Just Business (Aegis Group Dangerous Ladies Book 1)

by Sidney Bristol

  The bullet had hit true. Directly in the chest.

  She tried to take a step, but her legs buckled and she sank to the ground, already wheezing.

  Central mass shot. Just like he’d practiced. In all this year’s he’d never shot at a person until now. She had moments to live, if that.

  “Dad!” Konstantin whirled.

  His father was on one knee, his left hand braced on a chair while the other gripped his chest.

  “Shit. Shit, man. Shit,” someone said from the entry.

  Konstantin glanced over his shoulder at the three men in his mother’s employ. They gaped at her body, then the rest of them.

  “I’m out of here,” a skinny guy announced.

  “Yeah, fuck this,” another agreed.

  All three promptly rushed the front door.

  “Help him,” Haley snapped.

  Konstantin holstered his gun and rushed to Leonid’s side.

  “Where are you hit?” he asked.

  “Never worry about me.” Leonid’s voice was strained. He grabbed Konstantin’s shoulder and used him to hoist himself to his feet.

  Konstantin wanted to do something, but the old man was on his feet now. “But you’re bleeding. Dad.”

  “Sir?” A man Konstantin didn’t recognize pushed a wheelchair through the front door.

  “Get me out of here.” Leonid waved at the man, but looked at Konstantin. “I’ve waited a long time to hear you call me dad again. It was good seeing you, but we shouldn’t do this again. If you have any sense, burn those pictures, boy. You don’t want that trouble.”

  Konstantin gaped at his father. “Where are you going? You’re shot.”

  Leonid chuckled then winced. His face was ashen now. “You think someone like me doesn’t have a way of handling this?”

  “What the fuck is going on?” Haley demanded. “Call an ambulance!”

  “I’m taking Mr. Titov for medical attention,” the man pushing the wheelchair announced. “I suggest you remain here. The authorities are only a few minutes away.”

  “But...” Konstantin watched his father drop into the wheelchair.

  “What the hell?” Haley said.

  Suddenly Leonid looked old and tired. But only for a moment.

  Leonid reached out and grabbed Konstantin’s hand. “Don’t stray from your path, boy. Burn the pictures.”

  “Why? What’s in them?” Konstantin asked.

  “Secrets better off dead.”

  In the distance sirens wailed.

  Leonid waved his hand and the man pushed the wheelchair toward the door.

  Konstantin stood there in the carnage of his family life and gaped first at the now empty door then at Haley looking back at him with wide eyes.

  Zasha looked so peaceful curled up on Haley’s lap.

  He started, his mind crashing back to reality and rushed to her side.

  “Is she okay? Really?” He touched her head, tilting it back a tiny bit.

  “I don’t know. She’s asleep and doesn’t appear to be hurt.” Yet Haley’s voice wavered with a familiar fear.

  His hands hovered over Zasha. Yet there was nothing he could do for her.

  “Your mother, is she...?” Haley nodded.

  “She’s not my mother.” He glanced over his shoulder at the crumpled form of the woman he’d shot.

  After all this time blaming his father for her death, it was Konstantin who’d ended her life. He didn’t feel the least bit remorseful either.

  “I, um, hi.”

  Konstantin lifted his weapon as he looked up at the blonde young men. “Didn’t I tell you to get out of here last time? Who the fuck are you?”

  He cringed and leaned away. “I’m Nikolai. I’m working with the police. Don’t shoot me!”

  Police cruisers screeched to a stop outside, sirens blaring.

  It was over.

  Konstantin and Haley both laid their guns on the ground in front of them.

  He bent and kissed the top of Zasha’s head.

  If anyone was going to take the fall for this, it would be him. Haley couldn’t pay for his mistakes. Not after everything he’d put her through.

  Footsteps thundered up the walk.

  Konstantin wrapped an arm around both Haley and Zasha, giving them a tight squeeze.

  “Police, freeze,” someone shouted.

  Konstantin straightened and lifted his hands.

  “Nikolai Lebedev!” the blonde man said.

  The uniformed officers merely glanced at Konstantin and Haley before advancing further into the house.

  A man wearing slacks and a tie with a heavy duty Kevlar vest with Police emblazoned across his chest headed straight for them.

  “Konstantin Titov?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Konstantin replied.

  “We’re glad to find you and your family alive. Sir, are any of you injured?” the officer asked.

  He glanced at Haley who was looking at him with an equally baffled expression.

  “She needs to be looked at,” Haley said, lifting Zasha.

  “I need medics in here,” the cop shouted over his shoulder. “Boy, are we glad we found you.”

  “Found us?” Konstantin echoed. “You were looking for us?”

  “After the scene at your lake house then the condo and the fed being dead? You’re all anyone’s talking about. You and your wife here.”

  Konstantin glanced at Haley.

  His wife?

  That had a nice ring to it, but...

  The last he’d heard they were looking to arrest him.

  Just what had changed? And where was this going? Was it too much to hope that this nightmare was over?

  17.

  Monday. Home. Washington, DC.

  Haley ate the piece of pizza, but she barely tasted it or had any idea what was going on in the movie. Thankfully, she wasn’t terribly invested in the cartoon.

  Zasha, on the other hand, was just about asleep. She’d wiggled around and now lay with her head on Konstantin’s lap and her legs across Haley’s. She was a little surprised Zasha had managed to go to sleep after all the soda the cops had given her over the course of the afternoon and evening.

  “I think she’s out,” Konstantin said softly.

  “Hm?” Haley glanced down at Zasha. “Wow. I didn’t think she’d ever get to sleep.”

  “Could be that stuff Dad gave her.” He grimaced.

  They still didn’t know what was in the candy and wouldn’t until a toxin report came back. The doctor who’d checked Zasha out hadn’t found anything concerning and suggested watching her closely, hydrating and healthy eating. Basically, everything Haley normally did.

  “Yeah, someone is going to bed,” Konstantin muttered.

  He scooped Zasha up and carried her into her bedroom. With luck, she’d sleep through the night. Haley would have to talk to Konstantin about getting Zasha into therapy. After everything she’d seen and heard this week, Haley wanted to be extra cautious.

  She stretched, but stayed where she was.

  For the most part, Zasha seemed oblivious to the horrors of the day. Her head had been covered when Ivana was killed. Zasha hadn’t understood that she’d been kidnapped either. She’d assumed the men were her father’s security and they weren’t correcting her.

  Small blessings.

  Today could have had a much different outcome.

  Konstantin sighed as he settled on the sectional with her, his arm extended along the back of the sofa, his fingers lightly resting on her shoulder.

  He’d begun doing small things like that throughout the afternoon. Little touches that weren’t that obvious to anyone except her. And only because she was used to him avoiding any contact at all.

  She craved that contact. It was torture to realize she was in love with a man who might not ever be able to care about her the same way. Just because he was attracted to her didn’t mean he had actual feelings for her.

  It made her decision to stay or leave that much more co
mplicated.

  Zasha needed her support system in place as she processed what had happened along with the loss of Ivana.

  But on the other hand, Haley couldn’t continue this weird dance with Konstantin.

  Something had to change, but she didn’t know what or how to do it without hurting someone in the process.

  “Where do you think he is?” Konstantin asked.

  Leonid.

  Haley wouldn’t say her view of the man had changed, merely expanded. He was still guilty of all the crimes they knew about, plus dozens more. But he wasn’t all bad. Just like other people weren’t entirely good.

  “Hm, hard to say,” she said after a moment.

  The one question they hadn’t been able to answer or get answered was, where had Leonid gone?

  He’d simply vanished.

  Konstantin turned his head toward her. “How do you think he did it?”

  Haley blew out a breath. “How did he manage to get the police to see you as a victim and not a suspect? My guess? Money. He paid off someone in the department who didn’t get on board with you as a suspect. I’m thinking Leonid wasn’t keeping his distance as much as we thought. Maybe he’s always been there?”

  While Konstantin was innocent when it came to Ivana’s death, there were so many other things.

  Fleeing a crime scene.

  They’d shot and killed people. Bad guys, but still people.

  Neither she nor Konstantin were blameless, and neither of them would change anything they’d done to rescue Zasha. Haley had suspected some charges for which she’d take the fall until things were worked out. She’d already decided that much. Zasha needed her father and there was no one else to watch her.

  Even Haley’s techno-wizard boss hadn’t been able to explain how they’d magically come out of this without a single blemish. But there it was.

  “I think we should burn the pictures,” she said, regardless of it not being her place to burn his things.

  “Yeah. As soon as we get them back from the lake house, they’re ash. What do you think is hidden in them?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know, and I don’t think I want to. Whatever secrets they’re hiding, it’s above my pay grade.”

  “Probably right.” He twirled a piece of her hair around his finger.

  She wanted to tilt her head toward him, let him run his fingers through her hair and sooth the dull ache she hadn’t been able to get rid of. But she didn’t.

  Haley had told him the truth last night.

  Was it only last night the three of them had slept in the same bed?

  She’d stay, because she was invested in Zasha and her well-being. But Haley had to protect her heart, too. It was fragile and in love.

  She straightened and stretched, taking herself out of his range. Though she didn’t think she could sleep, it was time for her to retreat into her haven.

  “Hey?” Konstantin scooted a little closer, past the point when he used to hold back.

  Haley glanced at him, but couldn’t force herself to move away. She was too tired to fight.

  “Do you think we can talk?” he asked slowly, each word heavy with meaning.

  She swallowed. “Now?”

  “Or whenever.”

  “Let’s talk now.” She turned to face him, curling a leg under her and propping an elbow on the back of the sofa.

  “Okay.” Konstantin placed his palms on his legs. Was he wiping his hands? Was he nervous? “We need to sort some things out.”

  Haley agreed, but held her tongue.

  He must have found his groove because suddenly he was that icy pillar of masculinity she was familiar with. It was even comforting. Except she didn’t want to be professional with him. She loved him and she wanted to be loved.

  “I think we’re both aware of the boundaries we’ve given ourselves the last few years. It’s probably safe to say that we both felt the chemistry in the beginning.” His blue eyes bored into her.

  “Yes,” she said reluctantly, feeling as though her true emotions were so very close to being exposed.

  “That time and distance has allowed me to get to know you in ways I normally wouldn’t with the women I was seeing.”

  Haley couldn’t hold back the laugh.

  Him.

  Seeing women.

  That was a laugh.

  “You ordered them like pizza.” She could think of several nameless women who fit that bill. Not that Konstantin brought them to his home, but Haley inevitably found out about them during security briefings.

  He sighed and weathered her laughter. “You’re proving my point.”

  “Please, continue.”

  “I’m trying to tell you about the deep and meaningful relationship we share and you’re making jokes.”

  “Yup.” She’d rather laugh than venture into this territory where she stood to get hurt. Badly.

  “Haley?” He reached over and took her hand resting on the back of the sofa.

  “Hm?” God, it felt good to curl her fingers in his, soak in his warmth, the smell of him, and have his focus entirely on her.

  “When I’m done being in the dog house, I want to figure this out.”

  “Figure this out?” Now she felt stupid. What were they talking about? Them? Something else?

  “I care about you a lot. Selfishly I’m hoping you’ll overlook my stupidity and let me try again.”

  Oh, God.

  Haley swallowed.

  Her mind took the words, I care about you, and turned them into something more potent, more powerful, something that shook her to her core with possibility.

  In reality, she still didn’t know what he wanted from her.

  She swallowed to get some moisture back into her mouth, then licked her lips. “What does that mean, exactly? I care about you? I don’t think you understand what this job takes out of a person. To you, I’m doing a job. But my job becomes my life. And I care about the work I do. I care about you and Zasha and Ivana—”

  She blinked a few times.

  Konstantin winced.

  Haley covered her mouth with her hand.

  Ivana was dead.

  For a few moments Haley had forgotten that.

  He reached over and took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

  “I knocked on her door earlier when the pizza came.”

  “Oh, Kon. I’m sorry.”

  “Me, too.” He smiled briefly and lifted her hand to his lips, brushing a kiss across her knuckles.

  Haley wanted to wrap her arms around him, love him, hold on to him, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. She was too tender right now.

  “You’re right, I don’t understand,” he said. “Or I didn’t have any idea until the last few days. But I’m not talking about the job. I’m talking about you. I care about you. I think about you. I wonder sometimes if I should fire you to keep you safe, or be selfish and pray you work here for the rest of your life. It’s put us in a complicated position. You don’t want to go forward with the way things have been, and I...”

  She held her breath, staring into his eyes, while her heart beat painfully.

  Konstantin reached out and cupped her face. She leaned into it, knowing full well she was giving away some of her true feelings in that one move.

  He leaned in.

  Her lungs burned for the lack of oxygen.

  He kissed her gently, lips caressing hers in a sweet kiss.

  She sucked in air and leaned toward him, needing that contact.

  “I want to do that,” he whispered. “What do you want?”

  Her skin practically burned with need.

  Haley opened her eyes and looked into his. He was so close he was all she could see.

  “I want you,” she admitted, laying bare her deepest secret. Almost.

  His nose bumped hers. “I’m yours.”

  She kissed him, this time with need. It wasn’t gentle the way she tunneled her fingers into his hair to better hold him closer. She’d been starved for him, giv
en a taste, then denied more. She wanted him. All of him.

  Konstantin leaned into her, forcing her to lie back against the arm rest. Not that she minded having him on top of her, his weight pushing her into the cushions, his mouth trailing kisses down the sensitive part of her neck. After today, after everything, it felt good to hold on to someone.

  She shivered and tugged on his hair, but he ignored her in favor of exploring the scooped neckline of the long T-shirt she’d worn over leggings.

  Her body tingled and she wanted to feel him everywhere.

  She curled her bare toes into the upholstery and let her eyes drift shut.

  He wanted to kiss her.

  She mattered to him.

  It wasn’t a declaration of love, but it was something. More than she’d hoped for.

  Konstantin’s hand slid up her stomach to cup her breast.

  Thank goodness she’d thrown on the lacey bralette. It was pretty and no barrier whatsoever to his nimble fingers.

  She arched her back as he teased her nipple.

  “God,” she muttered and squirmed.

  “He’s indisposed right now,” Konstantin said against her neck.

  She chuckled and wound her arms around his shoulders.

  He pushed up just enough to look down at her. His hand closed over her right breast in a possessive way that stole her breath away.

  Konstantin lowered his head and kissed her. It was tender, as if she were some precious, breakable thing.

  That wasn’t how most people saw her. But it was different with Konstantin.

  She groaned and shifted, tugging him closer.

  He winced and turned his head. “Careful.”

  “Hm?”

  He pressed down on her and she could feel his erection.

  “Oh. Well...” Heat swept through her. “That’s a problem I can handle.”

  “Can you now?”

  She ignored the heat rising up her neck. “I think so.”

  Why was she blushing? Now?

  Konstantin kissed her and let his hand drift from her breast down her stomach. He ran his fingers down to the waistband of her yoga pants, then past the elastic. If it weren’t for his tongue in her mouth, she might have shouted for joy.

  One thick finger slid between her folds.

  “I want to lick you, right here,” he said against her mouth.

  Haley whimpered something unintelligible.