Using You 2

by Ariel Arnold

  USING YOU 2

  A Novel By,

  ARIEL ARNOLD

  © 2017 Published by After Hours Publications, Inc.

  www.afterhourspublications.com

  All rights reserved.

  Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage without express permission by the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Contains explicit language & adult themes suitable for ages 16+

  Remember…

  All the fun happens …AfterHours

  Text afterhours to 22828 to stay up to date!

  Check us out at www.afterhourspublications.com

  Other Books by

  Ariel Arnold:

  Body Langage

  I Deserve It

  Prologue: Nana

  January 2017

  No matter what anyone wanted me to believe, I wouldn’t listen. No matter what anyone had to say, it wouldn’t register. I was done with letting anyone else’s opinions influence me. I was only going to trust my own intuition, my own feelings and what I knew in my heart was true. My heart was telling me that despite everything, Ilya was a good person and he couldn’t have done those awful things to that poor girl. If only I had come to this realization sooner. If only I didn’t let all this distance come between us. Now we were out of time.

  I gripped my abdomen as the searing pain became too much for me to bear silently. My hands clutched at the wound and I could feel my own hot blood spilling out through my fingers. I closed my eyes briefly and groaned before I forced them back open. No. No!

  I refused to die like this. I wouldn’t allow myself to do that to the ones I loved. Not to my parents and friends, and Ilya, if he even still cared about me. I had to survive, at least long enough to let everyone know the truth and to say goodbye. I had to expose the real villain, the person who put into motion everything, the person who did this to me.

  Releasing the good-sized hole that was bleeding profusely, my hands made contact with the dirty wood floor and my nails scraped across the scuffed-up surface as I dug in to give myself strength. The only thing my effort accomplished was bending a nail and getting a tiny piece of wood embedded into my finger. Strangely, this pain served to distract from the even more pressing pain of the bullet wound. I managed to make it up on my knees. Heaving, my breath could be seen circling in the cool night air. “Shit,” I mumbled. “That took more strength than I thought it would,” I said aloud. “You got this, Nana. You can do it. Don’t give up,” I said, then chuckled and shook my head. “Look at me, talking to myself. I really need to get out of here.”

  Taking a deep breath, I got one leg up, foot planted firmly on the floor and was preparing to force the other to do the same, when the door flew open with such momentum that it hit the wall with a loud bang. I looked up and gasped, my eyes going wide.

  How, was the only thing I had a chance to think before everything went dark.

  Chapter One: Nana

  Stomach in my chest, heart beating a mile a minute, I took one more quick look at Ilya before I slid away from our table. He was too occupied with whatever he was talking to Lydia about to notice that I was wandering away. Really, I should thank her for the perfect distraction to allow me to do what I came here to. Ignoring suggestive looks from men in the club and some crudely made catcalls, I determinedly walked towards the hall that I knew from the team’s investigation that Nikolai’s office was located in.

  I fully expected for it to be locked, but I was prepared for that. I knew how to pick a lock with the best of them. Even though I knew anything that I possibly found tonight would be inadmissible and I would be in a lot of trouble for trespassing, I needed a starting point. If I could find something that could help me link Nikolai and his men to a specific crime, then it would be easier to investigate legally. Making sure that no one noticed me entering the hall, I found myself in front of a door at the end of it that was closed tightly. This had to be it. I first looked right and then left before I reached out and clasped the doorknob in my hand. My palm was so sweaty I had trouble gripping it as I turned and when to my shock, it turned easily, my eyes widened. He hadn’t locked the door. Was he that confident that no one would even attempt a search here, or did he know nothing would be found? I slipped into the room and pushed the door closed quietly.

  Nikolai Prakenski’s office wasn’t anything like I expected it to be.

  I don’t know what I was expecting, but from everything I’d heard about the ruthless and cold mob boss, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a torture chamber or maybe a glass jar filled with fingers or something. Neither of the two was present, however. It was a simple, even normal, office. The desk was a large mahogany color with a big, well-worn chair sitting behind it. I headed to the desk first, pulling open the door and ruffling through the contents inside. There were files and accounts having to do with the club and nothing else. One drawer held a crumpled packet of cigarettes and lighter, but that was about it. I smacked the desktop angrily. Nothing. There had to be something. I glanced around the office desperately. I had to find something. I didn’t force Ilya into bringing me here only to get nothing. Thinking maybe he had the foresight to hide anything incriminating, I began absurdly looking under the lamp on his desk, under the desk for any secret compartments, but no luck.

  “I can’t believe this,” I mumbled.

  Feeling dejected, I gave up, walking slowly to the door. I opened it as I tried to think of anything else I could do to get something on Nikolai Prakenski, when my eyes landed on Ilya standing right outside the door. I gasped out his name in shock, “Ilya.” My heart felt like it was trying to punch its way out of my chest while my stomach was convincing me that I was about to vomit right on his feet.

  “What were you doing in there?” he asked coldly. My eyes widened and I was frozen to the spot. I’d never heard him take this tone with me. The look in his eyes as well was completely glacial. I could fully see him ruthlessly completing hits for Prakenski as he watched me unflinchingly.

  “Uhm… I was…” I began searching for an excuse to use. “I was looking for the bathroom and thought this was it. It was dark. I just went inside and closed the door before I realized it was some type of office,” I laughed nervously. “Silly me.” I pushed my way all the way out of the office and shut the door firmly behind me. Ilya didn’t step back, putting us up against each other. He didn’t say a word as he continued to watch me and I swallowed harshly, just knowing that he was about to call me out on all my bullshit, when surprisingly, he smiled.

  “Yeah, silly you.” He took me by the arm and began to walk as I watched him uncertainly. There was no way he could have believed that. Could he? “There isn’t a bathroom down this hall, only an office and the girls’ changing area. I’ll show you to the bathroom.” Ilya led me out of the hall and across the club to a back wall where the men’s and women’s room were clearly marked. “Here we are.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” I said with a nervous laugh before scurrying into the bathroom. Once inside, I leaned against the closed bathroom door and let out a pent-up breath.

  Oh my God, I can’t believe how close I came to being caught. What would Ilya have done if he had? I didn’t want to think about it. Some small part of me still wanted to believe that he couldn’t, wouldn’t, hurt anyone, let alone me. I pushed off the door and walked to the sink where I turned on the cold water. I imme
diately began to splash myself in the face with the frigid water, sending shock waves through my body. Get it together, Nana, I admonished myself as I stared at my reflection in the large mirror. My eyes were wide and looked bloodshot while my face was drawn and worried. The stress of the few days was becoming noticeable.

  I honestly wanted to hole up in this bathroom and never come out again. What the hell was I doing? I couldn’t do this. There was no way I could investigate Ilya and take down Nikolai Prakenski. I just wasn’t ready for this kind of responsibility. I knew I would let down my department, but even more, I couldn’t erase the feeling that this wasn’t right. That I shouldn’t be deceiving Ilya this way. Getting angry at the direction of my thoughts, I scowled at myself.

  You don’t owe Ilya any loyalty. You barely know him and you definitely don’t know anything about him. He’s lied to you, not telling you who he is, while he’d already known everything about you. You are doing the right thing. He’s a criminal. Ilya Volstolv deserves this.

  My inner monologue served to firm up some of my confidence and resolve.

  Ilya deserved this. It was his fault for choosing a life of crime. I repeated this to myself several more times before I opened the bathroom door. Ilya stood there with his broad arms crossed over his chest. He flashed his rare smile at me and I had to harden my heart. It was trying to beat like crazy and was yelling at me to run into his arms and never let him go. “Stop it,” I said aloud, annoyed with the useless organ and the way I was thinking. Ilya raised his eyebrow and cocked his head to the side in confusion.

  “Stop what?”

  “Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself,” I said, embarrassed that I’d let him hear me. “I’m starving, let’s go get something to eat,” I said over my shoulder as I was already heading for the club’s exit.

  “Already? You’re the one who insisted that we come here.”

  I refused to look back at him, not sure that I could keep successfully lying right to his face.

  “Or did you already get what you wanted out of coming here?” he asked in a tone of voice that had me stopping in place and whirling around.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  He didn’t say anything, his eyes strictly on my face. He had a look in them that I didn’t recognize, but had my stomach in knots. Then he smiled easily and whatever the emotion was disappeared. “I mean, didn’t you get enough of the first-time experience and was ready to leave.”

  “Oh, yeah,” I said with a laugh and began walking again. I winced and shook my head. My own nervous laughter was starting to get on my nerves. We walked in silence to Ilya’s car, me trying to figure out a way to salvage this night. Ilya opened the door for me and smiled, which only served to make me feel more guilt. Once again, I was left thinking why he had to be such a gentleman around me. Was it all an act? Was this how he trapped women, made them believe in the fairytale image of Ilya Volstolv before he revealed his true colors? I slid into the car and smiled gratefully as he closed the door.

  “So, where do you want to get food at?” he asked as he began to drive.

  “Your place,” I said immediately. Maybe it was a little too quick because he gave me a strange look. “I don’t really want to be around people, and on the plus side, we can have that dinner and movie date we never got to have,” I replied with a bright smile.

  “That can be done, but we have to make a stop first. I don’t have anything to make for you. We will have to do a little shopping first.”

  Driving through the city with Ilya by my side, on our way to buy groceries so he could make dinner for me was bittersweet. Anyone would think this was something straight out of a fantasy, a Nora Roberts novel, yet I couldn’t let any of the ‘first date’ excitement jitters get to me. If I weren’t carrying the weight of my lies and his secrets, I would be like any other woman, basking in this happiness and all the feelings of first love and the hope of maybe having found the one.

  “What do you have an appetite for?” Ilya asked me as we rolled the carriage down one of the grocery store’s aisles.

  I shrugged, “Nothing fancy. I can eat anything.”

  “You sure about that?” he asked in a mischievous tone that had me eyeing him warily. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” I countered. He grinned.

  “Great. So how about trying some authentic Russian cuisine?”

  Never having tasted anything ethnically Russian, I hesitated. What if I didn’t like it and offended his culture or something? Noting my hesitation, Ilya nudged me with his shoulder. “Come on, be adventurous,” he told me with his eyebrows rising rapidly up and then down. I laughed and shook my head at him in embarrassment. “Okay, okay, I’ll be adventurous. Just please stop that skeevy douche eyebrow raise move.”

  “Done,” he said gleefully. “Now, follow me. I know just what I am going to make for you to try.”

  I watched Ilya as he carefully picked out some cabbage and the barley. Once he was satisfied with both, he began strolling towards the meats while I just followed him with a smile on my face. He was so cute as he concentrated hard on picking the best of each ingredient. I wasn’t the only one who noticed how attractive he was either. Lots of women eyed him with covetous eyes as he passed. One woman even mimed squeezing his butt to her friend as he passed. I couldn’t help but glare at the two of them, not liking how they were fawning over him. Yeah, I was jealous. Just like I was back at the club when I had seen Lydia and Ilya talking. There was interest in Lydia’s eyes, in her whole demeanor. She wanted Ilya, bad.

  Caught up in my pouting and my petty jealousy, I hadn’t noticed Ilya stopped his ingredient search to look at me. He scoffed before he used his long finger to lightly tap my nose. “Cheer up, sweetheart, we are almost done. If you’re good, I’ll even get you some dessert.”

  I rolled my eyes in disgust and had to stop myself from stomping my foot like the child he’d inferred I was. “Stop pouting, let’s go,” he said, smiling slightly.

  “I’m not pouting,” I mumbled, even as I followed behind him, lip still poked out in a definite pout. Well, that was embarrassing. Ilya catching me with my face frowned up like an eight-year-old who hadn’t gotten whatever toy they wanted. My only saving grace was that he couldn’t possibly have a clue as to what I was upset about.

  Chapter Two: Ilya

  I was leading Nana into my apartment, something I’d wanted for I don’t know how long now, but it wasn’t a triumphant moment. When I’d imagined having her here for the first time, my mind was filled with images of leisurely spending time with each other, me getting to touch her creamy smooth skin. However, that wasn’t going to happen. Not after I’d found out she’d been lying to me, that she was using me to get information that would lead to my brother’s and my downfall. I shouldn’t be talking to her at all. I should be avoiding her. Find out what she’d found out already and then cease all contact with her. Yes, that would be the smart thing to do, but when it came to Nana Valencia, my smart switch was always firmly turned off. I just couldn’t stay away from her.

  Yeah, I was mad as hell that this was what she’d been doing behind my back, spying on me, but it wasn’t enough to make me turn my back on her. At least not yet.

  I carried the bags of groceries over to my kitchen’s counter top and dropped them down. I watched Nana, who was looking over every inch of my apartment that she could see as she placed the lone bag she had on a chair. “Nice place, will I get a tour?” she asked, finally looking at me and once again, I was struck by how beautiful her eyes were. How every feature of her face seemed specifically made for her and fit just so. She tilted her head to the side and smirked. “Ilya, are you listening to me?”

  I shook my head and answered her honestly. “Not really. I was mesmerized by how gorgeous you are.” Her eyes widened and she took a step back as if my words had shocked her into movement. She smiled shyly before looking away.

  “God, you can’t just randomly say things like that.”

  “Why not?” I said wi
th a laugh. She was so cute when she got all flustered like this. I stepped forward, closing the distance between us. Nana looked up at me and a snorting type of laugh emerged from her lips that had me smiling widely.

  “Because you just can’t. You have to give people warning before you blurt out something like that.”

  “So, you’re saying I have to warn you before I give you an honest compliment?”

  She nodded her head firmly.

  “Exactly.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh outright at her. Reaching up, I slid my palm against the back of her neck and squeezed lightly to get her attention. When she looked up at me, I smiled. “I’m warning you now. I’m about to compliment you.” Her eyes narrowed and she looked like she wanted to say something, but I beat her to it. “You’re so gorgeous that sometimes it takes my breath away, steals my thoughts and stalls my heart.”

  I could feel the pulse in her neck speed up as she stared at me, her eyes wide and her mouth open, speechless.

  Thoughts of Nana’s betrayal and my lies and anything else were eclipsed by her wonder in this moment. All I could see was the way she looked at me, the feel of her skin under mine, and the way the only thing that mattered was her. “I’m going to kiss you now,” I said lowly before leaning in towards her. I had no way of knowing if this would trigger her into running again, but I had to take a chance. I needed her lips against mine like I needed the air I was breathing. She didn’t react as I moved in closer. She remained frozen like a deer in headlights. I leaned down and closed the remaining distance by pulling her to me with the hand I still had placed behind her neck, gently taking her bottom lip in between my own. I could feel her breathing rapidly on my face as she surrendered, kissing me back.

  Molding our bodies together, her small frame felt absolutely right against mine. I cradled her face in between both my hands and I could feel this strange sense of desperation come over me, like I needed to make this moment count. As if I had to bind her to me in some way, make sure all she could see, think about, was me. The kiss that had started out so tender and soft was now a clash of tongues, mashing of lips, and tight grasps. Eventually, Nana began to try and cool the kiss down, her breath whispered out against my lips as she spoke in an out of breath tone. “Ilya, what about dinner?”