Paying The Bratva’s Debt

gone. And I almost… they…” His jaw clenches. And then suddenly, his mouth crushes to mine. The fear evaporates. The horror melts away. I don’t even feel my ankle when he kisses me like I belong to him. Like I’m his and his alone.
He groans into my lips, pulling me close to his body. I melt against him, moaning into his lips. Slowly, he pulls back.
“You’re not my prisoner, Fiona,” he growls thickly. My hand clutches his shirt as his eyes burn hotly into mine.
“You’re just mine.”

12 Viktor
Doctor Turgenev smiles down at Fiona.
“Just a bruise, not a sprain. Some light medication for the pain and some rest, and you’ll be fine in a day or two.” She wags a finger. “Just be more careful where you’re jogging, Ms. Murray.”
I could have lied to Dr. Turgenev and given her a fake name for Fiona so she wouldn’t make any connections to her father. But it doesn’t matter, not with her. Dr. Turgenev knows me well enough, and I trust her implicitly.
“Thank you, Lada,” I nod when she turns back to me.
“Oh, anytime. You know that.”
She turns back to Fiona. There’s a knock from the open doorway behind me. I turn and catch Lev’s eye before I walk over. He nods us out of the room, his jaw grinding.
“I need answers, Lev,” I snarl quietly. My pulse is still racing from the attack back at the factory site. Not from killing the two pieces of shit that would have laid hands on her. I’ve lost track of the people I’ve killed or had killed over the years. Even these… they’re a footnote. They’re just two more.
I know I should be furious that an attack was almost carried out on me, too. Fiona told me their plans in the car on the way back and that they were Drucci’s men. That they knew she and I would be there, and that the plan was to assassinate me. She even mentioned they’d been talking about “other Russians,” and I know who those are, too—the men I cut into pieces the other night. The men who preyed on children.
But my enemies wanting me dead is nothing new or special. It’s a constant threat with who I am. It’s part of waking up each day. But my pulse is still racing though because of how close the two men back there got to hurting Fiona. How close I came to losing her. It’s a realization that has my head spinning as much as my pulse racing.
I’ve been trying to bury my feelings for her ever since she fell into my world. I’ve been doing everything in my power to convince myself she’s a bargaining chip—a means to an end. Collateral for her father’s debt. But it’s been a war of attrition, and I’ve been losing more ground every day.
Every time she goddamn looks at me. Every time I catch the scent of her. And every time I let go and lay hands on her, or kiss her, the line gets shoved back. The walls crumble even more.
“We can confirm they were Drucci’s men,” Lev growls. “We could hit back, now, but…”
“But it would be nice to know how the hell they knew I’d be there.”
“Exactly,” my friend scowls. “Taking out some of Drucci’s guys in retaliation sounds good. But it won’t help us get to the real problem.”
“That we’ve got some loose lips.”
His eyes narrow, and he nods. “I don’t want to admit it, because we run a very tight ship. But I think that’s the only explanation. Someone told Drucci we’d be there. Or whatever is left of the trafficking ring.”
“Can you look into it?”
He nods grimly. “I’ll do a lot more than look into it, Viktor.”
“Do what you have to do.”
“I always do, brother,” he growls. He nods again and then turns to leave.
“Mr. Komarov?”
I turn to see Dr. Turgenev approaching.
“She’ll be okay?”
She nods with a smile. “Yes. Just some bruising. She does need to relax though. She needs rest.”
I frown. “Something wrong?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that. But she’s…” Dr. Turgenev frowns and glances away before looking back at me. “Mr. Komarov, part of our arrangement is that I don’t ask questions about your… business interests, outside of the children, I mean.”
“It’s for your protection as well as mine, Lada,” I say quietly.
“And I appreciate that,” she smiles. “But Fiona didn’t hurt her ankle jogging, did she?”
I frown. “How do you mean?”
“I’m a doctor, Mr. Komarov. And a pretty damn good one if I do say so myself.”
I grin. “No arguments here.”
“I know what shock looks like. I know what a hyper-elevated heart rate, and fear, and adrenaline overdose looks like. Unless her ‘jogging’ involved being chased by lions, there’s more to this story.”
“It might be best not to get into that chapter, Dr. Turgenev,” I growl.
“And I have no interest in reading those pages anyway. But I’m guessing her accident involves your work, or at least the dangers present in your work.” She levels her eyes at me. “I know who she is, Viktor,” she says quietly. “Of course, I’m not saying a thing. It’s none of my business. But she isn’t from your world. Whatever ‘business hazards’ you deal with regularly—and I know they’re there, Viktor. I’ve sewn you up more than a few times.”
I shrug.
“She’s not walled off to those dangers like you are. Whatever happened today, she’s shaken. Oh she’s got a brave face on. But she’s terrified. It got to her. She needs rest, Mr. Komarov. She needs her mind taken off of things.”
I nod. “I got it. Thank you.”
“Any time.”
“How are our other guests, by the way?”
She smiles. “Doing very well. There’s one boy, Maxim. He’s taken it upon himself to be a real leader with the rest of them. He’s been a huge help in assuring the other children that they’re safe now, which goes a long way with them settling in.”
I grin. “That’s good to hear.”
Right now, the children we rescued are settling into