Just Business (Aegis Group Dangerous Ladies Book 1)

by Sidney Bristol

  He grinned.

  She was good for his ego, that was for sure.

  Her pussy tightened around him. It was his turn to groan as he moved.

  If only they had a week like this, with no outside distractions. Why now? Why not before? Or when things were better?

  She dragged her nails down his back. He hissed and thrust deep.

  Already the tingling along his spine told him he didn’t have long. She felt too good for him to last.

  Konstantin reached down and hooked his arm under her knee, forcing her open wider. Her lashes fluttered and he pressed into her. She gasped and grabbed handfuls of the bedding.

  He grinned and kissed the long column of her neck, so beautifully exposed.

  “You like that?”

  “Fuck, yes,” she hissed.

  He let go, their bodies moving in time. She stared up at him, consuming him.

  What he wouldn’t give to keep her like this for the rest of his life. Waking up with her every day for as long as they lived was his version of heaven.

  Haley’s eyes widened and she gasped. The tendons on either side of her neck stood out and she gripped his forearm tightly.

  Her body tightened around him, spurring on his own orgasm. He was powerless to stop it.

  “Mm, Haley,” he groaned out as he tipped over the edge.

  In his dreams, this was his life with the only woman he loved. Before her, he’d thought he’d never love anyone save his daughter. Now he knew better.

  Konstantin rested his forehead against hers, listening to their breathing.

  If he let it, this thing with Haley would consume him. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to let that happen or not. She meant a hell of a lot more to him than his own blood, save Zasha.

  “Now can we go back to sleep?” Haley mumbled against his cheek.

  “How about I make breakfast?”

  “You? Cook?”

  “Who do you think did the cooking when it was just the three of us?”

  Haley sighed. “You get sexier every day.”

  “Mm.” He gripped her hip and flexed.

  She groaned and he grit his teeth as she tightened around him.

  He could do with a lot more of this.

  Haley smiled up at him. “We could just stay in bed. Sleeping optional?”

  “No.” He bent his head and kissed her brow.

  Maybe there was a day in his future when he could do just that, but today wasn’t that day. Until he knew what his mother wanted and if his daughter was in danger, what Konstantin wanted took a backseat. Even if it was Haley.

  He eased away from her while she grumbled. She was still wrapped in blankets after he cleaned up and got dressed.

  Konstantin left her there. If she chose to sleep in, she deserved it. Zasha ran her ragged and he hadn’t realized just how out of hand things had gotten with Ivana. He’d known she was older and not as capable of keeping up with Zasha, but he hadn’t realized how much Haley had begun to pick up the slack. Not until recently.

  He mulled over the domestic situation while he pulled ingredients for French toast out and began the process.

  Haley hadn’t mentioned the unfair workload when she’d unofficially informed him she would be leaving. Her issue appeared to be personal. Caring for Zasha too much. He still didn’t understand why that was a bad thing, but there it was. A roadblock to keeping this functioning family unit going in their unorthodox arrangement.

  Though he supposed after the last few days nothing would be the same between him and Haley.

  “Wow, you weren’t kidding.”

  He glanced up to find a freshly showered Haley with her hair pinned up and dressed sliding onto a stool. He’d been so in his head he hadn’t heard her come down the creaky stairs.

  “Right on time.”

  He turned as the timer for the bacon went off. In short order he plated the bacon and French toast, then handed it to Haley.

  “This looks amazing. Where’s yours?” she asked.

  “I haven’t made it yet. French toast is best eaten fresh.”

  “If you say so.” Haley cut off a big bite and stuck it in her mouth. A little syrup dribbled on her chin, but she caught it.

  The way her eyes lit up soothed him. He didn’t know how to describe it. It was as if her presence were a balm. He’d always liked her company, but it was different now. Less constrained.

  They’d truly broken the boxes. There was no going back, which meant he had to decide now if he wanted to pursue this, or cut her loose. His head knew what the kinder option was, but his heart wasn’t listening. Especially when she smiled.

  SATURDAY. LAKE HOUSE. VA.

  Haley was rather relieved when Konstantin got a work call at eight on the dot. Being around him when he wasn’t in boss mode or playing dad was...intoxicating. Having all that focus on her did things to her head, making it hard to think.

  She wanted to go outside, have a nice run, clear her head, but that went against their agreed upon guidelines. There was the gym downstairs, but she didn’t feel like being cooped up.

  Restless, she grabbed her laptop and phone from her room then posted up at the dining table.

  She checked her messages first, smiling at the messages from Zasha yesterday. So far she didn’t appear to know that anything was different.

  Haley scrolled through her girl chat, skimming the messages she’d missed.

  Her thumbs hovered over the keys, but she couldn’t make herself say anything.

  It was one thing to tell the collective group that she’d kissed Konstantin, but an entirely different matter to sleep with him.

  Aegis Group didn’t have rules about relationships with clients. They were frowned on, but the higher ups knew that what consenting adults chose to do was their own business. That still didn’t make it entirely right. There were also some women on the team who had a bone to pick over the issue, especially with some of the men who seemed to bed every female client that came in range.

  Jennifer and Lumen fit that category.

  They just didn’t understand. The rules changed with a situation like hers. She had half a decade with Konstantin. What they’d done wasn’t meaningless. It mattered. At least to her it did.

  He felt the same, didn’t he? Or similarly at least?

  God, she just didn’t know.

  Haley tapped Ivy Ashley’s contact.

  Ivy was one of the girls Haley actually got to see. Her former contract had her living on the East Coast and they’d been able to meet up often enough and develop their own friendship. Lately Ivy wasn’t all that talkative, but that didn’t stop Haley from reaching out.

  Haley: Still on vacation?

  She was about to set the phone down when a reply popped up.

  Ivy: Kind of.

  Ivy: What’s up?

  Haley: Kind of on vacation and awake at 8?

  Ivy: It’s the afternoon here.

  Haley: Here?

  Haley: Where is here?

  Ivy: Not telling.

  Haley: Did you get a new contract?

  Ivy: Nope.

  Haley: Girl. Spill.

  Ivy: I can’t. :(

  Ivy: It’s not personal.

  Ivy: I have to be careful.

  Haley: Are you okay?

  Ivy: Totally.

  Haley: Fine.

  Haley: I slept with my boss.

  Ivy: WHAT?

  Ivy: Video.

  Ivy: Now.

  Haley bit her thumbnail and peered at the closed door to Konstantin’s office.

  She so did not want him to hear this.

  She clicked the answer button then hoofed it up the stairs.

  “Hold on,” she whispered to Ivy.

  Haley ducked into her room and flopped down in the arm chair before looking at the screen.

  Ivy sat in a halo of sunshine holding a wineglass. Her eyes were wide as she said, “What the fuck, Hales?”

  “You’re the first person I’ve told, so go easy on me.” Haley
pulled her feet up, sitting cross legged. “Where the hell are you? No, don’t answer. I know. You can’t tell me.”

  Ivy glanced to the side, then at the camera. “You can’t tell anyone.”

  “Lips. Sealed.”

  “I’m in Paris. Well, outside it, really.”

  Haley arched a brow. “And why would you be there?”

  Ivy sipped more wine, but didn’t reply.

  They all knew Ivy had gotten sucked into some mad scheme that had gone south. The nature of the events were classified. But Ivy had divulged the fact that she was somewhat involved with the man who was supposed to be her back-up on that same job. It made Haley wonder if Ivy was going to have a career change.

  “Okay, so I slept with Konstantin and I really want to talk about it.”

  Ivy waved her hand. “So talk.”

  “Ivy...” Haley covered her mouth with her hand. Now that she could talk she didn’t know what to say.

  “I can’t tell from that face if it was good or bad. He didn’t...”

  “I think I’m in love with him.”

  “What?”

  Haley covered her face with her hand. “Yup, it sounds just as crazy saying it out loud.”

  “Wow. Okay. Well, you have known him for years. He’s smoking hot. And you pretty much live together. How are you feeling about this? What do you think?”

  “I think it’s probably a terrible, horrible bad idea. He’s got a lot of baggage. His life is hectic and he has a lot of enemies.”

  “But? I hear a but.”

  “I love the way he is with Zasha. And... I liked it with just us. It was nice. Really nice. Not perfect, obviously, but... Ivy.”

  “That’s complicated, my friend. He knows you’re quitting, right?”

  “I had to walk that back.” She groaned. “There’s stuff going on that I’m not talking about. Because of that, I can’t in good conscience leave yet.”

  “Think you still will?”

  “Don’t I have to?”

  “You could stay on, see how this works out and decide from there.”

  Haley nodded, though inside she wasn’t sure she could do that. She was far too attached to Zasha already. If they took things farther, if they made that real, Haley wasn’t certain she’d be able to walk away.

  Her phone dinged.

  “Shit,” she muttered as she read the text.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Konstantin needs me downstairs.”

  Ivy grinned. “I bet he does.”

  “Not helping.” Haley tapped a quick reply then focused on Ivy. “Are you going to fess up to what you’re doing?”

  Ivy looked back at her with wide, innocent eyes. “I’m not doing anything.”

  “So much bullshit. Love you, girl. Stay safe.”

  Ivy wiggled her fingers at the screen.

  Haley ended the call feeling a tiny bit better despite having nothing sorted out in her head.

  She put her phone on mute, then hustled downstairs, grabbed her laptop and stepped into the office.

  Konstantin was at his desk wearing a polo shirt and basketball shorts. He glanced up at her and waved her to take one of the spare chairs.

  “Thanks for holding, gentlemen. We’re ready to get started,” he said.

  Haley cringed and sank into the seat.

  “Natasha Titov. It’s nice to have a name,” a man said. Haley couldn’t place him. Then again she didn’t know all of Konstantin’s contacts. “The name she uses most is Tasha Kuznetsov, but we knew that was a fake. We can trace her back about fifteen years, but most of her activity has been over the last seven or so. She’s set herself up as a real powerhouse in and around New York City. The last two years she’s been on a real tear to either align herself with people or take them out. She’s got a lot of the big boys worried.”

  “What’s she into?” Konstantin asked.

  “That we know of? Nothing. But she’s got ties to it all. And she’s careful. Real careful. I wouldn’t want to make an enemy of her. If you can get an in and stay on her good side, that could be very useful to us.”

  “I’ll take that under advisement,” Konstantin said. “Thanks.”

  He tapped the phone and scowled at the display.

  Haley blew out a breath.

  So that was bad. Really bad. Because that was what they needed, for things to get impossibly worse.

  SATURDAY. LAKE HOUSE. Virginia.

  Konstantin pushed to his feet and strode to the windows before reminding himself that he couldn’t open the curtains.

  Damn his mother. Damn her and whatever the hell plan this was.

  “This isn’t coincidental.” He turned to face Haley. “She didn’t just find out about me and decide to reconnect. This is her plan. She wants something. But what?”

  Haley looked back at him, her face grim. “Is it time to look at the pictures?”

  “Yes.” He grimaced.

  This wasn’t a task he was looking forward to.

  Haley got up and he followed her out to the dining table. A small suitcase sat against the wall. She picked it up and placed it on the table, opened it and began handing him stacks of framed photographs.

  “We’ll have to take them out of the frames,” he said.

  “Want me to do that while you look at them?” she suggested.

  “Sure.”

  Haley pulled out a chair and patted it. “Sit.”

  He did as directed, fully aware she’d switched to taking care of him. Guilt gnawed at him for leaning on her like this, but not enough for him to stop. He picked up the first stack of frames and flipped through them. Most days he never looked at them once. In fact, he often pretended they weren’t around.

  “I never understood why you kept so many pictures of your parents around when you don’t like your dad.” Haley used a butter knife to carefully remove the back of the first picture then handed it to him.

  “It was Ivana.” He held the picture up, studying the people, the placement of everything, the nonsensical squares along the edge of the print from the developing process.

  “Ivana?”

  “I literally came here with a diaper bag, backpack and one suitcase. The suitcase was full of documents I’d stolen from my dad. When Ivana showed up, she had three trunks full of pictures, my baby things, keepsakes of my mother’s. Stuff I would have never bothered with.”

  She handed him a second picture. “That’s kind of odd. Do you think she knows something?”

  “No.” He held the two images up, searching for some similarity. Something that would unlock this mystery. “If she knew anything she’d have told me.”

  “Do you really think that?”

  “Yes.”

  “Even after...?”

  “Ivana was a young woman with her first child when she was hired to be my mother’s wet nurse. While Ivana was with my grandparents, her family died.”

  “That’s awful. How?”

  “She just says they got sick and won’t say any more.” Konstantin shrugged. “I’ve asked her enough times to know that it’s something she doesn’t want to talk about. Maybe they got sick or...”

  “Or?”

  “Ivana’s family was Roma. For all I know, they could have been the victims of hate crimes.” Konstantin laid the pictures Haley handed him out in a grid.

  “That’s so sad.”

  “It is.”

  “Your grandparents took her in though?”

  “Yeah, she stayed on, became my mom’s nanny. From what I understand, she did leave around the time my mom was fifteen and worked for another family for about ten years until I was in the picture.”

  “Ivana’s really family.”

  “She is. Which is what makes this all so hard. Did she come to me, with these pictures, at the order of my mother? Was there some ulterior motive to taking these? Coincidence? Why wait this long?” He gestured at the images. “These are all from the seventies and eighties. My parents got married in...1985? Ivana and my mothe
r wouldn’t have been around for these pictures to happen.”

  “Any idea what your dad was working on?” Haley leaned an elbow on the table and stared at the pictures with him.

  “He never spoke of his work with the KGB. He’d talk for hours about what he was doing now, but never about that. To him, it didn’t matter that the KGB was gone, he was still loyal. He would never have told my mother his secrets. So how did she find out about these?”

  “An assistant? Could one of his friends have talked too much? Another wife?”

  “Maybe.”

  Konstantin had a feeling that whatever the answer was, it would only come back to bite him. His mother was ten steps ahead of them.

  He sat back in his chair. “I should call Frank. See if they can help with this.”

  “Do they know about the pictures?”

  “I let them scan them when Ivana first arrived. She was unhappy with the decision, but at the time I was trying to build up credit with them.”

  “They never said anything?”

  “Nah, just that they didn’t see anything in them.”

  “But now we know something is here...”

  “My mother’s not a sentimental person.” He pulled out his phone.

  His current FBI handler was a good enough guy, but young enough that he was completely out of touch with how secrets from the USSR were still at play in today’s current climate. It had been easier to deal with the gruff old timers who had lived through the same days as his father.

  Konstantin tapped the speaker button. At this point, he wanted Haley to hear everything. Maybe she’d see the missing piece, or be his sense of reason.

  The call rang and rang, then went to voicemail.

  He frowned at the phone, left a message for Frank to call him, then hung up.

  “That’s...weird,” he muttered.

  “That he didn’t answer? It’s Saturday.”

  “Frank doesn’t have a life. He lives, eats and breathes the FBI.”

  “Maybe he got an FBI girlfriend?”

  Konstantin chuckled. He didn’t see that happening, but what did he know?

  “What do you think was going on in some of these?” Haley held up a picture.

  Konstantin reached over and pointed at a big, gruff man with a permanent frown. “That’s my father. Most of these pictures I don’t even know what they’re about. They were just hung up in this sitting room that I turned into my personal living room. That’s the only reason I assume Ivana took them. She thought they meant something to me.”