too far, there'd be repercussions.
"Kaerta." That dilemma was pushed aside as Joey Chan approached, two men, shorter than Pavel but no less deadly, following him.
"Chan." Hands were shaken, Chan's grasp cold yet firm. "I believe you've met my fiancee, Tatyana." Nik openly showed his displeasure over that situation.
"I have." Chan bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment before turning to the brat. "Miss Tatyana." Nik bristled as Tatyana's hand was raised to his enemy's lips. "I'm pleased you were able to join me tonight. No, not merely pleased, ecstatic."
"I'm at Nikol
ay's disposal," Tatyana said demurely, tugging her hand away.
"I see." Chan's lips twitched. He was playing some game with Tatyana. Nik didn't like that.
"If you wish to freshen up, Wei," Chan indicated a slim Chinese girl, "will show you the way.
Not that a beautiful woman like you needs to."
"Some would say I'm not so beautiful." There was an edge to Tatyana's voice. "Nikolay?"
She looked to him for direction.
"Go ahead." Chan wanted to talk first, eat later, and Nik wanted Tatyana far away from the man.
Her eyes flashed, but she bobbed her head, the picture of docility, and followed Chan's woman, her two bodyguards in tow. Her temper was already at the boiling point. She wouldn't last the entire twenty-four hours without telling him off.
"You haven't made my mistake. She's a strong woman, one a man could entrust with his secrets." Chan appeared amused. "I presume you weren't too hard on her."
"Leave her alone. My fiancee is none of your concern," Nik warned him as they walked toward the private rooms, Pavel a couple feet behind them.
"If three of my men weren't dead, I'd agree." He indicated a seat.
Nik sat. Pavel and Chan's men stood at the door. "Why do you assume the two are related?"
A woman entered. Tea was poured. Chan waited until they were alone again before speaking. "They were asking questions, showing her photo, and then they were executed, Russian style. At first, I attributed it to you."
Russian style. All nationalities had their own way of solving problems. Was it one of his countrymen or had it been set up to frame them? "What changed your mind?" He sipped the tea. Chinese black. Not his preference.
"My talk with your fiancee."
Nik frowned. "Talk?" What had she told him?
"An aggravatingly uninformative talk. She told me only that there is another threat," Chan added. "That was why you tightened security before the executions." He paused. "I know we aren't the closest of comrades, but I would have appreciated a warning."
They weren't comrades at all. "I would have appreciated not having my fiancee's photo flashed to every lowlife gangster thug operating on the west coast."
"I was unaware that she was your fiancee. You neglected to introduce her to me." Chan calmly refilled Nik's tea, his expression blank.
Nik hated this man, but arguing wouldn't solve his problem. "I didn't know the nature of the threat, only that there was one," he conceded. "I'm investigating. If it is my problem, I'll handle it."
"If it is your problem." A nod of jet black hair. "If the problem is general, I would prefer to take care of it." Nik inclined his head in agreement. If he lost three men, he'd request the same. "I'll send you a copy of what little information I've collected." It would be heavily censored, but better than nothing.
They sat, drinking tea. Partners. Nik would have never thought he'd be teaming up with Chan. Keeping Tatyana safe was the only reason he'd do this.
Chan lit a cigarette. "Should we request the presence of your Tatyana?" His normally grim lips twisted into a smile.
"She is my fiancee, Chan." Nik wouldn't allow him anywhere near Tatyana. Chan a notorious skirt chaser and not kind to the skirts he caught.
"Relax, Kaerta." Chan expelled smoke into the air. "I got badly burned once. It would take quite the woman to tempt me into that fire again."
"He replaced her just like that, can you believe it?" Tatyana redirected all her frustrations into venting about Joey Chan. "His wife hasn't been dead four days. His pregnant wife."
"Pregnant, but not with his child," Nikky, Nikolay, he insisted she call him, pointed out, his head lolled back on the limo seat.
"Yes, well." What the wife was thinking cheating on a primitive man like Joey Chan, Tatyana didn't know. She mustn't have been too bright. "He should still show some respect."
Nikky snorted. "You're talking about respect?"
Tatyana bit her bottom lip, saving her snappy retort for later. "Yes, well," she repeated.
That was the agreement, wasn't it? In a backhanded sort of way. "Joey ChanȄ"
"Enough about Joey Chan." Nikky held up his hand. Then, he waited.
Tatyana knew what for. She sat on her hands to keep from giving him the finger he so deserved. There were twelve hours left. She could do it.
"Come here." More orders. Nikky patted his knee. She perched on it. "So soft." He brushed her hair back. "Tomorrow, before noon..." Their lunch date with his grandfather and the end time of their agreement. "You will give me a list of all your previous victims." He twirled a tendril around his index finger, lifted it to his nose, breathed in. He had a fascination with her hair. "Who they were, where they died, when, how, every detail you can give."
Before noon? That was impossible. She opened up her mouth to argue. He raised his eyebrows, forehead wrinkling. Ass. She shut her mouth again.
That earned her a kiss behind her ear. "I also want a file on you, everything about you; your parents, your employers, the name of the first boy you kissed, everything." He cupped her left breast through the fabric. "I want to know you, Brat." A thumb swept over her nipple. "I want to know everything about you." He kissed her.
Six
"A purchased loyalty does not last."ȄSergei Kaerta
"Yes, Nikolay."
Yes, Nikolay, all damn day, yes, Nikolay. That was what he wanted, wasn't it? Total agreement from the brat. Deference. Respect, a bartered for respect, but respect all the same. Then, why did Nik want to scream? Why did he want to rant and rave until she told him to go to hell?
"Boss." Pavel, another mirror of his own opinions, stood at his side.
"Have a look at this." Nik smacked his chest with Tatyana's prepared file. He had scanned the first couple pages, a gruesome recollection of a taxi driver's throat slitting, and couldn't read more, the guilt over forcing her to recall all that irritating him even more. "Look for any connections." Anything they could use.
"Yes, Boss."
"Nikolay," Tatyana squeaked. "The file was meant for you."
"And I'm giving it to Pavel. Do you have a problem with that?" Nik willed her to say yes.
She blinked rapidly as though debating. Then, her lips lifted in a demure smile. "If you don't, I don't, Nikolay." Her head bowed, her fingers playing with her top. She was dressed in an outfit similar to last night's except it was two pieces, allowing him to touch that soft stomach any time he wished. "If Pavel needs any additional information, especially about page twenty-three, I'll be happy to supply it."
Page twenty-three. Nik looked to Pavel. Pavel flipped to the page, read, his face turning deep scarlet.
The brat. "Give it to me."
Pavel handed him the file, avoiding his eyes. Nik read, read the passage again, then read it a third time. It was graphic, extremely arousing, and nothing he'd ever let another man read.
If he'd known. But he hadn't. She, however, had. "Explain!"
She batted her eyelashes, the picture of innocence. "To save time, I combined reports."
Her life history and the death details. "Did I ask for this?" It wasn't based on any reality. He doubted it was physically possible.
"You wanted to know everything about me. That's one of my fantasies."
Her sexual fantasies. One of them. There were more. And he almost allowed Pavel to read it.
The file folded in his fist. "Tatyana!"
"Did you not want to read about my fantasies, either?" She sighed. "I wanted to share them last night." A pause. "Orally." Nik's body went hard at that husky reference. "Or maybe even try them out, but as you weren't interested in my thoughts..." A shrug. Last night, they could have attempted that last night. Instead, he'd been so conscious of not pushing her too far, their love making ended up a repeat performance of a previous encounter. "Pavel," she continued, "you may wish to be alone when you read page sixty-nine, the page number inspired me."
"I'm taking the file." Damn it. Had she no shame?
"Good idea." She nodded. "You
'll want to make photocopies for all the men." Apparently not.
A chortle escaped from Boris. Nik leveled a death glare on the young man and the room grew silent once again. What the hell happened to the bodyguard's hair? It was spiked, giving him a punk look. "No one sees this." Nik shifted his attention to Pavel. "And forget all you've read."
"I'll try, Boss." Laugh lines fanned out from the big man's eyes.
"Try?" he thundered.
"Your fiancee has a way with words, Boss."
She did. They'd be burned into his brain for all time. Boris spluttered. "I can't fire you," Nik told the young man. That was the agreement with Tatyana. "But bodyguards die all the time, understand?"
A gulp. "Yes, Sir."
"Sir?" He was Boss, always Boss.
Boris looked to the brat. "I'm his boss, Nikolay," Tatyana pointed out. "That's what you told me."
"And I'm your boss." Nik said this to the room so there would be no misunderstandings.
"That makes me his boss."
Tatyana's lips parted. Nik tapped his watch. Her mud green eyes glittered. "Yes, Nikolay."
He grinned. Mere minutes to fight time. Unfortunately, that coincided with lunch with Grandfather, so the clothes shedding would have to wait. His grin wavered. She would wait, right? "You will not get naked over lunch."
The three bodyguards turned away, Pavel's big shoulders shaking, Boris coughing, Ivan's fists clenched. All he wanted was respect. Respect.
"I'll try not to."
She'd try? This wasn't a game. "I asked for this," he waved the file. "For you, Brat, to keep you safe." Didn't she understand that?
"Don't worry, my dear, darling fiance." She entwined her fingers with his. "Death never comes for me."
"Because it hasn't caught up with you, yet." He had to take away her security blanket belief that she was untouchable. It was dangerous. She wasn't. "Someone's looking for you, is willing to kill to find you. Why is that?"
Her pale face tilted up to him as he held the restaurant door open. "I don't know."
While Nikky talked with his grandfather, Tatyana divided the file into three. One stack was for the deaths, to be given to Pavel. One stack was for her history, to be given to Nikky. The third was for her fantasies, placed in front of her fiance as she sorted. He'd been sneaking peeks at that stack all lunch, the reason both his and her napkins covered his lap.