Bought by the Russian Mobster (7 page)

Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she stumbled across the room to Nicolai’s en-suite bathroom. She fumbled in the dark for the knob on the sink. The cool water felt good on her hot skin. She splashed a few handfuls of water against her flaming face and stood for a moment with her hands braced against the counter. She tried to breathe in order to calm down.

Finally she shut the water off and reached for a towel. Patting her face dry, she suddenly drew back in surprise. The strange, coppery scent on the towel wasn’t just unpleasant. It made her stomach twist and roll up into a ball. She swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat and reached for the light switch. Perhaps the towel had lain for too long and gotten moldy. Except that didn’t smell like any sort of mold that Lily had ever seen.

The lights momentarily dazzled her eyes. She lifted her hand to shade her gaze and blinked a few times. Finally she could focus on the towel. But by then she wished that she had not. The dull rust-red stains on the towel weren’t difficult to identify.

“Blood,” she whispered.

Turning, Lily stared at the shower. The glassed-in monstrosity included a white marble floor shot with streaks of pink quartz. Except now it was also stained a dull rusty red. More reddish stains circled the drain. And there were footprints on the bathmat as well.

She couldn’t breathe. This wasn’t right. None of it was right. Nicolai had told her their father was murdered. There was blood all over the bathroom. Was Nicolai injured? Had he been hurt?

The very thought gave her wings. She scrambled out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom. With the light spilling from the bathroom, she could see the man in the bed. She sucked in a deep gasp of horror.

Vladimir.

They were twins. Their builds and features were identical. Now she knew why it had all felt wrong. What she didn’t know was how to handle the demon currently sleeping in her bed.

“Lily!” he called out suddenly. “Come back to bed.”

She froze. He didn’t sound mean or crazy. He sounded whiney. It was in her mind to simply bolt, but she had nowhere to go.

Chapter Nine

Nicolai would have never expected to be standing outside his own house, surveying the property. Of course he had never expected to come home and find Vladimir’s car in his driveway, either. He could only hope that Lily wasn’t dead on the floor.

Anatoly shifted in the bushes, his big body making surprisingly little noise considering his size. “Why don’t we just break in and drag his murdering ass outside?”

“Because that would give him the opportunity to use Lily as a hostage.” Nicolai hated the idea that Lily would be hurt because of him. “We need to find out what he’s doing in there.”

“He’s crazy,” Anatoly muttered. “There’s no telling what game that bastard has decided to play.”

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” Nicolai grabbed Anatoly’s arm, gesturing to a light on the second floor. “She usually goes to bed early. What if she doesn’t even know he’s in there?”

Anatoly started creeping closer. Nicolai followed on his heels. The two of them made the edge of the yard and then stopped. Nicolai gestured to the stairs that led to the upper-story balcony. They’d been added to make a fire escape and keep the building within code requirements. Now they were going to be Nicolai’s way inside his own house.

“Careful,” Anatoly murmured.

Nicolai didn’t respond. Carefully placing his weight on each step, he managed to avoid too much in the way of creaking and groaning. The old wood was weathered in places, but it was still solid. He climbed to the balcony and very carefully approached the bedroom window.

The light breeze stirred the curtains through the open window. He shifted sideways, trying to get a better view of the bed. There was someone in it. The shape of the body beneath the sheet was large. The person appeared be sleeping on his stomach.

“Shit,” he muttered.

It was Vladimir sleeping in his bed. Vladimir! That crazy bastard had just gone to Nicolai’s home and attempted to assume his life. Nicolai wasn’t entirely certain what this new psychosis was, but it was time to get Lily away from it. He just needed to find her.

He couldn’t see anyone else in the room. Then he realized that the light they’d seen had been coming from the bathroom. He couldn’t see into that space from here. He would need to infiltrate the house in order to do that. The problem was that anything he did could potentially wake the sleeping Vladimir. For now, he was as dormant as he ever would be.

Movement near the bathroom caught his eye. Lily entered the room. She stared at the bed, obviously aware that the person sleeping was not Nicolai. He saw her recoil visibly at the sight of Vladimir. Why didn’t she just run? Why would she stand there and not make a break for it. Of course, the answer was obvious. She didn’t want to run the risk of waking the beast and incur its wrath.

Nicolai returned to the ground. He motioned to Anatoly. The big man stood close enough to hear Nicolai’s whisper. “Lily is inside with Vladimir. He’s asleep. We have to wait until she decides to make a break for it. I’ll stay here. You go back to the house and keep an eye on the investigation.”

“I don’t like the idea of leaving you here alone, boss,” Anatoly grunted.

Nicolai touched the man’s shoulder. “I appreciate that, but the last thing we need is the cops crawling all over our operations. I’ll be fine here. I’ll text you if I run into problems.”

Anatoly turned and lumbered away toward the place where they’d left the car. “I still don’t like it,” he muttered.

Nicolai settled down to wait. Lily
had
to be brave enough to make a run for it.

***

Lily remembered her dream. She remembered the hellish place that he had taken her. The screaming, the violation, and the enslavement of her body for the use of others. Those were the things that kept her from trying to leave. She was terrified of what would happen if she woke him.

She sat down, gingerly perching on the edge of the chair across the room from the sleeping devil. She wondered where Nicolai was. He should have returned here by now. It was in the back of her mind that Vladimir might have murdered him too. The man was certainly capable of such a horrible thing.

Wrapping her arms around her midsection, she held her breath and refused to cry. That would do no good. If Nicolai were dead, she was on her own. She would need to find a place to go. That meant she needed money. Where would someone like her go to get money? She couldn’t return to her father’s house.

That thought alone made her brave. She stared again at Vladimir’s sleeping form. There were no clothes on the floor, yet he was naked in the bed. That meant he had to have undressed in the bathroom. Perhaps he had left a wallet.

Anticipation made her nerves raw. She carefully rose from the chair. Creeping across the bedroom, she entered the bathroom. She eased the door shut. Feeling along the wall for the light switch, she held her breath and tried to choose which of the three to turn on. Before she hadn’t cared if she flooded the bathroom with light. In hindsight, that had been idiotic. She could have awakened Vladimir. Except she hadn’t
known
it was Vladimir.

This whole situation was making her head spin. Picking a switch, she pushed the toggle. A tiny light in the shower went on. There was just enough light to see the pile of bloody clothes Vladimir had left on the floor.

The pressure of tears was unbelievable as she began picking through Vladimir’s clothing. What if this were Nicolai’s blood?

No.

She shoved the thought to the back of her mind. She would not allow herself to believe that he was dead. He was alive. He had to be. Gathering her resolve, she searched quickly for Vladimir’s wallet.

Finally she located it in a hip pocket. Using her thumb and index finger, she pulled it out. There was a smear of blood across the smooth leather surface. Ignoring the blemish, she opened it and discovered hundreds of dollars in cash. It might be enough to get her a place to stay, although even Lily knew that fresh starts didn’t come cheap.

She reached for a towel and wiped her hands. Nicolai’s bathroom was now spotted and stained with blood. Lily couldn’t understand how anyone could murder his own father. She had hated hers, but she never would have killed him. Then he had shown up here in Nicolai’s home. It was as if he were trying to switch lives with his twin.

A chill raced down her spine. It was time to go. She wasn’t safe here any longer. The clothes she had discarded earlier were still in the bathroom hamper. She pulled on the jeans and sweater, glad that she had them. She felt a little pang at having to leave all of the beautiful new things that Nicolai had bought for her behind.

Perhaps the fire of self-righteous anger made her reckless. In any case, Lily shoved Vladimir’s money into her pocket and left the bathroom with a rather bold step. She took one last look at the murderer sleeping in Nicolai’s place and left the bedroom. Her bravado lasted until she hit a squeaky step halfway down the stairs.

“Lily?” Vladimir’s sleep-roughened voice called out. “Lily, where are you?”

She held her breath. Was it better to answer or make a run for it? Trying to outrun Vladimir would likely be suicidal. She gathered every ounce of her composure and called back to him. “I’m just getting a drink, Nicolai. I’ll come back to bed in just a moment.”

“Hurry up.” He sounded irritable. “I’m horny.”

Lily did hurry, but in the opposite direction. Whatever courage she’d been feeling was replaced by an absolute terror that she might be forced to live out that awful dream. She reached the bottom of the stairs and tried to be careful as she unlocked the front door. Once it was open, she could see the first light of dawn on the horizon. 

***

Nicolai yawned and rolled his shoulders to loosen muscles that were cramping with the effort of remaining still for so long. He was unaccustomed to surveillance. The shadows hid his presence. He had burrowed into a copse of trees in a yard across the street from his own house. The irony of that was not lost on him.

The overwhelming scent of boxwood tickled his nose. He swiped at a branch that was doing its best to scratch his arm. Dawn was coming and he was heartily sick of waiting. Perhaps he wasn’t cut out for this sort of thing. Or perhaps it was the necessity of doing nothing instead of just charging in and taking action that was nearly driving him mad.

Then he saw the front door open and Lily hustled out of the house. She was dressed in plain jeans and a sweater that hugged her figure. Her hair tumbled over her shoulders and Nicolai was reminded once again of why this woman was worth all the trouble. She deserved better than to be stalked, frightened, and abused by his obviously insane brother.

Carefully extracting himself from the clinging trees, Nicolai walked the edge of the yard and followed Lily’s progress down the sidewalk. She was walking with her head bent and her eyes locked on the sidewalk before her. Nicolai had no way of knowing if Vladimir was awake or not. Yet if Lily had escaped the house, there was a strong possibility his twin was still asleep. Keeping that in mind, Nicolai texted Anatoly to send a car to meet them at the corner market just a block down the street.

Nicolai strode quickly down the street. He crossed at a narrow intersection with plenty of large, leafy trees to cast early morning shadows across the road. The path he had taken had gotten him ahead of Lily. She was walking toward him now with her head down. It took several moments for her to notice him standing beside a large tree.

 “Nicolai!” Her eager voice warmed him.

She ran over and flung her arms around him. The earnestness of the gesture warmed him. Sweeping her off her feet, he held her close and reveled in the sensation. She was warm and soft against his body and his physical response was immediate. Something about this woman seemed to fit him in a way he didn’t yet understand.

“I thought you were dead! I thought he had killed you too.” Lily’s tone was almost desperate. “We have to get out of here. Now.” She was already tugging him down the sidewalk.

“You thought I was dead?” Nicolai took a firmer grip and lengthened his strides to keep up with her nearly running pace. “What gave you that idea?”

“The blood. There was so much blood, Nicolai. We have to get away from Vladimir. He’s sure to wake up and follow.” She was obviously desperate.

Nicolai’s anger began to boil. “What happened? Did he wake up? Did he hurt you? How the hell did he even wind up in the house?”

“I don’t know. He just walked in and got into bed. It was dark. I—I thought he was you. I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t be, Lily,” he soothed. “The man is insane. You had no reason to suspect he would do such a crazed thing.”

She grimaced. “You don’t understand, Nicolai. Vladimir killed your father. I’m sorry. But I know it must be true.”

Nicolai didn’t ask any questions. For now, he needed to get them to the corner market where their ride awaited them.

Chapter Ten

“Are you sure Anatoly is sending someone to pick us up?” Lily didn’t understand how Nicolai could be so calm. She was practically coming out of her skin. Any second she expected Vladimir to show up. “We’ve been waiting for almost fifteen minutes.”

“It’s all right, sweetheart.” Nicolai wrapped his arm more securely around her and held her close. He touched her hair, the caress making her feel cherished. “I promise our ride is coming. The market is busy this time of morning. All these early risers come up to get their coffee and pastries before work.”

“It is crowded,” she agreed. “I had no idea so many people were up and about so early.”

Nicolai started to say something, but then his face grew tense. He took a step back, covering their presence next to the building with deep shadows. She took a breath to ask what was wrong and he covered her mouth with his fingers.

“Vladimir,” he murmured.

A shot of pure panic raced through Lily’s veins. If Nicolai hadn’t been holding on to her, she would have bolted. She buried her face against his arm, peeking out to see Vladimir’s car roar down the street.