Russian Mafia Boss's Heir (31 page)

Dimitri gestured to the front doors of the building that housed the FBI field office. “Looks like Alexandra got herself caught.”

Vitaly cursed in three languages, feeling helpless and practically paralyzed with impotent rage. This could not be happening. Not when there was still so much to say. “Follow them. He has to be taking her to Donovan.”

***

Alexandra carefully did not look toward the limo parked around the corner with its nose barely sticking out from behind a building. If Joe was enough of an idiot to think she was alone, she certainly didn’t intend to correct his perception. Instead, she tried to keep him talking.

“Why are you doing this?” she prodded. “How come you’ve been lying to us all?”

“I haven’t really been lying.” Joe dragged her along behind him by her zip-tied hands. “I might have bluffed a few things on my polygraph test, but my mother completely cut herself off from her O’Leary relations as soon as she married my father at seventeen. And since her name wasn’t O’Leary, I didn’t even know about my good old cousin Donovan until a few years ago.”

“So it was after you’d been through the academy,” she mused. “And you’ve apparently never had to go through a reinvestigation for your clearance.”

“Not yet,” he agreed. “And by the time anyone figures this out, Donovan and I will have put together a nice little nest egg.”

“You really think that Irish prick is going to share with you?” Alexandra laughed. “You’re stupider than you look.”

“You better shut the hell up,” he growled.

They were walking toward a van. He stopped and opened the back. To Alexandra’s shock, she saw that Jacob was tied up in there as well. His head was drooping forward as though he were unconscious. Then he seemed to rouse himself enough to focus on them.

“Alex?” he asked, obviously confused.

“You stuck Jacob in here?” Alexandra asked incredulously. “You were supposed to release him!” It was now obvious why Jacob hadn’t texted her or reported to Vitaly.

“The guy figured out the connection between me and Donovan almost instantly. I had to shut him up.” Joe sounded defensive. “Now get in next to him before I pop you both and save myself a ton of hassle.”

***

Anton parked the limo on the curb around the corner from a warehouse just over the border of O’Leary territory that was known to house a good portion of their prescription drug supply. Then all three Maximov brothers swung around to stare at Vitaly.

“I suppose we need to go have a look,” he muttered.

Anton frowned. “What is this woman to you that you’re willing to risk your neck—”

“And ours,” Dimitri added.

“Yes,” Anton continued. “And ours. All for the sake of her safety.”

“She’s everything,” Vitaly said slowly. “I love her. I know she’s FBI and she’s probably sworn to string me up by my balls, but she’s one hell of a woman, and if I’m going to either die or get arrested, I’d rather it be for her or by her.”

Uday snorted. “And the rest of us?”

“I’ll pay you,” Vitaly said with a chuckle.

Dimitri pulled out his gun and checked the chamber. “All right then. You’re speaking my language. Let’s go.”

Anton and Uday were still muttering when the four of them exited the limo and began hugging the walls of the buildings in an effort to remain in shadow. They moved in spurts, Dimitri taking point and ghosting his way from cover to cover. The rest of them would follow one at a time until they were standing beside a stack of crates next to the warehouse.

“Up is our best bet,” Dimitri decided. “Go in through the windows.”

“You three go in up there,” Vitaly decided. “I’ll go in through the front and create a distraction.”

“Got it,” Dimitri agreed. He motioned to his brothers and the three of them disappeared like rats up the stack of crates.

Vitaly headed for the main entrance of the warehouse. He tucked his gun into place in the small of his back. Taking a deep breath, he shoved the door open and walked inside as though he owned the place. It was good that he had his game face on, because what he saw immediately pissed him off.

Donovan O’Leary and Joe stood in the center of an open space between stacks of crates. There were two hooks suspended from the ceiling. Alexandra and Jacob hung by their bound hands from the hooks, their toes barely brushing the floor. Vitaly had the odd thought that he owed Jacob an apology for just assuming the man had gone to ground.

Clearing his throat to gain everyone’s attention, Vitaly clapped his hands together. “Did I miss the party?”

***

Alexandra could not decide if she was relieved or horrified to see Vitaly. What was he thinking? Donovan and Joe would shoot him and throw his body into the harbor without batting an eyelash. It struck her then just how much it mattered to her that Vitaly got out of this alive. She had been
such
an idiot!

“Vitaly Volkov!” Donovan said eagerly. He pointed his pistol at Vitaly and waved him closer. “So good of you to join us. Let me get some ties and we’ll truss you up the same way we did your rat and your girlfriend.”

Vitaly chuckled. “Seriously, Donovan, you need to get some better intel. That’s not my girlfriend. She’s FBI. You think I’m going to date a fed? Sleep with her to get some info, sure. Anything more? That’s asking for trouble, don’t you think?”

Alexandra’s heart seized at his words. His expression was utterly deadpan. Was he telling the truth? Her heart was still insisting that she and Vitaly had something special.

Donovan turned to Joe. “You told me they were a done deal!”

“Does it matter?” Joe snarled back. “She was fucking her last CI too. So the woman can’t keep her legs closed. That’s not my problem!”

Alexandra decided to ignore this slander against her character. She tried to seem completely spaced out. Not really a stretch since her back and arms were killing her. Next to her, Jacob seemed oblivious. Of course, he was also staring at the ceiling. Or was it the ceiling? No. He was watching a balcony.

The Maximov brothers!

A burst of relief mingled with the pride she felt in knowing that Vitaly had marched in here and put himself in danger just for
her
! Her heart swelled so big she thought it might bust wide open.

Joe and Donovan were still squabbling. Joe shoved Donovan. “You’re an asshole. You know that? You always think I’m lying, but I’m not. I told you the truth. She’s the fucking liar!”

“You were never much use anyway.” Donovan turned the gun away from Vitaly and trained the barrel on Joe. “You’re pushy and you want me to spoon-feed you information for nothing! That’s not how it works, dumbass!”

“I get promoted, you get a get-out-of-jail-free pass,” Joe insisted.

Vitaly snorted. “You cannot believe that, O’Leary. Joe and Alexandra’s team isn’t even tasked with O’Leary business.”

“But I could request it,” Joe insisted. Then he turned to Vitaly. “Shut the fuck up!”

That was the moment the Maximov brothers chose to act. Alexandra watched in utter amazement as a stack of crates toppled over. It rained down upon the arguing cousins and sent them sprawling to the ground. Crates burst open everywhere, spilling pill bottles full of prescription painkillers all over the floor. It looked like every agent’s dream bust come true.

Dimitri, Anton, and Uday took the ladder down to the ground level one by one. They looked over their handiwork with obvious pride. Then Uday slapped Vitaly on the back. “Dude, we killed that one. Didn’t we?”

“I don’t know,” Vitaly said with a laugh. “Are they dead?”

Dimitri knelt beside Joe, checking his pulse. “No. They’re just out.”

Anton helped Vitaly untie Alexandra and lift her down. She collapsed into Vitaly’s arms, not even caring that it made her appear weak. Resting her cheek against his chest, she allowed herself to calm down.

“Well, Agent Polzin,” Vitaly murmured. “It looks like you just made the drug bust of the century.”

Chapter Fifteen

“I’m not happy that you concealed your association with Jacob Lowenstein,” Agent Johnson said tersely. He kept pacing back and forth behind his desk, refusing to sit still in his chair. “But I can respect the idea that you were going to tell me just as soon as you had verified whether or not Agent Joe Farelli was on the level.”

“I’m sorry, sir.” Alexandra ducked her head and tried to look contrite. “Jacob and I cut ties after that last big bust. He was no longer my CI. Therefore, I didn’t want to jump the gun, but I grew concerned when I could not decipher whether or not he had actually been released.”

Agent Johnson shook his head. “And to think that Farelli concealed his association from us! How did he ever get past the polygraph?”

“He told me that he didn’t discover the association until after he had been made a full agent, sir.” She shrugged. “His reinvestigation hadn’t happened yet. He’s still relatively new to the Bureau.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Johnson looked pained. “Still, it’s an embarrassment that Farelli had to be found in those circumstances.”

“At least it was by us and not the DEA,” she pointed out. “Better to take care of our own housekeeping. Don’t you think?”

“Yes,” he agreed. “We’ll certainly keep it quiet. You’ll be given credit for the drug bust, of course, but it will simply go down to the media as a bust by the organized crime division.”

“That’s how I like it, sir.” She ducked her chin. “No recognition means I’m safely anonymous.”

“You’re a damn good agent, Alexandra,” Johnson said with a curt nod. “Keep up the good work. Although I think you can take the rest of the weekend off.”

“Thank you, sir.” It was Saturday morning. An entire day and a half of vacation must mean Agent Johnson was in an uncommonly good mood. “If you’ll excuse me, sir, I’ll go start that leave.”

“Of course.” He sat back down at his desk and began scribbling away in a notebook as if she were no longer in the room. Not that it mattered to Alexandra.

***

Vitaly heard Alexandra enter his office long before he actually turned around to acknowledge her presence. He had deliberately told Dimitri to let her in. All the way in. He wasn’t hiding things from Alexandra anymore.

“I wondered what was actually on that map.”

“And now you know.” He stood up and turned around. “And you could easily take down my whole network with what you’re seeing.”

She sighed. “Not me. I’m done with fieldwork for a while.”

“What?” He was honestly surprised by the announcement.

She gave an exhausted sigh. “Are you kidding? After that last debacle, I just want to push some paper. I’m tired of trying to pretend what I do or don’t know. I’ve put in for the transfer already. I’ll announce it to my team on Monday.”

“Are you sure?” He frowned. “I don’t want you giving up your career for me.”

She scoffed. “Who says it’s for you? I’m doing this for me. Of course, I’m going to be doing you for me too. At least I hope so.”

Vitaly could not help but laugh at her ridiculous pun. “I suppose I do owe you a tour.”

“Of the entire house this time?” Her batted her eyelashes, looking quite ridiculous. “Can we just start with the bedroom?”

“I think that could be arranged.” He took her hand and lifted it to his lips.

Suddenly a frown marred her brow. She pursed her lips and looked quite serious. “I’ve never said this, but I need to.”

“What’s that?” he asked softly.

“I love you, Vitaly.” She took his hand in both of hers and kissed his knuckles. “I kept thinking about it in that stupid warehouse and I knew I needed to say it if I got out of there alive.”

“I wasn’t going to let you die.” His throat closed up, making his voice sound rough.

She smiled. The expression on her face was beautiful to see. Then she began backing him toward his desk chair. “You know that thing that happens when people have a near-death experience?”

“What’s that?” He couldn’t imagine what she was doing.

“It’s that thing where all they can think about is reaffirming the fact that they’re alive by fornication. You know what I’m talking about?”

Vitaly felt his body responding. His cock leaped to attention and his skin tingled wherever it touched hers. The backs of his knees hit his desk chair and he sat reflexively. She didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she reached for the hem of her blouse and drew it over her head. Then she unfastened her bra and tossed it aside.

“Beautiful,” he groaned as he took in the sight of her perfect breasts.

She fumbled with the side seam of her pencil skirt with her fingers before he heard the zipper come undone. When she stepped out of her skirt she was wearing only a pair of black thigh-high silk stockings and her heels.

He cursed in Russian, mostly because it was the only language he could recall at that moment. She was exquisite! Her body was all curves and taut golden skin, and all his for the taking.

“I want you so badly, Vitaly,” Alexandra whispered. “I’m going to ride you right here and right now because I need to feel you inside me.”

***

Alexandra was wild for this man. Nothing else mattered. She grabbed the front of his dress shirt and yanked it open. Buttons popped off, pinging against the desk and the window as they flew everywhere. She placed her hands flat on his abdomen and felt the way he quivered at her touch. It was an amazing sensation. Then she slid her fingers down to his waistband and picked the button apart. Lowering the zipper, she was gratified by the way he tensed up. He wanted her. She could tell.

“Alexandra,” he groaned. “Take my cock out. Stroke me, baby.”

She smiled, doing as he asked and feeling a surge of power when he reacted so viscerally. His eyes slid shut and his lips parted. She pressed a kiss to his chest. Then she gripped his cock in her hands and began moving them up and down in long, fluid strokes. She mimicked the way he thrust inside her pussy.

Even the thought made her sex wet with cream. She was turned on not just because she wanted him, but also because she wanted to claim him for her own. This was her man. He was everything that she should avoid but she didn’t care. Vitaly was her match.