by Kimber Chin
"Sergei won't be happy," she told Nikky's mom as she put on the clothes. Although the dress was long and loose, Duscha much taller than she was, the testosterone filled brutes outside shouldn't notice.
Mrs. Kaerta's smile was as determined. "My son will be happy and that is all that matters."
Nikky's mom zipped her up. "You two are meant to be together." She plopped the hat on Tatyana's head, tucking her hair up underneath, adjusting the veil. "Besides, my father-in-law's wedding wasn't exactly approved by the family, either."
Clandestine weddings were a family tradition on both sides. Her mom had done this.
Nikky's grandmother had done this. She could do this. Tatyana took Mrs. Kaerta's arm, grateful that she didn't have to do it alone. The two idiots at the door, her grandfather's security team, didn't give them a second glance as they left.
Tatyana and Nikky's mom wandered down the hallway, keeping up appearances, babbling nonsense and twittering like two drunken fools. They waited for the elevator, every second of inactivity fraying Tatyana's nerves until finally it came. Tatyana pressed two buttons.
Mrs. Kaerta would exit on the ground floor, in case the fools radioed down. Tatyana got off on the next floor, opting to take the stairs. Only one of Nikky's men guarded the base of the stairwell, nodding to her as she passed. She received another nod when exiting the casino.
She breathed a sigh of relief climbing into the waiting taxi, no Chan waiting for her this time.
"Any problems, Boss?" Boris asked. He hadn't approved of her doing this on her own, saying that Nikky would kill him if anything happened to her.
Nothing had happened. It was almost insulting how simple it all was. "No problems, Boris."
She took off the irritating hat. "You hear from Nikky?"
"No, Boss." Boris handed her the gun and holster. She strapped it on, hoping she wouldn't need it.
"If you don't marry her, Boss, I will." Pavel tapped the steering wheel.
"If Boris hasn't already done the deed," Fyodor contributed from the backseat. "Did you see his face when she jumped into his arms? I just about swallowed my tongue trying not to laugh."
"She's a good actress. Her grandfather's people ate it up." Pavel nodded. "I'm surprised it fooled Sergei, though. You'd think he'd know better."
"He does know better." Before they parted, Grandfather had gripped Nik's shoulder hard. It felt like good-bye. "We didn't fool him."
"Boss?" Pavel's eyes narrowed in speculation.
Nik knew the question his number one man asked. Why would Grandfather let him go? He had no answer. "We have to concentrate on tonight." Nik checked his guns again, his clips, his secondary guns. "The great-uncle is still out there." Stepan was not, his body had been discovered less than an hour ago, his backstabbing cousin finally double-crossing the wrong person. "And when Igroek finds her missing, he'll move quickly. I want the team positioned before she arrives."
"It's a bad location, Boss." Pavel frowned. "Many doors in and out. No security."
Nik suspected that was why the brat had chosen that hotel. She wanted to pass through without notice. "Cover all main entrances." The great-uncle, not being from Vegas, wouldn't know the building. He'd also be in a rush. "You sure she got out okay?"
"I'm sure, Boss."
"Good." Nik would feel better once the brat was by his side. Boris had better not fuck up.
"You have the passports?" They'd leave the country immediately; disappear into the jungles of South America.
"Yes, Boss."
"How long do you think...?" Fyodor asked.
How long did he think they'd be on the run? "We should plan on indefinitely." They may never come home. "If you or your men are having second thoughts, this is your last chance."
"No second thoughts, Boss." Fyodor shook his head.
"We follow you, Boss," Pavel confirmed.
That they'd follow him, a man with nothing, no wealth, no family, was humbling. "We'll rebuild," he vowed.
"As Sergei did, Boss."
A reminder that it had been done before. Except he was not his grandfather.
Fourteen
"Even well trained dogs will bite when cornered."ȄSergei Kaerta Someone watched them. Tatyana peered over her shoulder as they entered the hotel. There was a movement in the alleyway. She paused. A big man hid in the darkness.
She relaxed, recognizing him. Pavel. She gave Boris a relieved smile. They weren't alone.
Nikky's men must have been tracking their movements since they'd left the casino.
Nikky, himself, sat sprawled in the reception chair, waiting for her, his body languid yet no less lethal. "About time, Brat." He leapt to his feet.
"Sorry. I got distracted by a shiny object." She batted her eyes, leaning up against him. He was hard and warm and reassuring.
"You're a terror." Nikky chuckled, covering her mouth. They kissed as though they'd been apart for months, not hours, his embrace tight and desperate. "We should get going."
Before Igroek discovered her missing. Before he sent men to kill them, to kill Nikky. They were on the run. As her parents had been. It was the only life Tatyana had ever known but Nikky, he was giving up everything. Almost everything. "I need to do a pick up." What little she had, she'd give him. They would rebuild.
"No time and no need." Nikky fanned out passports. "All taken care of."
Passports. Of course, they had to leave the country. They had too many people looking for them. "Give me two minutes," she whispered against his neck. He smelled delicious. "Two minutes for three million dollars." She smiled as his eyes widened. "Told you I have my own money, ass." She danced away from him.
"Language, Brat." He followed her to reception.
"We charge by the hour and by the day. Which do you want?" The bleary-eyed employee asked. He reeked of whiskey, stale cigarettes, and vomit.
"A package was left here for Cleopatra." She slid a folded 100 dollar bill across the counter.
"I'm Cleopatra."
"Sure you are, honey." He tucked the money into his pocket. "I'll get it. It's in the back."
She knew exactly where it was. She'd placed it there herself. Tatyana propped her elbows up on the counter to wait.
"Cleopatra?" Nikky's amused voice tickled her ear.
He was leaving everything and everyone for her yet he sounded happy. She loved him so much. "I like drama."
"I'm not sur..." Fabric brushed against fabric behind him. Nik spun around, drawing his gun.
Shit. Too late. He stared into the muzzle of a gun.
"You're fast, Kaerta." Tatyana's great-uncle grinned grimly.
"Not fast enough." Nik shifted so his body completely covered Tatyana. In his peripheral view, he saw Boris. The great-uncle would only get one shot off before the bodyguard downed him. Tatyana would be safe.
They squared off, both guns raised. "Life is circular, did you know that?"
"No." If the great-uncle compared him to his grandfather, Nik vowed he'd be the first to pull the trigger.
"This hotel was the locale of my first kill. By the doorway over there." Nik was no green recruit. He didn't look as the great-uncle wanted him to. "I stalked that man for weeks."
Nik's bad luck. How Tatyana's relative entered without being spotted. "Downed him with a single shot. It was perfect."
War stories, Nik hated them. "I plan to put three bullets in you." At least. One for Tatyana's mom, one for her dad, and one for Ivan.
"Now here I am again, about to kill you, my brother's ex-fiancee's grandson. She was a faithless whore, your grandmother." The great-uncle tried to draw an emotional reaction.
That wouldn't work, either. "It took nothing at all to convince her to leave my brother."
Gunfire, originating outside the hotel, echoed. The great-uncle hadn't arrived alone. "You convinced her to leave your brother. You betrayed him, your own family." Nik kept the man talking. If Pavel were here to back Boris up, he'd be assured of her safety. Two men protecting Tatyana aft
er he died.
"I was his brother." The great-uncle's voice sharpened. "I was family. I should have been his partner, not your grandfather."
Strength partnered with strength, honor with honor. "So, you got rid of both your brother's fiancee and his partner with one betrayal."
"It should have been perfect. Another man would have killed my brother for what he said.
But no, not your grandfather. He ran away to the opposite end of the country. As you're trying to run away right now." The old man's hand shook slightly, the pose wearing on even Nik. "I can't allow that to happen, Kaerta." More gunfire, all around them. How many men did the great-uncle bring? "I'm going to put a bullet between your eyes."
Tatyana gasped. "Be still, Brat." Nik didn't want her taking action. The great-uncle would shoot her without hesitation. "You killed Tatyana's parents yourself, didn't you?" And he took pleasure in it, the assassin's job to retrieve, not eliminate.
"I was his brother, his brother! He didn't appreciate me. He didn't appreciate his family so I took them away from him; his wife, his daughter, his son-in-law, and now his granddaughter. And he did nothing, absolutely nothing to protect them."
"An error, brother," a voice murmured to Nik's right. "Let me rectify that." The great-uncle's gun veered. Nik pulled the trigger. Three shots rang out. Blood and mess splattered against the wall. The great-uncle collapsed.
Igroek and Nik's grandfather studied the fallen man, guns in their hands, no expression on their aged faces.
"Didn't know about the wife." Grandfather slid his gun in his holster. "Thought it was natural causes."
"We all thought that. Bastard." Igroek spat toward the body. "I failed to protect her, all of them. But..." He faced them. Nik didn't like his expression. "I won't fail again."
Shit. Now there were two. This was going from bad to worse. "Don't take another step." Nik swung his gun. He could only shoot one of them. He decided on the crazy gnome as Tatyana called him.
Igroek paused. Grandfather continued walking, his gun remained in the holster.
"He said, don't." Tatyana stepped out from behind him, her gun drawn. "I want Igroek," she told him.
"Fine. I'll shoot Grandfather." Shit. He hoped it wouldn't come to that. They shifted targets.
Igroek lowered his gun. Grandfather stopped, his eyes dancing as though he thought this was funny.
"A .22? What's she trying to do, Kaerta? Insult me?" Igroek laughed. "Granddaughter, put the lady gun away before you break a nail."
Tatyana gave him a rough time about being a male chauvinistic pig. "A .22 between the eyes will do some damage," Nik cautioned. If Igroek sparked the brat's temper, all hell would break loose.
"She has a very good aim." Pavel finally arrived, looking frantic and disheveled.
"Amazingly so," Boris agreed. "A natural, like she was born to it."
"She's an Igroek." Igroek straightened with pride.
"I'm a Kaerta," Tatyana corrected. "Nikky and I are getting married."
"Over my dead body," Igroek blustered.
"If that's the way you want it, I'll be happy to accommodate you." Her jaw tightened.
"Nikky?"
Fuck. She'd do it, too. "On your word, Brat." Nik glared at Grandfather, pissed that he'd force it to come to this. Him shooting his own grandfather.
Grandfather's grin faded. About fuckin' time he realized they were serious. "Igroek, shut the hell up. One more dumbass comment from you and our grandchildren are going to off us."
"They wouldn't dare." Igroek's mouth worked silently.
"I'll speak slowly so you understand. Nikolay's my heir because he's the best. He takes what he wants. He wants Tatyana. Your sweet little granddaughter has evaded professional killers since birth. When I first met her, she was covered from head to toe in blood. I guarantee. They would."
"They could try." Igroek looked from Nik to Tatyana then back again. "I won't let them marry, Kaerta. She's my only grandchild."
And Nik wouldn't settle for anything other than marriage to Tatyana. This was going nowhere. "Brat?"
He was sincere. Tatyana studied Nikky's determined face. He would kill his grandfather, his mentor, if she gave him the word. That's how much he loved her. "Would you allow us to marry?"
"No," the crazy gnome replied.
"You, shut the fuck up." She already knew his answer, Igroek expressing it time and time again. "I'm talking to Grandfather."
"Language, Brat," Nikky cautioned. They were debating whether or not to blow away their grandfathers and he was concerned about profanities.
"I'm yourȄ"
"Shut up, Igroek," Nikky's grandfather snapped. "You can marry with my blessing. I'd even stand up with you if you still want me to."
She did. "And you won't hunt us down?" They'd be free?
"There'd be no need. Marry after midnight and Nikolay is reinstated as my heir. You can return to the family."
Because he had concluded his no wedding ultimatum with 'today', sneaky bastard. "I don't want to wait until midnight," she pushed.
"It is less than three hours away. You'll need to fix your hair."
Her hair? She frowned. She touched a tendril. It was rock hard. She did want to look her best and if they married three hours from now, Nikky would return to being his grandfather's heir. He wouldn't have to give up anything. "You give us your word?"
"No need for that, Brat." Nikky's relief told her she made the right decision. "If Grandfather says that's what will happen, that's what will happen. I trust him."
"Glad to hear that," his grandfather grumbled.
Tatyana smiled. "Then he can live." Nikky's gun swung to Igroek. "I didn't really want to kill you, you know," she assured his grandfather. "It's just that I love Nikky very, very much."
"What did I say, Kaerta?" Igroek crowed. "They wouldn't have done it."
"You, however." Tatyana turned her entire attention to Igroek. "I really do want to kill. It crushed my mom that you didn't approve of Dad. He was a good man. And you allowed your own brother to kill them."
Igroek flinched. "I didn't allowȄ"
"Shut up." She didn't want to hear it. His excuses would make killing him all the harder.
Tatyana chewed on her bottom lip. "No talking from you. I can't believe a word you say. You killed your brother. You disowned my mother. You're capable of anything." But to kill him.
Her own grandfather. Did she have a choice? "What do you think I should do, Nikky?"
"Your call, Brat. I'll support whatever decision you make."
"I can't make a decision. I'm too close to this." She winced. This could affect her entire life and she wasn't thinking clearly. She was exhausted, physically and emotionally.
"Grandfather, Nikky and I trust your opinion. You know Igroek. You were partners once.
Should I kill him?"
Igroek groaned.
"Scared, Igroek?" Nikky's grandfather chuckled. "You should be. One word and your empire is in my hands. I'd have control of the entire country." The old man was enjoying himself.
"Nikolay, in situations like this, what do we do?"
"We examine the different outcomes and how it will affect the family," Nikky recited.
Nikky's grandfather searched his inside jacket pocket. "If we shoot Igroek now, his empire will have no clear heir. He assured that by killing his brother." He took out a cigar. "They'll be weak, distracted with infighting. I've been waiting for an opportunity like that. We'd strike fast and take their territory." He speared the air with his cigar. "Then, many decades from now if fate is kind, you and Nikolay inherit the combined empires."
"Nikky?" Tatyana didn't care about combined empires. She cared about Nikky.
"It's a good solution, Brat." He shrugged. "And we wouldn't have to worry about your family sending people after you. You'd be safe."
"But is it the best solution?" Nikky's grandfather lit his cigar. "If we convince Igroek to support your marriage and let him live, Tatyana will be his heir. Nikola
y, you are my heir.
Eventually, the two of you will inherit the combined empires."
"Same results." But they wouldn't have to kill her grandfather. She preferred less killing.
There'd been enough death today. She glanced at her great-uncle's crumpled body then at the blood on Pavel's shoes. Too much.
"Not entirely. There'd be no war to weaken the empires." Smoke swirled around them, partially covering up the smell of blood.
"That's good." War meant death. No war meant no death.
"But," Nikky's grandfather paused dramatically. "Igroek would have an influence over both you and Nikolay."
The crazy gnome's eyes lit up. Tatyana glared at him. "I don't like that."
"No." Nikky's grandfather's lips twitched. "I don't either."
"And what if he double-crosses us? Tries to kill Nikky?" The thought alarmed Tatyana.
Igroek couldn't be trusted. He disowned her mother. He killed his brother. "No, I say we kill him."
"You can't kill everyone who might double-cross you, Granddaughter." Nikky's grandfather puffed on his cigar. "That possibility is always there. I could betray you, Boris, Chan, who knows." He shrugged.
"Chan?" Igroek choked.
"The man we spoke to at the church, the one with all the guns," Nikky's grandfather explained. "He was obsessed with your granddaughter even before he knew who she was."
"He isn't obsessed." Tatyana squirmed. That word was a little strong. Interested, perhaps.
"He kidnapped you twice, Brat," Nikky reminded her.
"Those were misunderstandings."
"One more misunderstanding and you'll have to kill him," Nikky's grandfather told her fiance. "Now that he knows who Tatyana is, he won't let her go."
"I'm aware of that." She didn't like the way Nikky readily agreed.
"You will not kill him." Chan killed his wife. He might hurt Nikky. "And he will let me go. He said I was only fair game until I got pregnant. After that, he'd leave me alone."
"Really?" All three of them stared at her.
Her face heated. "I'm still fair game," she clarified. "I think." She wasn't sure. It was too early to tell.
"Then I've got some work to do." Nikky grinned, the arrogant ass. "In the interest of keeping you safe."
