“The woman had magic hands, Ben. Almost as good as yours,” she says, stepping into the shoes I bought her.
“I’m glad.” Offering her my elbow, I say, “I had the chef prepare us a private dinner.”
With a pleased and curious smile, she takes it. “Are we going on a real date?”
“Absolutely.”
I lead her to a small room that faces the Crow Mountains. The south side if entirely made of glass, giving us a rather stunning view of their snow capped tops.
She gasps. “It’s like a winter wonderland.”
“I thought you might like it.”
There is a table for two placed near the wall of glass. I escort her over and pull out her chair. She sits, her head turning this way and that as she takes everything in.
“Your grandfather never took me in this room.”
I sit across from her, then signal the butler to start serving us. “It holds bittersweet memories for him.”
Her brows shoot up. “Oh? Can you tell me or is it a family secret?”
“This is where he and Grandmother were married.”
She lets out a dreamy sigh. “I hope it was snowing.”
“Russia in springtime is glorious, mllaya moyna.”
Taking a sip of champagne, she merely smiles.
“They didn’t have an easy time of it, Grandfather and Grandmother.” I run a finger across the rim of my glass. “She was a Rom. A gypsy. His parents were horrified he would stoop so low to marry someone so common.”
“They sound as awesome as my granny.”
“Her parents weren’t exactly approving of the match either.”
“So what happened?”
“The usual—they meet, fall in love, defy the odds, and live happily ever after… for a while anyway.”
“Did you ever meet her?”
“No, she died while giving birth a girl. The baby didn’t survive either.” I can only imagine how helpless Grandfather felt.
Her blue eyes turn sad. “I’m sorry.”
“He never fell in love again.” I laugh a little, but there is no joy in it. “Instead he devoted himself to his family, to making the Romanovs an empire worthy of respect.”
“That sounds lonely.”
“How so? He was surrounded by us, by those who loved him.”
“But you weren’t your Grandmother.” She takes a deep breath. “That’s the kind of love no one could replace.”
As our first course is served and Morgan becomes so full of life that my heart aches, I know that she is my irreplaceable love.
Chapter Twelve
Morgan
The next morning while Ben is with his cousins, I go to Dmitri’s office to speak with him. My new shoes make a satisfying click each time the heels connect with the marble floors.
When I get to his office, I knock on the door and wait.
“Come in Morgan.”
With a smile, I enter. Dmitri is wrapped in furs, seated directly in front of a fireplace. His feet are propped up on a stool while two ginormous dogs doze near him on either side. Their ears perk up and at least one eye opens on each, but they’re used to me now, and after that initial glance, they don’t bother to move.
“I wanted to ask a favor,” I say as I come to stand in front of him.
His smile falls slightly. “I will not let you leave.”
“Oh, I don’t want to leave.”
“This is good to hear.”
“I want to give Ben a present. Something that can help keep him safe.”
Dmitri leans forward slightly. “Tell me more.”
I show him my ring and explain why I’m wearing it. “I’d like to give him something similar, only… I’m not sure he’d want a ring. He’s not big on jewelry.” That stupid flash drive still hangs around his neck. The only time he takes it off is when we’re making love or in the shower.
“I think a ring is a fine idea.” He nods. “Peter can make it for you, put a tracker in the design.”
“Really? That would be… ah, yeah, this is where the favor would come in. I don’t really have much money and it’s not like I can go to an ATM to get some cash. So… I need to know how I can pay you back. I’m fully amenable to loans. My credit is stellar.”
He gives me a strange look and my face heats. Okay, so the lady who’s ID I stole has stellar credit, but I’m not about to admit that to him.
“You must promise me that you will marry Ben.”
Dmitri would pick the one thing that will never happen. “Loans aren’t a thing in Russia?”
“I won’t loan my future granddaughter money, but I will give it to you… in the form of a ring.”
“If I marry Ben.”
He shrugs. “I want more great-grandchildren.”
“You know he can have those for you, without me.”
“Then she can ask for the favor.” He closes his eyes and settles into his chair. The stubborn man means it, too.
That crafty old man would give my granny a run for the money. “Fiiiine. I’ll marry your grandson.” I cross my fingers as I make my promise. “As soon as this is over with and we’re all safe.” Now that I know what we’re dealing with, I want to help as much as possible while protecting Ben.
“And give me great-grandchildren.”
I raise a brow. “That’s pushing it.”
His eyes open. “Adoption is perfectly acceptable. I’m a huge fan myself.”
“You are?” I ask, scrunching my nose.
“I adopted Ben… and his brother, Roman.”
Color me shocked. “Do they know?”
“One day they will, when the time is right.” He gestures to the chair beside him. “Sit and talk with me for a while. It’s not often that this old man is in the company of a beautiful woman.”
Twisting my lips, I sit down beside him. One of his huge dogs gets up and puts his large head in my lap. I stroke his soft fur while the fire pops and crackles.
“Why didn’t their parents want them?” I finally ask.
“My son was selfish. Their mother… she had no other choice. Her family had no love for us.”
“Did you make her give them to you?”
He shakes his head. “I wouldn’t do that, but I did make her leave Koyla with me when it became clear her family wouldn’t let her care for him. Unfortunately, I didn’t find out about Benji until it was almost too late. He was barely five and was the size of a two year old when he came to live here. There were marks all over his body. It’s why his skin is free of tattoos.”
My skin begins to crawl. “That’s… I… horrible.”
“I bought him from his guardians. Then when he was older, I taught him how to kill them,” he says matter of factly. “The only way a man can confront his demons is head on.”
“No argument from me there.”
He regards me for so long that I start to squirm in my seat. It’s almost like he’s trying to read my mind… or already knows everything I have ever thought in my life. “My sources say that your upbringing was rather unpleasant.”
“That’s one way to describe it, but it was nowhere as bad as Ben’s.”
He tilts his head to one side. “You know, I thought that Ben needed someone like his sister-in-law, but I was wrong. He needs you, Thelma Sue Barnes.”
I cringe at the sound of my real name, then start to panic. “Who is this Thelma Sue—?”
He lifts an imposing brow
I cave faster than a rusted roof in a rainstorm. “How did you—never mind—unlimited resources is always the answer. Please, don’t tell him about my name, or the whole credit fraud and identity theft thing, okay?”
“Why? He won’t care,” Dmitri insists.
“I want to tell him myself… when the time is right.” I glance away from him. “Besides, I like Morgan Tanner better.”
“Who was she?”
“My third grade teacher. She died of breast cancer a few years ago. It was the only way I knew to get out of Georgia. It wa
s the only way I knew how to escape the mountains.” Tears fall on my face. “I didn’t want to end up like my momma—in love with the wrong man and then dead because she doesn’t leave when the leaving was good.”
Dmitri covers my hand with his. “You are a survivor, Morgan. There is no shame in that.”
As he fire pops and cracks, I keep holding his hand. The hand that has determined if so many were able to live or die. Honestly, that doesn’t bother me anymore, and if that makes me a bad person, then so be it.
*
Three days later, Ben stands in front of a large dresser while shaving his face with an old fashioned looking, yet wickedly sharp razor. He catches my eye in the mirror as I ogle him and winks.
I wink back.
“Keep that up and you’ll have to get right back in the shower.”
“I don’t know… I like smelling like you.” I sigh and hold my hands over my head to stretch. I’m wearing the prettiest, laciest lingerie I’ve ever seen in my life. Ben said he bought it from a store in town. I glance at the colorful pile of silk and lace on the chair by the window. Based on the amount of lingerie he bought, I’m pretty sure he cleaned them out.
“What’s on your mind, love?”
I bite my lip, hesitating to ruin the precious time I have left with him, but I can’t be selfish. The health of the world is at stake.
“We have to go back to where it all started in order for this end. Back to London.”
“You’re right, but you won’t be going—”
Nope. No way. Not happening. I jump to my feet and march right up to him, my anger growing with every step. “I’m going and that’s final.”
“If you’d let me finish, I would have told you that you’re not going without proper protection i.e. me.”
“Oh.”
He rinses his face before patting it dry, his muscular upper back and arms rippling with the movements. He turns, cupping my shoulders with his large hands, and kisses my forehead.
“You are safer beside me.”
“Not in Russia?”
His dimples appear with his smile.
My heart pinches in my chest.
Will this be the last time I get to see his smile, listen to him talk… feel his heart beat beneath my hand? I want to memorize his face, carve it so deep in my soul that nothing will ever erase him.
“Grandfather will be traveling to much warmer climates in the next few days. We can’t afford to wait that long, and I cannot allow him to charm you with talk of palaces and furs.”
“I’d rather have shoes. Speaking of accessories.” It’s now or never. “I need to get something out of my suitcase.
He gives me a questioning look, but lets go of me and I hurry to my suitcase that I placed in the corner of the room. I grab the small pouch that I hid in the front compartment. “Don’t take this at face value.”
“Did you buy me a present?”
Spinning around, I clutch the velvet material to my chest. “Kinda.” Taking a deep breath, I hold it out to him. “This is for you.”
He plucks it from my hand and upends it. A black ring falls out. “I’m not sure what to say.”
“It’s like the one you gave me. There’s a tracking device implanted it. The part that looks like a gold lightening strike, actually. Your grandfather helped me. He said one of your cousins, Igor or Ivan or—”
“Peter?”
“Yes! Peter made this for you, from me.”
“How exactly did you pay?” I can see the concern on his face. He’s actually worried that I owe his grandfather, which I do, but it’s something I can live with and it doesn’t have to be performed until I’m ready.
“With sex.” I wave my hand around. “I banged your entire family.”
His eyes narrow for a moment, then he slips the ring on his finger and tosses the pouch onto the dresser. “Then they know why I howl with pleasure every night.”
“Oh my gosh,” I say, giggling. “Please tell me you didn’t just romance novel me.”
“I did, and I’ll romance novel you again… when the time is right.”
“You like it?”
“It’s the best stalker present I’ve ever gotten.”
“I want to keep you safe. What if something happens to you and no one can find you? Poof. I’ll show up and save the day with my handy-dandy app.”
“Cheeky.” He dusts his thumb over my lips. “If not for that damned office wager, I doubt we would have ever gotten together.”
“Who cares? We’re together now.” I touch his ring. He’s put it on his left hand, as if we are married. I want to ask him why since there is no need for us to pretend anymore, but I’m too much of a coward. “I still think you would have saved me from the gunman.”
He lifts his chin. “You’re very certain.”
“I’m certain that you’re a good man.”
“To be fair, you don’t set the bar very high.”
I kiss his cheek. “Then don’t trip.”
*
Ben’s grandfather lends us a private jet to fly back to London. As planned Dmitry is with us and Maxim will be joining our trio after we disembark at Heathrow. Tansy will be on standby at PharmGen’s newest competitor, Romanov Pharmaceuticals. A company that Ben’s half-brother, Sebastian bought and renamed in the last twenty-four hours.
Amazing what a billionaire can make happen in so little time.
I sit next to Ben during the uneventful flight. Dmitry is on his other side, conversing with him in Russian, but I don’t mind.
If it’s important, Ben will tell me. I trust him to tell him.
Flexing my fingers I admire the fake wedding band I’m still wearing. Ben insisted on it and because I like pretty things, I agreed. And because I want him to be able to find me should anything ever happen.
The girlfriend of an assassin is always prepared.
“There is more,” Dmitry says, this time in English.
I slice my gaze to Ben, then back to Dmitry.
“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Ben says.
Dmitry lets out a heavy sigh. “I have been hired to bring Morgan to London.”
“You what?” I all but shriek, then look to Ben for explanation. Only his face is both pale and bright red.
“For what?” he says quietly.
“A trade.” Dmitry throws back another shot of vodka. “I asked questions. I was given answers.”
“The flash drive for me.” My heart sinks as Dmitry nods.
“Yes, but we could use Morgan to unmask the leader of Wraith.”
“We are not using her, and that’s final.”
Oh hell no. I want this over with. “Would I be safe if we do this?”
“There is always the chance of failure,” Dmitry says.
“But not this time,” Ben counters. “We will find another way.”
“There’s not enough time,” I point out. “You know I’m right. You also know that I can take care of myself… as long as I know what’s coming.”
Ben stands, moving to the other side of the cabin. “I can’t risk losing you.”
“The world is bigger than us. Billions depend on us to get this right.” I go to him.
Dmitry leaves to give us privacy.
“I allow you to die.”
“Oh believe me, I don’t want to die, but if this is our opportunity to cut that organization off at the head, before things get started… why wouldn’t we try?” I place my hand on his arm. “I’ve been marked for death since I signed for the package, Ben.”
Yes, it’s a bit dramatic, but I’m tired of running and flying and driving all over creation each time we learn something new.
“You will take a gun.”
Even as my heart soars, a ball of dread the size of Alaska forms in my stomach. “And I have my ring. I won’t take it off.”
He pulls me into his arms. “If you die, I will follow you, if only to tell you how bloody pissed I am.”
“Such a romantic man.”
“Dmitry,” Ben roars his name. “New plan.”
Dmitry joins us again, then begins speaking in Russian, but Ben cuts him off.
“No, she’s to hear it all.”
Of course I’m going to die—I’ve finally met a man who’d do the same for me.
*
The airport is a hub of activity when we land, but when we arrive at our private gate, there is only a lone car parked near it.
Ben kisses me softly. “Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
No. “Very.”
The pilot announces that we can leave the plane, so I stand, my knees shaking like a leaf all the while.
I can do this. I can do this.
“There’s Maxim,” Ben says to me as we disembark from the plane. “He’s here to take us to the lab. Tansy awaits us there. They’ve already geared up for mass production should it come to that.”
“Dmitry won’t be transporting us?” I glance at the blond man over my shoulder, then back at Ben. “Is that a good idea?”
“Maxim insists that we’ll have the cooperation in the highest places, should we agree to do things his way,” Dmitry says, but it’s clear to me and anyone else who can see his face that he’s not too happy about it.
“Whatever it takes, right?” I look at Ben.
He nods. “Absolutely.”
Maxim meets us halfway.
Like every other Romanov I’ve met, he looks like a freaking model in a suit and like every other Romanov—with the exception of Dmitry—he has short, black hair and pale blue eyes. His face is leaner than Ben’s, and he looks to be a little older. I’d say thirty-five at the most.
“Ms. Tanner,” he begins, “After I drop Benjamin off at—”
“She’s not to leave my side, until it’s time for Dmitry to take her from us,” Ben says.
“She’s not trained for this. The entire idea is an exercise in futility. We’ve been after the Wraith Organization for months now.”
“Perhaps, but before now, you didn’t have what they wanted,” Ben points out.
Maxim opens his mouth to argue, but I forestall him with a light touch on his arm. “I’ve been on the run for two weeks now. I’ve been shot at, shoved to the floor, and forced to travel to Russia. I think I can handle whatever is thrown at us.”
Hard Target Page 10
