Irresistible Nemesis (7 page)

“It seems Miss Blagovich is quite involved in the Russian community. She has a special interest in helping newly-turned vampires from her homeland get accustomed to life here in the states.” Eva lounged in the comfortable, high-back chair, pleased as punch with her investigative work. “In fact, she’s hired many of them to work in a variety of capacities at Andreas’s nightclub. From bartenders and cocktail servers to security.” Eva filled Oliver in on the recent complaints made by humans against several of the vampires of Russian descent. Most especially, how the entire situation had been swept under the proverbial rug on Miss Blagovich’s watch.

“That’s an impressive tidbit of information. It should at least place
The Crypt
under investigation by INS for hiring illegal workers.” Oliver raised an eyebrow and leaned in. “But we’ll need something more substantial to bring them down permanently.” Eva stood and put her hands on her hips. She stared down at her boss, emanating a confident gleam. Her demeanor spoke volumes.

Everything was under control. As usual.

She laid out the case against Ivan Olshanskey in depth, including the very explicit mandate handed down by Aristotle Kristopolous. “The poor bastard will be tried for the rape and attempted murder of his human girlfriend by a jury of his peers. If he’s lucky, he’ll be deported and ostracized by the vampire community. More likely, he’ll be sentenced to death. Once this leaks to the press, Andreas’s reputation will be ruined. Imagine what will happen when people find out that their golden boy is involved in cover up of a rape and attempted murder case.” Eva grinned. A reflection of supreme self-assuredness.

“This could actually work. Reputation is everything to the Kristopolous family.” Oliver slammed the manila folder shut.

“Exactly. This incident, combined with the investigation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, will have them on the defensive. They’re bound to make a mistake, and I’ll be there to catch them in the act.”

“Keep up the good work, Eva.” Oliver winked at her. Then he reached into the pocket of his tweed blazer. He pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. “You can start tonight.”

“What’s this?” Eva rolled her eyes and glared at him from across the table.

Oliver held his hand under his chin and tapped on the side of his face, trying to hide the tell-tale twitch of his jaw. He was definitely up to something.

“These, my dear, are tickets to the opening of the new Picasso wing at the MET. Your friend, Mr. Kristopolous, is a rather significant financial contributor to the museum. As its primary benefactor, he’s being recognized at a black tie event this evening.

You must know that the only way to break him is to gain his loyalty and trust. How better to achieve that than by getting as close to him as possible.” Oliver chuckled. He reciprocated Eva’s cheekiness with a devious little smirk.

“I see. But there are two tickets here.” Eva nervously fiddled with the contents of the envelope.

“I thought we could go together. I’m a big Picasso fan, you know. Besides, it’ll be interesting to see Kristopolous squirm when we walk in together, arm in arm.”

Eva let out a hearty laugh as she stood and sauntered past him to the door. “Very funny! Just don’t be surprised if Andreas does more than squirm. He’s a bit on edge these days. I guess I’m making him a little crazy. But hey, it’s your life, boss. Pick me up at eight o’clock sharp. Ta-ta.”

****

The new addition to the MET had been fully funded by a generous donation from The Kristopolous Family Foundation for the Arts. Andreas’s mother, Christine, had been an avid art connoisseur.

Due to her nocturnal predisposition, she found it difficult to enjoy all that the New York City museums had to offer and therefore, amassed a considerably large personal art collection.

Cubism being one of his mother’s favorite genres, the family owned several pieces by Pablo Picasso that had recently been gifted to the museum. The dedication ceremony Andreas would attend this evening on behalf of the family was homage to his late mother.

“Argh! I don’t know why I have to wear a damn tuxedo anyway.” Andreas grumbled in frustration as he continued to grapple with the neck tie. Moments later, Natasha came up suddenly from behind. She wrapped her long, talented fingers around his neck. He growled under his breath in response to her touch. The animal in him showed its claws. Already on edge, the beast waited for an invitation to strike. It’d been weeks since he’d looked at Natasha with carnal interest. Nonetheless, he wouldn’t be surprised if his head of security used his brooding disposition as an excuse to launch an all out sexual attack.

“Let me help you with that tie.” Natasha purred seductively in his ear as the heat of her desire poured over him. Completely agitated with his incompetence, Andreas welcomed her assistance. He felt the hard peaks of her nipples press against the corded muscles along his back. Her nimble little fingers had his tie perfect in a matter of seconds, and it made him remember the many instances of pleasure she’s wrought from him with those talented appendages. Foolish or not, Natasha had been far more than an employee over the years.

She’s what modern man would label a
friend with benefits
. An accomplished lover, Andreas counted on his head of security to warm his bed whenever he so desired. Well-known for his sexual escapades and voracious appetite for women, Andreas never tried to hide that fact from his many paramours. After all, when a beautiful woman threw herself at you again and again like Natasha had been inclined to do, why turn her down?

But things had changed. Andreas warred with his conscience over Natasha. It was wrong to lead her on. On so many different levels. He cared about her, so of course, he wanted her to be happy.

He just wasn’t the guy to do it. Still, every once in a while, he recognized that far away look she shot him. The one that told him she yearned for more. And more wasn’t something he gave willingly, to her or any woman for that matter. The word monogamy didn’t exist in his vocabulary. But he couldn’t bring himself to intentionally wound a woman’s pride either. He needed to tread lightly on her heart. It was bad enough he’d have to break the news to her about Ivan’s predicament. She’d feel betrayed by Andreas and his father for allowing the incident to be brought to the board of trustees.

“Andreas.” Natasha groaned out his name as she reached down and grabbed hold of his partially-erect package. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Andreas hesitated, and cleared the scratchy lump in his throat before he turned to face her. “Natasha, we need to talk. Why don’t we sit down,” he said, motioning for her to sit on the edge of the bed.

True to form, Natasha misinterpreted the signals and swooped in for the kill.

“What is it you’d like to discuss?” Natasha smiled suggestively. She scooted closer to him on the bed and draped her hand on his upper thigh in invitation.

Andreas rubbed the back of his neck to relieve the tension.

“It’s about the club.” He squirmed on the bed next to her, both because of their topic of conversation and the way her fingers caressed him so close to his member. “We need to make some changes to the way things are managed.”

“Changes. Mmm hmm.” Natasha nodded in agreement, shaking her head up and down. She moved her hands to his chest and worked her fingers to loosen the knot she’d recently tied in an effort to undo the buttons on his shirt. “Shall we start with changing you out of these clothes?”

Andreas immediately stood and paced across the room. He scrubbed his hands over his face in an effort to stall. He needed more time to think through what he had to say.

“No, that’s not what I meant. Please. This is important.” Andreas pushed her hands away, pleading with her to listen. Out of embarrassment, Natasha turned her head slightly to avoid eye contact.

“Sorry,” Natasha whispered as she lowered her eyes toward the floor. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

Guilt gnawed its way through Andreas’s belly. He still hadn’t said what needed to be said. “Natasha, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. It’s just that…I’ve got a lot going on right now. And I’m trying to tell you something…something that’s not gonna be easy for me to admit.”

“I said I’m listening.” Natasha spat the words at him defiantly on the verge of losing control.

“Okay. Well, as I was saying, we need to change the way we do things at the club. We’ve got to tighten up our policies, especially related to employee conduct. There’ve been some complaints. A possible sexual harassment lawsuit against a couple of bouncers. And now one of our own is being summoned by the coven’s board of trustees to face some very serious accusations.”

“Oh my God, Andreas. I didn’t realize this was so serious.” Her sleepy bedroom eyes shot open. “Who is it? What is the charge?”

“It’s Ivan. I don’t know if you’ve heard anything about the incident involving his girlfriend? I can’t recall her name, but she’s human.”

Natasha looked at her feet and tried not to show any emotion.

“Actually, I had,” she admitted. “Her name is Anna. Anna Winter. I went with him to visit her in the hospital. He was pretty broken up about the whole thing. But these things happen. He’s been a vampire for less than a year. He’s still learning control.”

“I understand that, Natasha.” Andreas placed a hand on her knee. It was a comforting gesture he hoped like hell she wouldn’t misconstrue. “It isn’t me you’ve got to convince. It’s the members of the board of trustees.”

“Are you kidding me? Those guys have NO mercy!” she shouted. “They’ll have him killed. Andreas, how did this get so far?

How could this possibly happen when your family has so much influence over the coven?”

Andreas winced at her question. Even though he knew it was coming, he couldn’t quite prepare for it. “Natasha, you know my father has supreme confidence in your abilities as the family’s head of security.” Andreas did his best to convince Natasha of that fact. But Aristotle belittled his own son at will, so he doubted she’d take the bait. “He has to answer to the rest of the vampire community.

Honestly, they are worried about the situation getting out of hand.

They want to use Ivan as an example.”

“The situation. What situation are you referring to?” Natasha demanded, her tone sounded angrier by the minute.

“The situation. With the. Russians.” Andreas yanked the words out. It was like pulling teeth.

“Russians! What kind of racist bullshit is that?” Natasha fumed at him. “This has nothing to do with race.” Andreas bit down on the inside of his cheeks and drew blood.

Anything to buy him time. He needed to get Natasha to see reason.

“Think about it for a minute. The sexual harassment suit is against two bouncers of Russian descent. There are multiple witnesses ready to testify that they purposefully goaded those women outside the club.

And what about the incident with Ivan’s girlfriend? From what I hear, she nearly died.” Andreas spoke softly, trying his best to explain the precarious situation with the utmost sensitivity considering Natasha’s personal connection to the case. “The board of trustees won’t believe it’s a coincidence that these two unfortunate events involve recently-turned vampires from your country.”

“So they’re using my people as a scapegoat? Why now?” Natasha glared back at him with a mixture of both skepticism and seething hostility.

“It wouldn’t be the first time a particular group of individuals was singled out amongst us,” Andreas retorted. “Think back to the 15th century, when the Romanians fought against the Ottoman Empire. That battle wasn’t over land. It was nothing more than a cover up to conceal one vampire’s blood-thirsty rampage.”

“I’ve never thought of it that way.” Natasha cocked her head to the side as if considering the possibility.

Then she lifted her hand to her mouth, her lips forming into a perfect “O.” Andreas saw recognition weave its way through her subconscious. “But this time, there’s more to it than just putting an end to one madman’s killing spree. Natasha, it may come down to them implicating you, specifically. They feel the Russians are under your jurisdiction. It’s possible they will blame you for what transpired.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. I had nothing to do with either of those incidents. Andreas, you’ve got to speak to the board on my behalf. I have served you well all these years.” A single tear rolled down her battle-hardened cheek.

Andreas wanted to wrap her up in his warm embrace and take away the hurt reflected in her eyes. But he knew she would take it the wrong way. Instead, he squeezed her shoulder in support. “They plan to meet next week to discuss Ivan’s fate. Don’t worry. My father and I have your back. I’m just asking that we be very diligent in the future.

It is imperative that we adhere to the employee code of conduct that’s already in place. No exceptions.”

Natasha straightened her shoulders and shook her head from left to right. “No exceptions. I couldn’t agree with you more. I admit that in the past, I have been more lenient than is acceptable. That type of blatant abuse won’t be tolerated in the future.”

“Good. I’m glad we came to consensus on this matter.” Andreas heaved a sigh of relief. He stood up and grabbed his tuxedo jacket before he escorted Natasha out of the house to the waiting limousine. “Let’s just hope those old geezers take it easy on us next week.”

Eva’s strapless, black-sequined gown shimmered like diamonds against the backdrop as a swarm of paparazzi gathered around. Their flashbulbs clouding her vision. She held on to Oliver’s arm as they made their way up the red carpet toward the main entrance of the museum.

“You look absolutely ravishing, my dear.” Oliver used the crook of his finger to force her to look up at him. Eva lowered her lashes and bit down on her bottom lip. Compliments weren’t her cup of tea. She didn’t like to attend high-class soirees like this either. But they were just a part of the job. Still, Eva had gone above and beyond this time. If she was perfectly honest, she’d admit there was only one pair of eyes she wanted to attract at tonight’s gala. Those eyes belonged to the elusive Mr. Andreas Kristopolous.