Dirty Obsessions: An Interracial Russian Mafia Romance (The Lion and The Mouse Book 5.5)

by Kenya Wright

  I rose. “You have to go?”

  He grabbed and pulled me against him. “What about that idea?”

  “What idea, Misha?”

  “Would you be my wife?”

  I widened my eyes. “That was. . .I was just joking.”

  “I wasn’t.” He studied me.

  “Misha, I can’t answer all of that right now.”

  “You will when we have time.” He kissed me for several seconds and then let me go. “I’ll be back in a few days.”

  I don’t want you to go.

  My stomach knotted.

  Please, stay safe.

  “I have to change and handle the Xecutioners before I get on the plane to Paris.” He rushed off to the closet. “When I get on the plane, I’ll call you.”

  I fisted my hands. So many questions came to my head, but I knew that he didn’t have time to answer me. My body shook in fear. “Please be careful, Misha.”

  He stopped looking in his closet and turned to me. “I will, Ava. And you’ll be the reason. I have to get back to you.”

  “You must.”

  “Nothing else is on my mind.” He returned to the closet. “And you stay down here.”

  “Okay. I’ll cancel the fashion show, if necessary.”

  “We’ll see. I have a plan. If it works, then you can go above ground whether I’m here or not.”

  Stunned, I watched him. “Okay.”

  “Don’t worry.” He grabbed a suit, walked my way, and kissed me. “I love you, Ava.”

  “I love you too, Misha.”

  He headed toward the bathroom, stopped at the chessboards, picked up the unicorn, and left.

  Please, God. Protect Misha.

  Chapter 23

  Misha

  With over fifty men, I stood in front of the Alligator’s Den. I knew the place well. It was a hotel for visiting riff-raff on the outskirts of St Petersburg. No one with a sane mind walked into the place and decided to stay. A massive stuffed alligator hung above the door.

  Maxwell got to my side. “This is where the Xecutioners decided to stay?”

  “Not a bad idea.” Naveen stepped to my other side. “We would have immediately known their location, if they stayed in the city, especially in a nice hotel.”

  Maxwell turned my way. “What’s the plan?”

  I pulled out the unicorn chess piece. “I give them this.”

  “A fucking toy?” Maxwell took out his guns. “I see you’re trying to get us killed.”

  “Put the guns away.” I placed the unicorn in my pocket. “It’s not a toy. It’s a chess piece. And I won’t be giving them the actual piece. It’s a metaphor.”

  “A metaphor?” Naveen snorted, “Maxwell is right. You will get us killed.”

  I took the small device out of my other pocket. “Not exactly a metaphor, but something much better.”

  Naveen eyed it. “What’s on it?”

  “An unexpected move.”

  I gestured for Anatoly to open the door. He did. I stepped through.

  Naveen walked on my side. “And the move is the unicorn?”

  “No.” I stepped inside the shabby hotel. “The Xecutioners are the unicorn.”

  “And why do we need a unicorn again?” Maxwell asked.

  “It’s a damn good piece on a chessboard.” I checked the front desk.

  Usually, Alligator sat behind it with his legs on the desk. Granted it had been many years since I’d paid him a visit. Now one of the Xecutioners lounged there. It was the one with the black hat. Currently, he was sleeping in the chair. Snores rose from him. His legs leaned on the desk. His hat covered half of his face.

  “Wake him up.” I pointed to Anatoly.

  Anatoly walked over and reached out to grab the hat. Instead, the Xecutioner grabbed his hand and yanked it awkwardly back. It snapped. Anatoly howled. Everything happened in seconds after that. Mr. Hat jumped out of his chair, punched Anatoly in the nose, and shoved the big guy in front of him.

  My men pointed their guns, but couldn’t get a good target as Mr. Hat hid behind a howling Anatoly.

  “Hold on!” I roared. “We came here to talk.”

  I didn’t think Mr. Hat understood English. He slung Anatoly into my other guards, jumped away, and raced off. I knew the Alligator’s Den had a massive full-service kitchen, providing a good number of places to hide and sharpened knives to use.

  “Damn it!” Taking out my gun, I chased after him. “Catch him, but don’t kill him.”

  Naveen took the lead. Dima rushed off. Mr. Hat sprinted forward and pushed through double doors leading to the hotel’s kitchen.

  Naveen and I entered first.

  Mr. Hat slammed Naveen in the head with a platter full of meat. The food fell all over Naveen as he crashed into a wall. Naveen screamed as steam rose around his face.

  I yelled, “Calm down! We came here—”

  Mr. Hat kicked at me. I jumped back and tried to grab his foot. He was too quick. While I focused on his foot, he punched me in the side.

  I stumbled back and took out my gun. “Eh! We came here to talk!”

  “The contract is up.” He backflipped over a long silver table, landed, grabbed several pots, and slung them at me. “No talking.”

  One hot pot hit me. I knocked it away. My skin singed from the heated metal. It held soup. When it crashed to the floor, red boiling liquid spilled out. More steam rose. The scent of beef filled the air. He threw more hot pots full of sizzling food. I ducked from each one, making sure I didn’t get burned. Plates came next. They smashed against the wall behind me.

  Maxwell and the rest of my men entered as Naveen recovered.

  “Where is he?” Maxwell waved away the steam and pointed his gun in my direction.

  I hurried forward. “I think he went to the back.”

  The lights shut off.

  “Damn it!” Dima took out his lighter and turned it on.

  Maxwell did the same. “He’s a resourceful motherfucker.”

  Dima found a light switch and flicked it.

  The lights returned.

  We rushed off, shoving tables and plates of food to the side. A door appeared in front of us. Pointing his gun, Maxwell opened it and rushed up the stairs. We headed forward with him, keeping up a good speed. When we got to the second level, the door was locked.

  “I hear him going up still!” Naveen raced forward.

  Mr. Hat’s feet stomped past the third and fourth levels. My lungs burned as we hurried after him. Exhaustion came. I pushed through it.

  When we arrived at the fifth level and opened the door, a massive room greeted us. It must have been the Xecutioners’ sleeping quarters. The space looked like a military bunker. At least ten bunk beds lined the wall. Suitcases were across from them.

  All of the Xecutioners stood before us, ready to fight. Some gripped swords, katanas, and one even had a large ax. The whole group glared at us. Hiro stood in the center, wearing a button-down white shirt with a bright yellow sunflower on the front. Black pants and boots finished the outfit off.

  “Relax.” I raised my hands. “We only want to talk.”

  “The contract is up.” Hiro inched closer. “I gave you several chances. Now there is no more talking.”

  I held my gun his way. “Why get blood on your pretty shirt when this can be handled with a few words?”

  A guy stepped out of the shadowed corner.

  Who the hell is he?

  The big guy was tall, round, and looked extremely heavy.

  “Misha, we have a problem,” Naveen whispered.

  I growled. “What?”

  “Other men are coming up from the back and they’re not ours.”

  Hiro smiled. “As I said before, we are a large group.”

  I kept the target of my gun on him. “Give me five minutes.”

  “I have none to give.” Hiro gestured at the big guy. The man charged my way, head low, and hands out to grab me. Maxwell pointed to shoot. Fast, the blond Xecutioner ju
mped for him.

  “Holy shit!” Maxwell staggered back.

  The blond slashed his sword at Maxwell. It zipped in the air so fast. Maxwell didn’t have time to shoot him.

  And then we all fought. Hiro was the only one who stood by. The big man came for me, exploding through the battling bodies.

  Tired of this bullshit, I rushed for him. “Come on, you fat piece of shit!”

  For such a big guy, he was fast. He dove for my chest and slammed into it. I smashed the butt of my gun on his spine. He dropped to the floor. I shot at his head and missed. The big guy rose from the floor in a blur and charged again. I turned sideways and shot him in the gut. That time I didn’t miss.

  When I checked the space, ten of my men lay on the floor, sliced and diced like shards of meat.

  What the fuck? How did they kill them so fast?

  I looked for Naveen. He shot one guy in the neck and kicked another in the face. Blood smeared across the side of his face.

  I searched for Maxwell. Blood covered his face. He’d definitely killed a good bit of people. But he still hadn’t dealt with the blond Xecutioner. Maxwell shot at him. No bullet came out.

  “Fuck!” Maxwell rushed off. The blond chased him with a sword. Maxwell leaped over the bottom of a bunk bed, grabbed a pillow, and slung it at him. The blond dropped to his knees and slid under the bed.

  “Yo!” Fast, Maxwell grabbed a chair and slammed it into the blond. That got him good, but not for long. It didn’t matter. Maxwell used those few seconds to grab another chair and hit him with it. This time, the blond was wise to the move, swerved out of the chair’s way, and cut Maxwell’s thigh.

  Right as I was going to help Maxwell, I turned to catch Hiro right next to me. Shit! He grabbed my shoulders. I shoved my knee into his groin and then punched him in the gut. While he was close enough to shoot, I needed him alive.

  He slapped me.

  Pissed, I dove for him. Not many had ever gotten that close to getting me. Hiro had to get smacked at least once for the violation. I rushed for him. Hiro swiveled away. I pointed my gun at him. Hiro kicked it away. The weapon fell to the floor.

  I gave a hard jab to his chin.

  He slammed my side with brutal force. I swore he’d rearranged organs in my body.

  But I’m not dead yet, bitch!

  I delivered a blow that almost lifted the man off the floor. Shocked, he stumbled back. Blood dripped from his nose. He dapped at it with his finger, looked at it, and roared.

  When he came for me, I drew back my hand and slashed it at his throat. He ducked it, pulled out a knife, and swiped my thigh.

  “Ah!” I spun away from him. My thigh burned. I breathed through the pain. My pause was too long.

  In seconds Hiro was in front, he head-butted me. Pain sliced through my head. I elbowed his jaw. Hiro twisted me around as if we were dancing, jumped into the air, and wrapped his legs around my neck.

  What the fuck?

  Unable to hold us both up, I fell to the floor. He came down with me. One of my men shot at Hiro. He let me go and rolled away.

  “Wait! Don’t shoot him!” Grabbing my neck, I rose from the ground, pulled out the device from my pocket, and raised it in the air. “Hiro, listen to this!”

  Four feet away Hiro kept his hands at his sides and whistled.

  Most of the Xecutioners paused from fighting.

  My chest heaved with pain. I scanned the space. More of my men lay dead on the ground. Naveen stumbled over to me. Maxwell still wrestled with the blond on the ground. Feathers covered their upper bodies. They must’ve somehow ripped open a mattress or pillow that was full of feathers.

  Hiro whistled again.

  The blond jumped off Maxwell.

  “Come.” Hiro gestured to me. “The Mosquito wants to play us a song before he dies.”

  I gritted my teeth. “When we fought, my death wasn’t guaranteed.”

  “Then, why stop.”

  “Because you’re growing on me, and one doesn’t fight unless he has to.”

  “Or if he is guaranteed to win.”

  I leaned my head to the side. “Can you guarantee that you’ll win?”

  Hiro’s confidence left him. “Play your song.”

  I stood for a moment and looked at the crumpled pile of dead bodies. Most were my men, but we’d added a few of the Xecutioners to the mix. Turning back to Hiro, I played the recorder.

  Leonid’s voice filled the room. “When the Xecutioners finish the contract, kill them!”

  Another man spoke on the device. “How?”

  “Bomb the Alligator’s Den,” Leonid said. “That’s where they are now.”

  “And what about the other Xecutioners that could come?”

  “We blame the Brotherhood. The Lion likes to bomb things. The chinks would believe them.”

  The recording ended. I stopped it and tossed the device to Hiro. “Have your people check it.”

  Hiro studied it. “Where did you get this?”

  “The device is mine. My man hacked into one of Leonid’s phone conversations last night. As you can understand, I was desperately trying to find him.”

  Hiro looked at me. “Did you get his location?”

  “Not yet.”

  Hiro twisted the device in his hand and glanced at his brothers.

  “You already know the measure of Leonid’s soul,” I continued. “Do you believe after you kill me, that he would hesitate to get rid of you?”

  Hiro remained quiet.

  Adjusting his torn jacket, Maxwell walked over. Naveen came to my side. Blood splatter covered the front of his shirt.

  I directed my attention back to Hiro. “I knew where you were staying due to the recording. Leonid is correct about one thing. My cousin enjoys bombs. I do too. Why didn’t I just bomb the place?”

  The rest of the Xecutioners gathered behind Hiro.

  I placed my hands in my pockets. “I believe we share two enemies.”

  Hiro tilted his head to the side. “Two?”

  “Play the rest of the device. I have another phone call on there.”

  Hiro looked down at it and pressed the button.

  My voice sounded. “Who is this?”

  The Dragon’s voice came next. “You shut down the power in my country, but do not know my voice?”

  All of the Xecutioners’ faces shifted to rage.

  I swallowed, needing this to convince them of my plot.

  The Dragon continued, “You helped my enemies take something precious from me. Therefore, I will help your enemies take something precious from you.”

  Hiro stopped the device and looked up at me. Fury stormed in his eyes.

  “Feel free to keep that and listen as much as you want. The Dragon has a lovely voice.”

  Hiro put it in his pocket. “This changes many things.”

  “I want Leonid dead. You want the Dragon gone. Or am I making incorrect assumptions?”

  “Can you kill the Dragon?”

  “I can try.” I stepped forward.

  The Xecutioners’ gazes shot to me.

  I raised my hands. “Why fight each other when we have bigger enemies to get rid of? The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

  Hiro’s expression went somber.

  I extended my hand toward him for a shake. “Friends?”

  Hiro took my hand and shook it. “Friends.”

  Someone sighed behind me. I figured it was Naveen.

  I let go of Hiro’s hand. “I would love to finish this conversation and discuss our next strategy, but I have to go to Paris and help my cousin. I believe the Dragon will be involving himself in that matter.”

  Hiro’s interest piqued. “Do you think Kenji went to Paris?”

  “No, but he will definitely have his attention on that area. Whatever occurs in these next few days, I believe I can get my cousin’s backing against the Yakuza.”

  Hiro raised his eyebrows.

  “Then you would not have to raise a hand to deal with the Dr
agon. We’ll handle him for you.”

  Hiro checked his men. For the first time, their faces held relief.

  “And you can’t stay here. I need all of you safe from Leonid.”

  Hiro quirked his brows.

  “I have a safe place underground.”

  Naveen cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Misha. Can we talk?”

  “After I’m done.”

  “Where is this place underground?” Hiro asked.

  “My men will help you gather your things and take you there. Then, you’ll be hidden from Leonid and the yakuza.”

  Hiro half-bowed.

  Taking it as a good sign, I bowed too. “I’ll be back in a few days. Then I will update you on the Dragon and we’ll come up with a plan.”

  Hiro half-bowed again.

  Keeping a straight face, I turned around and left.

  Naveen and Maxwell followed. I gestured for some of my men to stay. Others would come to clean up. The rest left with us.

  Chapter 24

  Misha

  Thankfully, Naveen kept his mouth closed until we left the hotel and got into the limo.

  As soon as we drove off for the airport, Naveen yelled, “Are you fucking crazy!?”

  I gazed out the window. “You know the answer to that question.”

  “What?” Maxwell held out his hands. “That plan sounded good to me. You both have enemies so why not unite like Voltron and go after them. Take those motherfuckers out one at a time. Em would have done that shit.”

  “Yeah. It’s a good idea,” Naveen snorted. “The only problem is that the fucking Leonid phone call is bullshit. It’s a fake recording.”

  Maxwell coughed. “Say what now?”

  “Who did you get to make that?” Naveen asked.

  I turned to him. “Circuit did it for me.”

  Horror covered Naveen’s face. “And what about the Dragon’s phone call? Is that fake too?”

  “That is real.”

  “So, the Dragon really does want to kill you, but Leonid is not interested in killing the Xecutioners?”

  I shrugged. “Does it matter?”

  “Yes.” Naveen shrieked. “Your deal with the Xecutioners depends on it.”

  “They care more about killing the Dragon. Did you see their faces?”

  Naveen ran his fingers through his hair, went to the bar next to him, and poured himself a drink. “That was stupid, Misha.”