Owned by the Russian Mafia Boss: A Mob Romance (5 page)

Immediately, she flushed and he regretted the words. Without saying anything else, he strode out of the room and slammed the door shut. He didn’t expect her to fall into his arms, but he’d never had a woman flinch when he came near her. It filled him with rage.

“Good morning,” Ana said as she passed him the hallway. “Care to let me know how I’m going to find your lady friend?”

Alek gave Ana a steely look. “I think you should be more concerned with how you’re going to find me.”

Ana snorted. “Are you practicing to be a hard ass in your meeting? You should be nicer to me, or I’m going to steal that sweet ass right out from under you. Or over you?”

Alek couldn’t help but chuckle. Ana pushed the boundaries every day, but she was perhaps the best he had on staff. “Make sure she eats breakfast today. I’ll have some paperwork on the desk in the front that I want her to file.”

“File? You have people for that,” Ana said with a confused look on her face.

“She needs to pull her weight around here.”

“Okay. That’s not at all vague or strange. Also, you should know that Claudia is waiting for you downstairs. I tried to get rid of her for you, but then she reminded me that you don’t pay me enough to deal with women like her.”

“How did she do that?”

“She called me the help. Have fun with her.” Ana gave him a sweet smile before continuing down the hall. Alek shook his head. Claudia was a mistake and one he should have dealt with a long time ago.

The beautiful redhead sat on his desk and tapped her fingernails on the wood. “Alek. Sleeping in, are you?” She got off the desk and wrapped her hands around his lapels and offered her lips.

Alek suffered through her kiss with a steel spine. “You’re up before noon. I can only assume that you never went to bed.”

She slid a manicured fingernail down his tie and giggled. “I was waiting for you to call last night.”

A voice filtered from the stairs. “Ana, I like you, but I swear if you try to get me to wear that, I will find a way to take you down. You might get a few hits in first, but I’ll land at least one. Alek, I don’t know what the hell you were thinking, but I am not wearing glitter up my ass…” Natalia topped short at the bottom of the stairs and stared at him.

Claudia didn’t loosen her hold on him. “Alek. Who is this?”

Alek forcefully removed her hands. “Claudia, this is Natalia.”

The redhead crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “I suppose she is why you didn’t call me last night. That’s fine.” Her heels clicked against the floor as she moved closer to Natalia. “I know you like to shake up our relationship with new women. But you always come back to me when you tire of them. You’re not his usual type, darling.”

“Do not even think of touching me,” Natalia said coldly. Claudia chuckled.

“Spicy, isn’t she? Well, I imagine that will cool down soon enough. Tell me, Natalia. How long do you plan on sticking around?”

“Longer than you will, I’m sure,” Natalia said with a frown. “Alek. Can we talk about this thong you’ve decided I should wear today? If you wanted easy access throughout the day, you should have put me in a skirt.”

Claudia inhaled sharply, and Alek tried not to chuckle. “I didn’t specify your lingerie today. Anything Ana told you to put on was because Ana wants you to wear it,” he said with a smile.

“Ana,” Natalia said with a growl. “I am going to kill you!” She stomped back upstairs, and Claudia turned around and glared at him.

“Is she living here?” the woman asked softly.

“Yes, she is. And while she’s here, I would like you to not be,” Alek said as he brushed past her.

“Is that a joke?” she said coldly. “We’ve been together for almost six months.”

Alek glanced at the clock. He really didn’t have time to be dealing with this. “Claudia, I’m not sure you understood our relationship. I have been sleeping with you for six months, but we were by no means together. And in that time, I assure you, I saw quite a few other women. And now I plan on seeing Natalia.”

“Without seeing other women? Come on, Alek. I don’t mind sharing,” Claudia wheedled as she put her arms around him. This time, he leaned back and removed her arms.

“Goodbye Claudia. See yourself out, or I’ll get someone to see you out. And please don’t come back unannounced again,” he said as he turned his back and left.

Through the lounge area were a series of offices. At the first office, he opened the drawer and pulled out a few files. After making sure the right file was in there, he shuffled them up and scattered them on the desk. He had no doubt Natalia would not be able to resist peaking at them.

Satisfied she’d be occupied for the day, he shut his office door and picked up the phone. “Sasha, can you please make sure our guests are greeted properly at the door. They should be here within the hour.” And by greeted, he meant frisked thoroughly.

“Yes, boss. Do you want them to come through the front?”

“Absolutely not,” Alek snapped. He did not want any of them to get a look at Natalia. Maybe he should have had Claudia stay to entertain.

Except that wasn’t how he worked. Even if Claudia were the bane of his existence, he wouldn’t just serve her up on a platter to his enemies.

***

Natalia sat at the desk and rocked back and forth in her chair for a few minutes. Alek sat behind the closed door to her left, and she wanted desperately to put her ear against the wood and find out what was going on. He’d spread some files out on the desk that he wanted her to go through, and she suspected that none of it would be damning.

There was no way that Alek was just going to hand her proof of his illegal operations. No. She’d have to seduce him, figuratively, and get in his good graces. She had to prove to him that she could be trusted before she could get her revenge.

Only that would be hard to do if he continued to seduce her. She was just so powerless to resist him.

A heavy, sticky sweet perfume clung to the air, and she wrinkled her nose in displeasure. So far, the only other female she’d seen was Anastasia, and she didn’t wear perfume. How many other women did Alek have in his mansion?

An unpleasant feeling unfurled in the pit of her stomach. Was that…jealousy? Ridiculous. After one night with Alek, she couldn’t possibly be jealous of another woman. In fact, she should be pleased that another woman could hold his attention. She’d have more freedom to snoop around the offices.

Trying to hold on to that thought rather than the feeling inside her, she sighed loudly and flipped open the first folder. It was a profile of someone named Stephen Frederick. According to the file, Stephen had worked for the previous boss, Grigori, for twenty-seven years before he was killed in a shooting across town. Natalia studied the picture with a stirring of interest. Why had Alek pulled the files of people who died before he even took over?

Pulling open the drawers, she tumbled through the files until she found one labeled deceased. Her chest clenched when she realized the section consisted of half this drawer and the two on the bottom. Apparently very few got out of the mob alive. She ran her fingers over the files before she found the spot for poor Stephen Frederick and stuffed him back in.

Not that she felt sorry for the dead man. He’d likely taken more than his fair share of lives.

The next file consisted of someone also dead and also having worked for Grigori. Dead at the young age of twenty-four. Natalia shuddered. Scanning through the file, she realized that the kid had worked for the mob for ten years. That meant he’d started at the tender age of fourteen. How was that even possible?

Her anger mounted as she opened the drawer and filed the young man’s folder away. The kid hadn’t even had a chance to live a life. Is this what Alek did as well? Did he find young and vulnerable teenagers and strap a gun to their hands? What did he promise them? Money? Prestige? Fucking candy?

The next file the she opened made her blood run cold. The picture, taken three decades ago, held a familiar face.

“Dad?” she whispered as she stared at the young features of Petr Primac. There was no way he worked for the mob. It simply couldn’t be possible. Swallowing hard, her eyes skimmed down the page. Part of her screamed to close the file and never look at it again, but she had to know. Apparently he’d worked for the previous mob boss at the age of twenty, and he’d retired ten years ago.

Retired? All the others had died, but her father had managed to get out. How was that even possible?

Her hands shook with fury. Alek had left this file out on purpose. He’d wanted her to know what her father had done. Maybe it wasn’t even true. Maybe it was just a form of emotional manipulation.

Well, she didn’t give a damn about his orders for her to stay out of his office. If he wanted to fuck with her like this, he was going to face the consequences. She wanted answers. And she wanted them now.

***

After Alek pulled out the paperwork and looked over the budgets for the casinos, he received a phone call from Sasha letting him know that Boris had arrived. Taking a deep breath, Alek whirled his chair around and waited. For any other rival, he would have stood and shaken his hand, but Boris was more than a rival. If Alek could have found a way to kill Boris by now, he would have.

Boris was a disgusting man. Weighing more than three hundred pounds, he literally threw his weight around. As he pushed his girth through the doorway, he flung his belly and glared at Alek. “Evanoff. I see your men still don’t trust us. They had hands in places I usually reserve for my special women.”

Alek wanted to vomit in his mouth. “You don’t have a reputation of staying within the parameters of our deals.” He looked at Sasha. “Were they clean?”

“No.”

“I rest my case,” Alek said. He pointed to the chairs across the desk. “Sit down so we can get this unpleasant business over with. If you’d like to simply sign the contracts, I’ll be happy to return your weapons, and you can be on your way.”

“If you’ve made all the changes that I requested, I’d be more than happy to sign the contract,” Boris said as he squeezed himself in the chair. It squeaked dangerously under him, and for a moment Alek thought the man would fall. His guards flanked him on either side of the office, and Sasha and Misha positioned themselves behind Alek. The room was tense.

“As I’ve noted before, the changes you want to make are outrageous. Your proposed casino is a front for a whorehouse, and it is far too close to my territory. Move it back at least fifty kilometers, and you will have no issues from me.”

The smile slipped off Boris’s face. “I have held my territory before you were even born, boy. I am only here out of courtesy. I will build my casino wherever I like,” he said coldly.

Alek didn’t even twitch as he pulled out a piece of paper from the center drawer of his desk. “I’ve known for quite some time that you wanted to build. Now, I would like to be as cordial as possible, but I’ve already taken steps to make sure your casino does not get built. If you do not agree to move your place of business fifty kilometers away from my borders, I will sign this contract that will allow me to purchase five blocks of store front property in the middle of your land.”

Eyes wide, Boris leaned forward and snatched up the contract. “If any of your men set foot in my property, I’ll shoot them dead. You’ll lose a lot of men.”

“Most likely, but if you continue to wage war in the middle of your territory, you’ll drive business away. And once you’re forced to sell more property, I’ll buy. I’ll own you, Boris.”

The man’s eyes filled with rage as he stood. Just as he opened his mouth to scream, the door burst open and Natalia threw the files on his desk. “What the hell is this?”

As Boris eyed Natalia, Alek stood sharply and glared at the guard at the door. “I said we were to be left alone.”

The guard saw the anger in his eyes and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’ll get her out,” he muttered as he reached for Natalia. She wrenched out of his grasp.

“What the fuck is this, Alek? I want answers.”

“Natalia, I’m in the middle of something. We’ll talk about this later,” he said coldly as he nodded to his guard.

“Hold on there, Alek,” Boris said as he put his hands up. He licked his lips as he stared at Natalia. “I like the females you keep here. You give me one night with her, and I’ll be more than happy to move my casino. Provided you don’t buy my property.”

Natalia gasped, and Alek clenched his jaw. “You don’t touch her. Ever. She’s mine.”

“Yours. That makes the prize that much sweeter,” Boris said as he leaned forward to touch her. Natalia stumbled back, and Alek immediately placed himself between her and Boris. He felt the sudden and desperate need to protect her.

“Misha, please escort Natalia out while I finish these negotiations,” he said coldly.

“Sure thing, boss,” Misha said as he escorted Natalia out of the office. He heard the door close behind them and glared at the man across the desk. “Neither she nor any of my women are on the table, Boris. Move your casino back or I buy the property. I have money to spare.”

Boris sighed and sat back in the chair. “Forty kilometers back there is land that I can develop. It’s the farthest I can go without getting into residential districts.”

Alek calmed down and sat. “See how well we can work when we put our minds together,” he said as he reached for the contract. Striking out the fifty kilometers, he entered in the new parameters and slid it across the desk.

The old man pulled out his glasses and looked it over. With a grunt of approval, he sighed it and pushed the paper back toward Alek. “Are we done here?”

“I believe we are. Pleasure doing business with you, Boris,” Alek said. He didn’t stand, but he did motion to Sasha to open the door. “Make sure Boris and his escorts get their weapons back outside the gate.”

Boris chuckled, and he nodded. “I look forward to doing more business with you, Alek. I believe that next time, you won’t find things go so pleasantly for you.”

Alek didn’t respond as Boris and his men left. He watched the cameras, and once he saw that they were in their car and driving away, he got up and opened the door to the front office. Natalia sat quietly in the chair as she stared at the file. “Get in here. Now.”