The Russian's Dangerous Game (6 page)

After a fast shower and shave, he snapped the cufflinks onto his tuxedo shirt and pulled the dinner jacket on. If she were going to contact him, she should have done it by now. Everyone knows that one doesn’t string along a man forever. There were too many other women out there who could fulfill his needs. When he entered a charity ball that evening, his eyes automatically scanned the room, waiting to find her clad in some designer dress – a dress that he would eventually pay for when she sent the bill to his house. Normally those kinds of machinations irritated him, but in this case, he wanted Brianna so badly, he would gladly drape her in any designer dress she prettily begged for.

Then he stopped himself, irritated beyond reason for the way his mind was being controlled by his lust for a slender, innocent looking woman.
All the games had been tried on him and he wasn’t going to fall for this one either. He wanted her to be honest with her desires and if she couldn’t play by his rules, he wanted to have nothing to do with her. But by the end of the evening, when he was leaving the ball after only being there for an hour, he was still furious, but now his anger had turned to concern. Where the hell was she?

“Here’s the information I’ve been able to gather so far, sir,” Stu said, handing him a file folder that was fairly small.
Rocco read through a slightly more thorough report. She was a journalist who did stories on weddings and fluff pieces, rented an apartment for…he chuckled at the small amount she paid in rent, had a cell phone, internet service, electric bill and one credit card which she paid off every month. That was it? “Where’s the rest of the information?” he demanded.

Stu shook his head. “There wasn’t much I could find, but we’re still digging.”

Rocco looked down, his eyes narrowing as he read the rest of the information. “She only has a checking account and a retirement account?” He looked up at Stu. “She has two bank accounts and that’s it?” When Stu nodded, Rocco looked down, irritated by the way she’d invested her retirement account. She should shift her money over to some other accounts and she would be making at least twice as much as the return she was earning now.

He set the file down on the seat next to him, contemplating the small amount he knew.
A wedding reporter. Interesting choice of careers. Probably not the most lucrative. And if she were reporting on the society weddings, she most likely wanted a big, elaborate affair herself when she finally found the right man.

So she wanted to get married, eh? Not to him, he told himself firmly as he stormed into his house a half hour later. His tie was
uncaringly tossed into his closet as his irritation increased once again. She was probably tired of being on the sidelines reporting about all the fabulous affairs and wanted to snag a man who could give her the whole shebang.

She’d have to keep on looking, but he was more than willing to give her the honeymoon. He glanced at the file folder that contained her cell phone number and work number. He wasn’t going to call her, he told himself. He had work to do and she would
eventually get around to hitting him up for whatever she had in mind soon enough.

As he stared up at the ceiling that night, he hoped that she would make her move soon! Hell, he wanted her here, in his bed and in his arms. He should have gone home with one of the lovely ladies tonight who had be
en more than willing to take Brianna’s place. But they’d left him cold, every one of them. None had Brianna’s sweet smile or her shy glances that turned him on so much. And none had that crazy, honest response when he kissed her. Of course, he hadn’t bothered to kiss any of the women on display tonight, but he didn’t have to kiss them to know. It was just a gut feeling that none of the women tonight would have had the same impact.

And Rocco was never one to settle for less than the best.

Brianna’s hands shivered as she read the words again. Sitting at her desk, she wondered if anyone suspected she was doing something clandestine. She peered around at her co-workers, making sure no one was watching. She’d been too nervous last night to take a good picture of the letter, but she had some of the words and, if what she suspected was true, Rocco Antoniv was into some seriously illegal stuff.

Although what that illegal stuff was, she couldn’t quite decipher.
Yet.

She dialed Rachel’s number, hoping she might be able to tell her what was going on. Rachel
used to work as a stock broker and could always figure out anything to do with markets.

But Rachel wasn’t answering her phone. Bri left a message but in the back of her mind, she was hoping
Rachel’s new husband was occupying her time. Rachel worked way too many hours!

She e-mailed the picture to Nikki with the subject, “Any ideas on what
this is?”

Her cell phone camera had not only captured words, but also an emblem on the upper left hand corner. The letters underneath wer
e foreign and she couldn’t remember where, but she’d seen that emblem somewhere. It was important, of that she was sure. But she couldn’t figure out what was going on.

Only the words “freeze the oil supply”, “cut off funds so they had no option” and “stage the protest” were visible on her picture. If she’d been
a more experienced journalist, her hands wouldn’t have been shaking so badly and she would have gotten a better picture. She also could have gone in to her editor and made a case for time to investigate. But if she brought this in to Drew, he would laugh her out of his office. But only after he demanded to know how she’d gotten the picture. She couldn’t tell him about that night or her early morning race home. Some things a journalist just had to keep private, she told herself grimly.

She’d gotten maybe an hour or two of sleep last night,
preceded by a passion and desire so intense, she still felt dizzy just thinking about it. And she actually felt like she was walking awkwardly today. She’d been so tender last night in the most intimate part of her, but now, she only felt….different.

Stop thinking about him! She’d reprimanded herself over and over today, trying to keep the man’s touch and the way he’d….well, the things they’d….

She sighed and dropped her head onto her open palm. She had to stop thinking about Rocco Antoniv as the ultimate lover and remember that he was doing something extremely wrong. Something seriously illegal like price fixing or manipulating markets. Those two things might be the same thing for all she knew!

She looked around, biting her lip as she tried to figure out a way to identify the
mysterious emblem. She knew she’d seen it somewhere, but couldn’t place it for the life of her.

“Hey, Brianna, weren’t you asking about that billionaire guy the other day?
Antoniv?”

Brianna swung around, stuffing her cell phone into her purse with a guilty flush. “Yes. Why?” she asked, wondering if her night of passion with the man in question was written all over her face.

Leslie, another reporter who worked the police beat walked up to Brianna’s desk. Leslie was one of the nice reporters, never looking down at Brianna’s assignments. “I heard through the grapevine that he’s off to his winter lodge. You should look it up on the internet. It’s an amazing house deep in the forests of Pennsylvania. Has just about every luxury a guy could want.”

She smiled wanly, not wanting to think of Rocco as being that wealthy. She didn’t mind thinking of him as a criminal. Somehow, that made him more human. Not more attainable, she told herself
as her co-worker walked away to her own desk. No, there was no way Rocco Antoniv could ever be thought of as attainable. But she’d like to think of him as more human, more approachable.

She sighed and focused on her computer screen. She had to get
her latest assignment in fast. Drew had given her the job of reporting on the latest events coming up at the botanical gardens and their winter schedule. She was already past her own personal deadline and the official news deadline was approaching. She’d always taken pride in the fact that she’d never missed a target. She was organized and efficient, good with words and the turn of a phrase. But after last night, her world seemed different and her fingers were frozen over the keys. She wasn’t able to form coherent sentences like she normally pushed out.

Her editor appeared by her side, his eyes concerned and his mouth turned down to a frown.
“What’s going on?” Drew said as he rested a heavy hip on the corner of her desk.

Brianna’s startled eyes lifted to his, not sure what she’d done or said that would give her inner turmoil away.
“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

His eyes narrowed even more at her uncharacteristic response as well as the forced smile.
“You’re acting all jumpy today and you’re late getting your report in,” he said in a fatherly voice with concern in his eyes.

Brianna looked at the clock on her desk and gasped. “Oh no!” she said and turned back to her computer. How had she let the time slip away from her? She couldn’t believe that she’d just been thinking about how she never missed a deadline
and here she was, idling stupidly while her deadline came and went. “I’m on it,” she replied in a horrified rush.

When the gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her, she sighed and turned back to her editor. “I’m sorry, sir.”

Drew was generally pretty harsh with his reporters, but Brianna had never had to endure his wrath. He always treated her more kindly because she accepted all the assignments he tossed over to her, brought the story in on time and with lively language that engaged the reader. Yesterday, she would have bristled at his gentle tone but today, she genuinely appreciated his restraint. “Brianna, what’s going on? You’ve been jumpy and out of sorts today. Definitely not like yourself.”

She blushed and looked away, not willing to tell this kind
but often brusque man what she’d done last night. She couldn’t even say it was in pursuit of a story because she hadn’t thought about the story or the investigation after walking up that staircase with Rocco. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”

Drew s
ighed heavily and looked down at the gentle woman. She was always the bright sunshine in a room full of cloudy cynics. But here she was, looking gloomier than the worst of his reporters, but obviously not for the same reason. “You haven’t had a vacation in a long time. Why don’t you take a long weekend and go do something fun?” he suggested.

Brianna swallowed, worried that he thought she might not be able to handle her job. “I’m fine, sir. I won’t let you down.”
With everything else that had happened over the past twenty-four hours, she couldn’t handle her boss losing faith in her as well.

Drew chuckled. “I’m sure you won’t but why don’t you just go somewhere and relax? Call up Nikki
and Rachel; see if either of them could take some time off with you. Relax, enjoy the changing leaves and drink a bottle of wine.”

Brianna thought that sounded heavenly, but she still had a hard time keeping her tears at bay.
“I’ll get this report done quickly.”

He stood up and cleared his throat. “And then you’ll take a long weekend. That’s an order. You’ll be amazed a
t how much better things will look when you come back next week.”

Brianna bit her lip and stared at her computer for a long time after he left. When someone shouted across the roo
m, she jumped and forced herself to focus on her report. She had to get this in fast. Her fingers flew over the keyboard and she finished, pressing the send button only thirty minutes late. When she picked up her purse, preparing to leave, she found that the rest of the newsroom was already packed up and heading out for the weekend. It was Friday, after all. Everyone was getting ready to head out on the town, have some laughs and a few drinks, and enjoy their weekend. But what did she have to look forward to?

She stepped out of the building and looked
around, trying to think of what she could do over her unexpected long weekend. She could call Nikki and Rachel, maybe the three of them could grab a pizza or….

She’d follow him.

***

The thought popped into her head so suddenly that she actually stopped in her tracks and looked around. A couple of people bumped into her, grumbling irritably when she did that, but she ignored the crowds on the wide, dirty sidewalk while her mind pondered the idea of following Rocco, discovering his secrets. What was in that letter that she’d missed? What was he hiding? Maybe this was a bigger story than just revealing the man’s horrible personality to the world. Even this morning, she’d suspected that he really was a charming rat-fink who was doing something illegal but what if there was more to it?

She started walk
ing again, but this time her pace was slower, her mind working to try and fill in the blanks. She didn’t know what the symbol was on the side of the letter and because she’d been so silly and nervous, she hadn’t gotten the whole picture, but she could find out where he was this weekend and follow him, hide until she had a chance to sneak into his home. Maybe there would be more evidence that she could discover and finally piece everything together. If she knew who he was meeting with, or where he was going, that might give her a clue as to others that could be involved. It was a long shot, she told herself. The man might be simply attending charity events, donating loads of cash to some worthy cause and opening up his museum. Next thing, he’s on the road to wherever his real crimes were occurring. If he flew off to some other country, or even another state, there was no way she could track him. She simply didn’t have that kind of money or time.

But what if she found out something
while he was here? What if she figured out the identity of the man Rocco had met with last night at the dance club and figured out what the two of them were up to?

That’s what a real reporter would do, she told herself, her mind starting to wrap itself around the idea with relish. “Yes,”
she said out loud, startling several people who were trying to walk around her. “I can do this.”

With that in mind, she hurried to her car and drove to her apartment where she revved up her laptop and started searching. Of course, his personal itinerary wasn’t posted online, nor had she thought it would be. But
Leslie had mentioned that Rocco was heading to his winter house. With that information, what she did find was perfect for her plan! The man was hosting a huge party at his country house! And that was in the Pennsylvania mountains, only two hours away from here! What luck!