Chapter 16: Later that night: She found me

CHAPTER 16

MIKI

LATER THAT NIGHT – SHE FOUND ME

P ounding at my door alerted me to a problem, and I awoke with a start.

Cursing loudly, I jumped out of bed naked and opened the door. Marko was there, looking worried.

"What is it?" I demanded in annoyance.

"Vlad just called; your detective is on her way up here."

"Shit!"

She found me?

I hurriedly pulled on some trousers and a shirt and rushed out into the other room just as there was a knock at the suite door.

What was she doing here, and how the hell did she find me?

And thank god she had.

I'd been climbing the walls all day, desperate with the need to see her, and now she had come to me.

Excitement at seeing my Little Miss Red made my heart pound and adrenaline rush through my veins.

But she shouldn't be here!

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and tried to get a grip on my emotions, which were all over the place.

"Open it," I told Marko as I stood off to the side, still trying to bloody compose myself. If I didn't, I would likely grab her and kiss her immediately she walked through the door.

"Hi, I'm here to see Miki," Eilidh said.

"Who should I tell him is calling?" Marko asked.

"I believe you know," she replied with a chuckle.

Taking another deep breath, I stepped around Marko and gulped as her beautiful face grinned up at me.

"Nice to see you again, Little Miss Red," I drawled, trying to appear cool while my heart hammered like a jack rabbit against my chest.

I saw the way her eyes widened at my nickname for her. She liked it. Of course, it wasn't the first time she'd heard it, but I could tell by the secret little smile tugging at her lips that she enjoyed hearing it.

"Hi, Miki," she said with a look of triumph.

A slow smile spread over my face as I stood there staring at her.

Eilidh was pleased to see me, but why? Had she been pining for me as much as I had for her, or was there another reason for her visit?

My emotions warred with each other as I watched her face, waiting to see if she said anything else.

I wanted her here, but I wasn't ready for her.

This was not part of my plan.

Well, to be honest, I didn't have one yet. My mind was set on pursuing her and, if possible, winning her for my own. But for that to even be an option, I knew I would have to gain her trust and then somehow her loyalty and love so that she would want me, despite my criminal background.

That would take some convincing, but considering that her colleagues were corrupt and might have had something to do with her dad's murder, I guessed her faith in law enforcement might have been shaken.

Eilidh was twenty-eight and had been a police officer for seven years. She'd followed in her father's footsteps and was now a detective like he had been. However, any pride she'd felt in that must have been severely affected by everything she'd discovered.

It was sad, and although my heart went out to her, I had to admit that it gave me hope. After all, she would need to give up her job for me, but if she was less than enamoured with it after discovering all of this, that would certainly benefit me.

Maybe once I helped her deal with those officers and Mathieson, she would be glad to leave the police. I mentally crossed my fingers and hoped that would be the case.

We could be great together. She was supposed to be with me; I knew it with all my heart. But she could not remain a police officer and be with me. That was impossible. Being a Bratva pakhan wasn't conducive to having a relationship with a police officer. My brotherhood would not condone that.

"Are you going to invite me in?" she asked, sounding calm, but I caught a flash of worry in her eyes.

Did she think I wouldn't? I might not have expected to see her yet, but I would work with it. Starting right now, I'd begin trying to win her to my side.

Grinning, and licking my lips, I let my heated gaze drift over her, ensuring she was in no doubt that I was glad she'd come.

She gulped and her face flushed slightly, making it obvious her calm fa?ade was just that. My Little Miss Red was as affected by me as I was by her.

My heart soared.

"Come in, beautiful," I said, deliberately thickening my accent as I opened the door wider and gestured for her to enter. I had noticed the effect my voice had on her before and was going to use it to my full advantage. Of course, my voice wasn't the only thing that thickened.

Throwing caution to the wind, and uncaring about Marko standing a few feet away, I pulled her into my arms and kissed her.

She gasped in shock, obviously not expecting that reaction, but she quickly got over it and kissed me back. As it always did when we kissed, the world fell away until only the two of us were left.

Marko cleared his throat, and I heard him sniggering as my tongue delved inside her delicious mouth. Ignoring him, I continued to kiss her. However, his chuckle broke the moment for her, and she pushed away from me, redness crawling up her face.

God, she was cute when she was embarrassed. I'd have to make that happen more often.

Russians weren't known for public displays of affection, but we were half Italian, so it wasn't unusual for us. And I was more than happy to show my growing affection for my Little Miss Red in front of Marko, or anyone else for that matter. In fact, I'd be proud to do it. The world needed to know she was mine, and I was hers. A sense of rightness settled over me at that thought.

After glancing between Marko and myself, Eilidh cleared her throat and spoke, "I think we should work together after all."

"I agree!" I stated and noted Marko's look of surprise.

He recovered quickly, throwing me a questioning look from behind her back, which I ignored.

"This is my brother Marko," I told her, gesturing towards him as he came to stand beside us.

"Hi," she said, smiling.

"Hi, Little Miss Red, I have heard a lot about you," he stated, taking her hand and kissing it, as he gave me a mischievous look.

Annoyed, I pushed him away from her.

"Keep your kisses to yourself," I said, my jealousy clear.

Eilidh raised her eyebrows and smirked as Marko sniggered.

Damn it!

I'd wanted to play things cool and seduce her slowly but surely, earning her trust. Yet, I'd already kissed her and showed my possessiveness, and she had only been in the room a few minutes.

Oh well, I didn't really like games anyway, so it was best that she knew how deeply she affected me and that what had happened between us was more than just sex.

However, her mere presence interfered with my equilibrium, and I needed to regain some control. Otherwise, I'd be divulging all my secrets before I was ready.

"It would appear I underestimated you. I didn't think you'd find me, Detective. Although I am very pleased you have," I said, emphasising the word detective.

I wondered how the hell she did, but at the same time, I was thoroughly impressed.

"Well, you tracked me down. It seemed only fair I returned the favour. So, I did my homework," she replied with a smirk.

"When did you find out who I was?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"The day after we met," I told her truthfully.

"Like you, I do my homework," I said in a playful tone with a wink.

She nodded, looking at Marko with suspicion. Her lips pursed and I could almost hear her brain working as she put two and two together, beginning to understand that Marko was the person relaying information to me during our time at Mathieson's office.

"Tell me what you have discovered about Mathieson," she demanded with a tone of authority that brooked no argument. Little Miss Red had put her police hat on.

"I'm happy to share," I said with a smile.

Marko's mouth twisted with uncertainty. My Little Miss Red shot me a triumphant grin.

"Let's share what we know and work together. If you think you can," I said, opting for a more formal tone like her and trying my best not to sound too eager. I wasn't sure what had brought her here or why she'd changed her mind about working together, but I didn't want to scare her off after her reluctance the other night.

"Fine!" she said, holding out her hand for me to shake.

She was definitely being all business now, and I'd play along, if that made her more comfortable, but only for a while.

"Come sit down and we'll talk."

Placing my hand lightly on her waist, I drew her over to the sofa. Unlike the other night, I didn't pull her on to my lap, but god how I wanted to. My cock gave a jerk in agreement.

"I was just about to order something to eat from room service. Can I get you guys anything?" Marko asked.

"A steak with all the trimmings," I said, suddenly realising how starved I was.

"Have you eaten?" I asked.

"Well, no, but I'm not very hungry," she replied.

"She'll have the same," I said to Marko.

"You need to eat," I told her firmly.

"Unless you don't like meat?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in question.

"Yes, I do," she nodded and sighed in submission, obviously seeing my determination.

"Then a steak it is," I repeated to Marko, who was already phoning the reception with our order.

Since I was the type of guy who always needed a plan, I formulated a quick plan of seduction in my head as we waited for Marko to finish giving our order.

Step 1 – make her comfortable with me.

Step 2 – gain her trust.

Step 3 – make her crave me.

Step 4 – win her love.

Step 5 – gain her loyalty.

Step 6 – claim her as mine.

It seemed simple enough. Now all I had to do was implement it, starting with Step 1.

"Why don't you tell me how you found me?" I asked, deciding that letting her impress me with her skills would be the best way to get her to relax and open up.

"The same way you found me."

She smirked, and I grinned back.

"Yes, I know about the tracker you put on my hoodie."

"Did you keep it? Where is it? Can I have it back? It's a prototype," Marko said, butting into the conversation.

"Yes, I kept it. It's at my house. And yes, you can have it back, Marko," she said with a laugh.

"So, how did you track me?"

Eilidh might have found my tracker, but I hadn't found hers. She looked at me, leaned over and put her hands around my waist, and touched my belt. Suddenly I was transported back to when she hugged me before I left her house the other day and had an ah ha moment.

My sexy police detective smirked as she held her hand up and showed me a tiny device not much bigger than a pinhead. She waggled her eyes at me, and I chuckled, impressed by her ingenuity.

Reaching for it, I looked it over. We used similar devices all the time, but Marko was always inventing his own.

"Can I see?" Marko asked, and I passed it to him.

"Nice!" he said, sounding impressed, before passing it back to her.

It was very high tech and very expensive. I didn't think Police Scotland would have the budget for that. When I said as much to her, she laughed again.

"Definitely not. It's my own. I got it from a source of mine and, like my breaking into Mathieson's office, it is not part of a legal investigation. As you had already surmised, I am investigating Mathieson alone in my own time," she told me, confirming my original belief.

Marko settled on the sofa opposite, and I glared at him.

"Don't you have stuff to do?" I asked, gesturing with my head that he needed to leave.

He chuckled and stood.

"Yes, boss," he replied with a two-finger salute. I rolled my eyes. Cheeky bugger! If he wasn't channelling his inner Sonia, or Ash, it was Trigger.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he said, winking.

Eilidh chuckled, and I shook my head.

"Get out of here," I said, my lips twitching as he headed off to his room, making loud smooching noises like the fool he was.

As Eilidh stuck the tracker into her backpack, I was glad she'd only found that one and not the one in her car or the cameras I'd place around her house. I doubted she would be in quite such a good mood if she had.

"How did you break into his office, anyway?" I asked and was amazed by her answer and especially how she came about her very specialised skills.

If I hadn't been there, she might have been caught, but otherwise she had done a good job of scouting the place out, gathering the intelligence needed, getting into the building, and searching the office. And, of course, breaking into his safe was a truly impressive feat.

My sexy detective was obviously good at planning things out, and she'd thought of everything. Her only problem had been doing it all alone. With no proper backup, she'd been vulnerable.

It struck me just how alike we were. Both of us liked to plan things out and each of us was doing illegal things behind a legal fa?ade, and both doing them to avenge our family. Not only that, but we had a common goal: to make Mathieson pay for his crimes.

Of course, our idea of how to do that might not be the same. I intended to kill the bastard when, no doubt, she intended for him to go to jail. That didn't matter, Aiden Mathieson would be mine in the end, no matter what.

For now, I would concentrate on taking him down, along with her colleagues. Those guys could go to jail if that was what she wanted, but Mathieson would go to the C.

"Your cousin Joe certainly taught you some useful skills," I said, observing her reaction.

This Joe character had been a criminal who'd gone straight, and Eilidh obviously overlooked his past and loved him despite it. I was a criminal who wanted to go straight. Did that mean she could love me, too? My heart gave a leap at the thought.

"He sure did. Although I never expected to put them to use in real life," she said ruefully.

"I guess not," I replied, pursing my lips.

Despite being enamoured with Eilidh and determined to make her mine, I knew I had to tread carefully. She was still a police officer after all, and until I had her loyalty, I would need to ensure I didn't divulge all of my family business or all of my plans to her.

I'd fallen hard for this woman, but no matter my feelings, I couldn't jeopardise my family's safety. Before I told her everything, I needed to be sure she wouldn't betray me. Gaining her trust and loyalty was therefore vital.

At some point, I would need to tell her precisely who and what I was, but I wasn't ready to do that yet, and I doubted she was ready to hear it.

Dinner arrived, and we settled down to eat.

As I poured a glass of wine for myself and some water for her, I mulled over how best to start building her trust. Being as truthful as possible was the best way, I decided as I chewed a piece of steak and thought of how to begin my story.

In the end, I told her everything I'd learned about Aiden Mathieson and his vendetta against my family, his involvement in Krissa's death and the recent attacks against our businesses.

Eilidh must have seen just how hard it was for me to talk about Krissa, because she reached over and took my hand.

"I'm so very sorry about Krissa, Miki. That must have been very hard for you," she said, squeezing my fingers.

My heart clenched as I looked at the sympathy on her face. It felt good to have someone acknowledge my feelings. Usually, I hid them behind a mask of authority, unable to appear vulnerable in my position, but with Eilidh, it didn't seem necessary. Opening up and being vulnerable with her felt right.

Finishing my story, I glossed over my father's part in Ewan Hughes's arrest, pretending my dad was just a businessman who'd come across some information about a corrupt banker and anonymously passed that information along to the authorities, only to have his involvement discovered later by Mathieson.

It was all true. I just omitted any mention of my family's involvement in the Bratva or our illegal activities.

My sexy detective would still be suspicious about my criminal side, but she was smart enough to know I wasn't going to just pour all my secrets out to a stranger. For despite our attraction and the wonderful sex we'd had, that was what we were. Strangers. At least for now.

With dinner finished, we moved to the sofa again, and I listened intently as Eilidh reciprocated with her own information. I nodded now and then in encouragement while she told me everything she'd learned about her dad's murder and the corruption in her department, which confirmed she'd been investigating her colleagues along with Mathieson.

As Little Miss Red talked, I didn't let on that I knew about any of it, as I wanted to be sure she wasn't holding anything back. She wouldn't tell me everything unless she trusted me enough, so I was over the moon when she did. Obviously, allowing her to see my upset over Krissa had been the right move. I mentally high-fived myself. It looked like I had step 2 – gain her trust, well underway.

However, the thought made me feel guilty about holding a huge part of my life back from her, but it was too soon. I'd let Eilidh know everything about me when the time was right. Hopefully that wouldn't be too far in the future, because I longed to come clean and have her accept me for who I was.

Patience! I reminded myself. My family's safety had to come before my own needs. I was pretty sure she had a good idea who I was anyhow, but I wouldn't confirm it. Not yet.

Finally, after we had discussed everything, she stood to leave.

"I'll send copies of all of my files to you when I get home so you and Marko can look at them," she said.

We arranged to meet again tomorrow when she'd finished work to discuss our next move. Then it was time to say goodbye.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay?" I asked, pulling her into my arms and nuzzling her neck.

"No. I'd better get home," she sighed, the reluctance in her voice clear.

"I have an early start and need to copy those files before I grab some sleep. It's difficult enough to get through a shift with those men as it is, without adding exhaustion into the mix."

The thought of her anywhere near them made my stomach clench with worry and I tightened my grip on her, not wanting to let her go. However, I had to.

"Alright, but be careful and if you need me, call me," I said.

I had already given her my phone number, just in case.

She nodded, and I brushed her lips lightly with mine. She gave me a tight squeeze around the waist again and I pulled my head back, laughing.

"Tracking me again?" I asked with a chuckle.

She chuckled back and shook her head.

"Nope, you're safe. It's in my bag," she grinned.

"Good. You don't need to track me, Little Miss Red, because I assure you I'm not going anywhere," I said but held back from stating, "because you're mine now." I had a feeling it was just too soon for that. My plan of seduction was going well. I didn't want to spoil things now.

Finally, we pulled apart, and I walked her to the lift. As the door closed, she blew me a kiss, and I grinned. As soon as she was gone, I rang Vlad so he would follow her home and ensure she got there safely.

Back in my suite, I sat on the sofa and went over the evening in my mind.

Little Miss Red impressed me more each time we met. Every little thing I found out about her made me even more enamoured and yet there was still so much to learn. I looked forward to becoming more acquainted with every part of her, physically and mentally. Especially physically. I smirked as the semi hard cock I'd had all night jerked in agreement as it always did when I had such thoughts. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

Holding back from ravishing her the way I'd longed to do had been a bloody arduous task, but Eilidh's actions showed me it was worth it. I was sure Little Miss Red craved me as much as I did her. Step 3 was in the bag!

Of course, I might think I was halfway through the steps in my plan of seduction already, but that didn't mean I didn't still need to work to secure each step. It was time to up my game.

Smiling, I rang the reception and ordered flowers.