Ivan
I’d rather sleep in and feel Lily’s naked body pressed against mine all morning, but I have to rise to the call of duty early in the morning. I promised Donovan we were going to go to Dimitri’s house today since we couldn’t yesterday, and I’m a man of my word.
However much it pains me to leave Lily at the house, I don’t think she can handle a mission like this. The risk is too great, and I haven’t even started teaching her to shoot a gun yet. She’ll have to wait until next time.
As I get dressed, she stirs in the bed, reaching out for me and realizing I’m not there. Her eyes open, and she blinks at me a few times. “You look handsome. Where are you going?” she asks in a soft, croaky voice.
“Business,” I reply, keeping my response purposefully vague. It’s better that she doesn’t know this has to do with Dimitri. I suspect it would stir up emotions that are better left alone.
Her wounds are still raw. She’ll need time to mourn Dimitri before she can know about his research.
“Are you leaving me here?” Lily asks, her eyes widening as I slip a pre-knotted tie over my head.
I smooth it down against my crisp white shirt. “You’ll be fine. I have half a dozen armed guards at the gate, and another dozen or so around the premises. You have nothing to fear.”
“I have plenty to fear,” she blurts, pulling the sheets off her body and jumping out of bed.
I’m stunned for a moment by the perfection of her naked body. Every curve is soft, and every freckle on her pale skin is placed so perfectly I wonder if she was secretly designed in a lab to finally take down the Bratva. Only a woman as flawless as she is could ever hope to do something like that. She’d be the perfect weapon.
“Eyes up here,” she says, pointing to the beautiful brown pair in her pretty little head. “I’m not going to be left alone here like this. I’m part of the Bratva now, remember?”
I rub my chin, looking her over again. Jesus, she’s just too lovely. It’s a shame I’m going to have to leave her behind for this mission.
“I’m sorry, Lily,” I say, keeping my voice low and calm. “I must do this alone, but I will be back this afternoon for your first firearms training class.”
“I want to come, though. I don’t see why I can’t,” she whines, coming toward me with a particularly strong swing in her hips.
She thinks she’s going to convince me with her feminine beauty. It’s almost enough for me to reconsider, but her safety is more important than sex.
“Sorry, darling,” I say, brushing my hair back with my fingers. I slip a hand around her waist, feeling the incredible warmth from her skin. I want nothing more than to crawl back into bed and make love to her all morning, but business is business.
“I’m not convinced you’re not sneaking out to see some other girl,” Lily says, pouting her lips. “Am I not enough for you?”
I laugh. “Nice try, sugarplum, but you know I’m not interested in anyone else. You’re more than enough.”
She pulls her head back, feigning offense. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I look at my watch, my heart skipping a beat when I see the time. “It means I’m going to be late if I don’t leave now, and I don’t have time for this. Stay here, and that’s an order, okay? Official Bratva stuff. I’ll see you later.”
I hear her mutter something as I leave her in the bedroom, but I don’t have time to argue. She knows I want to stay with her and that’s the only reason she put so much effort into convincing me. She’s not worried about other women or being good enough. She’s already perfect and she knows it.
I lick my lips as memories of last night come flooding back. The way she moaned in the grass and clamped her pearly white thighs on my ears as she came in my mouth. I can’t think of any better way to spend my evenings than giving her endless pleasure.
As a Bratva boss, I’m so used to taking that finally being able to give is extremely gratifying. Tasting Lily’s pleasure makes it even better, and I lick my lips as I leave the house to meet with Donovan.
Worry not, my angel. I will be back to eat that sweet little pussy again soon.
I hit the road, struggling to tuck away my fantasies about Lily as I make the drive straight to Dimitri’s house. Donovan has already texted me to say he’s on the way, and we don’t want to waste any time once we arrive.
The research for Project G must be uncovered quickly, before the Red Hitters find out about it and steal it from us.
I drive fast, so fast that the world blurs around me. The engine roars in the early morning, and the streets are bare like I’m an ambulance blaring through traffic. Nothing stands in my way as I rush to Dimitri’s house to meet Donovan.
When I arrive, I see Donovan’s car parked far down the street, blending in with other cars in the neighborhood.
Dimitri lived in a quaint little suburban area, dotted with dogwood trees and quiet family homes. Nobody would’ve suspected his involvement in the Bratva, and that’s how he liked it. He was more secretive than most, but I don’t blame him. He probably did it to keep Lily safe.
I respect him even more, realizing his intentions. If there was ever a man who deserved to live forever, it was him. Regret still sits in my stomach from my inability to visit him more often before he passed.
The funeral hit me just as hard as it hit Lily, but I’d never show it. The life of every man who wears a ruby pinky ring is sacred to me.
I turn up my coat collar as I walk it to Donovan’s car. He’s already outside smoking a cigarette, looking down the street like he expects the Red Hitters to come rolling down any minute.
“You look like you got a good night’s sleep,” he says, flicking his cigarette butt into the street.
“Don’t get started with me,” I grumble. “I was initiating Lily last night. Very busy evening.”
“Busy doing what?” he asks with a lopsided grin.
I push him with my shoulder. “None of your business, actually. We’re focused on Project G this morning.”
“The big mystery…”
“It’s going to be a big money maker once it’s brought to life. I have reason to believe that Dimitri was close to finishing before his death. He put a lot of hours in, even when he was sick.”
“Say what you will, but the man was dedicated,” Donovan says with a palpable note of admiration in his voice.
“More than most, and that’s why the research is so important. He poured his final years into it, and everything he did was purely selfless. There aren’t any tricks here to make it look better than it really is. Dimitri was working on something incredible, and he tried his best to complete it before he died.”
“Project G,” Donovan mutters. “I still have no idea what that means.”
I turn toward Dimitri’s house, walking quickly, but not at a suspiciously fast pace. If the Red Hitter are here, they’ll recognize me anyway, but I also don’t want to attract wander eyes from civilians either. They’re likely to call the police if they notice Donovan and I enter Dimitri’s house through the back.
“You won’t know what it means until we get the research,” I say to Donovan as he comes up beside me. “Once I get it, I may need your help deciphering it.”
“I hope he didn’t write it in code,” he replies, only half-joking.
“I wouldn’t put anything past him,” I say with a thin laugh. “We’ll just have to deal with whatever antics he cooked up before he passed. I’m sure he wouldn’t have made it take difficult, considering he knew he was sick.”
“True,” Donovan mutters, but it sounds more like a hope than any sort of real agreement.
The truth is, we don’t know what Dimitri did with the research. He would’ve wanted to keep it hidden from prying eyes, especially since he was so close to finishing it. It could be hidden very well in the house, or in plain sight. We won’t know until we start looking.
Once we reach Dimitri’s yard, we circle around the back of the house, watching closely for traps. He lived a fairly regular life, and Lily was over often, so I doubt there’s anything that he set, but I wouldn’t put it past the police to leave something behind for nosey people like Donovan and me.
A gust of wind rustles the trees as we creep toward the back door. A few birds chirp, and the sun rises slowly in the sky. It’s already hot today. The rain has passed, and the sun is back out, shining like a death ray and promising a much hotter day ahead.
Arriving at the door, I see the determination on Donovan’s face. His hand is already in his jacket pocket, clutching a gun in case there’s trouble. We have to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst in situations like this.
We have backup, but they can’t be close enough to save us if things go south too quickly. They have to stay back so they don’t draw attention to themselves, so we’re in this alone.
Danger levels are high, but I’ve been in worse situations.
Donovan leans against the back door as I pull out a key. Dimitri gave it to me years ago for emergencies, and assuming he didn’t change his locks in the past few years, it should get us into the house without having to pick any locks.
I pull open the screen door, inserting the key into the lock and twisting it. The lock clicks open with a smooth metallic sound.
I look at Donovan with a grim smile. “We’re in.”