Bought by the Russian Mobster (10 page)

She heard a sound at the front door. It sounded as though someone had put a key in the lock. That could only mean that Nicolai was home. Anticipation made her eager. She very much wanted to make love with Nicolai once again. In fact, she couldn’t believe how bold she was feeling about it.

Sitting up, she slid to the edge of the bed and threw her legs over the side. She was completely naked. The feeling was almost naughty, but she liked how brave it made her feel to do something so daring.

“Nicolai?” she sang out. “I’m in bed and I’m not wearing any clothes.”

Vladimir appeared in the doorway, a smirk on his face. “Well call me flattered.”

Shock rendered Lily momentarily frozen, but it didn’t take long for her instincts to kick in. Just as Vladimir lunged for the bed, she rolled up and onto her back. Her somersault carried her to the opposite side of the bed. Then she dropped to the floor to search for a weapon, for anything that might help her hold him off.

“Come on now, Lily,” Vladimir mocked. “It’s not fair to tell a man you’re waiting for him naked and then just rescind the offer. Nobody likes a cock tease.”

Desperate, Lily slid beneath the bed. The space was far too narrow for Vladimir to follow. She had started to sweat and her skin stuck to the wood floor. She didn’t care. She scooted toward the middle and hoped for inspiration.

“Did you really just hide under the bed?” He sounded exasperated. “You realize that I know where you are, right? You can’t make me disappear by closing your eyes.”

The sheer derision and meanness in his tone fired her up instead of knocking her down. She was tired of men making fun of her just because they were bigger and thought they should be in charge.

A narrow strip of pale wood caught her eye. Nicolai apparently kept an old wood bat beneath the bed. Probably for intruders, and at this point, Vladimir most certainly qualified as that. Lily grabbed the handle with both hands. She gauged the distance between her position and Vladimir’s legs. She knew she wasn’t going to have much time. There was only one shot to make this work.

Aiming carefully, she bent her body almost in half to get the necessary momentum and create enough force to make a dent. She tightened her grip and let the bat fly.

Vladimir doubled over in agony as the bat made contact with his shins. He dropped to the wood floor in pain. Lily geared up for another shot at him. This time she went for his head. He seemed to register the bat right about the time it was coming quickly at his face. Throwing up his hands, he tried to deflect the blow. It was too late. The bat bounced off his shoulder and head with a dull thud. The attack momentarily stunned him.

Lily scooted out from under the bed on the opposite side. Her heart was racing and she felt like she had never moved so fast in her life. She heard Vladimir scrambling behind her. The bedroom door was only a few feet away. If she could just make it out, she could get help.

Vladimir shot to his feet. “Lily!” he shouted. “Get your ass over here right now!” He couldn’t possibly be arrogant enough to expect her to obey. And yet he continued with his delusional orders. “You know you want to come to me. You belong to me. I’m the only one who can care for you the way you need.”

Lily let the front door slam behind her. Fresh air filled her lungs and she was energized by the knowledge that she had actually managed to get out of the house. Behind her, she heard Vladimir sprinting after her. She didn’t have that much of a lead on him. Pumping her legs faster, she felt the back of her neck tingle. Was he close?

His arms closed around her waist and he took her to the ground. Lily screamed in shock and pain. The asphalt was hard when they hit. She felt it rip through the cloth of the T-shirt she had grabbed on the way out of the house. The pain burned through her nerves and made her almost nauseous.

Vladimir stood, dragging Lily to her feet as well. She wished he had been as torn up by the asphalt as she was. He had a tear in the left side of his jeans over his knee, and his face looked bruised.

As for her, the whole left side of her body sported red welts from the asphalt. Her left cheek was throbbing where the orbit of her eye had bounced off the hard ground. Still, she didn’t let him see that she was hurting. She thrust her jaw out at him and gave him a look of such disgust and stubbornness that she hoped it pissed him off even more. She was tired of this bullshit. It was time to stop cowering and trying to mind her own business. She was done being afraid.

“When the hell did you get this sort of attitude?” Vladimir demanded. “This is not like you at all. Have you no shame?”

“No shame?” she spat at him. “Or do you mean that you wish me to have shame so that you can exploit it?”

Lily refused to back down. Vladimir had a firm hold on her arm, and she might be naked but for one of Nicolai’s oversized T-shirts, but she was not going down without a fight.

She lifted her chin and stared her captor right in the eye. “I’m not going to cower before any man ever again. I have value. I have intelligence. That is what being with Nicolai has taught me.”

“You have value when you can earn your keep,” he snarled.

She couldn’t help it. She twisted the corner of her mouth into a derisive smile. “And you have no value since your father discarded you as his heir and put your brother in your place. Everyone wants you dead, Vladimir. How does it feel?”

A ripple of fear singed the edges of her bravery at the sight of Vladimir’s wrath. His anger flared red hot. And then he seemed to gain control. “You are lucky that I don’t want you any more injured before I place you in the brothel. Otherwise I might have slit your throat for such an insult.”

She didn’t bother to answer. Instead, she gave him an obvious look of dismissal. She was Nicolai’s love. He had never said the words outright, but she knew in her heart that she belonged to him and he belonged to her because they
chose
to make it so.

“What are you smiling about?” Vladimir demanded as he began dragging her back toward his car.

“I’m just thinking to myself that it doesn’t matter what you do. You can’t touch the most important part of me. It’s in your brother’s safekeeping.” She didn’t even spare him a glance.

“You can tell yourself that, but my brother still has to make amends for your father’s gambling debts to the council and to the casino owner your father owed.” Vladimir’s cruelty twisted his face into an ugly mask. “Do you really think he’ll choose you over paying out over three-quarters of a million dollars?”

She had no idea, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Vladimir that. Instead, she gave a dainty shrug. “It doesn’t matter what he has to pay. My lover wants me at any cost.”

“Maybe I should take you back to your father’s for a reminder of exactly what your value is.” He shook her arm until her teeth rattled. “Do you remember what it was like to be there?”

“Of course I do!” she retorted. “But if you think I’m going to be afraid of that shrunken old man, you’re clueless. I’m not that girl anymore. I am more. And there is no way I would stand there and let him berate me or hit me. Not again.”

They reached Vladimir’s car. “I hope you don’t mind attending a council meeting in that attire, because I’m sure as hell not buying you any clothes. Not after your ungrateful behavior.”

“What would that be?” She tossed her head, sending her hair tumbling over her shoulder. “My decision to choose your brother over you? Or smacking you in the head with a baseball bat?”

“I liked you better when you were sweet and agreeable,” he muttered as he shoved her into his car.

He ran around quickly and got into the driver’s side. She didn’t move while she waited. Not even to buckle her seat belt. Then she turned her head and gave him a sweet smile. “I forgot to tell you. I would rather stand naked in a room full of strangers than to wear something that you had purchased for me.”

Vladimir ground his teeth together. “You push me, woman, and you will not like the results if you go too far.”

“What?” She shook her head at him. She let him see every ounce of the disgust she felt in her expression. “You mean you might shove your way through stores without a care as to whether or not you hurt someone? Or you might wave a gun at a poor guy who’s just doing his job? Or maybe you’ll end up orchestrating the murder of a police detective. Or”—she pegged him with a sad smile—“perhaps you will murder your own father because he saw you for what you are.”

Vladimir stomped on the gas pedal. The car shot forward into the night and they left the safe house behind. Lily wondered if something in her words had actually punched through that arrogance he wore like armor. He looked off-balance somehow, as if he were feeling guilty. Though it was a stretch to believe him capable of that emotion.

It was only a short drive to Kalinka. Still, Vladimir didn’t seem as though he had brought himself back under control. His manner made Lily uneasy. He parked the car at the curb and then gripped the steering wheel in his hands.

“Are you all right, Vladimir?” She tried to be gentle this time. Maybe he just needed some compassion.

“You look different,” he blurted.

“Do I?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not trying to hide anymore.” Somehow it was so simple for her to understand now. “I was tired of being everyone’s welcome mat. I don’t have to hide and I don’t want to cower. I just want to live my life and be left alone to do so in peace.”

“Your words are ridiculous,” he told her. “Women are meant to be property. But I understand wanting independence.”

She laughed. His words didn’t even have the power to make her angry anymore. “So you think I’m ridiculous. You can go ahead and think that. I happen to think you’re insane. Are you ready to go inside and prove to them that you were meant to be the boss?”

“Yes.” He started to get out of the car.

Lily rolled her eyes. If nothing else, this was going to be entertaining. “See? Now
that’s
ridiculous.”

Chapter Fourteen

Nicolai watched Vladmir stride into Kalinka with Lily by his side. They’d only received word about ten minutes ago from Vasily and Georgy that Vladimir had taken her from the safe house. She looked pissed off but unharmed. For now, that was going to have to be enough.

Nicolai kept his chin high and reminded himself that he was the rightful boss. That was all that mattered. Vladimir glanced around, looking miffed. He had obviously been expecting the council to be in session in the main dining room. Instead, the restaurant was deserted except for the Pasternak enforcers who had gathered around Nicolai. There were nearly ten men fanned out behind him. The show of support made Nicolai both proud and anxious. It was obvious whom they were supporting. What would Vladimir do when he realized his attempt to take over was fruitless?

“Hello, Vladimir.” Nicolai kept his tone completely devoid of any emotion. It was hard as hell considering he could feel Lily’s gaze on him.

Vladimir gestured to the room at large. “Where is the council? I was told there was a meeting.”

“Would you have come otherwise?” Nicolai inquired politely.

Vladimir shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps it would have depended on my mood.”

“What happened to you?” Nicolai moved several steps closer, leaving the protective cover of his men. He still wondered if his brother could be redeemed. “You were always a little on the unpredictable side, but you’re my brother first and foremost, Vladimir. I’m worried about you. It’s time to seek help. You’re angry and vengeful without reason. You murdered our father.”

“I didn’t,” Vladimir began. Then he seemed to realize that everyone in the room knew the truth. “I did us all a favor. My father was old and tired. He was weak. A few more months of him running things and we would have been dead.”

“So you murdered him?” Nicolai pressed. “Your own father? And you don’t feel like this is wrong?”

Vladimir gave a derisive snort. “It was a necessary action.”

“And I see you’ve dragged Lily here as well.” Nicolai kept his voice impassive. Letting Vladimir know how deeply that bothered Nicolai would do nothing but hurt them both.

“Oh there’s no need to pretend that she means nothing to you, Nicolai. I believe we all know how badly you want to have this woman, even though she belongs to me.”

“I’m not yours,” Lily told him. “Those men aren’t yours either.”

Vladimir appeared distracted by her declaration. He frowned and then pointed to two of the men standing behind Nicolai. “Bryan, Alexei, why would you side with my brother when you know that I am the rightful heir to the Pasternak syndicate?”

“The council has decided, Vladimir,” Bryan said with a grunt. “We cannot go against the council’s ruling.”

“So you would follow this pup?”

Nicolai knew what was coming. When Bryan didn’t answer, Vladimir began to get agitated. The fact that he had dragged Lily here against her will was bad. But Nicolai could not show Vladimir how he really felt. It would only make things worse for her.

It was as though Lily’s bold words had finally sunk into Vladimir’s thick head. He swung around to face her. “What do you mean when you say that you do not belong to me?”

Nicolai had never been prouder of her than he was at that moment. He had also never been so afraid. The proud tilt of her chin and the way she held her shoulders straight told him that she wasn’t going to back down.

Lily smiled sweetly. “I gave myself to Nicolai. He took my virginity. I belong to him now.”

“
What
?” Vladimir actually staggered sideways as though he’d been delivered a physical blow. “How could you do such a thing?”

“Me?” Lily pointed at him. “You were going to put me in a brothel! What do you care if I fuck Nicolai? You would have me screw the whole city.”

Vladimir put his hands on either side of his head as though it ached. “Only because you must pay back the money. That is work. It’s different.”

“Not to me,” she retorted.

Vladimir snarled something in broken Russian before switching back to English. “You could fuck anyone.
Anyone
! But not my brother. Not the man who has taken everything from me already!”