All The Way

by Tricia Jones

  Grace propped herself onto her elbows. “I’d respond to any attractive man that way. Most women would. Don’t be fooled you have any special powers.”

  He froze and she realized she couldn’t have said anything more inflammatory. As she tried to scramble off the bed, he leaned over her, trapping her in place with his arms. “You respond to me,” he said darkly, his low voice more menacing than a hand around her throat. “Or would you prefer that I prove it.”

  “Get away from me.”

  When he did, she let herself take a breath, watching as he retrieved the packet he’d dropped on the table. “Here. Something for your headache.”

  She caught the packet he threw at her. “I—”

  “Save it, Grace. Get back to your room, I have work to do.”

  ****

  Nikolai stood where he was, staring at the closed door separating them. More than paneled wood kept them apart, he thought, as he turned away. She didn’t trust him. He wasn’t sure he could trust her.

  That night when she’d handed him to the authorities he wondered if he could ever trust another person again. She’d sliced his heart in two. He’d been ashamed, mortified, that he could have allowed her that much power over him.

  Now, he’d caught her going through his things. He was a fool to be concerned for her pallid flesh and worried eyes, for wanting to ease her discomfort. But what was a mere headache when measured against a woman’s treachery? What was she hoping to find, for God’s sake? Further evidence of his crimes, his involvement in the shadier side of life, of business?

  Then that fear as he’d moved his hands over her, taken her mouth in an assault that even he hadn’t planned. A purely physical response, he thought as he unlocked his case. One any man would enjoy when faced with a woman as desirable as Grace. He’d been without Nanette for days. Was it any surprise he wanted sex? That he was hard as a fist?

  He headed for the shower, determined to make it a cold one.

  Chapter Five

  Across the table laid out for brunch, Nikolai watched Grace as they sat on her balcony. “We’re going nowhere until you eat something.”

  “I can’t.” Grace pushed away the croissant she’d buttered and which had remained uneaten on her plate for the past ten minutes. “I can’t get anything down.”

  “You ate nothing on the plane.”

  “You said we were going to get Leah.” She stood, unable to remain inactive a moment longer. “So let’s go.”

  “Eat half that croissant first.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake.” She stood at the table, bit off a chunk of the pastry, washed it down with the dregs of her coffee, then cocked her hip as she swallowed. “Happy?”

  His mouth curved. “Hardly. One more bite.”

  She took another. “You know what I’d like to do with this?” she said as she chewed. “I’d like to ram it down your supercilious, arrogant, bull-headed throat. That’s what I’d like to do.”

  “I’m sure. Now eat some fruit.”

  She picked up a banana. Waved it ominously at him. “One of these days…”

  He sat back, hooked his ankle on his opposite knee. It was so rare to see him take such a relaxed pose that she was momentarily distracted from her quest to get going. “You know what I’d like to do,” she repeated. “I’d like to stick this where the sun don’t shine.”

  “Instead, why don’t you sit down and relax. And before you argue, we can’t go anywhere until Vadim calls.”

  “Why not?”

  “We need an address,” he said with exaggerated patience. “No point going off on a tangent.”

  “I thought we had an address.” With some reluctance, she sank into her chair. “Someone confirmed Leah was there.”

  “They were wrong.” And the sharp frown and hard jaw illustrated that “they” were in big trouble.

  Grace sighed heavily. “How long will we have to wait?”

  “Hard to say. They might already have left Athens. You should be prepared for that.”

  “I am,” she lied. “Where else would they go?”

  His hesitation was so brief she might have missed it. “Anyone’s guess.”

  She eyed him steadily. “You’ve got more than a guess, but I know you won’t tell me, so I won’t waste my breath asking.”

  Irritated, she poured herself half a cup of coffee. This patience thing was definitely not one of her virtues. “I know you think I’m overreacting to this whole thing.”

  “That’s not what I’m thinking.”

  “She’s sixteen,” Grace went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “She thinks she’s old enough to make her own decisions.”

  “At sixteen many of us are.”

  Momentarily, his eyes took on a wistful look and Grace remembered a tiny snippet of information she’d gleaned from an online search of his name. “You were sixteen when Viktor died.”

  He sipped coffee, watching her over the rim as if irritated by the observation.

  Undeterred, Grace plowed on. “Then you took care of the family, Elena and Pavel.”

  “It was no hardship.”

  “It can’t have been easy. Leah doesn’t know the first thing about looking after herself, let alone anyone else. Perhaps that’s my fault. I didn’t want her to have to grow up so quickly.”

  “Unlike you?”

  Surprised by the question, she looked at him. “Perhaps.”

  He reached over and picked up the banana she’d threatened him with. Slowly, he peeled it, laid it on a plate and sliced it, before pushing it back to her. “After your parents died, there was nobody to look after you both?”

  “I was old enough to do that. Women raise babies when they’re barely out of school. If they can do that, I’m sure I should have handled a teenager.”

  “Did you have no other family?”

  “Not really. I always took care of Leah anyway, with Mum and Dad away from home so much. It was easier for me, although with the amount of studying I had to do, I was maybe not around for her as much as I could have been.”

  “Not much point in maybe’s.”

  She looked at him, cocked her head. “Is it really that easy for you? Don’t you ever look back and wish you’d done things differently?”

  “Not much point in wishing either, it doesn’t change anything.”

  “But if you could change anything, would you?” She was pressing; she knew it. She wanted to know if he regretted them. If he regretted the way things ended between them.

  He shrugged, picked up his sunglasses as the sun moved from behind a cloud. “I could have handled things differently with Pavel. Like you, made sure I was around more after Viktor died.”

  “Was that a problem between you, the fact you weren’t around much?”

  “Pavel cared little either way. He always trod his own path and to hell with anyone else.”

  That little tidbit didn’t sit well, seeing as how Leah was now under his influence. “Do you think being in prison might have changed him? Softened him, maybe.”

  He rubbed his neck. “Possibly.”

  She knew he was lying, but this time didn’t press. Truthfully, she didn’t want to consider Leah embroiled in Pavel’s wrong doings and the implications of that. “Does Pavel have money?”

  “I’ve no doubt he has money stashed away somewhere, but he’s long ago blown the funds Viktor left him.”

  “Leah has no money of her own until her trust fund kicks in when she’s twenty one. It’s locked tight until then.” She looked at the banana he’d sliced for her. “I can’t bear to think of Leah with someone like him, but I suppose that’s part of the attraction. The thrill of the bad boy, someone reckless and dangerous. God. Not having any contact is worrying me to death.”

  “At this point, there’s no reason to believe anything is wrong.”

  “I hear the words, but I can’t seem to shake the worry.”

  “Natural enough. Soon Vadim will confirm the address and we can get going.”

  As if
by magic, his phone beeped. It was Vadim.

  The two men spoke, or at least Vadim did, all Nikolai said was “Da” and “Nyet.”

  “They’re about thirty minutes from here,” he said, ending the call. “They went out early this morning, but their bags are still there. I have men watching the building.”

  Grace pushed away from the table. “Then let’s get moving.”

  “Not until they return. If they spot us waiting, they’ll bolt.” He selected a plump blueberry from the silver tray and popped it into his mouth.

  “We can’t just sit here.”

  “There’s nothing else we can do.”

  “Niko—”

  “It’s pointless to argue.”

  She folded her arms as she stood glaring down at him. “I’m not about to sit around and wait when my sister is spitting distance away.”

  Casually, he selected another blueberry. “And what exactly are you planning to do? What is your next move, Grace?”

  “Give me the address. Let me go and wait.”

  “I think not.” He glanced up at her, his gaze challenging. “You have to trust me in this. Perhaps an alien concept for you, but a necessary one.”

  She dropped her hands to the table and leaned toward him. “Why don’t we have this out once and for all, Niko? Tell me, how am I meant to trust a man who tells me nothing, locks every single piece of paper away in a stronghold, or says da and nyet on the phone as if he’s guarding state secrets?”

  He leaned back, considering her with a wry smile. “It’s a conundrum, isn’t it? Damned if I have the answer.”

  She put her weight on her hands to lean further across the table. “You want me to trust you, but you give me nothing in return. You never did. You treated me as if I was nothing. Nothing. You had your covert meetings, calls, conversations and when I asked you a simple question all I ever got was it doesn’t concern you.”

  The smile disappeared as he narrowed his eyes. “I never forced you to stay with me.”

  “No, you didn’t. I wanted to stay. I wanted to be with you. God knows why. You’re the most closed man I know. You never once told me how you felt about me, about us. You barely acted like you wanted me.”

  “Why the hell would I hire someone to find you after that night in Geneva if I never wanted you?”

  The statement pulled her up short. It was the first time he’d ever given her an insight into his feelings. Now that he had, she didn’t know what to do with it. What it really meant. “How was I supposed to know that? I’m not psychic.”

  “What I offered you was not enough. You wanted more. I couldn’t give you more.”

  “All I wanted was a relationship that extended beyond the bedroom. Some conversation, sharing things that were important in our lives. We never spoke of anything of real substance and on the rare occasions we got remotely close, you’d shut down before I knew what was happening. I never really knew what you were thinking. What you were feeling.”

  “You want to know what’s in my head, what I’m thinking? Believe me, you don’t.” He moved forward until their eyes were level. “What if I told you that the things I’m capable of would give you nightmares for a month?”

  She tilted her chin. “The things I don’t know scare me more.”

  He ran a finger lightly down her cheek and despite the context of the conversation, desire slid through her system. She felt jittery, edgy. Her body taut, nerves strung. She jumped when he drew his finger sensuously across her lower lip.

  “You need to relax, Grace.”

  “I am relaxed.”

  Liar. How could she relax when his gaze bored into hers, when his mouth was a mere inch away, when his breath whispered across her flesh stirring things in her that she battled to keep buried.

  “Why do you always have to be so arrogant?”

  “I prefer confident.

  For long moments, they stared at each other across the table, the air humming with electricity, with desire, and only the buzz of her phone on the dresser snapped her back. She straightened, gave herself a mental shake, then hurried into the room.

  “It’s Leah!” She stabbed the text button and managed to read the first few words before Nikolai grabbed the phone. “Hey!”

  Frowning, he read the message then handed the phone back to Grace.

  “She’s okay.” Relief poured over her as she sank onto the bed. “Why are you looking like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like something bad has happened.”

  He only grunted and walked to the window.

  Grace read the message again. “I’m okay. Sorry to worry you. I’m enjoying my holiday but will be home soon. Love, Leah.”

  The worry of the past few days slipped into sudden exhaustion and Grace heaved a sigh. “So she’s having a holiday, is she? I’ll give her a holiday. I’ll lock her away for a year and not let her out again until she realizes what she’s put me through.” She looked up at Nikolai, who stood with his hands in his pockets, staring out of the window. “What’s this little mark here in the corner? It’s a V with a line through it.”

  “Probably a mistype.”

  “It doesn’t seem part of the text message,” Grace said absently. “Maybe something to do with the Greek cell phone service.”

  Abruptly, he turned from the window and headed for his room. “I need to make a call. Why don’t you try and eat something now.”

  “Yes. I’m suddenly ravenous.” Grace wanted to dance across the bedroom. She couldn’t wait to give Leah a hug, before she set about killing her.

  She went into the bathroom, brushed her hair and splashed cold water on her face. When she came out, Nikolai was waiting with a contemplative expression.

  “You look worried. This is good news, isn’t it?”

  He only nodded.

  Grace felt a little chill settle over the relief, but she refused to dwell on it. Leah was okay. She was safe.

  “Have you eaten?”

  What was all this concern with her diet? “Not yet. Do you want something?”

  He shook his head. “I think we both need a drink. Let’s go down to the courtyard bar. Vadim will call when they return to the house.”

  Grace kept quiet until they were seated at a table in the pretty courtyard and had been served their wine. “I’ve been thinking. Since she said she’ll be home soon. Maybe I should let her enjoy her holiday and save the serious talk until she gets back. If I step in now, about the Pavel thing, it might make things worse.”

  He was silent for a moment. “We’ve come this far. It would be prudent to see for yourself that she’s okay.”

  “Hmm. Maybe. They’ve probably had sex.”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “You think?”

  “I know it isn’t unusual for girls to have their first sexual experience by the time they’re sixteen, but Leah’s so…young. And he’s…”

  “A player,” Nikolai said. “He knows the score. Has probably had dozens of women.”

  “This is not making me feel better.”

  “It’s not meant to. I would recommend you have that serious talk as soon as you see her. Persuade her to go home with you.”

  “I know.” And she didn’t want to think about it. Not yet. It was enough that Leah was okay, although she couldn’t be sure of that until she saw her face-to-face. But for now there was nothing more to do, so she would focus on being with Nikolai for the short time they had left together. As soon as she’d seen Leah, they would go their separate ways and she’d have to get over him all over again.

  She wouldn’t think about that, either. “This is really pretty,” she said acknowledging the trees and flowers that lined the surrounding area. “I didn’t expect Greece to be like this. I thought it would be barren and unappealing. You know, dry with not much in the way of greenery.”

  “I’ve never much cared for the place.”

  “Do you know it well?”

  “I’ve visited a few times.”

  “Busine
ss?”

  “Nothing else would tempt me here.”

  They sipped their wine in silence, then Grace decided to take advantage of the moment and ask the question that had been niggling. “Back there, before Leah sent the message, you said if I knew what you were capable of I’d have nightmares. What did you mean?”

  “I couldn’t have been clearer, surely?”

  She wasn’t letting him off the hook this time. Aware their time together would soon be over, she was prepared to push, prod and do whatever it took to get some answers. “Apart from property interests, I never really knew what other business ventures you’re involved in.”

  “I delve into a variety of areas.”

  “Anything legal?”

  He gave a mocking laugh. “Most women would have asked if there was anything illegal.”

  “That would be when they’re asking most men.”

  He frowned, but then the corners of his mouth turned up. “Seeing as your mood has improved, I am prepared not to take the bait.”

  It was rare and precious to be with him like this and she was reminded of those other moments, so few and far between, when they’d shared a private joke or a lighthearted romp. She loved those times. It was as if all his hard edges softened and melted away and she was left with a glimpse into the man who pulled at things her eager heart wanted so much to enjoy.

  “You didn’t actually answer my question. Which I suppose is an answer in itself.”

  Eyes glinting, he raised his glass in salute.

  Maybe she shouldn’t waste her time left with him pushing and prodding. What good would it do anyway? She wouldn’t get any answers.

  The waiter came over and refilled their glasses. As he bustled off, Grace sat back and sighed. “My stomach’s tied in knots.” She laid a hand on her waist. “I can’t wait to give her a hug.”

  “It might not be easy between you,” Nikolai warned. “She’ll likely give you grief.”

  Grace laughed. “Oh, she’ll definitely give me grief, but it’s too bad. I’m going to try and make her come home with me now if I can, persuade her Pavel isn’t right for her.” She sighed. “Which will probably drive her straight back into his arms.”

  Stern faced, he sat back. “You should insist she returns to London with you. Take no argument.”