by Bella Rose
There was a low, angry murmur that bounced off the old brick walls. Beside him, Kira moved closer. He felt the heat of her skin against him, and he knew he would never again be alone.
“I was not untouched by my brother’s betrayal!” Viktor shouted. “He was the one who murdered my Elena. He admitted this to me before he died.”
Anatoly nodded. “And it was confirmed by Yakov.”
The murmurs went silent. In fact, the room was dead quiet.
Viktor gazed around at the people who would be his family and his men. “Leadership might be my birthright. But I will never take it for granted. I know too well what the cost can be.”
“You have my vote,” Anatoly said clearly.
Denis muttered something in Russian.
“What?” Anatoly said, jabbing him.
“I said I will vote for him too!” Denis snapped. “Now can we get some vodka? I am thirsty.”
The other council members fell in with Denis and Anatoly. Yet once he had been confirmed as the new leader of the entire organization, Viktor looked to the men who would be following his orders.
“Do I have your support?” he asked. “Because without it, none of us will succeed.”
A shout went up, in Russian and English, so loud that the room seemed to vibrate with the support of the men and their families.
THE CEMETERY WAS quiet and rather pleasant.
Kira threw her head back and gazed up at the blue sky. “It’s pretty here,” she told Viktor.
He was quiet, but that wasn’t surprising. “I suppose it is. I didn’t choose it because it was particularly pretty or peaceful. At the time, I don’t even know if I thought of those things.”
“How did she die?” Kira asked. “You’ve never said, and I didn’t want to press, but I must admit that my curiosity is involved now.”
He took her hand and threaded their fingers together. Tugging her closer, he tucked her arm around his until she was pressed up against his side. They walked for several more moments before he finally answered.
“She drowned.” His words were barely audible at first, and then he cleared his throat in order to continue. “She drowned in the pool in our backyard. I didn’t understand how it could be possible, because Elena was a fantastic swimmer. She loved the water. That swimming pool was the main reason she wanted that house.”
“So Nicholas drowned her?” Kira shivered. The day suddenly seemed a few degrees cooler.
“No one will ever know for certain now, I suppose.” Viktor took a turn, walking them down through a lane that traversed the neat rows of graves. “The coroner said she had a contusion on her head. We thought she must have slipped, fallen, you know? But I think now that Nicholas pushed her. He got angry when she refused to leave me and go with him, and he pushed her. She must have hit her head.” Viktor paused, turning again and then facing a beautifully etched white stone monument. “Nicholas told me at the last that he didn’t mean to kill her.”
“You believe him,” she said quietly.
Viktor sighed. “He was dying. What reason would there be to lie?”
Kira said nothing. She could think of a thousand reasons for Nicholas to lie. And yet none of them mattered. The only thing that she wanted was for Viktor to be able to find peace. That meant putting the ghosts of the past to rest at long last.
He leaned forward and brushed a few stray bits of leaves and grass off the base of Elena’s headstone. “When you marry someone, you never imagine having to choose their headstone.”
“It’s beautiful,” Kira murmured. “My friend, my love, my wife, you will be forever missed.”
She pressed her face to his arm, nuzzling him and hoping he could feel how much she loved him even though neither one of them had yet to say the words.
“Sometimes, though,” Viktor murmured. “I look at you, Kira, and I wonder how it’s possible to feel the way I do. I haven’t stopped loving Elena.”
“You never will,” Kira said fervently. “I wouldn’t want you to. She’s a part of your past, and you will always remember her.”
“And yet I love you, Kira Domnin.” He turned and gazed into her eyes. “You are an incredible woman. The passion and fire in you beggars my ability to describe it. You amaze me.”
“Viktor,” Kira murmured.
She cupped his face in her hands and stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss. “I love you so very much. I haven’t wanted to push, though. I knew you needed to make peace with what happened to Elena.”
VIKTOR GAZED AT this precious woman. “How could I have been so lucky twice in one lifetime?”
“Maybe this time I’m the one who got lucky.” She wrinkled her nose at him. “Ever think about that?”
“Would you marry me again?”
“A wedding?” She looked doubtful. “How about we renew our vows?”
“When?”
She glanced around, and he could see her mind at work behind those beautiful eyes. “How about right now?”
“Now?” Viktor asked dubiously. Elena’s stone was like an altar before them. “Here?”
“Yes, here.” She was nodding vigorously. “I think it’s fitting, don’t you? Elena is your past. I’m your future. It’s like one blending into the other.”
And just like that, Viktor knew that she was right. He wasn’t a whimsical sort of man. Hell, he’d been raised Russian Orthodox. There was no room for the fanciful there. Yet right now, he could almost sense Elena’s presence there with them. Viktor felt calm and certain.
“You’re right,” he told Kira. “Now is perfect.”
She took a step back and carefully placed her hands in his. She stared up at him, and their gazes met and held. Viktor took a deep breath and thought about exactly what he needed to say.
“Kira Domnin, I take you to be my wife and my partner. I promise to love you while there is breath in my body, and to always listen to your concerns and try not to be overbearing. I promise to always support your dancing. I will never take that away from you. You are the fire and the passion in my life, Kira. I am proud to be your husband, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life finding out what comes next.”
There were tears in her eyes. They glistened, and she gave a happy little sniff before she started speaking. “Viktor Domnin, I take you to be my husband and partner. This time I want to be a real wife to you. I want to share your concerns and listen to you complain about your day. I promise to always be thankful for the way you support my dancing. I will love you forever, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life getting to know you a little more every day.”
Viktor cupped her cheeks and leaned down to give her a long, slow kiss. He moved his mouth against hers, feeling the way she so eagerly surrendered to him. This was his wife. This woman would be with him for the rest of his life, come what may.
He pulled back, giving her a few light pecks as he did. Then he gently rubbed his nose against hers. The gesture was ridiculous and totally unlike him, yet it felt so very right.
She smiled up at him. “Viktor, we do need to talk about something very important. All right?”
“Of course.” He gave Elena’s stone one last look. Perhaps it was being more ridiculous than anything else, but he could almost imagine her smiling down at them.
“We have got to do something about our living situation.” Kira’s tone was grave. “We cannot keep living in my studio apartment. There is no room for your stuff, and we don’t even have a couch!”
“We could always go back to the safe house.” He nodded, keeping his expression very serious. “Yes, that’s the answer. The safe house is vacant. It’s cheap. We’ll go tonight!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” She actually grabbed his arm and dug in her heels as though she wouldn’t walk a step farther. “I wouldn’t spend another night in that dump if the devil himself were after us.”
“How about this?” He picked up her hand and spun her in a little twirl. The graceful way she moved was totally turning him on. “Tomorrow
we will begin house hunting. We’ll look for something close to the studio with an extra room for you to set up a barre and use for practice.”
Now she was bouncing up and down and spinning all on her own. “Really? You would do that?”
“Sweet Kira.” He caught her and held her close to his heart. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? You’ve got me wrapped around your little finger. I would do anything for you.”
“Hold that thought,” she whispered. “I think I might have an idea where you can start.”
THE END
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BONUS STORY
Russian Mobster’s Obsession
By: Bella Rose
Russian Mobster’s Obsession
By: Bella Rose
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2016 Bella Rose
Chapter One
Katie inhaled the warm fresh air. It was good to be home. It was late spring and everything in the city was coming alive. She couldn’t help but think that this might be a chance for her to start over fresh, even though she was coming back to a place that hadn’t been home for nearly five years.
“Ready?” Katie held the Frisbee aloft, waving it in the air. Her Australian Shepard dog, Max, crouched low, his gaze locked on the prize. “Go get it!”
Katie threw the Frisbee as hard as she could. The dog sprinted after the toy, running so quickly that his legs seemed to be a blur. Max was the one good thing Katie had to show for the last five years. He was her companion, and probably the only male she would ever want in her life.
She looked around the park, taking in the peaceful scene. Children played on swings and hung on the jungle gym. Mothers sat together with strollers, chatting to pass the time. It was idyllic and it reminded Katie of growing up not far from there. She and her friends had come to this park often.
Max skidded to a stop in front of Katie, dropping the Frisbee and giving her a doggie grin. She patted his silky blue-and-white fur before bending down to pick up the toy. She went through the same ritual again. Max was wiggling with excitement by the time she flung the Frisbee with all her might.
A big gust of wind kicked up just as the Frisbee hit the zenith of its path across the open field. Max automatically changed his trajectory, but the new path took him far out of Katie’s sight.
“Max!” she called to her dog, but he was obviously determined to get the Frisbee, no matter where it was going.
Unable to see her dog anymore, Katie began to panic. She sprinted after him. Carefully navigating the uneven grass, she rounded a copse of trees and stopped short. Max was standing beside a tall, broad-shouldered man in jeans and a white T-shirt. The cotton stretched tight over the man’s biceps and chest. He had dark, unruly hair that hung nearly to his shoulders and a scar that bisected the right side of his mouth.
The man was holding the Frisbee in his hands as though he’d caught it. Looking around, the guy then squatted down next to her dog. He pawed Max’s fur, presumably looking for a collar. Katie licked her lips nervously. She didn’t like the idea of talking to some strange man standing next to an unmarked white van in a deserted parking lot near the back entrance of the park. But there was no way she was leaving Max behind.
“Excuse me!” Katie yelled, jogging toward the strange man. “Please leave my dog alone.”
“I nearly got smacked in the head with this.” The man waved the Frisbee in the air. “Then your furry friend here showed up.”
“Just give him his toy and he’ll come right back,” Katie assured the stranger.
The man stroked the silky hair on Max’s chest. “He’s a beautiful dog.”
“And he’s mine.” She wasn’t going to pull any punches here. If the guy tried to steal her dog, she was screaming bloody murder until someone called the cops. She pulled out her phone. “Please let him go, or I’m going to call the authorities.”
“There’s no need to do that, Katie,” the man said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Maybe it was the way he said her name, with a faint but still discernible Russian accent, but recognition hit hard and fast. Katie lifted her hand to her chest in surprise. “Viktor?”
“The one and the same,” he said with a smile.
Katie ventured closer. Just because it was Viktor didn’t mean he was safe to approach. Viktor had been dangerous at the best of times, and a disaster at the worst. He had broken her heart. Although she sometimes wondered if he even realized it.
“What are you doing here?” Katie asked hesitantly, getting close enough to see the details of his familiar face. The scar was new. She wondered how he’d come by it.
Viktor looked away, a sure sign that he didn’t really intend to tell her the truth. “I’m just meeting some people. It’s a business thing.”
“Business,” Katie scoffed. “Are you doing the same kind of business you were doing before I left?”
“Perhaps.”
He was staring at her. She fidgeted beneath his regard. “Why are you staring?”
“You’re more beautiful than I remember.” His smile caused her stomach to do an unwelcome flip-flop. “How long have you been back in town?”
“Just a week.”
Viktor held the Frisbee out to her. “I never intended to hurt your dog.” He absently stroked Max’s ears. “It’s strange, but when I saw him I thought of you.”
“Me?”
“Of course. You had one just like him when we were in high school. Do you remember?” His soft smile touched her. Viktor had spent hours throwing a tennis ball for Marley.
“Did you ever get your own dog?” she asked, cocking her head to one side and gazing at him with curiosity. “I remember that was the one thing you said you were going to do no matter what.”
“I suppose I haven’t gotten around to it yet,” he told her ruefully. “It’s strange, but being an adult is a little bit different than I thought it would be.”
“You can say that again,” she agreed. “I left town thinking I was going away to something bigger and better.”
“And?”
“It was the same old job and the same life, just in a different place.” She sighed, twisting the Frisbee in her hands to keep them occupied.
“What took you so long to come back then?” he wondered. “If it was the same?”
“I had to get rid of some baggage first.” Katie set her jaw. She really didn’t want to talk about Connor.
***
It was obvious to Viktor that there was a man involved in her story. It galled him to think of his Katie with anyone else, but she hadn’t been his in five long years.
“I always hoped you would come back,” he told her honestly. “Things just weren’t the same here without you.”
Katie cast a long glance at the van parked just behind him. Viktor quelled the urge to squirm. Then she pegged him with a hard stare. “It seems like things are exactly the same, Viktor.”
“You’re right,” he agreed. “Some things will never change.”
“Such as?” she challenged.
He gave her the warm smile he had never used on anyone but her. “How beautiful you are.”
Katie was beautiful in a very unique way. With her long auburn hair and gray eyes, she stood out in a crowd no matter where she went. She was also taller than most of the women he knew at six-foot-eight. Her figure was gently curved in all the right places, but lean and athletic as well. She was, and always had been, Viktor’s ideal woman.
“You always were a charmer.” She couldn’t hide the smile playing at the corners of her generous mouth.
He wanted to touch her badly, to see if her skin was still as soft as it had been five years ago. Instead, he was left to pet her dog. He scratched the animal behind his silky ears and waited for Katie to decide if she was going to let him be her friend or not.
“Do you hang out here and wait for your friends often?” Katie finally asked.
He shrugged. “Often enough, if I have a reason to. Why?”
“I come here every day and I’ve never seen you.” She looked suspicious.
Viktor snorted. “I suppose I’ll be coming to the park every day at this time then, to alleviate your suspicions of my bad behavior.”
“I’m sorry.” Her pretty features arranged themselves into an expression of regret. “I don’t mean to make you feel as if I don’t trust your motives, but well—I don’t really trust your motives anymore, Viktor.”
“I don’t suppose I can blame you for that.” He heard another vehicle approaching. Without even looking, he knew it was Sasha and Yakov, ready to make the exchange. He purposefully turned back toward his van. “I think I hear my friends coming, Katie. But I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She held the Frisbee out to entice her dog back to her side. The animal went willingly, following her with the sort of devotion she had always managed to inspire in any canine she met. Viktor smiled as he watched her begin her trek back toward the main part of the park.
“I suppose I’ll see you around,” she called over her shoulder.
“Yes. You most definitely will,” he murmured to himself.
A van creaked to a stop right beside his vehicle. It looked exactly like his but for the nondescript brown paint job. Two young men got out of the brown van and sauntered over.
Sasha pointed in the direction that Katie had gone. “Who was that? I’d like to get a piece of her!”
“Hey.” Yakov’s tone was thoughtful. “Wasn’t that Katie McClellan? I’d swear it was even though I haven’t seen her around in years.”
“Whoa,” Sasha said with an appreciative whistle. “The Katie McClellan? Like the one that had our boy Viktor all tied in knots for years?”
“You guys are pricks,” Viktor groused. “Can we just forget about the woman and focus on the job?”
