Protected by a Mobster: A Russian Mafia Romance (Volsky Mafia Book 1) (5 page)

I cranked the car and pulled out of the parking lot, pointing the car towards the strip. I needed to relax. Waiting for calls – Hell, waiting in general – had never been my strong suit, and it never would be. My phone chimed, alerting me of an incoming text message. I grabbed the phone from the seat, swiped my thumb across the screen, and read the incoming message from Vlad. It hadn’t even been an hour yet. As I read his text, I felt the need to punch something. Bastard was trying to rile me up.

Vlad: Foxy little minx is definitely a hot little piece boss.

Ruslan: Anything else?

Vlad: Why the hell is she camped out in this shit place and driving that box of rust?

Ruslan: No clue. Is all part of the mystery.

Vlad: Check in later.

The whole situation was strange. Here we have a seemingly casual, unplanned meeting of a mafia boss with his rival’s daughter. She didn’t seem like a princess with the financial backing of a crime family. No. She seemed like a girl just trying to get by. Hell, she couldn’t afford a tow and a new tire. Definitely strange. She didn’t have the attitude most women in mafia families have, either. She was sweet and a little on the quiet side. She blushed when I caught her checking me out, too. None of this shit made a bit of sense.

Checking my watch, I realized Bobby hadn’t reported back, which wasn’t entirely odd. The man was brilliant as hell when it came to digging up details on people and hacking, but time management was not his thing. I’d give him a little more time and then I’d call his ass back.

One thing I knew for sure was that I needed to get ahead of whatever the hell this was… and fast. If Markow got one over on me, everything with the five families would go up in flames.

Chapter Seven - Liliya

“The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.”

-Unknown

It’s been a week since I fled the only home I’ve ever known. At first, I had been so scared of being on my own out in the world, without my family and all of the things I had grown accustomed to. Strangely enough, however, I had been lucky enough to meet a few really nice people along the way, and I had seen some of the most amazing things. But mostly I’ve kept to myself, rarely leaving the motel. My father had never let me travel. I don’t know why he felt the need to keep me locked up tight. My brother was allowed to leave whenever he wanted. It wasn’t fair. I knew that, even as naïve as I apparently was.

My new life was off to a fairly good start, albeit my choice in motel had been horrible, but it was affordable. The stained carpet and moldy bathroom tiles had made my skin crawl that first night. I shuddered at the thought of sleeping in the bed after seeing just how awful the room as a whole looked that first day. But I was exhausted and slept in it, anyway. My second day in Vegas, I had hit up a local store and bought some cleaning products and food to get me by, and cleaned up the room some. It was better now.

As bad as the room was, I was lucky to have a safe place to crash. I knew that. My complaints had lessened as the days crawled slowly by. I’d found the local library and did my best to try to locate the Volsky mafia family. All week long, I had lacked the necessary courage to visit the nightclub the mafia boss owned, per the newspaper article I had read. Soon though, I’d have to swallow my fear and just do it.

Now my main problem was loneliness.

When I couldn’t shake the loneliness, my mind wandered to the people I’d met, specifically how nice Gladys had been to me, and how kind and helpful the very handsome Ruslan was in my time of need. He’d swooped in like a hero and made my day brighter. Sometimes, I found myself wanting to drive over to the diner just to see if he was there.

I didn’t, though.

I shouldn’t tease myself with things I cannot have. With the darkness that filled my mind, he gave me a little hope that things would be alright. I wished many nights that I was as strong as he seemed to be. He seemed fearless and in control of his life, and I needed that so badly. He was too good for someone like me. I’d just drag him down into the pit of hell that is my life. If we did start something, then it would all be based on a lie. My lies. That wasn’t any way to begin a relationship, and I knew that better than anyone. Without honesty and trust, there was nothing to base a relationship on. I still hesitated to trust anyone. I felt like Ruslan’s kindness alone had given me another reason to keep fighting this insane battle I faced. That was something. Right?

It’s been five days since he gave me his business card. Five whole days. He’d offered to help me find work. I’ve thought about what kind of work I’d like to do, and every idea brings the fear of being found to the forefront of my mind. I have enough money to last a few more months – two, possibly three – if I’m really careful. So maybe I’ll wait a bit longer, but asking Ruslan about work couldn’t hurt. I know I’m just trying to come up with a viable reason to call him. Trust me. T
hat has not escaped me. Maybe he could help me find something that would keep me out of the public eye and safe. It’s worth a shot.

Without thinking, I pulled his business card from my purse and flipped it over in my hand a few times. The need to hear his voice and thank him yet again filled me. Peering at my brand-new cell phone on the nightstand, I decided to take a chance. Slowly, I entered his number and hit send before I could talk myself out of it. I listened to the line ring once, twice, before his deliciously sexy voice came on the line.

“Ruslan here.”

I shivered. Good God! This man would be the death of me. Clenching my thighs together to ward off the spell his sexy voice cast on me, I did my best to pull myself together. “Hey. It’s… um… Liliya, the helpless chick from the other day at the diner.”

“How are you? Did you make it where you were headed?”

“I did. I was wondering if you were serious about helping me find a job.”

“Of course. What kind of work are you looking for?”

I hesitated in responding, needing to get my words just right. Part of me thought I could trust him, but I still wasn’t completely sold on the idea just yet. “Ruslan, you seem like a nice guy. Are you? A nice guy, I mean.”

“Sure. What’s going on? Is everything alright?”

“I’m fine. Really. I’m just tired from job-hunting all week. Maybe this was a mistake. Look I better go. Just… well… thanks again for the help earlier this week. It’s good to know there are kind people in the world.” Before he could respond, I hung up and tossed my phone on the bed. Yeah, I’m a freaking coward with a capital C.

Lowering my head into my hands with a long drawn-out sigh, I cursed myself for being so weak and foolish. The entire conversation, however short it might have been, was a complete and total embarrassment. I crumpled the card and tossed it across the room, missing the trashcan by a mile. There was no way in hell I could face him now, much less call him again. He probably thought I was crazy, and that was probably for the best, anyway. Ruslan had been nothing but kind to me and what did I do? I hung up on him, as if all my hang-ups and shit I was facing were his fault. Not cool.

Other than the obvious issues I’ve been facing in my screwed-up life, I hungered for human interaction. I’d never had many friends, which was sad. For years, I had been able to ignore it due to my home literally being crawling with people at all hours of the day and night. But now things were different. I was starving for contact and intimacy with another human being. Being alone truly sucked.

I hadn’t ever had this much time alone. Sitting in this dark and musky-smelling motel room was passed the point of driving me crazy. I had already counted the water stains on the ceiling countless times, some of which I had stared at for so long that I was beginning to imagine seeing things within them, like with those crazy Rorschach tests. Call me crazy, but one spot looked a lot like a man’s very large cock with a hefty set of balls. Yeah, I so need to get the hell out of this room before I start naming the roaches that are big enough to carry me away.

So here I am, a lonely girl in over her head in every way a girl could be, and I’m smack dab in the middle of something I can’t wrap my head around. Call me crazy, but I needed a bit of liquid courage. The more I thought about my situation, the angrier I got, and the more I felt the need to make a move and find Mr. Volsky. I know leaving the protective bug-infested nest I call home for the moment would be a bad idea, but I needed to interact with other people. I need to cut loose. Making friends may not be a good idea, as that would put their lives in danger if or when I was found, and that was a risk that I wasn’t willing to take, but I needed to get out of this damn room before I lost more than my freaking mind.

Hopping off the bed, I headed for the small closet near the bathroom sink and stared at my reflection. The person looking back at me was… well… me… but not me at the same time. The few articles of clothing I owned now hung in a small closet that for some strange reason had no door. I had picked them up at the local Goodwill store. They weren’t great, but they would do. Wearing used clothing felt strange, but it was the best I could do, considering my financial circumstances. I’d make do.

I quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a cute little top. I didn’t recognize the brands but who cares. Grabbing the little bit of make-up I had purchased at a Dollar store down the street, I did my best to look presentable. With my hair and make-up finally looking good, I slipped on a pair of heels – also second-hand – and grabbed my purse and keys. One final look at myself in the mirror and I was off to…Where the hell was I going?

As I opened the door to my room, I quickly scanned the parking lot for familiar faces or anything out of the ordinary. When everything appeared to be okay, I dashed to the car. After a week here, I had learned that most of the people that come here seem to only stay an hour or so and then disappear. That was fine by me, but I still kept my eyes open, the door locked-up tight and the curtains drawn closed.

All dolled-up and ready to have a little fun, I pulled out of the motel parking lot in my rusted-up car. The bright lights of Vegas shimmered in the distance, calling my name. Ignoring their call, I pressed the gas pedal to the floor, the car lurching forward as if it was as eager to escape the dump of a motel as I was. The need to have fun and the need to stay safe and blend in warred within me. After driving around for an hour, I found a bar and swung into the parking lot, tires screeching. A few drinks and I’d return to the boring room that was becoming my chosen prison.

Chapter Eight – Ruslan

“Yes, I have my demons and this is my way of exorcising them. It gets them out – and better out than in.”

-Naomi Watts

After the short, and very unsettling, call from Liliya Markow, I knew without a doubt this girl was trouble with a capital T. There was no doubt about it. When I heard her voice on the line, I had planned to drag out whatever information I could, but she had clammed-up tighter than a virgin. She seemed scared of something. Of what, I wasn’t exactly sure, but I wanted to know. Just asking her what was wrong had caused her to regret calling me. Sure, that had pissed me off. No woman, or man for that matter, had ever denied me, much less hung up on me. Hell, men had died for doing far less than that.

Disrespect was just one of my many pet peeves, and Liliya was somehow able to push every single button I had. Not all of them bad. Her call had left me agitated, my palms itching to spank her little ass until she understood what she had done wrong. I ached to punish her. I ached to bend her to my will, to consume her in every way that I could, and then some. Imagining her sweet little body bent over my lap, her taut little ass burning pink from my ministrations made my cock grow hard as granite. Fuck! I needed to have her. And just like that, I knew that, war be damned, I would fucking have her.

With a heavy sigh, I let my mind wander over the information I’d received from Bobby just this evening. He’d jumped through hoops, reaching out to every contact we had in New York to get the scoop on our girl. There hadn’t been very much in the way of details about Liliya, and absolutely nothing about why she was suddenly a fixture in Vegas. The most shocking news of all that Bobby relayed to me about her father and his second-in-command was more of a concern. They were searching for the princess, too.

Word on the street was the Markow family was searching high and low for the missing girl, and having little to no luck. Good. They were dishing out threats as they scoured the streets of New York like cockroaches. Somehow, their sweet little princess had managed to skip town without being noticed. She hadn’t left a fucking bread crumb one for them to follow.

Smart girl.

Damn smart.

The fact that I knew where she was gave me the upper hand. For months, I have known they were up to something, but for once, they had been able to hide their plans.

With a glance at the clock, I realized I needed to move my ass. I had thirty minutes to make it to the weekly meeting with my men at the club, Obol’shcheniye… or Seduction, as the locals called it. Of all the clubs in Vegas, Obol’shcheniye was the place to be if you were looking for a damn good time.

Before I can make it out the door, my phone chimed with another incoming message. Vlad had been blowing my phone up all week with stupid little updates on the princess, most of which made my blood boil. The guy had no shame. Sometimes he said shit without thinking, or hell, maybe he did think and just wanted to get a rise out of me. It was fucking working. But as much as he pissed me off, he was a damned good man, trustworthy and loyal to a fault. I let him get away with a few snarky, yet humorous, remarks because men like him were few and far between these days. Pulling the phone from my pocket, I slid my finger over the screen, pulling up his message.