by Ivy Iverson
Yes, he had committed crimes and got his money from illegal tendencies. But he also gave to battered women's shelters and did what he could to steer troubled children to honest lifestyles. She had always done her best to show both sides of criminals but Valov Tonov was by far the biggest criminal she had ever written about.
Usually she wrote about local drug dealers who had recently been arrested or mentally unstable people who had snapped after struggling so long with inadequate treatment and killing people. But even though the Tonov triplets made a lot of their money through the drug trade, Valov was many ranks above the street dealers. He was also of sound mind, as far as she could tell. She doubted someone with as much dignity as he had would actually do a psych evaluation, especially if it didn't go in his favor.
Who was she kidding? She had what she needed. He had practically admitted to crimes, even if it wasn't officially on the record. She also had the humanizing side to him as well, in spades. Maybe it was because he had saved her life, or maybe it was because he had trusted her enough to talk to his brother in English in front of her. She hoped it wasn't just because she found him incredibly sexy and fascinating.
But something was stopping her from writing her article. She couldn't even think about typing the first word without feeling nauseous. She looked at her calendar. There were three days until the charity football game. That was a long time to hold off on the article. Not that there weren't plenty of other articles she could write. After all, there wasn't any shortage of crime in the Bangor area, not to mention the filler articles, or any human-interest pieces, which she and her other colleagues drew straws on now since budget cuts got rid of their human-interest writer.
She still wasn't sure if she was going to the game because she didn't have enough information, or because she was procrastinating on her article and she wanted to see Valov again. She shook her head. She shouldn't see Valov again. Sexy or not, he was dangerous. There was no doubt about that. And the last thing she wanted was to put herself in danger.
She looked at the clock, her eyes widening when she realized it was almost six in the morning. There went all of her sleep time. She'd have to drink extra strong coffee to stay awake that day. She got out of bed and opened the door to her kitchen, which made up a strong twenty-five percent of her singlewide trailer she had bought with a loan from the bank when she had graduated college five years ago. She had almost given it up when she had been dating Greg. She had more or less been living at his house towards the end of their relationship and Greg had been pressuring her to move in fully. But she knew it wasn't going to work out between them, even before he had started dropping hints about her quitting her job.
Her phone rang when she turned on the coffee maker. “Hello?” she said, her voice sounding hoarse and groggy. She cleared it quickly and then realized the person on the other end was already speaking. “I'm sorry, what was that?” she asked.
“How much sleep did you get last night?” Chloe asked. “Wait-- are you at Valov's right now?”
“Of course not. Believe it or not, I have some professional integrity.” Although not much.
“Then what's with you? Did you even hear a word I was saying?”
“Nope. I'm sorry. I didn't get any sleep at all last night.”
“Thoughts too full of Valov Tonov?” Chloe asked. “Was he as dreamy as he seems?”
Rae poured herself a bowl of cereal and realized she put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard. Cursing herself, she quickly reversed it. “Even more,” she said. “You have no idea. And I'm pretty sure my unbiased view has been compromised completely.”
“That means you can't write the article, right?”
“Yes. No. I don't know.” She sighed. “The thing is, the last person who passed up a story this big got laid off, because he was obviously expendable since he couldn't handle a big story anyway. And if I'm biased, then how can I tell my unbiased point of view has been compromised? What if my story was biased to begin with and then it got fairer? Or... I don't know. He's a criminal, but--”
“Wait, he actually admitted to illegal activity?” Chloe said. “I thought he was really careful about that.”
Silently cursing, Rae covered her face with her free hand. “Chloe, please don't ever tell anyone that. He told me that off the record, I couldn’t even print it. I really shouldn't have said that.”
“Relax,” Chloe said. “Anything you say is safe with me. What are you going to do about the article?”
“I'm going to get more information before writing it,” Rae said. “I just need some more time. There's a charity football game that he's sponsoring this weekend and he's invited me to go with him.”
“He's sponsoring a football game for charity?” Chloe asked.
“Yeah. It's a league for at-risk youths in Maine.”
“That is the sexiest thing I've ever heard.”
Rae smiled wryly. “Just keep reminding yourself that he's a murderer and a thief. God knows I have to.”
“He seems to like you pretty well,” Chloe said. “I'm not even going to worry about you spending time with him.”
“Chloe, you worried when I visited a black market lord who was in a full-body cast.”
“Yeah, well, he had friends. And I'll try not to worry.”
“I appreciate it,” Rae smiled and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Anyway, why did you call so early in the morning?”
“Oh, I just had a pretty exciting night of my own,” Chloe said. “I met a very hot guy at Nocturnem last night, and things just happened and...”
“No way,” Rae said. “How was it?”
“He's definitely no slouch, if that's what you're asking,” she said. “But he's a bit of a douche in person. I doubt anything will come of it.”
“It's about time you got back out there,” Rae said. “I can't even remember the last time you went home with someone.”
“Look who's talking,” she retorted. “Anyway, I have to go. I have to get to work before I am fired myself. Bye.”
“Bye, Chloe. I'll talk to you later and let's get together sometime soon, okay?”
“Definitely. If you can pull yourself away from your Russian bad boy.”
“And if you can pull yourself away from your douche-who's-no-slouch.”
Chloe laughed and said bye one more time before hanging up. Rae smiled as she sipped her coffee, happy for her friend.
But her thoughts went to Valov once again and her smile faded. He definitely wasn't her Russian bad boy. And if she didn't put her angst-riddle feelings aside long enough to write an article about him, then she wouldn't even have a job by the end of the month.
Chapter Six
Putting Rae out of his mind was one of the hardest things for Valov to do when he went to his apartment. Positioned above the bridal boutique near The Hyde, his apartment was a slice of luxury with panoramic views over the city. It was a good location for him, and since he paid his landlord twice the asking price, there were never any problems with noise complaints or the shady characters that usually came with his type of business.
Valov knew the only reason Nikolay hadn't gone down to The Hyde himself was because he’d heard there was a reporter and Nikolay was even more suspicious than Valov was. Not that Valov could blame him. Nikolay hadn't had a good experience with female reporters in the past.
In his living room, a girl was sleeping on the couch. She couldn't have been more than twenty, even though Valov never knew her real age. All he knew was that she was legally an adult. Her name was Sierra. He was paying for her college education and in exchange, she kept an eye on the activities at the Diamond Gentlemen's Club. She was the reason Nikolay had called him.
As she turned over in her sleep, he could see the dark bruises on her face and arms. She had gone home with a client and he had beaten her up when she asked for her payment. Valov had taken care of that, though. If someone was working for him, she was under his protection. The client was now in the hospit
al, and would probably stay there for a week. If he contacted Sierra again, then he'd end up in the morgue.
Nikolay was at the kitchen table with the newspaper and a cup of green tea, looking like the epitome of east coast elite with a cable-knit sweater, khaki pants, and neatly combed hair. It was hard to believe that he had grown up in the same filthy house Valov had, working any odd job he could to bring enough money home to satisfy his father, and maybe even a little extra for a full stomach that night. His brother smiled at him and jerked his head in the direction of the coffeemaker. Valov nodded and poured himself a cup of coffee since it was definitely too early in the morning for Scotch.
“How is Sierra doing?” Nikolay asked.
“She's still sleeping. But the swelling has definitely gone down.” She was also safe. He'd make sure of that. He shook his head. “It was stupid of her to take him home before telling me first. I thought she had more sense than that.”
“I can't say I blame her for wanting some extra money,” Nikolay said. “She's ambitious, Val.”
“Ambition will see her dead if she doesn't grow some common sense,” he growled. Prostitution was something he still did not feel right about. As it was, he would never make anyone sell their bodies, no matter how much they owed him. He might as well rape them himself. But he wasn't going to stop someone from trying to pay back his or her debt faster. He preferred running background checks on any potential clients, though, to keep something like this from happening.
“You're not making her go back to work, are you?” Nikolay asked.
“I'm not her boss,” Valov said. “I don't own Diamonds, remember? I merely got her the job. If they tell her that she needs to work tonight, then she needs to work tonight. She has the funds to buy cover-up makeup, so she won't look any worse for wear.” He looked back in the living room where Sierra was just starting to stir. Many people thought she was beautiful, judging by the amount of tips she could bring in but Valov didn’t see it. Her body was too stick-like and delicate. Even her blonde hair was completely flat and straight. He liked strong bodies, with lots of curves to hold. If he was going to go to bed with someone, he didn't want to be worried about breaking her in the middle of sex. I'd never have to worry about breaking Rae...
He downed the rest of his coffee, wishing he had gone for the Scotch. The last thing he needed was to be thinking about that sexy reporter again. She still had power over him, and she could still destroy him; he had to make sure that she never knew that. But he got so hard every time he thought about her.
“Have you heard from Dmitri lately?” Nikolay asked, interrupting his thoughts about Rae. “I keep trying to get in touch with him, but he never responds. Last I heard, he was in Washington.”
“Which one?” Valov asked. “The state, the city, or the town?”
Nik's eyes widened. “You mean there's more than one? My god, America gets a new president every four years; they should at least use the names of them since they don't get much other use from them.”
Valov smirked. “You live in this country now, Nik. I suggest you learn the geography if you ever want to get a citizenship here. And I talked to Dmitri two days ago. Well, as much as I ever talk to him.”
Dmitri was the most taciturn of the brothers. He had been ever since they were children, but Valov still wasn't sure why. He was the last to leave Russia, only moving to America after their father had died two years ago. All he knew about Dmitri's operations was that he had far fewer scruples than Valov and Nikolay, which was a constant concern for Valov. He was sure his brother was starting to take after their father a little too much.
“Sierra, why don't you join us for breakfast, sweetheart?” Nikolay said, smiling at the young woman who was now sitting up. “You must be starving.”
Sierra looked at Valov uncertainly. He nodded his assent, and smiled at her. She smiled back hesitantly and took a bagel from a bag of baked goods Nikolay had picked up at a local store that morning.
Valov ate his breakfast while listening quietly to Sierra and Nikolay chat about different things. Even though she was generally an outgoing person, Valov couldn't get her to say more than two words to him. Even though he had treated her the best he could, she seemed to recognize the danger in him, and stayed as far away as possible, which was fine with Valov. It was much easier if he wasn't emotionally attached to those he worked with. But despite his best efforts, he doubted he would ever be emotionally unattached to Rae.
Chapter Seven
Rae looked at her shelf full of lotions and thought about which one she should choose. She only had a dry skin problem in the winter, but she liked the glowing effect it had on her skin during the summer months.
Now that she had a brand new bottle of Pure Seduction Scented Lotion in her hand, she wasn't sure if she was making a big mistake. Did she really want to wear a lotion called Pure Seduction when she was going to something as a professional reporter? She had enough trouble staying calm around Valov Tonov as it was. But if she wore unscented lotion, then she was definitely acting strange and trying too hard to be professional. After all, she only wore that lotion when she was going to her grandparents. She groaned before putting Pure Seduction back.
She closed her eyes. If she chose one at random, then it wasn't a deliberate decision, and it had nothing to do with the fact that she was meeting Valov at the local high school football stadium later that morning. With her eyes still closed, she reached out and grabbed the first bottle she touched. She opened her eyes. Sex on the Beach. Hell¸ no. Rae groaned. Why did she have to have so much provocative lotion? She tossed the bottle aside and grabbed a jar of lilac-scented body butter. There. Nice. Common. Casual. Perfect. And the fourth big dilemma of the day was done.
Rae didn't even want to think about how ridiculous it was that it was taking her so long to get ready for a stupid football game. Just because she couldn’t get Valov out of her thoughts. She needed to remind herself he was also a murderer and she was writing an article about him. Not to mention that she needed her integrity intact if she was ever going to have any respect for herself, and she didn't have a good history with men who made an honest living, so she shouldn't get involved in one who was more morally loose. And aside from his innuendos to distract her, Valov hadn't shown the slightest bit of interest in her as a woman!
Get a fucking grip. You're acting like a teenager. Rationally she knew that but no matter how many times she told herself that, she couldn't stop acting like one. She got ready as fast as she could, even though that was still longer than usual. Then she drove out of the trailer park where she lived, and to Cameron Stadium, only to find it more or less empty. Except for Valov, who stood there in front of her, silently. She swallowed but her mouth was dry. Why the hell hadn't she checked to see if there really was a game? She was such an idiot! And now he had her alone in an empty parking lot after he had admitted to her that he was a criminal.
Rae took a couple of deep breaths. Valov was a murderer but he was smart, too. It was broad daylight and in the middle of the city. There was no way in hell that he was going to kill her now. Besides, he never got his hands dirty. She got out of the car and gave Valov a shaky smile. He smiled back at her, looking a little too pleased with himself. “I was not totally honest with you, Rae,” he said, walking toward her. “The game does not start until an hour from now.” He produced a flyer and handed it to her.
It was an advertisement for the game, which indeed started an hour later than Valov told her. She realized she had seen those flyers all over town, but she had never looked at them closely enough. She let out a nervous laugh. “Oh,” she said. “You wanted to meet me earlier. Of course.”
“I have an offer to make for you,” Valov said. “How about we have coffee -- strictly professional. I will answer any questions you may have if you answer an equal amount of mine.”
“Can I veto any?” Rae asked.
“No,” said Valov. “Absolutely not. But I cannot veto any of yours.”
She hesitated. There were several questions that she definitely didn't want him asking her. But him not having the power to veto... that was too good to pass up. “Deal,” she said. “I know a good place for coffee. We'll also have privacy there.”
He smiled. “Then lead the way.”
Rae drove them to Java Joe's, a small coffee shop that adjoined a bookstore. Rae got a vanilla chai latte and Valov got black coffee. They went to the used books section that was directly upstairs from the coffee shop and sat down at a small wooden table with two matching chairs. Aside from the music playing in the background, and the sounds from the employees, there was silence.
Valov sipped his coffee. “What happened with Greg?” he asked casually.
Rae nearly choked on her drink. “How do you know about Greg?” she asked.
“I'll answer after you answer,” he said, raising one eyebrow. He was so sexy when he did that.
Rae swallowed and took another sip of her latte to calm herself. “Greg and I were serious,” she said finally. “At least he thought we were. We had been dating for a while, but there was never any real commitment. Greg wanted that commitment and I wasn't willing to give it, so we split. Now answer my question.”
“I Googled you,” he said. “Why weren't you willing to give the commitment?”
“I didn't want to quit my job,” Rae said. “Greg wanted me to become a housewife. His housewife. Everything I did amounted to nothing in his eyes, so we were not compatible and we shouldn't have dated as long as we did. Why did you agree to this meeting, Mr. Tonov? You don't like the press, after all.”
“But I like you,” he said softly, so soft that Rae wasn't sure she was meant to hear it. “And formalities do not suit me. Call me Val if you wish for me to keep my sanity. I agreed to this because you fascinate me, Rae.”
She bit her lip. That had to have been the most vulnerable moment she had ever seen him, and he had admitted to actually having feelings for her. At least, feelings of some sort. It took Rae a couple of seconds to recover enough from that news to realize that he was still waiting for her response. She cleared her throat. “Your turn to ask a question,” she said quietly, taking a sip to hide her face.
