Chapter Eighteen Konstantin’s POV
Chapter Eighteen
Konstantin’s POV
I woke up to a bright room. Her room. I gazed down, and my eyes landed on her beautiful face, half covered by tendrils of her hair.
She must have turned as we slept because she had her back to me when I pulled the covers over us the previous night.
I tucked the stray hairs behind her ear, careful not to wake her.
Her naked shoulder begged for me to touch her, to run my hands all over her beautiful body, but I didn’t.
My eyes caressed her sleeping form as a memory I thought I’d never remember came to me.
“Especially when you used your fingers, that was so fucking good. Thinking about it could make me wet for you again,” Christa remarked, her eyes shining as she obviously relived the moment.
We lay side by side on my hotel bed after several rounds of hot sex.
“Of course,” I muttered.
I had just arrived in New York after several months tracking people down and righting their wrongs, from Russia to Italy. I'd hooked up with two different ladies throughout my ‘tour’, which lasted for about a year. I had been too busy to get down with anyone.
It was only my second day in New York, and I had run into Christa at a bar several hours ago. Christa and I had been intimate on two other occasions, so she wasn’t exactly a stranger. We’d come back to my hotel together after a few drinks.
I hadn’t held back at all as I satisfied every bit of my sexual hunger with her slim body. Not that she had any reason to complain, she enjoyed it too.
“I could repay you in kind,” she purred, kneeling on the bed.
“Hm. Another time, maybe,” I told her, sitting up. “It’ll be morning soon. You should dress up.”
“Come on. Must you always be like that?” she questioned, sitting back on the bed as I shifted to the edge, picking my boxers up and putting them on.
“What are you talking about?”
“Asking me to leave immediately after a nice time. Not reaching out to me until we see each other by chance again. It’s not cool.”
“What are we supposed to do after? Dance? Cuddle?” I asked. “And, since you know exactly how it goes, why do you expect anything to change?”
“It’s been a while. Hasn’t it?”
I picked up my phone and opened the text I received earlier. I stood and put my jeans on before turning towards her. “You should be gone before I come back here.”
“Whatever. I’m going nowhere.”
Tucking my phone into my pocket and buttoning the last three buttons on my shirt, I left the room.
Just as she’d promised, Christa was still in my bed when I got back thirty minutes later.
“What the fuck are you still doing here?!”
“Hey, calm down,” she cooed. “Just get over here and let me calm your nerves.”
“I told you leave, didn’t I? I left money for you on the nightstand and asked you to leave.”
“Yeah, but sometimes, money is secondary.”
“If you’re not gone this minute, my men will be here to throw you out. Trust me, you don’t want to be seen naked in front of a five-star hotel.”
That got her. Her eyes grew wide and she crawled off the bed.
I went into the bathroom to freshen up. That was the last time I hooked up with the same girl twice.
But it was different with Alina. I couldn't think of what to do after because I wanted to do so many things. I didn’t need her to prompt me to want them.
I wanted to sweep the covers off her body and kiss her from head to toe.
I wanted to run my fingers through her hair and wake up to her beautiful smile.
I’ve crossed a line.
I didn’t just cross a personal line; I crossed a work line. While I hated thinking of her as a hostage, the truth remained that she was here with me for Bratva reasons. As such, I shouldn’t be intimate with her and complicate things.
I shouldn’t have stayed even when I knew I was attracted to her. I shouldn’t have kissed her downstairs. I should have stopped and not made her come all over my fingers. But I did. And I wanted to fucking do it again.
She’s not just collateral anymore.
Bringing the covers up to her chin, I slid out of her bed and out of her room.
**********
As Sergei briefed me on the status of one of our shipments, I contemplated telling him about Alina. There was no doubt about him being discreet, but the fact that it was about her made me rethink it.
He was about to leave my study when I said, “The attack on the house. Do we have clear identities yet?”
“Not yet, boss. But we will. Very soon.”
I nodded. “I was surprised at how she didn’t cower in fear. Alina.”
“Oh, yes. Asking to fight. That was shocking,” he agreed, chuckling. “She is one of a kind.”
“That she is,” I confirmed. “We’ve been a bit closer recently. Surprisingly, I’m finding her nice to be around.”
A surprise frown crossed his features.
“We’ve been getting physical. I’m getting fond of her, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that she’s attracted to me,” I admitted.
“I never thought the day would come when I’d hear you say this about a lady, boss,” he disclosed, his surprise melting into a small smile.
Neither did I.
But his face became grim as he added, “If Sir Viktor hears of you getting attached to a potential informant, boss, it could end badly. For you and for her.”
“Well, Viktor and my other brothers already accepted her into the family,” I pointed out.
“Sir Viktor can turn the other way in seconds when it comes to the protection of the Bratva.”
He’s right.
I nodded before dismissing him.
The only tiny problem was whether I wanted to let her go in the name of Bratva rules.
It was still evening when I left the warehouse and headed home.
The plan was to work out some of my confusion at the gym and then have a cold shower before going to bed.
But I tossed every part of the plan the moment the guards opened the door, and I found Alina laughing at something she was watching on the newly-replaced television.
She occupied the only couch that hadn’t been touched by the gunfire; the two-seater. Her brown eyes were hard to see as her face scrunched up in laughter, and she shook her head. Her shoulders heaved, and I remembered her body writhing under mine last night.
I didn’t realize I’d stopped moving until her laughter died down and her eyes darted over to me. I didn’t miss the way they quickly flicked back to the television like she never saw me, like she was trying to unsee me.
The unpleasant feeling that rose in me multiplied at the thought of the fact that she had been laughing with Hans. He sat at the edge of the single-seater couch next to her, having folded the tarpaulin away. The slimy idiot.
“Hans,” I called.
“Boss!” he answered, shooting to his feet.
Of course, he’d been too focused on my wife to notice my arrival.
“Upstairs. Now,” I commanded, my eyes on Alina, who didn’t look away from the television.
If she wouldn’t look at me, she should, at least, grace me with the beautiful sight of her child-like laughter again.
Hans joined the guards who went ahead of me towards the stairs.
“Alina, good evening.”
She turned towards me then. “Hi. Good evening.” Her eyes were back on the television before I could decipher what they were saying.
At a loss for what to do or say, I went upstairs.
As I undressed after finding something to keep Hans busy with, my head was filled with thoughts of her. Then Sergei’s warning resounded.
Maybe it’s better this way.
I should find out where her loyalties lie and put an end to all this before I could think of finding home in her arms or letting her get close at all.
It’s getting out of hand already.
**********
“Uncle Konstantin!”
Leonard raced down the stairs as I moved away from the doorway.
“How’s my young man doing?” I inquired as I bent to catch him in my arms.
“Uncle Roman and Uncle Mikhail have come, and they told me not to expect you,” he divulged, grinning.
“Oh, really? They were just winding Mr. Leo up,” I told him, making him giggle at one of the nicknames I gave him.
“Where’s your mom?”
“She went out. With my sisters.”
Bummer.
I was looking forward to meeting her. I hadn’t had the chance to thank her for visiting Alina with Liza and Isabella—I had seen and thanked the two other women, and I had thought today would give me the chance to thank her.
“Okay,” I answered as I ascended the stairs with him in my arms. “That means they left you to the manly things.”
“Yes. Daddy said so.”
“I like your jacket,” he praised, running his little hands over the shoulder of my black leather jacket. “What type is it? I’ll tell Mommy so she can buy it for me.”
“It’s leather. They call them leather jackets. Don't bother Mommy, I’ll buy it for you.”
“Thank you! Thank you!!” he gushed.
“It’s nothing, man.”
“But when next will I see you? I hope it’s not a year from now.”
I laughed. “You’ll be seeing me more often, I promise.”
“Promise?” he prompted, inclining his head to the side as we approached Viktor’s office.
“Yes, promise.”
“On Bratva honor?” he pressed.
“Where did you hear that, Leo?” I asked, laughing.
“Daddy told me,” he disclosed. “He also said I can only say that to my uncles and in the house.”
“Great,” I said, chuckling. “And yes, on Bratva honor, you'll be seeing more of me from now on. And I'll get you a leather jacket.”
I’m now a married man here, aren’t I?
“Thank you, Uncle Konstantin,” the boy remarked as I put him down in front of the office.
I gazed at him as he excitedly ran down the hallway.
Emilia did well with these kids.
I had barely opened the door when Roman called, “Konstantin, the latest groom.”
“Please,” I muttered, chuckling.
“Good evening, brother,” I greeted Viktor, who sat on the couch to my left as I advanced into the room.
“Konstantin,” he answered as I took a seat beside Roman. “Is Alina doing okay?”
“She is, brother.”
“After the attack and all?” Roman persisted.
“Yes.”
Mikhail was on the couch across from Viktor. He inquired, “Is it just me, or is the rascal is glowing?”
Roman laughed, and Viktor chuckled while I gave him a level stare.
“Konstantin,” Viktor called, his tone signaling that the jokes were over. “You said you've got intel about the attack on your house.”
“Yes,” I affirmed. “The attackers are linked to Morozov’s network. The new intel I got showed that they’re linked to inside our charity front.”
“Now, that’s another lead,” Mikhail commented.
“And this intel, is it from internal or external sources?” Viktor questioned.
“Initially, external. Then my men arrived at the same conclusion.”
“If it’s tied to the Lobanov charity front, we can follow the money, then,” Roman uttered.
“That’s right. It always stems from the money,” Mikhail agreed.
“We need to go over the financial records of the charity wing, then,” Viktor said.
“I know someone. Mila Petrov. She’s worked with me before, and she’s a genius in forensic accounting. She audited for me some years back, and I found exactly what I was looking for,” Roman said, facing me. “She’s someone you can trust.”
“How do I reach her?” I asked.
“I’ll contact her to find out if she’s currently available. I'll update you in the next few hours,” he replied.
“That’s settled, then,” Mikhail uttered, and Viktor stood.
We all did the same.
As Mikhail and Roman talked on the way out of the office, Viktor said, “Konstantin.”
“Brother?”
“Extract a full confession from Alina. About everything she knows about the smuggling ring the bastard was involved with, and the Feds.”
I nodded.
“Even though she’s your wife, we need clarity on the matter.”
“Understood, brother.”
Even as I agreed with my brother, I was no longer sure she was guilty.