Broken Wolf: Moonbound Series, Book Seven (4 page)

Andrea rolled one shoulder back. “I’m doing it.”

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, but he held it back, licking at one of his teeth to hide it. “We’ll see if you can.”

She took a step toward him and met his eyes. “I can.”

The cadence of his heart tripped, a
thud-thud
went missing, and he laughed to recover. “We shall see.”

Danger ahead
, something shouted in his ears. But Vadik just stood, toe-to-toe and eye-to-eye with a pretty blonde thing from Texas and waited for her to look away.

I’m in control
.

I’m in control
.

I’m in control
.

She smiled and white flared around those beautiful blues. “As you wish.”

Translation:
No. You’re. Not
.

C
hicago
, Illinois

A
ndrea’s teeth rattled
. Her body, even with the extra heat the magick generated, was freezing. Everything in the damn city was frozen. They’d been in this damn cab for a half an hour and it was still cold.
I hate snow.

Thank the gods she’d at least worn jeans and boots, but the tank top she was sporting left nothing for any guy to imagine. Her nipples stood at attention beneath the thin jersey knit, saluting the world.

“Dr. Lee is on his way. We’ll meet him at the airport in four hours and he’ll do his thing,” Maggie hollered over her shoulder from the front seat.

No need to inform the taxi driver they had a dead body on a jet at the airport.

Andrea turned to look at Dani, seated next to her in the back of the van. The California uptown Barbie enforcer was snuggled up under Niko’s arm. The extra body heat had to be nice. Andrea frowned, wishing she’d gotten stuck sitting next to sexy-as-hell-broody Vadik.

Broody or not, she would totally snuggle that to avoid knocking her teeth loose in this bone-chilling cold.

“Do they not have a heater in this thing?” she grumbled under her breath.

“We’re almost there, Andi” Niko chuckled. “You poor spoiled Texan with your two weeks of half-ass winter.”

“Don’t start with me. I seriously can’t feel my face right now.”

A snort of laughter came from the seat in front of her. Stone-cold-badass-assassin was laughing at her? Really?

The sudden urge to slap the back of his head shot through her arm, but she refrained. He might not take well to her treating him like she would one of the guys back home. Something told her he wasn’t used to
ever
being told how to behave.

Maybe the big Russian guy would melt as she got to know him. Most people did. She hadn’t met anyone yet who could resist her cheer for long.

“My sister’s place is right up here. I already called and told her we were coming,” Niko said. “We’re dropping you off and then I’m taking the rest of the team to see my Uncle Janosz.”

“I don’t get why we can’t all take a pit stop at your sister’s,” Maggie hollered from the front.

“Because this is my uncle’s neighborhood. No one goes anywhere or does anything without asking permission first—especially the family. We’re lucky he said I could leave these two with Natalja, usually he wants to meet all visitors.”

“Weird,” Maggie muttered.

“That’s the Polish mafia for you,” Vadik said, his voice very calm and relaxed for how much new and unusual information he’d absorbed over the last couple hours. He was handling it quite well in Andrea’s opinion.

“You really are a mobster,” Luther said, more of a statement than a question.

“I just have a big controlling family,” Niko retorted.

“You’re a Lupesco, yeah?” Vadik asked.

“Yes. But you’re Russian, what would you know about my family?”

“I know about everyone’s family,” the big mercenary answered quietly.

Niko harrumphed loudly on the other side of Dani, and Andrea couldn’t help but smile for a second. Men were always trying to outdo each other, no matter where they were from.

“Cabby, stop there in front of Hot Curls. The one with the pink canvas overhang.”

“Yes, sir.”

Vadik opened the side door and Andrea gasped for breath. She’d thought the inside of the cab was cold, but that gust of wind threatened to cover her arms in a thin layer of ice. Her breath puffed out in front of her, a frosty cloud of doom. She had the uncanny feeling that she’d be uncomfortable for the entire time they spent in Chicago.

Niko climbed out with Dani ahead of her. Luther offered her a hand and she stepped out of the taxi onto one of the grimiest smelly sidewalks she’d ever seen. Mounds of shit-colored snow had been shoveled to one side or the other and the road was filled with more blackened snow. Or what used to be snow.

“Welcome to Pulaski Park. Make sure you stay with me, or with Nat, when you’re outside,” Niko added quickly.

Andrea shivered and stepped a little closer to Vadik’s broad back. His chest cut a swath through the icy wind threatening to turn her into an ice sculpture.

“Wait here. We’ll be right back,” he told the cabby.

“Yes, sir.”

The group followed Niko into a hair salon that looked like it could’ve been a stage prop for an old 70’s TV show. Nice wood floors, but the rest of it was covered in bevel-edged mirrors, coral and white retro wall-paper, and a set of two pink hair dryers sat in the far corner.

Holy crap.

“Natalja!” Niko shouted.

Andrea was expecting a blonde with a frizzy perm to poke her head out from the back room, but had to take a double look when a dark-haired, curvy woman, barely taller than Maggie appeared in sight. She was rocking some sexy red lips and her almost black hair was slick and straight, up in a high ponytail and still hanging nearly to her waist. Several bright pink streaks showed though her hair too, reminding Andrea of Hannah’s blue statement highlight.

The small woman ran across the room and launched herself into Niko’s arms. “Bubba, you’re here! We’ve missed you.”

“I missed you, too, Nat.” Niko laughed. “This is the rest of the team. And here’s the one I was telling you about.”

Andrea waved when he introduced her and raised both eyebrows.

“She’s
the
one
? May the gods be with me.” Natalja threw Andrea a pitying glance and then shifted her focus to the tall Russian in the room. “Who is this handsome piece of meat, Niko? Have you brought me a toy?”

Andrea could’ve sworn Vadik’s cheeks colored slightly.

Niko’s little sister strutted up to Vadik without hesitation and ran a finger along his coat sleeve. “Do you like to be spanked, big boy?”

Andrea’s eye twitched and she pressed her lips tightly. She didn’t like
Nah-tall-yah
touching Vadik. It bothered her way more than it should’ve.

“Not at all.”

Natalja shrugged. “I always have to ask.” She smiled and turned back to her brother as Niko released an exasperated sigh.

“I need to leave you with Vadik and Andrea while I take the rest of the group to see Uncle J.”

She nodded. “We’ll get started on the hair first and then I’ll take them out to shop. Both of them need some new stuff if they’re going to pull off what you want.”

“Sounds great.” Niko turned to Andrea and Vadik. “Stay with my sister. You’ll be safe here.”

Andrea nodded and Vadik inclined his head, acknowledging Niko’s instructions.

Niko turned and left, motioning the rest of the group to follow.

The little bell on the door rang as it slammed shut behind the last of the team.

Natalja walked over to a stylist’s chair and patted the seat. “Come on, honey. We got our work cut out for us.”

Andrea gulped and twirled a long strand of her perfect blonde hair around a finger.
Damn.
Why did Sasha have to have
black
hair?

V
adik had learned
to cultivate comfort in any situation, but this beauty salon was pushing his hard limits. The pink didn’t bother him, the clientele didn’t bother him, but he hated—
hated
—the gossip.

Listen more, talk less
, Babushka would say.

It underlined his desire not to take women on jobs. Flapping the gums distracted from focusing on the mission. And these women were queen jawers.

He stayed by Andrea’s side while Natalja worked her magic. She was his responsibility now, and he wasn’t about to let her out of his sight after all Niko’s
you’ll be safe here
.

Vadik had grown up on the streets of Grozny. He wasn’t afraid of a bunch of Polish teenagers who thought they were killing machines.

But…
trouble never comes alone
.

Two young women in the next occupied chair eyed him and spoke in loud Polish. They glanced between him and Andrea, and their inflection left little doubt as to the content of their conversation.

He fought not to roll his eyes.

As if these strangers had any right to comment on his sex life. Or Andrea’s.

Natalja returned to the chair and flipped her hands through the black hair. She took the comb from her pocket and drew it through. “Yes, I think this turned out well. Now…” She turned the chair around so that Andrea faced the mirror.

The look of displeasure on the Texan’s face tugged at the corner of his mouth, but he bit back the smile.

“What do you think?” The red-lipped stylist asked, flashing her white teeth. “Pretty good, given the circumstances.”

Andrea pulled her fingers through her long hair. “I don’t think it’s as dark as Sasha’s, though.”

Natalja drew her lips together and fingered a few strands of hair. “I can lay down another color, but not for at least twenty-four hours.”

“We don’t have that kind of time.” Vadik crossed his hands. When Andrea’s eyes flipped up to him, he added, “According to Luther.”

“Well, Niko said she has to pass.” Natalja turned the chair so that Andrea faced him, instead of the mirror. “What do you think?”

He allowed his gaze to travel over every inch of her head, taking his slow time. The color didn’t seem right—but he couldn’t pinpoint why. “I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll have to see them side-by-side.”

The stylist clucked her tongue. “I told Niko, if we’re talking BDSM stuff, we can’t go the wig route. A common move for masters is to grab their slaves by the hair. I’d have to do a weave for it to hold against that. And even then…”

Andrea’s intake of breath was obvious. Even the Polish gossipers next door glanced over at it.

Vadik moved to stand between her and the nosy women.

“He’s going to grab my hair?” Her hand moved into the dark folds and got lost.

“It’s a common move. And we don’t know what the rules are, so we didn’t want to risk it.” Natalja took Andrea’s hand as it emerged from her hair. “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll do my best to teach him to be gentle.”

Andrea’s gaze flickered to his and held there. His heart thudded a deep bass and he had to concentrate to keep his breath steady.

Her eyes were drawn and held a flicker of fear that she appeared to be tamping down by sheer will.

Don’t be afraid, my girl, I won’t hurt you
. He almost couldn’t stop it from coming through his lips, but he bit the words back. It wouldn’t do to show any sign of weakness. Especially not in front of Natalja.

Vadik cleared his throat and broke the eye contact. “So, wigs are out.”

“Yes. That means we may need another day to get this color to match what Sasha has. It’s almost black, but—”

“But not black.” Andrea nodded. “Well, you have to take us somewhere else, anyway. Right?”

“Yes. I told Niko we’d be at
Diva Dallas
. That’s probably the best place to find that sort of wardrobe around here.” Natalja flourished the salon cape off Andrea’s body and disappeared into the back of the salon.

As she fiddled with her hair, little bumps formed on her skin and she made the tiniest shivering motion. Then her nipples began to point dangerously under that shirt.

Vadik couldn’t take his eyes off them.

He licked his lips and stared at the points straining against her tank top. Her breasts were already visible enough against the material, hanging in perfect globes, but then the nipples brought more attention to them.

The last thing she needed was a bunch of leering jackasses, staring at those perfect nipples and imagining what they looked like and felt like and tasted like…

Nope.
He pushed off his heel and ran after Natalja. He almost ran in to her, coming out of the back.

“Do you have a coat, for Andrea?” He nodded backwards. “She’s from Texas, and she doesn’t have one with her.”

“Well, I’ve got plenty of coats, but I don’t know if any of them will fit her.” Natalja put her hands out in front of her generous breasts and laughed. “I’m a little bigger on top than she is.”

“Anything you have will be great.” He smiled and she walked him to the counter.

“I’m going out for a bit, honey,” the stylist said to the blonde behind the counter. “I’ll take your coat, if you don’t mind.” She kissed her cheek with a loud
smack
and pulled a puffy black jacket off the coatrack behind her. “Will this be okay?” she asked Vadik.

He took the coat and nodded. When he turned around, Andrea stood behind him, her perky nipples begging for his gaze. Instead, he pushed the coat at her.

“Put this on. You’re practically indecent.”

Her smile was already only half-hearted, but she held it and slipped the coat on. “Thanks. I’ve been cold since we landed.”

“I know. I heard.” He about-faced and began walking to the door. The sight of her raising her arms and making those perfect boobs of hers dance for him was almost too much.

He didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about the degree of nakedness he’d be able to achieve during what was supposed to be a job.

Natalja bundled them through the door and Vadik reveled in the tiny bite of the cold. He wished it were colder. Siberian cold. As
Babushka
would say,
torture is a good teacher
.