Chapter 21 Vadim
VADIM
Iwalk far enough down the beach that Danica won't hear the conversation.
Fyodor's name on the screen means this isn't social, and the timing couldn't be worse.
I was actually enjoying myself tonight, losing myself in the pretense that I could be someone normal with Danica, and this just pisses me off.
"What is it?" I grumble, irritated that my evening has been interrupted.
"Yuri's putting together a team," Fyodor announces. "He wants them in Belgrade within the week."
I close my eyes and bite back the curse that wants to escape. "I still have more than a week left on the deadline we agreed to." Yuri told me two weeks and it seems like he's getting impatient now.
"The boss is feeling antsy. He wants justice for his son, Vadim. He's not sleeping, barely eating. Every day that passes without results is another day he's drowning in grief."
The guilt trip rankles my good mood. Dominic was a good man, and his death has left a wound in the organization that won't heal until someone pays for it. But bringing in more men now, especially before I've confirmed who the real shooter is, will only complicate things.
"I understand that," I say carefully. "But rushing this won't help anyone." My cousin is only doing his job being the bearer of bad news, so I can't be upset with him. But it does piss me off. I can do this. I just need time.
"You know how he gets. Once his mind's made up, there's no changing it." Fyodor pauses, and I hear the sound of him lighting a cigarette. "He's also preparing for the baby. Inessa's due soon, and I think he wants this resolved before then. You know?"
That I can understand. I wouldn't want to bring a new life into the world while mourning another loss either. But understanding doesn't make this any easier to accept. He's lost faith in me.
"Tell me about the team he's assembling," I say as I glance over my shoulder at Danica. She's staring up at the moon and she looks beautiful.
"You know… a few soldiers, maybe Lev. Nothing too special, just feet on the ground to do the work."
"I want to add someone specific to the list." I pull up the grainy image from the video on my phone, zooming in on the tattooed arm. The quality is terrible, but the design is visible enough. "I'm forwarding you an image. The bearer of this tattoo is who I want to come to Serbia."
"Why?" Fyodor asks as I hit send and bring the phone back to my ear.
If I tell Fydor I think this man is a traitor, I lose all leverage against him. He'll find a way to twist things and make me look bad, and the hit goes out on me instead. No, I'm keeping this to myself. The victory will be mine to celebrate and I'll purge the family of one more rotten seed.
"I've worked with him before," I lie smoothly. "Can't remember his name, but I trust him. He's good at what he does, and I could use someone I know I can rely on."
The silence on the other end tells me Fyodor isn't entirely convinced, but he doesn't question me about it. At least I've earned that much respect from him. "I'll see what I can do."
I wait while he receives the image, listening to the sound of the waves behind me and Danica's soft humming as she wanders closer to the water.
"Got it," Fyodor finally says. "I'll run it through our database, see who matches. But Vadim, if this goes sideways—"
"It won't."
"You'd better hope you're right. Yuri isn't in the mood for mistakes."
"I know."
"Good. I'll be in touch."
He hangs up, and I stand there for a moment, staring at my phone. This is a dangerous game I'm playing, bringing the suspected traitor directly into my orbit. If I'm wrong, I've wasted valuable time and resources. And if I'm right but he figures out what I'm doing, I'm a dead man.
But I don't have a choice. Drawing him out is the only way to get the proof I need, and I'd rather have him here where I can control the situation than out there where he can continue to operate in the shadows and pull more men into his web.
I shove my phone back in my pocket and turn to see Danica standing at the water's edge. Her dress blows in the breeze, her hair catching the moonlight. For a moment I just watch her. She's somehow become the center of my world without my realizing it was happening.
She turns when she hears me approaching and offers a tentative smile. "Everything okay?"
"It will be," I say softly as I kiss her cheek.
Oh, God, to have that moment back when I almost told her how I feel.
But it's gone, and to try to recreate it would be a forgery.
"The beach is empty now," I observe, glancing around at the deserted shoreline.
It's late enough that even the couples who were walking earlier have gone home.
"It's peaceful," she says.
I shrug off my jacket and spread it on the sand, gesturing for her to sit. She does, tucking her legs under her, and I settle beside her. The sand is cool beneath us and the sound of the waves is a soothing rhythm.
"What you said earlier," I start, then pause, trying to figure out how to word this. "About the kind of man you'd want."
"Vadim—"
"You said someone exactly like me, except for the criminal part."
She looks down at her hands. "I shouldn't have said that."
"Why not?"
"Because it's complicated. We're complicated."
"Everything worth having is complicated.
" I reach over and take her hand, threading my fingers through hers.
"You've been incredibly strong through all of this.
Most people would've broken by now." It's true.
Seeing how she's taken one hit after another and keeps going is only more proof that she is perfect for me.
"I don't feel strong." Her head dips, but I cradle her cheek and make her look up at me.
"You are. And I think if you could look past my faults, we could actually be happy together."
Danica offers a pained expression and tears her gaze away to peer out over the water.
"You're the only woman I've ever been able to tolerate for more than a few hours at a time," I say, chuckling.
She laughs too, then says, "That's quite the compliment."
"I mean it…" I say, and I grow serious. It's nothing like the previous moment, but it feels sincere.
Danica squeezes my hand then leans on my shoulder. I pull her against my body with an arm around her back and listen to the waves lap at the shore. This peace is where I want to live, not in the chaos of crime or chasing men down. And the only place I've ever felt this is with her.
"Would you ever consider moving away from Belgrade?"
She's quiet for a moment as her thumb traces a circle on the back of my hand. "I've thought about it. Especially after everything with Marko. This city doesn't feel like home anymore. It feels like a trap."
"Where would you go?"
"I don't know. Belgrade is all I've ever known." She glances at me. "Why do you ask?"
I sigh and breathe in the faint hint of her perfume on the air.
"Because I wondered if you'd ever think of returning to Russia with me.
To St. Petersburg where I live…" I don’t want to pressure her.
That's not why I'm asking. But if I don't ask her, how will she ever know I want her to come with me?
Her eyes go wide and starry in the moonlight and I see the exact moment she lets herself believe this could be real. The hope in her expression is so raw it makes my chest swell, and I don't give her time to second-guess or question or pull back.
I lean in and capture her mouth with mine.
The kiss starts gentle, but Danica responds immediately. Her lips part and she makes a soft sound that goes straight through me. I cup her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing along her cheekbones as I deepen the kiss, tasting the wine from dinner.
She shifts closer, her hands coming up to grip my shoulders as I feel myself swelling. God I want to take her right here on this beach and show her how my whole world revolves around her.
"Vadim," she breathes against my lips when we break apart for air. It's intoxicating.
"Come here," I murmur, pulling her into my lap so she's straddling me. Her dress rides up her thighs as she settles over me, and I run my hands up her bare legs, feeling the smoothness of her skin and the way she shivers at my touch.
She rocks against me and I groan, my hands tightening on her hips. I can feel her heat through my pants and it's driving me insane. I want her. I've wanted her since that first night we were together, but this feels different. This isn't just physical need or a way to forget the chaos around us.
This is something deeper, something that terrifies me as much as it draws me in.
"Is this okay?" she asks, her voice breathy as she continues to move against me.
"More than okay," I manage, my fingers digging into her flesh as she grinds. I'm rock hard now, ready to consume her and possess her in one breath, and she is giving me every signal that she's eager for it.
She kisses me again, more aggressive this time, her teeth catching my lower lip. I let her take control and set the pace, but when she grinds down particularly hard I groan loudly and bite down on her skin.
"The beach is empty," I say against her throat, trailing kisses down the column of her neck. "No one's around."
"I don't care if they are," she whispers harshly against my mouth.
I reach between us and work my belt open, then my zipper, and her eyes never leave mine. There's trust there, and desire. This woman drives me to the edge and I'm ready to dive off into the abyss with her.
When I free myself, her hand wraps around me and I hiss at the contact. She strokes me slowly, and I have to close my eyes for a moment to keep from losing control.
"Danica," I warn, catching her wrist.
"I want you," she says simply, and those three words undo me completely.
I pull her underwear to the side and guide myself to her entrance as she lifts her hips up slightly, and when she sinks down onto me, we both groan. She's tight and hot and perfect, and it feels like home.
Then she starts to move. She rolls her hips in a maddening rhythm, taking me deep and then rising up until I almost slip out before sinking back down. I grip her hips to help guide her, to set a pace that won't have this ending too quickly, but she's in control here and she knows it.
"God, you feel incredible," I tell her gruffly, wishing her tits were in my face. But we're risking enough just like this. I can have her again later if she lets me.
She leans forward and kisses me, never stopping her movements, and I slide my hands up her back under her dress to pull her closer. The position changes the angle and she gasps into my mouth and clenches.
"Right there?" I ask, and when she nods I thrust up to meet her, hitting that spot again and again.
"Yes," she moans, her nails digging into my shoulders. "Don't stop."
I wouldn't dream of it. I watch her face as pleasure builds, the way her eyes flutter closed and her lips part, the way she bites her lower lip to keep from crying out too loud. She's beautiful like this, uninhibited and free, and I know without a doubt that I've fallen for her.
It started when Marko had that gun to her head and I felt genuine fear for the first time in years.
The thought of losing her before I even really had her was unbearable, and that's when I knew she'd become more than just a convenient wife or a woman I was obligated to protect.
She'd become someone I couldn't imagine my life without.
And now, watching her take her pleasure from my body, feeling her clench around me as she gets closer to the edge, I know I'll never let her go. Whatever it takes, whatever I have to do, I'm keeping her. She's mine now in every way.
"Vadim," she gasps as her movements become erratic. "Oh God…"
"Let go," I tell her, one hand sliding between us to find her clit. "I've got you."
The moment I touch her there, she comes apart, her body clamping down on me and making me shudder. She buries her face in my neck to muffle her cries and I hold her through it, my fingers still working her sensitive flesh to draw out every last tremor.
When she finally stills, panting against my shoulder, I'm so close to my own release, it's painful.
I pull her down hard as I thrust up one final time and let go.
I bury my face in her neck and groan her name, my hands gripping her hips as I empty myself inside her.
The climax is so strong it makes me twitch for a solid minute, and I never want to pull out.
Danica relaxes on my body, and my dick starts to go limp. But nothing will ever change the fact that I have claimed her and she is mine.
I am in love. And a man in love will do rash things to keep what he loves.