Fall Into Place (Taking the Fall) (6 page)

“
B
lin
,” I mutter to myself while changing clothes in the casino bathroom. I had no idea how fast I’d burn through my money, and I need more. Or else I’ll have to go back home, which is something I refuse to do. I thought Vegas would be an easy town to blend in. And while it is, it just costs out the ass.

Shoving my street clothes into my big purse, I adjust the short dress, then slide on the ridiculous high heels. It’s time to move on, and I need money to do that. These last two weeks have been crazy but exhilarating. And honestly a little lonelier than I thought they’d be. I had to get out from under my father, and running was the only way. If I didn’t keep on the move, he’d find me and drag me back home. Not home. Prison.

Maybe ‘prison’ is a harsh word for it. I don't hate my father. I love him, but he's suffocating me. I'm not like my mother, who is content just staying at home. Maybe she’s that way because she has my dad. I have them, too, but it's different. They were each other’s soul mate. They have the kind of love I would never have myself if my father had anything to say about it. He kept my mother and me both under lock and key, saying he was just keeping us safe. That he’d killed many in his life and he didn’t want something to happen to us.

He littered the house with security and bodyguards so I was never alone. Odd how I’m now in one of the busiest cities in the world and I feel more alone than ever. Is that what I wanted? No. I wanted what my parents have but for myself. I also want to be free of the fortress walls my father has erected. I’ve never seen any of the danger he’s always talking about, but he trained me for it.

Most kids played board games and drew in their coloring books, and while I did sometimes, more often than not my father was teaching me how to fight, steal, and go unnoticed. I used the very things he taught me to escape from home, and now I'm going to use them to make a little money.

Opening the bathroom stall, I look at myself in the mirror. I look like a lot of the other girls walking around Vegas. I apply more make-up than I'd normally wear and brush out my hair. The easy part is going to be stealing from whatever man I'm going to target. The hard part is going to be talking to him. I might be trained to take care of myself, but I wasn’t trained to seduce.

The only men I've been around were my father’s bodyguards, and they were more the grunt-when-they-talked type. I’ve watched movies, though. I can do this. I fluff my hair and pull the top of my dress down a little, trying to push my boobs up. I don't have a ton of cleavage. I’m kind of small all over.

Making my way out of the bathroom, I head to the first bar I see, taking a seat and eyeing the men around me. Two bar stools down is a chubby man in a suit that looks like it might be a smidge too small. He gives me a look that tells me he likes what he sees. When he shifts I notice his watch and drop eye contact, turning away. Fake Rolex. I need someone with a bigger wallet to steal and a watch I can actually pawn somewhere.

Maybe I should try another bar. There seems to be one about every thirty feet in Vegas. Going to stand, I turn and run into a wall of a man. He doesn’t even budge. He reaches out, grabbing me by my hips so I don’t fall on my ass in these four-inch heels.

“Fuck, you smell delicious,” the man says in a deep voice, pulling me closer. I should step away, but instead I place my hands on his chest, dragging my eyes up to him. I have to tilt my head back to meet his gaze, even in my high heels.

Looking up, I lock eyes with the coolest blues I’ve ever seen. I don’t feel like they match the rest of him. His eyes are the only soft thing about him. His grip tightens on my hips, and fire like I’ve never felt shoots through my body. Desire. That’s what this is.

I’m already this close. I might as well go all in. I let my body mold into his, and he takes my mouth in a deep kiss. My first. I have no idea what I’m doing so I let him take control. Like I even had a choice to begin with. He dominates and controls it as he parts my lips with his tongue. It’s fierce and passionate, and I’ve never felt so consumed.

“Wow.” Pulling my head back, I realize what I’m doing and drop my hands, which had been gripping his ass. I take a step back, using my hand to push away from him. What the fuck just happened? Shaking off the fog, I get my thoughts back in order. “Thanks for the kiss.”

I turn to leave, and he grabs me by the waist, pulling me back to him.

“You’re coming with me, or I’ll tell security you just stole my wallet and watch.” My heart jumps into my throat at his words, making me clutch my bag. Where I did, indeed, have his wallet and watch.

“
Blin
.” I repeat the Russian word for ‘shit’ again. The only Russian I know is from my father. Words he used when we were training, so they are mostly curses.

The man pulls me with him, and I have to half-run to keep up with his long strides. He walks me through the casino, and I make no motions to break free, not wanting to draw attention. Maybe when we’re alone I can get away from him.

He’s big, though. I’ll have to take him by surprise.

W
hen I left
Tony in the truck, I knew what I had to do. There wasn’t any messing around. Something happened when I saw her picture, and I can’t explain it. At first glance, it was as if I knew her, like I’d seen her before somehow. But the more I looked at the picture, the more I realized that I’d never met her, but she was mine. My dad tells me all the time about how it was that way for him when he saw my mom. He was a lot older than she was—she was sixteen at the time—but he said one look and he was done. I laughed at him for so long, but as I walk into the casino, my heart beating, my palms sweating, I know what he was talking about.

Nika. She’s the one.

I go straight for the bar, not passing go and not collecting two hundred dollars. I’m on a mission, and it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with getting a bounty. I spot her from fifty paces and see her eyeing a guy at the bar. My dad taught me everything he knows from the time I could walk, and I know she’s checking out a mark. She’s eyeing him up, and the guy must come up short if the look of disappointment on her face is anything to go by.

My eyes track up and down her body as she flips her shoulder-length brown hair back away from her face. She’s wearing a tight, low-cut sequined dress that blends in perfectly with the people here. The dress is too goddamn short, letting her long, trim legs show. I grit my teeth as I look down every inch of them, seeing she has on some of the tallest heels I’ve ever seen. They would rival some of my mom’s shoe collection for height.

Clenching my jaw and making fists with my hands, I take a breath and try to relax. I’ve got to play it cool. Walking over, I come up behind her chair just as she’s standing up. She runs straight into my chest, and it feels like I’ve been hit with a truck. I don’t move an inch, but inside, my heart is about to explode.

Reaching out, I grab her hips, steadying her on her feet. Those heels are hot as fuck but worthless if she’s going to break her neck. Then again I could just carry her everywhere. Shaking the thought loose, I inhale, smelling her perfume. I don’t know what it is, but it has my mouth watering.

“Fuck, you smell delicious.” The words stumble out of my mouth before I have a chance to think about what I’m saying.

Finally, she looks up and locks eye with me. She’s got the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen, and it’s as if they can see into my soul. Her dark chocolate gaze warms me from the inside, and I lean down to get closer to them. The connection is intense, and I can’t break it.

Nika comes closer to me, and suddenly our lips are touching. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s as if my body has been waiting for this moment to come alive. Sweeping my tongue in, I take over the kiss and grip her body tighter to me. I don’t want there to be any space between us ever again, and that thought shocks me. But the kiss is over faster than I want, with Nika pulling away quickly.

“Wow.” She looks at me in surprise, and I feel her release her grip on my ass. She’s lifted my wallet and my watch, and I can’t tell if I’m upset or impressed. “Thanks for the kiss.”

She turns to leave, and I reach out, grabbing her wrist. I know she didn't think it was going to be that easy. But she probably didn’t expect to meet someone with my skills tonight either.

“You’re coming with me, or I’ll tell security you just stole my wallet and watch.”

She mumbles something that doesn’t sound like English, but I just grab her hips and lead her from the casino. I’m kind of surprised she’s not fighting me, but I’m over twice her size. A little thing like her can’t do much to someone like me, so I’m guessing this is why she’s going along with it.

I should probably teach her some defense moves at some point. She’s mine, and I need to make sure she’s safe. It scares me to think she could be vulnerable.

When we get outside to the front of the casino, I flag a cab and pull her closer. I look into her eyes, and my body sparks and flares. I don’t know why she’s got a bounty on her head, but I want to talk to her and figure it out. I need to ask her some questions and then figure out how to tell her that she’s my true love and that we are going to be together for the rest of our lives. I’m sure that will go over well.

I lightly grip her chin as the cab pulls up behind me.

“I’m taking you somewhere safe. I won’t hurt you, I swear.” I see hesitation in her eyes, and for a split second I think I see her something calculating there, too. I sense her movement before I see it. She strikes out, landing a low blow on the lower-right side of my stomach. It’s enough to have me taking a step back, where she has enough room to spin and elbow me across my lip.

I taste blood in my mouth as she jumps in the cab and speeds off.

“What the fuck was that?”

I grab the next cab and make sure I’ve got the number on the back of hers. Getting in, I throw some bills at the driver. “Follow that one.” I point. “Number one-thirty-three.”

I hold my jaw, feeling a twinge of pain. Damn if she didn’t hit like a professional.

She must think I didn’t follow her because her cab pulls over not too far down the road, and she jumps out and makes her way down the Strip.

I open the cab door, even though it’s still moving, as I don’t want to miss her. The cab driver yells something at me as he stops, and I get out and run. I’m thankful she’s in those ridiculous heels because they’re slowing her down.

Silently moving behind her, I grab her arm and take a step back just as she’s coming around with her fist. I grab it with my other hand, just inches from hitting my face. She starts to swing her leg, but she obviously hasn’t trained to do it in heels, and she starts to fall over.

“
Blin!
” She utters the Russian word again, and I’m assuming it’s some kind of curse.

Catching her body before she hits the ground, I scoop her up and throw her over my shoulder. She starts to kick and punch my back, but at this angle she can’t get much leverage.

“You’re a feisty little kitten, aren’t you? Where’d you learn to throw a punch like that?”

“None of your business. Now put me down.” She’s got a slight accent that goes straight to my dick, and all I can think about is how it’s going to sound when she moans my name.

“No can do, kitty cat. You and I have some business to discuss. And as luck has it, my hotel is just around the block. Feels like a nice night for an evening stroll, don’t you think?”

I start walking in the direction of my hotel, making sure to keep a hand on her ass to keep any drunk assholes from getting a good look at my woman. I should probably make her stop and change, but I don’t want to take the chance of her getting away.

“I’ll give you your stuff back. Just let me go.”

“That’s not what I’m after, Nika.”

She tenses when she hears me say her name but then quickly goes limp. I’m guessing she knows why I’m here. But I know damn well she has no idea I don’t plan on giving her back.