Her Russian Billionaire (BWWM Alpha Male Romance) (7 page)

BOOK: Her Russian Billionaire (BWWM Alpha Male Romance)
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“Lanzo, stick with the deal. I do not want to have to kill my father’s brother, but I will. Let her go now!” Demitri’s hand shook as he held the receiver to his ear, but his voice was strong and calm. He exuded nothing but power.

 

There was another pause, Lanzo rolling around the possibilities in his head. Rusco made another gesture, turning the blinking screen towards Demitri. He had traced the call back and got the man’s location. They both got up from their chairs, though Demitri kept the phone pressed to his ear as they raced to the car. Rusco drove quickly towards the red, blinking light that was stopped. They were not that far away and seemed to be stationary.

 

“What else do you want, Lanzo? How could you not get it with the million I just sent you? Don’t be greedy. Leave her and go.”

 

More silence and then a woman’s voice in the background. Demitri was sure it was Tasha and the sound had not been pleasant. “Shut that bitch up!”

 

“What did I say, Lanzo!” They were quickly approaching the blinking red blob, the man’s blue eyes darkening with rage. He cut the line to Lanzoas they pulled up in front of an old abandoned building. There were several similar ones around them, but the spot had been clear of the source.

 

The two men raced to the building, Demitri had his hand on his piece tucked into his back. Rusco had his out in the open and pushed ahead of him. They kicked the door in and rushed in. Two men were standing over a woman that was squiggling on the floor. “Stop!”

 

Everyone stopped but her. Tasha continued to thrash about, bound and determined to get out of her bindings. Only when she heard a scuffle around her and shots fired, did she stop what she was doing. She did not want to get shot and she stayed perfectly still. She could hear more movement and then there was a strange silence that took over the abandoned building. All that could be heard was her own hard breathing and the heart in her chest pounding with fear.

 

Then there was brightness as the hood was lifted over her head. She squinted at the bright light and could have sworn she saw Demitri before she shut them again with a groan. ”Tasha, are you okay?”

 

She nodded, recognizing that voice from anywhere. She sighed in relief and pushed her hands forward to let him release her. She didn’t see the knife in his hand, but she knew that is what he was there to do. “How did you find me?”

 

Demitri did not answer right away. He cut the thin ropes around her wrist, cursing himself for the marks left behind by the ligature. “Tasha, I am so sorry.”

 

“Sorry? What are you sorry for?”

 

Her brown eyes were finally focused on him. She still did not know that it was all because of him and he suddenly did not know how to tell her. “The men who took you are my Uncle Lanzo and a few of his friends. They have been taken care of, I assure you, but they took you to get to me. And for that I am deeply sorry.”

 

It all seemed to make sense to her then. She had been dating a drug kingpin and she was bound to get involved in something that could have ended her life. No matter how good the sex was or how much she loved him, there was no way that it could continue. She had a son to think about. “Jonell! I have got to go, Demitri. I am sorry I called you. I can’t be a part of this and I don’t want to be a part of a drug life. This…” She waved her hands around the room and the bloodied men on the floor, “is not my life, Demitri. I love you, but I can’t be with you.”

 

He stared at her retreating back and gaped at her. She was right, though not totally right. He didn’t have any excuse for his actions and he knew the fear for her own life made her say those things. There were also a few words that sent his mind soaring and he kept thinking about how she had told him she loved him. It was in the middle of why she couldn’t be with him. But he still felt a sheer pleasure to hear her say that.

 

“Tasha. Let me at least take you home. Do you even know where you are?”

 

She turned around. “You are the dangerous one, Demitri. I will find my way home, as I always have in the past.”

 

Tasha may have looked and sounded strong from afar, but if he would have been closer, he would have seen how her hands trembled and tears streamed down her eyes. She had never been in something so scary before and she never wanted to be again. She loved the man, but he was too much for her. She needed a man that would be a good stepfather, not the Godfather.


Chapter 12

Tasha called off of work the next couple of days. She stayed home with her son, afraid to leave her house. Demitri had called twice, but she eventually just turned her phone off altogether. There was no way that she was going to talk to him and she was seriously thinking about moving. She had a cousin the next state over and she had her checking around for apartments to rent. Tasha needed a new start and she needed to get away from the city. It would never feel safe to her again. Her hand massaged the crab in her fingers. The necklace had long since been her way to self-soothe. It was no longer just a piece of her mother. It was also a small piece of the man that had retrieved it for her.

 

She finally went back to work, but after a night of constantly scanning the crowd, she decided that it was the end for her there. Tasha quit and told Alice that she would miss her. She did not plan on staying there another couple of weeks, or even another day. Tasha had no plans to go back. Wiring the last of her savings to her cousin, she had her rent a small house for her and Tasha started the long process of packing what she wanted to take with her and throwing the rest out.

 

Within a week, Tasha and Jonell were on their way out of the city. All she could think about was safety, but the only time she had really felt one hundred percent safe was with Demitri. She had known that nothing would ever happen to her, if he could help it. He had a knack at being at the right place, at the right time. Tasha could still feel his hands on her body every time she closed her eyes at night. But she had to get over him. She just had to.

 

***

 

Country life was different, but Jonell seemed to like it better. They had a big yard and instead of an apartment, a small house on the river. The water reminded her of Demitri and even months later, she still thought of him every single time a boat would pass. Her son learned to swim and she was finally getting to where she didn’t constantly have to look over her shoulder.

 

She was almost done with her schooling and instead of going back to bartending, Tasha had a job in a bank. Once she completed her work, she was going to get a promotion. Jonell turned three and everything seemed to be finally going together, everything but her love life. She had dated a couple of times, even tried to have sex with one guy, but it was just not the same. She spent the whole time comparing him to Demitri and finding him lacking in more ways than she could deal with. He had ruined her for anyone else.

 

“Are you listening to me, Tasha? I swear, you are always looking out that window like you expect someone to be coming down that river. What are you thinking about?”

 

Tasha smiled at her cousin Angie. They were raised together and she felt more like her sister. When her mother died, Angie’s mom had stepped in and helped her through the last couple of years of high school. She didn’t know what she would have done without them.

 

“Things in the city. I think about Demitri a lot.”

 

Angie knew the story and nodded her head in understanding. Tasha was still suffering from a broken heart and although she had set her up with a couple of guys she knew, it became clear that Tasha was not looking for someone because she still had him in her heart. It was always the ones that couldn’t be had that were wanted the most. Tasha was no exception, but her cousin hated to see her struggling so.

 

“Why don’t you call him? See how he is?”

 

Tasha shook her head. “I can’t. Besides, he is probably in jail by now. People don’t just walk from drug and murder charges. Not legally anyways.”

 

“So, what if he came here right now and asked you to run away with him?”

 

Tasha paused and sent Angie a look. She knew how she felt and if she answered the way she should, her cousin would see right through her. “Exactly, Tosh. You got it bad.”

 

“I know but there is nothing that can be done. I have Jonell to think about. I can’t bring that kind of stuff into his life. What kind of mother would I be if I did?”

 

In reality, Tasha wanted a way for that very thing to happen. If there was a way, she wanted to know it. But Angie had nothing new for her and she was left wanting what she couldn’t have. At least, she thought, they would always have that one perfect night and day together. It may just be enough to get her through. In some ways Tasha was just happy she had felt it at all, even if it was scarily fleeting.

 

***

 

A week later, Tasha got a call from her old babysitter from the city. Maya called to catch up and see how Jonell was doing. Tasha could tell that she had something else to talk about. “Tosh, are you still getting the Herald?”

 

“No, why?”

 

“You would never believe who I just ran into, who was on the cover of it.”

 

Tasha was silent, not sure where she was going. She missed her dramatic flair, but it was trying sometimes. “Out with it, Maya.”

 

“Okay, chica, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I will just read you the headline. ‘Billionaire Exonerated as Uncle is Taken Away in Handcuffs."

 

She thought of Demitri. Surely she was not talking about Demitri! “Demitri?”

 

“Well of course, silly. I told you he wasn’t a drug dealer.”

 

“No, you didn’t. You told me to get as far away from him as possible.”

 

“Okay I did, but now you have to call him. He asked about you when he realized who I was. I told him you moved and you should have seen the way his face turned white. I am telling you, Tasha, you better call that man. Rich men like that don’t just fall out of the sky.”

 

“I don’t care if he’s rich.”

 

“You should. But if you aren’t going to be practical, he brought you back your necklace.”

 

Maya was a sucker for a love story and she secretly wanted Tasha back in the city. She missed them and the best job she had ever had. “Come on. Check out the article. He was basically set up, so he is still the good guy. No gangster.”

 

Tasha felt a surge of hope in her heart. She got off the phone with her and she felt lighter than she had in months. If what she said was true, maybe there was a chance for them after all. She found the article that Maya had told her about online. Tasha stared at his face for several minutes before she could even read through the words. After she was done, she got up and went to go find her phone. She had to talk to him.


Chapter 13

After the third ring, Tasha prepared for the machine. Then he picked up and she was frozen, not knowing what to say. It had been months and even hearing his hello made her heart race in her chest. God she had missed him.

 

“Tasha? Is that you?”

 

“Um yeah, Demitri. How are you?”

 

“I am good. I have been waiting for you to call. I miss you.”

 

There it was, raw emotion and it tugged at her heart. It was exactly how she was feeling and what she had wanted to say. “I miss you too.”

 

“So you heard I'm not a drug dealer huh?”

 

Tasha bit her lip. She should have known better. “Yeah. Congratulations I guess.”

 

“So when can I see you? I am dying without you and you don’t live here anymore. Where are you?”

 

She told him the name of the town. “I'm surprised that you don’t already know.”

 

“It is not from lack of trying. I wanted to give you some space. I didn’t want you getting dragged into anymore of my drama. It has been four months, Tasha, and I need you.”

 

A shiver ran down her spine. “Well I have a day off this weekend.”

 

“I'm not going to wait that long. Find a babysitter and I will be there in an hour.”

 

She paused for a moment, not really sure what to say. “Um…okay.”

 

“I love you, Tasha.”

 

Tasha stood with the phone going dead. She looked at the lit up screen and he was gone. Her heart pounded in her chest and she called Angie. Angie agreed to take Jonell a few hours or the rest of the night if everything went the way she hoped it did. Tasha had a secret that she had been keeping from everyone for months and it was getting harder to hide it. There was nervousness in her, but more so, anticipation. She had missed him more than she could imagine and even after her lack of faith in him, he did not seem to lose it in her.

 

She took her time in the shower and was not but half-dressed when she heard a knock on the door. Cursing, she stalled him with a holler and pulled the dress on that she had picked out. She knew what he liked and she really hoped that he liked her in it. She smoothed the creasing in her skirt and then the stray strands she noticed in the mirror as she passed by towards the door. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

BOOK: Her Russian Billionaire (BWWM Alpha Male Romance)
11.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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