Obeying the Russian Mafia Boss: A Mob Romance (19 page)

“We’re not finished,” Valeria hissed as she pressed a hand to her shoulder. She tried to push herself off the ground, but her leg was twisted at an odd angle.

“Your father’s dead, Valeria. You’re going to prison. It’s over,” Erik said quietly.

Despair was written all over her face. Erik tugged gently at Ella, and they left her crying on the floor. “What do you think is going to happen to her?” Ella asked quietly.

“With any luck, she’ll be locked away in a very deep dungeon,” he grumbled.

The sun shone bright in her face as they walked out, and she squinted. There were three police cars out front, and as soon as Erik nodded to them, they drew their weapons and ducked inside.

“Why didn’t they help you?” she muttered. “Have they been out here the whole time?”

“We just got here.” An elderly man walked up to them and held out his hand. “I’m Jeffrey Granger, the police commissioner.”

Her eyes widened. The police commissioner was out there? “Wow. You must really owe Erik a favor.”

He just grimaced. “Ms. Davis, I’m glad to see that you’re safe. If you’ll head over to the paramedics to get checked out, I’m going to get a statement from Mr. Chesnovak.”

With his arm still firmly around her, Erik guided her over to the ambulance. “I’ll be right back,” he whispered. For a moment, she thought he might kiss her, but he just squeezed her hand gently and let her go.

“Any pain or injuries?” a female paramedic asked briskly. She shone a light in Ella’s eyes, and Ella blinked.

“I think I’m okay. There was some glass around me, but I don’t think I’m cut. My wrists are really sore.”

The paramedic pulled her arms out and examined the ugly red marks from the tape. Ella looked around the scene and couldn’t help but frown. No sirens. No flashing blue lights. Three cars for eight gunmen? No wonder Erik wasn’t worried. None of it looked official.

“If anything changes, and you start to feel dizzy or in pain, you need to get to a hospital immediately. Shock can sometimes dull the senses, and when it wears off, you might realize you’re more injured than you think.”

Ella nodded, but her eyes were only on Erik as he walked back towards her.

“Can you please give us a minute?” he asked in a low voice.

The paramedic nodded. Ella wasn’t really sure what she wanted to say to him. “She threatened my mother. Do you think—”

“Don’t worry about your mother,” he said softly. “I have someone keeping an eye on her.”

“Thank you. Are you hurt?”

“Nothing too serious.” He gave her a faint smile and shook his head. “Did the paramedic say that you were okay?”

“Yes, but she thinks I’m in shock. I think I’m fine, but I guess people in shock don’t realize they’re in shock.” If she said shock one more time, she was going to sound insane. They lapsed into silence, and she studied him.

There was pain, anguish, and rage in his eyes. She knew he was angry with her. If she had just done what he’d asked, they never would have been in this situation. “I’m sorry I left.”

“Please don’t apologize. It’s done.”

It’s done. They were done. She swallowed hard and tried to smile. “Erik, I’m not sure what happens next.”

“You don’t have to worry about anything. You can go back to your life, and I’ll make sure everything with your mother is taken care of.”

Her heart dropped. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Ella—”

“I love you,” she blurted out. His eyes widened, and her heart pounded in her chest, but there was no going back. “I’m not the kind of woman who moves in with a man she barely knows. I don’t get tangled up in criminal organizations, and I don’t get kidnapped by crazy Russians, but I do love you. If you ask me to stay, I will.”

The world stopped as he gave her a small smile. She tried desperately to figure out what was on his mind.

“This is all my fault,” he said sadly.

Was he talking about the danger or the fact that she’d fallen helplessly in love with him? Erik didn’t elaborate.

“An officer will take you home. I’ll have your things delivered to you immediately. Goodbye, Ella.”

A lump rose in her throat as he walked away, but she refused to cry. Hadn’t he already warned her that this wasn’t a story where the bad boy changed his ways? The mob was all he knew.

In some ways, he was still a hero, but he wasn’t going to be the man in her happily ever after.

Chapter Twenty

Erik surveyed the space with a smile. It was absolutely perfect for what he needed. He’d signed the deed yesterday, and now he waited for the contractor to get there.

A month had passed since he had walked away from Ella. In several moments of weakness, he’d called her but left no message. She hadn’t called back. What did he expect? He was not the man she wanted him to be.

It was time to move on. Despite the changes, the Black Orchid was running well, and it was time to expand to something new.

“Erik Chesnovak?”

He turned to greet Jimmy Hostin, the owner of Jimmy’s Renovations. “Mr. Hostin. I’ve heard good things about you,” he said with a smile.

“That’s good. That’s good. This is a nice space you got yourself here. Great view. Plenty of foot traffic. What do you need from me?”

“The first thing I need is a divider wall. It’s going to actually be two separate businesses. I don’t need much room for this space. Just enough for a desk and a couple of chairs to meet with clients.

Jimmy pursed his lips and nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll get some guys out here to measure. Will you need an outside entrance to both spaces?”

Erik nodded. “I will. The clients are going to have very different interests,” he said with a vague smile.

The construction worker gave him an odd look but didn’t say anything as he noted the request on his clipboard. “All right. Any shelves? You need a storage area? Some cabinets installed?”

Erik went over the changes he wanted in the bigger space. He needed a main counter in the front and three smaller rooms in back. He could see the man’s eyes getting wider and wider as he thought about the final price.

“That should cover it for the first floor. I’ll actually need quite a few more changes upstairs on the second floor.”

“You fitting another business up there?” Jimmy asked.

“Not exactly,” Erik said softly. “Follow me.”

By the time Jimmy gave him the estimate, Erik was satisfied. “I’ll pay extra for priority service. I’d like it finished within the next six weeks.”

“I can do that,” Jimmy said with a nod. “Six weeks is not a problem. Can you meet us back here in the morning to go over measurements and talk details?”

“I can do that.”

They shook hands, and Jimmy left. Erik leaned against the wall and took a deep breath as he looked around. Ruefully, he reminded himself that he didn’t have a choice. It was time to make the phone call he’d been dreading for the past few days.

It was time to say goodbye and get some closure.

* * *

“Ella, Mr. Herman would like a word with you.”

Ella looked up from the desk in a panic. Caroline, her boss’s secretary, stood in the opening of her cubicle. Her internship at the California Bay Wildlife Center had been a dream come true. She hadn’t put that in danger just because she was trying to sneak in a few minutes of studying, had she?

“Thanks,” she said as she closed her book. “I’ll be right there.”

She ran her hands over her hair in an effort to look more presentable. She hadn’t been sleeping well. Although her mother’s surgery had gone flawlessly, and her recovery was quick, Ella still worried. With all the hours she spent on schoolwork and at the wildlife center, she didn’t have much time for sleep.

Don’t lie. You aren’t sleeping because you miss him.

She tried to push the thought from her mind, but the ache never seemed to go away. She told him that she’d stay, and he walked away. That was three months ago. Three months. She’d moved on with her life. Things were going well for her. Really well.

It was harder than she expected. Her heart had been broken by Josh, but it was nothing compared to the pain she felt now. It had taken all the self-discipline she had not to return his phone calls. The memory of his kiss and his touch haunted her.

Even though the door to the manager’s office was open, she still rapped on it quickly. “Mr. Herman? You wanted to speak to me?”

Michael Herman was an older man. Probably pushing seventy, he no doubt should have retired years ago, but he loved the job, and he was well loved by everyone in the small organization. He smiled at her kindly. “Come in, Ella. Please close the door behind you.”

“Mr. Herman, I want you to know that I love this job. I might have been sneaking in a few study sessions, but I promise to stop,” she said hurriedly.

Herman laughed and held up his hand. “You’re not here so I can fire you over your studying, although you’re not nearly as sneaky as you like to think you are. In fact, I’m quite pleased with your dedication to this job and your studies. I didn’t know it at the time, but we desperately needed some young blood working for us. He was quite right when he suggested that I hire you.”

Ella frowned. “I’m sorry. Who suggested it?”

“The education department has become overwhelmed with public demand, and we need to expand. We’re opening up a small space that will be dedicated to education about the local wildlife, and I’d like you to help me run it.”

She just stared at him. “Me? But I’ve only been working here for a month, and I’ve got school.”

“You’ll have help,” he said quickly. “Of course you’ll have help. I can think of no one better to help me get this program off the ground. You have a passion for both teaching others and for learning. It’s quite a big salary increase, and it would never cut into your education. We need you to get that degree so you can handle the animals yourself.”

Ella blew out her breath and smiled. “Of course I would love to help you! You’ve really been keeping this a secret. How long have you been planning to expand?”

“It wasn’t until a fan of ours kindly donated the space. You’re finished with your classes for the afternoon, correct?”

She nodded. Most of her generic classes were online, so she only had one class on campus three times a week and a lab one night out of the week.

Herman handed her a piece of paper and a key. “Excellent. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like you to check out the new place. It’s all set up, but it won’t open for another month. Let me know if you see any changes we may need to make before opening day. We already have some summer camps contacting us to see if they can bring their kids by.”

“This is so exciting!” she said with a huge smile. “I’ve had a ton of ideas that I’ve wanted to share with you. This is such a dream come true. Thank you!”

“I know you’ll do great things, Ella. Now hurry along. I’d like to hear your thoughts tomorrow.”

The address was right on the water. The boardwalk was always packed, but the strip of offices had parking directly behind it, so she got there with ease. Gripping the key in her hand, she hurried excitedly to the new space.

It bordered a small private office and a bookstore. She unlocked the glass door eagerly and stepped in.

Posters already covered the walls, and a small desk sat out front with brochures. The entire left wall was nothing but a giant aquarium. Although it didn’t have anything swimming in it yet, it was decorated with bright coral.

She opened the swinging door to the back. A short hallway led to three different doors. They were neatly labeled for terrestrial, aviary, and marine life. Each room was more than sufficiently equipped to handle short-term living quarters for their animal ambassadors.

It was all hers. Well, it was the wildlife center’s, but it felt like hers. She was already brimming with ideas.

As she went back to the front to check out the information pamphlets on the desk, she scanned the aquarium again.

Her heart stopped.

From the other side, Erik Chesnovak stared at her.

She felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room, and she reached over to brace herself on the desk. She was filled with both pain and joy as she stared.

Slowly, the pieces started to fit together. The immediate acceptance into school and the scholarship. Then there was the seemingly-out-of-the-blue offer to work at the wildlife center. She thought things were finally working out in her favor, but it was clear now that someone had a hand in it.

Erik had been pulling the strings all this time.

Torn between irritation and anger, she narrowed her eyes and stormed out of the center. The private business next to it had a small sign over the door.

Chesnovak Consulting.

“Of all the nerve,” she hissed when she wrenched the door open. “What the hell were you thinking?”

His eyes widened in surprise, and he held up his hands. “Ella, don’t be angry. I can explain.”

“You know what? I don’t even care about your explanation. Did you do this? School? The job? What the hell were you thinking? I told you that I loved you, and you fucking walked away! Did you think this would work again? Manipulate my life so that I would have to be near you? Are you hoping that seeing you every day will weaken my resolve so I’ll let you—”

Erik crossed the room quickly and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Ella.”

There was something in his voice that made her stop. She clamped her mouth shut and stared at him. He looked so good that it hurt.

“I can’t do this again,” she whispered. “Please don’t make me.”

“There are no strings attached,” he said quietly. “I promise. I did this for you. I did this because you, of all people, deserve to have your dreams come true. Say the word, and I’ll move my consulting business. You’ll never have to see me again.”

“Why did you put it there to begin with,” she said numbly. The anger was gone, and now she didn’t know how she felt. “If you’re just going to move it?”

“I had to try.” He reached out and slowly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I would have regretted it until my dying breath if I didn’t try.”

“Try what?”