Russian Mobster's Secret (7 page)

Kirill threw his head back and gazed up at the building where their target kept rooms. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”

“What?” Jacob frowned and then turned his head to follow Kirill’s gaze. “Is that the target?”

“Yep.” Kirill watched in morbid fascination as a shadowy figure pushed their target out onto the balcony of his small apartment.

Jacob cursed in Russian and then grabbed Kirill’s arm. “This makes no sense.”

The shadowy figure pushed the target off the balcony. As Kirill and Jacob watched, the man plummeted to his death in the street barely a hundred yards away.

Kirill glanced at Jacob. “Either we have competition, or someone is trying to screw us over.”

“IT WAS SO nice of you to come and pick me up for dinner.” Susan took the roses from Vlad and tried to look pleased. “I’ll just put these in water. Feel free to come inside and wait while I do.”

“Thank you,” Vlad murmured.

He was the perfect gentleman. He had even brought her flowers.

The idea of Kirill showing up at the front door was laughable, much less the notion of him bringing flowers.

Susan grabbed a vase and filled it with water. The roses looked nice on her kitchen table. It was really too bad that Kirill wouldn’t be swinging by to see them. They would have driven him nuts.

Ugh! Stop thinking about Kirill!

“Ready?” Vlad poked his head into her kitchen.

Susan pasted her warmest smile into place. “Of course!”

She let Vlad take her arm, and they headed out the front door. She locked the door and placed the key in its spot before turning to look at the curb. There was a very nice luxury sedan parked and waiting.

“Wow, nice car.” She smiled up at Vlad. “Where do you find places to park that thing? I would love to own a car, but it’s just not practical.”

“I’m fortunate enough that my building has underground parking.” He opened her door and helped her into the low slung vehicle.

Susan settled herself in the passenger seat and tried to remember that this was all good. It wasn’t like she was under some sort of obligation to disclose to Vlad that she might be pregnant with some other man’s baby. Right? It was just dinner.

“Are you all right?” he asked once he had put his seatbelt on. “Forgive me for being forward, but you seem to have something weighing on your mind.”

“It’s just some problems at work. I’ve had some issues in the past with a coworker. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was affecting me that much.”

Vlad gazed at her with warmth and compassion. “We can do this some other time if you would like. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“No. Tonight is great.” Susan had no way to express just how badly she did
not
want to be by herself tonight. “It will be a welcome distraction.”

“Oh!” He perked up. “You’ll appreciate this anecdote.”

She nodded. She was just glad he was willing to carry the conversation.

“So I was dealing with this neophyte today who could not even navigate a basic actuary table…” Vlad was off and running on some story that starred himself as the most amazing employee/accountant in the universe and everyone else on the planet as infinite morons. Susan felt as though her eyes might actually have glazed over. Not that Vlad noticed. He was speaking at warp speed with no sign of stopping, nor any indication that he realized she had absolutely no interest in his story.

Susan had a feeling she had just discovered the downside of being with a guy like Vlad. The problem was, she should
want
to be with Vlad. Kirill was bad news. She just needed to keep remembering that.

Chapter Nine

Kirill watched Susan follow Oksana into the club. The pounding techno music throbbed against the walls as though it were trying to tear them down brick by brick. Kirill wondered where Vlad the Wonderful was. Oksana appeared to be alone as well.

“Hey.” A sultry feminine voice snagged his attention. “Aren’t you Kirill?”

“And if I am?” He set his jaw.

The scrap of femininity in a too tight mini dress that let half her ass hang out batted her enormous dark eyes at him. “You’re an Orlov.” She trailed her finger along his arm. “Everyone knows that.”

“Do they?” It was odd, but Kirill could barely muster a passing sexual interest in the woman. Still, she could certainly be useful. He leaned down, letting his lips barely brush the shell of her ear. “And what is your name?”

“Cat.”

“Does this kitty cat like to dance?” He grabbed the hand that was quickly trying to unfasten the buttons on his shirt and twirled her around until she gave a breathless laugh.

“Yes! I love to dance!” She began shaking her rounded backside so hard that her breasts nearly tumbled out of her dress. “Dance with me!”

Kirill smiled, though probably not for the reason that Cat thought. “I would love to.”

He led his little minx out onto the floor. It was easy to get lost in the moment. He put aside the question of who had stolen the contract out from under him and Jacob. He forgot about Susan. He focused on the woman rubbing herself sinuously up and down his body to the rhythm of the music.

Kirill spun his partner and held her firmly against his body. At this point he was dancing and nothing more. His body moved with hers, each note becoming a moment in time that could not touch him.

Eventually he heard the whispers around them. People were remarking on the Orlovs’ bad boy. He was considered something of a rebel and prided himself on never being predictable.

“Aren’t you going to kiss me?” Cat gazed up at him with big eyes. She rubbed the front of her body up the length of his, letting her breasts barely brush his chest.

Kirill happened to glance over just in time to catch Susan’s eye. The livid expression on her face was both confusing and gratifying. It also decided him on the kiss.

“I suppose I might want to kiss the pussy cat,” he told his dance partner.

She giggled, the insipid sound grating on his nerves. Still, he slipped his arms around her tiny frame and lowered his mouth to hers. She tasted of rum and cigarettes. It was a strangely unpleasant combination that convinced him he did
not
want to add his tongue to the mix.

SUSAN WAS SO angry she thought she might actually burst a blood vessel in her brain. Kirill was kissing that little tramp!
Kissing
her!

“What is your problem?” Oksana demanded. Her friend leaned over the bar to order two drinks.

“Just ginger ale for me,” Susan said quickly. “I need to stay sober before I do something stupid.”

“Like what?” Oksana followed Susan’s gaze toward her brother. “Why do you care what Kirill does? My brother is the man whore of the Orlov organization. You know that!”

“It’s just so rude! I mean,
he’s
rude, you know?”

“Which is why you’re with Vlad and not Kirill.” Oksana tipped back her martini. “Guys like Kirill fuck anything that will stand still for long enough. You’re so much better than that. Apparently that tramp is not.”

“Let’s dance.”

Susan stalked out onto the floor and began twisting and twirling her body to the music. So Kirill thought he preferred a scrawny girl with no breasts, hips, or butt? Fine. Susan would remind him why he liked her curves.

“Look at you go, girl!” Oksana crowed.

The two friends laughed and danced together. Oksana could turn her body practically inside out as she moved to the music. Men always looked at her with her long legs and generous breasts. But tonight Susan was holding nothing back.

Several men approached Susan and Oksana. The men would duck in close, perhaps grind against one of the women, and then back off. In turn, Susan and Oksana would spin and twirl either toward or away from their impromptu partners. It was almost an odd sort of mating dance. The ritual of dance mingled with the brush of bodies to create an environment where men and women chose to pair up or leave alone.

Oksana seemed to have found a partner she particularly liked. They were well suited, tall, blonde, and beautiful. And when Oksana wiggled her fingers at Susan to indicate that she had every intention of heading out of the club for a bit of a romp with her new friend, Susan wasn’t surprised.

Finding herself alone, Susan’s desire to dance fizzled out. She left the dance floor and returned to her ginger ale. Seconds later she saw Kirill leave the dance floor with his bimbo tucked under one arm. The thought of him fucking the little wench burned like acid. Still, there was really nothing that Susan could do. She didn’t want him. He wasn’t for her. So he needed to be for someone else. That’s what players were, after all.

“I’m surprised to see you here alone.”

The familiar male voice grated on Susan’s nerves. She should have gotten up and walked away, but she was almost a little too eager to give Kirill a piece of her mind.

KIRILL COULD PRACTICALLY see the steam coming out of Susan’s ears. It amused him to think she was upset to see him with another woman since she had been seeing another man.

“I see you’ve found your conquest for the night.” Susan gestured to Cat. “I hope you checked to see if she’s had all her shots.”

Beside him, Kirill sensed Cat’s curiosity about this other woman.

Cat tugged his arm. “I thought we came to get a drink. Why do we need to talk to this bitch?”

“Classy,” Susan said with a snort. “Was that her entire vocabulary in one shot?”

“Hey!” Cat sounded indignant. “Did she just call me stupid?”

“Sweetie, you’re with him.” Susan pointed to Kirill. “It’s pretty certain that you’re stupid.”

“Are you kidding?” Cat looked dumbfounded. “This is Kirill! He’s got ties to the Orlovs.”

Susan leaned around Kirill’s back as though she were letting Cat in on a very big secret. “Sweetie, that’s just what he tells girls so he can get laid.”

“What?” Cat was instantly confused. She looked up at Kirill. “Is she crazy?”

“Completely,” Kirill agreed with a chuckle. “Careful, she might bite you. I think she’s rabid.”

“What?” Cat looked truly alarmed. “We should go. I want to dance some more anyway, Kirill.” She grabbed his hand in both of hers and began bodily dragging him back toward the dance floor.

Susan wiggled her fingers in a sarcastic wave goodbye. “Enjoy your dance, Kirill. And you’re probably the one who should be worrying about rabies.”

Kirill allowed himself to be dragged back out to the dance floor, but in reality he was really done. He moved his body to the music, while his mind was somewhere else entirely. Then Cat threw her arms around his neck and jumped up so that he had to catch her or risk losing his neck. She wrapped her legs around his waist and began kissing him with enthusiasm.

He lazily explored her mouth, finding the experience strangely hollow. He had her ass in his hands, and all he could think about was how much he missed Susan’s roundness. Cat’s butt was bony, and her hips jutted out as though she needed to put on a few pounds.

“I want to fuck you right here,” she moaned, throwing her head back and letting her long hair dangle down her back. “You should take me right here on the dance floor. I know you’ve done that before. I’ve heard the rumors.”

Kirill hated that Oksana and Susan were right, but some of these rumors were getting a little out of hand. He wondered if people honestly believed that he had had sex on this dance floor, or if it was just a bit of urban legend come back to bite him in the ass.

“Honey, I think that might land us both in jail.” He pried Cat’s legs off his waist and swung her around before putting her back on the floor.

“Then we can break out of jail!” Cat’s eyes glowed with excitement.

SUSAN COULD NOT decide what pissed her off more. She was either mad that this lithe young woman with legs a mile long was climbing all over Kirill. Or Susan was pissed that he was letting it happen. Hell. He was a man. He was probably enjoying it!

Unable to look at the spectacle they were creating for one more minute, she snatched up her clutch and left the club. She had barely made it out the door before someone grabbed her arm.

“Where are you going?” Kirill demanded.

She whirled on him. “I’m sorry, did I deprive you of your audience or something?”

“Where’s good old Vlad?” The derision in his voice cut her to the quick.

Susan stiffened and continued walking as though Kirill had never stopped her. Unfortunately, that just gave him another opportunity to grab her arm. The touch was electric. She tried and failed not to shiver at the contact.

“I asked where Vlad is.” Kirill’s tone was deadly. “Any man who lets his woman wander around after dark without an escort is worse than useless.”

“He’s not useless.” She rounded on him angrily. “He’s working. You know, that thing you do when you have a regular job? One that doesn’t make you some mafia family’s bitch?”

His lip curled in disdain. “Is that truly what you think of me?”

“Some days I don’t know what to think,” she said honestly. “It isn’t like you’re all that forthcoming. And I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation. We’re done. Remember? I don’t care what you do. You don’t care what I do. We screwed around and that was it.”

“And yet it bothers the hell out of you to see me with someone else,” he said firmly.

The self-satisfaction on his face made her angry enough that she stomped her foot and balled up her fists as though she were actually going to let loose and throw a punch. “Of course you would pay attention to that, but I’m just supposed to forget about your insane behavior about Vlad. Like I’m jealous and you’re not.”

“I’m not jealous,” he said quickly. “Vlad is just a boring loser and I think you can do better.”

“I
want
a boring loser! I want a man who’s so different from you that he’s not even in the same solar system. Do you understand? You are not my type, Kirill. At all. Ever. I should not even be having this conversation with you.
That
is how wrong for me you are.”

Her tirade didn’t even seem to faze him. Some of the other people coming and going from the club were starting to take note, however. Susan flinched beneath their stares. What if someone reported back to Oksana that she was having what amounted to a lover’s quarrel with Kirill?