by Bella Rose
She whipped around, her blond hair loose. She pushed a few stray strands away from her face. That was when he noticed her expression.
“What are you doing here?” she snarled at him. “Haven’t you done enough already?”
“Emily, please.” Ivan tried to reach out, but she pulled away before he could touch her. “Let me explain.”
“I think I’ve got it.” Emily shook her head. “I cannot believe I was so gullible! I was so in love with you for so long that I didn’t even see what was right in front of my face.”
Ivan looked at Samantha, intending to enlist her help in explaining the situation to Emily. Surprisingly, his long-time friend did not look as though she were very pleased with him. “Samantha?” he asked quietly. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Were you ever going to tell her the truth? Or were you just going to let her believe that her brother’s idiotic bookkeeping skills were responsible for his situation?” Samantha pointed at Ivan. “If Emily hadn’t been here when it happened, she would have never had anything but your word to go on! Admit it,” Samantha said hotly. “You were planning to create your own little story about how you tried to keep this from happening but couldn’t. So then you’d spend a few weeks pretending to try and get Sergei released without actually trying to do anything.”
“No,” Ivan said quickly. Maybe too quickly.
“Ivan,” Emily said softly. “I trusted you. I was nothing but honest with you. I loved you. And yet you lied to me from the moment you came back into my life.”
“Emily, no.” He shook his head, adamant that she understand. “I never lied. There were things I wasn’t exactly forthcoming about, but I hadn’t decided yet.” He ran his fingers restlessly through his hair. “And then Yuri came up with that bullshit about someone with my lineage never being more than a moneymaker for men like your brother. It just…I realized then that it would never matter. To them I would always be less.”
“And so you schemed to just have them all removed so you could step into their positions,” Emily said bitterly. “And believe me. I know Samantha pressured you about that. I can only imagine, but this was the choice that you made. And I just don’t think I can handle that.”
Ivan opened his mouth, but no words came out. Emily turned and walked away. She was moving slowly toward a black car idling at the curb. Ivan turned to Samantha. “Where’s she going?”
“I told her that one of my men would take her to a hotel. That seemed the best solution.”
“Hotel?”
“We’re still processing this house for evidence,” Samantha explained. “The poor girl doesn’t have her own place. It’s not like she has much of a choice in any of this.”
“She should have had a choice,” Ivan muttered. “We all took away her choices a long time ago.”
Samantha slapped him on the shoulder. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“You’re not going to like it,” he began slowly.
The sky was just beginning to lighten. Ivan thought about last night and how Emily had bravely shown him exactly what she wanted and how she felt without any reservations. He had never been brave. Not like that. Now, though, he was going to at least do the right thing.
Samantha sighed. “I’m going to have to arrest you for obstruction of justice, aren’t I?”
“Yes,” he mused. “Because I’ll give evidence against just about everyone. But I’m not saying a damn thing about Sergei Volkov.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Samantha muttered.
Ivan offered her his hands, knowing she was going to cuff him. “I’m finally doing the right thing.”
Epilogue
Six months later
“Ms. Volkov?” Tessa poked her head into Emily’s office. “There’s a woman here to see you. She has an FBI badge.”
“Does she?” Emily murmured, trying to ignore the cramping in her stomach. “I suppose you’d better show her in.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tessa said politely before closing the door and disappearing into the reception area of Emily’s office suite.
Emily had been actively avoiding everything to do with the indictments of the Russian mafia members in the city. She didn’t want to hear news. She didn’t want to hear testimony. Instead, she had closeted herself here at Volkov Real Estate and focused on keeping the legal side of the business up and running. The rest of it could go to hell for all she cared.
“Hello, Emily.” Samantha Bristo strode into Emily’s office with a warm smile on her pretty face. “Long time, no see.”
“Has it?” Emily offered what she hoped was a pleasant smile. “I’ve been so busy that I haven’t been paying attention.”
“I know.” Samantha plopped down in a chair in front of Emily’s desk. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Excuse me?”
“He’ll never come out and tell you what he’s done, and I can’t expect Sergei to do it since it might make him look weak.” Samantha seemed to be justifying something in her head, though Emily was at a complete loss as to what was going on.
“I’m sorry,” Emily murmured. “Whom are you talking about?”
“Ivan Dedov, of course.”
Emily frowned. “I don’t want to hear about Ivan.”
“Really?” Samantha frowned. “Because you really need to hear what I have to say.”
“Why?”
“Because he put his ass on the line to save your brother, that’s why.” Samantha actually seemed to be chastising Emily. “If you had any notion of what that man has done to try and make things right with you, you would think he was insane.”
“I already think he’s insane,” Emily retorted.
“The night I arrested your brother, we also arrested Yuri Gregorevich, and your brother’s fellow made men. The warrants were served on the basis of information given to us about the organization by Ivan Dedov.”
“I knew that part,” Emily said flatly. She crossed her arms over her chest and wished Samantha would go away.
“Yes, but what you didn’t know is that Ivan retracted his decision to give testimony against your brother that night. In fact, Ivan has been in jail for most of the last six months awaiting the DA’s decision on whether or not they were going to cut him a deal.”
“And my brother?”
“Has been filling in for Yuri Gregorevich.” It was Samantha’s turn to show a little attitude. “Believe me, he’s been taking full advantage of Yuri’s absence and his competition being out of the way.”
“Wait.” Emily felt as though she might actually faint. “Are you telling me that my brother hasn’t been in jail for six months?”
“Nope. He’s living in Yuri’s home with Yuri’s sons as his underlings.” Samantha sounded bitter. “I’ll be honest with you, Emily. If I have my way, I’m going to nail your brother to the wall.”
“Only if I don’t get there first,” Emily snarled.
***
Emily banged on Yuri Gregorevich’s front door so hard that her fist began to throb. Finally the heavy wood was thrown open and Emily found herself face to face with her brother.
“You arrogant ass,” Emily said angrily. “You let me think you were in jail!”
“You could have found that out for yourself if you hadn’t been so determined to avoid the problem,” Sergei drawled. “And I would invite you in, but I’m sort of afraid you might be intending to stab me.”
“I’ve thought about it.” Emily put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “And you might have said something if you hadn’t wanted to play mafia drug lord.”
“Look, Emily.” Sergei scratched the back of his head. “This is my opportunity to make something of myself.”
“Why is it that you think the only way to be good enough is to be successful at breaking the law?” Emily wanted to kick him. It was so stupid!
“It’s what Papa would have wanted,” Sergei said quietly. “He always dreamed of me following in his footsteps.”
&nbs
p; “And yet you really aren’t.” Emily gestured to the house. “This is Yuri’s place. He’s in jail and the only reason you’re not is because a man that you despise decided to stick up for you.”
Sergei pursed his lips together. “So I was wrong about Ivan. That doesn’t change the fact that he’ll always be an orphaned bastard.”
“And you being a Volkov doesn’t change the fact that Samantha Bristo is going to be waiting for you to mess up at every single turn.” Emily shook her head. “Honestly, big brother. I don’t envy you a bit. The minute you put a toe out of line, she’ll be all over you. And we both know that you’ve been depending on everyone else to carry off your mistakes for the last decade or so.”
“Maybe that’s why I have to do this for myself,” Sergei suggested. “And maybe that’s why I know the real-estate business is going to be in better hands with you.”
“Then I wish you the best,” Emily said sadly. “But I’m warning you now. Don’t come running to me when you mess up and need someone to pull you out of the fire.”
Sergei smiled. It was completely incongruent with everything else going on.
“What?” Emily demanded.
“You’ve changed, little Emily.” Sergei gave a nod. “I’ve never seen you like this.”
“Like what?” Now she was getting annoyed.
Sergei reached out quite suddenly and pulled her into a hug. “So ready, willing, and capable of taking charge of your own life.”
The action flustered Emily. She pulled away and straightened her suit jacket. “Well I couldn’t just let you flush my life down the toilet with yours, now could I?”
“No,” he agreed. “And you’re going to be just fine.”
***
Ivan paced back and forth in front of Emily’s office door. Every few minutes her assistant would glance up and give him a strange look. He was probably an oddity compared to all of the usual people who came to see Emily Volkov.
“Sir,” the assistant said nervously, “you can sit.”
Ivan barely spared her a glance. “Thank you, but no.”
“You’re making me really nervous.” The woman’s throat moved as she swallowed. “Are you sure Ms. Volkov knows you?”
Ivan was getting mildly irritated. “Yes. I’m sure.”
“Because I can call security to escort you out if you’re here to cause trouble,” she informed him.
Ivan snorted. He did not scare her any worse by mentioning that her useless security personnel would never be able to evict him from the premises without his say-so.
“Ivan Dedov.” Emily’s familiar voice drifted down the hallway. “Are you here making trouble for my personal assistant?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Volkov,” the other woman said quickly. “He just sort of camped out in here. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Tessa, calm down,” Emily said soothingly. “It’s fine. Ivan is an old friend. We’ll be in my office. Please hold my calls until further notice, all right?”
Ivan tried not to look threatening, but Tessa appeared ready to dial 9-1-1 anyway. He sighed and followed Emily into her office. She shut the door and then walked directly to the bank of windows overlooking the city street below.
“Do I really look that scary?” he asked, trying to break the ice.
She half turned, but he could see a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Actually, you do look sort of rough. No more custom suits, I see. You look like a mercenary.”
He glanced down at his dark cargos and black T-shirt. “I suppose that’s a bit ironic since I’m no longer doing any of that type of business.”
“Really?” She sounded truly surprised.
“Have you paid any attention to the news?”
“No. I’ve been actively avoiding it and now find that I was remiss in doing that.” Emily’s sigh frustrated him. It sounded as though she were giving up and that wasn’t like her.
“Emily.” He walked forward, wanting so badly to pull her into his arms. “I’m sorry that I hurt you.”
“Are you?”
“Yes, dammit!” He couldn’t help but raise his voice. “I was confused and angry. Honestly, I acted like a little kid still mad that he didn’t get to play in the big sandbox.”
That brought on a real smile. “Yes. You did.”
“But I want to make things better.”
“Why wait until now?”
“Because Samantha told me to get my ass over here,” he admitted. “I was waiting—I don’t even know for what—and I kept thinking that I could change myself and my ways and make myself good enough for you.”
“You were always good enough.” She faced him and he saw that there were tears running down her cheeks. “I loved you, Ivan. I always did. I may not have been great at saying that, or even at taking a stand when it came to wanting to see you, but my heart belonged to you and you stomped on it.”
“I did, and I’m an ass.” He sighed. Finally he could take no more. He pulled her into his arms and was grateful that she didn’t pull away. “I had the most important thing in life and I didn’t even know what to do with it. I was so prepared for you to be like your brother, or to think you were above me. I didn’t know what to do when you were everything good and gracious and so much more.”
“So now what?” she whispered.
Ivan threaded his fingers through her hair until the pins holding her bun in place fell out and her hair tumbled around her shoulders. He sucked in a breath at the beauty of her. Gently touching her face, he traced the beloved features that had been in his mind for so long.
“Ivan.” His name sounded heavenly on her lips. “Kiss me, please?”
He lowered his mouth to hers and carefully did just that. The chemistry that always existed between them sizzled and sparked. Soon she was flinging her arms around his neck and twisting her fingers in the hair at his nape. She pressed her body flush against his and he held her as close as he dared while he continued to make love to her with his mouth.
She pulled back gently, her breathing ragged. “This is what I want.”
“Then this is what I’ll give you,” he promised.
“No more lies, Ivan.” Her gaze was steady. “I want to know that the man I love isn’t double-dealing, or working out some scheme to gain revenge on a rival. You’re enough just as you are. More than enough, I think.”
“Only for you,” he told her honestly. “And I don’t care about anything else.”
“So would you give it up forever?” She cupped his face in her palms and ran her thumbs over his lower lip. “The mafia, I mean?”
He laughed. “I already did.”
“You did?”
“I had to. If I step out of line even once, Samantha will drag me back in whether she wants to or not. Let’s just say I made her boss very, very angry.” Ivan thought about the narrow road he had to travel from now on. “I’m okay with this, though. I want this life.”
“It isn’t like you’re giving up business altogether,” she reminded him. “You forget that I’ve seen your books. Your arcades make an incredible revenue without the stuff on the side.”
“So you’re okay with me just being…well me, I guess.”
“Ivan Dedov, I’ve always been okay with you.” Emily’s smile warmed the far corners of his heart and soul.
Ivan swallowed. He had faced down a legion’s worth of thugs in his lifetime, but he had never been this anxious. “So if I asked you to marry me, what would you say?”
Her eyes widened. “I would say yes!” She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed tight. “I would say absolutely, positively yes. Yes. Yes!”
“Just checking,” he teased.
Emily swatted his arm. “Ivan, sometimes you are just bad!”
“So will you marry me?” He nuzzled her neck. “I want to make sure I don’t screw this up again before I finally manage to get it right.”
“Yes, Ivan,” Emily said solemnly. “I would be proud to marry you and call you mine for goo
d.”
He kissed her once again, wishing they were anywhere but her office so he could show her exactly what she had to look forward to for the next fifty or so years. If someone had told him when he was scraping his way through the foster system that he would be marrying a woman like Emily, he would have thought they were out of their minds. Now, though, he was beginning to see that Emily had always been meant for him. They were two halves and now they would be one.
THE END
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Russian Mobster’s Blackmailed Bride
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Russian Mobster’s Blackmailed Bride
By: Bella Rose
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2016 Bella Rose
Chapter One
Trisha threw her hands up into the air and shouted with excitement as the little white ball tripped and bounced along the roulette wheel. Around her, the new friends she’d made in her study abroad program were drunk on cheap liquor and the freedom of being out of the dormitory. The ball finally settled into a red slot, and the dealer called it. Trisha grabbed her friend Minka’s arm, and the two girls did a little victory dance.
“We won!” Trisha was practically screaming to be heard over cheers and moans from the other people at the table.
The casino in Moscow was everything Trisha could have wanted for an adventure. The high ceilings were covered in ornate carvings coated in gold leaf. Rich draperies hung from ceiling to floor. The floors themselves were marble shot with pretty pink quartz. And there were sexy Russian dealers at every single table. The place was a college student’s dream.
Minka nudged Trisha’s shoulder. “That man over there. He’s looking at you. Did you notice?”
It took Trisha’s pleasure-soaked brain an extra second to translate her new friend’s words from Russian to English. Then she hazarded a look in the direction Minka was staring.
