Nikolai 2 (Her Russian Protector #6) (49 page)

"Like. Fucking. Hell. I'm not some puppet on strings you can yank whenever you feel like it."

Silently, Nikolai advanced on Finn with deliberate, slow steps. He noticed Finn's gaze flicking from visible tattoo to visible tattoo. He saw the realization dawn on Finn's face. This was a battle the Marine couldn’t win.

Hands clasped behind his back, Nikolai asked, "Do you love your family?"

Anger flared in Finn's eyes. "I will tell you this once and only once. Don't threaten my family."

Behind him, Ilya and Boychenko stepped forward, but Nikolai flicked his fingers, wordlessly telling them to stop.

"You might scare the piss out of everyone else, but I spit in Death's face when a bunch of coward terrorists blew me up on the side of some shithole road outside Gardez. Don't think for one fucking second that I'll hesitate to spit in yours."

Nikolai didn't take that as an insult or a threat. He took it as it was meant to be. This was Finn stating the facts.

"You say you've seen war. Well there's a war coming to Houston. Unless you want to see it rage on the streets of this city where your family and mine live, I need your help."

Finn's taut body relaxed. "What kind of help?"

"The cartel is fractured. Lorenzo Guzman is scrambling to stay in power. There's word that he's going to order a hit on someone important in the city. I need to know who that person is."

"So you can save them?"

Nikolai wasn't going to tip his hand. He decided to act nonchalant. He couldn’t let on his greatest fear. He couldn’t give Finn even the slightest clue that the target was more important to him than anything in this world. "If saving their life furthers my position and keeps the city quiet? Yes."

"So you want me to betray a fucking cartel?"

"I want you to survive, Mr. Connolly. If you tell the cartel no, they'll kill you, your brothers, their girlfriends, their girlfriends' families and everyone who ever made you happy. If you say yes,
you feed the information to me, and I'll protect you and the people you love."

His offer made, Nikolai left the barn without another word. Ilya and Boychenko followed with the body and the rifle. Both were placed in the produce van waiting outside. Kostya stayed inside to give Finn his instructions. When he exited a short time later, Kostya's expression was unreadable. Kostya waited until they were driving away from the barn to say, "I don't know if we can count on him to do it."

"Where was he tonight?"

Kostya glanced at him and then back at the road. "He was with Hadley Rivera."

"No shit? He was with Eddie Rivera's daughter? The one with…?" He touched his chest, right near his heart, and Kostya nodded. "Is it serious?"

Kostya shrugged. "I tried asking him about her, but he shut me down."

Nikolai hated himself for even thinking it, but he said, "She could be useful."

"I know," Kostya confirmed in an equally loathsome voice. "She's Hector's cousin. She's sleeping with Finn. She's the perfect hostage."

"If it comes to that," Nikolai said, his voice tight and his stomach clenching with unease. He didn't want to kidnap some innocent girl to force Finn to do his bidding, but he would if it came to that. He would cross any fucking line to protect Vivian.

"I heard the baby is a boy." Kostya offered a genuine smile. "Congratulations."

"I would have been just as happy with a girl." He didn't understand why everyone who had congratulated him today seemed to think having a son was something worthy of such adulation.

"Not me," Kostya grumbled. "They're trouble, and the boys they want to date are trouble."

Nikolai couldn’t even imagine his son dating. "I think they're all trouble at that age." He chuckled at the memories of his own teenaged romantic escapades. "If he's anything like me, he's going to be a handful."

"Maybe you'll be lucky, and he'll inherit all of Vivian's sweetness."

"God willing." Nikolai tapped his fingers against the warm window glass. "I need to see Ben tomorrow."

"Ben Beciraj? At Merkurie Motors?"

"Yes. I want him to customize a vehicle for Vivian and my son."
My son
. Would he ever get used to saying that? "It needs to be bullet-proof. I want it done right. Ben is the only one I trust."

"I can get a meeting in the morning, if you'd like."

"Fine. The sooner, the better," he added. "Vivian is five months pregnant. It's going so fast. The baby will be here soon."

Too soon
, he thought in a panic. Things weren't settled with the cartel yet.

But the pieces were in motion now. It was only a matter of time until all hell broke loose.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Two Weeks Later

"Kolya."

Nikolai grumbled and lightly swatted at the finger poking him in the ribs. Only one person in the world would dare to poke at him like that when he was trying to sleep. Face still buried in his pillow, he grumbled, "What, Vee?"

"Are you going to get up? It's almost noon! I've already been to church. I thought for sure you would be awake by now."

Noon?
His fuzzy brain couldn't tell him why he was so tired.

"Come on! You need to get up. Galina and Vladimir are waiting. We promised Sergei and Bianca we would look after them until they meet us tonight for dinner at Samovar."

Bianca and Sergei?
His brain finally sputtered and produced an answer.

The wedding. The vodka. The dancing. The vodka.

"Kolya." The bed shifted as she bounced onto it like an overeager puppy.

The movement drew his attention to his throbbing head. He groaned and reached for her, his hands landing on her hips. "Christ, stop moving. My head is killing me."

"I'm not surprised." Amusement filled her voice, but she tenderly stroked his jaw and temples. "I left some aspirin and a glass of water in the bathroom for you." She kissed his cheek. "You'll feel better—and smell better—after a shower."

Nikolai cracked one eye. She wrinkled her dainty little nose. He inhaled deeply and grimaced. She was right. He smelled like sweat and alcohol—and sex. "I'm sorry," he croaked. "I shouldn't have had so much to drink."

"It's all Yuri's fault," she assured him. "After Sergei and Bianca left, I went to chat with Lena. The next thing I knew you were on the dance floor with Yuri and some of Bianca's cousins. It, um, got a bit rowdy after that."

Nikolai paled. "Please tell me I didn't dance on a table."

"Well…"

"Shit." He wiped his hand down his face. "I'm sure everyone is talking about that today."

"So?" She rubbed his chest. "You're a grown man. The baby isn't here yet. It's okay for you to let loose a little." She traced a tattoo on his skin. "It's better to get all of that out of your system now. Once January comes and the baby is here? You're on diaper duty."

"Gladly," he said, picking up her hand and kissing her palm. She smelled so good, like lavender and vanilla. With both eyes open and his vision no longer blurry, he raked his gaze over her body. She wore a simple little dress in a bright pink color. It highlighted all the lush roundness of her pregnant body. "You look beautiful."

"Mmmhmm," she hummed. "You tried that with me last night."

He didn't like the sound of that. "How did we get home?"

"Vladimir drove, but Ilya and Artyom followed us. We were safe."

"I shouldn't have put you at risk, not now. It was reckless and stupid of me." He couldn’t believe he had been so careless.
What the hell was I thinking?
"How did you get me upstairs?"

"Vladimir helped. He thought it was funny."

"And you?" He was almost afraid to ask.

"I'd rather we not have a replay of last night's stumbling and singing," she said with a frown, "but I've never seen you like that before so I'm giving you a pass."

"It won't happen again." He kissed both of her hands. "I promise."

"I'm holding you to that." She leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose.

The front of her dress gaped and gave him a tantalizing view of her breasts. A dark purple mark on the left one concerned him. He ran his thumb across the small bruise. "Did I do this?"

She flushed scarlet and sat up quickly, tugging her dress back up to cover the mark. "Things got a little wild last night."

"How wild?" Nikolai could only remember snatches of their night. Memories flashed before his eyes. Undressing Vivian. Squeezing her breasts and lavishing them with attention. Sucking on those perfect little nipples of hers. Burying his face between her thighs and lapping at that sweet honey and her pink clit until she was crawling up the bed and slapping at the headboard. Dragging her on top of him and reveling in the sight of her bouncing wantonly on his cock. Flipping her onto her hands and knees and driving into her wet, tight pussy until she came hard on his cock. Flipping her back over and licking her juicy slit until she came and begged him to stop, her small hands shoving at his head and her thighs quivering. Coming in her mouth, his cock sliding between those pouty lips of hers while her tongue did things to him that made his knees buckle.

Curious about his memories, he lifted her skirt and pushed her legs apart. Vivian swallowed nervously but let him look. Sure enough, he found even more love bites on her inner thighs. He shoved her dress up around her breasts and found a few more on her belly.

"I'm sorry, Vee." Shame gripped him. "I shouldn't have been so rough with you."

"I'm not complaining, Kolya." Her blush deepened as she lowered her dress and smoothed her hands down the fabric. "Actually, if we could do that again, without the alcohol, that would be nice."

"Nice?" He looked at her love-ravaged body and thought of the way he had fucked and feasted on her last night. "I'm not sure nice is the word I would use."

"It was some of the best sex we've ever had. I liked it. A lot," she added bravely.

"Well," he sat up slowly and slid his arms around her waist. "In that case, we'll have to see if we can replicate last night."

Vivian kissed his cheek. "I'm not sure if we can replicate perfection." Her sensual mouth curved with a mischievous smile. "But I'd damned sure like to try."

Nikolai laughed and noisily kissed her neck. "Go downstairs and entertain Sergei's family. If you stay up here much longer, I'll give into the temptation to try right now."

Vivian crawled off the bed and left the room with a backward glance. He inhaled a long, deep breath and threw his legs over the side of the bed. Not used to drinking like that anymore, he was feeling every shot of that top-shelf liquor. He found his cell phone in the organizer atop the dresser. She had neatly arranged his wallet, keys and phone for him. He could just imagine her walking around their bedroom, stark naked and bearing the red marks from his overanxious mouth all over her body, as she picked up the mess he had made in his drunken state.

He picked up his phone and checked for missed calls or texts. There were two text messages from Yuri that he opened. It made him smile.

Y: Lena says I need to apologize. Sorry.

Y: My head is fucking killing me. We're getting too old for this shit.

Smirking, Nikolai set aside his phone and walked into the bathroom. After knocking back the pain relievers, he took the longest piss of his life. He noticed the red smudges on his cock and grinned lasciviously. That was a shade of lipstick he would recognize anywhere. Russian Red. Vivian's favorite.

Thoughts of his little temptress wife had him half-hard before he stepped into the shower. He took his time lathering up and scrubbing his hair. There was something important he had promised to do last night, but he couldn’t for the life of him remember what it was. It was a favor. A big favor.

Who asked for my help last night?

At a big party like a wedding reception, he had people constantly coming up to him. Faces flooded his mind. Snippets of conversation raced through his head. He had made a lot of promises last night.

Yes, I'll talk to your landlord.

Yes, I'll see what I can do about your daughter's loser boyfriend.

Sure, I'll come take a look at the house you're having trouble selling.

Yes, I'll see if I can get Besian to give your husband a few more weeks to pay back that loan.

Yes, I'll get your wife and mother-in-law safe passage into that prison
.

Nikolai yanked his head out of the shower spray. His conversation with Sergei barreled to the front of his mind. Sergei had told him that Bianca and her mother planned to visit Adam Blake, the man who had killed her brother and beaten her during a hate-motivated convenience store robbery, in the prison where he was recuperating after being attacked in the yard.

It was a bad idea. The worst idea, really. Prisons were notoriously dangerous places for a reason. Like any good mob boss, Nikolai owned a number of prison guards. It wasn't that hard or expensive to buy them. Unfortunately, there was always someone willing to pay a higher price for them. To secure safe passage for Bianca and her mother, he would have to shell out huge amounts of cash.