The Russian's Dangerous Game (5 page)

She considered what another reporter might do and that clinched it in her mind. A hard-hitting reporter would take the letter and run with it.

When she opened it up, her hands were shaking so badly, she couldn’t even read the words. And at the last minute, she simply wasn’t morally able to outright steal the letter. It violated too many of her ethical codes. Instead, she dug her phone out of her purse and snapped a picture of the words before stuffing it right back where it had been. She then folded the jacket, leaving it exactly as it had been when she’d walked in.

With her phone
dumped back into her purse, she moved back over to the door. Peering out, she breathed a sigh of relief she discovered that the big guy was gone. Where he’d gone, she had no idea but she wasn’t going to wait and find out. If he was waking Rocco up, she didn’t want to be anywhere near this place when he came down the stairs. She didn’t want to see him again, too ashamed of what they’d done together tonight.

With her purse tucked under her arm, she sprinted to the front door, almost sobbing with relief when she found the door unlocked. She had half expected to find the door locked with some crazy mechanism that only certain people knew how to open. She wouldn’t put it past a man like Rocco Antoniv. But what did that say about her? She’d slept with the man. Well, she hadn’t really slept with him so much as….

No,& she couldn’t think of that. She had to put that out of her mind. She rushed out the door and looked around, trying to get her bearings. She had no idea where she was, but obviously, she was in one of the more exclusive neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. She walked down the tree lined sidewalk, desperately looking for a cab. She wanted to get home, to curl up in her bed and not come out for at least a week.

When she rounded the corner, she was relieved to see two cab drivers chatting on the side of the road, both of them holding a cup of coffee in their hands. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt, but could either of you gentlemen give me a lift home?” she asked, unaware that she looked like a mess. Her hair was messed up, her lipstick gone and her eyes were swollen and red from the tears
that she desperately needed to release.

Both men stared at her for a long moment. Brianna’s heart sank as they continued to
gape and she forced a weak smile to her face, hoping that would ease the shock of seeing such a disheveled woman at this hour of the night.

“I’ll help you,” one of them jumped up. He opened the back door
to his cab in a courtly fashion, his worried eyes skittering from the top of her head down to her shoes and back to his friend, communicating a silent message. “Do you need to speak with a police officer?” he asked gently when he turned back to her.

Brianna’s eyes shot up to his, shocked that he would ask something like that. “Police?” she echoed. She lo
oked down at herself, her smile wobbling more than a little. “No. Thank you very much for being concerned, but I’d just like to get home as quickly as possible.” She glanced behind her, afraid that Rocco would be barreling around the corner any moment. “Please, can you just get me home?” she whispered through the terror that was slowly starting to build up inside of her.

“Of course,” he said softly and closed the door once she was inside his cab, running around to the driver’s seat. He turned on his cab light and called in the dispatcher, letting them know that he was back on duty.

Brianna sat in the back seat, only half listening to the chatter. Occasionally, she glanced through the rear view mirror to see if anyone was following but after several blocks when no additional headlights appeared, she leaned back and let the tears flow.

“
Thank you,” she said when the cab driver pulled up outside her building. She gave him a twenty dollar bill on a six dollar cab ride, grateful for his help. “I’m sorry to have taken you off of your break,” she said and jumped out of the cab, racing into her building.

Once she was in her apartment, she tore the dress off and stuffed it and the shoes into the trash
can. She never wanted to see either of them again. She jumped into the shower, scrubbing herself with soap in an effort to get the scent of Rocco off her body. But no matter how many times she washed, she could still smell that wonderful, spicy scent. When the warm water started to get her body excited, she shut it off mercilessly. She didn’t want to feel that any more. Never again would she allow her body to control her actions. The results were too humiliating.

Rocco woke to the pounding on his door and scowled into the darkness. His hand automatically reached out, trying to find Brianna.
He wasn’t sure why he was reaching for her but a feeling of dread was creeping up on him, making it urgent to find her, to pull her closer.

It took several moments before he finally realized that she wasn’t with him!

He stood up and grabbed his robe out of his closet, his eyes searching for her in the darkness. She must be in the bathroom, he told himself, smiling as he thought about joining her for a quick, or not so quick, shower. He would then bring her right back to bed and do it all over again.

Damn! He’d never woken up after a night of sex with more of the same on his mind. Of course, he enjoyed morning sex right along with the next guy, but normally he woke up and his mind was working through a business issue. So why was he searching for Brianna so that he could take her into his arms again?

He almost chuckled at the idea of taking the day off so he could spend more time with her. He actually couldn’t remember taking a day off in his life. He’d worked since he was old enough to carry a hammer, sometimes working three or four jobs just to make enough money. Now he worked seven days a week simply because he enjoyed it. Vacations were only periods when he worked in a different environment. A vacation wasn’t a time when he stopped, merely adjusted his schedule slightly.

“What’s up?” he asked as soon as he opened the door to see Stu standing in the hallway, looking uncomfortable. That was a clue that something bad was happening because Stu never looked uncomfortable. Ever since the man started working for Rocco, the only expression on Stu’s grim face was mild irritation or a blank
countenance.

“You’re guest for the evening wishes to return home,” Stu said, looking at Rocco’s eyes as if trying to convey something more.

“Really?” Rocco couldn’t believe that and turned around, still expecting to see her come out of the bathroom, looking shy and delectable. “Where is she?” he asked, his voice getting deeper as his anger increased.

“I put her in the library downstairs,” he
explained, understanding that his employer was searching for the woman in the bedroom.

Rocco’s eyes darkened with fury. How dare she leave like this after all that they’d shared and experienced together! She hadn’t left! She was just trying to be a tease, he told himself.
A cold fist settled in his stomach. The woman he’d started to think of as different was only playing a game. A more advanced game, he gathered.

He thought about not playing, about not giving in to whatever demands she might give him fo
r their next liaison. But the thought of not holding her body again had him gritting his teeth with frustration.

“I’ll be right there,” he said and slammed the door, his fury rising as he
tried to figure out her game. She wanted proof that he’d enjoyed himself last night. She wanted him to beg! Not going to happen, little lady, he told himself as he whipped a pair of jeans on his long, lean legs. After grabbing a sweater from a drawer, he pulled it on over his head as he walked down the hallway, his feet shoved into a pair of loafers. He was seething with fury that she’d completely caught him off guard. He’d fallen for her tricks, fallen for that shy, virginal act and he’d been completely swept up in the most incredible sex he’d ever experienced.

Well he would escort her home all right, he told himself. He’d kick her out and show her that he wasn’t going to be led around. Damn her!

Rocco slammed open the doors to his library, ready to pounce on the lovely lady. But his eyes captured only an empty room filled with books. “Where the hell is she?”

No one was waiting
on any of the comfortable, leather chairs with a smug smile, no temptress pretending to be caught climbing the ladder in that skimpy dress she’d practically painted onto her body last night. No lovely, conniving brunette smiling with victory anywhere!

He spun around, glaring at Stu. “So? Where did she go?”

Stu already had his phone to his ear and was rushing out the front door. “I’m sorry sir, but the guard at the gate says she walked out about three minutes ago.”

Rocco looked outside, noting that it
was still dark. Some of his anger dissipated as concern started to rise up inside of him. “She left? Did someone come pick her up?” he demanded, thinking he’d really been taken for a ride.

Stu asked the question to the guard and shook his head. “She walked, sir.”

Rocco couldn’t believe that. She’d been wearing those ridiculous heels and she’d barely been able to walk by the time he’d brought her inside. “Impossible!”

“I’ll find her, sir,” Stu said, rushing out the door, almost running in his effort to find the missing woman.

Rocco paced in front of the door, feeling trapped for some reason. He hated not being out there, finding the woman. She was probably hiding somewhere, just waiting for him or his security team to come looking for her. And then he noticed how cold it was. Damn her! She hadn’t worn a coat! She’d been wearing that flimsy, sexy dress that barely had any sleeves! Was she trying to catch her death of a cold?

Stu trotted back inside, shaking his head when Rocco looked down at him. “I spoke to a cab driver who told me she’d gotten into his friend’s cab a moment ago. The man suggested that she might need police assistance, sir.”

Rocco’s heart pounded against his chest with worry. “Did she look hurt when you saw her?” he demanded.

Stu’s lips compressed slightly, not sure exactly how to respond to his boss’ inquiry.
“She was pretty shaken up when she came downstairs, sir. It looked like she’d been crying which was why I was trying to have her wait for you, or at least let Don drive her home. She snuck out while I was upstairs getting you, sir.” Stu saw the livid expression in his employer’s eyes and knew this was bad. “I’ll find her, sir. I’ll interview the cab driver and get the information on where she stopped. Give me a few hours.”

“You have two hours!” Rocco tol
d him with a low, menacing growl. “I want to know if she’s safe in two hours or less!”

Stu nodded his head, knowing now that he should have pulled one of the guards to watch out for the woman. It wasn’t
his employer’s normal way of doing things to bring a woman back here so it should have given him a head’s up that this woman was different. He should have followed his gut and ensured her safety. Now his boss was worried.

It took less than thirty minutes to get the address where the cab had dropped off the woman. Three minutes later, he was handing the information to his employer. “Take me there,” Rocco snapped, already showered and dressed in a business suit even though the horizon still hadn’t started lightening to indicate the morning had begun it
s timid presence on the day.

Twenty minutes later, he was still furious as he stood outside her apartment knocking. She wasn’t answering her door, but nor was there any noise inside. She must have gone into work which is exactly what he should be doing.

He paced the hallway for several moments, considering his next move. He could knock on her neighbor’s doors, get more information. Or he could find out where she worked and find her there. Or even better, he thought with a victorious smile, he could get her to come to him.

Turning to Stu, he said, “Get me information on her. I want to know everything you can on this woman.” He didn’t wait for Stu’s nod of agreement but turned and walked out of the building.

Rocco went into the office, still furious that the woman had left him but not sure why. Yes, she’d been timid initially, but once he’d kissed her, all of her shyness had disappeared, replaced by a vibrant, fascinating, sexually amazing woman. He’d been blown away to finally meet a woman who could match his sexual appetite but something had gone wrong. What game was she playing?

Stu interrupted his morning meeting with the information on where she’d gone.
His eyes quickly read through the information in the file folder, but when that was the only information his head of security gave him, he stood up and walked out in the middle of one of his president’s sentences.

“
Do a full background check on her,” Rocco commanded just outside of the conference room. “I want to know what she eats for breakfast, who her first kiss was and all the other pertinent details. Fast,” he said before he turned around and headed back into his meeting. It infuriated him that she hadn’t called, teasing him with the suggestion of a replay of the previous night. Every time he thought he had her motives down, she didn’t follow through on how he suspected she would act. So he’d revised his opinion, only to have that blown away as well.

By the time he was leaving his office, his anger was at a boiling point. There had been no word from the woman and Stu hadn’t come back with his normal file on her either. So he was working this situation blind and trying hard not to assume anything further. So far, all of his assumptions had been wrong and the only thing left was that she was a sweet, kind woman with a generous spirit and a body a man would gladly die to possess. But that was so far out of the realm of possibility, his mind refused to accept it. That was the fantasy he’d like to wrap around his memories. As soon as he found her, got to know her, he was sure that her true personality would surface and she would be just as mercenary and manipulative as the other women he’d come into contact with in the past.