Owned by the Russian Mafia Boss: A Mob Romance (17 page)

He held her and rocked her back and forth until his words finally penetrated. “Me. It was supposed to be me. I was supposed to die today,” she muttered. Pulling away, she stared at him. “She’s dead because of me.”

“She’s dead because of me,” Alek said sharply. “This is not your fault. I’m playing a danger game, Natalia. Ana paid the price.”

“Boss! We’ve got something!”

The shouts below diverted his attention. He glanced away and stood. “Natalia, I have to go. I’m going to send someone to watch you.”

Natalia shook her head. “No, I don’t want anyone else to die because of me. I’ll just stay here until you get back.”

“Take a shower, Natalia. I’m going to fix this. I promise,” he said softly. “And I’m going to be back as soon as possible.”

He kissed her gently on the forehead and left her. A few minutes later, she heard footsteps outside her door. Against her wishes, Alek had sent someone to watch her after all.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she rocked back and forth. She should get in the shower and wash off the blood. Wash off Ana’s blood. But she couldn’t get off the floor. Part of it was fear. She was supposed to have died today. She nearly did. It wasn’t even fair that Ana died in her place. Ana had a future. She knew what she wanted in life, and she was happy.

What was Natalia doing with her life? She could sit here and say she wasn’t doing anything because she was a prisoner, but the truth was she was a prisoner long before Alek ever got his hands on her. A dead end job that she wasn’t happy with. A single life that she had no plans of changing.

Murdering Ana took someone important away from the world. “It should have been me.”

Thinking of Ana’s face before she died, seeing the life flee from her, was more than she could handle. As tears wracked her body, Natalia curled up on the floor and cried herself to sleep.

***

Alek watched his men comb the grounds. They picked up the shell casings, but the shooter was long gone. A cold rage spread through him. Of anyone to die, it had to be Ana. Sweet, bright, frustrating Ana. Someone was going to die for this. Someone was going to die slowly.

“Boss! Boss! We’ve got him!”

Alek turned to see Misha and Sasha carrying Grisha around the house. Grisha gave him an easy going smile. “You certain have tightened your security,” he said as he gestured to Alek’s men.

Alek was in no mood to chat with Grisha. “Tell me that you didn’t shoot into my home,” he said quietly.

Grisha’s eyes rounded, and he looked around. “What happened, Alek?”

“Tell me that you didn’t just kill someone that I cared about,” he said roughly as he strode forward and stopped only inched for Grisha. “Tell me, or I’m going to slit your throat right where you stand.”

“Whoa, Alek. Back up, man. I didn’t shoot into your house. I just got here.”

“Why? Why are you here?” Alek growled.

Grisha shook his head. “No here, man. Not like this. How can I help?”

“I thought you were done with this life,” Alek said as he nodded to Sasha and Misha to release him. They muttered their apologies and moved to continue searching the grounds.

Grisha turned his head and surveyed the area. “I am. But in a weird way, you’re my friend. And if you need help, I want to help. Tell me what I can do.”

“I have a mole. One of my men,” Alek said quietly. “They knew that I was going to confront Boris about the underhanded move into my territory. They knew that Natalia would be alone, and they told him. He was ready.”

“Shit. Natalia’s dead?” Grisha breathed. “Fuck, man.”

“Ana. She was part of my staff. I told them to watch over Natalia when Boris made threats. Ana went to the window, and the shooter thought it was Natalia. She was one of my favorites, and now she’s dead. Natalia is terrified.”

“She should be,” Grisha said grimly. “I don’t know what your obsession with her is, but you’ve put her in a dangerous position. She
should
be terrified, and it has nothing to do with Boris.”

Alek felt his chest tighten. “Be careful what you say to me right now,” he growled hoarsely.

“I can find your mole,” Grisha said quietly. “But I can’t do anything about your other problem.”

“What other problem?” Alek muttered as Grisha began to walk away. He raised his voice. “What other problem?”

The annoying man grinned over his shoulder. “The daughter of the man you hate.”

Alek watched him leave and took a deep, steadying breath. The sun set and his men found nothing. Finally, he sent them all home and went it to get Natalia for dinner. The guard shook his head at the door. “She hasn’t moved, Boss.”

“Damn,” Alek muttered and waved his guard away. Inside, he found Natalia curled up on the closet floor still covered in blood. Someone had cleaned up the glass, but Ana’s blood still stained the carpet. His stomach turned when he looked at it. His staff knew it was dangerous to work for him. He let them walk whenever they wanted, but Ana was brave. She thought she could handle everything that came her way.

Bending down, he picked Natalia up. She opened her eyes and stared at him. “She’s dead.”

“I know,” Alek murmured as he carried her into the shower. Under the warm water, he slowly stripped her bloodied clothes from her and began to work the shampoo through her hair.

“It’s my fault,” Natalia mumbled. She stared at the tiled wall as Alek worked on her.

He paused. “It’s not your fault, Natalia. It’s my fault. Her death is on me. Don’t for a second think this is your fault.”

“You didn’t call the authorities. Why?”

“They were notified,” he said tightly. “They came out here to talk to us, but we process our own property.”

Natalia lifted her head and stared at him. “That’s insane.”

He smiled a little, but he knew it didn’t reach his eyes. “The authorities and I have an arrangement.”

She shook her head. “Ana is dead. And you talked to a bunch of dirty cops. You’re unbelievable. Unbelievable. Don’t touch me. Don’t touch me, I hate you.”

“Natalia,” Alek said quietly. She slapped his shoulder and stumbled away, but he grabbed her before she could hurt herself. Immediately, she burst into tears, and they sank to the floor of the shower. As he held her, he pressed his head into the crook of her should. She held nothing back. As she cried, she called him cruel names and accused him of everything from murder to fucking mothers. Through it all, he held her. Finally, she was spent and leaned against him.

“Her family?” she asked softly.

“Ana doesn’t have any family. Her parents died when she was younger. I’ll take care of her, Natalia. She deserves the best, and I’ll make sure that she has it.”

“The best,” she said softly. “You liked her.”

Alek nodded his head. “Like a sister,” he said hoarsely. Closing his eyes, he pulled her closer. “I tried to get her to quit. I tried over and over again. I promised to pay for anything she wanted if she left. She didn’t leave. She said she could make me a better person. And now she’s dead.”

Knocking her head back, she stared at him. “Kiss me,” she whispered.

Leaning down, he obliged. Tasting her slowly, he reached down and ran a hand over her breasts. “I want you, Natalia. But I know how you feel about me, and…”

“Make me forget, Alek. Please. Make me forget. I’m yours. No contract. Nothing. Just you and me. A man and a woman who want each other.” Her hands slid up his body as she turned around. “It’s not about my father. It’s not about your job. It’s just two people who want to feel something other than fear and anger. Please.”

Alek hissed when she leaned down and ran her hands over his thighs. He wanted to tell her to stop. He wanted to tell her that the longer they played this charade, the more dangerous things would get, but when she took him in her mouth, he had nothing else to say. “Natalia,” he gasped when her lips slid all the way down to the base of his cock.

The water drenched her, and he leaned over and pushed her hair to the side. He wanted to see her face when she pleasured him. As he slowly pumped his hips, she closed her eyes and moaned quietly. She enjoyed it. She wanted him to feel good. And it stayed him.

She was skilled, but he didn’t want to lose it quite yet. Pulling her off him, he scooted back until his back hit the wall. She straddled him, and he leaned over and took one of her luscious nipples in his mouth. Her whole body stretched, and he ran his hands over the length of her back and over her curved ass. Everything about her was perfect. The way she fit into his hands. The way she tasted. The way she shuddered beneath his touch.

Perfect.

“I’m ready,” she whispered. “Please. I want to feel good.”

“You do feel good,” he said hoarsely as she lowered herself on him. Even though he’d had her before, he still felt a rush of pleasure when she tightened around him. “So good.”

Her lips moved over his chest and brushed along his neck. She wasn’t hesitant. She held nothing back. For the first time since he’d held her, he felt this was genuine.

She’d never faked it. He knew that, and she’d always enjoyed it. But this time, she’d initiated it. This time she wanted him, and it was more than just a physical connection. Her breath hitched, and she pulled back to stare at him. “Alek,” she whispered. Was it a question? What did she want from him? He wanted to give her everything.

Grabbing her hips, he pushed her back and followed her down. Cradling her so she wouldn’t hit her head on the tile, he pushed into her harder. “I’m right here, baby. I’ve got you.”

As he sank even deeper into her, she cried out and grabbed his shoulder. As her nails sank into his skin, everything inside him tightened. He knew without a doubt that he would never feel this way with anyone else. There was no anger or disgust in her eyes. There was only desire and something else that haunted him.

Love.

She looked at him with love, and that alone sent him spiraling over the edge. Reaching down to press a thumb against her clit, he pushed into her one last time. Her legs shuddered, and she bowed her back and shouted his name with her own relief.

Chapter Fifteen

“Ana is dead,” she whispered to him. He rolled over and put his arms around her. Gazing into his face, she wiped the sleepiness from her eyes. “I’m sorry. I should let you sleep. I don’t think that waking you up in the middle of the night is in the contract.”

“I’m not really the person to talk to about this, Natalia. But I’m sure I can find someone.”

His voice was husky with sleep, and she smiled and slid a hand over his naked chest. The touch was comforting. It wasn’t sexual. It gave her an odd sense of peace. “I don’t think that talking about her being dead is going to help me. Can you tell me about her life? I didn’t know her for very long, but she was my friend. From the moment she came in here, she was my friend.”

“Is it really that bad? You being here?”

“There have been bad moments. You know that. You caused them. I’m fairly certain you do it on purpose. And up until she thought I was a mole, she helped me through all of those moments.” She turned and snuggled into his arms. “Ana was a good person. She was a better person than me.”

“Why do you say that? You signed a contract with a horrible human being so you could save your father. That makes you a good person.” His breath was warm on her ear.

“He’s my father. I know you think he’s a terrible man, but he’s the only family that I have left. Repulsive or not, he’s my father. You have to understand that.”

“Why?”

The question haunted her. “Why what?”

“Why do I need to understand how you feel about your father? Why is that important to you?”

His arms loosened around her, and she reached up to catch his hand. “Why do you care that I need you to understand?”

“We just keep going around in circles,” he chuckled softly. “You’re not wrong about Ana. She was an extraordinary person. She was probably one of the only people here who could talk to me the way that she did and still live.”

“You don’t have your people killed,” she said with a laugh. When he didn’t respond, she turned her head. “Alek. You don’t have your people killed.”

His hands slid away from her, and she didn’t do anything to stop him. “What do you think I do here, Natalia? Do you think I just push papers around? I was targeted by an assassin. You were targeted by an assassin. I’m a violent man, Natalia. And if I feel like my staff is not doing their jobs, I’m inclined to fire them. And if I feel like they’re endangering me, I’m inclined to kill them.”

Just like that, the warm and fuzzy feeling inside her grew cold and hard. Pushing herself slowly off the bed, she turned to glare at him. “Why would you say something like that? Why do you act like that?”

“Act like what? This is me. You can’t romanticize this. You can’t romanticize us.”

“Romanticize?” She laughed hollowly. “What’s there to romanticize? I’m a prisoner. I’m a sex slave.” Tears gathered in her eyes, and she wiped them away furiously.

“I’m just saying—”

“Shut up,” she hissed. “Just stop talking. My friend died. Your friend died. I thought that maybe, just maybe, for one night we could comfort each other. We could pretend this isn’t happening. That this isn’t real. Because sometimes pretending this isn’t real is the only way I get through the day!”

He stared at her for a minute, and she thought she saw a veil of pain sweep over him. “I’m glad pretending none of this is real is the reason you get through your fucking day.”

Natalia’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding me right. Didn’t you just tell me not to romanticize this? What the hell do you want from me?”

Shaking his head, he reached over to grab his pants. “I don’t want anything from you,” he said simply as he pulled his pants up. “Not one damn thing.” The door slammed so hard behind him the windows rattled, and she flinched.

“I need something from you,” she whispered. “I just need you to tell me the truth.”

Angrily, she picked up the pillow from the bed and threw it across the floor. It didn’t make any loud and satisfyingly shattering sounds, but it was nice to only have to look at one pillow. Her pillow. Not his pillow.