Sergei could feel the frustration coming off his friend. In truth, Dimitri was the only human on the planet that Sergei trusted and he knew his friend felt the same. A lifetime of danger, first on the streets of an unforgiving city, then in the cutthroat world of the super-powerful, was enough to make anyone jaded about humanity.
He set the tablet he had been working on aside and folded his arms across his broad chest. Something else was bothering his friend and it wasn’t the scar on his face. Dimitri looked... apprehensive.
“I was invited at the last minute to attend a charity event to raise money. Simone and Petre invited me. I could hardly turn them down,” Sergei said. “We are leaving as soon as it is over.”
Dimitri’s head turned and he scowled darkly at Sergei. “You could have told me,” he said. “What is the charity for this time?”
Sergei shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably another hospital or orphanage benefit.”
“Will Ms. Ferguson be attending as well?” Dimitri asked in a voice devoid of emotion.
Sergei’s lips curved, pulling on the scar on his cheek. “No. It was time for us to part ways,” he responded in a hard voice. “She was making demands. It became necessary to end our acquaintance.”
Dimitri’s eyebrow raised in surprise. Sergei’s latest lover had been the beautiful but shallow Eloise Ferguson, a top model and a horrible actress, at least in Dimitri’s opinion. She had tried to hide her greed for Sergei’s wealth behind a fake smile and a camouflage of innocence. There was absolutely nothing innocent about the former beauty queen who had lost her virginity at a very young age.
Dimitri had made it his business to know everything about the beautiful actress who came from an upper middle class family. She liked beautiful things and had a tendency to live beyond her own financial means.
“What demands?” Dimitri asked.
“She claimed she was pregnant,” Sergei responded.
Dimitri grimaced. Several other women had tried that same trick before. There were advantages to being a cold, cynical bastard. One was to make sure that each of their lovers was on some form of birth control and checked regularly. The second was neither of them ever let the woman they were with supply or touch the condoms that were used.
Sergei had caught one of his previous lovers purposely damaging a condom in an attempt to snare a lifetime of support from him. Dimitri had never given any of his lovers a chance in the first place. He had seen things even Sergei had not and had learned to be cautious at a very young age. Of course, none of his lovers were aware that he was as wealthy as Sergei. They all thought he was the lowly bodyguard, fit only to amuse them if they couldn’t draw Sergei’s attention.
“Is she?” Dimitri asked carefully. “Has she been seen by a doctor?”
“Two,” Sergei replied, picking up the tablet. “The first was her choice; the second mine. I want Dr. Umberto Angelo’s medical license. He took a bribe and lied about the results. It is not the only thing he has done. I will send you the information about his tax evasion and hidden accounts so you can hand it over to the authorities. Also check what he has been doing on his frequent trips to the Philippines. I think you will find he has been indulging in other unlawful activities.”
“Done,” Dimitri said, reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out a small notepad.
Sergei shook his head. “When are you going to come into the twenty-first century and use a computer to help you take notes?” he asked in amusement.
Dimitri scowled at the softly glowing tablet. “You know I always break the damn things,” he grumbled. “They don’t like me.”
“Yet, you are a master at setting up security programming.” Sergei looked at Dimitri again and frowned. “What is bothering you, my friend? You seem distracted tonight.”
“Do you think you will ever find a woman you could trust? One that you would want to spend the rest of your life with?” Dimitri asked, glancing at Sergei before looking back out at the colorful lights decorating the streets.
“Do you mean like we used to talk about finding or just one that I can trust enough to breed an heir?” Sergei asked before a sudden ugly thought crossed his mind. “Have you… found someone?” he asked tersely.
“No,” Dimitri snorted out. “I don’t think there is a woman alive that I would be interested in being tied to for the rest of my life.”
Sergei released the breath he was holding. They had talked about finding their perfect woman when they were younger. As they had grown older, they often compared the women they were dating with the one they wished for so long ago.
She would be strong. Dimitri insisted she would have to be to live with them, but in a good way. In their adolescent minds, she would fit perfectly between them. She would be the one to complete them and make them the family they never had.
She would also be intelligent, compassionate, loving, and Dimitri added this trait as well, a little bit stubborn. Sergei had asked why he wanted their woman to be stubborn. Dimitri had replied she would need to be stubborn if she was expected to put up with both of them at the same time. Not to be outdone, Sergei had added that if she was stubborn, then she also needed to be passionate enough to handle all the loving they would give her.
They had laughed as they wished upon the stars that night so long ago. They still talked about it on occasion, usually when they retreated to their ‘lair’ to regroup from the world of humanity.
Sergei looked out the window as they passed a large group of colorfully dressed women who were eyeing the limousine. His lips curled in distaste as one of the women opened her coat to reveal the minuscule dress she was wearing. He had seen the same type of women when he was poor. He had no more use for them now than he did when he was younger.
“Then I guess that answers your question,” Sergei replied. “I haven’t found a woman either.”
Dimitri breathed out a sigh. “I have to admit I was worried you would present Ms. Ferguson as a candidate. I don’t think I could have faked a hard-on with her,” he admitted in distaste.
“What about Stella?” Sergei asked, referring to Dimitri’s latest lover. “Are you still seeing her?”
“No,” Dimitri said without any other explanation. “How long do you plan to stay at the mansion? I need to make sure the new system I installed last month is working.”
“I’m not sure,” Sergei frowned and thought for several long moments before he answered. “At least until after the first of the year. I have no desire to join in the festivities or attend the ‘required’ parties.”
Sergei knew that Dimitri worried about him when they secluded themselves at their home outside of Moscow. They had bought the huge mansion together, transforming it into their primary development lab/home shortly after they became millionaires. Dimitri took over the lower floors while Sergei transformed the upper floors. Each also had homes around the world, but preferred to stay at the Moscow residence together. It reminded them of their roots and gave them time to work on some of their new software designs in privacy.
Since the kidnapping attempt, Sergei was spending more time locked away from the world. In truth, he found little to like about the world around him and preferred the isolation. He emerged on occasion to visit a new lover or attend meetings that needed his specialized attention.
Neither he nor Dimitri ever brought a woman to their home there. It was an unspoken pact that that home would be reserved for their ‘wish’ woman. He set the tablet down again and focused his attention on his friend.
“That should give me enough time to test out some of the new systems I have been working on,” Dimitri replied. “It is not good to bury yourself there for too long,” he started to add before clamping his lips together when Sergei’s eyes flashed in warning. “I know… if you wanted my advice you would ask for it.”
Sergei smiled darkly. “Some things are best left alone, my friend, even with you. I will be fine, Dimitri. You have enough security there to protect every leader in the world. You saw t
he report that we may have a possible security issue at our headquarters in Los Angeles. Someone is leaking details of the new defense programming. I want you to find out who it is and take care of it.”
“Is that what has put you in a bad mood?” Dimitri asked, accepting the sudden change in topic.
“Yes,” Sergei said. “You know how I feel about anyone who lies or steals from us.”
“Do you want whoever it is alive or dead?” Dimitri responded cynically.
“Alive,” Sergei replied with a cold grin. “I want them to wish they were dead by the time we get done with them.”
“Done,” Dimitri said with a dark smile of his own and jotted down a note in the notepad.
Both men turned as the limousine pulled to the curb outside of Sotheby’s. Dimitri slid out of the back seat first. He looked around carefully before he nodded to Sergei.
“Make sure the jet is ready to leave,” Sergei murmured to Dimitri. “This shouldn’t take long.”
“Of course,” Dimitri replied as he and three of his men surrounded Sergei as several photographers approached from the sides.
Sergei ignored them. He knew that Dimitri had some of the best and most deadly men in the world protecting him. Nothing could get through his friend’s security, nothing.
Two hours later, Sergei and Dimitri were seated on one of the Vasiliev-Mihailov private jets heading to their secluded home outside Moscow. The auction had taken a little longer than they expected. Ms. Ferguson had shown up outside to give a dramatic performance for the paparazzi. Dimitri had two of his men escort Sergei’s former lover away while he shielded Sergei.
He glanced over at Sergei. He studied his friend with a puzzled expression. Something strange had happened at the auction. Dimitri had no desire to attend so he asked Sergei to make an anonymous donation for him while he started on the Los Angeles issue.
Dimitri knew something unusual had happened when Sergei emerged from the auction room so distracted that he hadn’t even noticed his former lover trying to gain his attention. Dimitri had waited patiently for Sergei to explain what happened, but phone calls from several of his men in California had prevented him from asking when Sergei remained silent. By the time he got off the phone, they had reached the airport.
“What happened?” Dimitri demanded after the stewardess left them alone again. “Did Simone or Petre ask you to build them a new hospital or something? I’ve never seen you so distracted. You didn’t even notice Ms. Ferguson’s little performance,” he added dryly.
“What?” Sergei asked, looking up at Dimitri with a frown. “No, not a hospital.”
“Sergei,” Dimitri said, handing his friend a drink. “You are acting stranger than usual. Either you tell me what happened or we return to New York and I find Petre and Simone.”
“I bought something,” Sergei replied after several long seconds. “A statue.”
Dimitri frowned. “You bought a statue? What for?”
“For the atrium,” Sergei replied with a frown. “It should go in the atrium.”
Dimitri sighed in exasperation and took a sip of the aged brandy he was holding. He didn’t understand why in the hell Sergei suddenly decided he wanted a statue for an atrium that hadn’t been touched in almost a century. Hell, Dimitri wasn’t even sure he remembered where it was! The mansion they had purchased was actually a former palace during Russia’s more prosperous age. It contained over a hundred rooms, many still in the same shape as they were when it was built.
“Why would you buy a statue for an atrium that we never even go into?” Dimitri asked.
“I don’t know,” Sergei replied. “I just knew we had to have it.”
“What is it a statue of and where did it come from?” Dimitri asked in exasperation. “How much did you pay for it?” he asked suspiciously.
“It is a statue of a young woman,” Sergei answered before he took a deep drink of his own brandy. “And we each donated a million US dollars for it.”
Dimitri choked on the sip he had just taken. “You spent two million dollars on a statue? Is it from a famous artist? Will the value increase? Who designed it?”
“Yes, no, probably not, and no one knows,” Sergei answered as he sat back in the plush leather seat and looked at Dimitri. “It is absolutely beautiful, Dimitri. I will return your donation to you if you want, but I am keeping the statue.”
Dimitri stared at Sergei’s determined face and shook his head. Sure, they both could easily have paid a hundred times that amount, but having been poor once left Dimitri on the more conservative side. If it wasn’t a good investment with a chance of increasing in value, he didn’t invest.
Sergei sat in the plush leather seat looking out into the dark sky. His thoughts were on the impulsive purchase he had made. He frowned as he thought of the statue of the young woman. He didn’t know who had been more surprised, him or Dimitri about the unexpected purchase. His plan had been to attend the auction and make a huge donation, then leave. When the statue had been unveiled, he had been mesmerized by it. The expression on the face of the statue held him spellbound. The combination of innocence, defiance, and steely determination made him almost believe in humanity again - almost.
He looked at Dimitri and told him what Simone had related to him while they waited for the statue to be set up on the stage. He had been unable to tear his eyes away from it. A shiver of apprehension had swept through him, as though warning him that his life was about to change.
“The statue was in the garden at St. Agnes Orphanage. The building was in terrible shape and the city was threatening to tear it down. I couldn’t let that happen. It was my home for a short time after my parents were killed. I lived there for almost a year before they located my father’s mother who took me in. The statue is of a young woman who lived there at one time. I don’t remember exactly who she was but she is considered to be the guardian angel for all of the children who lived there. I know she helped me during the year I was there,” Simone had quietly explained to him before the bidding started. “The garden is being redone into an interactive play area for the children. The architect in charge of the renovations decided the statue wouldn’t fit in with the new design. The statue was donated to the auction to help raise funds for the new playground equipment.”
“She is beautiful,” he commented as he studied the delicate features of the bronze statue.
“From the little I remember, she was a very unusual woman for her time. I just know I always felt safe when I was at the orphanage, knowing she was watching over me,” Simone said with a small smile.
“What happened to the woman?” Sergei asked, but Simone didn’t reply as the auctioneer began speaking.
A sense of dread built in his stomach as he listened to the auctioneer give a brief history of the statue. He looked down at the program, curious to see who the artist was that designed the statue. He frowned when he found no mention of the artist or any information on where it had been cast. The work was too detailed to have been done by an unknown artist.
“All I know is that she was murdered by a man who tried to burn down the orphanage,” Simone whispered as the bidding began. “There isn’t a lot of information on her. Just that she lived there and gave her life protecting the children who lived at St. Agnes.”
“So you paid two million dollars for a statue that no one knows anything about?” Dimitri asked in disbelief. “Because you thought it was pretty?”
Sergei frowned and drained his glass. “You’ll understand when you see it. I’m having it shipped immediately. It should be delivered in the next week.”
“You have lost your mind,” Dimitri muttered under his breath. “Two million dollars. I hope Simone is happy.”
“I told you, I’ll reimburse you the funds if you want,” Sergei bit out. “Wait until you see it, Dimitri. You’ll see what I mean when I say I could not let the statue go to anyone else. Plus, it will give you something else to do. If anyone can find out who the artist is, it is you. You always
were a sucker for a mystery.”
Dimitri scowled at Sergei before he finally grunted in agreement. “You better hope I turn up a very famous artist who makes this one of those one-of-a-kind finds that is considered a miracle.”
Sergei’s lips curved in an unusual genuine smile. “You know, I think it just might be.”
“I hope your intuition is right again, my friend,” Dimitri grumbled. “Two million dollars’ worth of one-of-a-kind.”
Chapter 4
Rune fumed silently as she looked around the tattered atrium. She didn’t want to be staring at dried and withered plants that adorned the huge area that had at one time been beautiful. She wanted to watch the children as they ran circles around her while throwing snowballs. She wanted to hear their off-key singing as the excitement of the Christmas season approached.
Instead, she had been ripped away from the serenity of her former home. She had spent the last century watching over the children. The orphanage had changed dramatically over the years, but the children, despite the changing times, remained the same. She sent warmth to the new arrivals, listened to their hopes and dreams, and did what she could to make them feel safe and happy.
She grimaced as an older man brushed dry leaves aside so the workmen could set her up in the center of the marble platform. She listened as the men joked in a language she didn’t understand.
She would have panicked when she felt herself start to topple over if she had cared what happened to her, but she was beyond caring now. She had been ripped away from the one place where she wanted to be. Until she was either pulled back to the plane where she existed in a world of nothingness or returned to her garden, she couldn’t care less what happened around her.
“Be careful!” A sharp, deep voice snapped out. “I do not want the statue damaged.”