Chapter 30
RORI
Who knew three really good orgasms would clear your mind so much?
I mean, I’ve had some great ones in the past, but these are next level.
My mind feels clear for the first time in a while.
Maybe that’s why I was able to successfully avoid Alonzo when we got back to the house and I went to grab a shower.
He tried to insist he’d join me, but a quick call out from one of his men distracted him enough I slipped away to my room and put Hades outside to guard the door.
Now, Hades and I have broken into Ilya’s office once more, sweeping and searching for bugs, and finding a few in a few inconspicuous spots. I’ve already destroyed them and left them on Ilya’s desk. His men are slacking on his privacy and protection.
The room is quiet, as is the rest of the house, considering the late hour, just like I want it. I’m stiff and deliciously sore from that encounter, but it does nothing to stop me from looking at the blueprints again.
And I finally see it. The smallest change, but I check the dates on the blueprints.
They were submitted to the city for permits five years ago, and while I know that not everything is on it, the majority of the first floor has always been the same.
Except for one small addition. A small room at the back of the house that wasn’t there before.
To most, it would look like a closet or something that was added but I know better.
Timur never adds anything to his home without a reason.
That room is important for something. I search my memories, trying to recall what was in that space before.
I close my eyes, picturing the hallways lined with expensive art and tacky decorations his wife insisted were modern and essential way back when.
Being rich doesn’t account for taste, that’s abundantly clear.
I picture the space, and my eyes pop open as I grab a pen and the notepad Ilya left on the table earlier. I start to draw, my memory still a bit fuzzy, but it’s enough that I can do a rough sketch. When I’m done, my gaze jumps between the drawing and blueprints, seeing the subtle differences.
It’s not a new room, it’s an expansion of the old one.
There used to be a room there, but it was a utility closet for the staff to use.
I opened it once and found two of the staff members having a mid-shift tryst. They had stared at me in horror, but I had simply smiled, winked, and closed the door.
The staff even then knew that I wasn’t someone to go running to Timur, Mishka or anyone else about what they got up to when they were on their own.
I’m still surprised they managed to accomplish that in such a small space.
So why did Timur expand it? He definitely wouldn’t have done it to make their lives easier. A selfless man, Timur Belov is not. So why? What is it hiding?
I purse my lips, moving to the second floor plans, but nothing sticks out.
They left the second floor alone, though that doesn’t surprise me.
The upper floor is for guests and where Timur’s main suite is.
His wife died not long after I left, and while I can’t say it was at his hands, I wouldn’t be surprised.
He tolerated her while fucking any woman he wanted, and she turned a blind eye, content to spend his money and play housewife.
Then there’s the basement. The plans show an unfinished basement, other than a utility room that houses the pool pumps and the house’s heating systems. But I know that’s a farce.
No one leaves a basement that large empty. Especially a Bratva boss like Timur. The basement houses the torture chambers, as I always called them, along with a few spaces where spare weapons are stored in case of an attack. I never got to explore it all, but there’s more to it.
Mishka only took me down there twice, and that was at the summons of Timur. There had been a man hanging there—a thief, Timur said—who dared to take over a million dollars from him. Mishka was ordered to get information from him, and since I was the product of my father, I was to assist.
A pang strikes my chest, remembering the way Mishka tried to convince my father to leave me out. That it was possible I was pregnant, and he didn’t want me to overexert myself.
A lie, considering that after our wedding night, he never touched me again.
We kept up appearances, but my young husband was not in love with me, and I wasn’t with him.
Still, it was enough of a lie to have his father relent.
To keep up appearances, I offered suggestions that Mishka used, and his father was pleased with the result when the man admitted he had taken the money and where he had stashed it.
His death wasn’t swift or merciful, but it was his own fault for thinking Timur would never find out. Even when Simeon eventually joined us, the worst of it was over, and Simeon had been perfectly happy to stand to the side and let his brother do his dirty work.
A thought occurs to me. Wait, if anyone would know about that room, it’s Simeon. But can I trust him? Will he alert Timur?
My fingers drum on the table. Damn it, this entire situation is a fucking pain in the ass.
The door to the office swings open, and Ilya storms in. His gaze finds me almost immediately, and his expression darkens. Zakhar isn’t far behind him, his own expression much the same. Both of them stare at me, before Zakhar shuts and locks the door.
Does he really think that’s going to stop me if I want to get the hell out of here?
Instead of engaging, I say, “I found an anomaly with the blueprints you have. There’s a room that used to be a utility closet for the staff, but it was enlarged. I need to know what that room is now.”
“A utility closet?” Zakhar repeats, confused. “Why the fuck would that matter? The staff probably complained so they made it bigger.”
“You really think Timur enlarged a closet for his staff? And that’s why he sent it through to the city when doing renovations on the kitchens and dining areas? It’s all the way at the back of the house.” Do I need to spell it out for them?
They share a look, but neither of them looks convinced. I roll my eyes. “Simeon can tell me what it is. So do I go and speak to him in his room, or do one of you get someone to bring his ass down here?”
“All this over a closet?” Ilya gripes. But he nods at Zakhar who pulls out his phone. That done, he pins me with a hard stare. “My niece is off-limits.” It’s a warning and a threat.
I don’t rise to the bait. “And I told you that I don’t touch kids. Ever. I don’t kill them, I don’t hurt them, and I certainly don’t involve them in a war they are innocent of. You, however, have grown complacent, Romanov, and that’s something you’ll need to rectify as soon as possible.”
He bristles, stepping toward me, fists clenched at his sides. Even Zakhar looks like he wants to punish me for daring to say such a thing.
“Someone was able to get into that school to get to her, and she was able to get out without a call from the school,” I remind them casually, leaning back in my chair.
They stop, but their glares don’t lessen.
“You might call and yell at them, but you and I both know that it’s a breach that you can’t allow.
Whoever it was that took her, your daughter felt safe with them.
Someone who even you aren’t pleased with got within feet of her.
Where was her guard? Because you surely wouldn’t be stupid enough not to send a guard to keep an eye on her. ”
I can tell my statement hits the mark when both of them stiffen. I narrow my eyes at them.
“Well, I suggest you get to work on that as soon as you can. Seeing that she’s smart, you’ll have to be clever on who it is. She’ll spot them and lose them within a day. Remember, Romanov, no one is out of reach, and anyone out to get to you, will go through her.”
“They already tried and never lived to see it become a success.” His words are dark, a threat even a deaf man could hear.
“And are you going to kill this friend of hers? Have you found them?” His lips thin, and Zakhar’s hands flex.
Of course, Tatiana wouldn’t allow herself to be seen.
Whoever she was pretending to be, it’s someone that Mila knows.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so. I’m not going to hurt her or use her in any way.
However, she’s here now, which means she’s in danger. How many guards have you put on her?”
“Four, and Freya will stay with her,” Zakhar answers. “She’s pissed too.”
“She’s a teenage girl who has a bunch of overprotective men in her life.
I doubt she’s going to thank you for that until she’s married with children of her own.
Is Freya trained to attack if needed?” They both nod.
“Then that will have to work. If you have any other dogs around, station them outside her wing and window. Anywhere that someone might try to get in, have them there as a barrier. At least until this is over.”
Both of them stare at me. “You really think that someone is going to try and attack us?”
“They’ve already tried to get in, or are already inside and waiting to strike.
” It’s blunt, and has both of them looking murderous, but it needs to be said.
“Have your men work in double shifts, everyone crosses over each other every couple minutes. Make it nearly impossible for them to sneak out of wherever they might be hiding if they are here.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because it’s what my father taught us to do.
I doubt he’s changed up his methods much since I left, since they work so well.
Not to stress you out more, but it’s also fully possible that he’s infiltrated your soldiers already and has been getting the lay of the land, as they say.
” I can see that they never considered such a thing possible.
“Before you go questioning your soldiers, consider that saying anything now would force them to act if they are here. So now is the time for caution and being smart.”
“And could you spot them if you saw them?” Ilya asks carefully.
“No. I don’t know who the new recruits are, and my father was excellent at teaching his students to blend in.
They’ll have studied their target, and now they can walk, talk, and act like them.
They’ll know their sayings, the little details of their life that they can find, so it won’t arouse suspicion.
” I look at Zakhar. “Do you trust the men with your daughter implicitly?”
His face pales. “I have.” He looks at Ilya desperately. “Wouldn’t Freya know it wasn’t them if they were pretending?”
“Perhaps, but if he’s managed to get close to her and gain her trust, she won’t see him as a threat.” I feel obligated to point out.
“Fuck.”
Ilya calms him with a hand on his shoulder, but I can feel the tension rolling off him. “And what do you suggest we do?”
He’s not going to like it, but it’s the best suggestion. “Have Oleg introduce Freya to Alonzo and his men. They’ll protect her. They are the only five people in this house that we know aren’t part of whatever shit storm this is.”
“You expect me to let Italians protect my daughter?” Zakhar demands, his voice rising.
“Do you want your daughter safe?” I demand. “They will protect her with their lives. Alonzo will see to it. Until you are one hundred percent certain, do you want to take the chance?”
Zakhar opens his mouth to argue, but quickly closes it when my words penetrate. “Fuck.” He spins on his heel, phone already to his ear.
Ilya turns to look back at me. “If you are trying to fuck me over…”
“Yes, yes, I know, you’re going to kill me.
Believe it or not, Romanov, I want her safe.
She’s innocent in this. The rest of it, you want me to help take them down, and I’m going to do my best. Until then, I need to talk to Simeon to figure out what the hell has been happening in Timur’s home since I left. I can’t leave anything to chance.”
He slowly nods. His eyes move to my neck, and I don’t bother to feel embarrassed at the hickeys covering my neck. I got a good look at Alonzo, and he’s sporting a few of his own. “An Italian? Really? You’d think someone like you wouldn’t bother sleeping down the chain.”
I give him a bland stare. “And you’re telling me that you’d rather I sleep with someone like you?
” He looks repulsed by the idea. Instead of being insulted, I’m amused.
“Yes, you certainly know how to make a girl feel special, Romanov. Looking at her like she’s a hideous toad that you never want to fuck. ”
He has the decency to look contrite. “That’s not…”
I wave him away. “I’m not attracted to you either, so don’t worry about it. But who I sleep with, or don’t, isn’t your concern. Now, are you going to stick around while I talk to Simeon?”
“You really think you’re going to kick me out of my office?” His tone is haughty as he takes a seat next to me. I resist rolling my eyes.
Men and their egos. Thank fuck this entire mission, or whatever they want to call it, is nearly over. I might be dead, but if I’m not, I’m getting as far away from all of this shit as possible.
Alonzo’s face flashes in my mind, but I push it aside. Tonight was a goodbye, even if he’s not ready to realize or accept it.