Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

C aroline

Shopping.

I wasn't one of those girls who cared much if anything about fashion. Although shopping was one of Sofiya's favorite things to do and we'd gone many times together, the thought of trying on clothes made me cringe. At least the event felt a little bit normal, getting out of the house good for my wacked-out brain.

I'd been thrilled when going to malls or other big box stores had no longer been the rage, preferring the sight unseen shopping online. But Sofiya was insistent we go to one of the malls that still existed, the huge facility thriving even in the bad state of the economy.

I hated crowds.

I loathed people.

And I was somewhat claustrophobic.

When you combined that with a chore I hated, I was in a grumpy ass mood. Maybe if I was drunk I'd feel happier about what we were doing.

Sofiya, on the other hand, was thrilled since she had Daddy's platinum credit card in her hand. I'd envied both daughters growing up, Vadim treating them like princesses. While both Daniella and Sofiya were responsible adults, already working diligently to make their way in the world, when Daddy pulled out his credit card, both reverted into teenagers.

"Would you try and smile?" Sofiya said as we were nearing the entrance to the mall.

I glanced over my shoulder at the burly men trailing behind us like brutal Neanderthals. I knew the soldiers had a job to do, capable of protecting us with their lives, but damn, I wasn't used to having bodyguards. I honestly had no clue how Sofiya was able to ignore their presence.

But she did a damn good job of it.

At least instead of four men trailing behind us there were only three. I rolled my eyes from the thought. Three too many.

"I'm trying," I told her as we pushed our way through the doors. I had always admired the woman's lust for life, her big personality an attraction for men in every walk of life. I was more like a wallflower, my pink hair the only thing giving away my bodacious personality.

Right. I was giving myself too much credit. I was the shy, introverted type.

"This is supposed to be fun, not like getting a root canal," she muttered, even throwing her arms out and spinning in a full circle. "We'll have lunch, purchase delicious items, and laugh our asses off."

I gritted my teeth in response. "Fine. I'll deal with it."

She punched me in the arm and led me through the first corridor, which fortunately consisted of tech shops, not women's clothing stores. However, I knew she was headed for her favorite store. At least it was a little bit funky, something I could handle.

While Vadim had made it clear I was to dress more like an adult, I was determined to keep some of my style at the same time. And formal dresses? Why? What did he have in mind? Was I going to be at the man's beck and call?

My pussy immediately throbbed just thinking about the possibilities. I could see myself servicing him every single day.

Oh, my God. I was practically panting.

"Let's divide and conquer," she said, leading me straight into her favorite store. I'll be damned if she didn't flash her dad's credit card to one of the women, who magically started following us.

"Miss Chernoff. So good to see you again," the woman said. She barely glanced at me since I was in another pair of ripped jeans while Sofiya was in a lovely dress she'd purchased in Italy.

"Yes, good to be back. We are here to provide a hip, sophisticated, and utterly off the chain expensive new wardrobe for my best friend. She is tackling a brand new and very important job."

The woman lifted her eyeglasses, scrutinizing me. "O-kay. A tall order but I think we have some delicious items that will work. Let me grab a few things for your friend to try on."

She walked away quickly just as I was telling her my name. As if the woman cared.

Sighing, I moved toward one of the racks lined with what I could tell were gorgeous dresses. Sure, my mother had taken me to upscale dress shops as a little girl, purchasing outrageously priced items that I'd been completely uncomfortable in, but seeing the price tags made me groan. "Four hundred dollars for a tiny dress?"

"Cheap, baby girl. My goodness. You need to learn to live a little."

I glanced at her and sighed. "What did your father tell you about what I'll be doing?"

As Sofiya started flipping through the rack, she barely darted a glance in my direction and shrugged. "That's the thing. He didn't say shit."

"Including about what happened?"

She pulled out a dress, giving her thumbs up as a stamp of approval and hanging it on an empty rack meant for collecting clothes. "Nope. He just said you got yourself into some trouble. Which I find highly unlikely." She yanked another one off the main rack before turning to me, holding the dress up to my shoulders. "This would be a great color on you. So spill it. What happened?"

"I'm not supposed to say."

Her eyes opened wide. "Seriously. I'm your best friend. Why wouldn't you confide in me?"

I was the one to shrug as I ran my hand down the dress. "I just… I have skills in computers. Okay? I used them and got myself into a little trouble. Your father is the only one who can help."

Now she was the one scrutinizing me. She leaned in, shaking her head. "I wasn't born yesterday and I've always known about and appreciated your geeky skills handling a computer. You're a hacker. Don't tell me you aren't."

Was my face flushing? Why yes, yes, it was. "Fine. Don't say anything."

"Who the hell am I going to tell about your dirty little secret? Those guys?" She pointed to the three men, who were standing guard just outside the storefront window, acting like statues.

We both laughed at least, and I tried to relax. "Not my finest hour."

"Who did you piss off?"

I waited as she returned to yanking out another outfit, even moving to where the blouses and skirts were located. Meanwhile, the store clerk was also piling up items. I would be trying on shit for two full hours. "Some bad people."

"Uh-huh. Mafia dudes like my dad?"

"Yeah."

She took a deep breath and walked closer. "I know who and what my father is, the most influential and powerful man within the Big Apple. I also know what kind of people he associates with. You don't want that life."

"I know that. It was supposed to be an in and out job for fifty G's but my world imploded. Your dad is being kind in helping me, but I'm required to work for him."

"Fifty thousand dollars. Not chump change. I get why you did it, but you need to be careful. Look at what happened to my dad. He didn't expect anyone would dare try and kill him."

I found myself looking away.

She gripped my arm forcefully. "Wait. Do you know something about that?"

I couldn't lie to her. She'd always known. "Maybe."

"Oh, shit. You are in trouble, alright."

We were both quiet for a minute. She finally hissed.

"It's okay, Sofiya. I'll be fine."

"I'm sure you will but… Okay, no more shop talk. Today is about having some fun. So let's do that. Deal?"

She held out her clenched fist for a bump, something she'd done with her father for years. I fisted my hand, pressing it against hers. "Fine. Deal."

Maybe a little shopping would do me some good.

"Now, we just need to figure out what to do with your hair. Don't get me wrong, girlfriend. I adore pink but… it's no longer in fashion."

At least my friend could make me laugh.

"You're kidding me. Italian men are that forward?" I asked as we started to take our lunch trays toward a table in the food court. She'd suggested one of the restaurants, but I adored what I called my chimkin sandwich from a regional chain. It had been months since I'd had one.

We were struggling with the bags and trays in our hands. She'd even pawned off several of the packages to the men to hold, which they'd grumbled about.

Her actions had allowed me to catch a sight of the bulge in their jacket pockets from the weapons they were carrying.

Since then, I'd constantly scanned the perimeter of the garage, certain we were being followed, which was ridiculous.

"Yes, ma'am," Sofiya said. "I tell you what, everything you've read about them being hot as sin is so true. Plus, they are irresistible and oh-so romantic."

"I thought you had a boyfriend."

She shrugged. "On again, off again. Sometimes boring."

"Wow. Did you hook up with any foreign guys?" We found a table under the lovely glass atrium setting, the beautiful area housing dozens of huge tropical trees and flowers. It was one of the few reasons I didn't hate going to the mall. Plopping down the bags and sitting felt damn good. I had to admit it.

Even in tennis shoes, I wasn't used to walking so much as of late. We'd been on all four floors, shopped in at least a dozen stores and had spent way too much money.

The most expensive were the two formal dresses she'd handpicked for me. One in shocking red. One in emerald.

Neither going with bright pink hair.

I guess a significant change was in order.

She gave me a saucy look. "Maybe."

"You are so bad!" I couldn't help but squeal. Yes, it had been a good idea to come out shopping together after all. She'd always made me smile even in my lowest periods. I was more relaxed than before even after trying on at least forty-nine sets of clothes. And I had been counting.

"Yep. Hey, I had to taste a couple while I was there." She took a bite of her sandwich, her eyes still lighting up.

"You and your men."

"You should try it sometime. When is the last time you dated a hot guy?"

I chomped down three fries, giving her a funny look. After swallowing, I took a sip of my diet drink before answering. "Um, try never."

"Okay, what is your type anyway? I've never been able to figure that out."

Admittedly, I'd never really thought about what kind of men I might prefer. "Very tall and rugged, handsome with dark hair. A little salt and pepper at his temples is fine with me. I like older men, you know. Real men. The kinds of guys who know what passion means and enjoy attempting to please a woman. They can't be shy either, more like a take charge kind of guy. Oh, and it's a bonus if the guy has tattoos." I took another luscious bite of my sandwich, savoring the flavor.

I expected her to already be chastising me for one point or another but when she remained completely quiet, I finally lifted my head from consuming my sandwich like some famished beast.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She cocked her head, giving me a sly look. "You've just perfectly described my father, you know."

"Did I?"

"Oh, don't play coy with me. Maybe you don't remember but a few years ago, you told me he was your fantasy man, like your personal Prince Charming."

"I did not."

"Yes, you did. I never forget anything." Sofiya laughed. "He is attractive, but he's old."

"Oh, for God's sake. Your idea of old and mine are entirely different."

"You have a crush on him."

"No, I do not," I insisted, which reminded me of when we were kids trying to deny we'd done something wrong. I was twenty-six years old, for God's sake, but around Sofiya, I reverted to being the seventeen-year-old girl who still had stars in her eyes.

She laughed and I could sense she was teasing me. "Relax. He's a hot commodity but don't get your hopes up."

"I am not dating your father."

"Oh, I have a feeling you would if you could. Since he's your fantasy and all."

"You are a terrible friend." I shoved some fries into my mouth, trying not to allow his hotness to interfere with my lunch.

Tried and failed.

Even my nipples were aching. "Does your father have a steady girl?"

Sofiya coughed, forced to grab a napkin. "I won't call your feelings for him icky or anything. Promise." She took a couple of bites of her sandwich. "You know, I've never seen him serious with anyone. Sure, he's dated a lot of women but not one has been special. I mean…" She looked away and I reached over, gripping her forearm.

"I'm sorry, girlfriend. I can't imagine how it feels not having a mother." Her mother had died when Sofiya and Daniella had been young. Of course, Daniella hadn't been a part of the family then. From what I'd learned over the years, whatever had happened to Sofiya's mom had also happened to Daniella's parents at the same time. It had always been one of those off-limits subjects.

She plastered her usual sweet smile on her face. "No sadness today either. Now, eat up, girlfriend. We have shopping to do and I made an appointment with my personal hairdresser. You'll adore Andre."

We chatted as we finished our lunch, the light conversation allowing me to get lost in the silliness instead of the horror I'd been through. It now seemed like the terrible events had happened weeks before, not hours.

"Okay. Let's get rid of these bags. They're getting heavy. You grab the trays. I'll take the bags to the guys for them to take back to the SUV."

"You do know their jobs aren't acting as personal shopping assistants."

"I do but their brawn comes in handy."

She was laughing as she scooted back her chair, grabbing the handles of the bags as I combined our lunch trays. I couldn't help but watch as she instructed the guys, acting like the queen bee I'd always known her to be. I did so admire her ability to hold her head high through anything.

I hadn't paid any attention to the fact that they had already taken the other bags to the vehicle. This time, only one walked away, but I'd seen his face. He wasn't happy at all.

Couldn't say I blamed him.

After depositing the trash, placing the trays on top, I headed toward one of the lingerie stores flanking the food court. For a few seconds, the fantasy kicked back into my system, Vadim's face looming in my mind.

Yes, he was one fine-looking man.

A few seconds later, I noticed a reflection. Was I seeing things or were there a couple of men dressed oddly for being in a mall standing on the other side of the food court? A cold shiver drifted through me. Very slowly, I turned around, trying to keep calm.

The two guys were still there, both dressed in black and appearing to be watching me intently.

Seconds later, Sofiya headed in my direction, not paying any attention until she saw my face.

"What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath. "There are two guys over there. I think they've been following us."

The one thing I knew about my best friend was that for all her silliness, inside was a woman trained to combat adversaries.

She'd told me that her father had insisted his daughters learn martial arts, have weapons training, and go through certain exercises in case they were being chased.

Her expression changed completely and she took a few seconds to nonchalantly scan the entire area. When she turned back toward me, she had a very plastic smile on her face. "There are four others in various areas. There is no doubt they're after us. Now, Daddy trained my sister and me how to get away in this mall. But you need to act as if nothing is wrong."

"What about the bodyguards?"

"I'm going to let them know via a text, but my guess is while six guys are inside the mall, another four are outside canvassing the perimeter. My father's men are outnumbered." She pulled out her phone, quickly texting something. To her credit she started jabbering, even laughing.

Meanwhile, I was transported into a vacuum, doing everything I could to remain calm.

"Come on," she said. "We're headed to a way out. Just breathe and remember to act like nothing is going on."

That the woman had been able to tolerate this her entire life was a testament to her resolve and the fact she'd grown up immersed in danger and violence.

Not me.

My father was many things but to the best of my knowledge, he'd never been forced to kill anyone.

As we walked quickly down the crowded corridor, I was forced to remind myself that I'd had an opportunity to stay on the path of least resistance, but I'd chosen to walk straight into a world of danger.

I had a terrible feeling the consequences of my reckless decision could cost me more than a chance at a successful future.

There was a strong chance it could cost me my life.