Russian Mobster's Princess (12 page)

Kira gasped in shock as she realized that Viktor’s brother had been behind it all. From the moment everything had begun. He had been pulling all of their strings. Anger swept through her like a dark wave, and she knew she had to do something. She could not believe those gunshots meant that Viktor was dead. Viktor was strong. And dammit, she needed to apologize for believing the worst about him. Again.

Reaching for Ivan’s weapon, she closed her hand around the smooth butt of his pistol. It felt clumsy in her hand. That didn’t matter. Stepping out from behind the protective covering of Ivan’s broad body, she leveled the weapon at Yakov.

“Drop your gun,” she ordered in a loud, clear voice. “Now!”

“The kitten has grown claws,” Yakov cooed. “How sweet.”

“I said drop it!” From the corner of her eye, she could see Vasily getting ready to reach for his gun. “You don’t think I’ll shoot? Is that it?”

“Pretty much,” Yakov said with a nod.

She squeezed her finger on the trigger. The gun leaped in her hand as a loud retort shattered the air around them. Yakov yelped as her shot skimmed his boot. It wasn’t exactly what she was aiming for, but she took hold of the weapon with two hands and pulled the barrel up higher.

“I don’t think you want to take the chance that next time I’ll get closer to my target,” Kira told him. “Especially since I’m aiming for your belly and my shots seem to go low.”

Yakov’s eyes nearly bugged out as that little fact sank in. “All right, all right!”

VIKTOR ARRIVED ON scene just as Yakov dropped his weapon only to be rushed by Vasily and Ivan. The two men jumped on their comrade and strung him up between them like a limp rag.

“Kira,” Viktor said, knowing he sounded exhausted and weak. “Thank God you are safe.”

“Where is my father?” The hunted look on her face suggested she thought her father had been one of the casualties in the alley.

“I don’t know.” Viktor hadn’t thought about it until now. “He never came out of the theater.”

Vasily shifted uncomfortably. “The boss was waiting for us to distract you so that he could skip town.”

“With funds stolen from the organization?”

“Embezzled, yes.” Vasily shrugged. “He’s been skimming for years.”

Viktor secretly wondered if the man didn’t have the right idea. “Thank you for being honest, Vasily.”

Kira gazed at the two men who she had once told him liked to intimidate her. Now she was frowning as though she couldn’t figure them out. “Why did you help me?”

Ivan shrugged. “We always thought you were a spoiled princess.”

Kira’s strangled laugh was enough of a response for them.

Vasily pursed his lips. “Then we heard your father talking with Nicholas Domnin one night and realized you were just a game piece to them.”

“We felt bad,” Ivan admitted. “And now I also feel bad that we never realized who Yakov was really working for.”

“The rest of your orders to attack and intimidate the men were coming from Nicholas as well,” Viktor explained. “The council will not hold that against you. I’ll see to it.”

They both ducked their heads gratefully. Glancing at each other, they looked at Yakov.

It was Ivan who finally asked. “What should we do with this sack of shit?”

“Take him to Anatoly’s house. Tell Anatoly what you saw here tonight. Nothing more. I will take care of the rest.”

“Yes, boss,” they said in unison.

“Boss,” Kira murmured. She turned and gazed at him with such sorrow in her eyes. “Does that mean Nicholas is gone?”

“My brother is dead.”

“Viktor.” She was biting her lip now. “I heard something tonight that makes me think about Elena.”

“I already know.” Viktor’s throat felt incredibly tight and raw. “Nicholas said much before he died.”

“Viktor, I am so sorry.”

He gathered her into his arms. “As long as I still have you, I can move on from the rest.”

Chapter Fourteen

The echoing room inside the old, half-renovated restaurant was filled with council members, their wives, and the top lieutenants of the Russian mafia presence in New York. Still, it would have been possible to hear a pin drop. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. All eyes were on Viktor Domnin as he stood in the center of the room.

Anatoly gestured to Kira. “You keep strange company, my friend. All things considered, anyway.”

“She is my wife,” Viktor said clearly. He turned a half circle so that he could make individual eye contact with every man there that would soon be calling him “boss.” “I want no part of her father’s crimes to fall on her shoulders.”

Viktor put out his hand and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. Kira laced her fingers with his and stood by his side as his equal. It was as it should have been. He felt a shot of pride at the woman she had become. Strong, determined, dedicated, all of these things and more made her a worthy bride for any man. He happened to be the lucky one who had managed to capture her heart.

There was movement at the back of the room. He felt Kira tense as her three half brothers were herded into the room like sheep to the slaughter. Viktor nodded his thanks to Aleks. His friend had almost immediately been dispatched to make certain they didn’t weasel away after their father.

Anatoly waved a hand to indicate the young men. “And her brothers?” Anatoly and the other council members shared a few hushed comments before he spoke again. “Can you trust them not to stab you in the back?”

Kira’s grip on his hand grew infinitesimally tighter. She might not like them especially well, but they had still grown up as her brothers.

Viktor sighed. “Let them be placed as low ranking enforcers under your leadership, Anatoly. If they prove themselves, they can rise through the ranks. If not?” Viktor shrugged, showing that he held no grudge, but cared not for their fate.

A gleam of something Viktor would have called approval lit Anatoly’s eyes. “A wise choice.”

“You’re a hard taskmaster,” Viktor retorted. “I came up through your ranks as a young man.”

“I remember.” Anatoly sighed. “The council has heard the story of your brother’s treachery.”

For once, someone else spoke. Rotund and white haired, Denis Igorevich was one of the oldest members of the council. “How do we know he will not turn on us like his brother?”

“His father was a good man,” Anatoly reminded Denis.

Denis harrumphed. “I say the Domnin blood is tainted!”

“I say I will prove myself over and over again if need be,” Viktor said loudly. Now he addressed the room at large. “I was never meant to lead. I was thrust into this position. But I remember what it was like to follow orders be they good or bad. My brother gave orders to hurt and even kill our family members.”

There was a low, angry murmur that bounced off the old brick walls. Beside him, Kira moved closer. He felt the heat of her skin against him, and he knew he would never again be alone.

“I was not untouched by my brother’s betrayal!” Viktor shouted. “He was the one who murdered my Elena. He admitted this to me before he died.”

Anatoly nodded. “And it was confirmed by Yakov.”

The murmurs went silent. In fact, the room was dead quiet.

Viktor gazed around at the people who would be his family and his men. “Leadership might be my birthright. But I will never take it for granted. I know too well what the cost can be.”

“You have my vote,” Anatoly said clearly.

Denis muttered something in Russian.

“What?” Anatoly said, jabbing him.

“I said I will vote for him too!” Denis snapped. “Now can we get some vodka? I am thirsty.”

The other council members fell in with Denis and Anatoly. Yet once he had been confirmed as the new leader of the entire organization, Viktor looked to the men who would be following his orders.

“Do I have your support?” he asked. “Because without it, none of us will succeed.”

A shout went up, in Russian and English, so loud that the room seemed to vibrate with the support of the men and their families.

THE CEMETERY WAS quiet and rather pleasant.

Kira threw her head back and gazed up at the blue sky. “It’s pretty here,” she told Viktor.

He was quiet, but that wasn’t surprising. “I suppose it is. I didn’t choose it because it was particularly pretty or peaceful. At the time, I don’t even know if I thought of those things.”

“How did she die?” Kira asked. “You’ve never said, and I didn’t want to press, but I must admit that my curiosity is involved now.”

He took her hand and threaded their fingers together. Tugging her closer, he tucked her arm around his until she was pressed up against his side. They walked for several more moments before he finally answered.

“She drowned.” His words were barely audible at first, and then he cleared his throat in order to continue. “She drowned in the pool in our backyard. I didn’t understand how it could be possible, because Elena was a fantastic swimmer. She loved the water. That swimming pool was the main reason she wanted that house.”

“So Nicholas drowned her?” Kira shivered. The day suddenly seemed a few degrees cooler.

“No one will ever know for certain now, I suppose.” Viktor took a turn, walking them down through a lane that traversed the neat rows of graves. “The coroner said she had a contusion on her head. We thought she must have slipped, fallen, you know? But I think now that Nicholas pushed her. He got angry when she refused to leave me and go with him, and he pushed her. She must have hit her head.” Viktor paused, turning again and then facing a beautifully etched white stone monument. “Nicholas told me at the last that he didn’t mean to kill her.”

“You believe him,” she said quietly.

Viktor sighed. “He was dying. What reason would there be to lie?”

Kira said nothing. She could think of a thousand reasons for Nicholas to lie. And yet none of them mattered. The only thing that she wanted was for Viktor to be able to find peace. That meant putting the ghosts of the past to rest at long last.

He leaned forward and brushed a few stray bits of leaves and grass off the base of Elena’s headstone. “When you marry someone, you never imagine having to choose their headstone.”

“It’s beautiful,” Kira murmured. “My friend, my love, my wife, you will be forever missed.”

She pressed her face to his arm, nuzzling him and hoping he could feel how much she loved him even though neither one of them had yet to say the words.

“Sometimes, though,” Viktor murmured. “I look at you, Kira, and I wonder how it’s possible to feel the way I do. I haven’t stopped loving Elena.”

“You never will,” Kira said fervently. “I wouldn’t want you to. She’s a part of your past, and you will always remember her.”

“And yet I love you, Kira Domnin.” He turned and gazed into her eyes. “You are an incredible woman. The passion and fire in you beggars my ability to describe it. You amaze me.”

“
Viktor
,” Kira murmured.

She cupped his face in her hands and stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss. “I love you so very much. I haven’t wanted to push, though. I knew you needed to make peace with what happened to Elena.”

VIKTOR GAZED AT this precious woman. “How could I have been so lucky twice in one lifetime?”

“Maybe this time I’m the one who got lucky.” She wrinkled her nose at him. “Ever think about that?”

“Would you marry me again?”

“A wedding?” She looked doubtful. “How about we renew our vows?”

“When?”

She glanced around, and he could see her mind at work behind those beautiful eyes. “How about right now?”

“Now?” Viktor asked dubiously. Elena’s stone was like an altar before them. “Here?”

“Yes, here.” She was nodding vigorously. “I think it’s fitting, don’t you? Elena is your past. I’m your future. It’s like one blending into the other.”

And just like that, Viktor knew that she was right. He wasn’t a whimsical sort of man. Hell, he’d been raised Russian Orthodox. There was no room for the fanciful there. Yet right now, he could almost sense Elena’s presence there with them. Viktor felt calm and certain.

“You’re right,” he told Kira. “Now is perfect.”

She took a step back and carefully placed her hands in his. She stared up at him, and their gazes met and held. Viktor took a deep breath and thought about exactly what he needed to say.

“Kira Domnin, I take you to be my wife and my partner. I promise to love you while there is breath in my body, and to always listen to your concerns and try not to be overbearing. I promise to always support your dancing. I will never take that away from you. You are the fire and the passion in my life, Kira. I am proud to be your husband, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life finding out what comes next.”

There were tears in her eyes. They glistened, and she gave a happy little sniff before she started speaking. “Viktor Domnin, I take you to be my husband and partner. This time I want to be a real wife to you. I want to share your concerns and listen to you complain about your day. I promise to always be thankful for the way you support my dancing. I will love you forever, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life getting to know you a little more every day.”

Viktor cupped her cheeks and leaned down to give her a long, slow kiss. He moved his mouth against hers, feeling the way she so eagerly surrendered to him. This was his wife. This woman would be with him for the rest of his life, come what may.

He pulled back, giving her a few light pecks as he did. Then he gently rubbed his nose against hers. The gesture was ridiculous and totally unlike him, yet it felt so very right.

She smiled up at him. “Viktor, we do need to talk about something very important. All right?”

“Of course.” He gave Elena’s stone one last look. Perhaps it was being more ridiculous than anything else, but he could almost imagine her smiling down at them.

“We have got to do something about our living situation.” Kira’s tone was grave. “We cannot keep living in my studio apartment. There is no room for your stuff, and we don’t even have a couch!”

“We could always go back to the safe house.” He nodded, keeping his expression very serious. “Yes, that’s the answer. The safe house is vacant. It’s cheap. We’ll go tonight!”