Scandalous Heroes Box Set (105 page)

“It better be important,” she taunted. 

“Sorry, sweetheart,” he said, pulling himself to the end of the bed and grabbing his pajama bottoms from the nightstand. “I promise if it’s not, you’re going to lose your only stepson tonight.”  Quickly slipping on his pants, one leg at a time, he walked to the door and opened it slightly, just enough to look down at his son.

Anatoly didn’t wait for him to speak.  He knew that he was interrupting.  “Vasily’s headed here with the woman.”

Dmitry didn’t like the sound of that.  “Why here?”

“Get this. He got there to swoop her up and take her somewhere and found out she had his kid.”

“He has a child?”  Vasily hardly seemed the type. 

“He didn’t know,” Anatoly said, tilting his head.  “Sound familiar?”

Dmitry scratched the blonde stubble growing on his neck.  “Very.”  He looked back at his wife and felt a stir.  She lay across the bed, black hair fanned across the pillow waiting for him.  “Let me know when he gets here.  Text me and I’ll come down so that we can talk briefly.”

Anatoly knew that answer. His father had plans of rolling around in the sack with his wife all night, and didn’t want to be bothered.  “Should I just call for you in the morning?” he asked.

Dmitry debated.  He really didn’t want to be disturbed anymore tonight, but he’d learned that procrastination could cost lives.  He leaned up against the door frame and huffed. “I would say yes, but considering the nature of their visit, we should discuss all of the specifics tonight.”

Anatoly winked at his father.  “A simple no would have sufficed, papa.” Tapping the door lightly with his knuckles, he called out to his stepmother. “Sorry to bother you, Royal.”

“No you’re not,” Royal called out with a laugh from the bed.  “Go away.  Go be with your wife,” she ordered.

Dmitry smiled at her, loving her sense of humor.  “She’s right, you know.  You’ve been up working long enough.  Go enjoy yourself.  A hard day’s work deserves a hard night’s play.”

Anatoly rolled his eyes. 
Was his father really trying to give him sex advice on top of everything else?  
“Papa, Renee and I aren’t as old as you two... well,
as old as you
. We can have sex more than at night.” 

Dmitry winked at him.  “It’s not about quantity; its quality.” Closing the door behind him, he turned and looked at Royal.  “You ready for your nap cap, my love?” he asked, pulling his pants off and throwing them across the room.

“Starving for it,” she giggled.

***

From the moment that the jet landed in Memphis, Lilly saw that the man that she had once known was no more.  He was no longer just a foot soldier, no longer just a nameless face in a small crew of street gangsters or a low-level Russian mobster.  Vasily had climbed the ranks. 

He was met by ten men in three Yukon Denali trucks on the tarmac.  All of them regarded him with more respect than she’d ever seen Leo’s men treat him with and none of them seemed lowly. 

She and Dylan were quickly taken to a truck, separate from Vasily and then driven straight to the compound. 

As the large iron gates opened and the guards waved them through, she couldn’t help but sit up and marvel at the mansion in the distance, illuminated by lights on the lawn and crawling with bodyguards, big guns and dogs.  She had never seen anything like it up close.  It was something out of Gone with the Wind with his plantation-style white pillars and columns, but the size of it and the design spoke to an architectural interpretation of the old south with a much more modern twist. 

“Excuse me.  Whose house is this?” she asked.

The man looked at her through the rearview mirror, but said nothing.

When the truck stopped up front, Vasily opened the door for her as another bodyguard opened Dylan’s door and picked him up.  He was still clutching the bear, even in his sleep.

“Let’s get you inside,” Vasily said, offering his large hand. 

She took it and stepped out.  Her heart pounded in her chest, nervousness causing the small ball in her stomach to tighten.  At that moment, she was more afraid than Dylan had been on the plane. 

“Where are we?” She nervously licked her dry lips. “Is this your home?”

He chuckled.  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “We’re at my boss’s house.”

“Well, who in the hell is your boss with a place like this?” she asked.

As they approached
the elaborate front
entry of
solid mahogany
double doors
with forged iron
,
a butler in a black suit opened them and stepped aside quietly. 

Everyone was in a damned suit, even well after midnight,
she thought to herself
.
  Suddenly, she felt extremely underdressed, like maybe she should have been going through the side door or the back door. 

“This is the Medlov compound,” he said, feeling her jerk away as he crossed the threshold.  He turned to her, looked down at her visibly afraid and rubbed her face.  “You are safe, Lilly. I promise.”

Her eyes told on her.  Even only briefly as Leo’s wife, she had heard of Dmitry Medlov in whispered conversations.  He was a legend. In fact, she hardly believed him to be real, because the stories were so wild. 

She saw the bodyguard holding her son in his arms, headed through the foyer.

“Where is he taking him?” she asked, forgetting her fear.  She bolted toward him.

“Let him rest,” Vasily urged, grabbing her arm gently.  “They are taking him to the east wing.  Once you and I have a conversation with my boss, then you’ll be escorted there and that is where you’ll stay until we get this all sorted out.”

The butler closed the doors behind her and made her jump.

“Sorry,” she apologized.

“Lilly, there really is no reason for you to worry.  No one here will hurt you.”

The words resonated with Lilly.
Hurt her.  Worry.
   Whether she liked it or not, that was her world.  And it wasn’t until that very moment, hearing those very words, that she realized that she was tired of running, tired of being tortured by the idea of Leo finding her.

Running a hand over her chest, she took a deep breath and shook her head.  “Do you realize how hard this is, Vasily?  This afternoon, I was in Jackson, Mississippi in my own broke down, country home, cooking bologna and cheese sandwiches for lunch and watching Disney with my son because I can’t afford the swanky channels like HBO.  I have less than a thousand bucks in cash, and it’s all in a coffee can in my $4 Salvation Army purse… all because I can’t put my real name on a bank account. Tonight, I’m inside of a multi-million dollar paramilitary compound of one of the most feared Russian mafia leaders in the
world
.  So when you tell me that I have no reason to worry, I know that’s a lie.  I have every reason to worry.”  She pursed her lips together and wiped a tear.  “And I’m scared shitless, man.”

The men standing in the foyer around Vasily quickly dispersed.  They knew when to exit, and it was obvious that their boss needed his privacy. 

Vasily stood silently staring at her until everyone was gone and then slowly walked up to her.  Their proximity caused electricity to erupt between them. 

She looked up into his eyes with want and need like he’d never seen a woman look at him before. 

“Come here,” he said, taking a trembling hand in his. 

Wrapping his arms around her, he gave her a warm hug.  His heat engulfed her and his smell intoxicated her, his muscles insulated her and for a moment, just a moment, she felt safe. 

A throat cleared behind them, and suddenly Vasily went rigid.  Releasing her, he turned around quickly.

“Boss,” he said, straightening his suit.

Anatoly looked at Lilly and a fair brow shot up.  “The plot thickens,” he said, walking up to Vasily. “I always pegged you as the traditional type.”  

Lilly’s eyes narrowed. 
Was he a racist?  Was that a racist remark?

“A man has his secrets,” Vasily said under his breath.

“I’m Anatoly Medlov,” Anatoly said, offering his hand to Lilly. “Welcome to our humble abode.”

“I’m Lilly,” she answered carefully.  “Thank you for having me.”

To provoke him would surely be a bad idea.  This strange man with his famous last name was younger than Vasily by some years and also incredibly handsome.  Most of the men of the Vory v Zakone that she had known all had a very distinct eastern bloc look to them, but Vasily and Leo and now Anatoly were much different. 

They were all unusually handsome, dangerous and very rich.   

Anatoly was dressed in dark jeans, a black t-shirt that fit his muscular arms and black boots.  His curly mop of blonde curls were magnified by crystal blue eyes and a wide, pink mouth.  He was overtly gorgeous, but his eyes were dark and brooding.  There was no softness in them, leading her to believe that despite his relaxed demeanor at the moment, he could be quite difficult to manage if he were angry. 

Anatoly looked around the foyer and shrugged.  “Where’s the kid?”

“I had him sent to the east wing,” Vasily answered. “He was pretty worn out after the trip.”

“Damn, I wanted to see who he favored,” Anatoly said, looking at Lilly.  “Why don’t you just tell me? I’ll see him later.”

“His name is Dylan,” Lilly answered, knowing what Anatoly’s underlying question was.  “And he looks like his father.” She looked up at Vasily.

“Well, that’s an answer,” Anatoly said sarcastically as he looked at his watch.
Not the confirmation that he was hoping for, but he wouldn’t push it if Vasily didn’t.
  “Papa wants to meet us in his study.  I recommend that we beat him there and grab a drink before he arrives.  There will be questions, followed by directives, followed by one of his glorious speeches. And I’m fucking exhausted.  So let’s get this show on the road.” He turned on his heels and headed into the main hall of the house. 

Vasily nodded. “Let’s go,” he told Lilly.  “We don’t want to keep Boss Medlov waiting.”

Which one
, she said to herself, as she followed the two men.

Chapter Six

The palatial Medlov mansion was a thing of absolute beauty.  Never had Lilly seen such breathtaking chandeliers, vibrant and expensive paintings, large exotic flower arrangements, exquisite furniture pieces and extravagant ceilings and flooring in her entire life.  She took in her surroundings as best she could.  But the mansion was so massive, so very luxurious that it was hard to fathom that one family lived here.

Every room that she passed, she tried to spy a quick look, but following the men who led her made the simple task that much harder.  Their strides were long and powerful, and they all moved with unwavering purpose.  She almost felt as though she was running through the hall or at least moving a jogger’s speed to keep up. 

Nearly every 50 feet down the long corridor she saw a guard, dressed in the same type of black suit, tactical gear or jeans.  They all had tattoos and accents, and a look of clear loyalty and devotion.
That was normal in a situation like this
.  But what was odd, unique, was the way that all of the men interacted with each other.  This was their home, their place in the world.  They all seemed to regard it as such and as a result, she imagined, they took on a role of protector that meant a great deal more than just someone who was paid to do a job.  

Her heart pounded in her chest as she sat on the brown leather sofa in the elaborately designed and extremely masculine study – a room big enough to fit over half of her home.

Anatoly poured each of them a glass of vodka at the bar in the far corner of the room, while Vasily reviewed all the monitors on the other wall, leaving her to her thoughts.

Did Vasily think that she looked pretty anymore without all the diamonds, designer clothes and expensive hair weaves?  Did he think that she looked dramatically older or heavier?  She had picked up a few pounds since the baby.  No doubt that he was surrounded by beautiful women now, many of them vying for his complete attention. 

She berated herself quietly for even caring  as long as he kept her safe, but she couldn’t help it.  She wanted him to see her, but more than that, she wanted him to feel the same thing that she felt for him. 

Pulling her hair back behind her ear, she tried to catch a glimpse of herself in the oversized mirror across the room without being too obvious.  When she saw herself, she instantly wished that she hadn’t. She didn’t have on a smudge of lipstick from biting at her lips in nervousness.  Her eyeliner was smudged from crying, and she was sure that she needed a bath. 

Sheesh
, tonight couldn’t be worse.

In all the uproar back in Mississippi, she had forgotten to freshen up.  At that moment, it was life and death, but now that she was at least a little safer, reality was starting to creep it. 

It was too late to fix up and cover up.  Vasily had seen her at her worse.

He probably thinks I’m some charity case
, she thought to herself.  The idea of such a thing tugged at the strings of her once-fortified pride.  Sure, she didn’t have money, but before tonight, she still had her pride intact.   

Anatoly walked over to where she was sitting on the leather sofa and passed her one of the three tumblers gripped between his fingers. “Do you like vodka?” he asked. “Sorry, I didn’t ask before I began to pour.”

“Sure,” she said, taking the glass.  Before he could turn around, she downed the contents and hissed.  “Can I have another?” she asked, bucking her eyes at the burn.

Anatoly smirked and turned back to her and gave her another glass.  “Rough night?”

“The roughest,” she replied sincerely. “I haven’t had this much to drink in years.” 

“Well, this situation definitely qualifies as stressful,” Anatoly said, looking at his watch.  

The closed door flung open and a guard came in followed by Dmitry, now dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt.  As he walked in, Vasily stood up from his chair and went rigid.  Lilly, on the other hand, wasn’t sure what to do.  Should she stand?
Shit
, should she kneel? 
Who was this guy?