Threat: Follow up to Stranded but not Alone (Dragoslava Connection)

by Cora Blu

  That would’ve been ugly if she actually had food in her body.

  He carried her to the leather sofa covering her with the afghan on the back. Bethany started to protest. His strength said otherwise. She curled beside him against the gently worn tufted leather.

  A tease of black hair laid flat against his chest visible through his partially open sweater at his throat. Mikhail tucked her over his lap and began stroking her hair.

  “Mikhail, that cellar is mad with knives hanging everywhere. I thought I was going to pass out down there,” she admitted, shaking off the shiver coursing through her body. Mikhail’s arms slowly curled around her. “Apologize to your family for me, please. I’m so embarrassed.”

  As if a butterfly walked across her skin, Mikhail skimmed a gentle kiss across her temple. A whisper of words trailed the touch. “Charmant, Bethany. Go to sleep. I’ll work in here at the desk.”

  Fatigued, she tucked the afghan under her chin and let out a breath. “You’re being funny calling me graceful the way I ran up those stairs like Satan was chasing me.”

  He sighed. “You know what else charmant refers to, Bethany. I say it to you often enough.”

  And she did. “I don’t feel pretty, right now. I feel drained and exhausted,” she managed to say. Gently patting his thigh she continued, “Go work on your parents’ books, I’ll be fine right here.”

  Mikhail rubbed her hip as she let sleep pull her under.

  “You’ve had a rough day,” he reminded her, stroking a knuckle under her chin. “Let me watch over you just once. Go to sleep Bethany.”

  “Khail?”

  “Hmm,” he murmured stroking a hand down her back lovingly massaging her hip.

  “Taking you back would mean I let myself down allowing you to treat me less than what I deserve. You disrespected me and us. That doesn’t go away because you offer an apology. You think my avoiding you is about us. It’s about me not respecting the boundaries I’ve set for myself as a woman.”

  His lips were warm on her forehead when he kissed her. “Don’t do that to me again. Not talking for days at a time. I’ll never disrespect you again, but don’t ever walk away from me.”

  Bethany picked up a hint of fear in his words. What wasn’t he telling her? As she drifted off to sleep, warm arms cradled her to an even warmer chest in a fierce hold. What had she missed?

  Chapter 9

  Greg

  A new day

  Torture Bethany.

  Behind the parking lot of the chalet, the morning clouds hung thick and low, pouring snow over the landscape. Greg stood inside his shanty lacing his hiking boots to get out on the trail to Bethany. Everything was going according to plan.

  The front door swung open, and he watched his cousin Nina come inside and head straight for the coffee.

  “You told me Bethany was a dumb broad. Not the boss’s squeeze. You said they wouldn’t look for her in the basement, but it’s all over the news that she was found okay.”

  Nina waved her black pained nails through the air. He hated that color. She was already pale as a ghost.

  “Greg, relax or you’ll have a heart attack. That’s why we’ll do it up here. Mikhail thinks he can toss me to the side and put another woman in my place well, I’ll teach both of them. He left me in Switzerland to die, and I’ve come back to claim what belongs to me—him and his fortune,” she warned, pouring herself a cup, drinking half of the contents before setting down beside the potbelly stove. “How did you land this sweet spot? No one will see us back here.” Her gaze tracked various points in the shanty from the threadbare, yet comfortable furniture to the kitchenette along the wall. A full size bed set three feet away in the only bedroom that had no door to speak of. Yet there was a bathroom.

  Greg yanked down on the brim of his baseball cap then shrugged on his jacket. “Ex-military family. They understand positioning is everything. I can see everyone from here, but they can’t see me.”

  “Were you able to stop by my apartment? I couldn’t go back.”

  “I did. And you were right. Mikhail and Bethany aren’t the enemies everybody’s making them out to be. This may be harder than we think to get her away from him.”

  “I told you.” She set the cup on the small counter and walked to the window three feet away. “You have to make her trust you. Get inside her head. Break down her shields.” She raised her face, eyes pleading with him to get this right. “She has to trust you over him for my plan won't work. And everything and I mean everything hinges on breaking those two apart.”

  She was pushing him, and he didn't like being pushed. “Back off. You said Mikhail lied to you, and I promised to help you get even. But I do it my way.”

  “You can’t botch this. I have too much invested to be caught now. I’ve spent all year getting ready for this week. By next Friday I want Mikhail’s ring to be on my finger.”

  “Ms. Cansler will be fun to play with. She’ll never suspect a thing.”

  “Remember, we’re just scaring her off at first to avoid any more police attention.” Swiping blond strands from her face poking out from under her black cap, she continued, “If she wants to put up a fight then we move on to phase three.”

  “You’re sure it’ll work?” He had to ask. He’d seen scorn go too crazy in a matter of seconds with women before. The way her eyes were dancing, she was on her way.

  “I’m not a novice. I paid attention at the hospital in the Netherlands. I know exactly what dosage to give for the results I need. It’s all measured out to her weight and height.”

  Walking across the three feet to the door, he opened it stretching his back around the doorjamb to peer out through the trees. The guests were beginning to catch gondolas to the slopes and set up for the first event.

  “The first event is starting, and I have to meet Bethany. So hurry up.”

  “Remember we can’t do it right off, we have to wait until the heat from the threat wears down some. So get into character and gain her trust.”

  “Don’t leave fingerprints, whatever you got planned. I want to walk away from this after its done and go back to my life.” He’d already purchased a one-way ticket for America if her scheme backfired. Prison life on a cop was suicide, not something he’d stick around to experience.

  Thick snow fell around them and he caught the evil grin under her tight lips. As a little girl, she’d stayed in trouble, and he spent too much time getting her out of it or taking the punishment for her. Not this time. He was done.

  Greg left the cabin and walked around the backside of the chalet through the stables, entering the shanty from the left.

  Seeing Bethany through the window entering the great room he grinned. He hadn’t played with a woman’s mind in a long while. Let the party begin. “I’ll check in later,” he said jogging up the walk to the chalet. Pulling open the door, he shrugged off his coat, tossing it on the hook and making his way over to Bethany huddled over her boot tray under the bench. Long legs and a tight ass under her jeans, he could see Mikhail’s attraction. Too bad, he would have to off her. Pretty woman; he’d love to show her a world of new things in his cabin she’d never forget.

  “Hey, we got off on the wrong foot earlier, but I take my job seriously. I’ve seen things go wrong fast assuming people were innocent.” Tension around Bethany’s mouth eased. He had her. “I took a quick look around, checking out the guests and there’s a few I got my eye on, but most are no threat.”

  “And who do you see as a potential problem?” she asked sarcastically.

  “You think this is a joke, Ms. Cansler?” he accused, tired of her insipid disposition. “Most employers would have fired you, but Mr. Shamochernyi feels you’re innocent. Take it as a compliment.”

  Bethany looked back into the lobby then back to him.

  “You still want to hit the slopes or give me a lesson on employer etiquette?”

  She had a smart mouth, torturing her might be fun after all. Greg closed a hand over her ski boots in
the cubby. He sat on the leather bench, not giving her a chance to object, and tugged her down beside him.

  “Prison won’t be easy on a pretty woman. I’d watch my tone if I were you.”

  Her face relaxed. “Greg, no offense, but I’m not myself right now, so you’re getting me frustrated and upset. I feel like I’m being attacked, and I’m coming out fighting. And sadly, I’m taking my fear out on you.”

  He gave her a genuine smile, hoping it came through. “Most people wouldn’t own up to being afraid. You’re pretty brave, lady.” Leaning over, he scooped her legs up onto his lap and untied her shoes. “How are your ankles? I saw you rubbing them in the office?”

  “Ah, they're fine, thank you.” She watched him. “Thanks for helping with these crazy boots. I’m trying to shake the memories from earlier.”

  He wanted to touch her hair spilling around that long lean neck down over her shoulders. Damn the woman was hot. Shake it off. You have a job to do. “Stressful situations feel differently depending on which side of the gun you’re on.” He worked on the boots. “I see you and Mr. Shamochernyi patched things up in the bathroom,” or had he taken her against the wall or shoved her to her knees the way he wanted to the longer he stared at that bottom lip. That mouth around my… her voice broke off his thoughts not his hard on.

  “Some relationships deserve a second chance.”

  He went still. “Then you don’t need a guard.”

  “Yes I do. Mikhail can’t help his family run the winter games and be my partner at the same time, so you’re stuck keeping me out of trouble.”

  She adjusted the goggles on her head releasing a soft coconut scent coming off her hair. Visions of palm trees, white sand, and a string bikini barely holding back all the curves straining under that ski jacket had his cock rigid behind his zipper. He’d take his time with this one play with her some.

  “I think you and I will have a good week and who knows I may gain a new friend.”

  He caught Bethany’s attention trained on him untying the leather laces of her hiking boots. Might as well play the good guy role up to the sky. “As long as you can ski…,” he teased her.

  She laughed. “I can ski.”

  He set them under the bench and massaged one stocking foot before removing the other doing the same with the other boot. Holding the hard plastic boot, he secured it onto her foot, snapping the metal strap across her ankle continuing down to her feet before moving on to the next one. “These are good quality boots, Bethany,” he said, regarding her through long brown hair spilling around her face. “Smart choice, most new skiers go for flash instead of quality.” He paused taking a closer look at the …pretty woman. He might have a good time after all. “Tell me about Bethany,” he said patting her calf and helping her to her feet. Bethany pulled out a lip balm, swiping it across her lips, rubbing them together and Greg followed each stroke. He had to get a grip. “Only the real stuff works out here. So pretty, girlie lipstick won’t keep the wind from chaffing your skin.”

  She held the tube up in the air for him to see. “You need to get out more. There’s nothing pretty about petroleum jelly, and there’s nothing girlie about grease on your face and lips, but I haven’t found anything that protects my skin better,” she admitted. “It’s old school and it works.”

  “What’s old school?”

  “Old fashion or just from an earlier era. Something you did or heard as a child.”

  Greg gave her an approving nod. “A serious skier, good,” he said stepping into his boots beside hers on the tray. “Tell me about the woman I’m protecting. Any health issues I should be aware of. Asthma, Epilepsy…” She shot him a wide-eyed stare. “Alright,” he said checking her boots. “Tell me something personal. What do you sleep in? Pajamas or the nude?”

  She fumbled the cap from the lip balm. He caught it before it hit the floor and seconds before her jaw went slack. “Excuse me!”

  He released a wicked smile. “Now, my first question doesn’t seem so bad does it? Any health issues I should be aware of?”

  Tucking the tube into her breast pocket, she said, “None of your business on the second question and no Epipens or inhalers, needed on the first question.” She shook her head. “Not much else to tell. I come from an average American family. Mother and father.”

  “No siblings?”

  Chapter 10

  Bethany

  Why do people always ask that question when they ask about you? Can’t he just ask her what she weighed, that’s less painful, and she was happy to tell him? How much could she lie about what people can see, give or take ten pounds? A breath left her body on a groan.

  “My brother died when I was a little girl,” she confessed, and it banged around in her head like the liberty bell rung inside a cave. She hated hearing that word died. “No other siblings, so I’m by all visual accounts an only child,” she continued then changed the visual in her mind to the man before her. “Let’s go get our number for the contest and get in the race.”

  “Were you close to your brother?” he drew her in with that question.

  Robert’s face flashed before her. She stared at her hands. “…from the moment he was born. Can we talk about something else?”

  Outside, she tried to enjoy herself. Overnight the snow developed a frozen top layer to crunch under each step she took alongside Greg.

  “So, for them to believe you sent the threat there has to be something tense between you and Mikhail. Has he ever done anything to you?”

  “No. We didn’t get off on the best start. Tell me about yourself, Officer Greg. I’ve never had an officer or member of SWAT escort me anywhere. Am I that much of a threat?”

  The tilt of his head said he thought she’d said something funny. The first sign he was human. “I volunteered,” he offered from under the baseball cap. “This way I can watch you and get to know you.” His grin was a bit crooked or maybe it was his nose. How many people must he have put in the hospital in his line of work?

  They trudged up the hill to the lift where others stood waiting. Standing in line to get on a lift, Bethany watched him set her skis on the ground. Holding her foot, he snapped each boot down onto her skis before she situated herself on the lift. The deep grooves on either sides of his mouth added to the undercurrent of something secretive. Always studying her and ready to teach her with a patient hand. Had they met under different circumstances, she might have found him attractive after a few drinks.

  The swing swayed as he got in beside her. Pushing her goggles up, she caught a glimpse of Mikhail on the ground leaning against his truck in the far parking lot…staring at her.

  Pulling on her gloves, she focused on her partner speaking.

  “You’re not a white collar snob like I figured you’d be.”

  Talk about off the mark. “I have my prissy moments, I’ll admit, but a snob is too uptight even for me. I come from everyday people,” she said stunned by that observation.

  “I wouldn’t call you prissy,” Greg said, pushing his sleeve back to eye his watch. “A smart ass maybe, but not prissy,” he added.

  “I guess we can all be a little difficult when someone threatens your life.”

  “That I think you handled well.” He looked past her, gave a short shake of his head, and refocused on her face. “I think we make a good team. Paired up together for the games, we’ll kick some ass, and no one will know I’m your guard. It’ll draw out the stalker, trust me.”

  “If winning will stop this madness, we’re winning every event,” she replied, liking the idea of forgetting who he truly was and just having a good time.

  Pretend he’s not a cop and Mikhail was her boyfriend…Did the crazy ever stop?

  “We’ll kill the competition on the race and scavenger hunt tomorrow,” he gloated, a mischievous gleam in his eyes when he looked at her.

  She took a breath. “You sound sure of us as a team.”

  “I know these slopes having skied the area for years,” he assured he
r, his accent held authority and a hint of danger. It was rather sexy. Maybe this week wouldn’t be a bust after all.

  Meeting new people had always intrigued her, and he fit the bill. “Then you’re familiar with the Shamochernyi family outside of Mikhail getting the threat?”

  “I’ve never tossed one back with him, if that’s what you’re asking. They have good clean slopes. The air is perfect for jumps.” Greg ran a finger over her goggles, brushing the falling snow onto her nose. She hurried and wiped it off before he attempted to touch her again. “You jump?” he asked with a grin.

  She couldn’t help staring because all she could picture were those kids jumping off rooftops with their tongues hanging out and fingers turned up, the next thing they’d show was the boy clutching his crotch rolling on the ground crying for his mother.

  “Not my thing,” Bethany tensed behind his B-movie wicked smile. “I can pretty much do all the sports and ride the horses, but no jumping off cliffs or extreme tricks.”

  Greg said, “Good, I’m not looking to kill myself either, just have a good time.”

  When the swing stopped rocking their skis, they hit the snow and side by side, they eased down the slope. Bethany gave her poles five good pushes into the thick snow before tucking them beneath her arms and angling her body forward to try to catch up with Greg. The scenery went by in a blur as snow whipped past her goggles making her nose run. The sharp, cold air on her face, the brisk wind pressing at her jacket, and the familiar scent of pine all made for an exhilarating run down the slopes. When she caught up with Greg, she wouldn't be out performed. One solid push and Bethany was airborne. Greg’s green and blue jacket came into view as she caught up to him whooshing down the hill like a pro. Was she skiing with a professional skier? He was amazing on the long boards.

  Squatting low she followed Greg, flew over the small hill to land on her butt, and then roll down the incline to clip Greg’s legs. Hitting the ground on her back, Bethany yelped. Greg fell hard taking her with him until they smashed into the bales of straw at the bottom nearly ripping down the sign.