Sergei (35 page)

"Who the fuck is this?" Kostya's snarled answer made Sergei wince.

"It's me. I need your help."

"Sergei? What's wrong? Is someone after you and Bianca?"

"No, we need a different kind of help. Disposal," he said carefully.

Clothing rustled in the background. "Give me twenty minutes."

"Come around the back of Bianca's house. I'll open the gate for you."

"
Da
."

Marcus stared at him with apprehension, and Sergei realized the man hadn’t understood a single word of the Russian he had been speaking. "My friend is coming to help you. He's a cleaner. You understand?"

Marcus nodded weakly. "Yes. Why are you helping me?"

Sergei didn't reply because he didn't have an answer to that one. He honestly couldn't pinpoint the reason. Motioning toward the wall, he said, "You had better start digging. It will be sunrise all too soon, and I want you—and that—out of here before first light."

The contractor didn't have to be told twice. He went back to work, busting out the bricks that entombed his father and stacking them neatly to one side. Uncertain whether the man could be trusted, Sergei kept his gun on Marcus. He didn't want any surprises, not tonight when the whole wide world of possibilities had been unfurled in front of him.

When Kostya arrived, the cleaner stood in the doorway and took in the macabre scene. "Fuck me. This is a first."

Sergei glanced at Kostya. "Truly?"

Nodding, Kostya entered the carriage house to survey the ongoing work. "One hour tops, and I'm out of your hair."

Coming in under his estimate, Kostya helped Marcus remove and wrap the mummified body in forty minutes. A perfectionist, Kostya checked the wall cavity for any spare parts or evidence. He had Marcus load the tightly wrapped parcel into the back of his SUV. Holding the contractor's gaze, he said, "I'll bury it properly."

Marcus shrugged. "I don't care what you do with it."

The cold reply didn't surprise Sergei. After Kostya left, he walked Marcus out to the gate. Gripping the front of the man's shirt, he dragged the contractor up on his toes and gave one final warning. "If you ever come back here again or if even one fucking whisper of this gets out to anyone, I'll come for you. Then you'll be the one wrapped in plastic and blankets. Understand?"

"Yes." Marcus gulped. "I'm leaving Houston right now. You'll never see me again."

"That's a promise you had better keep." Sergei released the man's shirt and pushed him outside the gate. He waited until the man disappeared down the alley before going back to the house. Weary and haggard, he washed his hands at the kitchen sink, checked the doors and trudged upstairs.

Still wearing his shirt, Bianca sat on the edge of the bed and nervously swung her feet back and forth. "Well?"

"It's done. Kostya took care of it."

"Oh."

"Yes."

"Do I want to know why Marcus was using my carriage house as the family crypt?"

"No." He didn't want to talk about any of that. Pointing to his shirt, he said, "Take that off. Naked for a week, remember?"

With a huff, she peeled off the shirt and tossed it at him. "Happy?"

"I am now." He gazed at her luscious body and started to plan all the ways they would spend their Sunday afternoon.

She moved under the covers on her side of the bed, and he switched off the lamp. Sliding in next to her, he hauled her tight against him. Content to hold her, he caressed her arm and wondered at the bizarre end to an already stressful day.

"So I was thinking about that carriage house—"

"Don't worry," Sergei cut in. "I plan to have someone out here to raze that whole fucking thing as soon as possible."

"Thank God! Because, wow, I can't even stomach looking at it again."

"I feel the same way."

"So I had two prowlers, huh?"

"It seems that way. Kevan ran off Marcus that first time and then he took over the prowler's identity to scare you so he could stay close to you."

"This is so screwed up," she murmured. "I want to get back to my normal, boring life."

"You will," he promised.

"What about Darren Blake?"

She asked in a way that made him think she had figured out that answer for herself. "He can never hurt anyone else ever again."

"And the Night Wolves?"

"They were shut down from the inside." He didn't tell her that Nikolai and Besian had hidden James away so he could provide the evidence the Feds needed to round up those skinhead bastards. As far as Sergei knew, the younger guy was recovering from some plastic surgery in Mexico as a VIP guest of Romero Valero. It had all been neatly wrapped up by Nikolai and Besian in a way that used the Feds to do the heavy-lifting.

She drew lazy shapes on his chest for a while. "You know, maybe we could look into building a proper mother-in-law quarters out back."

"For your mama?"

"No, for yours."

Sergei reeled with surprise. "Mine?"

"Mama is talking about moving in with Aunt Penny and Aunt Sara. They have their eyes set on one of those new houses in that seniors-only housing development by the country club. She seems really excited about it so I was thinking maybe we could do something for your mom."

"Bianca, my mother is stuck in Russia. It could be years before she's able to immigrate."

Yawning, Bianca snuggled close and hooked her leg over his. "Don't worry about that. I have a plan."

"A plan?"

"
Mmhmm
," she murmured sleepily.

Though he wanted to interrogate her, Sergei held his curiosity at bay. She had fought tenaciously to save him. Heaven only knew what wonders she would work for his mother and Vladimir.

Throwing up a silent prayer of thanks for Vivian's devious theft during the wedding reception, he cradled Bianca close and dreamed of the bright future ahead of them.

Epil
ogue

"What do you think of this hotel?" I spun my laptop screen around so Sergei could see it. "It's close to the gallery where Vivian will be showing her paintings. It has some suite options that will work better for us since we'll be a group of four."

"It's nice. If you like it, I like it." Sergei winked at me before threading zucchini chunks onto skewers. We were preparing to host our first barbecue together as a couple, and he was finishing up some of the food prep.

"Did Vladimir finalize the plane tickets?"

"Yes, they'll be flying into London the day after we get there. We'll have four days together before they head back."

"Perfect." I selected the suite we needed to house all four of us and started the reservation process. "Don't forget that the lawyer rescheduled your meeting for tomorrow morning, Sergei."

"I haven't forgotten."

"And you've filled out all the citizenship paperwork, right?"

"Yes,
milaya moya
." Amusement filled his voice. "I've also got an appointment with Yuri to figure out how to put to set up the money for the investment Mama will make in my construction business."

One of the loopholes the new lawyer had suggested was to turn Sergei's mother into an investor with money she wanted to use create jobs here. Sergei planned to use the cash he had been socking away from his fight purses to fund her investment. If that didn't work, Sergei was only a few steps away from completing his citizenship. He could legally sponsor his mother one had those papers.

Once the lawyer had Sergei's mother's situation sorted out, it would be relatively straight-forward to get Vladimir over here. The former Spetsnaz commando had easily snagged a job with Dimitri's firm so he would qualify for immigration sponsorship through the Lone Star Group.

The process wouldn’t be simple or quick but it would be successful. Until then, Sergei and I had agreed that he would meet with his family every couple of months in Europe. He didn't feel safe returning to Moscow so it was the best compromise.

"Are you going to tell your mother about…?" Sergei eyed me carefully as he jammed chunks of red onion onto the skewers.

My hand drifted down to my belly. Like a true alpha male, Sergei had planted his seed inside me with just one try. I still couldn't quite believe it was true. My period was only a day late when had I tested on a whim. The double lines had stunned me. A blood test the next morning had confirmed the result. We were going to have a baby.

Even though I knew we had flirted with danger, I never in a million years thought it would happen after just one single time. Obviously I should have paid better attention to the statistics in sex ed class!

"Not tonight," I said finally. "That's something I want to share with her when it's just the two of us."

I wasn’t quite sure how she was going to take the news. She would be disappointed that I had gotten myself into trouble, as she would say, without being married. Eventually, though, she would come around and support me. I could already imagine what a doting, coddling grandmother she would be. Once Sergei's mother made it over here, she would probably be just as bad. Our child was going to be so spoiled.

"The three of us," Sergei corrected. "I want your mother to know I take my responsibility seriously."

"And your mother? Have you told her?"

He shook his head. "I'll tell her in person when we go to London later this month."

Abandoning the skewers, Sergei walked around the island and spun my barstool so that we were facing each other. His big hand curved protectively against my belly. "I know this is still a shock, and it's not ideal timing, Bianca, but I love you." He rubbed his hand over the place where our baby was growing. "It's been four days, and I'm already in love with this baby. We'll make it work."

Sliding my arms around him, I closed my eyes and breathed in the familiar scent of him. His soothing heat and strength assuaged the lingering fears. "You're right. It isn't ideal, but I keep telling myself that we'll give this baby a good life."

"We will," he assured me. "I'm out of
that
life now. Your business is booming. I'll spend more time actively working at the construction company instead of simply taking a cut. I'm going to pick up some extra work with Ivan, too." He gestured around us. "We'll tackle the priority projects around here and get the house ready for the baby. It will be okay, Bianca. You'll see."

Loving the way Sergei could calm me down and reassure me so easily, I caressed his handsome face. The future promised some big changes for us, but I was ready to meet them. We were starting our journey together, and I couldn’t wait to see where the path would lead us.

Author's Note

Thanks so much for reading
SERGEI
(
Her Russian Protector #5
)! I hope you enjoyed Sergei and Bianca's story. The next books in the series will release in 2014 and include a
NIKOLAI
, Volume 2 (
Her Russian Protector #6
) a sequel that picks up a few weeks after this book ends,
ALEXEI
(
Her Russian Protector #7
) and
KOSTYA
(
Her Russian Protector #8
.)

If you haven't read
In Kelly's Corner
yet, you can pick up a copy of that book right now to get his side of the fight story. Big brother Jack is up next in the
Fighting Connollys
series with
In Jack's Arms
.

You can check out my
website
,
Facebook
page or sign up for my
newsletter
for updates and notices on upcoming releases. I also offer
Free Reads
featuring couples from my books on my website. There are more reads planned for release in late December!

About the Author

When I’m not chasing after my wild preschooler, I like to write super sexy romances and scorching hot erotica. I live in Texas with a husband who could easily snag a job as an extra on History Channel’s new
Viking
series and a sweet but rowdy four-year-old.

I also have another dirty-book writing alter ego,
Lolita Lopez
, who writes deliciously steamy tales for Ellora’s Cave, Forever Yours/Grand Central, Mischief/Harper Collins UK, Siren Publishing and Cleis Press.

You can find me online at
www.roxierivera.com
or
www.roxieriverawriter.com
.

Roxie's Backlist

Her Russian Protector Series

Ivan (Her Russian Protector #1)

Dimitri (Her Russian Protector #2)

Yuri (Her Russian Protector #3)

Nikolai (Her Russian Protector #4)

Sergei (Her Russian Protector #5)