by Rose, Bella
Ivan actually had to quell the urge to squirm beneath her gaze. She was uncommonly comfortable with the workings of his world. What had happened to make her so hyperaware of his business dealings? So far she hadn’t shown much interest. The ghost of an idea drifted through Ivan’s mind. “Did Pershing threaten you?”
“Not exactly.” Kaylee swiped at her eyes and Ivan was stunned to realize she was trying not to cry. “He threatened my mother.”
“What?” Ivan snarled.
That quickly his temper boiled over and Ivan was pacing energetically about the room cursing and proselytizing in Russian while waving his hands about in wild gestures. How dare that smarmy prick threaten Kaylee in such a way! Using women and children against an opponent simply was not done in Ivan’s world. Family was everything. Even to a Shaunessy.
“Wow,” Kaylee said, her voice flat.
Ivan froze, turning slowly around to face her. He’d exploded so quickly that he hadn’t particularly thought about how it might appear to someone who did not know his moods very well.
He cleared his throat. “I have a bit of a temper, though I rarely lose control of it.”
“I’d say.”
“It’s simply unacceptable to me to think of a situation in which an association with me would end with your mother being injured as a way to get back at me through you.” Ivan grimaced. “That sort of underhanded approach isn’t done.”
“So you’re saying that men like you typically rip each other apart and leave families alone?”
“Exactly.”
“Oh, I feel so much better!” she said sarcastically.
“You should,” Ivan mused. “It means in all likelihood that Pershing is acting without his grandfather’s full permission. The old man might pay him for getting me out of the way, but not even Liam Shaunessy would sanction a move against your mother. The woman is nearly helpless in an assisted care facility. That’s abhorrent.”
“Now that’s a double standard if I ever heard one.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Removal of thumbs in payment for gambling debt. Acceptable. Helping an old woman along toward her already eminent death. Unacceptable.”
“Who told you I remove thumbs?” Ivan hated this barbaric perception of his methods. “That sort of thing was an Italian hang-up mostly, and I’ve never done anything like that.”
“Russian roulette?” She raised an eyebrow.
“As a threat? Yes.” Ivan had to admit that it was a little on the barbaric side. “Generally those methods are only used to scare or otherwise convince someone that they should try a little harder to live up to their end of a bargain. If such a method is employed, it’s more staged than anything.”
“Have you never considered another line of work?” She actually sounded hopeful though Ivan couldn’t imagine why.
“No.”
She heaved an enormous sigh. “I’m going to bed. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me sleep until morning.”
Ivan watched her walk out of the room. Nothing had been resolved. He still had a somewhat sick feeling in his stomach when it came to his rising, and somewhat insane, expectations for this relationship. And now he needed to give Liam Shaunessy a reminder of what etiquette meant, not to mention the cost of forgetting it altogether.
Chapter Nine
Kaylee rolled over in the luxurious bed and realized she was alone. She couldn’t recall exactly when Ivan had gotten up although she vaguely remembered hearing the shower in the cavernous master bathroom.
She blinked away the sleep and wondered what time it was. It wasn’t like her to go to sleep without setting an alarm, but this entire situation was a little out of the ordinary so perhaps she could be excused a few anomalies here and there.
Kaylee struggled into a sitting position. The house was quiet. Or at least the fourth floor and probably the third floor below were quiet. The idea of having so much space was crazy to contemplate. She’d lived in her one room studio since leaving college to pay for her mother’s care. It crossed her mind that she was going to have to contact her landlord and end the month-to-month lease. That would be a relief. It also meant she had the money from her two meager paychecks to cover her mother’s care at Our Lady.
Catching a glimpse of an antique clock on the fireplace mantel, Kaylee realized that she had a little bit of time before she had to be back at work at the nursing facility. That meant a trip back to her apartment for fresh clothes, but it also meant she had time to take an actual bath in the swimming pool sized tub.
Kaylee got out of bed and put the ornate drain plug in place. She flipped on the water and felt an almost obscene joy at the sensation of hot water. How long had it been since she’d had a real soak in glorious hot water? She picked a bottle of some kind of salts that sat on the half wall by the tub and dumped a good portion of that in as well. The scent of eucalyptus and mint filled the room.
The water burned at first, but she didn’t care. Kaylee sank into the heat until the water lapped her chin. The tub was huge. She could sit fully immersed with her arms wrapped around her legs if she wanted. Resting her chin on her knees she sighed in delight.
“Enjoying yourself, I see.”
Kaylee felt a tingle of awareness at having Ivan present while she bathed. The notion was strangely intimate, but also pleasant. She glanced up through the tangled hair falling over her forehead. “I thought you’d gone to work already.”
“I have a study down on the second floor,” he said by way of explanation.
“Do you have an office that you go to?” Kaylee had never really spent much time wondering about such things. “Or do you work from home mostly?”
“You might say I can work from anywhere.” He perched on the edge of the tub.
Kaylee gave his attire a once over. “So you work from home in a suit?”
“I have a meeting in an hour.”
“With?”
“Pushy, aren’t you?” he teased.
“You’re going to see Liam Shaunessy because of what Pershing said about my mother,” Kaylee accused him. “So, yes. I’m interested.”
“Do you feel that gives you the right to interfere in my dealings with Shaunessy?” Ivan seemed to be fishing for something in particular.
Kaylee wished she could just sink below the waterline and forget what she’d heard. Unfortunately, she could not do that any more than she could ignore Pershing’s threat to her mother. Especially since she wasn’t sure if Pershing realized that her mother was a former mistress of Yakov Rossovich. A known association with Yakov could change everything, and Kaylee didn’t want that to happen.
“I don’t think interfere is the right word,” Kaylee began slowly. She put her lips against the water and blew a small stream of bubbles while choosing her next words carefully. “But when the subject is my mother, then yes I feel like I have a right to know what you’re doing either about it or because of it. The results could be really bad for Ma. She’s not well. I know that. But I’m not in any hurry to have some jerk like Pershing smother her with a pillow or anything just because he’s angry at you.”
Ivan’s handsome face looked so strong and so certain that Kaylee wished for one moment that all of this were real. She wanted the marriage to be genuine and for the two of them to be nothing more than a couple in love and bound to each other for the rest of their lives.
“This is supposed to be a business relationship,” Kaylee reminded him quietly. “When Pershing threatened my mother I was reminded in a very real way that you have no obligations to me other than the money you promised. That means whatever happens is on me.”
“Kaylee, no.” Ivan knelt beside the tub and reached out to cup her face. The tenderness in his touch was at odds with everything else happening. “I know what we have is supposed to be in name only. I needed to stay in this country. You needed money and security. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve started to think of you as much more.”
“How?” She was afraid to brea
the. “Because I have to say that I have no idea what to think about all of this anymore.”
“I don’t either.” Ivan chuckled. “So perhaps the only way to go about it is to attempt to live and learn.” His jaw tightened briefly. “Which reminds me. I took the liberty of having some of my men pack your apartment and clear it out. Most of your things are in a spare room on the third floor. I thought you might want to go through everything. There is storage space in the basement if you’d like to put some things down there.”
“You what?” Kaylee felt as if he’d knocked the wind right out of her. “That’s awfully presumptuous don’t you think?”
“Perhaps it seemed less so when I gave the order than it does now,” he admitted. “But it needed to be done.”
“Yeah.” Kaylee stood up in a rush of water. It sloshed over the edge of the tub causing Ivan to jump back or be soaked. “And I would have taken care of it. That was on my list of things to do. Now I’m not so sure.”
“Sure of what?”
Kaylee reached for a towel and wrapped it around her naked body. “Anything, actually.”
***
Ivan tried to put his disagreement with Kaylee far out of his mind as he stepped out of the car in front of Babushka’s restaurant. This was not the time to be stewing over something he was certain would wind up being a minor hiccup in the otherwise pleasant relationship he was building with Kaylee.
“Boss, you want me to keep the car running?” Aloysha sent a surreptitious gaze across the street to where Liam Shaunessy was just arriving for their lunch meeting.
“No, Aloysha. Although I’d appreciate it if you kept the car close so we can leave immediately once the meeting is over.” Ivan was well aware that his men thought he was acting erratically. Aloysha was accustomed to seeing four armed men exit the vehicle with Ivan for any meeting such as this one.
Aloysha pulled a face. “I still think it would be better to call Damian and have him and the boys stop by.”
“But that would make my guest uneasy, I think.” Ivan gestured to the restaurant. “That building is full of Alkaevs who have sworn their loyalty to me and hate the Irish with as much passion as their Russian Orthodox souls will let them.” Ivan took in Shaunessy’s entourage and felt a moment’s uneasiness. “If necessary, I happen to know that Igor and his brothers are working in the bar and the kitchen today.”
Aloysha muttered something in Russian too low for Ivan to hear. Then he grunted. “You’re the boss.”
“For now, anyway.” Ivan sometimes wondered if he hadn’t somehow landed on the fast track to ruin. Was this what being distracted by a woman looked like?
“Ivan!” Liam boomed in his lilting Irish accent. “Shall we go inside? I’m starving!”
Ivan paced beside the heavyset Irishman up to the front door. Two sleek-bodied hostesses with dark hair, darker eyes, and welcoming smiles let them in. Ivan nodded to the girls and he and Liam were escorted to a private room near the kitchen. The placement was intentional, and Ivan felt more comfortable knowing he had allies nearby should things get messy.
“So,” Liam said once there were steaming platters of food on the table. “What was so important that you and I had to meet in person today?”
“I’ve just gotten married, Liam,” Ivan said pleasantly. “I wasn’t certain you were aware.”
“Ah.” The big Irishman laughed until his blue eyes were nearly watering. “So the Russian fox ties the knot in order to give the finger to immigration. Very nicely played, Ivan.”
“One might think so, but I find that I’m quite enamored of my wife,” Ivan admitted. As he’d suspected, Liam of all men had enough of a romantic in him to enjoy that knowledge. Liam’s face split wide open in a smile of appreciation. Then Ivan carefully maneuvered the next conversational morass. “What I’ve discovered though, is that when I married a local girl, I acquired all of her previous associations.”
“Is that right?” Liam mused. “Does she have an old flame you’ve a need to be rid of?”
“Not exactly.” Ivan had to play this carefully. “There is a young man who has been harassing her repeatedly, first because he wanted a date, and now because he’s angry that she chose someone else.”
“Rotten luck,” Liam agreed. He stuffed a good portion of meat into his mouth and took a long draw of wine. “What’s this bloke’s name?”
“Lionel Pershing.” Ivan watched Liam carefully. “What’s far worse is that the man is a detective so he’s taken to harassing my wife with legal threats now.”
Liam slammed his wine glass down on the table. “Did you say Pershing?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t be trying to make me believe that you don’t know that’s my grandson.” Behind Liam, his men had tensed as they too saw where this was heading.
“Kaylee wasn’t certain if Pershing was affiliated with you or not,” Ivan soothed. “I thought it only prudent to discover for myself by speaking to you directly instead of going behind your back.”
“As you well should,” Liam grunted. “And yes. The idiot lad is my daughter’s son. That one would have never been suited for the business. He’s got a little too much of his da’s ambition, if you know what I mean.”
“I’m afraid I do.” Ivan was actually afraid that Liam had just confirmed Ivan’s worst suspicions.
“How so?”
“Yesterday Pershing made threats against Kaylee’s mother. The woman is in a nursing facility and is very ill to begin with. Kaylee is distraught that her relationship with me might cause her mother to be murdered as collateral damage.”
There was a round of dark curses from the men standing against the wall. They sounded as though they’d been given grave insult, but Ivan’s instincts suggested they were more horrified at what one of their own had done.
“That’s a serious allegation,” Liam said quietly.
“Which is why I brought it directly to you.” Ivan sat back in his chair and took a drink of his own wine. As was traditional for men like him and Liam, their drinks were always poured from separate bottles.
Liam studied the wine in his glass for a moment or two. “My grandson, Lionel, is not one of my men though he is family. He does things for me now and again, but for the most part he is dedicated to his job as a cop. It isn’t what I would have chosen for him.” Liam shrugged. “But that was left up to him.”
“I understand that we cannot be held responsible for things done outside our control or our code of conduct,” Ivan allowed.
“However, I can assure you that I’ll be having a discussion with Lionel which will remind him that there are certain lines that should never be crossed.” The grim expression on Liam’s face suggested Detective Lionel Pershing wasn’t going to enjoy this discussion at all.
“I hope this won’t sour the good business relationship you and I have enjoyed over the last several years,” Ivan said mildly.
“Not at all.” Liam lifted his glass. “And again, let me congratulate you on your marriage.”
“Thank you.” Ivan couldn’t hold back his grin. “I do believe she is going to run me a merry race.”
“All the good ones do,” Liam assured him.
Ivan might have been more excited about that possibility if he had any notion of where this whole thing was going. Thus far it had been in turns frustrating and exhilarating beyond belief.
Chapter Ten
Kaylee made her way down the hallway toward her mother’s room. She’d been on shift since noon and wouldn’t be able to leave until eight o’clock. It was after seven and the place was eerily silent. There was the sound of beeping of machines in the residents’ rooms as oxygen and other necessities were dispensed with electrical precision.
There had been an unpleasant and negative aura hanging about the whole place during Kaylee’s shift. She couldn’t be certain if it was a tangible thing, or just her imagination running away with her. After Pershing’s threats, she felt vulnerable and exposed at Our Lady. Kaylee could tak
e care of herself. So could Ivan. Kaylee’s ma was another story. She depended on Kaylee to look out for her. Pershing could have made his move and Ma might not have even remembered what happened after the incident. Her mind was so murky that sometimes she hardly knew her own name.
The hair on the back of Kaylee’s neck lifted and a shiver travelled down her spine. She heard a ghostly whistle coming from down the hall. What the hell was going on? It was like being watched in some creepy horror movie. She spun around, gaze darting wildly about the hallway as she tried to see where the threat was.
When she turned back around, Pershing was standing right in front of her. Kaylee opened her mouth to scream. He grabbed her around the neck and slammed her up against the wall. Unfortunately the muffled thump of her body against the ancient drywall wasn’t loud enough to bring any of the orderlies running.
“You better be quiet,” Pershing whispered in her ear. “I’m a cop, remember? Do you have any idea how badly it will go for you if you scream and I tell them I caught you stealing from the other residents?” He pulled out a diamond ring and held it out in the palm of his hand for her to see from the corner of her eye. The bastard! He breathed into her ear, making her shudder with disgust. “Are you going to behave?”
“Do I have a choice?” her whisper was more of a snarl.
“Not really.”
“What do you want?”
Pershing put his forearm across her windpipe and pressed. She kept very still. It wasn’t her first time dealing with an asshole like this one and she knew there was a fine line between breathing and passing out. She struggled with her flight or fight instincts. This was no time to stop thinking.
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?” Pershing curled his lip as he spoke, showing her exactly how he felt about her.
“I haven’t done anything,” Kaylee argued. “You’re the one threatening my mother.”
“Yeah? And you ran and told your boyfriend about that. Didn’t you?”
Kaylee figured it was better not to answer this one.
