by Roxie Rivera
"I don't know," he admitted finally. "I did what I always do when I want an answer. I assigned the task to someone else."
"I would have told you everything in here if you'd only asked."
"I know."
"Do you?" I shook my head. "I don't get you, Yuri. I really don't."
He tried to touch my face but I smacked his hand away from me. Gulping, he whispered, "I'm sorry, Lena. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"But you did."
Tossing the folder into his chair, I made my way to the French doors overlooking the back patio and lushly landscaped yard. Desperate for some space, I walked out of the office. The flagstone pavers were cool beneath my bare feet. Hugging my arms, I tried to figure out what the hell I was going to do now.
Through the open doors, I heard Yuri shut off the music before shoving paper into a shredder. The machine whined noisily as it chomped and chewed up the sordid and mundane details of my life. Rubbing my face with both hands, I fought the urge to scream my frustration.
Even as angry as I was with Yuri, I sensed he hadn't done this maliciously. He was so aloof when it came to things like this. I didn't doubt that he'd simply given Anna an order as a quick afterthought before jumping onto a plane. It was so like him—and he had to change.
Our relationship couldn’t be conducted like a business. If he wanted answers, he needed to come to me and ask the damn questions. In the same way I was trying to become more aware of my hang-ups with money, he had to stop thinking of our relationship as a neatly boxed transaction.
Sasha's frantic barks met my ears. They were muted but nearby. I realized he was in the solarium. No doubt, he needed to be let out. I decided that if Feodor or one of the guards didn't let him out to do his business in the next minute or so, I'd go get him myself.
Behind me, Yuri continued to shred the file he'd had prepared. Not wanting to think about that anymore, I descended the steps and walked a few dozen feet across the patio. The burbling fountain in the middle of the yard drew my attention. The grass was cold and damp against my toes as I walked farther away from the house.
Overhead, the tiny sliver of a moon didn't lend much light. The old timey gas-style lamps dotting the backyard cast a warm glow on everything. The white limestone and marble sculptures looked so incredibly beautiful out here, almost ethereal.
From the far left, I heard the solarium doors open. Sasha's ear-splitting woof seemed even louder out here. I could hear him bounding toward me and rolled my eyes at his overprotective nature. Turning toward the sound of his barks, I tried to hush him. We were far away from Yuri's neighbors, but with a bark like that, there were sure to be complaints.
"Sasha! Sh!"
His barks grew more frantic and almost panicked. I realized something was wrong the moment he launched himself into the air. Sure I was about to be crushed, I turned my back on him and screamed. "NO!"
Sasha hit my shoulder with his front paws and took me to the ground. My head narrowly missed the beveled lip of the fountain. I screamed again as Sasha's snarling face crashed toward mine. I braced for a nasty bite but he simply nuzzled me quickly.
Before I could try to process what was happening, Sasha started to bark again. His quick, panicked barks rang through the night. With his paws on my chest and his big body covering me, I could hardly breathe.
What the hell is wrong with him?
The snap of a bullet ricocheting off the fountain made my blood run cold. Another bullet hit the fountain and then another.
Sasha wasn't trying to kill me. He was trying to save my life.
Grasping the dog's fur, I jerked him down against me, desperate to put as much of his body below the fountain's profile as possible. The last thing I wanted was for the big beast of a dog to catch a bullet.
Praying that I would survive this ordeal, I shouted the only name that mattered. "YURI!"
*
Yuri had just discovered an interesting piece of information in the dossier when Sasha's incessant barking got his attention first. Even over the noisy whir of the shredder, he heard Sasha losing his mind in another part of the house. Moments later, Sasha's barks sounded like they were coming from outside. Apparently someone had let him out of the house.
When he heard Lena shouting at the dog, Yuri groaned with irritation. The dog had to learn to treat Lena with more care. She was much too small for him to be jumping all over.
But when she screamed, the sound so high-pitched and terrified, Yuri dropped the folder and rushed to the still-open doors. He scanned the backyard and found Lena on the grass next to the fountain with Sasha on top of her. At first he thought it was the dog hurting her but then he saw the unmistakable red flash of a sniper rifle's laser sight.
His heart damn near stuttered right out of his chest. "YELENA!"
A bullet ripped through the door next to him. The glass and wood shards splattered his neck and arm. The door behind him burst open and one of his new bodyguards raced into the room. Kelly slapped the light switch, plunging the room into darkness, and hurried across the room to Yuri's side. The sometime Faze bouncer pushed a gun into his hand as they crouched behind the slim safety of the doors.
"It's loaded. Jake is working on killing the lights. When it's dark, you provide suppressing fire and I'll get her."
"Like hell," he growled. If anyone was grabbing Lena, it was going to be him.
Leaning out the door, Yuri took aim at the closest lantern lighting up the backyard and popped off a round. He hit his target and killed that ball of light. Following his lead, Kelly stepped out just long enough to fire at another lamp. Two by two, they picked them off until the yard was dark.
As if reading his mind, Kelly shoved him forward. "Move."
The former Marine moved to a better position and fired into the trees where the sniper firing at Lena was probably hidden. Yuri took advantage of the suppressive fire to dart from one sculpture to the next. When Kelly whistled, Yuri stopped and took over firing into the trees so the bodyguard could get closer.
He caught the Kelly's gaze. The Marine gave a series of hand signals that Yuri easily interpreted. When Kelly was done switching out his empty magazine, he gave a silent countdown. Three, two, one…
As Kelly started to fire again, Yuri darted the twenty or so yards to Lena and Sasha. He flattened his body to the ground next to her and slid his arms around her small body. Sasha dropped to his belly and crouched low against the fountain's curved edge. Yuri put a loving hand on the dog's side. "Good boy. Such a good boy."
Touching Lena's face, he wished he could see her but there wasn't enough light. "I've got you. Just hold onto me."
Sobbing hysterically, she gripped his arms and pushed her face into his chest. The rapid fire of high caliber sniper rounds and smaller caliber handgun fire continued all around them. He didn't know how the hell they were going to get out of here but he didn't care as long as she was safe in his arms.
To his utter shock, two headlights came into view. One of his SUVs equipped with the very latest in defense technology bounced as it raced across his beautifully landscaped yard. The SUV maneuvered onto the far side of the fountain, effectively blocking the sniper's attack.
A door popped open and Jake appeared. "Boss! Let's go!"
Snatching Lena by the waist, he dragged her to her feet and tossed her over the fountain's ledge. "Run!"
She sloshed through the knee-deep water and scrambled into the idling SUV. The vehicle continued to take heavy fire but Yuri felt confident it would allow them to escape their precarious position. Sasha bounded after him as he slogged through the chilly water to reach Lena and the SUV.
Once they were all safely inside, Vasya punched the gas. Yuri pulled Lena onto his lap and put a steadying hand on Sasha's neck. The dog's incessant growl covered the snap and pop of bullets hitting the racing SUV. Lena continued to sob against his throat. He squeezed her tightly and silently vowed to never let her out of his sight again.
When they were safely inside th
e garage, they poured out of the SUV and into the house. The guards rushed them into the ground floor panic room where Feodor already paced nervously. Seeing them uninjured, the older man relaxed but his I-told-you-so expression didn't bode well for the conversation Yuri was certain they would soon be having.
Not caring about his mentor's opinion at the moment, Yuri ignored his censorious look and carried Lena to a chair. He carefully placed her on the seat and ran his hands over her body in a desperate attempt to convince himself she was okay. There were scratch marks on her shoulder and thighs from Sasha's paws but she looked otherwise unhurt.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The words spilled from her mouth. "This is all my fault. Oh God. I almost got you killed."
He clasped her sweet face in his hands and captured her frantic gaze. "Stop. Breathe. You're fine. We're both fine." He glanced at the dog resting next to her. "Sasha is fine. Everyone is okay."
"It's not okay. It's not." She roughly wiped at her wet face. Streams of tears left her skin glistening. "This is all because of me. Because of my stupid family."
"We don't know that." Even though he suspected this was cartel related, he wasn't going to jump to that conclusion yet. He used his shirt to wipe her face clean and then kissed her tenderly. "Don't you dare apologize for something you didn’t do."
"But—"
"No." He kissed her again. The reality of why she was out there in the first place hit him hard. "It's my fault you were out there tonight. I'm the one who hurt you. I'm the one who betrayed your trust and sent you running from the house." His throat became painfully tight. "If it hadn't been for Sasha—"
She leaned forward and wrapped her slender arms around him. With her face buried in the crook of his neck, she whispered, "Sasha deserves a steak dinner for, like, the rest of his life."
Yuri laughed softly. "At the very least."
"Boss?" It was Derek. "It's all quiet. We think the threat is gone—and the cops are on their way. We're about to have every police officer and sheriff's deputy within fifty miles up our asses."
Though Derek put it more colorfully than he would have, he didn't disagree with the sentiment. Kissing Lena's cheek, he gave her a direct order. "You are to stay here in this panic room with Feodor and Sasha until I come to get you. Understood?"
She nodded dutifully. "Yes, Yuri."
Feodor brought over a blanket and bottle of water from the supply cabinets. Certain she was in safe hands, he exited the panic room to find Derek and Vasya waiting for him. He touched the giant Russian's arm. In their shared language, he gave one command. "Watch her."
Vasya placed his huge body between the rest of the house and the door. Walking with Derek, he left the small hallway.
"What's the party line, Boss?"
He knew what Derek was asking. How much did he want them to reveal to the investigators who would soon be traipsing over every inch of his home?
"I trust your discretion."
Derek understood. "I'll pass the word along."
"Do that."
Heading to his office, he grabbed his phone and made two quick calls before the police began to beat down his door. He needed two men at his side tonight if he was going to survive this scrape and keep Lena's father alive—his lawyer and Nikolai.
Chapter Fifteen
It was after one in the morning before Yuri got the last detective out of his house and walked his saint of a lawyer to the door. Craig and his legal team would more than earn their retainer over this mess.
He'd already sent Lena upstairs with Sasha, Kelly and Vasya to guard her. Feodor was still puttering around in the kitchen but he would turn in eventually. Derek and Jake had taken the first shift. With the cop cars sitting on the house, Yuri wasn't worried about a repeat performance of the nightmare they'd just survived.
In his office, he found his closest friends waiting for him. Dimitri had arrived soon after the first police officers. Apparently he'd given Vasya strict instructions to call him with updates. Yuri hated that Dimitri's new businesses was being dragged through his shit-storm but he hoped they could find a way to spin it positively. Lena would know just how…
"We're alone." He shut the door and leaned against it. The stress of the last few days left his shoulders slumping and his stomach churning.
"How is Lena?" Concern colored Ivan's voice.
"Shaken," Yuri answered.
"And you?"
"Now that the fear and panic has finally subsided, I'm starting to feel an immense amount of rage," he admitted. It was all he could do to keep his shaking hands clenched at his sides.
"Was it the cartel?" Dimitri finally dared to ask the question they were all thinking.
Nikolai shook his head. "I received assurances that this was absolutely not the cartel. Guzman made the point that he gains nothing from trying to kill Lena and everything from keeping her alive and Yuri happy. This is all about the money and saving face for him."
Ivan started to pace. "What about this pipeline, Yuri? Erin said there some major protests in Europe. Those protestors outside your downtown headquarters were all over the news tonight. Would they be crazy enough to go after you? To go after Lena?"
He shrugged. "At this point, anything is possible." Reluctantly, he admitted, "There have been problems with the pipeline. Someone is leaking negative stories to the press. They're trying to tank the deal. I thought it might be one of the investors trying to back out in an underhanded way but that's looking less likely. It might be someone on the inside."
Dimitri blew out a noisy breath. "And if it's not related to the pipeline?" He seemed hesitant to ask but did it anyway. "You've made a lot of enemies building your empire. What might seem insignificant to you could be a life-changing moment to someone else."
Yuri wanted to argue with Dimitri but he stopped himself. Even though he'd never done a competitor dirty in business and had always tried to be fair in his dealings, there had been times during his early years running his private equity firm that hadn't been particularly pleasant. He'd built his early wealth by swallowing up failing businesses, slashing their workforces, jettisoning the failing sections and selling them for big profits.
Dragging a hand across the back of his neck, he unhappily admitted, "There is probably a long list of people who hate me for business reasons."
"I think this angle that Dimitri has suggested is the most likely one for this mess," Nikolai stated. "Give it to the police and let them run with it. You'll keep them busy and out of this other thing."
Ivan fervently agreed with Nikolai's advice. "Listen to me, Yuri, the last fucking thing you need is detectives digging around in Lena's problems. The surest, fastest way to get her father killed is to get them nosing around where they don't belong. One stumble on their side and that guy?" He shook his head and drew his finger across his throat. "I wouldn't chance it."
"I won't." He hated the anxious feeling riding along his spine. How Nikolai managed to always look so calm when he was living on the wrong side of the law, Yuri would never understand. He finally comprehended the reason Ivan had been so desperate to escape that life. The stress of keeping the authorities at arm's length while trying to protect Lena and her family was going to give him a heart attack.
"What about Vivian?" Ivan addressed Nikolai. "Erin is beside herself with worry. She's terrified that the cartel will do something to hurt Vivian because of her father's connections."
Nikolai's jaw twitched. "I have Kostya on her. That cousin of hers has someone babysitting her around the clock. Of all of us, she's probably the safest right now."
"Erin would feel better if Vivian came to stay with us until this whole mess blows over. Kostya is welcome to stay with us too." Ivan clearly understood the two were coming as a package deal.
"I'll see if she'll agree to it."
Ivan smiled. "She won't have a choice. Erin has quite a gift for guilting the people she loves into doing the things that are best for them."
Yuri didn't doubt that
for a moment. Erin seemed to be the mother hen of the group of women. Not that Vivian or Lena or Benny seemed to mind. They appeared to understand it was Erin's way of showing them how much they meant to her.
Their late night discussion came to its natural end. As the men left, Ivan gave him a bear hug that threatened to burst his lungs and Dimitri clapped him on the back so hard he was sure he'd have bruises in the morning. Only Nikolai stayed behind.
Alone with his friend, he took in Nikolai's tense expression. Expecting the worst, he asked, "What is it?"
"Guzman has a new timetable, Yuri. He wants the painting and the ransom you agreed to pay in seven days—or he wants the cousin."
Irritation blazed through him. He didn't like this cartel asshole putting the squeeze on him, especially not with the obscene amount of money on the table. If it had been anyone else, Yuri would have called him personally and told him to go fuck himself.
But the man had Lena's father's life in his hands. One wrong move and Yuri would sentence Joe Cruz to death—and a very violent, very traumatic one at that.
"Can you get the painting?"
"Niels is working on it. He'll come through for me but I can't possibly predict when that will be. It could be tomorrow or two months from now."
"Two months from now, Lena is going to be mourning the death of a family member." Nikolai's eyes showed such sadness. "Unfortunately, you'll be the one to decide which one needs a gravestone."
Aghast at the very thought, Yuri shook his head. "I can't do that."
"Then find the painting." Nikolai squeezed his shoulder. "Or I'll have to make the decision for you."
The coldness in Nikolai's voice stunned him. He'd always known that his friend didn't blink at such ugliness but to hear him say that he would decide whether to send Lena's cousin to the cartel or leave her father to die there? It drove home that Nikolai lived a life Yuri couldn't ever truly fathom.
