Chapter 6

Chapter Six

O leg watched through the two-way glass of the mirror in Elene’s conference room as papers were spread out over the table and Elene’s secretary—Maria? Margret? He couldn’t remember—talked the little wolf through the intake paperwork that would make her officially Oleg’s property.

Not property exactly, but once she’d signed those papers, she was well and truly part of his world, which made her fair game for all sorts of interesting possibilities.

His fingers itched as the fire under his skin begged to come out, just to play a little bit, but he pushed back his instincts. Light like that might betray his presence.

Someone cracked open the door. Oleg glanced over his shoulder and saw Mika with his second-in-command, another water vampire named Oksana.

Oleg snapped his fingers and motioned them in. “Get inside and close the door.”

Mika walked to Oleg and Oksana shut the door behind them.

“What’s happening?” Mika asked.

“She’s signing her intake paperwork for Elene.”

Mika glanced at the mirror, then at Oleg. “And you’re watching this why?”

Oleg cocked his head. “She’s interesting.”

Oksana peered through the glass, seeing Tatyana for the first time. “She looks like Luana, doesn’t she?”

Mika made a rumbling sound in the back of his throat. “She’s not Luana.”

“Obviously not,” Oksana said. “But she does look a little bit?—”

“It’s not the resemblance that makes her interesting.” Oleg wished both of them would keep quiet. “The more I look at her, the more I see the difference. The coloring is the same.” He shrugged. “A bit around the eyes. But her mouth, her personality—completely different.”

Mika nodded slowly. “Yes, she seems rational and not insane.”

Oleg’s lip curled. “Did you have something to tell me?”

Mika reached his hand out and Oksana handed him a file. “We found more on her father after you and I spoke last night. He’s Czech—no known relation to Luana’s people—and was in Sevastopol on holiday when he met her mother. Basic sad tale for the woman. He has his fun and takes off home. She’s left with a baby and no father. End of story.”

The end of the story on paper, but Oleg had a feeling it was more complicated for the human in the ice-blue suit.

Tatyana examined everything. She noticed everything. She’d glanced at the two-way mirror more than once, and he suspected she knew she was being watched.

She asked question after question, but there was nothing to detect. There was no secret agenda—at least not on paper.

Tatyana Vorona was agreeing to a contract to be a paid consultant for SMO International, a forensic-accounting consultant to be specific. She would receive a base pay, lodging, and a meal stipend while she was in Odesa along with a percentage of monies recovered during her employment.

She would pay taxes on it. She’d have part of it deducted for SMO’s mandatory investment program and would be covered under the company’s standard employment benefits and obligations umbrella while she was a contractor.

His little wolf could pick apart every contract he handed to her, and she would find nothing that went against the law.

“She likes rules.” Oleg fixed his eyes on her as she read through the last bit of her contract. “She likes order and predictability. She’s ambitious but a little bit afraid of it. She wasn’t raised to think much of herself, but she does and she’s not sure how she feels about that.”

Mika leaned against the wall and looked at Tatyana. Then at Oleg. “How much time have you spent watching this woman?”

He caught Oksana’s smile, even though she tried to cover it, but the vampire said nothing.

“Enough to read her.” Oleg was fascinated by Tatyana’s mouth. It was wide and expressive. She didn’t conceal much even though she probably thought she did. Her mouth told every story. Annoyance with the rote corporatespeak that Elene’s secretary was spewing. Awareness of the bag that carried her computer and papers. She kept glancing at it with a small frown. Not unhappy, just serious.

“She doesn’t know how to find that money,” Mika said.

“How do you know?” Oleg kept his eyes on Tatyana but raised an eyebrow. “She knows more about computers than either of us. She might find it.”

“It doesn’t matter if she does. As of tonight, she is bait for Zara.”

Oleg grunted as he glanced at Mika. His second-in-command was cold-blooded, and that’s why Oleg trusted him. Mika Arakis was loyal to Oleg, to the druzhina, and to his own interests. That was all, and that was everything Oleg needed from the vampire.

He looked back at the woman. “Miss Vorona might not be as clumsy as you think.”

“It would be better she tripped some of Zara’s traps,” Oksana said quietly. “We need to get your daughter out of Istanbul.”

“And if she doesn’t?” The corner of Oleg’s mouth ticked up. “Whatever will you two do if the woman manages to steal back my money without tipping Zara off?”

Oksana curled her lip. “That would be inconvenient.”

“It won’t matter,” Mika said. “I’ve already leaked her name to some of your brothers in Moscow.”

Oleg felt a twitch under his right eye. “Why?”

“Because your criminal relations gossip more than old soldiers.” Mika straightened. “I know Zara keeps in touch with the Albanians too. Word will get around, and we’ll be ready.”

Oleg didn’t know why there was a sour taste in the back of his throat. That was exactly what Mika was supposed to do.

“Don’t worry.” Mika smiled a little bit. “I have people watching her. Day and night. Zara and her minions won’t be able to get to her without us knowing.”

“I don’t want her hurt.” Oleg turned back to the window to see Tatyana signing the last paper.

She smiled a polite, professional smile at Maria. Miriam? Whatever the secretary’s name was. Then she glanced at the mirror again.

Her eyes narrowed, and Oleg had the oddest feeling that the woman could see right through the glass. He met her intense blue gaze and felt as if she were looking right through the wall.

Elene walked into the room, and Tatyana looked away.

Oleg turned the volume up on the speaker feed from the conference room.

“…get you situated in a proper office.”

“I don’t mind this room as long as it’s private.” Tatyana looked at the mirror. “I do need privacy.”

So she knew someone was there. Maybe not Oleg, but someone.

“Of course,” Elene said smoothly. “Which is why I’d prefer you to work in one of the offices that adjoins mine. This conference room can have people coming and going. You need someplace where you’ll have privacy and can leave your computer if you need to go out for a break.”

“My computer stays with me.” She touched the strap of the messenger bag. “I don’t leave it.”

“Ever?”

“Never.” She rested her hand on the worn leather. “I have backup equipment in other locations. Encrypted drives with people I trust, but my primary computer I keep myself.”

What a suspicious little thing she was. Oleg approved.

“She doesn’t trust any of us,” Mika said. “She might survive this after all.”

“Yes.” Oksana’s nose was nearly on the glass. “She seems smart for a human.”

Elene continued in the conference room. “That’s very security conscious.” She nodded. “I approve. Marta says you’ve completed all the paperwork we need.”

Marta. The secretary’s name was Marta.

He’d forget it by the next night. There were too many women with M-names in the office at the moment.

Elene continued. “I’m assuming you’ve checked that your back pay was transferred into your account. If it’s not, we can wait before we proceed. Sometimes bank transfers can take a few days.”

“The money is already there, but I think there was some mistake. The amount I received was far more than what I was owed.” Tatyana lifted her chin. “I was not asking for an advance.”

“The advance is standard with contracts of this kind,” Elene said. “As you will not be paid the full commission until your contract is complete, you’ll need money to live on, and that’s what the advance is for.”

“But the money Zara owed me?—”

“Was also correct,” Elene said. “You were paid for your six months of wages. We calculated your per-day rate based on that amount and paid you for the six months of workdays—roughly one hundred and twenty days minus bank and government holidays—for that period and added that amount to your payment. It’s standard back pay. Mr. Sokolov insisted. He wants no problems with the Ukrainian or Russian labor authorities, and he trusts that SMO has remedied the situation to your satisfaction.”

She blinked. The icy little wolf blinked, and Oleg smiled.

He’d surprised her. Good.

“Of course. You are correct.” Tatyana nodded. “I appreciate how quickly you resolved this, Ms. Beridze.”

“She didn’t say thank you.” Mika glanced over his shoulder. “Ungrateful human.”

“No thanks are needed when a debt is settled,” Oleg said. “I paid her what Zara owed.”

Elene was just as brusque. “Excellent.” She handed Tatyana one last form. “If you could sign this, we will make a copy for both SMO and your own files so that we have a record you have received your back pay from ZOL and that any outstanding wages have been settled before the start of your current contract.”

“Of course.” The little human signed on the line, and Elene snatched up the paper and handed it to the secretary.

Your foot is well and truly in my trap now, volchitsa.

“She’s mine now,” Oleg said.

Mika raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

Oleg shrugged. “Exactly what I said. She’s mine.”

Oleg was walking toward the conference room when he nearly ran into Elene’s secretary. He looked down at the dark-haired woman who only came up to his chest.

“Marta.”

The young woman blushed. “Mr. Sokolov.”

“Thank you for staying late tonight.”

The secretary stammered. “It’s always a pleasure… I mean, it’s no problem, Mr. Sokolov.”

He’d fed from her once. Enjoyed her innocent attempts at seduction before he wiped her memory. She would have been embarrassed to look at him otherwise.

He lifted his chin and looked down at the woman. “Is Elene finished in the conference room?”

She glanced over her shoulder. “I believe Ms. Beridze is showing Tatyana to the office she wants her to use.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s the one right behind my desk.” Marta blushed a little. “If you want me to show you?—”

“No need. I remember where your desk is.”

Marta smiled. “Of course.” She blushed harder, and Oleg took a deep inhale of the light, floral scent of the human’s blood.

Was she a vegetarian? Possibly.

He moved past the blushing human and walked down the hall, turning quickly into another office where he spotted Elene and Tatyana behind a half-open door.

“…not sure what you mean, Miss Vorona.” Elene’s voice was low and cautious.

Oleg paused at the door, scanning the room for other ears. It was late and there was no one else around since Marta had left.

“Zara said her father had set up the company for her,” Tatyana said. “And I thought it was… I mean, there’s no way that Mr. Sokolov…?”

“What exactly are you asking?”

Yes, what are you asking, little human? Oleg paused in the doorway and leaned against the wall, waiting to hear how his newest employee would explain her prying. This was interesting. He hadn’t considered what Zara might have told her bookkeeper. The woman might know more about the vampire world than she realized.

“I’m not being intrusive.” Tatyana’s voice was defensive. “If I am to understand the financial structure of ZOL and start searching for the money Mr. Sokolov is owed, I need to know where the initial funding came from and if there is another person who might have been working with her. If someone else had access to those funds?—”

“I will have to speak to Mr. Sokolov about this,” Elene said. “There are some matters that are?—”

“Personal,” he said in a raised voice.

Tatyana and Elene both swung their heads toward him. Tatyana’s mouth gaped in surprise. Elene’s expression was blank. She had probably known he was there the entire time. For a human, she had incredible instincts.

Oleg stepped into Elene’s waiting room. “I believe you were asking personal questions about my relationship with Zara, Miss Vorona.”

Elene opened the office door wider and looked at Oleg with a lifted brow. “Oleg.”

“Zara said her father’s name was Oleg.” Tatyana’s arms were crossed over her chest. “That her father set up the company for her. I am not trying to invade your privacy, but I had to ask because I need to know?—”

“It’s a perfectly understandable question,” Oleg said. “Have you eaten tonight, Miss Vorona?”

The little wolf blinked again. “I have not.”

“Neither have I.” He’d fed the night before and he was old. Very old. He only needed to feed on human blood every week or so.

But Oleg had other appetites.

“I’ll take you to dinner. After we’ve eaten, you may ask your questions.”

Elene’s voice was sharp. “That’s not necessary.”

Oleg kept his eyes on Tatyana. “Consider it your welcome dinner to SMO. If you’re curious about me, you can ask whatever you like. Directly.”

Tatyana glanced at Elene, then back at Oleg. “I would be happy to join you and Ms. Beridze for dinner.”

“Elene has a family.” The corner of his mouth inched up, and he had the urge to bare his fangs. “And she’s already stayed long past office hours. I don’t want to keep her.” He held out his arm and hitched his fingers at Tatyana. “Come. My car will take us to a restaurant I know near your hotel. How does that sound?”

She didn’t want to agree; Oleg could see it in her eyes. She wanted to get away. She wanted someone else to answer the questions she had about him. But then again…

Tatyana Vorona was a curious little thing.

“Thank you, Mr. Sokolov.” She forced a smile. “Give me one moment to get my papers together and I’ll join you out front.”

“I’ll wait.” He glanced at Elene. “I can be patient when I need to be.”

Elene’s expression was asking what her mouth refused to say. What are you doing, Oleg?

He shrugged. He would do as he wanted, and that night he wanted to dine with Tatyana Vorona.

Tatyana rushed to put the stack of contracts in her worn satchel along with her precious computer.

As curious as he was about what she kept on her cherished machine, Oleg would have to remember to keep his distance. Valuable information was locked in that electronic device, and his elemental energy would fry it.

The bookkeeper finished and closed the clasp on her bag. “Thank you for explaining everything so clearly, Ms. Beridze. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. Now that you’ve signed a nondisclosure agreement, our first order of business will be to get you copies of all the accounts Zara forwarded to us from ZOL so you can compare them against your books.”

Back on surer footing, Tatyana relaxed. “Of course. As long as she was using the same software, I can compare them very quickly.”

“Dinner,” Oleg barked.

Elene lifted her chin and looked at Oleg, her eyes shouting at him. Then she turned back to Tatyana and smiled. “I’ll be in the office at nine.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Oleg held out his hand, snapping his fingers at Tatyana, who nearly jumped at the sound.

Elene barked at him in her native Georgian. “Don’t be a barbarian.”

He responded in the same language. “I am a barbarian, remember?” He turned to Tatyana. “It’s late and you haven’t eaten. You’re pale.”

“I’m always pale.”

She wasn’t afraid of him now that she had her computer under her arm and business with Elene to discuss. Good. He didn’t like people who were afraid of him. They were useful but boring.

Oleg hated to be bored.