One thing I knew for sure. Sergei had a hell of a lot of explaining to do.
Chapter Ten
Legs heavy and tired, Sergei slid out of his SUV and stretched his arms high overhead. He grimaced at the slight pull in his back and silently conceded that maybe his trainer Paco was right about laying off the bedroom antics until after the tournament. Not that he was going to listen, of course. Until Ivan returned from his honeymoon and put Sergei on dick-lockdown before the fights, he fully intended to enjoy every single minute he had with Bianca.
He retrieved the boutique bags filled with flirty, sexy lingerie and the suitcase he had packed before locking up his SUV for the night. After checking the gate, he started up the path to the house, his sneakers squelching against the brick pavers. When he'd driven down Bianca's street, Sergei had waved off the two guys he had hired to watch her. He hadn't heard a peep out of them all day so he assumed their babysitting shift had gone well.
Of course, when he entered the kitchen to the sound of Bianca slamming drawers, Sergei had second thoughts about that assumption.
Hovering just out of her sight, Sergei studied Bianca. With her hair in a messy bun, she wore tiny cotton shorts and a loose T-shirt. It was the very first time he had ever seen her looking even the slightest bit casual. She was stunning in her curve-hugging dresses and feminine nightgowns, but there was something oddly beguiling about this almost rumpled side of her.
When she bent over to pick up a spoon she'd dropped, Sergei had to bite back a groan. Those tight-fitting shorts rode up just enough to give him a peek at her bottom. He decided that tonight he was going to have her exactly like that, bent over with that sweet ass pressed against his thighs while he fucked her long and hard.
Ignoring the hard-on pressing against the front of his shorts, Sergei stepped into the kitchen and instantly drew her ire. Frowning at him, she said, "Oh, you're here."
Surprised by her cold greeting, he didn't come any closer. Obviously, he had missed something huge. "What's wrong?"
"That's a good question, Sergei." She tossed the spoon she had dropped into the sink where it landed with a noisy clatter and retrieved a clean one from the drawer. Without sparing another glance his way, she wrenched open the freezer and grabbed a pint of ice cream.
His chest tight and body tense, Sergei set down his suitcase and the lingerie bags. He crossed the space between them and took the ice cream and spoon from her hands, placing them on the granite island. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he gazed down into those chocolate-colored irises and asked simply, "What did I do to hurt you?"
She gripped the front of his T-shirt and stared up at him with a wounded expression that slashed at his heart. "Why didn't you tell me that you were having me followed? Why didn't you tell me about the problems you're having with the Night Wolves?"
Her question shocked him. "How did—?"
"Eric Santos," she cut him off. "Vivi's cousin the detective, you know?"
"Yes, I know Detective Santos." Memories of the storage locker and the man Nikolai and Kostya had interrogated for information on Vivian's disappearance flashed before him. It was the only time he had ever seen the detective cross the line.
"Eric thought I needed to know that Adam Blake had been shanked inside the prison yard and that his white power buddies think I'm the one who paid for that attempted hit."
"What?" Sergei's outraged shout made her snap back. Guilt-ridden, he gently stroked her arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
She ignored his outburst and poked him in the chest with the spoon. "You should have told me that you were having problems with those racist whackjobs! I had to go online to find out about the dancer who was killed. Didn't you think I needed to know about that?"
"I told you that I'm not going to involve you in that side of my life, Bianca. I didn't think you needed to know the gruesome details of that woman's death." Hand to his chest, he swore, "I did not know about Adam Blake's attack. I just knew that the Night Wolves were coming after us as payback, and I was worried about you. I put two men on you out of an abundance of caution."
"Yeah, well, they need to practice their stealth approaches. I noticed I was being followed by two different vehicles today. A truck and a car," she clarified. "When I came out of Vivi's house tonight, I spotted that car and marched across the street to investigate. That's when Eric popped out and decided to fill me in on all this craziness."
"You did what?" Outraged that she would risk her life, he cupped her face. "Don't ever do anything like that again! Do you understand me? What if it hadn't been the detective? What if it had been one of those racist assholes with a gun aimed at your chest?"
"Well, I didn't know I was supposed to be on the lookout for them, did I?" She snapped back at him and slapped his chest with the spoon. "I thought it was the creepy stalker prowler guy."
"Even if it was your prowler, you shouldn't have tried to confront him, Bianca. It wasn't safe."
"Nikolai was right behind me. He wouldn't let anything happen to me."
"As much as I would wish him to be, Nikolai is not infallible. You seem to be forgetting that I was there the night Nikolai and Vivian were attacked. Even with a gun to defend himself and all of his enforcers nearby, Nikolai still lost Vivian. I had to watch those monsters throw Vivian in an SUV, knowing there was nothing I could do to help her."
She must have heard the guilt in his voice because her anger seemed to subside. She trailed her soft fingertips along his jaw. Seeking her heat and comfort, he lowered his face and nuzzled her cheek. "That wasn't your fault, Sergei."
"He trusted me to protect him and to protect Vivian. I failed them that night. I won't fail again." He threaded his fingers through her thick, black hair and tilted her head back just enough to tease his mouth to hers. "I will not allow you to be harmed. Whatever it takes, Bianca, I will keep you safe."
She melted into him and allowed him to have the kiss he wanted. When it ended, she patted his chest and sighed. "I think we need to talk."
The words struck fear right into his heart. Was this it? Was this the moment he had been dreading? Had today's experience helped her remember all those reasons she had refused to have anything to do with him?
An invisible ball formed in his throat and threatened to choke him. He tried to swallow but couldn't. Mouth dry and heart racing, he decided to be brave and take it right on the fucking chin. "No, Bianca. If this is it—if you're ready to break up with me—just do it. Don't try to spare my feelings."
She didn't say anything at first. No, she simply gazed up at him with the strangest expression on his face. "Breaking up with you is probably the smartest, safest thing for me to do."
His stomach swooped, and he clenched his teeth together. She was right. He couldn't argue with her on that point.
"But I'm not going to do that."
His heartbeat sprinted as her words hit him. Finally able to swallow, he cleared his throat. "No?"
"No." She smiled up at him and tapped his chest with the spoon again. "Let's have ice cream and talk."
"I can't." At her frown, he hastily explained, "I can't have ice cream. I have to eat as cleanly as possible until the fights."
"Fights?"
Nodding, he grabbed the pint of vanilla ice cream in one hand and grasped her fingers in the other. "You said we need to talk so let's talk."
He led her over to the sturdy wooden table and patted the surface. "Sit here."
She shot him a look of consternation. "Sergei, we're not doing that right now."
He snorted with amusement and swatted her bottom. "That's not what I want right now. Later? We'll do whatever I want."
"Whatever you want, huh?" She pursed her lips with annoyance but there was no way she could hide that glimmer of excitement in her eyes.
Certain she loved being bossed around by him, he pointed to the table. "Sit. Now."
Following his order, she wiggled that plump ass of hers and slid onto the table. He dragged out a c
hair and placed it in front of her. Those dainty feet of hers, the toenails painted the brightest shade of orange, rested on his thighs. He peeled the lid off the vanilla ice cream and took the spoon from her hand. The delicious scent tempted him, but he planned to eat something even tastier in a little while.
Dipping the spoon into the creamy, vanilla bean flecked dessert, he gathered a small bite and lifted it to her mouth. "Open up."
One of her delicately arched eyebrows lifted with surprise. "Are you seriously going to feed me?"
"Yes, I seriously am."
She laughed and leaned forward to take the bite he offered. After she swallowed, she licked her lips, seemingly unaware of all the tantalizing images she spurred with that simple action. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
He shrugged and scraped the spoon across the ice cream again. "What can I say? I'm a complicated man."
"Yes, you are."
He fed her another bite before exhaling with resignation. "Almost six years ago, my older brother, Vitali, became entangled with some government corruption. He always had big dreams, you know? Money, success, power—he wanted it all, but he didn't want to work for it. So he took the easy way and ended up working as a middleman for a mob crew and some government officials who wanted to clean up dirty money."
"Um…your mob crew?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"No." It was the first time he had openly confirmed his ties to the mob to her. Not that she hadn't always known, of course. "A rival crew that ran with people our government back home considered terrorists."
"Jesus," she hissed. "That sounds dangerous."
"It was." Shaking his head, he lifted another spoonful of ice cream to her pouty lips. "Vitya," he used his brother's nickname, "got in too deep. After a hostage situation that went badly, the government cracked down hard—and the officials he had been helping launder money got snapped up in a dragnet."
"Oh no."
"The gang decided he was a loose end that needed to be tied up so they went to his flat to deal with the problem, but he wasn't there."
Her worried gaze pierced his. "Who was?"
"His wife and my two nieces."
She put a hand to her mouth. "No."
At the muffled word, he nodded and gritted his teeth together. Shoving down the painful feelings that threatened to bring tears to his eyes, he roughly cleared his throat and continued with the tale. "I had to identify what was left of them. It was…"
She clasped his hand and interlaced their fingers. Leaning forward, she kissed his forehead. "Baby, stop. You don't have to do this to yourself."
It was the first time she had ever used a pet name with him. Somehow that little bit of sweetness eased the pain inside him. "I need to tell you everything. Right now. Tonight. Let's get it out there and be done with it."
"All right." Bianca kissed him, touching her lips to his with the barest bit of pressure. She caressed the back of his neck and then sat back to let him finish his tale.
He spooned another bit of ice cream into her mouth. "Before I could reach my younger brother Vladimir and my mother, they had snatched them. Vitya had gone into hiding like a coward. I didn’t know what to do so I called the only man who could help me."
"Nikolai?"
"Yes." He offered her some more ice cream, but she shook her head. As he put the lid back on the cold carton, he explained, "Nikolai and Ivan had been a fixture in my life. They had lived in our neighborhood. They kept things quiet and safe. When they left for Houston, the big boss—Maksim—made sure that things stayed that way."
"So you weren't always part of, um, the family?"
"No. I stayed out of it. I did a few years in the army and went to university—"
"You went to college?" She looked taken aback. "Is that why you speak such perfect English? Did you finish?"
He shook his head. "I was close, but no."
"What did you study?"
"I wanted to be an architect. Now construction is the closest I'll get to that."
"That's not true. You could go back to school."
"It's too late for that, Bianca."
"It's not."
Certain she wasn't going to let this drop, he finally said, "I'll think about it."
She didn't look very convinced. Poking his stomach with her big toe, she asked, "So you called Nikolai and…?"
"He sent me to see Maksim. The old man was looking for a reason to take on that crew and snuff them right out. I knew they were using me, but I didn't have any other choice. I had already lost three members of my family. It had to stop."
"What did you do?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. The fear in her eyes had him questioning what she thought him capable of doing.
"I sold myself to Maksim."
"You what?"
"The men holding my mother and brother agreed to a ransom, but it was too much for me to ever even dream of raising. Maksim bought me in exchange for the cash and the manpower to free them. He arranged a handoff and got them back."
"So you're like his slave?" Horror widened her eyes. "Sergei, that's not right!"
"It's not that simple."
"You belong to Maksim. He bought you. It's pretty simple, Sergei."
"I don't belong to him anymore."
She blinked. "Wait. Wait. Are you about to tell me that my best friend's husband owns you now?"
Sergei nodded stiffly. "After Maksim saved my family, I started working for the old man. It was typical enforcer stuff at first, but when he asked me to kill a man and his girlfriend for stealing, I couldn't do it. I called Nikolai and begged for his help."
"And he bought you?"
"My debt," he corrected. "Nikolai owns my debt to the family."
Speechless, she stared at him for the longest time. He didn't know what to say so he kept his mouth shut and waited. Finally, she reached for his hand and dragged it onto her lap. Her fingertip traced the old scars on his knuckles. "So that's why you fight."
"Yes."
"To pay off your debt?"
He nodded. "And to raise money to bring my mother and brother over here."
She breathed out and shook her head. She wanted to say something but didn't. Instead, she asked, "What about your older brother? What happened to Vitali?"
"I couldn't save him. The other crew caught up with him, and they killed him."
"I'm sorry, Sergei. That's just…it's terrible." Still holding his hand, she said, "I guess it's my turn, huh?"
"You don't have to tell me if you aren't ready."
"I'm ready to tell you. It was really stupid though." She glanced toward the ceiling and blinked rapidly. "Even all these years later, I can't believe that I lost my brother because of a box of candy."
His brow furrowed. "I don’t understand."
"We haven't been together long enough to talk money, but I'm a pretty frugal girl."
"Is that why you're trying to do the work around the house by yourself? Because, Bianca, it's not very frugal to have to pay a professional to come in and fix everything a second time."
"Yes, I'm quite aware of that. Some of the stuff around here I wanted to try myself as a way of proving I could do it all by myself."
Recognizing that stubborn independent streak of hers, he gave her thigh a little pinch. "You don't have to prove anything to me or anyone else. It's okay to ask for help."
She pinched him back. "I'm starting to figure that one out."
"Good."
"I don't want you to think that I'm broke or whatever. Actually, I'm quite comfortable and have savings, mutual funds and retirement." She shrugged. "I just don't see the point of spending money on things I can get cheaper. Like my car," she said and gestured out back. "It was two years old and had less than ten thousand miles on it, but I got it for a steal. I got the house at a county tax sale auction for an outrageously low price. Same thing with my clothing. I do a lot of online designer flash sales."
He had no idea what a flash sale was. Putting together the glim
pses she'd given him, he made an educated guess about the afternoon that had changed her life. "You didn’t want to pay the outrageous prices for candy at the movie theater so you asked your brother to stop at the convenience store?"
"Yes. This was a few years before Mama moved the shop to its new location. The old shop was a few blocks away from a big, busy convenience store. Perry and I popped in for candy and drinks. We were along the back of the store, near the coolers, when we heard these loud, rude guys come inside."
"How many?"
"Three," she said, her fingers tightening around his. "I didn't see the one with a gun at first. I only saw the two with baseball bats. They were tearing the place up, knocking over displays and beating on the display cases. Mr. Mirwani was shouting at them. His wife was hiding behind the counter and calling the cops. Perry noticed that the door that led to the stockroom was open so he pushed me that way—and that's when they saw us."
Sergei could tell she needed some encouragement to finish so he curved his hand against her neck and rubbed his thumb up and down along the vein that pulsed wildly there. Soon, he planned to make her heart race for much better and pleasurable reasons. "What happened next?"
"The one who didn't have a baseball bat chased us. The door that led out to the alley was locked, and I couldn't get it open fast enough. Perry and the guy—Adam Blake—started fighting. My brother went down hard. Adam had his back turned to me so I picked up a broom and hit him across the back of the head."
She stopped and closed her eyes. A single tear dripped down her cheek. Sergei ached for her and slid a little closer. He embraced her and wiped the shiny wetness from her face. "Go on, Bianca."
"So I grabbed Perry's hand and tried to get him up off the ground so we could run, but he was pretty badly dazed. Adam got to his feet first and pushed me into a stack of boxes. I fell and then he was on top of me. He put his hands on my neck and started to choke me so I clawed at his face and scratched his cheek and eyelid open. That was when he hit me."
Sergei's jaw clenched together so tightly he was shocked his teeth didn't shatter.