by Serena Vale
Because the company had ties with the military they agreed. It also happened that Yuri was Alexi’s best friend while in the service and when Alexi got out, Yuri went with him. Since then, Yuri was the head of security and Alexi’s private bodyguard. And being how Alexi had experience in the military he was the perfect segue for business deals, being able to determine what a soldier’s needs were in the field. What was lacking was his understanding of business.
Alexi attended Moscow University for his first year, mostly to pick up the basics and after that he attended Oxford, which she guessed was where he picked up better English. He double-majored in business and sociology – no surprise there – and graduated in the top five percentile of his class. For the next two years he helped his father with business deals until his father passed, leaving him in control of the company.
Alexi carried on as he thought best. In the first two years after he took ownership he increased his company’s holdings almost fivefold, a thing that not even his father had been able to do. They had branch offices all across Russia with a few in China and even a couple in Europe and they were all doing fairly steady business. Nothing that spoke ill of her client there… or at least there was nothing that she could detect.
“That is when I met my wife,” Alexi said as he took a forkful of fish into his mouth.
The words shot through her as if someone had just stuck her with a pitchfork. That Alexi seemed to be marriage-worthy material seemed obvious even to her, despite her misgivings as to the nature of his character. Though she had never even thought to be married herself the idea of being married to a man like Alexi held certain…allure. And she could not stop herself from feeling a pang of jealousy for the woman that had married Alexi Romanov.
“Your wife?” she asked, the taste of the food suddenly gone from her mouth as she reached for her glass of vodka to wash down the disappointment.
“Lada,” Alexi said. “It was because of her that I have done the things that I have to bring me here. And it is because of her that Abram hates me so much.”
She felt a twitch of hate for herself. She had completely forgotten! He said that Abram was his former father-in-law! Details, dammit, details! How could you miss something so obvious?!
“But isn’t that a conflict of interest?” she asked, sensing an opportunity to deflate the opposition before it got too large. “His intentions could be marred by his personal feelings.”
Alexi smiled. “In Russia, these things do not matter. The bond of family in any matter is seen as an advantage, because it is precisely that passion that could drive a man to do things he would not normally do.”
She noted that. “Okay, so your wife was somehow involved with your…” she paused, uncertain of how to phrase her question but she saw no alternative word to use, “swindling?”
Alexi paused, looking stern for a moment and she sensed that perhaps she had struck a nerve. Almost patiently, Alexi shook his head. “Involved? No… she was dead before I did any such thing. But it was in her memory that I did some… questionable things.”
She felt a twinge of regret for having brought up the subject of a man’s dead wife and for reasons that she could not quite explain she also felt a pang of victory. There was no wife in Alexi’s picture now… there was room to fill.
Oh, and who’s going to fill it, me?
The thought held an odd appeal to her.
“Alexi,” she said, trying to steer the conversation in a new direction. “I hate to open up old wounds, but in the interest of the case I need to know something. How exactly did your late wife have a bearing on…?”
Much to her shock and sudden fear Alexi pounded his fist upon the table, shaking the glasses of wine and vodka and making her nearly jump from her chair as the whole table shook. “What does it matter?!” he thundered. “Is it not enough that she is dead?”
Regina froze, her eyes wide with the sudden fright and her hands holding the edge of the table as if afraid that he might next try to throw the table over. His face became flushed with anger and the look of a man who bore deep hatred rose to the surface. The seemingly gentle side of him that she had witnessed and had even liked earlier in the day seemed to have gone like candle smoke in a high wind.
Stay away! Stay away! She held the table in fear and fixed her gaze upon him, unable to keep the fear that had risen within her from being seen.
Alexi’s eyes looked red and angered. His neatly combed hair had lightly come undone and now was slightly askew. He had half-risen from his chair in his outburst and she was frightened that he might jump across the table and strangle her for her question.
The side door opened up suddenly and quickly and Yuri came charging in and his expression was alert and dangerous. Regina froze at that as well and it suddenly seemed that she might not live to see the look on Carver’s face when she delivered this one home… assuming she lived that long.
“Alexi? What has happened?” Yuri asked, stopping halfway across the dining room and surveying the scene.
Alexi took in a sharp breath and blew it out slowly and held up a hand, keeping his friend from asking any more questions or pressing any further into the room. “It is nothing, Yuri… nothing… I’m sorry I disturbed you.”
Yuri seemed to accept that readily enough and quickly turned and left the room, leaving them alone once more. For a brief second Regina wished that Yuri would come back. It seemed that the ex-military bodyguard had a somewhat calming effect on her client and she realized how Yuri’s absence affected the tranquility of the room.
Alexi leaned forward and grasped the edge of the table tightly. She could hear the wood groaning in protest against his firm grip and she felt herself marveling at his strength despite his fear. After a few moments he stood up and straightened his tie and suit, looking proper once again. He put his hands behind his back and bowed to her, almost shamefully. “My apologies, Regina… I lost my temper,” he said, his voice ringing with remorse. “My late wife is still a sensitive matter to me.”
She swallowed the lump that had formed her in her throat and tried to keep the light fear that had entered into her from showing. She didn’t entirely succeed as her voice lightly trembled as she spoke, “It’s fine, Alexi… I understand.”
Alexi sighed and resumed his seat mournfully. “Perhaps it would make more sense if I put it all into context for you. How my wife’s death affected my business practices. Perhaps you will understand then.”
She felt herself slip into the story as soon as it began.
Chapter 5
The world outside was cold and gray, the kind of gloom that only came with a winter day in Moscow. The kind of day where one would wish to be home, safe with a warm fire, or in lieu thereof another warm and pleasant body to keep themselves comfortable.
Alexi had managed to do both.
Alexi sat behind Lada in the privacy of their bedroom. The fire that crackled in the fireplace before them provided a soft and soothing light that made the room feel warm and inviting. There was nowhere else he would rather be for the comfort and company that this simple room provided. His bedroom and his bedmate often provided the release of a terrible day that he often needed.
He hadn’t even entirely stripped away his suit either when he had entered into their room. His jacket, vest, tie, and shoes all sat in an untidy pile on the floor, beside the business dress that she had worn for the day, which also lay uncaringly on the floor.
Lada sat on the mattress of their bed, looking at the fire with him sitting behind her. Dressed down as they were for the evening, partially for comfort but mostly for love, he felt some of the gloom of the day ebb away. The tenderness that existed between them could be felt as easily as sunshine on bare skin and it was a feeling that he relished. He wore only his shirt which was partially unbuttoned and still wore his slacks while Lada wore the corset-like garment and slip that she had worn under her dress today.
He loved it when she wore such things and she knew that. It was her simpl
e way of teasing him. He would spend all day knowing that she was wearing such things and that the only reason for her to do so was for him to take her out of them at the conclusion of the day. Thinking of doing so all day long would keep him on edge and stir his passions to the point of nearly boiling.
It was a strategy that succeeded every time she employed it.
He pulled aside her long black hair, exposing the flesh at her neck and gently kissed her there. He could see the smile forming on her lips as he did so, her eyes lightly fluttering every time his soft lips touched bare skin.
“Your day was difficult?” she asked, one hand arching up and gently stroking the side of his face as he kissed her.
He felt some of his day’s frustrations creep back into him and he hated himself for it. This room was meant to be his sanctuary from such places. Lada and he had an agreement that this room was theirs and that the world beyond these four walls did not matter when they were here together. It was a rule that he had been quite happy to live with.
He paused in his simple passions and reclined on the bed, his head resting on their pillows as he looked up at her. She adjusted herself on the bed and looked down upon him. The flickering of the firelight was enough to make him think that truly there was a Heaven and that she was one of its messengers, come to watch him and show him grace.
“The Valynkov’s refuse to see reason,” he said simply. The Valynkov’s were yet another of the families that his father had seen fit to do business with and possible because they were just as difficult as his father had ever been. “Their new ground vehicles are costing more than they required and they’re two months behind schedule. And that is only a part of it. Their new infantry gear is failing in all aspects. It’s maddening.” He blew out a puff of aggravated breath. “I told them that they have three weeks to deliver as they promised or I will pull my funding.” He gently stroked the bare flesh of her leg. “They were not happy with me.”
She nodded knowingly. “I know. They’ve only provided a quarter of their promised funding for the new highway and society centers. I suspect that is where some of your delays are coming from… they try to pull money from their other aspects to keep you happy.”
“Really?” he asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow. “Their funding for the submarine development programs hasn’t wavered.” He pondered that, being unable to stop himself from doing so. “They must have partnered with someone new and neglected to tell me.”
She smiled and let her fingers slip inside his shirt, caressing the muscles that lived there. “The military has always been a priority, my love. New roads and buildings usually fall by the wayside.”
He wrapped his hand around hers. “Your efforts are no less important than mine, Lada. It bothers me that you do not see it that way.”
She gave a soft laugh that was so gentle it could have been a breeze. She climbed upon him, straddling him and allowing her fingers to part the folds of his shirt entirely. Her fingers almost glided across his chest and abdomen, tracing the ridges of his muscles. Her touch was so light and gentle yet it felt powerful enough that it could have generated enough electricity to power a city.
“You’re a man of power and wealth who works to empower the military, Alexi,” she said, bending over and lightly kissing his belly muscles. “I am a civic engineer.” She traced his pectorals with her tongue. “Your efforts shall always count for more than mine.” She began to kiss her way up his neck, “And I think you are quite silly for not seeing it that way.”
He chuckled, her kisses sending bolts of lightning through his body that stirred his loins. His hands reached out and caressed her neck as her lips made their way north before finally claiming his. She parted his lips with her tongue, caressing every corner of his mouth. Her breath was warm and savory and he felt warmth surge within his body that yearned for her. It wasn’t relief from the heat that he wanted… it was more warmth; the kind of warmth that only she could provide him with.
He sat up, encircling her with his arms. He held her gently and their kiss did not diminish. Her fingers slid under the shoulders of his shirt and she gently pushed it aside. He reluctantly released her from his embrace so that his torso would be freed of his garment. With his skin exposed to the air he felt a chill that quickly was dispelled when the tips of her fingers gently began to caress his shoulders and neck.
Her kiss was tender, as though she were frightened of hurting him. But there was such power behind it that he felt as if he could somehow crumble before it. Only she had ever had this kind of power over him and he adored her for it. She was the balance in his life. Before Lada, his life had been power that had seemed unequaled. Wealth and power had made him feel like the point on a spear, like he could charge ahead and destroy anything that got into his path.
But Lada… she had shown him otherwise. She was the water that tempered his fire, the anchor that kept him from drifting off course. She was gentle when he had only seen fit to be rough. She was the quiet in a life that had been nothing but unlikable noise. She was peace and he worshipped her for it.
His hands rested on her hips before inching their way up to her belly and finally to the corset laces of her undergarment. His fingers gingerly untied the first lace… the second… the third… all the while their tongues twisted in one another’s mouths. Her breathing became more and more laborious with every stitch that he untied. Her excitement was growing just as his was.
The final stitch undone he cast aside the bodice-like clothing. With her trembling body before him he slipped his hands under the hem of the loose-fitting shirt she wore and gently lifted it free. Her breasts hung freely before him and he relished in the sight of so much flesh. Every time he beheld her so undressed it brought fresh delight to his heart. Each time he saw her undressed it was as if he was seeing her so for the first time. He felt like a young boy witnessing his first undressed woman.
Gently he leaned forward and kissed at the sensitive area between her breasts. She gasped lightly at the warmth of his lips and a delighted moan followed as his hands cupped her bosom, lightly squeezing them. She arched her back, encouraging him to kiss more and more of her body where he pleased. He made it all the way down to her belly before her body realigned and she planted her mouth firmly on his.
He felt his manhood stirring, ready for her if she was ready for that stage of their mutual lust. To confirm that her fingers began to unbutton his trousers and a delighted chuckle escaped from them both as she broke their kiss and with a fervor that he enjoyed immensely she pushed him back down upon the softness of their bed.
The window shattered like thunder and a crimson flower suddenly blossomed on her chest with such speed it was incredible. The sound of a wood splintering and small shards of the material falling upon his face from the ruined headboard of their bed drew his attention.
A bullet hole had formed there.
Suddenly the world changed as if it had been dipped in some kind of thick syrup, everything suddenly moving slowly. Lada’s expression changed instantly, first full of love and anticipation before becoming blank. He barely had time to realize that Lada was dead before her lifeless body collapsed on top of his. The warm spray of her blood across his face was enough to offset the warmth he had been craving – yearning for – all day. A chill came over him that had nothing to do with the coldness now seeping into the warm sanctuary that had been his bedroom.
Anger overcame shock as he heard a faint sound escape her lips, the sound of a final breath, unwillingly given. His eyes shot to the source of the shattered glass, the window at Lada’s back bore a large hole, the kind he recognized as that which could only have been made by a large caliber bullet as it penetrated through unarmored glass. Without needing to measure he knew that the hole in Lada’s chest was the same level as where his head would have been had she not pushed him back upon the pillows.
Terror seized his heart as he quickly and instinctively rolled off the bed and crashing to the floor, cradling his wife’s body in h
is arms protectively. The motion, he knew, would spoil the line of sight of any shooter from any range outside. His mind reeled with thoughts about what had happened or why only to be replaced with thoughts of the woman in his arms that he loved.
“Lada? Lada?!!” he cried, shaking her body and trying to coax a reaction from her. His voice echoed in the room, in the night, and beyond. But he received no response.
Chapter 6
Regina felt a tear roll down her face as she listened to Alexi tell his story and she was suddenly thankful that she had not had her voice recorder with her. The story, simple as it was, was powerful. And without needing to ponder the matter greatly she knew that this was something that was meant to remain private. She had no more right to replay a story like this for her own amusement any more than she had the right to piss on someone else’s grave.
“My god…” she whispered, almost to her coulibiac which had turned cold from being untouched for nearly an hour while she had listened to her client. “Alexi… I don’t know what to say.”
Alexi regarded the bottle of vodka from their dinner table. At some point he had gathered it up and it now sat before him on the table half-empty. Though he had drunk deeply from it, he showed no signs of being inebriated.
“It was a… difficult night.” He paused, his eyes looking as though they had been lost in past memories, both warmed and stung by them. “We had discussed perhaps having children earlier that week…” His voice trailed off as a tear began to form in his eyes.
She nodded, pretending that she had not noticed. “So what happened? I’m sure you must have launched an investigation.”
He wiped the tear from under his eye and continued. “The police investigated, of course, but the killer was never found. But an investigation turned up something interesting.”
“What was it?”
“The bullet that killed Lada was fired from a weapon that they could not identify. They found the bullet casing on the roof of a building nearly a block away. The impact of the hammer on the bullet casing left a distinctive mark… one that I had seen before.”
