by Lee, Leona
Ever since she was a child and her mother had married her stepfather, she had learned to conserve and save wherever possible. Whether it was hiding extra food in the event she or her brother were sent to bed without supper or saving any money she earned, living a minimalist lifestyle that bordered on the pathological kept things simple and her expenses low. While she could have afforded rent in a better neighborhood, the majority of her neighbors turned a blind eye to anything that was going on and it allowed her the luxury to squirrel away almost two-thirds of her income in the event that she had to disappear for a while.
Dressing in her street clothes, she didn’t bother putting on her shoes as she padded out of the locker room. To her surprise, Vadim was in his usual spot handing out envelopes with the night’s pay. Shifting to the end of the line, she waited until everyone had left before stepping up to receive her pay. She looked up at him and tried to determine how he was, but all she could see was a matched set of dark shadows under his eyes, from lack of sleep.
“I’m glad that you’re back,” she stated simply as she gave him a small smile.
“Did Boris overwork you?”
“Very.”
“Come to my office, I will meet you there.”
Walking into his office, she dropped her backpack, plopped down on his sofa and stretched out. Within minutes, Vadim had joined her, shutting and locking the door behind him. Joining her, he picked up her feet and placed them on his lap. When his thumbs began to press into the balls of her feet, Bethany felt as though her eyes had rolled back into her head.
“Oh, that feels so good,” she told him as she felt the last two days start to drain away.
As he began to work his way up her calves, Bethany couldn’t believe that she was feeling aroused. Opening heavy eyes, she blushed when she saw the intensity of his stare. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, she started to pull her legs away, but he had tightened his grip. Working his way up her legs, he kneaded the larger muscles as her energy drained away. While he massaged the inside of her thighs, she felt that all too powerful sensation start to unfurl from deep inside her.
As he massaged away all her tension to make room for other sensations, he smiled when he caught a whiff of her arousal.
“Do I turn you on, Malyutka?”
“Do you even have to ask,” Bethany questioned as she tried to rub her legs together.
He chuckled. “Sometimes a man wants to hear it from his Malyutka.”
“I am not your…” Before Bethany could answer, Vadim slid his fingers under the leg band on her panties and dipped them between her folds.
“You are whatever I say you are,” he told her as he plunged his fingers deep inside her.
Lifting one of her legs over the back of the sofa, he nestled between her legs as he continued to pump his fingers in and out. Bethany began to moan as she gave in to her body’s demand and enjoyed the pleasure he was giving her. As she felt her muscles begin to clench, he pulled his fingers out.
When she opened her eyes to protest, she watched as he dropped the zipper on his pants. She shifted onto his lap and straddled his legs as he pushed her panties aside. Sliding down on his cock, she groaned lustily as he arched up into her. He held her hips as he guided her up and down while they both moaned. Adjusting her hips, Bethany began making figure-eight movements while he rocked up into her.
The friction from their clothes was creating additional sensations that enhanced her arousal as she moved her hips faster.
A series of orgasms rocked through her as she cried out his name. Splaying his hand flat against her lower back, he held her tightly to him as his own orgasm squeezed his balls painfully before releasing. With a roar, he came hard as he bit down on her neck.
Yelping in surprise, Bethany tilted her head to give him better access as he nipped along her collarbone. When they both started to come down, her fingers found their way to the buttons of his shirt as she ran her hands along his chest. Unable to resist, she bent her head and licked at his scars that marred his upper torso.
Hissing in response, he held her head tightly against his chest as she sucked and licked on his scars. Unable to handle any more, he grabbed her head, capturing her lips in a possessive kiss that had Bethany moaning into his mouth in response.
Before she knew it, Vadim was hard again as he stroked her insides with his cock. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back as she dug her fingers into his shoulders. Where before, their actions were fueled by lust, this felt different. Stroking his hands up and down her back, the pleasure tendrils were slower to come as they permeated every part of her body.
When her orgasm hit, she opened her eyes in surprise at the depth of emotion that almost bent her in two. The look on Vadim’s face was similar to how she felt as she rained feather-light kisses across his face. When she reached his lips, she kissed him before exploring his lips with her tongue. As he opened his mouth, she continued her explorations, giving as much of herself as she went. With a groan, Vadim tightened his hold on her as he began to pump his juices inside her.
As their pulses started to return to normal, Vadim held her close as he continued to rock back and forth. Unsure what to say, she merely looked at him. She had not anticipated falling for him.
Chapter 8
Bethany woke late Sunday morning to the insistent ringing of her phone. Reaching for it, she didn’t bother to see who it was from before answering with a mumble.
“Malyutka.”
“Vadim, it’s Sunday. I’ve barely been asleep for a few hours.”
“I know, Malyutka, and I am sorry, but Boris has scheduled another one of his private parties, and one of the servers has food poisoning. I need you to be here at two.”
“What time is it now?”
“Ten.”
“Okay, see you then,” she answered before sliding the phone under her pillow and going back to sleep.
When her regular alarm went off at noon, she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Another party? She tried to remember what Vadim had said…so, Boris was the one who scheduled these parties. She would have to tell Sanderson about that when she saw him tomorrow.
Walking into the Rubicon, she waved to the security guard who was perched in his normal spot before working her way through the club. Many of the guests had already arrived and both Vadim and Boris were making the rounds. As she walked by, Vadim paused in his conversation to watch her as she nodded to him. She didn’t know how much anyone knew about their relationship, other than the noises coming from his locked office, but she didn’t want to make things worse for him by calling undue attention to their activities.
Once she was dressed in her uniform, she came out to retrieve her tablet and was surprised to see Sasha wasn’t tending bar. Smiling at the woman that she thought went by Tiffany, she asked about Sasha, but the girl shrugged her shoulders.
“All I know is that both Sasha and her roommate didn’t come in. Boris said something about food poisoning.”
Nodding her head, Bethany told her that she had heard the same thing before she grabbed her tablet and headed upstairs to see who needed drinks. It was much the same crowd as last time, and she smiled in recognition. As she was serving the drinks, she heard a loud noise from down below. Setting her tray down, she walked to the balcony and looked down to see a swarm of law enforcement make their way into the club and spread out amongst the occupants.
Armed officers dressed in combat gear with shields flanked the outer perimeter. Looking for Vadim, she found him and Boris on their knees with their hands behind their heads. He mouthed an apology at her before Sanderson kicked him between the shoulders sending him flat to the floor.
Stepping back, she turned to the guests who were looking anxious and spoke calmly in Russian, “Gentlemen, it appears that the Rubicon has been raided. I would suggest that everyone remain calm while everything gets sorted out.” Several men grumbled and fidgeted in their seats, but for the most part, everyone upstairs remained quiet and waited
for the officers to tell them what to do.
For the next several hours, Bethany remained calm, following whatever commands any particular officer gave her. Not willing to give herself away, she stayed with the other servers and dancers as the officers took down everyone’s name and contact information. Several of the guests were handcuffed, along with both Vadim and Boris, and hustled out to the parking lot into what she assumed was a bus or a van for transport.
She watched Sanderson with interest as he worked his way around the room. She really couldn’t believe his intentionally antagonistic behavior as he goaded many of the men. As he worked his way around to the staff, he looked the women up and down disdainfully.
“Have them go into the employee area one at a time with an officer to gather their things. We’ll finish up their statements at the office.”
After gathering their personal belongings, Bethany and the other five women were placed in a van and driven to the FBI office in downtown Dallas. They were placed in separate offices, and Bethany presumed the others were questioned while she waited to hear from Sanderson. She was left there for more than two hours before he finally came in. Dropping her stuff down on the desk, he stared at her.
“What do you know about Elizabeth Cunningham?”
“Who?”
Pulling a picture out of a file, he slid it across the desk. Bethany looked down to see a very dead Sasha. Swallowing hard, “What happened?”
“Both her and her roommate had their skulls caved in.”
“I was told that she had food poisoning. Who?”
“ICE is very eager to find out. Turns out that you weren’t the only operative working there.”
“She was an agent?”
“According to her supervisor, she’d been undercover for more than two years. When she stopped checking in, they thought that she might have switched sides.”
Shaking her head, Bethany said, “I did see her doing cocaine.”
“Would you swear to that?”
“Well, since I didn’t try it, no, I can’t be certain, but she had been complaining about being overtired and needing a pick me up. Boris had us working back to back shifts and it was exhausting.”
“Boris Banovich?”
“Is that his last name?”
“Is he the one who told you about the food poisoning?”
“No, Vadim did.”
Sanderson pointed at her stuff and instructed, “Get changed, I’ll be back.”
As he shut the door, Bethany quickly changed into her street clothes and checked her backpack to make sure everything was there. Her cell phone was missing. Checking again to make sure that she didn’t miss it, she was interrupted by a brief knock at the door. A female officer that had been at the club handed her a visitor badge and told her to meet Sanderson in Interrogation room 3.
Chapter 9
Leaving her backpack, she headed over to the interrogation room. This was her first time in this particular building, and it didn’t occur to her to check to see who was in there before she pushed the door open and walked in.
She was shocked to see Vadim handcuffed to the table as Sanderson leaned against the wall with a malicious look on his face. Spying her visitor badge, Vadim began to swear in Russian, as he jerked hard against his restraints.
Covering her mouth with her hand, she glared at Sanderson before backing hastily out of the room. She walked halfway down the corridor before she spied a smoker’s balcony and pushed the door open, stepping out into the Dallas night. Her legs could no longer hold her as she collapsed in a heap. She clutched her sides, rocking back and forth, willing herself not to cry.
She didn’t know how long she was out there when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. Looking up into Marci’s concerned face, her resolve crumbled as tears trickled down her cheeks.
“He knows I betrayed him,” Bethany said as she hugged herself.
“What did you think would happen?”
“Not this. Not like that. Ah, fuck, Marci, why did Sanderson do that?”
Sighing, Marci sat down on the bench. “Because, he’s an asshole. But other than that, I really don’t know what he was thinking because now there’s absolutely no chance that we’ll get any cooperation out of him and all this may have been for nothing.”
“Don’t say that. Two women that we know of are dead. How many others have to die?”
“Well, what do you intend to do about it?”
“Me? What can I possibly do? If I had known what Sanderson had intended, I might have been able to suggest something different. It was stupid of me not to check to see who was in the room before walking in there. Just stupid.”
“I would have made the same mistake,” Marci replied, as she leaned back and closed her eyes. “But that still doesn’t answer my question.”
Lifting her head up, Bethany stared out across the Dallas downtown skyline. “Can we turn him?”
“What?”
“Make him an asset. Boris is the one responsible for these daytime private parties, not Vadim. And, as you said, he reports to someone in Moscow. Why can’t we shoot for a bigger fish?” Bethany asked.
Looking at her with approval, Marci asked, “Can you do it?”
“Do I have any choice?”
Standing up, Bethany walked inside with her handler and headed back toward the interrogation room. They could still hear Vadim shouting in Russian as they came upon Miles Turner, Director of the Southwest region, berating Sanderson for his actions.
“This is the last straw, Sanderson. If we can’t save this case, you won’t be around long enough to see us clean up this mess you made,” Turner told him. Turning to the two women, he looked apologetically at Bethany. “I’m so sorry that you were thrust into this. The request for the raid on the Rubicon had been denied until we had more information in place, and now, I’ve got two other agencies out for blood after this debacle.”
“I might have a solution, sir,” Bethany stated. As she talked, Turner looked at her in surprise.
“Turn him?”
“Why not? He’s not the decision maker, and it’s clear that Boris is acting under different rules, why not see how many we can reel in?” Bethany asked.
“Absolutely not,” Sanderson interjected.
“You don’t have a say in this,” Turner cut in. Turning back to Bethany, “Can you do it?”
“Vadim is an honorable man, and he cares…cared about me. I think that I can.”
Nodding his head in approval, he looked at her, “What do you need?”
Bethany held her hand out to Sanderson. “For starters, the file with the pictures of Sasha in them, the handcuff key, and some time.”
Sanderson looked at her as if she were insane, then looked to Turner and Marci for help. Seeing none was coming, he scowled before handing her the file and digging in his pocket for a handcuff key. “You’ll regret this,” he declared before he turned and stalked away from the three of them.
Bethany clutched the file and pocketed the key before turning to the interrogation room. Before she opened the door, she looked to her right and saw a break room. Poking her head in, she grabbed two bottles of water before pushing the door open and stepping inside.
Vadim looked like a caged animal as she took in the ravaged look on his face and his raw wrists. Knocking on the door, she called for a first aid kit, which was quickly handed to her. She set it down with everything else and stared at him as he gradually settled down.
“So, you were FBI, all along,” he stated in Russian.
“Dah,” she answered simply.
“So, everything that happened between us was what, your job?”
Shaking her head, she replied, “I was sent to gather intel on the Drobilka cartel, what happened between us wasn’t meant to happen, but I fell…”
“Fell for me?” he interrupted as he snorted. “Do not insult me, Ms. Michaels, with any more lies.”
Bethany clutched at her sides as she was wracked with emotion at the leve
l of hatred dripping off his tongue. She closed her eyes and attempted to clear her head before walking around to the control panel on the wall and turning off the recording devices. Digging the key out of her pocket, she slid it across the table toward him along with a bottle of water.
Looking at her suspiciously, he looked up to see that the cameras were off before reaching for the key. Bethany had sagged against the wall with her eyes closed as she waited for his next move. She didn’t have long to wait as he slid across the table and landed in front of her.
Opening startled eyes to look at him, she swallowed hard at the look of hatred on his face as he wrapped his right hand around her throat.
“I could kill you with the flick of my wrist,” he told her as he tightened his grip. Tilting her head back, she took small breaths as she watched him. “Was it worth it?”
“Was what worth it?”
“Was it a boost to your career to lose your virginity to me?”
Without even thinking, Bethany’s hand swept up and connected hard with his cheek as he looked at her in surprise. Rubbing his cheek, he stumbled backwards into the table as she shoved hard at his chest.
“Why, you arrogant, self-centered asshole. Do you have any idea what it was like for me growing up? I dreamed about going to the Academy, and suddenly, I’m thrust into this case, but no one can know about it, so I’m treated like some sort of ghost, having to sneak around with no backup. And then I meet you and all your muscles and tattoos, and when you touched me that first time in the locker room, fuck, Vadim, I started feeling things that I had no right to feel.” Brushing at the tears to keep them from falling down her cheeks, she stood in front of him with her hands on her hips. “Don’t you for one minute think that what went on between us had anything to do with the case. I didn’t even know who you were until you told me your birth name, which by the way, I would have been happy not knowing.”
