Bought by the Russian Mobster (8 page)

The parking in front of the corner market was tight. Vladimir didn’t appear to care. He double-parked and got out of his car. The arrogance of him was shocking. It was as though he truly thought he was the boss of the Pasternaks, which meant he could do whatever he wanted.

“Sir?” A woman stood beside the car he’d blocked in, looking aghast. “I need to get my car out.”

He gave her a dismissive snort. “You can wait.”

“But, sir!”

Vladimir strode into the store through the exit. He shoved the door open, sending a customer flying.

“Come on,” Nicolai whispered. “We need to see what he’s up to.”

She tugged against him, trying to pull him back toward the wall. “You’re as crazy as he is!”

“It’s all right, Lily.” He winked at her. “I’ll keep you safe.”

She followed, but only because she was curious. They crossed the alley beside the market and went in through the back entrance. Vladimir already had the store in a complete uproar.

“Where is she?” His words rolled through the aisles like thunder.

Customers stopped and stared. The clerks gazed at each other with looks of obvious helplessness on their faces.

“That’s right!” He had pitched his voice to carry. “You’re all waiting for
me
! My name is Vladimir Pasternak. I’m looking for a woman who is my property. She’s about this height”—he held his hand up to where Lily’s head would be if she were standing beside him—“and her hair is blond. She is quiet and unassuming and if anyone here has seen her I want to know it.
Now
!”

“Sir?” One of the clerks was giving a half-hearted wave. “I saw your woman a few minutes ago. She was standing outside with another man.”

“What man?” Vladimir roared.

The clerk shared a glance with one of his coworkers. “Well, he looked like you, sir.”

“Nicolai.” The obvious fury in Vladimir’s gaze made Lily tremble.

“Time to go,” Nicolai whispered.

They quickly exited the store the same way they’d gone in. Once they were back in the alley, Nicolai ran to the mouth of the narrow space and looked out. She followed closely, not wanting to lose track of him. By peeking around Nicolai’s back, she could just barely see the front of the store.

Vladimir stalked outside. He shoved his way through a cluster of shoppers. Some of them fell down. He obviously didn’t care. But when he arrived back at the spot where he had left his car, there was a tow truck already lifting his vehicle off the ground.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Vladimir demanded.

The guy gave Vladimir an insolent once-over. “You’re illegally parked.”

“I’m here now. Drop it and get the fuck out of here.”

The man had the audacity to laugh. “Sorry, but that’s not how it works. You can come get your car at the impound lot. I’ve got a card with the info for you.”

Vladimir pulled his gun from its holster in the small of his back. He leveled the barrel at the tow-truck driver. “Put my car down. Now.”

Lily squeezed her eyes shut. She could hardly stand to see what happened next. Then she heard a car. It came to a stop behind them. Nicolai plucked her right off her feet and ran to the car while carrying her like a sack of flour. She didn’t care. Seconds later they were driving away from the market and Vladimir’s wrath.

***

Nicolai closed all of the blinds and double-checked the locks. This safe house was a simple affair. He had purchased the building several years ago under the guise of a dummy corporation. He had renovated it, and then used the ground-floor apartment when he needed a place to lay low for a while. Two of his father’s enforcers rented the top floor from him. The furnishings were sparse and masculine. He hoped she would be comfortable enough here.

Nicolai offered Lily what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “This house wasn’t exactly built to be secure. Anatoly will send some guys over to stay with you. And two more of our men live upstairs.”

“I’ll be fine.” She was wringing her hands together and staring around as though she were anything but fine.

Nicolai gently took her hands. He pried them apart and held them loosely in his own. “You
will
be fine. You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, Lily. Look at everything you’ve been through. And even then you had the courage to run away from my brother.”

“I wasn’t courageous.” She kept her eyes down, refusing to meet his gaze. “I ran away because I was scared.”

“It takes a lot of bravery to run.” He lifted her fingers to his lips. “Staying—even when you’re in a bad situation—is just giving in to fear and deciding to just deal with the crap as it comes. Change is frightening.”

“Are you afraid of change?” She lifted her gaze and it nearly took his breath away to see the naked emotion right there on her face.

“Yes. I am.” He wondered how much he should say.  “I never wanted to lead the family.”

“You mean in your father’s place?” She frowned as though she were having trouble putting it all together. “But you’re going to have to now, because Vladimir isn’t fit for the job?”

“It’s tempting to just let him have it, turn my back, and walk away.” That was more than just tempting, actually. That was his preferred method of dealing with all of this.

She cocked her head to one side. A lock of hair slid over her shoulder and rested against the curve of one breast. “But you’re not going to do that.”

“I’m not?” He wondered why she would guess that.

“No.” She moved closer to him, until she was staring up into his face and standing so near to him that he could feel the heat of her skin. “Deep down you care about your father’s men. You may not like all of the things that they do or how they act, but you respect the men and they’ve been your family for too long for you to just turn your back. Especially when you know what Vladimir will do with that sort of power.”

“Damn.” He cupped her face and leaned down to press an almost chaste kiss to her lips. “How is it that you know me so well?”

“I’ve gotten good at figuring out what people are like from watching how they act and looking at the choices they make.” She nuzzled him gently. “You took me in, even though you knew there was no benefit in it for you. And you just said that two of your father’s men are living upstairs. That tells me that you think of them like family.”

“I’ll have to remember your powers of observation the next time I need an assessment of someone.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You’re a hell of a woman, Lily.”

***

Lily warmed at his words. She had never thought of herself as being particularly good at anything, but Nicolai made her feel good about herself. She watched him go and locked the doors behind him.

The silence inside this modest living space wasn’t heavy. There was an almost tranquil quality to the place. She liked being there. Walking through the rooms, she noted the worn overstuffed living room furniture and complete lack of a dining table. The paper plates stacked neatly on the counter suggested that it was used in lieu of a table.

With nothing else to do, she began tidying up. She had already wiped down the kitchen and was headed into the bedroom when the pounding started on the front door.

Lily sank into a crouch in the hallway. The window in the front door was frosted. Nobody could see inside. That didn’t mean someone wouldn’t break in. And she had no way of knowing who was there.

“Nicolai!” Vladimir’s shout seemed to shake the windows. “I know you’re in there! You’re hiding her! Bring her out. Now!”

Lily trembled. She curled up with her back to the wall and tucked her head into her knees. Burying her face, she refused to give into the fear creeping up her spine.

“Lily!” Vladimir shouted. “Get out here. Come to me, Lily. Do it now! That bastard has no right to you. None! You belong to me!”

She squeezed her eyes shut and dug her nails into her jeans. The pounding abruptly stopped.

Lily’s eyes snapped open. What had happened? Surely he hadn’t just left? Her stomach knotted with nerves. Getting on her hands and knees, she crawled toward the front room. The wood floor was cold beneath her. She scooted past the door, barely allowing herself to breathe lest she give her presence away.

Once she reached the fluffy area rug, she took a position beneath the window. Peering through a corner of the glass, she saw Vladimir speaking to two hugely built men. The aggressive stance of all three did not bode well.

“Vasily. Georgy,” he said while rudely pointing to the taller man and then to other. “There is a woman in my brother’s house. Admit that to be true!”

The two men simply stared at each other, and then at him. Vasily appeared to be the self-appointed spokesperson. Lily’s stomach cramped with nervous agitation. Did this Vasily not know the danger of arguing with a crazy man like Vladimir?

Vasily tilted his head and stared insolently at Vladimir. “You should go. The council is looking for you.”

“Everybody is looking for me.” Vladimir gave a derisive snort. “And the council will see me soon enough when they acknowledge me as my father’s heir.”

From the safety of the house, Lily gasped in shock. There was no reaction from the men. Their glare simply grew hotter. Finally they started speaking to each other in low tones. The obscure Russian dialect they used was too difficult for Lily to make out, especially at a distance of ten yards or more.

Vladimir reached out and slapped Georgy across the face. “Speak English, dammit!”

Lily couldn’t decide who was more stunned by the slap, Vasily or Georgy. But it was Vasily who responded. He grabbed Vladimir’s forearm and began to squeeze. Vladimir tried to twist away, but the other man’s grip was too strong.

“Let go!” Vladimir shouted. Instead of pulling away, he lunged forward. The momentum caught Vasily off guard and the two men went down in a flailing mass of arms and legs.

Vladimir started punching before they’d even hit the ground. Just when Lily was afraid that Vladimir was getting the upper hand, Vasily landed one punch to the middle of Vladimir’s face. Lily saw Vladimir go limp. His body flopped about as though he were trying to rise, but his limbs apparently refused to cooperate. Lily’s relief was extreme.

“Get the door,” Vasily grunted at Georgy.

The door? Were they bringing him into the house? Lily didn’t want anything to do with Vladimir. He looked half out of his mind. Plus, he was screaming her name in a voice that sounded like a rabid animal.

“Lily!”

Vasily was half-dragging, half-carrying Vladimir. The two Pasternak enforcers dragged Vladimir down to the curb where he had left his car.

“You can’t do this!” Vladimir told them. He spoke as though his tongue was too big for his mouth. His words were slurred. “I’m your boss now.”

“No.” Vasily stuffed Vladimir into his sports car, nearly slamming his head into the doorframe on the way in. “You’re not our boss. That’s why the council wants to see you, Vladimir. You’ve been cast out.”

“What?” Vladimir shouted. Lily squeaked as he reached for his gun. “They can’t do that!”

Lily flung open the front door. “He’s going to shoot!” she shouted to Vasily and Georgy. She could not allow these good men to be hurt after they had just done so much to keep her safe.

Vladimir got one shot off before the warning she called out to the enforcers sank in. They started shouting in Russian. This didn’t end the same way as Vladimir’s altercation with the tow-truck driver. There was no cowering. The big enforcers pulled their own weapons out and returned fire without batting an eyelash.

Vladimir started the car and it roared to life. He left the angry enforcers behind in a spray of gravel and a haze of exhaust fumes. Lily watched him go, knowing that this would not be the last they saw of this truly disturbed individual.

Chapter Eleven

“Lily!” Nicolai shoved his way through the front door into the house. “Lily, where are you?”

“I’m in here, Nicolai. I’m fine. I promise.” She emerged from the direction of the kitchen.

He swept her into his embrace, feeling her warm curves against him and experiencing the most profound sense of relief. “My God, when Vasily called to tell me what had happened I thought I might go crazy! He said they checked on you and you claimed you were fine. Did Vladimir get inside? Did he touch you?”

“No.” She touched his face. “I’m fine. Truly. Your men took the brunt of it. Did either of them get shot?”

“Georgy got winged just a little. It’s only a scratch. Not even worth a call to the doctor.” Nicolai gently touched her hair, threading his fingers through the beautiful strands. “I should have never left.”

“No.” She nuzzled his chest. “You had to go. I understand. I was safe here.”

He gently brushed his fingers over the column of her throat. The skin was incredibly soft. Sliding his fingers up over the back of her neck, he buried them in her hair. He cradled her head in his hand and lowered his mouth to hers.

The touch was like putting flame to dry kindling. Nicolai’s control went up in smoke. He deepened the contact, letting his tongue slide alongside hers and making love to her mouth as he intended to do to her pussy.

She made tiny noises of desire in the back of her throat. The sounds encouraged him, letting him know that she was enjoying this. He folded her closer to his body and let his hands slide down to cup her backside. Pulling her flush against him, he felt the hard ridge of his erection nestle perfectly in the
V
of her thighs. He needed her so badly, but he wanted this to be right.

He pulled back from her lips. “Lily, I want to make love to you. May I?”

“Please do” She was already pulling his head back down for another kiss.

Her mouth was hungry. She devoured his lips and explored him with her lips and tongue. Their teeth clicked together as she eagerly took the lead. He let her steer for just a moment, enjoying her boldness. Then he could no longer stand the wait.

Putting one arm beneath her knees, he plucked her off the ground. It was a short walk to his bedroom. He put her in the middle of his bed. Her hair was tousled and her cheeks were rosy with passion. She looked edible.