Russian Roulette (Russkaya Mafiya) (44 page)

Shrugging, I turn back to a shocked Kristof. “That’s no problem, Kristof. If we can’t reach an agreement then perhaps I should just start killing off people.” I smirk and he cringes.

“No. No. No, now don’t get hasty,” he sputters and I’m pleased he can see I’m serious. “What do you want my daughter for? You won’t be selling her to anyone else, right?”

“I won’t sell her. I imagine she will be kept to be married.”

“You don’t plan to hurt her? No rape or torture, that sort of thing?”

“Christ. No. I don’t get my rocks off by torturing young, helpless women. I got the Bratva here out of the sex trade for a reason. A person who works for my brother wants her. This will give you each a little of what you want. You can have warehouse E, which will expand your territory and the Russkaya Mafiya will get something that they want. The other terms are for me personally.”

He eventually nods after a few moments. “I think that can be done.”

“No, it’s either done for sure, or not. You pack her up and send her over. You have a week. Then you will get the warehouse and I won’t kill everyone you know.”

He nods. “That should be feasible. I’ll make it happen. Does that mean we will be at peace again?”

“It means we will be at peace when I have your daughter and I know you won’t attempt to kidnap her back or anything. I’m warning you—and this is the only one you will get—do not cross myself or my family again.”

“Yes, you have my word. If anyone attempts to cause trouble for your organization, I will personally see to it being handled in a manner you approve of.”

“Then we have come to terms and have an agreement. This war ends.” I am relieved, even though I hide it well. He nods and we shake hands again.

“Thank you.”

I don’t acknowledge his thanks, he’s pathetic. We head for the car promptly, with my guards keeping watch the entire time.

We all load up and start on our journey back to the cabin. I forgot to text Elaina and I’m going to hear about that I’m sure. I’ll have to come up with a creative way to make it up to her. I’m contemplating taking a nap when Alexei barges in right away about the deal I made.

“Boss, I thought I was going to talk to Nikoli first before you did anything with the girl.”

“You can still discuss things with Niko. If he wants her then it will help keep her close. Then Nikoli gets a present that really cost me nothing; and I have an incentive for Kristof to stay on his toes. He doesn’t know it but that warehouse is garbage and the State Troopers have been poking around it a lot lately.”

“I understand that part, but what if Nikoli decides he doesn’t want her, then what?”

“Then I will find another of my men to take her or she can become my house maid for all I care.”

Lev speaks up. “Yeah, I’ve seen her. I’d take her if needed.”

“There, see, she already has a contingency plan,” I murmur and grin.

Alexei kicks the back of Lev’s seat, “No. I will take her if Nikoli doesn’t want her. I would get the first pick, right?”

Lev turns around and scowls. “You sound like whiny brat, Lexei. You probably wouldn’t know what to do with that type of pussy.”

“Enough!” I say sternly. “Look, Alexei, if he isn’t happy with her then you may have her. I don’t particularly care what happens as long as she is taken care of. No beating her or anything.”

He grumbles and looks angry. “Of course I would never beat her or hurt her in any way.”

“I’m not implying you would, I’m strictly putting it out there. Many men have it in their heads that when a woman is bought or sold that it’s okay to treat her savagely. That is not the case; most women are actually sold to repay some sort of debt in the beginning. They should be treated decently, not inhumanly by a group of pigs.”

He folds his arms over his chest grumpily and stares out his window. I guess that conversation is over with. I raise my eyebrow at Lev and he turns back around in his seat, watching the road.

Pulling out my cell I quickly type out a small message to my beautiful Elaina.

Me:
I miss you.

Принцесса:
You are in trouble!

Me:
We will talk soon.

Принцесса:
XXX

I watch the scenery as we make the trip back. It’s so beautiful around this area. I hope Elaina will want to stay here or somewhere close. I love the warmth. Russia was always too cold for me, it made my bones feel brittle.

THIRTEEN

VIKTOR

Lev opens my door when we arrive, eager to
speak
to me. “So, Boss, does this mean you will get each of us a wife?”

I give him a look that says ‘you have to be joking’ and shake my head.

“I’m sure you could find some girls cheap,” he says stupidly and I have to restrain myself from punching him.

“No, if you remember, I got out of that business. The deal today was done for a completely different reason than to just buy and sell women. Regardless, that’s none of your business. You want a wife, then find one when you have some time off.”

“Yes, Boss.” He sounds irritated and Alexei gives him a Cheshire grin.

I don’t know what it is with them, but every time they are around each other they egg the other one on. Unfortunately it’s quite a bit. There is no way I’m going to make a habit of buying wives for my men. This is all so I can keep Elaina safe, not some free for all. I despised it when I watched my uncle sell off women to be maids, wives, sex slaves or target practice. I had to sit by and watch for so long, but now that I’m in charge, I refuse to do the same.

Alexei comes up beside me, clearly thinking seriously about something. “Boss.”

“Yes, Alexei, talk while we walk, I want to see my girl.”

He nods and follows. “Umm, when are we getting Kristof’s daughter?”

“You heard the same conversation I had with him. She will be here within a week.”

“I was thinking that maybe you would like for me to stay with her here at the cabin for a while to see if her father tries to take her back. You have the safe rooms and everything, so we would be able to hide her pretty well.”

“That’s not a bad idea. But Alexei?”

“Yes, Boss?”

“What is it with you and this girl? Nikoli already stormed my club for her once. I need to know if you have a vested interest in her as well.”

“No, sir. I would just like to keep things within your best interest.”

“So you don’t want her then?”

“No, sir. Well, yes I do, but not if Niko speaks for her prior.” His cheeks tinge slightly and I wave the other guards off to the shop.

“I’ll keep you informed on what is to happen with her.”

“Okay, thanks, Boss,” he says as he plops down on one of the sofas.

I continue walking and make my way down a small set of basement stairs off the hallway by my bedroom. It’s dark and steep. The stairs are lined with rope lighting in case of an emergency. I would hate to end up falling down the stairs or breaking my ankle when I’m trying to get to safety.

They lead me to the larger safe room where Elaina is supposed to be. I can’t help but feel excited at the prospect of seeing her, with each step I take bringing me closer to her. We haven’t been apart much since everything happened at my house.

I can’t wait to take her back there and have her belongings waiting. She doesn’t know it but I had a few guards clear out her crappy little apartment and move her stuff to the house. Elaina will probably be a little upset that I did it without asking her, but she’ll get over it eventually. I can’t help it if I want to surround myself with her all the time.

I get through all the security features and eventually find her in the movie room. She and Spartak are in the movie chairs, wearing 3-D glasses while staring at the one hundred sixty inch screen and eating snacks. They are so caught up in the new Transformers movie they don’t even notice me standing beside them.

I speak loudly and they jump. “How’s it going?”

They both turn to me, Spartak a little pale and Elaina clasping her chest.

“Viktor! You scared the crap out of me! Spar, pause the movie please.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He pauses it, nods to me and then heads for the bathroom.

“Having fun, lovely?”

“Yes, this movie is insane in 3-D.”

Shrugging, I take Spartak’s seat. “Eh, it wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. I wanted more with the dinosaurs.”

“Don’t say anything! No spoilers allowed,” she chastises me and I chuckle.

“So what’s this I hear about being in trouble? Are you planning on punishing me?”

“Maybe, depends on how you are planning on making it up to me.”

“Well, I was able to reach an agreement with Kendall’s father. We still have to be careful for a little while, but I do have an idea I think you will like.”

She smiles widely and raises her eyebrows. I had no idea she enjoyed surprises so much, I’ll have to keep this in mind for the future.

“I was thinking that you keep mentioning that lake outside—” She squeals excitedly midway and jumps up. She starts to leave the room, but I interrupt her. “Elaina, what are you doing?”

She grins. “I was going to look for something to wear while we swim.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now! I’ve been cooped up here and I’m ready to do some exploring.”

I grumble, trying not to appear as if I’m pouting.“I have a feeling you’re not talking about exploring my body.”

She rolls her eyes and laughs a little. “Come on,
please
.”

“All right, you win.” I huff at her and head for the door to enter the code. “Come on, Spartak!”

He rushes out quickly, his hair flat on one side. Surely he wasn’t eavesdropping. I need to give him some time off.

We all shuffle out and head to the kitchen.

Elaina squeezes my hand and I realize I haven’t kissed her since I’ve been home. As soon as we hit the water I’m getting a nice long kiss from her.

“So what should I wear?” she asks while chewing on her nail and looking up at me happily.

“Wear your black bra and a pair of my boxer shorts, it should cover enough.” I will probably want to strangle each of my guards if they so much as glance at her, but I’ll attempt to restrain myself. No promises however.

Elaina

I’m so glad Viktor’s back and taking me swimming. It’s about damn time, I feel like I’m ready to go insane from being stuck inside. I’m not much of an outdoor kind of person, but the woods surrounding this place are gorgeous and I really want to check it out. Hopefully we can come back some time to enjoy this place when we aren’t trying to hide out from the world.

Once I’m dressed I head back to the kitchen with a bundle of towels for us. I don’t like to dry off with the same towel I sit on. It may be a weird quirk or something but I feel like I’m wiping dirt all over me when I try to dry off.

It’s bad enough my toenail polish is shot to shit. I didn’t have any remover to fix them and when I tried to paint over the old, it made it look like I have some sort of toenail growth.

Viktor’s on his phone as usual, but beside him are some sodas and sandwiches. I swear I’m going to gain twenty pounds by the time we leave here. I had thought I needed to feed this poor man when it’s been the other way around. I’ve never had a man cook for me so much in my life.

He trails off telling someone to ‘take care of it,’ and I can’t help but be nosey.

“What are you taking care of?” I inquire as soon as he hangs up.

“Would you like the truth or shall I make something up?”

“What? The truth of course! Always the truth!”

“Okay, I was having some of my men move your things over to the house.”

“My things. As in, the stuff from my apartment? A few items or all of it?”

“Umm, yeah, that would be all of it.” He’s sheepish when he replies.

Viktor’s normally so sure and goes for what he wants, not worrying about other’s opinions. It’s pretty amusing to see him a little uneasy about going behind my back and doing something that he knows could get him in hot water.

I pace around the kitchen, tapping my fingers against my thigh, looking him over closely. He clears his throat and stands up straighter. I almost giggle when he does it, but am able to hold myself back. This is nice, making him stress a little. I can’t believe the fool didn’t ask me.

“I guess I’ll have to think about it, now let’s go swimming.” Viktor nods, swallowing and scooping up all the supplies he gathered. “Aren’t you going to change?”

“No, I wasn’t planning on it, why?”

“You’re going to swim in your suit, seriously?

“No, I swim naked,” he declares quietly and I catch my breath.

“Oh! Okay then!” I quickly head out the back door but come to an abrupt stop when a giant man steps in front of me, making me gasp. “Eeek! Shit, you scared me!”

“Vat are you doing?” he asks in a really deep voice, laced with a heavy Russian accent.

“Ummm,” I mumble. I don’t finish as Viktor’s body presses against my back and he casually wraps his arm around my waist.

He barks loudly at the guy, “Lev! Back up.”

“Yes, Boss.” Lev nods and steps to the side. I don’t know what that was all about but I don’t want to wait and find out.

Swiftly walking down to the beautiful lake, I take in the fresh air. It’s muggy being in Tennessee but as you get closer to the lake it’s like the air seems fresher, perhaps because of the mountains. I know it definitely feels cooler than normal, surrounded by so many trees and being right next to the water. This would be a beautiful spot to camp if there weren’t a cabin so close by. I wonder if I would be able to swim here every day when it’s warm once things have calmed down.

The water is cool and refreshing as I dip my toes into it and walk a few steps in. Turning, I take in Viktor. He peels off his under shirt and I’m met with his glorious stomach. He’s not over built like some men, more lean. He has the magnificent ‘V’ going on, leading straight to one of my favorite large places.