Mikhail cringed. “Can we not discuss my sister’s body?”
Ivan smirked. “Sure. The point is I’d like to discuss options with her, with your permission, of course.”
“And you intended to talk to me about this in private later?”
Ivan twisted his neck around to see Haley and Alena still bumping heads about something. Probably the same something. “Yes.”
“If you hurt her…”
“That would never be my intention.”
“Do you realize how innocent she is? I mean, I’ve never flat out asked her, but I don’t think she’s… You know…”
“I agree.” Ivan felt heat rise on his chest as if he were promising Alena’s dad he wouldn’t fuck his daughter. He wasn’t far off base. Mikhail had taken on the role of father figure when Alena entered the US.
“You prepared to handle that sort of thing? I mean regardless of her possible experience or lack thereof, she doesn’t know a thing about men like us.”
“Dominant, you mean.”
Mikhail nodded. “Of course.”
“I’m clear on that. And I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
“If you hurt her…”
Ivan smiled. “You already said that.”
Mikhail leaned in closer still, his face inches away. “She’s my sister, Ivan. I love her. Do not fuck with her heart or her mind. If you’re into her, I mean truly into her, then you have my blessing. I’d much rather she hook up with someone I know than a perfect stranger.
“But I kid you not, be sure before you make a move because it could get messy between all of us if you and she make a go for this and it doesn’t work out. We’re in the middle of a crisis. We don’t have time for bad breakups.”
Ivan nodded, a lump forming in his throat. It meant the world to him that Mikhail trusted him with his sister. In addition, this conversation had gone far better than he’d expected. Undoubtedly thanks to Haley and her pointing out the obvious to Mikhail a week ago. Maybe Mikhail hadn’t fully believed his girlfriend’s suggestion, but it had planted a seed. And that seed had grown.
He shuddered to think he’d been that obvious. But women were a different breed. They noticed things. It was unlikely Nikolav or Sergei had noticed the same thing.
A throat clearing to their side made Ivan jerk his gaze to find Abram staring up at them. “You girls done shooting the breeze there? We don’t have all day.”
Mikhail backed up and started bouncing again. He didn’t say another word.
Ivan did the same, hopping on the balls of his feet while he wrapped his mind around the craziest, most awkward conversation he’d ever had.
No. That wasn’t entirely true. This conversation would have to take second place to the one he’d had this morning with a very naked Alena.
As he nodded at Abram, a fist landed on his jaw. Caught off guard, Ivan swayed to the side and struggled to regain his balance. He shook off the assault and faced Mikhail’s smirk. He deserved that.
Chapter Five
“How are you doing?” Alena asked Haley. They hadn’t had a chance to talk much in the last week since the explosion under the L that rocked Chicago and left Haley running for her life with Mikhail, Nikolav, and Belinda.
“I’ve been okay. Getting better. At first it was difficult. I couldn’t sleep. I paced my apartment so much I made Mikhail crazy. Being chased through the streets of Chicago and narrowly escaping capture brought back too many memories. It’s only been a month since Mikhail found me at that crazy man’s house and rescued me from God only knows what fate.” She shuddered, rubbing her hands on her arms.
Alena nodded. She knew that fear firsthand since she too had been kidnapped and held hostage. In fact, she’d been held for six months. And not on the outskirts of Chicago. Nope. She’d been held at some sort of facility in Siberia.
Haley had been luckier. She’d only been held two weeks. But no way would Alena make light of her very real fear. It was legitimate and deserved. Unavoidable.
Because the reality was that none of them were safe. Yenin wanted his hands on them for reasons that were nearly impossible to discern. Something about experimental drugs, and probably test trials. People were dying. Homeless people were disappearing from the streets and being found weeks later in a landfill nearby. Discarded.
Haley had lived. Why? No one was quite sure. But Leo’s girlfriend, Katie, was a doctor who owned a clinic. She was working hard to get to the bottom of things. As was the FBI. It left everyone on heightened alert. And last Monday night it had blown up in their faces, literally, when a bomb detonated near the spot where Haley and her friend Belinda were helping the homeless.
A set up? Undoubtedly.
“My apartment’s small. And Mikhail is overbearing. He hovers. He won’t let me out of his sight. I appreciate it, but it can be suffocating at the same time.”
Alena smiled.
“I’m sure you know what I mean. Ivan’s the same way with you, especially now that Mikhail has all but moved in with me.”
Should she broach the subject of Ivan with Haley?
As it turned out, she didn’t have to because Haley’s next words knocked her on her ass. “If you ever want to talk about anything, about Ivan I mean, I’m here for you.” She practically whispered the last words.
Alena shot a glance at the men standing in the ring, chest to chest, as if they were about to come to blows. Neither of them looked her way. What could they be arguing about?
Fuck. If it had anything to do with her…
Yeah, she would kill them both and ask questions later.
“I mean, I don’t want to pry. I just figure you’re probably…”
Alena smiled shyly at her. “Yeah, probably. But I’ve been living with Mikhail a year, and I’ve lived with all six of the guys at various times in the last year, so I’m fairly clear about…”
Haley pursed her lips, fighting a grin. “They are pretty…alpha.”
“It’s kinda hot, actually.”
“It is.” Haley smiled broader. “And I can see how much Ivan cares about you.”
“Mmm. He has a funny way of showing it.”
Haley’s face scrunched up. “How do you mean?”
Alena tipped her face and narrowed her gaze. “Ivan? He won’t have anything to do with me.”
“Seriously?” Haley’s voice rose, and then she lowered it again, glancing around, apparently satisfied no one was paying attention. “In a crowded room, his gaze follows you everywhere. When you’re near him, he’s always touching you. When he speaks to you, it’s with reverence and in a soft voice.”
Alena shrugged. “Maybe that’s how he treats all his women.”
Haley chuckled. “Ivan doesn’t have other women, hon. And no, he doesn’t treat any other person that way. Just you. He doesn’t ever touch anyone the same way he touches you, nor gaze at them with dark, brooding eyes. It’s obvious the world revolves around you.”
Alena didn’t move. “Yeah, well someone needs to tell Ivan that, then.” Her voice trailed off.
“Wait, you mean you’re serious? You two aren’t…?”
Alena chuckled this time, sardonically. “Hardly. He thinks of me as a little sister. Or he’s afraid of Mikhail. Or maybe he’s just not into me.”
Haley’s eyes shot wide. She glanced at the men.
Alena did too. They were finally sparring. Abram was in the ring with them.
“I thought… I mean I assumed… What the hell is the matter with him?” Haley asked.
Alena giggled. “Get in line if you want the answer to that question. I’ve done all I can do. It’s up to him now.”
“You sure? I mean, maybe we can come up with a way to get his head out of his ass.”
“Oh, trust me. I’m sure. There’s no way I could put myself out there any further than I already have. I put myself all the way out there. And he gave me a speech as if I were a toddler. Some shit about how Mikhail would kill him and how I don’t understand how
he is with women. And did I know how much danger we’re in? Blah blah blah. I’m kinda done.”
“Mikhail is so not going to kill him. I’ve spoken to Mikhail about you two.”
“What?” Alena sat up straighter. “You’re kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“Nope.” Haley shook her head. “That night Belinda came over? The night she got food poisoning and he and I didn’t?”
“Yeah?”
“I told him to set Belinda up with one of his friends. He picked Ivan. I informed him he was blind, deaf, and dumb if he didn’t see Ivan’s totally into you.”
Alena cringed. “What did he say?”
“He picked Nikolav.” She beamed.
“He wasn’t mad?”
“Well, to be honest, I’m not sure he believed me. Men are dense. But at least he took my advice.”
“Huh…” Alena turned to face the men again, lifting her feet onto the seat in front of her and wrapping her arms around her shins. Interesting.
Mikhail was pummeling Ivan with a series of right hooks that sent Ivan staggering backward into the ropes.
Abram’s voice rose above the noise in the gym, shouting out instructions she couldn’t quite make out.
Ivan shook his head, seeming to get his bearings back, and then swung around to land a high kick on Mikhail’s chest.
Mikhail grabbed Ivan’s leg out of the air, however, and knocked him flat on his back. Two seconds later, Mikhail was on top of Ivan, holding him in a choke hold that made Alena flinch. Her brother was on his game. Ivan was not.
This went on for a while before Abram threw up his hands and ducked out of the ring, pointing at the weights.
Ivan hauled his ass off the floor, yanked off his gloves, spit out his mouth guard, and grabbed his water bottle. He was pissed. She could see that easily from across the room.
“When exactly did you have this showdown with Ivan?”
“This morning,” Alena deadpanned without glancing at Haley.
Abram marched across the floor straight for the women, making Alena gulp. He looked fit to kill.
When he got to them, he grabbed the back of the chair in the row in front of them and leaned over, his gaze on Alena’s. “Your man Ivan is a hot mess. Would you please do something about it, like soon? He lost his fight last Friday, and he’s acting like he’s never been in the ring today. If you could fix that for me, I’d be much obliged. It sounds like his head is in his ass.” He shoved off the chair, turned, and stomped away.
Alena sat dumbfounded. She’d never seen Abram angry. And she knew it wasn’t directed at her, but she was still shocked.
“Shit,” Haley muttered. “Either Abram has a sixth sense, or your brother was talking to Ivan about you before they started sparring.”
Alena agreed. And she didn’t like it. What the hell had he told Mikhail? Her face flamed. The entire gym didn’t need to know her business, especially not the sort of business that went down that morning. Alena watched Ivan flinging his shit down next to the weights, a growl on his face, and she couldn’t take another moment.
She jumped up from the chair, spun on her heels, and fled the gym.
Just like that.
She pushed through the front door and stepped outside. The cool November air hit her in the face, making her wish she’d grabbed her jacket, but she’d left it on the chair.
She didn’t care. All she cared about was escaping the gym. It was stifling. Suddenly more suffocating than ever before. And she’d been coming there with her brother and his friends for a fucking year.
In fact, she hadn’t had a clean breath of fresh air by herself in all of that time. Someone was always hovering over her. She felt like a caged animal. Like a prisoner in her own life. And she’d had enough. A-fucking-nough.
With her hands on her hips, she paced in front of the entrance, ignoring the possibility that multiple people were probably watching her from various cars across the street.
Tough shit. She needed to breathe.
She had about thirty seconds to herself before the door flew open behind her and Ivan bolted outside. “What the fuck, Alena? What are you doing out here?”
She shot him a glare, crossed her arms under her chest, and resumed pacing.
“Alena.” His voice was commanding. Just one word. And he expected her to comply.
“Fuck you,” she shouted over her shoulder.
He stepped tentatively closer, glancing around. “Do you realize how dangerous it is for you to come out here alone?” He was angry. His words gritted out of his mouth.
“Do I look like I care?”
“You have a death wish?”
She stopped strutting around, cocked a hip, and glared at him again. “Yeah, that’s it,” she said sarcastically. “It’s my main goal. Death.” She stood straighter. “It’s not even a bad idea. It might be preferable to having to hide all the fucking time.
“Do you know how many times I’ve been alone in the last year? None. Not one goddamn second. Not even a millisecond. Sure, I was being held in some fucked-up facility in Siberia for months, but when I was rescued and told I would be coming to the US and reuniting with my brother, do you know what I thought?”
He didn’t move.
She wasn’t waiting for a response, anyway. “I thought finally, finally, freedom. Boy was I wrong. If I knew then what I know now, I’d probably tell those guys who rescued me to leave me there. Three square meals. No running. No hiding. Nobody chasing me.”
Still he didn’t move.
“I hate this life. Hate it. You guys boss me around all day like I have no sense. Like I’m three years old.” She got sassy, tossing her hair back and forth and speaking in a sing-songy voice. “‘Alena, don’t go so close to the window.’ ‘Alena, no you can’t get a job.’ ‘Alena, tell me what feminine products you want from the store, and I’ll get them for you.’”
Ivan flinched.
“Even my fucking period is something you all five probably have on your calendars. I don’t own a piece of lingerie one of you didn’t purchase for me. I don’t even have a vibrator.” Yeah, I just said that out loud.
She continued, not giving a fuck if someone else heard her. “So, don’t you waltz out here to tell me what to do. I’ve had enough. How dare you share what happened this morning with my brother. My brother.” Her voice rose again.
“Alena, I…”
She held up a hand to stop him. “I don’t want to hear it. I’m not a child. I’m capable of making my own decisions. You’re right. I’m inexperienced. Totally. But that doesn’t make me incapable of feeling.” She flattened her hand on her chest and tapped several times. “I feel, Ivan. Right here. Deeply.
“Yeah, I put myself out there for you this morning. I was desperate. Stupid. I wanted you to see me as a woman. I thought you’d given me signals that you thought of me the same way I think of you. But I was wrong. And I have to live with my mistake.
“What hurts is that you went to my brother. That was low. Insensitive. Cruel.” She lowered her gaze to the ground, unable to stare at him any longer. Fighting tears. Wishing she could fall into a hole and disappear. How humiliating.
Ivan inched closer. He did so slowly until he was right in her space. Several seconds went by.
She wanted to turn and walk away, head down the street. Blow off some steam. But of course six men would probably jump from their cars and follow her, and at least half of them wanted her dead.
Finally, he reached with a hand and cupped her downturned face. “I didn’t tell your brother a word about this morning,” he began.
“Riiight,” she returned sarcastically. “That explains why Abram gave me a lecture about making sure you got your shit together. As if I have any control over your bad temper.”
“He what?” Ivan’s voice rose an octave. Ivan spun around when the door opened behind him, his hand sliding from her face to her shoulder. “Gromov,” he growled.
She winced.
“Please
tell me you didn’t speak to Alena about my performance in the ring.”
Abram stepped closer. “I might have.”
“What the fuck, man? My ability to fight does not concern her. Please do not consult my woman about my job.”
My woman? She stiffened.
“I’m going to respectfully disagree. I might have been out of line approaching her, but your performance is most certainly directly affected by your relationship with Alena. Every fighter has the same issues. Shit happens at home, it comes to the cage. Shit goes smoothly at home, it also comes to the cage.”
Alena was shocked. Abram was probably right, but she was still stunned he had spoken to her the way he had.
Ivan gritted his teeth together. “I repeat, do not fucking speak to Alena again. It’s not her concern.”
Abram jerked his gaze to hers. “My apologies, Alena.” And then he swiveled back to Ivan. “Get your head out of your ass, Ivan. Tell her how you feel, and get your game back together.” With that he spun around and strode back into the gym.
Tell her how you feel?
Ivan’s palm slid down her arm to her hand. He grasped her fingers and angled for the same door Abram had just shot through, tugging her behind him.
“Ivan, let me go.” She jerked her hand to no avail.
He stopped for a second, causing her to nearly run into his side. “No. And stop talking. You’re coming with me. And you’re going to hear me out. But not out here. Not in the open like this. Not with so many people watching.”
He was probably right. So she clamped her lips shut and let him lead her inside. She continued to follow without argument as he led her past a stunned Haley who stood at her seat, down the side of the gym, and toward the back.
Where they hell were they going?
When he shoved the locker room door open, she tugged free. “Ivan, I’m not going in there.”
He rolled his eyes, stuck his head in, and called out. “Anyone in here?”
No one responded.
He looked back at her. “Satisfied?”
“Not really,” she grumbled, but she ducked under his arm and entered anyway.
Thrust Page 5
