Chapter 13 – Luka
T he moment the door closed, I flopped back onto the bed with a strangled groan. She was going to kill me. Not that I expected any acts of violence from the pretty little hellion. Her fists might have been curled in wrath, but that wasn’t how I died.
No, if she was Thanatos’s instrument, then the blow would come as a shot to the heart. But I put stone around mine nearly a decade ago. She wasn’t penetrating that sepulchre.
“She turned the lock,” I muttered. How fucking cute. As if that would keep me out.
I had no intention of interrupting her private needs. But….
“What are my intentions with her?” I asked the ceiling in a hushed breath.
Out of the little popcorn spray, I could just make out my cousin’s face. War hadn’t come in one fell swoop when my uncle died and my cousin became the leader of our bratva. He’d been clever enough to eliminate threats preemptively, so the crown passed seamlessly. However, other mobs were always testing our strength. Over the summer, there had been a series of never-ending attacks. We no sooner obliterated one problem than, like the hydra, four more sprang up in its place. A blessed moment of peace, a short stint to breathe, and our bratva could take the next steps.
“And somehow, this girl is the key to it all?” I asked the ceiling.
The popcorn face seemed to nod.
“Fuck you, Dimi, she’s a person not a pawn,” I growled.
Launching out of bed so I could mutter strings of arguments to myself, I strode into the kitchen. The debate-style statements came short and fast.
Dimitri had bigger goals for our organization. Thanks to his brilliant, business world wife, the Vlasov Bratva spent the summer opening new venues. We had a higher profit ceiling to launder money through. That was the business end of things. I was on the operations side. I worked closely with my old captain Igor and the other street captain Boris. Together, they were the muscle. Ilya Pavlovn and I had been promoted to captains, and we were the ones in charge of the illegal ventures where the real cash was made, while Igor ran security and Boris took care of problems.
Not interested in drugs and flesh, the best options were unsanctioned events. The old pakhan hadn’t let us host gambling venues or spectator sports. He was more interested in illegal goods and services. My cousin had a different vision.
Bringing little miss hellfire back home would buy us grace from the law, since her fiancé was well connected in the justice system and political circles. We could cut through a whole shit ton of red tape.
“There are other ways to skin the goose, right?” I breathed. “We don’t need him to get rid of the red tape.”
Ilya would know that better than I did, but what I knew was that it would be far easier to have the legal clout our favor would buy.
“There have to be other dirty lawyers,” I muttered.
“All lawyers play dirty. Just depends how far you can force them to go.” Vivian strode into the room, going to the cupboard and plucking a glass down.
“There’s alkaline bottled in the fridge,” I offered, watching her closely.
She shook her head. “Nope. You somehow roofied a sealed Gatorade that landed me on this little adventure, so I’m not taking anything you offer.”
Then I could have bought the plain water. Those fancy containers of alkaline were so much bigger and had been hard to carry back!
“What do you need a dirty lawyer for?” Vivian drummed her fingers beside her empty glass. Drops of tap water glistened on her upper lip.
“Don’t listen to me, I’m prone to talk to myself.” I tapped the side of my head. “A wise man once said that our life is what our thoughts make it. Well, mine are black and twisted. The madness of a psycho.”
But Vivian just shook her head. “No, what you said is relevant. You targeted me. This isn’t a sex trafficking scheme—”
“Oh, saints no!” I boomed.
“—so you know who I am,” she continued, ignoring my outburst. “Which means you know who my family is. Well, let me tell you this, they aren’t going to pay a ransom. I’ve been disowned.”
Disowned. That word bounced through my mind as I slipped into a pair of boxers. That would have been very relevant information to know at the beginning when Dimitri, Kazimir, and I first considered taking this job.
Her fiancé told us that they’d had a fight and she left town. Yet I didn’t find an heiress living in luxury, I found a maid who picked up bartending shifts. The fiancé said she was in danger of kidnapping—which was true. I no sooner arrived in the small beach town on the tip of Florida when I found someone else stalking her. Her net worth would make anyone bold enough to try and force her money. I took care of that problem the first night.
Disowned. Her parents were dead. Who was left to disown her?
I shook my head. The smart thing to do was drop this and make the delivery. The way my gut twisted, I knew I couldn’t. What if I could help her?
My voice came out harder than I meant it to. “What do you want for breakfast?”
Vivian blinked at me. “That’s it?”
I shrugged. “We’re not having that other conversation.”
“But you were muttering about a dirty lawyer.” She stabbed a finger at her chest. “I graduated top of my class at the University of Chicago, although I’m not currently licensed to practice law.”
“And yet I found you cleaning vomit out of the vacation rental used for a fraternity’s weekend away,” I deadpanned.
A short breath made her nostrils flare as Vivian turned away. If I had to name the emotion warring on her face, it was a mixture of disgust and pure, unadulterated anger.
“Are we back on the road today?” she sniped, going to the fridge and ripping it open.
“Tomorrow. Today, I have to find another vehicle.” Going up to stand behind her, I peered over her head as she rummaged for the yogurt and granola.
When she turned, she smacked into me.
“Whoa, there,” I grinned. “We can’t keep bumping into each other like this.”
Her fist snaked out and pounded against my bare chest. “Move!”
My voice turned playful. “Did you just…touch me?”
She snatched her hand away and held it close against her own chest.
“Because you remember what I said, right?” I took a step forward, and she scrambled back, nearly climbing into the fridge. “I won’t touch you. Not until you touch me.”
“I haven’t touched you yet,” she snarled.
I cocked my head. “Some lawyer trick to twist the definition of touch? Alright, I’ll play. Punching doesn’t count as touching.”
Her upper lip pulled back in a feral, purely animalistic snarl.
“Darlin, you might be able to twist words and play with definitions—” my voice dropped to the barest of whispers “—but you can’t lie. You want to touch me.”
Her eyes heated, the rich color darkening.
“No! No way in hell!” she spat.
I shook my head, rough laughter rumbling in my chest. “Tell yourself what you want. But I can see it written all over your face.”
And then I took mercy on her, stepping back. She scampered past me, putting a healthy distance between us. The small of my back pressed into the counter. I gripped the ledge, doing a few triceps dips as I watched Vivian scurry about the tiny kitchen to look for a bowl and spoon. She popped the lid on the yogurt and let out a huff of disgust.
“You already opened this,” she snapped. But it was impossible to miss the way her chest rose and fell rapidly.
“It’s not drugged.” I leaned on the counter. The cheap material moaned in protest under my weight. “That’s not happening again, Vivian.”
She looked at me, but if she believed it, I couldn’t read behind those mocha eyes. “But you’re still not letting me go.”
Something inside me pulsed. “I’m still not letting you go.”
The words felt hollow as they rolled off my tongue. The myriad of possibilities swarmed in my brain. Slapping the island with a sharp double tap, I announced, “I’m going to get dressed, and then I’m headed into town for our ride. Eat in peace.”
Vivian didn’t comment as I left the room.
There were some questions that needed answering. Kazimir was due to check in with me about the Florida State Patrol situation. Since there was no digital footprint and my fingerprints weren’t traceable, we should be ready to continue the trip. It would be a long drive, but we would meet the deadline.
Disowned. I pursed my lips.
Yeah, I had some questions for my big cousin.
“What are you doing with me?” Vivian leaned against the doorframe of the bedroom, a spoonful of yogurt and granola lifted to her mouth.
I shook out the fresh pair of jeans and dropped them on the bed, then fished for a shirt. “Sorry, darlin, that bit’s classified.”
She waved her spoon in the air and said around the bite of food, “I meant while you go into town.”
Oh, that. “Depends.”
I pulled a clean white tee over my torso. While black hid blood, I didn’t plan on carnage this morning. Although, that shit seemed to find me regardless of my intentions.
“Wait, your leg is bandaged.” Vivian dropped her spoon to point.
I chuckled. “Just a little old gator scratch.”
Vivian gaped at me. “So it did hurt you!”
I shrugged. “If you call a few stitches hurt, sure.”
“When did you go to the ER? While I was sleeping last night?” Her eyes were the size of saucers.
“ER? Nah, that shit’s for pussies.” And then to really freak her out, I added, “I sewed myself up after the shower last night. Don’t worry, my step-mom packed some special honey that I slathered on it. I’ve been taking it orally too. No need for doctors and their witch magic when I have the power of nature on my side.”
Vivian threw her hands up, nearly dropping the bowl in the process. “You’re insane. You’re utterly insane!”
This was fun.
Saints! My heart hadn’t beat this fast in years. Not even the most intense battles could make my pulse race like verbally sparring with this woman did.
But that brought up a whole host of complications. Including her word: disowned.
There was no family left to disown her. The fiancé mentioned a fight, but according to him, it wasn’t bad.
After bouncing into the jeans, I followed her into the kitchen, grabbing the box with the rest of the granola. I answered her earlier question. “It depends on if you can behave, Vivian.”
It took her razor-sharp mind two beats to backtrack and pick up the previous conversation. “You’re going to leave me here unchained?”
Skepticism laced her voice.
I shook my head. “I want to bring you with.” I smirked and arched a brow. “Can you be a good girl and not cause any more problems?”
Her lips thinned as her chin bobbed slightly. “I get it now. You’re not just insane, you like to live very dangerously, mister kidnapper.”
A rough laugh rumbled in my chest. “What the hell is the fun in not?”