Used by the Russian Mafia Boss: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (7 page)

“It did, quite regularly,” Nikolai said with a wry smile. “You might say it’s what kept him with your mother. He was determined to get control of her fortune.”

“What would have happened if he’d had a son with another woman?” Toni wondered. “Would the new baby inherit?”

“Not if he wasn’t a Kabalevsky,” Nikolai retorted. “Why?”

“Because my father sired a child off his last mistress.” Toni couldn’t understand it. Was she wrong? Was the entire pregnancy an accident? It made no sense. Katya didn’t act as though it was a mistake. The only thing that had gone amiss was her father suddenly changing his mind about the whole thing.

“He
what
?” Nikolai sat forward in his chair, his expression stormy. “The disrespect!”

“Oh, because it’s so much worse to have a kid than just to cheat without any awkward byproducts to leave around as proof?”

Now Nikolai looked chagrined. “Okay, so maybe I can see where you’re coming from on that, but still. Why would he be so careless?”

“That’s the thing,” Toni insisted. “I don’t think it was a mistake. I think it was intentional. I just don’t know what his angle was—or maybe is. I just don’t know!”

There was a soft knock at the door. Nikolai frowned. He got up from his desk and went to answer. There was a hushed conversation that Toni couldn’t hear. Then her uncle chuckled and turned back around to look at Toni.

“There is a man here looking for you Toni Rustikov.” The twinkle in Nikolai’s eyes did not match his somber tone of voice. “He says his name is Dimitri Alkaev. Did you leave some things out perhaps?”

“Maybe.” Toni blushed. “I sort of ran away from home, allowed myself to be kidnapped by Dimitri and his brother Anatoli, and then I’ve been hiding out at their house ever since.”

“Until today?”

“Yes.” She shrugged. “I was a willing prisoner. If they’re not going to take care to make me stay put, I feel like I should have the right to pursue my own agenda when I want.”

“Seems fair,” Nikolai agreed.

“You think this is funny!” Toni accused.

Her uncle sighed. “I know Dimitri.
That’s
what makes it funny.” Nikolai nodded to the enforcer who’d brought him the message. “You may show Dimitri into my office.”

DIMITRI STRODE INTO Nikolai’s office without any notion of what to expect from the encounter. Had the man discovered that Dimitri had kidnapped his niece? Was his pissed? And more importantly, would he retaliate. Dimitri Alkaev considered himself to be the sort of man people thought twice before messing with. But one did not “mess with” a Kabalevsky without getting the entire family involved.

“Hello, Dimitri.” Nikolai was sitting in his chair. He didn’t even bother to get up when Dimitri entered. “I assume you’re here to talk about my niece, Antonina?”

“Is she here?” Dimitri tried to keep his tone level, but he had been getting increasingly worried about Toni’s safety over the last hour or so. “She didn’t tell anyone where she was going.”

“My niece is an interesting woman, Dimitri Alkaev,” Nikolai drawled. “People often think that she is a bit of a delicate flower.”

“I’m not sure I would agree with the delicate portion of that statement,” Dimitri commented. “So far I’ve found her to be shockingly resilient.”

“She is,” Nikolai said, his voice flat. “Which is why I know that if she were in any real trouble, she would come here and we would handle it. Together.”

“But?”

“But I find I don’t appreciate the notion that my niece was kidnapped by the Alkaevs.” Nikolai stood up. He put his hands flat on his desk and leaned forward. His manner was intimidating, though Dimitri didn’t feel the need to back down. After all, he hadn’t done anything wrong. Nikolai wasn’t done. He peered at Dimitri with those uncanny blue eyes that looked so much like Toni’s. “Tell me, Mr. Alkaev. What are your intentions toward my niece?”

Dimitri didn’t answer right away. First of all, he refused to be intimidated. Dimitri wasn’t some green boy. He ran territory in his own right. He had a place on the mafiya council. Other men, older men, listened to his opinions and respected his authority. Why should Dimitri cower before Nikolai Kabalevsky? However, there was no reason to start a war with Toni’s uncle. Not when the man could prove a valuable ally.

Dimitri helped himself to a seat before Nikolai’s desk. The overstuffed chair was comfortable and upholstered in durable leather. Dimitri kicked back and watched to see what Nikolai would do.

There was a moment when Dimitri wondered if he’d made the wrong choice. Then Nikolai settled back into his own chair and seemed to be waiting for Dimitri to continue. Dimitri offered a dip of his chin, intentionally showing respect. “When this entire situation began, I’ll admit that I had no thought but to kidnap your niece for the purpose of using her to get back at her father.”

“How did that go for you?” Nikolai’s expression betrayed nothing of his thoughts. Dimitri could almost be jealous of the man’s poker face.

“Honestly, it didn’t go very well, because she had already left her father’s home of her own will. She was adrift I think, and looking for answers about her mother. So she offered me a deal. We would help each other.”

“And what help did she require?”

Dimitri couldn’t tell if Nikolai had his own thoughts on that or not. It was very difficult to say. Regardless, there was only one answer to give. “She doesn’t believe her mother was a suicide.”

“And she wants you to help her prove it was not?” Nikolai pressed his fingers together “Do you believe you can do this?”

“I believe I can help her investigate. As to proving it, I have no notion of what the truth is at this point.” Dimitri shrugged. “But I’m willing to help her in whatever way that I can.”

Nikolai cocked his head, his curiosity evident. “You have feelings for my niece.”

“I don’t believe that’s relevant.”

The man’s laughter was loud in the small office. “So the answer is yes.”

Dimitri didn’t confirm or deny. He didn’t actually know the answer. “Having feelings” was such a paltry way to describe Toni’s effect on his life. He had known her for such a short time and yet the effects had been almost immediate and somewhat life altering. He was looking at almost everything in his life differently. The way he handled his sister, and his brother’s bloodthirsty reaction to Katya’s predicament were only part of it.

“She’s gotten beneath your skin,” Nikolai said, obviously amused. “Toni has a way of doing that. Her mother was the same way.”

“Tell me about her mother.”

Nikolai sighed. “My sister was a ray of sunlight. Growing up she was the peacemaker. It was simply the way she was wired. She was loyal to a fault. She would have done anything for you, if you were lucky enough to be one of those people who had earned her devotion.”

“And her marriage to Rustikov?”

“A mistake,” Nikolai spat. “He came to our father with his charming words and promises. A bargain was struck, and Maria was never the same again.”

“But would she kill herself?”

Nikolai shrugged. “Who knows what she would do. I cannot say what was in the mind of another. Not even my sister.”

“Thank you.” Dimitri stood up. “If you could let Toni know that I was here, and that I would appreciate it if she would let me know that she is safe.”

“So you aren’t here to force her to come back with you?” There was a smile twitching at the corner of Nikolai’s mouth. “She was your prisoner, was she not?”

“No.” Dimitri knew this man was playing a game. Dimitri refused to fall into that pattern and play along. Not when he could strengthen his position by simply walking away. “She was never my prisoner. She came with me willingly. I never told her to stay. I never even asked her. So I would request that you pass along the message that she is always welcome in our home. She is a valued guest. And if she chooses to return, the bargain she struck with me still stands.”

“Well, well, well,” Nikolai drawled. “I do believe my niece has done well for herself with you, Mr. Alkaev.”

Dimitri grinned, getting up and heading for the door to show himself out. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Chapter Nine

“You
what
?” Anatoli’s words were so loud that Dimitri fully expected to hear one of the front windows shatter. “You just let her go?”

“What was I supposed to do?” Dimitri asked drily. “Demand that Nikolai Kabalevsky hand over his only niece because she was my escaped kidnap victim?”

Anatoli fidgeted, spinning a circle before resuming his pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace in the living room. His agitation was reaching epic levels. “You should have demanded retribution!”

“For Katya?”

“Yes!” Anatoli wagged his finger in the air. “They should pay for their brother-in-law’s disgraceful treatment of our sister!”

“You know,” Dimitri mused. “It occurred to me while I was speaking with Kabalevsky that generally speaking, when one tangles with a man related to that family he causes a war. They take their family pride and family connections very seriously.”

“Exactly!” Anatoli said triumphantly.

“Which begs the question, why can’t Boris Rustikov call on those relations when he needs something?”

Anatoli looked confused. “What?”

Dimitri rolled his eyes. His brother was a good man. He was a man who was quick to react and brutal in his responses. He was
not
an analytical thinker by any stretch of the imagination. “I’m saying that the Kabalevskys don’t consider Boris Rustikov to be family even though he was related to their only sister.”

“Why not?” Anatoli wondered out loud.

“I’m not certain, but I’m sure if we find that out, we’ll also discover more of the details surrounding Katya’s pregnancy,” Dimitri said grimly.

“And in the meantime we have nothing,” Anatoli shouted. “
Nothing
to hold over Rustikov!”

Toni came striding into the room from the direction of the back door. She moved casually, taking a seat on the sofa. She crossed her legs and lounged back against the cushions, staring at Anatoli. “Why all of the yelling? Seriously. I could hear you outside.”

Dimitri was powerless to stop the laugh that came rolling out. Anatoli was gaping at Toni as though she had grown a second head. He looked confused, and very angry. He pointed at her for several seconds before he seemed to find his words. “What are you doing here?”

“We had a deal, remember?” She waggled her fingers at him in a ridiculous mockery of a hello. “I’m not letting you off that easy.”

“Letting me off?” Anatoli looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, I told you I’d help you get back at my father. In return you guys said you’d help me find out the truth about my mother’s death. I don’t think the deal is done.”

FROM THE CORNER of her eye, Toni could see Dimitri’s smile. He didn’t look angry despite Anatoli’s drama. In fact he seemed amused by her excursion and subsequent return. She couldn’t help but think back to the conversation he’d had with her uncle. Surely he hadn’t known she was listening in? Although even if he had, it wouldn’t stop her from doing the right thing and keeping her word.

“Sorry for leaving without a word earlier,” Toni said quietly. “I had to speak with my uncle regarding a few details about my parents’ relationship.”

“What details?” Anatoli demanded.

Toni didn’t spare him a glance. She wasn’t about to answer to his pushy questions. The guy had no manners. So she looked directly at Dimitri and smiled. “My Kabalevsky relations have their own set of rules about inheritance.”

“They do?” Dimitri sounded thoughtful. He scratched his chin, gazing into the empty fireplace and looking pensive.

“Yes. Apparently it doesn’t matter if the offspring is male or female as long as it has Kabalevsky blood.” She was still trying to fit that knowledge into what she knew of Katya’s situation. “Your sister is having a boy. How long till she delivers?”

“Two months.”

“So my father would have known the sex of the child
before
my mother’s death,” Toni mused. “It still makes no sense, but I think my father was attempting to have another child in order to circumvent the inheritance laws and get control of my mother’s money.”

Dimitri stood up and held out his hand. “Let’s go take a walk.”

“Okay?” Toni was confused, but she wasn’t going to turn down a chance to spend some time alone with Dimitri. Not that she had any designs on him or anything. At least that was what she kept telling herself. Yet when their fingers laced together she felt a little jolt in her midsection that had nothing to do with nerves and everything to do with the delicious feeling of being close to Dimitri Alkaev.

“Anatoli,” Dimitri began. “Stay in the house. Go find Ivan and do the rounds for the evening.”

“Why?”

“Because I need you to stay out of the way for awhile,” Dimitri said in a frank tone of voice. “And you consistently put your foot in your mouth when it would be better to just be quiet.” Dimitri escorted Toni toward the back door.

“Where are you going?” Anatoli called after them.

“To have yet another little chat with Katya.” Dimitri looked over his shoulder. “I’m tired of her giving me half the answers I need. So I’m just going to keep showing up and asking her different questions until I eventually guess the entire story or she gets tired and gives it to me.”

Toni saw Anatoli’s belligerent stare from the corner of her eye. It was plain to see that the younger brother wasn’t so happy with the older brother’s bossy tone of voice. Unfortunately there was nothing Anatoli could do about it. Yet.

IT WAS A beautiful evening. Dimitri almost wished he and Toni were simply out for a stroll with no other purpose. He wanted to forget about Katya’s untenable situation, the crazy question of what to do about Boris Rustikov, and he especially wanted to forget about his brother’s rising irritation. Anatoli was a ticking time bomb and Dimitri needed to find a way to diffuse him.

“So what is this
really
about?” Toni wanted to know. She tugged her hand free of his. “I have trouble believing you’ve brought me out here for a romantic walk. Or were you serious about chatting with Katya.”