Chapter 19

Kraven

By the time we made it back to the hotel, twilight was around the corner, the late afternoon sun providing more than just heat. I was noticing every shadow, every movement, convinced another assassin was waiting in the limited light.

I'd decided to park the vehicle myself instead of using a valet, rolling into the underground garage while continuously checking the area. Fortunately, there'd been no incidents during the drive back, no sense that we were being followed. In truth, the fact that all was quiet didn't bode well for my mood. My instincts had been excellent over the years, honed by incidents and training. But right now, everything felt a little off.

As I rolled across the concrete path leading toward the security parking area, I noticed Penny was staring at me intently. Perhaps she'd been wondering why I'd paid more attention to the rearview mirror than I had to the traffic in front of me.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked when I rolled into a spot with a hard stop. "Did you see something?"

"Who said anything is wrong?"

"Because you've been tense since the dog park."

"In my business, it pays to be tense."

"So you really are mafia. Yes?"

I cut the engine, throwing her a look. "I thought you already knew and had accepted my profession. Russian Bratva to be exact, or at least if you asked my dead father that's what he'd tell you we were."

"Your title?"

"Pakhan."

"But you don't want to be called that. I can tell by the disdain in your voice."

I unbuckled the seatbelt, trying not to sweep the garage. One of the vehicles with my two soldiers pulled up behind us, merely waiting until we were safely secured in the elevator. "I've worked very hard to build the casinos and resorts into legitimate businesses, Penny. However, that doesn't mean my roots aren't firmly placed in the old ways, built from a heritage that is almost unrecognizable to me today. Brutality unlike anything you've ever seen. Extortion. Money laundering. Blackmail. They were merely tools of the trade and the industry. I'd learned over the years that enemies never forgot a tragedy or a loss, memories shifting from one generation to another. It's the way of things, a rite of passage to some and a burden to others. It's what I know and what I can't walk away from. At least not in its entirety."

The slight smile she had faded. I could see the light understanding flowing in when she'd tried very hard to shove aside the thought that her heroic actions had placed her in danger. While the afternoon had been incredible, it simply wasn't the norm and never could be.

And for the first time in as long as I could remember, the comprehension made me somewhat sad.

"It must be difficult not to be allowed to control your own destiny."

"Look around you, Penny. What do I have to complain about? Come on. Let's go to the suite where you can freshen up."

"What are you going to be doing?" she asked softly as she unfastened her seatbelt, immediately opening the door. Remington hopped out first, remaining close. He'd been a sweetheart the entire day. Now, I could almost see myself getting a dog.

"I have a short meeting, but I won't keep you alone for long."

"You're worried what happened isn't over."

I pressed my hand against the small of her back, taking another scan of the parking garage. "As I said before, it's part of the job."

"How can you live this way?"

"Because it's all I know. Come on." I wasn't going to tell her that the bloodshed and violence were akin to the air I breathed, the need to kill firmly implanted in my DNA. Nor was I going to provide her with any details about the life I'd been brought up in or the stories I'd been told. I was surprised I'd told her so much already. Not that she could do anything with it should she decide to go to a member of law enforcement.

Sadly, what I knew was that telling her any gritty details would force a reaction including running far away. I couldn't allow that to happen. No, I refused to allow that to happen. The possessive side of me was working in full force.

I kept my hand pressed against her, reaching around me to ensure the weapon I'd tucked into my trousers was still firmly secured in place.

"It's still there," she said more in passing.

"What?"

"I might seem sweet and innocent to you, Mr. Sokolov, but I know my weapons. You forget. I grew up in the country."

She had a way of disarming me that would forever be a delight. "You have me curious again since you have so many hidden talents. Can you shoot?"

"Hell, yes. I'm a crack shot at hitting empty Diet Coke cans." She peered back at the two men. "Do you ever go anywhere without your soldiers?"

"Well, it's apparent they don't take a shower with me if that's what you mean."

My little captive rolled her eyes in response. "I bet you have cameras installed in your suite."

"It's the one place I don't, other than outside the door of course."

"Of course. Such brilliant security."

I chuckled as I pressed my flexed fingers on the private elevator's panel, making a mental note that she'd need to be scanned so she wouldn't feel like a complete prisoner. Although her earlier cage comment had the sadistic man inside of me thinking evil thoughts. At this point, I doubted she had any intention of going to the police. What would she say? Although I'd give her a short leash and nothing else. God, I was acting like some fucking guardian or worse.

Her father.

But she still had no real understanding of the impending danger. And I had no doubt it was impending, the clock ticking.

Only this time, I feared a guillotine's sharp blade would fall.

As soon as we stepped into the steel box, I felt more at ease. The meeting with the Santos twins couldn't come fast enough in my opinion. "I was serious about you working at one of my clubs. I have various styles of dancers in three resorts." The doors closed and I leaned against the back wall.

"Come on, pup," she said as she guided Remington in beside her. "I won't take handouts, Kraven. Especially not since we were… intimate."

"Oh, I assure you that you'd be required to audition like any of my other dancers. And the man I hired as a choreographer is a Siberian tiger."

"Oh, goodness. He took your title away from you."

"Only because I allowed him to. I have an award-winning series of shows, my dear. I hire the best and because of that, our reputation is solid. Unlike the Morelli brothers who use some of the girls in sexual escapades."

"You mean in sex trafficking." When I slowly lowered my head, probably showing another sign of surprise, it was another opportunity for her to roll her eyes. "You really do think I'm nothing but some innocent bumpkin a country girl who never learned anything. Right?"

"No, you graduated Summa Cum Laude from college after holding the valedictorian honors with your high school. You're a very smart woman."

"You've been checking up on me." She wrinkled her nose, fury rushing into those bright eyes of hers.

"It's what I do to help keep myself alive."

"Why didn't you just ask?"

"Because people lie and because it would seem you have something to hide."

She huffed. "Maybe people lie in your world but not in mine. My mother raised me right. What about yours?" As she took a giant step forward, only a couple of inches from the elevator doors, I knew I had my hands full. "Yes, I have a past I don't want to relive, talk about, or be judged by. Don't we all?"

My pretty Penny wasn't saying anything that wasn't true.

The slight pinging was followed by the doors starting to open and she did everything she could to yank them open faster, ushering Remington out as soon as possible. By the time I stepped out, she was already pacing in front of the suite's door, which pulled another smile to my face.

I took my sweet time heading to where she was standing, leaning against the wall. "I take it you want something?"

"Yeah, space from you. Open the door so I can go take a long, hot bath and rid myself of your scent."

"Say pretty please."

"How about bastard instead?" She even lifted her arm, showing off her middle finger for emphasis.

What a freaking breath of fresh air. I could even fall in love with this girl, if I were the kind of man to allow that to happen. I pressed my hand on the panel, taking a deep breath. "It's all about keeping you protected."

"No, Kraven. It's all about keeping you and your world protected. I'm nothing but an inconvenience."

She bolted inside without hesitation and all I could do was shake my head. My little lioness might never learn to trust me.

A noise caught my attention before I had a chance to walk inside. I glanced toward the elevator, seeing nothing but an empty hallway. But my instinct told me otherwise. Goddamn it, I loathed reacting this way. After ten seconds of seeing nothing, I moved inside, immediately scanning the main room.

Fortunately, there was nothing amiss. I closed the door, locking it by instinct.

Why the hell had I suddenly become jumpy?

"We're not going to do this, Penny. I have too many enemies not to ensure that those I allow inside my inner sanctum are trustworthy, at least to the point they won't attempt to do anything stupid."

She tossed her purse on the couch, immediately removing Remington's leash. "Inner sanctum. You truly make it sound like you believe you're the king of the world."

"I'm king of my empire, one that both my father and I worked hard to make viable after coming to this country."

"Mmm… Before you beat Misha to a pulp, he mentioned you found him on the streets of Moscow."

Her exaggeration was irritating but I knew why she was goading me. "I did. He was an orphaned kid with nowhere to go and I had a feeling about him."

"Let me guess. He witnessed a crime."

My jaw immediately clenched not only by what she was insinuating and by the harsh look in her eye, but also because she had no idea how close she was to the truth. "He saved my life, Penny. Did he tell you that?"

She blinked several times, softening once again.

"No. He was too busy singing your praises. I wonder if he's doing that now?" She folded her arms, continuing to act as if by invading her privacy, I'd stripped away what little amount of trust she'd placed in me.

What I couldn't tell her was that neither Misha nor I had been able to save someone even more important, at least to me. I was tired of sparring with Penny.

"Let me ask you something, Kraven. Does it ever get old needing to look over your shoulder? Do you ever want to be someone else, born into a family where you don't have a red target placed on your back, a field of enemies so wide they outnumbered the people you can trust? Did you ever want to simply be something like an accountant or a doctor, walking on the right side of the law while being able to live your life without fear?"

"The simple answer is yes, Red Penny. But I wasn't allowed that. I was born into a regime that's been around for generations. I wasn't allowed any choices, required to take over the helm. And while it might sound enviable that other people can go about their lives engaged in frivolous activity like barbeques with friends, amusement parks, and singing Christmas carols, the real truth is that at any time there could be a home invasion or they could walk to their car and be hit by a stray bullet. What's the difference in how I live my life?"

She inched closer, staring at me incredulously. "What's the difference? Are you kidding me? The difference is called hope. Celebration. It's about all those things you called frivolous that give a reason for living, for enjoying life to its fullest. Laughter. Love. Giving. Receiving. All foreign to you but special to pretty much ninety-nine percent of the population. I'm sorry you have no family. I'm sorry you weren't given any choices when you were a kid. But you're no longer a child, Kraven. You're a man of importance, or so I keep hearing. Make choices now for you, not because of the past."

She glared at me in such a way that I felt some sense of admiration. "Ah, but I do have a family."

Her eyes opened wide, the slight tilt of her head telling me I'd shocked her. "Please don't tell me you're married? I will be sick."

She had me chuckling all over again. "No, my beautiful baby. I have a brother. He was only ten when our parents died in a horrific accident. I've done what I could to allow him the choices I didn't have but he hates me much like you do. And no, I'm not fatherly material. I don't know how to be in a relationship, but I do have feelings like anyone else. I feel pain, heartache, worry, and even fear. But I am not allowed to admit that to anyone. Anyone. If I did, I would be eaten alive, anything and everything I care about used against me, my emotions considered a weakness. And in my world, men who allow themselves to indulge in weaknesses are killed."

She took a deep breath, holding it for several seconds. When she let it out, turning her head away from me, it was more ragged that before. "How sad, Kraven. How very sad. At least I know you're human. That's not fair. What you allowed me to see today was… special." She moved to the set of back doors, throwing one open and walking outside.

Special. She was the one who was special, allowing me to see the world through someone else's eyes. Fuck. I was envious. How was that for being emotional?

I watched her for a few seconds before looking down at Remington. He had a perplexed look on his face much like I did. Why the hell was I allowing this woman to get under my skin was the question of the day. And maybe the year.

After a few seconds, I headed outside myself, leaving the pup in. She was standing away from the edge of the balcony, her hands fisted and at her sides. I walked closer yet kept my distance.

"I'm not trying to destroy your life, Penny. I'm only trying to protect you. In doing so, I must ensure there's nothing in your background that would make you the target. I'm sorry if you can't understand that but it's important that I know all the players."

"I don't have anyone wanting to kill me that I know of. Maybe the Morelli brothers." She laughed nervously. "Then again, maybe my ex."

"Your ex?"

She threw out her hand. "I'm partially kidding. Jake wouldn't be caught dead bothering to get his hands dirty. He is a very important man, acting as if he's being groomed for some highfalutin political office one day. He certainly can't have a murder conviction on his record."

Now we were getting down to the crux of why she'd run away. And the reason she'd used self-mutilation to soothe the anxiety and sadness. And I was furious all over again. What had the fucker done to her? "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now. It's very private and very harmful just to think about. It's taken me a long time to feel like I had value any longer. Okay? Jake Withers is many things, but he's not a murderer nor would he dare cross you. Even if his family has more money than God."

The mental note was made about the guy's name and I would look into the asshole's background, but I doubted he would wait six months and suddenly appear trying to kill me.

I'd also been thinking more and more about the fact she'd been working with the Morellis. She had the same look as some of the others who'd disappeared, sweet and innocent. If she'd run out on them, they'd likely be eager to get her back. Especially if she'd been promised to a wealthy suitor.

"You might be right that the Morelli brothers want you out of the picture."

She turned to face me at that point, searching my eyes. "You're serious."

"It's possible. You knew about the trafficking and that's not something they want spread. Don't worry. They won't be able to get to you as long as you follow the rules."

While she opened her mouth, likely to spout her usual retort, we both heard a growl from inside. I was surprised we could hear it so well through the closed glass door.

She peered around me, narrowing her eyes. "But aren't you more powerful?"

"Let's just say the two men and I have a dark history."

When Remington growled again, she walked around me, immediately opening the door to head inside. "Something is wrong."

As soon as she said the words, another wave of knowing kicked in. "Wait. Wait!" I rushed after her, all time suddenly coming to a stop.

As the hairs stood up on the back of my neck, I immediately went for my weapon just as she caught sight of me, her eyes opening wide.

And before I could scream at her to get down, all hell broke loose.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!