From Russia With Claws (25 page)

Galina opened eyes that were still tacky with dried blood. Once the pain had finally begun to subside, Galina suspected she had slipped into an exhausted sleep. Her throat felt raw and painful, but she knew that was to be expected after all of the screaming she’d done. Mama Yaga had not been exaggerating about how painful her cure was. There were a couple of times where Galina had thought about dying and that perhaps it would have been easier. But she wasn’t ready to give up, not on herself and not on Andrey. So she’d screamed her head off and hung on with teeth and claws while the silver’s poison was purged from her system.

She looked down at her body on the bed, expecting to see it covered in red. She remembered blood leaking from her nose and eyes and ears, as well as her mouth. Black ichor had flowed out of her stitched wounds, staining the poultices Mama Yaga had wrapped her in. But instead, she was swaddled in soft white sheets. Andrey’s dark head rested on the mattress next to her hip. The skin beneath his eyes looked bruised from lack of sleep and worry. His even breaths stirred the fringe of the blanket where his cheek rested.

Galina smiled fondly. This was the man she was going to marry, the man she
wanted
to marry. She wanted to bicker with him about his inability to pick up his shoes, grow old with him, have wild, mind-blowing sex with him. She wanted to love him the rest of her days. Resting her hand lightly on his head, Galina slid her fingers into his soft black hair. It felt smooth and lush beneath her fingertips. She could have stroked his hair for hours.

Andrey stirred, eyes opening. He blinked slowly, taking his time coming to full awareness. He kept his head still beneath her hand, so Galina continued to run her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp. “Good morning,” she murmured, giving him a smile.

“I think it’s closer to midnight,” Andrey replied, closing his eyes and sighing as she palmed the back of his head. “I’m glad to see you awake again.”

His voice was light, but Galina knew he’d been worried for her. He hadn’t left her side the entire time she’d been fighting to rid herself of the toxic silver. He’d held her hand and whispered words of courage and support in her ear. She couldn’t remember exactly what he’d said, but she’d understood the feeling behind it. He’d encouraged her to fight.

He lifted his head, pulling away from her hand. “How do you feel?”

Galina cocked her head, taking stock. She felt…good. Great, actually. There was no pain anymore. She peeled up one of the poultices and saw nothing but mostly healed scars. She was tired and achy, but the silver that was poisoning her system seemed to be completely gone.

“Okay. Better than okay, really.” She rubbed a hand to her hair. It crackled. “Although a shower would probably go a long way to making me look vaguely human again.”

Andrey leaned forward and kissed her hard, his hands resting against her jaw line. Without words, he spoke of his devotion to her, and without words she answered him. Galina melted into him, wishing they had all day to revel in each other.

He broke away after a few moments. “I should get Mama Yaga.”

“Wait,” Galina said, clutching at Andrey’s hand to stop him from leaving. “How’s Konstantin?”

Andrey gave her an exhausted smile. “He’s good. Mama Yaga patched him up.”

“Any word from Nik and Irina?” she asked.

Andrey didn’t answer her. He kissed her palm before leaving to get the healer.

Galina felt clear headed for the first time in what seemed like days. How long since she’d been attacked? Alexei wasn’t waiting for her to recover. He’d be trying to make alliances and secure his position. And why had Irina suddenly decide to leave the safe house to, of all things, confront their grossly twisted brother?

She looked over to the side table where Mama Yaga had set up her things. A stuffed chicken stared back at her. Galina rolled her eyes. Above her bed, hanging from the light of the ceiling fan was a collection of dried chicken feet.

Sometimes the woman took the chicken thing a little too far.

Andrey returned with Mama Yaga. Konstantin and a battered looking Viktor brought up the rear. Kon gave her a smile when he saw her awake. Andrey took his usual place next to her on the bed and brushed hair back from her face. “
Сладкая
,” he murmured.

“Touching,” Mama Yaga interrupted. “Now get out of the way so I can check on her.”

Andrey moved out of the way reluctantly so Mama Yaga could do a cursory examination. She looked at Galina’s eyes, checked her tongue, asked her to lift her arms. Galina did as she was bid, wondering exactly how this was supposed to determine anything, but kept quiet. You didn’t backtalk Mama Yaga unless you’d suddenly developed a really strong need for corn.

She peeled away each of the poultices, making approving clucking noises as she did so. “Worked better than even I expected,” she said as she removed the last one. “Well done,
girlchick
.”

“You mentioned a restorative,” Galina reminded her. She needed to get up and out of bed so she could find Irina and Nikolai.

“I’m surprised you remembered. But yes, I can mix one for you.” She lightly patted Galina’s head.

“Do so, please.” When Mama Yaga left, Galina swung her legs out of bed, to a chorus of protests from everyone else in the room.

“Get back in bed!” Andrey ordered.

She looked up at him and quirked an eyebrow. “Really, with Konstantin and Viktor watching? I didn’t know you liked an audience.” Galina grinned at him wickedly.

“Galya,” he growled, not the slightest bit embarrassed at her words. “You need to rest.”

“I need to find out what’s going on with Alexei. I didn’t just go through five kinds of hell so I could swan about like an eighteenth-century consumptive while the rest of you go charging in like the cavalry.” Galina looked at the concerned faces of those around her. “I’ll make you a deal. I’ll stay in bed until Mama Yaga comes back with her potion, if you’ll fill me in on what’s going on. Deal?”

“Deal,” Kon agreed before Andrey could protest again.

Andrey took the chair he’d been sitting in the entire night on her other side. Galina sat back against the pillows. She looked over at Viktor. “Why aren’t you watching out for Irina?”

Viktor bristled at her tone, but Galina didn’t really care if she’d hurt his feelings or his pride. He was supposed to love her sister; more importantly, he was supposed to protect her. What the hell was he doing here?

“Nik sent me away.” His eyes blazed blue, anger making them almost shimmer. “I couldn’t get her away from Alexei at the restaurant—he had too many guards. I even tried to get through to her in wolf form at your father’s house, but no dice.”

“Nik said he had it in hand,” Kon interrupted. “You know he won’t let anything happen to Irina.”

Galina crossed her arms, but there was nothing she could do until Mama Yaga came back with her restorative. It made her teeth itch. “What else have I missed?” she snapped.

Konstantin began. “Alexei blowing up a couple of Andrey’s warehouses for shits and grins.” Andrey threw his friend and bodyguard a dark look. “What? She asked. And that’s where he started.”

Galina swiveled her gaze to Andrey. “How bad?”

“No one was badly hurt,” he said, a storm brewing in his blue eyes. “I lost some smuggled product, but he didn’t get what he was after.”

Galina knew he meant Bullet. “What else?”

Viktor piped up again. “He’s trying to turn the families against Andrey. And with him here, watching over you, there hasn’t been anyone to counter him. I don’t think many people are buying it though.”

“I’m not worried about that,” Andrey said. “I have enough people that Alexei doesn’t know about who are backing me. He’s only digging himself a deeper hole.”

“What the hell was Irina thinking, leaving the safe house?” Galina looked back at Konstantin. “Did she give you any indication she was thinking of running?”

Kon shook his head. “None. We ran, practiced shooting, talked—you know, the usual. I don’t know what lit a fire under her ass.” At Viktor’s low growl, Konstantin said, “Calm down, Vik. It wasn’t an insult.”

“Did Nik tell you what she was looking for that got Alexei so angry?” Galina asked.

And that’s when Galina remembered her last phone conversation with Irina, lamenting the fact that she hadn’t been able to find any dirt on Alexei. She’d griped because she hadn’t been able to get close enough to him to find anything. And if there was one thing Irina was capable of, it would be getting past Alexei’s defenses.

“Oh, crap.” She shook her head. “I know what she’s doing. She’s looking for some proof that Alexei arranged to have Papa killed.”

Viktor looked ready to pounce on someone and use them as a chew toy. “We need to get over there!”

“And we will.” Galina had had enough handwringing. If things with Alexei were going to escalate further, she wanted it to be on her terms. “Andrey, call the heads of the family and tell them I’m calling a meeting at Papa’s place. Moonrise. They should all meet at the Circle.”

She looked at Konstantin. “Let Nik know what’s coming. He’s going to need to let everyone through.” Next up was Viktor. “I’m going to need a list of every bodyguard, streetman, and underling likely to remain loyal to Alexei. I need a purge list. Get on it.”

Mama Yaga took that moment to enter the room. Galina was grateful for the break. There was no doubt that the car bomb had been deliberate, but she’d been hoping to be wrong about who’d ordered it. It was one thing to think your brother was a psychotic douchebag, but to have it proven true was quite another.

Pressing another tall glass of questionable liquid into her palm, Mama Yaga ignored the charged silence in the room. “Drink it all. But understand that if you’re hit with silver so soon after your recovery, no amount of elixir will help you.”

Galina nodded. “Does it taste as bad as the last one?” she asked the older woman.

Mama Yaga grinned. “Worse. But the results are worth it.” She tilted the glass up to Galina’s lips. “Especially if you plan to challenge your brother.”

Everyone stared at the wise woman. She scoffed. “Oh, like I don’t know what’s going on with every family. I do more than think about chickens, children.”

“Na zdorov’ye!”
Galina tipped back the glass and finished every drop and then clutched at her throat, coughing. “Do you make anything that doesn’t taste like crap?” she asked Mama Yaga.

Sibling Rivalry

G
ALINA
S
AT
I
N
T
HE
M
AYBACH
beside Andrey, bouncing her foot nervously. Konstantin rode in the car behind them, along with several of Andrey’s best men. Another car full of them and Viktor brought up the rear.

Andrey’s hand on her knee stilled her foot. She looked over at him with a grin. “Remember the last time we were in backseat of a car?” she asked.

A laugh rumbled deep in his chest. “I do.” He pulled her closer. “One of the best nights of my life.”

“And mine.” Her hands slid up his chest. “Want to go again?” she asked, leaning forward to whisper in his ear.

“You were suffering from silver poisoning less than twenty-four hours ago.” He kissed a line of heat down her neck.

“And I feel fine now.” Galina hiked her skirt up and pulled herself onto his lap. “Better than fine, actually.” She rocked against him until she felt him grow hard against her.

“What is it with you and cars?” Andrey asked, laughter making his eyes dance. His fingers climbed up her thighs until his hands grabbed her hips. He moved aside her panties.

“It’s not cars,” she told him, before she lowered her mouth to his. “It’s close proximity to you that does it.”

When she let him up for air, he said, “I’m flattered.”

She caught a gasp between her teeth as his finger slipped inside of her. She rocked against his hand, bracing her own against his shoulders. Galina leaned against him, dropping her head down as he slid a second digit inside of her. She hummed as she moved against him, feeling the sweet rush of heat climb up through her stomach and across her chest.

“You feel amazing,” Andrey murmured, sucking her earlobe into his mouth. “I’ve missed you.”

Galina sighed, wishing they dared do more. She wanted him inside of her, wanted to feel his naked body rubbing and pressing against her own. Andrey added a third finger inside of her. She arched against his hand, grinding her clit into his palm, needing the roughness. He knew what she needed and thumbed the greedy nub of flesh, making her cry out in pleasure.

Her toes curled inside of her heels as she felt her orgasm build. Heat flushed her chest and cheeks as Andrey’s clever fingers and thumb brought her closer and closer to the edge. His mouth covered hers, his tongue thrusting into her mouth in time with his fingers. He swallowed her gasps as she stiffened in his arms, her climax rolling through her like a tidal wave.

“Better now?” he asked, removing his fingers and licking her juices from them.

She slid off of him, laying her head against him. “Mmmm hmmm. That certainly took the edge off.”

He pulled her tight against him. “Let me fight him.”

Galina reared up to meet his gaze. “I can’t.” She put a hand to his cheek. “And you know why. It has to be me. This is Sudenko business more than anything else. Now that Alexei’s gone off the rails, there’s nobody but me. Nik doesn’t want to run the business.”

“You’ll have to challenge your
brother
. And win.” Andrey’s eyes were a dark with concern for her.

“Do you doubt I can do that?” Galina tensed, waiting for his answer.

He chuckled. “I know you can take on anyone and anything, Galya. And that you will win. I just wish it wasn’t against your brother.” He lifted her chin so he could kiss her lightly on the mouth. “You will do what must be done, of that I have no doubt.”

Curling up next to him, Galina asked in a small voice, “Do you think Irina’s okay?”

“Nik is with her.” Then Andrey’s face turned thunderous. “And if she is not, you will not be the only one Alexei will answer to.”

She thought of Viktor riding with Andrey’s men. There would be no stopping him if Irina had come to any harm. Not that she would be particularly interested in stopping him.

This was her family. Galina would do whatever she had to in order to see them all safe. Even if that meant killing her own brother to do so.

The car pulled up in front of her father’s house. Through the tinted windows of the Maybach, she could see the cars already parked around the circular drive in front of the main house. Almost everyone would be out in the challenge circle. Galina smiled, a small vicious thing. Let Alexei be surprised by her presence in front of everyone. Let him know that his assassin—if Maksim could be called something so lofty as assassin—had failed. She had to admit that it was in Alexei’s style to half-ass his attempt on her life. He really didn’t see her as a threat.

Good.

That would make things that much easier for her when she challenged him for head of the family.

That car stopped. Galina squeezed Andrey’s hand one last time, then slid out of the backseat once the driver opened her door. She waited while Andrey got out, and then turned to see the rest of their entourage disembarking.

Nikolai was already waiting for her. He enveloped her in a warm hug, both for support and to whisper, “Rina’s okay, just a little banged up. But big brother is a slavering mess.” He let her go.

Andrey put his hand on the small of her back. “We’re ready.”

“Get everyone to the circle. Nik and I will get Rina and meet you there.” She gave him an encouraging smile when he rubbed her back.

“Uncle Petyr is waiting inside,” Nik said. “So’s Maksim. He’s on Alexei’s crew now.”

Andrey spun, ready to sprint inside. Galina pulled him back. “It’s okay,” she told him, squeezing his hand. “We’ll deal with him later. Let me get Irina.”

Andrey stopped, scowling. “Fine. But I’m going to rip his guts out when this is all sorted.”

Galina squeezed his hand before climbing the porch steps to enter Papa’s house. It would always be Papa’s house, no matter who lived in it. She sniffed. She could smell Irina faintly, but the scent of wolf overpowered much of anything else she might get. Where was Irina?

Alexei’s guards occupied the front entryway and stairs. Guns appeared as if by magic and everyone one of them was pointed at her. Galina stopped in the threshold of the house, a slow grin spreading across her face. All of her brother Alexei’s bodyguards stared at her, as if she was about to devour their souls with a side of chili fries. They were nervous. Off balance.

They were afraid.

“What the fuck do you morons think you are doing?” Nik barked, his voice going Alpha. It was something he did rarely, allowing the tone to slip into his speech.

Some of the guns trained on her wavered. One man said, “Your brother gave orders…”

Nikolai cut him off with a scowl. “This is our father’s house. His daughter is
always
welcome here, no matter what my brother orders. Do you idiots understand that? Now, GUNS DOWN.”

Galina watched quietly as each and every gun was holstered. Most seemed relieved to do so. She noted the faces of the few who tried to fight the order. “Shall we go see Alexei?” she all but purred. “I can’t wait to see his face.”

Galina preceded Nikolai into the living area of the house, stopping in front of the closed door of the large parlor situated behind the stairs. She could hear muffled voices, but none of them were Irina’s. “Where is she?” she asked Nik.

“I moved her to her old room,” he answered.

Galina led the way upstairs. Nik followed. “Alexei wanted to keep her tied up his bedroom, but I moved her. I didn’t think it was a good idea to have her that close to him. I told her to lock the door and stay put.”

“I should smack him on the nose with a rolled up newspaper. Made of titanium,” she muttered. She stopped in front of Rina’s room, reared back with her leg and kicked the wooden door right next to the lock. The wood splintered with a low crunch. Nik put his should against the door, shoving it the rest of the way open.

Irina sat up on her bed, hair tousled, looking twenty years younger. She blinked sleepily, as if the noise from the door had woken her up.

Galina ran to her sister. “Are you okay?” She offered Irina a hand, pulling her to her feet. Galina inspected her sister carefully. There was some bruising on her face and scrapes on her body, but nothing looked permanent. Before Irina could do more than squawk, Galina pulled her into a tight hug.

“Ow!” Irina hissed as Galina squeezed too hard against her bruises.

“Sorry.” Galina said, backing up.

“I’m actually doing pretty well, considering,” Irina told her, smiling bravely around the split in her lip. “I blacked Alexei’s eye and broke his nose.”

Galya laughed, shocked, by the proud tone of her sister’s voice. “You did what?”

“I hit him,” Irina said, nodding. “A lot. Viktor taught me
systema
and I used everything I could remember. And then I improvised and hit him in his stupid wolfy face with a log. But I think Viktor would have approved of that, too.”

“What the fuck are you doing in here?!” Alexei’s voice boomed from the now broken door.

She had to give it to her eldest brother. He only blanched slightly when he saw her face. Galina had been hoping her appearance here, in the pink of health, would rattle him more, but she’d take the little she could get right now.

Uncle Petyr stood right behind him, a frown furrowing all the wrinkles in his face, giving him a bulldog-like expression. “Galina?”

She let go of Irina and gave her uncle a hug. “But Alexei said you’d been stabbed.”

“Oh, I was,” she said smoothly, giving Alexei a small smile. “I got better.”

She took a step toward her oldest brother. “And as for what the fuck I’m doing here,” she gestured to the rope now decorating the floor of the bedroom. “I think that’s fairly obvious too. But you always were a little slow. I’ve come to get Irina and challenge you as head of the family.” She wrapped her arm around Irina and began to walk down the hall to the front door. “If you’ll all follow me?” She threw her request over her shoulder as if she were inviting them to a picnic. “The other families are waiting.”

Galina heard Petyr ask Alexei what he thought he was doing, imprisoning his own sister. Alexei didn’t even try to answer him; her brother just snarled as he pushed past the older man and tried to catch up. Nik blocked him so he stayed well out of Galina’s way.

The guards at the door bristled when they saw her and Irina. Galina growled low in the back of her throat, an Alpha threatening violence if her commands were not obeyed. They may not have been her men directly, but Alexei was no Alpha and she was. It probably scrambled their very tiny brains.

“And now that we’re out of Alexei’s hearing,” Galina said, turning to her sister and punching her lightly in the arm. “Why on earth did you leave the safe house?”

“I had to do something to help,” Irina said, rubbing her arm. “I couldn’t just hole up in the woods while the people I loved risked themselves for me. I’m Alexei’s weakness. If I showed up, unannounced, in a place Alexei was comfortable, I knew he would make a scene, come off looking crazy. And when, he, predictably, flipped the fuck out, I knew if I protested that I didn’t want to go back to Papa’s house, that’s exactly where he would take me. I had his laptop open and running less than an hour after we got here. I found all kinds of e-mails between Alexei and some Italian guy who planted the bomb. I found schematics for Papa’s car Alexei downloaded from the net. But he caught me. He probably erased it all, but I doubt he’s smart enough to wipe his hard drive. I mean, he wasn’t smart enough to delete e-mails in which he explicitly planned his father’s murder.”

Irina stared at her, voice a harsh whisper. “Who does that by e-mail, Galina? A crazy person, that’s who.” Her sister laughed and shook her head. “So I’m assuming that you got my message?”

Galina raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t even checked her phone. “What message?”

“What?” Irina groaned. “I thought that was why you showed up! I sent you an audio recording of Alexei ranting at me after he found me snooping through his computer. He went off how ungrateful I was, about what he’d done to get me out of my engagement to Andrey. He basically confessed to the whole thing. I was hoping the text went through before he smashed my phone.”

Galina looked at her sister like she’d grown a second evil head.

“What?” Irina asked.

She smiled at Irina, ridiculously proud. “I turned my back for five minutes and you turned into a Bond girl, one of the smart ones that doesn’t get killed as soon as she sleeps with James.” Galina dug through her bag for her cell phone.

“I go to the all of the trouble of coercing a confession out of our brother, and you don’t even check your phone?” Irina asked.

“I’ve had a lot going on, Rina, it’s not like I had time to check my voice mail.”

“Oh, yeah.” Irina paused. “What was that Uncle Petyr said about you being stabbed?”

Galina waved away the question as she opened the text and pressed “play” on the audio file. Alexei’s shouting was tinny, but clear enough that Galina could make out everything he said. Galina could feel her breath hitch as she cradled the phone in her hand. This would do it. This would be enough to convince the other families that Alexei was unsuitable to lead, that she had every right to challenge him.

They arrived on the fringes of the circle. Galina saw the knots of people demarcating the other families. A few of the bodyguards turned and signaled their bosses, who in turn signaled others. By the time her group arrived, a space had been made to allow them to join the circle. Low mutterings passed down the line of the assembled men.

Maksim stood with the rest of Alexei’s crew, staring at her in speechless shock. His gaze skipped from her to Andrey, who was staring at him as if he was already imagining how his blood tasted on his tongue. She sneered at him. The Caviar Prince seemed one step away from pissing himself in fear. Galina turned her attention to the rest of the assembly.

Suddenly, Irina went still beside her. She was staring, wide-eyed, at the man directly across the clearing, almost a head taller than all of the other gathered wolves. And that was the moment that Galina realized that in the tumult of the last few hours, she hadn’t yet told Irina that Viktor was alive.

“Viktor?” Irina whispered, her hand creeping up to her throat.