Game Over (The Baltimore Banners Book 2) (12 page)

     "There's a phone on the bench where I was sitting. Have your boss check it out and get back to me."

     Bobbi leaned forward in her seat, her eyes following the forward motion of the puck on the ice below. A player from the other team sped toward the net and pulled back, taking aim, as the crowd held its breath. Nikolai burst through the line and dove, throwing himself in front of the net just as the puck shot forward, hitting him and deflecting harmlessly away. One of the Banners reached out and took possession of the puck, and play moved toward the other end of the ice.

     Bobbi winced as she resumed her seat, wondering how Nikolai—how all of them—did it, pushed and abused their bodies night after night. A surge of heated pleasure spread through her as she thought of how Nikolai would innocently ask her to kiss his bruises later that night.

     And how she would happily comply.

     The two of them had settled into a comfortable routine during the last few days since the shooting. Bobbi knew deep down that it wouldn't last—couldn't last—but she refused to dwell on that. For right now, what they had was working. She organized his schedule, shuttled him to an occasional appointment and followed him around during the day, his faithful personal assistant, reporting the bare minimum back to Toomey on her own phone.

     And at night...the night was just for them.

     She had the odd feeling that they were playing house, but she pushed it away. There were no more verbal declarations of love from Nikolai, but she couldn't help but wonder if he was still telling her how he felt with his every kiss, his every touch.

     Much like she was trying to tell him.

     She forced the thought away and scanned the crowd around her, glad she had chosen to sit somewhere besides the owner's box above her. Denny was supposed to meet her here, something she wasn't looking forward to, and the seats closer to the ice, with the loud crowd and noise of the game, would help prevent their conversation from being overheard.

     The horn signaled the end of the second period, and she stood and clapped with the rest of the crowd as the players skated off the ice, the Banners leading by two goals. Bobbi glanced around once more, not surprised to see Denny fighting the crowd streaming toward the concourse as he made his way down the stairs toward her.

     He stood out in his suit and tie as he pushed past the last of the crowd and walked toward her, lowering himself in the empty seat beside her.

     "Nice job of blending in."

     He tossed the phone in her lap, ignoring her. She let it rest there for a minute, then picked it up and studied it.

     "The phone is clean. The guys tore every bit of it apart but came up empty. It's just a phone."

     "Are you sure?" He gave her a look that was pure incredulity. "Sorry. I was certain...the timing seemed really suspicious."

     Denny sat back in the seat and crossed one ankle over his knee. "Don't be. I would have been suspicious myself. We ran a check on Toomey. There's nothing there that we can see. It appears that he's nothing more than what he says he is."

     The news was disappointing. Bobbi's gut was telling her there was some hidden reason he wanted her to keep tabs on Nikolai, but she didn't know why. She had been hoping that something would have turned up. "That doesn't mean anything."

     "It means enough to me. Have you come up with anything else?"

     Bobbi shifted in the seat and looked around them, thinking about the file she had found in her bag—the file that only Nikolai could have placed there. Her bag was with her, always, no matter where she went.

     Except at Nikolai's house.

     When she first discovered it, she had briefly thought it had been the file Toomey had given her at the practice rink. A search of her bag proved that theory wrong, and a closer look at the contents of the file assured her that Toomey would never give her the information contained within.

     And she was still trying to make sense of everything. Articles, newspaper clippings, spreadsheets that appeared to be some kind of coded financial statements...and a memory stick that contained even more coded files. None of it made sense yet. But added to what else Nikolai had personally given her, had told her...

     Bobbi took a deep breath and wondered how much to tell Denny, wondered where to draw the line of betrayal. Did it really matter? The betrayal was there and couldn't be prevented because it had already happened. She was perpetrating it each day just by being with Nikolai.

     She swallowed past the lump of guilt and ignored the nausea that accompanied the realization, torn between doing her job and the emotions battling inside her, knowing that no matter what the outcome, the result was going to be painful when this game was over.

     "Bobbi. Do you have anything else?" Denny's impatient voice brought her out of her warring subconscious, and she shook her head.

     "Nothing except that Nikolai is essentially broke. His agent gives him a monthly allowance, enough for him to meet his daily needs, and that's it. The house, such as it is, is paid for." She took a deep breath and looked around to make sure nobody was listening, then continued in a lower voice. "Any salary checks he receives are signed directly over to TBL. His monthly allowance check, for what little it's worth, is written from what looks like his agent's personal account. Wherever the money's going, Nikolai is out of it before he even sees it." Bobbi reached into her bag and pulled out a folded slip of paper and handed it to Denny. "Here's a copy of the latest allowance check."

     Denny took it from her and placed it in his jacket pocket without looking at it. "How did you manage to get a copy?"

     Bobbi shook her head, still not believing it herself. "I got the original from Nikolai. Right after he asked me to help with his checking account. Because he trusts me."

     Denny must have sensed something in her tone of voice because he didn't say anything, just nodded slowly. She waited for more questions, for a comment at the least, but there was only silence broken by the noise from the crowd returning to their seats. Bobbi wasn't sure if she should thank him for being quiet, or if she should wait for the anvil to drop on her head.

     "He's being extorted, Denny. To the tune of millions, and I don't know why. If you could have seen him at his agent's the other day...he just signed that contract. Didn't read it, didn't talk money, he just signed it. Even when I tried to stop him..." Bobbi closed her eyes against the sudden chill, this one having nothing to do with the temperature of the arena.

     "I thought Jacobs was going to stroke out, he looked so furious. Nikolai asked him to leave the room, then told me there were things I didn't understand, that he couldn't explain...which he said in Russian. Which I'm not supposed to understand. Then he asked if I trusted him and signed the contract anyway."

     "You're getting too involved, Bobbi. I suggest you start distancing yourself." Denny's voice was too loud, even to her, and she glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention to them.

     "Lower your voice, you're drawing attention," Bobbi warned in a hiss. Denny settled back in his seat, his attention on the ice as the arena lights dimmed and the players came out for the start of the third period. Bobbi ignored the tension and anger seething from him and looked for Nikolai in the player's box, focusing on him, trying to draw strength just from the sight of him.

     "I can see you're already making the mistake of confusing sex with love, Bobbi."

     Denny's flat voice and harsh words were a punch in her gut and she sat up straighter, determined not to let him see how badly his words affected her. "Screw you. I learned the mistake of confusing the two when I was with you, didn't I?"

     He stiffened beside her but said nothing, which relieved her. She wasn't able to deal with this now, wasn't able to deal with him, as the old anger resurfaced. And it was just anger...at being used the way she had been years ago, as an end to a means.

     Much like what she was doing now.

     She pushed the harsh comparison away and did her best to focus on the game, trying to ignore the man beside her.

     "Does Petrovich have any living family?" The question pulled her gaze back to Denny. He was watching her, his eyes calculating and focused. She narrowed her own eyes, shaking her head.

     "No. Why?"

     "You asked me to check on adoptions at the Ruskov Orphanage. Petrovich visited there two days before terminating the contract with his original agency. He went back just hours after signing with TBL, stayed for one day, then immediately returned to the States. We're still digging through whatever paperwork we can find but haven't been able to come up with anything else."

     Bobbi tensed at the speculation in his eyes, knowing that he was pursuing a lead, even if it was only a hunch—a hunch she had shared with him. She swallowed and nodded, waiting. "And you're thinking...what?"

     "Any chance your boy was getting rid of a kid he didn't want anyone to know he had?"

     The accusation hung in the air between them, shocking her. Bobbi's initial reaction was to say no, the idea was ridiculous, that Nikolai had told her he had no children. But she didn't say it out loud. The truth was, she
didn't
know. And as much as she wanted to rush to his defense, to tell Denny he was being ridiculous, she couldn't. Because she just didn't know.

     But even if he did have a child..."So, what...you're thinking millions of dollars in extortion to hide the fact that he had a kid and gave it up for adoption? That doesn't make sense. Not nowadays."

     Denny shrugged, his gaze still cold and calculating. "It would if there was something illegal about the adoption. If the orphanage was known for illegal activities involving the children there."

     "What!"

     "We're still digging, but it looks like the Ruskov Orphanage specializes in black market adoptions. And the adoptions aren't necessarily to families."

     The accusation cut deep through her, the implication leveling her. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tight around her middle, shaking her head in denial. She knew there were "orphanages" selling children into slavery and prostitution but to think...no, it was impossible. The Nikolai she knew would never do such a thing, knowingly or unknowingly.

     She straightened, her jaw clenched as she shot Denny a feral look. "You're wrong. The timeline is wrong. You don't agree to long-term extortion before the fact. You're looking in the wrong direction."

     He sat back in his seat and studied her. Bobbi knew how she must look and didn't care. What he was implying was insane. She knew places like that existed, knew there were soulless people who fed on the depravity, knew there were monsters out there.

     Nikolai was not one of them.

     "You're wrong," she repeated, certain of her conviction. "Dig deeper or look somewhere else. Find out more about the agent. There's a connection there. I told you how Nikolai reacted when he threatened me, but there was fear there, too."

     "Are you sure you're not seeing something just because you want to see it?" Bobbi heard the underlying accusation in his voice but refused to acknowledge it.

     "I'm sure. Now do your job and find that connection. It's there."

     He shook his head and leaned closer, the look in his eyes both warning and dangerous. "I always do my job, Bobbi. Always. Now do yours and get me something I can use. You're certain I'm wrong? Then prove it."

     He shot her one last look then stood up, drawing impatient shouts from the crowd for blocking their view of the game as he walked away. She refused to stare after him, instead pretending to focus on the action on the ice in front of her. She suddenly envied Nikolai and the other players, wishing she could take her own aggressions out by their hard physical play.

     She clenched her fists together and bit down with her jaw. Denny was wrong, and she
would
prove it.

**

     "Teach me to skate."

     Nikolai looked over at Bobbi, noticed the way she fidgeted in the seat and repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hands. His beautiful one was restless tonight, but she would not tell him why. He downshifted to a stop at the traffic light and turned to her, noticing the play of light and shadow on her face.

     "And why do you wish to know how to skate?"

      She shrugged, still fidgeting, still not looking at him. He reached out and tugged at the strand of hair that curled around her cheek, feeling its softness between his fingers as he tucked it behind her ear. He smiled when she pressed her cheek against his palm before he moved away, and wondered if she even realized she did that.

     "I just want you to teach me, that's all. It looks like it would be fun. And then you can show me how to play hockey."

     He chuckled and shook his head. "So now
moe krasivejshee
also wishes to play hockey. And this is because...?"

     "Because I need an outlet for my aggressions and that looks like a good way to do it." She looked so miserable next to him, but so determined at the same time that he laughed. He choked the sound back at the look she gave him but couldn't hide his smile.