15. Alexei
15
ALEXEI
“You know you don’t have to drive me to the class. It’s barely a fifteen minute walk.”
“I like spending time with you.” I slow the car down as we approach a stop sign.
“You’re insufferable.”
I fight back a laugh as I look over to find Bianca scowling at me, her arms folded across her chest.
“And you’re incredibly sexy when you’re mad.”
My eyes glance down to her chest where I can see the soft swell of her breasts beneath her tank top.
My tongue darts out to wet my lips, wanting nothing more than to pull the car over and take her in the back seat.
“Eyes on the road, Koslov.”
I grin as I turn my attention back to the road, shifting slightly in my seat so that my hardening cock doesn’t scrape against the zipper of my pants.
“So, tell me about your class. It’s been a week and you still haven’t told me.”
Bianca fills me in on the current piece she’s working on and about a new friend she’s made, a girl called Marnie .
My skin bristles at the mention of her. Having grown up in the world that I have, I’m not nearly as trusting as Bianca is, and I make a mental note to have Feliks run a background check on this girl.
I can’t take any chances when it comes to Bianca.
“That reminds me, I want my phone back.”
“You can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I had Mikhail throw it in the Hudson.”
“You what ?”
“Bianca,” I sigh. “You were coming to live in my family home. I couldn’t risk someone tracking you or hacking into your phone in order to get information. I would expect you to understand that.”
“You sound more and more like my father every day.” She pouts.
“Why do you need a phone?”
“To speak to my friends, my dad, to check Instagram? I would expect you to understand that .”
I run my hand through my hair before signaling for the turn off to the house.
I appreciate how well Bianca has adapted to her new life, to me .
“Fine, I’ll get you a new phone. But I’m putting a tracker on it, and I’m pre-approving any people who you give your number to.”
“Like I said before, insufferable.”
I reach across to squeeze her thigh, and she squirms beneath my touch. I’m tempted to roam my fingers higher to get a feel of her delicious pussy, but as I pull down the driveway to my home, I spot two black SUVs parked out front.
“I need you to go straight up to your room, do you understand?” I race down the drive, gravel spraying up around the car as the wheels spin.
“I do, but I’m not going to listen.”
I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm as I pull up behind the SUVs.
“Bianca, please?—”
She throws open her car door and climbs out.
I hit the wheel. “Fuck!”
By the time I’m out of the car, she’s already up the steps and throwing open the front door.
My heart is hammering in my chest as I race after her, my right hand reaching inside my jacket to check for my gun as I climb the steps.
Bianca’s fast. She’s springing across the foyer, her red trainers squeaking against the wooden floor as she runs toward the kitchen.
“Bianca!”
But it’s already too late.
The sounds of my brothers’ voices echo out into the hall, and I curse under my breath as I round the corner and see Danil pulling her into a hug.
I see nothing but red as his fingers brush her bare shoulders. “Walk away, Danil.”
Dimitri throws his head back and laughs as Danil winks at me.
I’m crossing the room in an instant, wrapping my arms around Bianca’s waist and hauling her back against me.
“Hey!” She slams her elbow back, but I grip her arms, holding them against her sides.
“All of you, my study, now .”
Bianca scoffs. “Why won’t you let me talk to your brothers? ”
Mikhail smirks. “Because he’s threatened by our ridiculously good looks.”
I shoot him a warning glare, but he doesn’t even flinch.
“You better have a good reason for showing up here unannounced, again .”
Dimitri dips his chin, his expression turning serious as he looks at me.
“Maybe we better talk in your office, brat .”
His eyes flick to Bianca, who I’m still holding in my arms.
I lean forward, my lips almost brushing her ear.
“If you go to your room, I promise to make it up to you.”
“I’m not a fucking child.” She yanks her arms free of my grip and whirls to face me. “I want to stay.”
I grind my teeth, but I know from the way she’s standing with her hands on her hips and her face set in a scowl, the only way I’m getting her away from this meeting is by throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her to her room.
Danil shrugs. “Let her stay.”
I glare at him. “That’s not your decision to make.”
“Alexei, I’m a part of this family now. I have a right to know if I’m in danger, if my family is in danger.”
Hearing her refer to my family as her own makes my chest swell.
I glance at my three brothers, and they all nod.
“Fine, what is it you need to say?”
Dimitri sinks his hands into his pockets. “Mario is planning some kind of attack on us. We caught wind of the threat from Micah. He was following a few guys known to be on Mario’s books, and they let slip that he has something planned regarding, as he put it, ‘those Koslov bastards ’. ”
“What kind of attack?”
My mind’s racing with every possible way he could harm my family.
I ball my hands into fists, trying to keep them steady as I try to push down the rising sense of panic that’s threatening to take over my rational thought.
Danil shakes his head. “It could be anything, from a drug interception to a potential hit and run. We don’t know.”
Mikhail’s eyes flick to Bianca. “But we shouldn’t take any chances.”
“I agree.” I frown.
I have to protect my family at all costs.
Bianca looks between us. “Can these guys be persuaded to ‘work both sides’ as my father used to put it? For the right price, most of these guys can be persuaded to change their loyalty. At the end of the day, all they care about is their paycheck, not who it comes from.”
My brothers look at Bianca with stunned expressions.
I huff a laugh, impressed by her confidence.
“It’s true, and something we’ll likely consider. In the meantime, I suggest we tighten our security.”
This time, Bianca doesn’t miss the way my brothers glance at her.
“Oh, hell no, if you think you’re taking anything else from me, you can think again.”
“Can you give us a minute?” I look at my brothers.
Bianca glares at me, her blue eyes filled with loathing.
I keep my eyes locked on her as my brothers surprisingly leave the room without any complaint.
“I’m going to have to cancel your art class for the time being, and Zara should stay away too?— ”
“No.”
“This isn’t up for debate, Bianca. My decision is final.”
Her eyes widen, and she laughs. “Your decision? You’re the one who pushed me to go to the fucking class in the first place, and now you want to take it away?”
“For the time being.”
“No.” She shakes her head.
A few strands of her dark hair fall from the knot on top of her head, and I itch to tuck them behind her ear.
“Alexei, there’s always going to be some sort of threat on either one of us. It’s the nature of our family, so we need to find a way to exist with it, otherwise I’m going to go crazy.”
“Can you please cooperate on this? For me?”
“No.”
“Fine. You can go, but I have Feliks or Micah accompany you to the class, including sitting in on it while you’re there.”
She shakes her head, her jaw clenching as she stares me down.
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
It takes every ounce of strength I have to keep my cool.
Does she think I enjoy taking away her freedom?
“Your father trusted me to keep you safe.”
I blink as Bianca laughs.
“You mean the father I haven’t heard from since my wedding? Fuck what he says.”
I try to keep my face neutral. I want nothing more than to assure her that he cares, but I can’t risk her knowing the truth behind his silence.
I sigh, searching for a way to diffuse the situation.
“If I let you continue your class, will that make you happy?”
“It’s the only thing I have that is mine right now.”
“Fine,” I give in. “But I drive you there, and I pick you up, and I wait outside the class. No arguments.”
“And my phone?”
“I will arrange a phone for you.” I shake my head as a smile starts to creep across her face.
“You’re going soft, Koslov.”
“But that’s it.”
“Can I go and visit Zara if she can’t come here?”
“I’m sorry, but that is a hard no.”
“Alexei, I’m getting tired of being stuck in this damn house!”
“In case you don’t get it, there is a threat hanging above our heads right now, and you might not care about what happens to you, but I do.”
“But—”
“Look, you have an incredible new art studio to keep you occupied. Plus, I can think of many other things to keep you occupied, you won’t even notice you haven’t left the house.”
“Like what?” Bianca asks, raising her eyebrows.
“How about you come over here, and I'll show you?”
Bianca rolls her eyes but drops her hands from her hips and stalks toward me.
My body instantly relaxes as I wrap my arms around her waist and bring my lips to hers, sighing at the sweet taste.
I let my hands roam down to cup her ass through her shorts, and she moans, sinking her hands into my hair.
A voice comes from the door. “Shit, sorry!”
Bianca pulls away, her cheeks flushing red as we turn to find Dimitri standing in the doorway covering his face with his hands .
“Oops.” She chuckles, biting her lower lip as she steals a glance at me.
I flash her a wink, though I know my brother is about to give me absolute hell for what he just witnessed.
“I suggest you two keep your affections to the bedroom, unless you want everyone to know your business.”
“Don’t worry, Bianca loves an audience.” I grin.
“Hey!” Bianca slaps me on the arm.
“You can give me a show any time, golubushka .” Dimitri chuckles.
“Okay, I take it back.” She glances at me. “He is the insufferable one.”
“What did I do?”
“Did you need something, Dimitri?”
“I needed a word.” He gives me a knowing look. The one that says this information is for us eldest brothers only.
While Mikhail and Danil play a crucial role in our family business, they’re still young and some things are better kept from their knowledge.
“Bianca, why don’t you go and get Mikhail to sort you out with a new phone. I’m sure he has a few new ones on hand in his room.”
She rolls her eyes at me but for once, doesn’t fight my order. She stalks out of the room, and I can’t help but admire her ass in those denim shorts as her hips sway with each step.
Dimitri clears his throat, snapping me out of my lust-induced trance.
He lifts an eyebrow, chickling. “Somebody has clearly crossed a line.”
“This is the business you needed to talk about?”
Dimitri smirks, folding his arms across his broad chest. “No, this is me giving my big brother shit. ”
“There’s no reason to give me shit. I’m not crossing any lines.”
“The way you’re looking at her ass tells me otherwise.”
“I can’t admire her?”
“You can… But I’m guessing you’ve also fucked her?” Dimitri’s eyes dance with amusement, and I scowl at my brother.
“Marrying Bianca was something I had to do to gain information on Gilanto. Our situation is purely business, nothing more.” My chest tightens at the lie.
Dimitri simply shrugs.
“That’s not how it looks to me, but if you want to live in denial, then it’s your problem. We have bigger things to worry about.”
“I take it you’ve got more on that email?”
Dimitri nods, his face grave.
“Spit it out, then.”
“It was sent by some guy named Matteo Ricci.”
“Ricci?” I run my hands through my hair, trying to place where I’ve heard that name.
My brother leans against the wall. “Does the name Igor Ivanov ring a bell?”
Fuck .
“That Pahkan back in Russia?”
“Yeah. The one who was recently exiled and went underground. No one has seen or heard from him since. Turns out, this Ricci guy used to work for him.”
“Shit.”
“I’ve got Feliks trying to track him down, but I thought I should give you a heads up. For whatever reason, it’s likely this guy has some intel on what went down with our parents.”
“Get Micah on it too. I don’t want to waste any time. ”
My ears are starting to ring at the mention of my parents.
I tuck my hands into my pockets to hide the fact they’re shaking. “I’ll look into Igor myself.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. This is just something I have to do alone.”