“I should manage to stay out of jail while you’re gone.”
She left, and I opened my new laptop. My fingers floated across the keyboard like they recognized it as home. I was rusty, but it wouldn’t take me long to get my skill set back. I’d need to hone my craft to get back at Yuri. He’d taken so much from me. The bastard took three years of my life when he turned me in to the feds for laundering money—his money. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind Yuri was responsible for our father’s death. Add to that the hit in prison that nearly killed me, and it was understandable that Yuri Petrenko needed to pay for his crimes.
The keys clicked under my fingertips until the screen blinked, and I couldn’t believe what I saw. Had she left her computer unprotected for me? Surely, Katya knew better than to leave a way in. While her skills at hacking weren’t as fine-tuned as mine, she did have skill. She’d managed to pilfer hundreds of thousands of dollars from her dad before he noticed. That was the crime that got me on Yuri’s radar.
“What are you doing, Katya?” I whispered to no one. I took over her camera and zoomed in. She sat on her bed in a purple dress with her head buried in her hands. When she lifted, lines of mascara marred her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. That wasn’t the Katya I knew. The girl I knew would gut you before she allowed you to hurt her. So much had changed while I was gone.
I’d always had a thing for the pretty little blonde; it’s why I didn’t turn her in to her father when I found out she’d been the one stealing from him. That and the fact that she was supposed to marry my brother. It was a union that would bind the families and end a war between two rival syndicates.
Plan B was what she called her theft. I wasn’t sure if the money was to escape her life from Yuri or the marriage to my brother. She never loved Alex, and he didn’t love her, but there was no mistaking the chemistry we shared. It sparked like a frayed wire each time we were together. The pull between us grew stronger each time we met. The problem was, there could never be an us because she was a Petrenko and had been my brother’s fiancée. That all changed when Alex married Faye and broke the contract.
Still, there was no way we’d ever be more than a tumble in the sheets. She was still a Petrenko, and I was a second son with nothing to offer her father. In our world, we were like two dogs going after the same bone. While we may be able to exist in each other’s worlds for short periods of time, eventually one would devour the other.
I stared at the screen for a few minutes, wondering what would bring this woman to tears, and then remembered her statement at lunch the other day. She said she was to marry Sergei Volkov if she couldn’t kill him first. Had she done it?
It was a simple enough task if she got close enough. I’d heard she had some serious knife skills. Add to that the fact that she was a Petrenko and undoubtedly lacked an empathy gene, and there was no doubt she could avoid the marriage with the slip of a very sharp blade. Worse case was, she could do like my brother did and marry another. However, that would probably end up with her and her new husband buried six feet under.
I zoomed out and took in her room. There was a big bed and over-the-top old-world furnishings. Was that her style, or was she simply a prisoner in her home?
The door opened, and I closed the computer. No sense in getting caught spying. When I looked up, it wasn’t Mrs. Price with coffee, but my brother Alex.
“Want the chair back?” He was the oldest and by all rights should run the family business. The problem was, Alex didn’t have a passion for gaming. He liked developing properties. He’d always stayed on the legal side of things. I, on the other hand, loved the seedy side of the business. Gaming is a numbers and fists racket. Both I was good at.
He took a seat in front of the desk. “Just came to see how your first day back is going?” He looked toward the door where Sam leaned against the frame.
As far as bodyguards go, Sam was good. He seemed to know where I was each second of the day. Big like his brother Tony, he was hard to miss. Intimidating as hell, but he somehow stayed quiet and out of the way.
“Glad you took my advice,” Alex said
“It’s not like you left me much choice. It was hire a goon or have you as a shadow.”
“This thing with Yuri isn’t over.”
It’s just begun. “What’s the plan for Yuri?” I hoped there was a plan, but deep inside I knew there wouldn’t be. Mob life was an all-or-nothing endeavor. You couldn’t almost pull the trigger and then get the outcome you wanted.
“No plan. We’re out. We need to let the law handle Yuri. Just watch your back.”
I slammed my fist on the desk. The cup of pens fell over, and several rolled off the desk to the tile floor. Sam stepped inside the room and evaluated the situation before he stepped back through the door. “You can’t let him get away with what he’s done. He killed our father. Hell, he almost killed your wife, and he tried to kill me. In my book, that’s three, and it means he’s out.”
Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Agent Holt is working on it.”
“Right, and that’s why his son Mikhail is sitting in jail right now instead of Yuri. How long will everyone pay for his crimes? Hell, even his daughter is going to pay the price. Do you know anything about Sergei?” I opened my computer to search for the Russian gangster and stopped cold when I glanced at the screen. Sitting in front of the keyboard was a nearly naked Katya. Maybe it was because I’d spent the last three years in prison, but her small lace covered breasts were perfect. A jolt of awareness rippled through me and landed between my legs. I really needed to get laid and fast.
“Something you want to show me?” My brother lifted to his feet.
I exited the screen and typed in the name Sergei Volkov. No pictures came up, but there was a lot of information about the man. Called the Bull, he had a reputation of pushing his way around. He’d risen in the ranks of the Bratva quickly. It was purported that he was the mastermind behind taking out an entire organization in Dublin, Ireland, all because he considered the Irish inferior. He was the equivalent of the Russian equalizer, except he didn’t have Robin Hood tendencies. It was said that what Sergei wanted, he got.
I turned the screen to face my brother. “He’s here, and he’s after something. Katya is only a piece in the puzzle. She’s a way in, but once he’s there, what happens to her?”
Alex unbuttoned his jacket and leaned back into the chair. “Do you and Katya have something going on?” His eyes never left the screen, and it made me wonder if somehow I’d managed to bring her room up again, but when I turned the computer back toward me, there was only text.
“No…I mean, I like her as a person, but we’ve never…” I wasn’t the kind of guy who’d sleep with his brother’s fiancée.
“But you wouldn’t turn her down if she offered?”
I wasn’t the blushing type, but heat rose to my face. “I’ve been in prison for years. A stiff wind sounds appealing. Hell, I’d do Mrs. Price just to empty my sac.”
As luck would have it, she walked into the office with my coffee. “I’m flattered, but Mr. Price doesn’t share. I can call a service to help you with that problem if you’d like.”
I jumped up and rushed to her. “I’m sorry. I’d never want to—”
She held up her hand. “Young man…stop at I’m sorry and live.” She turned around and walked out the door.
I spun around to face my brother. “Can I fire her?”
“Sure, but make sure your funeral arrangements are made.”
“How did Dad put up with her?”
Alex laughed. “Her? How did she put up with him? There is always the possibility that she was the one who put the hit out on him.” My brother joked because we both knew it was Yuri. Hell, even his daughter said so. Mrs. Price wasn’t the enemy. She had my best interests at heart. So did Alex, which was why he was here.
“So what do I have to watch out for now that we’re legit?”
“Same as before, except now you d
on’t get to beat the shit out of card counters. You don’t have to worry about the feds breaking into the secret, high-stakes games. You don’t have to cover the trail of tax evasion and illegal liquor sales. No beatdowns for extortion. No payoffs. No hits. No jail time. Keep it clean.” He gave me the Wilde eye, the one that said he’d be happy to take Dad’s bamboo cane to my ass if I stepped over the line.
One thing I learned in prison was to look innocent. While my mind was finding a hundred ways to screw the system, my Boy Scout good looks never gave me away.
“Straight and narrow as an arrow,” I said. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
Alex looked at me for a long minute. “What about Katya?”
“We’ll send her a fruit basket on her wedding day,” I replied without emotion even though my gut twisted to know she would have to marry that monster.
“Good to hear.” Alex rose from his chair. “I’m meeting Faye at Gatsby’s for lunch. Do you want to join us?”
I looked to monitor fifteen, which showed Gatsby’s Bar, where Faye sat in the booth across from her friend Trish. “No, you go ahead.” I raised my cup of coffee. “I’ll stick with this for now. I’ve got stuff to catch up on.” I rose and walked him to the door.
“Remember what I said. Yuri will be dealt with.” He gave me a bro hug and left.
Yes, Yuri would be dealt with. There were two ways to deal with a man like Yuri. Kill him outright or make him suffer. I always believed that Karma was a bitch, and right now my name was Karma.
I tapped a few keys and brought Katya’s room back into view. Gone were the perfect pair of breasts, and in their place was nothing but an empty space.
“I’m coming for you, Yuri.”
I went to work doing what I did best—hacking. Katya had left a path open. For me, it was like inviting me inside her home. It would be rude not to accept the invitation. She only made it easy to get to her computer, but that led me to their security system. It only took me two hours to work my way into the firewall and another hour before I had access to everything. The asshole hadn’t changed much since I’d been there three years before, or maybe he had and Katya was throwing me a bone by reverting it back to what it used to be.
I had no idea the game she was playing, but games were more fun when played with others. When it came to this game, I was going all in. I’d throw down my chips and see where they lay. I might not be able to touch Yuri physically, but I could do a lot of damage from where I sat.
I hadn’t planned much for my post-incarceration life. I had two goals to achieve. The first was to get Katya in my bed at least once. The second was to kill Yuri, but not before he suffered.
Chapter 3
Dressed in torn jeans and a T-shirt, I made my way downstairs for breakfast. I took my meal alone at the table by the window. I always seemed to be alone, now, more so than ever before. I envied families like the Wildes, who despite their differences, enjoyed meals together. Last Sunday, they invited me to dinner. I’m sure it wasn’t because they liked me but because I’d saved Faye’s life. In the process, I’d ruined my own.
Getting to Alex and Faye’s house was tricky. It wasn’t easy to escape my father. Telling him I was getting a massage to ease my menstrual cramps did the trick. When it came to men, all a girl needed to mention was her period, and they asked no questions. He would have killed me if he’d known I was having dinner with his rivals and a federal agent. No one discussed business that day except for me. I couldn’t hold back the despair of being freed from one marriage, only to be promised to another. My marriage to Sergei couldn’t be considered anything but a business transaction.
In the distance, two blue jays fought over a twig. Just like people, they battled over worthless things.
My stomach twisted, sending acid to my throat. I swallowed and kept it down like everything else in my life. While I knew I’d end up married to Sergei, I couldn’t erase the uneasiness that came with our first conversation. There was no doubt in my mind he was sent from Russia to eliminate my father, but why keep me? Why not take both of us out? Surely, he could fake a home invasion, kill us both and take over the territory. What was I missing?
Angry voices echoed in the silence. My father’s bellowed over Sergei, shouting, “I will not.”
Hope sprang from my heart that he’d come to his senses and realized I was not a tradable commodity. Against my better judgment, I snuck down the corridor toward my father’s office and stood out of sight.
“You have no choice but to loosen the reins,” Sergei said. “I will be taking over the liquor sales since you lost control. Profits are down. We need the Wildes back on board. Leave it to me, and I will make it happen.”
“That will never happen. You’d have to kill him and take over his territory.”
“Perhaps. I’m leaving my options open.”
Fear twisted inside my gut. Sergei was not beyond killing anyone to get what he wanted. I’d never allow Matt to die over cheap vodka.
“This is my territory, and I decide what happens,” Yuri yelled back. “I agreed to give you my daughter and make you my son-in-law, but I will not turn over everything to you, and I will not allow you to tell me what to do. Who do you think you are?”
“I’m the man who will change your life. The only thing you get to decide is if it’s for better or worse.”
“We’ll see about that,” my father said.
The thunk of boots grew louder and closer. Fear of getting caught forced me to race back to the kitchen and take my seat by the window. A moment later, a shadow loomed over me as I stared up into the coal-black eyes of my future husband.
“You don’t have to sneak around, my love. I am an open book.”
How the hell did he know I was there? “I…I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“How much do you know of your father’s business?” The chair scraped across the tile floor. The wood frame creaked when he took a seat. Sergei had to be at least two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle and brawn. It was a wonder the spindled legs of the chair didn’t collapse beneath him.
I considered his question for a moment. Was he testing me? Did he want to know if I snuck around corners to spy all the time?
“I fear my answer may get me in trouble.”
He leaned forward, setting his hand over mine. His one palm completely covered both of my hands. “There is no right or wrong. There is only the truth, and the truth is never wrong and always right.”
“You realize you are contradicting yourself.”
He smiled. “I know exactly what I’m doing, my love.”
How he tossed that term of endearment around so easily bothered me. Love was something special, or it should be. I’d never known the emotion myself, except for the way a daughter loves her mother. “You do not love me, so please refrain from calling me your love.”
His eyes danced with amusement. “My future bride is either bold or stupid. Why do you challenge me?”
“I cannot help myself. Everything is a battle, and I am a warrior.”
“Good. I don’t have time for soft females. Tell me what you know?”
Though I didn’t want to give away family secrets, wasn’t it my father who had given me to this man? If he were going to be my husband, I’d have to tell him, eventually. Maybe in the process of getting to know him, I could figure a way out of this mess.
I looked toward the hallway where my father was either stewing or plotting a hit on Sergei. “How about I show you instead?”
“Perfect. Get your shoes, and we will meet outside.”
When I walked out the front door five minutes later, I was greeted by a group of men I didn’t recognize.
Sergei stood by me and pointed to each man individually. “This is my security team. Abram, Egor, and Timur.” All three men nodded in my direction. “You have your own security team?”
Timur opened the door to the black sedan. He stared at me with the same black intensity as Sergei did my father. A chill race
d down my spine. He was definitely Sergei’s right-hand man, and there would be no hesitation to protect him.
His eyes glanced to my thigh, where my jeans hugged my skin. “Are you armed today?”
I patted my purse. “Of course I am. I’m not stupid.”
He slid into the seat beside me. When the door closed, he said, “So you’re bold.”
I directed the driver to old Las Vegas, where the clubs we owned were located. We pulled into Boodeem. When translated to English, it meant to your health, but I was sure the three men killed there this year didn’t consider the place a threat to their health until they were on their knees in front of Dima, begging for their lives. Defaulting on debt was unhealthy. Defaulting to the Russian mafia was deadly.
“I have to take care of myself. I have no mother, and you know who my father is. Can you blame me?” We exited the car and walked into the dimly lit bar that smelled like aftershave and cigars. I waved to Mike the bartender, whose eyes grew wide when he saw the men surrounding me.
When he picked up the phone, I shook my head. Something told me a call to my father would be unhealthy for Mike.
“This way.” We weaved through tables to the back room, where a single knock opened the door. Sergei pushed his way through. I smiled at the gatekeeper, hoping to convey a message of calm.
Only two tables were in play. The stakes were high with no maximum bet and a minimum of five thousand a hand. These games weren’t for the faint of heart or those who were light in the pocket.
“Just gaming here?” Timur asked. He scanned the room like a hunter looking for prey hiding in the dark corners.
“No, there are women upstairs.” I’d never been upstairs. The place scared the hell out of me because I knew deep inside I was one argument with my father away from being chained to a stained mattress and sold for some man’s pleasure.
“Show me.” Did he see the shudder that shook my body? I lifted my chin and walked the men to a back door that led to a single staircase. When we entered the second floor, we were greeted with the smell of cheap perfume and silence.
Betting On Her (A Wilde Love Novel Book 2) Page 2
