Chapter 13 #2
He’d been starving and he hadn’t even known it.
Everything I want.
Never in a thousand years had he felt like this. Never had the joining of bodies been as it was with Tatyana. Not with any lover. Not even with his former mate.
Everything I want.
Soon she would be his. In private. In public. No one would dare try to separate her from him. Their marriage contract was for one hundred years?
Fuck a century. He was keeping her forever.
In a few short months, Tatyana Vorona would be his in every way.
For all time.
And Oleg Sokolov—never content, always hungry—would have everything he desired.
Oleg had taken the opportunity of being in Warsaw to arrange a meeting with the young human who had sent the proposal to Mika six months before.
If he was twenty-five, Oleg would be shocked, and he was once again amazed by the precocity of those involved in the new technology that continued to transform the world.
The young man was named Konstantyn, and he wore plain, neutral clothing, a fashionable vest and a pair of sneakers, but the watch on his wrist was a Patek Philippe that sold for around fifty thousand US dollars.
His complexion was fair, but he didn’t appear to spend all his time inside, and though he had a slim build, he was not scrawny.
Oleg saw a bright future for the young one if he could survive in the vampire world.
“When did you start doing this?” Oleg asked Konstantyn, who was rapidly typing on his laptop.
“Pardon me?” He looked up from behind clear glasses.
“When did you start taking apart computer systems to find their weaknesses?” Oleg smiled. “I am not accusing you of anything; I am simply curious.”
The corner of the young human’s mouth turned up. “I was about fourteen the first time I was arrested by Ukrainian authorities.”
Mika’s eyebrows went up, and Oleg chuckled.
“You worked for them then?”
It was Konstantyn’s turn to look surprised. “How did you know?”
Because Mika investigated you very thoroughly.
Oleg said, “That’s what I would have done if a brilliant boy breached my defenses. One does not ignore talent that presents itself, even if the holder of that talent is a child.”
“I was a child.” His jaw tightened. “I was playing, and they threatened me. As most governments do.”
“But you do not work for them anymore.” Oleg had no interest in human authorities digging into his systems, but Mika’s checks were thorough.
Because Mika did not rely on online sources that could be compromised.
“I’m sure your security chief” —Konstantyn glanced at Mika— “has told you what my parents did.”
The young man’s mother and father were not happy with any government keeping their child hostage even if it kept the boy out of prison. Luckily, the mother knew that there were authorities in the world greater than human.
His mother’s stint working for Gavin Wallace back in the 1990s had proved useful. She still had immortal contacts, and though she no longer worked for Wallace, the vampire lived up to his reputation for loyalty to employees who were loyal to him.
A month after Konstantyn’s mother had reached out to Wallace, the boy was out of the country and Wallace had bankrolled his first business at the age of twenty-one. It had proved profitable for Wallace International. And given the young man his freedom.
“So you have the proposal I sent to you,” Konstantyn said. “But what I wanted to show you was this.” He flipped his computer around and displayed a spreadsheet.
Oleg looked at the computer, then at Mika. “I do not spreadsheet.”
Mika leaned in. “That is the quarterly earnings report from Rudov’s division from two weeks ago,” Mika said. “The young man has accessed Rudov’s online system in the time that we have been sitting with him.”
Oleg raised an eyebrow. “Interesting.”
Mika’s phone started to buzz. He glanced at it. “That is our current online security chief.”
“He’s too late,” Konstantyn said. “By the time he kicks me out, I could have already accessed your reports, your internal communications, your pending negotiations, your—”
“Yes.” Oleg waved a hand, cutting him off. “We see that your services are needed.” He had to admire the young man’s courage. Even with a vampire security guard waiting in the hallway, he could have been dead in seconds if this had gone the wrong way. “Very impressive, Konstantyn.”
The young man blinked. “Does that mean you’re going to hire me?”
“As long as your price is reasonable,” Oleg said. “Yes. But do not try to take advantage—”
“I want one thing from you,” the young man blurted. “And it’s not money. I have money.”
Was the boy about to ask to be made immortal? That would severely curtail his computer business, but it wasn’t completely out of the question.
Still, Oleg was not the person to ask.
“What is your price?”
“I have a friend,” Konstantyn said. “She went missing about five years ago, and now that I know about… all of you, I think she may have been taken by vampires.”
“It is unfortunately possible,” Oleg said. “There are many among our kind that take advantage of vulnerable young humans, and many humans who might seek vampires out.” He nodded at the man. “Like you.”
“She was already on the run from someone dangerous, and I was helping her, but then she just disappeared and I need to know—”
“Give us her name, and we will try to locate her. I cannot promise her safety, but Mika is very good at finding people.”
“Tatyana Vorona,” Konstantyn said. “Her name is Tatyana Vorona.”