Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

A leksander

The pieces were almost in place for finishing up the trial. I refused to allow it to go on any longer. With Jacob gloating, acting like he'd already won, I was totally out of patience.

I'd spent the entire morning until early afternoon, ensuring everything was together. Just a couple of additional items and I'd feel secure. Plus, I wanted to run everything by Raphaella. What better way to introduce her deeper into the business she seemed to want?

Granted, every conversation we'd shared had been terse but eventually her guard would fall. Or so I hoped.

When the door opened, I beckoned her closer, offering a smile. Yes, I could be a bear to work for, but I appreciated decent help when I could find it.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" she asked, her tone still curt but extremely professional.

"Absolutely. You were definitely onto something with your find. I thought I'd let you see where we stand. Convincing the jury the new witness was with Congressman Tillman will prove somewhat difficult, but I have faith in my skills."

"I'm sure you do."

As soon as she sat down, I sensed something was wrong, mostly because she had half her face turned the other way. The moment she reached across the table for the folder, I shook my head.

"Look at me, Raphaella."

"I am, sir."

"No, you're turned the other way. Look at me."

She did so hesitantly, still averting her eyes from me. I noticed first she was wearing more makeup than before, but it couldn't hide the swelling under her eye or the bruise.

"What the hell happened? Who hit you?"

"Don't worry about it," she half whispered. "It was just a disagreement."

I sensed she wasn't going to tell me anything else, which angered me even more. Violence was often necessary, even killing men who dared betray the Bratva, but women never deserved to be hit. I moved around to the other side of my desk, very gently placing a finger under her chin and lifting. Jesus. There were tears in her eyes. "Who did this to you? You can talk to me." I wanted to tell her that I'd be happy to kill the bastard but I doubted she would understand.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does to me. A boyfriend?"

At least she was able to snort. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Then who? Did someone attack you?" The girl took the goddamn subway, for Christ's sake. She could have been mugged.

But my gut told me this was more domestically related. Yeah, I knew it wasn't my business and I wasn't some crusader, but if I learned the identity of the person responsible, the fucker would be taught a serious lesson.

"Please, just let it go, Mr. Semenov. I'm fine. I'll get to work on this." She picked up the folder and left my office before I could stop her.

I tossed my pen halfway across the desk, furious that I couldn't help.

For now.

Twice in two days.

Vadim had requested my presence for drinks tonight, which likely meant I should shut down the office preparing for a war, or he had news of another kind.

While I was in the mood for a drink, I wasn't for any kind of celebration.

Raphaella had managed to avoid me for the rest of the day. I'd gone to Shanna to ensure a member of my staff hadn't been so stupid, but she'd known nothing about what happened.

As I exited my Ferrari, the anger remained. I buttoned my jacket, scanned the perimeter out of habit, and headed to the front door. I didn't need to bother knocking, the housekeeper opening it with a smile on her face. I also heard music, which wasn't abnormal given Caroline's love of every genre.

I was barely inside when she greeted me, racing toward me as if I was a long-lost friend.

"It's so good to see you, Aleksander. It's been too long." She kissed me as she'd always done, her eyes lighting up.

"Is Vadim in a good or bad mood?"

She laughed and pulled away. "Good. He even brought me flowers. Of course, I asked him who his mistress was."

Now I laughed. While Vadim had never been considered the most romantic man in the world, he absolutely adored his wife. There was no way in hell he'd ever step out on her. "I don't think you need to worry, sweet Caroline. You've managed to wrap him around your little finger."

"You think?" She winked.

"I do."

"Well, I hope you can find that someone special one day. I'm making dinner, a little late but Vadim was busy. Please stay if you'd like."

"I don't know. I still have a lot of work to do."

"You know what they say, all work and no play…"

At least the woman could make me smile. I waited until she flitted down the hallway before taking a deep breath and heading in the direction of the man's cigar room. He'd taken to handling more business in the dark environment than anywhere else. It gave him a sense of privacy.

As expected, Nikolay was already waiting.

"You're late," Vadim said, immediately pouring me a whiskey.

"This case is a pain in my ass." I noticed he was amused given the spark in his eyes. "I hate defending politicians. They lie."

"Well, I'll give you something else to chew on for a little while. That's what politicians do best. However, it's easy to keep them on a leash. He'll owe you one if you succeed." Vadim handed me the drink and motioned to one of the chairs.

"He'll owe me more than one," I muttered.

Vadim seemed preoccupied.

I had a feeling I needed to continue standing. "What's up?"

"I took your advice and instigated a meeting with Luciano Bernardi."

Even Nikolay seemed amused. Why did it feel as if I'd come late to the party? A meeting meant nothing when it came to the Italian. He was a consummate liar. Then again, so was my Russian friend.

"How did he react?" I asked, throwing back a solid half my drink.

"Oh, he was none too pleased or eager to agree but I helped him understand the meeting was the best way for him to remain out of prison." Vadim was grinning as he always did when he had the upper hand.

"I'm glad to hear that. Does that mean you planned on dropping off his illustrious shipment with the cops?" I did enjoy when he thought creatively.

"Let's just say it's one way to prevent a war."

Nikolay was still chuckling. "You should have seen his face. He was huffing and puffing as if he was about ready to blow a gasket."

"Being pressured will do that to you. Is that all?" I was already contemplating another drink. I'd almost gone to Raphaella's apartment but knew that would be overstepping my bounds. Not that I'd cared before, but it was obvious the woman didn't know what I was capable of just yet. Why burst her bubble? Plus, pushing any more of her buttons wasn't a good idea.

He looked from Nikolay back to me. "I fully took your advice and suggested an arranged alliance. Well, suggested doesn't cut it. I demanded."

Exhaling, I headed back to the bar. For this, I needed another drink. "Marriage. Oldest daughter?"

"Yep. She wasn't there of course, and he wasn't too keen on telling me much about her," Vadim said. "In turn, I told him I'd yet to decide who would be entering into the dazzling world of the Cosa Nostra. He got my point. He was still trying to keep the upper hand, which as you might expect I refuse to allow." He moved behind his computer, typing on his keyboard with one hand, his drink remaining in the other.

"Does that mean he sent you something?" I walked closer.

"Just a sketchy picture to prove she existed since I did question that." He hit print and was still laughing. "Now I just need to figure out by tomorrow night's meeting who is going to step up to the plate."

"Any idea?" I glanced at Nikolay who threw up his hands.

"I already told you I don't have time. Damien is keeping me busy."

"How is that kid anyway?" Vadim slid the photograph across his desk as he asked the question.

"He's adjusting. Still having tantrums though. It's been a rough road and I'm not equipped to handle having a child. Let alone a wife I don't even know." The boy had been dropped on his doorstep, the news he had a son shocking.

I glanced at the picture and sighed. The photo was taken of the entire family, including Luciano. At least the information I'd discovered about his children had been accurate. Only it wasn't easy to tell what the older girl really looked like. "He couldn't do better than this?"

"I think that was his way of keeping a portion of the upper hand. She will be at that meeting so we'll know once and for all if he's snowing us."

Something about the photograph disturbed the hell out of me, but it was likely because of the fact I didn't trust Luciano any more than Vadim did. "Well, this should prove to be interesting."

"Especially when the Irish mob learns of our alliance." Nikolay lifted his glass. "To future endeavors."

"Indeed," Vadim offered.

I had to laugh. Thankfully, Vadim had listened to me.

Maybe we'd all live a couple of years longer.

A nagging remained in the back of my head. It had festered during dinner, driving me into a fog more than once. While I'd enjoyed the company, something I usually didn't have, the picture continued to roll into my mind.

That's why I'd ended up back in Manhattan late, the only one at the office. What my gut was screaming didn't seem possible but stranger things had happened over the years. I tried to decide what to do and realized I needed to learn everything I could about my assistant. I flipped on my desk lamp, firing up the computer system, which took seconds. Her paperwork should have been entered into the system. When I couldn't find it, another hint of anger rushed through me.

Shanna was busy, our recent hires six in total. I certainly couldn't blame her for my lack of patience.

I headed to the Human Resources department, walking directly into Shanna's office. While she often tasked her assistant to handle data entry, the only thing she preferred doing herself was including the information about new employees. Not everyone could see the personal details. That would be a breach in various state and city acts.

She had a stack of papers on her desk and I easily found Raphaella's. I found it interesting that I was hesitating. A part of me didn't want to confirm what I already suspected.

I had a copy of the picture Vadim had printed and pulled it out, placing it beside Raphaella's file. We didn't require pictures of our recent hires, but I needed to concentrate on learning as many details as possible. It was likely my assistant was hiding her identity, including with her conservative attire.

It wasn't necessary, the girl using her real surname.

The realization forced me to thump down in Shanna's chair, pulling the photograph even closer. Her fucking bastard of a father had hit her. Why? Because she wasn't interested in being his puppet? I couldn't have been any angrier than I was at that moment.

I had a decision to make and the first thing to do was insist on being at the meeting with Bernardi. The second was to ensure this alliance wasn't going to alter her lifestyle. She deserved the success from all the hard work she'd done.

I yanked out my phone, dialing Vadim.

"You didn't get enough of me tonight?" He was already sounding sleepy.

"What time is this meeting tomorrow?"

"Seven. Why?"

"Because I'm coming with you."

Vadim shifted, the noise reverberating into the phone. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah, a lot. We'll talk tomorrow. I have some soul searching to do."

"This isn't like you, buddy."

"You're going to need to trust me on this one. What is about to occur isn't in the best interest of the girl."

He made some noise and I only hoped he wasn't going to say the girl was just a possession because I would go off the rails. "Do you honestly think I would ever allow that girl to enter into a relationship with anyone who dared treat her with anything other than reverence? You know me better than that."

I'd already moved to the window in Shanna's office, staring out at the city. While I'd been eager to move to the city when my parents had told me about the change, and as a kid I'd thought it was better than French toast, there were also times I hated it.

There were too many game players, too many people who enjoyed stepping on others. But when a father did it? Unacceptable.

"I know that. This is just complicated. Trust me?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Of course. I'll pick you up. How about that?"

"Fine. I suggest you leave Nikolay."

"O-kay. Any reason?"

"Because things could get ugly."

"Okay, but you're going to need to tell me what the hell is going on."

"Yeah, I will. I need to ensure I'm right." And that I knew what the hell I was doing. I remained in Shanna's office for a few minutes, debating the various thoughts drifting in the back of my mind.

Pushing Raphaella would only drive her further into darkness. Plus, I had to be one hundred percent certain I was correct in my assumptions. My anger was ripe but the last thing I needed to do was to go off halfcocked during the meeting. Far too many people could get hurt.

Or worse.

I turned on Shanna's light, still uncertain about the best course of options. But I walked into the administrative pool where far too many employees had cubicles. I found Raphaella's desk easily enough, flicking on the light underneath the top shelf. The entire area was illuminated. There wasn't much to go on. She'd brought a plant.

Sighing, I was about to give up when I decided to check her drawers. She'd brought some snacks so the turned-over picture frame seemed out of place.

When I pulled the photograph into my hand, I realized why she'd hidden it before she'd left for the day.

It was another smoking gun. The picture was much closer, clearer, and similar to the one I had in my hand.

And there was no doubt in my mind the two women were the same.