by Lea Hart
Glancing over at the closed bedroom door, she hitched her shoulder. “Three of my family members are sitting on the couch. That doesn’t make you the slightest bit nervous?”
Shrugging, he gave her a smile. “It would’ve been better to meet them with my pants on, but no, I’m not nervous. No reason to be.”
She watched him stand and adjust his pants. “I’m going out to enjoy some of those donuts they brought. Those maple caramel bacon pecan ones are my favorite. Maybe one is in the box.” He kissed her head and then sauntered out of the room.
“Must be nice,” she muttered to herself. How could his only concern be about what kind of donuts her mama brought? Since she had left for college, she had never brought a man home to meet her parents. Never included one in the parties or family gatherings because she never had anyone she wanted to keep around.
As far as she could tell, this was a momentous occasion, and everyone was acting like it was just a regular thing. Show up at Stazi’s door and be greeted by a man…no big deal. After taking the towel off her head, she rubbed the ends of her hair and decided she would not get herself all tangled up in worry.
There were a lot of things going on in her life right now and she simply didn’t have the headspace to add one more thing. By all accounts, Hank was fine and so was her mama. Why borrow trouble when plenty was waiting?
Standing, she decided to get dressed quickly and get on with it. After all, it was her birthday and she’d barely begun celebrating.
***
Hank leaned against his chair as the plates were cleared. He hoped there wasn’t another course because he was full. The meal had started out with Ukrainian borscht and then moved on to a beet salad, followed by potato pancakes served with salmon caviar and sour cream and finally the main course. He’d chosen the beef stroganoff and it was delicious.
The conversation at the table had been lively and mostly in Russian. Stazi had translated for him when she wasn’t speaking with someone, and then her younger sisters, Zhanna and Irina, took over. The fact that Stazi had held his hand during most of the meal and introduced him to everyone as her boyfriend satisfied a need he hadn’t been totally aware of. His desire to claim her and mark her as his wasn’t anything he’d ever experienced and the fact that she’d done it willingly made him amazingly happy. Not that she had much of a choice, considering how her mother had found them this morning.
The moment he opened the door and saw the three smiling women, he knew Stazi wasn’t going to pretend they were not a couple. Even though she was a modern American woman, she still had something old-fashioned deep in her soul. Which totally worked in his favor, because the only acceptable reason for him to be half-naked in her apartment was if they were in a serious relationship.
“Hank, I’m going to go to the ladies’ room. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” Standing, he pulled out her chair and waited until she walked away to sit back down.
Alina, Stazi’s mother, leaned toward him with a smile, and he hoped that he’d passed all the tests she’d laid out earlier. “Thank you for including me in the celebration,” he said as she patted his hand.
“Our pleasure. I’m so happy to see that Stazi is finally dating a real man and not one of those suffering artists that she usually goes for.” Shaking her head, she grimaced. “For such a beautiful, smart woman, she sure has picked some real turkeys.”
Covering a laugh with his hand, he wondered what Stazi would think of her mother’s frank appraisal of her dating life. In the short time they’d known one another, they had not touched on their dating history, and he was happy to leave it that way. The less he knew, the fewer men he had to hunt down. “We might appear to be an unlikely match but I think our differences are going to be our strength.”
Alina studied him and then nodded. “My husband and I are polar opposites and we decided early on not to try to change one another. I’m a pragmatist and Alexi is an idealist. I see what is and my husband sees what could be. Somehow, we’ve made it work because we accept the differences.”
“The same thing could probably be said about my parents. They are about to celebrate their fortieth wedding anniversary and my mom always says it was my father’s patience that kept them together.”
“Usually, it’s the other way around,” Alina responded.
“Maybe. My father is a pediatrician and the kindest, most relaxed man you’ll ever meet. My mom, on the other hand, is a typical type A personality. She’s a cardiovascular surgeon and an absolute perfectionist. Which works out for her patients, but can be a little hard to live with.”
“So, are you more like your father or like your mother?”
Stazi’s father approached and sat next to his wife. “Are you grilling this poor boy?”
“Alexi, it’s my job to ask questions.”
Shrugging dramatically, Alexi gave Hank a sympathetic smile. “Son, let me refill your glass, it’s the only way to survive my wife’s questions.”
Hank watched his glass being filled and then lifted it and Alexi offered a toast.
“Будем здоровы!”
Alina gave him a smile. “It means ‘to our health’.”
“Thank you, sir.” Hank drained his glass, set it down, and prayed he could keep up with Stazi’s father.
Before another shot could be poured, a waiter approached and asked Alexi a question. “Excuse me, they want me to tell them what music we want played after dinner.”
Hank nodded and then turned to Alina. “To answer your earlier question, I have a little of both. Attending the Naval Academy honed all my perfectionist tendencies, but being in the Navy and in combat allowed the other side of my personality to emerge. There are times that require absolute perfection and then when the shit hits the fan, you have to able to improvise and let things go.”
“I think you and my daughter may have more in common than I first realized.” Patting his arm, she gave him a smile. “It also doesn’t hurt that she looks at you like you hung the moon.” A waiter approached and she excused herself.
Holy hell, he sure hoped she wasn’t exaggerating. Stazi returned and he stood, pulling out her chair. When she was settled, he rested his arm on her shoulder. “Having fun?”
“Yes. What about you?”
Hank looked around and nodded. “I am.”
“What were you and Mama talking about?”
Leaning back, he studied her and then laughed. “Not much. Just your deepest, darkest secrets.”
She patted his chest and smiled. “Well, good. Now I won’t have to.”
A waiter walked out of the back holding a birthday cake, and Hank kissed her forehead. “Happy birthday.”
Stazi ran her fingers over the puzzle ring that hung on the necklace he’d given her earlier and smiled. “I love this.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t too much.” When he’d scrambled to find a present yesterday, he’d come across the puzzle ring and decided it was perfect. The three intertwined bands represented faith, hope, and love. He’d found one at a jeweler not far from his condo. They engraved it with their names and on the third band, the date they met.
“It’s perfect.”
Before he could say more, the cake was being lit up and the table all turned toward Stazi in preparation to sing, “Happy Birthday.” Once the song began, he silently prayed that this was the first of many celebrations they shared.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Wednesday, June 7
Hank sat in his office and pored over the information that they’d been collecting on Firtash. Lucky had been summarizing the intel every evening since he and Stazi had been in the house, and Sam was coming in any minute to update him on what the FBI had.
When Lucky had been called to San Francisco last Friday, he’d worried that they were going to lose momentum, but of course, that hadn’t been the case. She would never let that happen, even if it wasn’t her best friend under threat. Whatever Ryder had going on in the San Francisco SAI office w
as big and Lucky felt her physical presence was needed, so she’d been handling the dissemination of incoming intel remotely.
A knock on his door pulled his attention away from the reports and he looked up to see Jason striding in. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to let you know that I just met with Sam’s informant and she’s a pistol.” He collapsed into a chair and ran his hand over his neck. “Fucking beautiful for sure, but a damn pistol.”
Hank leaned back, studied his partner, and wondered what kind of woman would rile his buddy up. In all the years they’d spent downrange, he’d never seen Jason lose his cool. They could be surrounded by Tangos and Jason would do nothing more than smile. He was a man who loved putting his skill set up against anyone else’s just to prove he could come out victorious. Which usually happened.
So, the fact his friend’s foot was bouncing told him that the woman they were discussing was a lot more than a pistol. Might be interesting to see how Jason handled it. “What’s your plan to make sure the Outfit doesn’t get their hands on her?”
“Right now, she’s agreed to go down to my house in Shelbyville and hang low until we come up with a long-term plan. I’m going to drive her down on Saturday and get her settled and then be back in the office by Monday.”
“How’s she going to do in a small town? There can’t be more than three thousand people in Shelbyville.”
Jason let out a laugh. “Closer to five thousand.”
“She like fishing?”
“Doubt it, but she may decide to try it at the lake.”
“Well, I’d say good luck but it seems you’re going to need a lot more than that.”
“Unfortunately, I may agree with you.” Jason locked his hands behind his head. “Anything else I need to be aware of before you leave for Rome on Friday?”
“No. You’ve been read in on all the active cases and you know all our clients. I’ll be gone for ten days, so hopefully, nothing too crazy will happen while I’m away.”
“You haven’t had any time off since you opened the office. This little vacay is past due. Go relax and romance your girl.”
“That’s the plan. I’m not expecting the Bratva to follow us over, but if they do, I’ll be ready.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less.”
“I see you boys are putting the world right,” Kaye commented as she bustled into the office.
Hank looked at the woman who ran SAI with an iron fist and gave her a wink. “It’s what we do.”
Kaye set a folder on Hank’s desk and then gave him a disapproving look. “I made all the arrangements for Rome. I hope you know what you’re doing because Anastasia may not like it when she discovers you’ve changed everything.”
“I just want her to be happy,” he replied.
Kaye shook her head as she walked out. “Don’t know if that’s how she’s going to see it.”
Jason lifted an eyebrow. “What did you do?”
“I upgraded our flight and changed our accommodations. We’re staying at a beautiful hotel instead of a pensione that she had booked. I want to treat her to something romantic.”
“Not that I’m an expert at women, but I’d say you have a fifty-fifty chance of totally pissing her off.” Standing, he crossed his arms. “Girls don’t like to be left out of arrangements.”
“Stazi is going to love it,” he replied with more confidence than he actually felt. Maybe he should’ve mentioned his ideas to her before making final arrangements. Oh well, it was done now and he was sure when she saw the hotel they were staying at she would be happy.
Sam walked in as Jason walked out, and Hank motioned to a chair. “Come in and tell me what you’ve got.”
Sam lifted his arm and pulled up the sleeve of his suit. “It’s five-thirty. I thought you were a civilized human being and would offer me a drink.”
Hank stood and let out a laugh. “I’m nothing but civilized.” He walked over to the bar he had set up in the corner and poured them both a scotch. Once Sam had his drink, Hank settled into his chair and crossed his leg over his knee. “Is this why you always suggest we meet in my office?”
Sam took a slug of his drink and grinned. “Absolutely. The government doesn’t believe in stocking alcohol in the Federal Bureau of Investigation office.”
Hank lifted his drink in salute. “Which is another good reason to join the private sector.”
Sam offered a wry smile and kept his mouth shut. “I’ve got some new intel I want you to have before you take off for Italy.”
“Is this guy as bad as we think?” Hank asked.
“Maybe worse. Right now, we’re looking at him for money laundering and bribery. Not to mention his ties to organized crime.”
“Lucky came up with a similar laundry list from…sources that she uncovered.”
Sam looked at Hank over the rim of his glass and smirked. “I’m drinking scotch in your office. This meeting is definitely off the record. I know there are few people in the world who possess the set of skills that Lucky has and I have no illusion that she’s not availing herself of all the information available about Dmitry.”
“Spain wants him for bribery and conspiracy. Apparently, he was very enthusiastic about facilitating a titanium project.”
“Yeah, when it comes down to it, more than one country is going to be fighting for a chance to extradite him. Even the Russians are motivated because of his interest in the multibillion-dollar company he controls that trades the gas between Ukraine and Russia.”
“So, how did my girlfriend catch this guy’s eye?” Hank asked.
Sam threw back his head and let out a laugh. “Are you two Facebook-official already?”
“I have no idea what you just asked, but know that Stazi is mine and I will stop at nothing to make sure she is safe and happy.”
Sam held up his hands and grinned. “Understood. To answer your question, we have no idea. As far as we can tell, it’s Belikov’s men who are following her. Now, does that mean it’s Sergey who’s interested or is it Firtash who asked for it? We haven’t picked up anything on the audio devices that you planted in the house to let us know either way. What we have determined is that we have a third player and his name is Anton Vazov. The images that you were able to capture last week let us know that Firtash is playing not only with the Chicago arm of the Bratva but also the one based in Brussels. Anton runs the show there and is heavily into money laundering and human trafficking.”
“What the fuck?” Hank growled.
We have three major players with very different business interests hanging out and making plans. We don’t know who has the most power and who needs what from whom. Once we get more intel, we can start to unravel this mess and see why any of them are interested in Stazi.”
“Lucky has been digging up everything there is to know on Firtash and said something the other day about how much Stazi resembled Dmitry’s first wife. What if it’s nothing more complicated than him being obsessed with Stazi?”
“It’s never that simple,” Sam replied resolutely.
Hank couldn’t argue a strong case either way, so he kept his mouth shut. Bottom line, they still didn’t have enough to make a move, so he was going to continue to keep Stazi by his side. Or underneath, or on top. Hell yeah, he definitely liked watching her ride him to her peak.
Clearing his throat, he let the picture quickly dissipate. Not appropriate thoughts to be having when Sam was sitting across from his desk.
His phone buzzed and he picked it up. Stazi had texted him that she was done for the day and ready to be picked up whenever he was ready. He stood and gathered his things. “Got to go.”
“That must’ve been Stazi. Nothing else would have you moving that fast.” Sam drained his drink and took his glass over to the bar. “I’ll let you know if anything significant develops.”
“Thanks, man. I’m looking forward to my first holiday in about fourteen years. I never did much when I was on the Teams and I haven’t had a chance sin
ce I opened the office, so ten days with Stazi is damn enticing.”
Sam let out a laugh. “If you were going to Arizona in the middle of summer, you would probably say the same thing. I think you’re excited about the company and not the destination.”
Hank shoved his tablet and files into his bag and shrugged. “True. Doesn’t mean that I’m not going to let Rome help me romance my woman. I don’t have much experience in this area, so I need all the help I can get. If I can’t get her to fall for me in Italy, then I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Have a feeling she’s more than halfway there,” Sam replied as they walked out of the office.
Hank hoped like hell that was true because he was already there.
***
“Just tell me what I did,” Hank said as he pulled out of the parking structure.
Staring out the window, Stazi tried to get her temper under control before she responded. The last thing she wanted to do was get into a fight before they left on their trip, but she didn’t know how to avoid it. He’d totally rearranged the trip she had painstakingly planned over six months ago, and she was pissed. He not only booked new flights but also chose a new hotel. Turning around, she carefully folded her hands in her lap and tried to adopt a reasonable tone. “I received the new itinerary from Kaye before I left today and I was surprised to see that you completely changed everything.”
“The calm tone you’re using is scaring the hell out of me.”
“I’m working really hard not to lose my temper and tell you that you can’t join me.” Smoothing out her skirt, she took several deep breaths. “I was looking forward to going back to the Locanda del Sole. I stayed there when I first went to Rome and I have so many sweet memories.”
“I thought you would like the Hotel de Russie. It’s supposed to be very romantic. I read that Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau stayed there at one time, and they have a secret garden.”
