Retribution (12 page)

“Well?”

He met Peter’s eyes and
told him the truth.

Ryan could hear Ivan shift
behind him. No, he didn’t like it either.

“You watch her Casey, or
I’ll cut your fucking balls off. Do you understand?”

“I will.”

“I can’t lose her too. How
would that look if I can’t protect my family?” He turned and waved
at the package on his desk. “Get this fucking thing out of
here!”

One of the other men moved
quickly removing the package from Peter’s sight leaving the
room.

Peter ran his hand down his
face. “Ivan. Double security.”

“Yes Mr.
Nickolov.”

“I’m going to find those
sons of bitches and rip them to pieces, bit by bit like they did my
Anna, but I’m going to do it while they’re alive, so they can
suffer a far worse fate. The last thing they’ll see is satisfaction
on my face while I’m stuffing their balls in their mouths!” He
turned back to Ryan who still held the note. “Is there anything in
there that would lead to who they are?”

“No. It’s typed, and I
honestly doubt they left fingerprints, but I can have it
checked.”

“Do that. The package
too.”

“As you wish.” Ryan turned
to leave, until Peter spoke again, making him pause.

“You watch my baby girl
Casey, or I’ll do to you what I’m going to do to them.”

Ryan didn’t answer, but
nodded without turning around and left the room. He heard something
crash against the far wall as the doors were shut behind him. He’d
had threats before. Peter’s didn’t bother him, but now he knew who
was watching them that day. As for Peter, it wasn’t about love, it
was about pride, and someone getting the better of him. That man
was not capable of affection of any kind.

Ivan was in the entrance
when he came down the hall. “I need a car, and the package that was
taken out of that room.”

Surprisingly the man didn’t
question him. He obviously knew he had orders from his boss,
although his mouth curled into a bit of a snarl. Then he turned and
nodded to another man standing by the front door. The man
immediately left.

“Wait here. He’ll be back.
Don’t touch her again.” Ivan warned before he walked
away.

Ryan smirked at his
back.

It was after three o’clock
in the morning when he returned. He would have the results in a few
days over the items, and Ivan was waiting for him when he got back.
He told him the news knowing that’s why the man was still awake. He
never said another word to him, but listened, nodded curtly, and
then walked away.

He then went to his room
and checked on Katya. She was still sleeping. He was concerned that
she’d had another night terror and sought him out when he was gone.
Why that bothered him, he didn’t know. Maybe he just didn’t want to
have her deal with that alone. Well, that’s what he told himself,
because he couldn’t deal with liking the feel of her against
him.

He removed his shirt and
pants, pulled on his pajama bottoms, washed up, and got into bed
stacking his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling. The
garden lights from below reflected off it to illuminate his room in
a soft glow. It was actually pleasant.

The adjoining door creaked
and his hand instinctively slipped under his pillow, to grip his
handgun. It was Katya. She’d put on a robe and was standing in the
doorway.

She never said anything but
approached the bed, and then just stood there staring at
him.

This wasn’t sexual. He
could see the fear in her eyes, and it looked like she was crying.
Against his better judgment, he moved aside and she moved down on
the bed beside him, curling up against him, placing her head on his
chest. She never said a word this time, and soon he could hear the
soft rhythm of sleep from her. Well, at least one of them would get
sleep. His hand moved along her back and soothed her, then rested
on her lower spine. This habit was becoming quite trying on him.
Yet, he felt the need to protect her from this pain. Pain that he
relived every time he thought of Georgy. This wasn’t her fault. It
was her father’s, and she was paying for it.

Katya woke up to the sun
shining through the sheers. The patio doors to the balcony were
open and a slight breeze drifted over her. She sat up, and
remembered where she was. She was also alone. Although he did pull
the covers over her at some point in the night because when she
joined him, she was on top of them, curled up to his warm
body.

One thing was certain, she
slept like a rock. He didn’t know it, but he was really good
therapy.

Now, where was
he?

She flipped back the covers
and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her robe was strewn
over the chair next to one of his shirts. He’d somehow managed to
remove that off of her too. Well, he probably wasn’t short of
experience in getting a woman’s clothes off.

She walked over and hovered
her hand over it, paused, looked around, then reached for his shirt
instead. She lifted it to her nose and inhaled slowly and deeply.
There was that faint scent of cologne again and with it, his
distinctive masculine scent. He smelled quite nice—it was
attractive. She rolled the material between her fingers. It was an
expensive material too. He had good taste—in all things. Sighing
she picked up her robe and went through the adjoining door to her
room to have a shower.

She was in the bathroom,
dressed and pulling her hair into a ponytail when she heard him
walk in her room unannounced.

“Katya?”

Her heart did a slight
gallop at the deep timbre of Ryan’s voice. She sighed and looked at
her reflection in disgust and silently chastised herself. It would
do her no good to fall for a man like him. “Bathroom.”

He pushed open the door and
saw her. She was watching him in the reflection of the mirror. He
was actually wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt, not his usual
dressy attire. She stared at him confused. This was unusual attire
for him. She’d always seen him in an expensive suit.

“Don’t you
knock?”

He shrugged.

She rolled her
eyes.

“I’m going to take you for
target practice?”

“Don’t you have normal
targets?” she smiled.

The side of his mouth
pulled up. “Smart mouth.”

She actually
laughed.

“How’s that
arm?”

She looked down and
clenched a fist. There was a throbbing at the action, but it was
tolerable. “It’s better.”

“Do you think you can grip
a pistol?”

“I think so, this is my
left. I’m a righty.”

“You do need both hands,
but if you can form a fist it’ll be fine then. Are you ready? Do
you want to eat breakfast first?”

She shook her head. No, she
didn’t want to eat with her father or his men. “Is this okay?” She
waved down her attire. She’d also worn jeans and a silk beige tank
top. It was casual wear but she had nothing planned. Turned out it
was a good choice.

His eyes went down her
body. His expression, as usual, unreadable. “Yes.” He left the
bathroom.

Her eyes followed him, then
down to his backside. Gosh, he was sinful in denim. She looked at
her reflection again. “Stop it Katya. You’re a job to him. Nothing
more.” She was referring to the acceleration of her heartbeat when
he looked at her with those incredible eyes of his. She spun around
and followed him through the door to his room, and
stopped.

He had a large aluminum
case open on his freshly made bed. There wasn’t one wrinkle in the
blankets either. He’d obviously made it himself. As for the case;
in it were enough weapons to start a war with a small country. It
was all neatly arranged, like everything else about this man.
“Wow.” She walked up and stood beside him looking at the contents
in awe.

She spared him a glance. It
didn’t bother him at all that she was standing there looking at his
arsenal while lifted the bottom layer revealing another
compartment.

In the lid embedded in
black foam were bits and pieces of what looked like, a rifle. She
was sure it was. She bent over and traced it with her fingers.
“This is a sniper rifle, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Why is it in
pieces?”

“To keep it clean, and
easier for transport.”

“It’s custom made, isn’t
it.”

“Yes, again.”

He never said anything
else, but removed a few guns, and ammunition, placing them in a
smaller black case, obvious for carrying ease. She wondered why he
would bring such a weapon into her home. What on earth would he
need a rifle like that for?

There were other things in
the aluminum case as well. Things that she didn’t recognize, but
she sort of felt silly in asking him so many questions that she
didn’t further push him.

When he was done, he
snapped the case shut and spun the combination locks on it. Then he
lifted it off the bed and slid it underneath.

“Aren’t you afraid that
might get stolen. I mean my father’s security is good, but Ivan
would salivate seeing those toys.”

He shook his head pressing
his mouth to keep from smiling. It amused him that she read that
man well. “I’ve got a GPS tracking system in it.”

“Smart.” Of course he
did.

“Let’s go.” He grabbed the
case and opened the door allowing her to leave first.

Jose was waiting with the
car. Ryan stopped and spoke to him, giving him directions as she
got in. There was a basket on one of the side seats. It was a
picnic basket. It was so thoughtful that she found it
touching.

She waved at it when he got
in beside her, “Are we going to be awhile?”

“I get hungry, and
apparently so do you, especially when you skip breakfast to avoid
your father. To answer your question though, probably.”

She was okay with that. She
had nothing else planned and it would mean she would be away from
this place for a day.

***

The drive was just under
two hours, and she was actually getting impatient. She finally
asked him which gun range they were going to.

“We are going to some
secluded property that belongs to a friend. I don’t want anyone to
witness your training.”

“Oh.” She never thought of
that.

“The more surprise you have
on your side, the better advantage.” Actually, the drive wouldn’t
have been as long as it was, but he’d asked Jose to take a few odd
turns to make sure they weren’t being followed. When he was
certain, he gave the go ahead to their destination.

That right there made her
know there was more to this man than she could fathom. He was only
showing her bits and pieces. Last night when he held her, it would
have been so easy to take advantage of her, but he didn’t. In fact,
she was sure there was no attraction on his side at all. She knew
what she looked like, because like Anna, they took after their
mother and she was gorgeous. She was a little conceited in that
area too, but he never even indicated that he’d found her pretty at
all. It actually bothered her. “Are you married?” He suddenly
laughed and she grinned. It sounded wonderful. Well, from his
reaction, that was a no. “A relationship, then?”

He shook his head, still
chuckling. “What brought that up?”

“I’m curious.”

He studied her for a
moment. “This is about last night.”

She swallowed and
blushed.

“I don’t take advantage of
vulnerable women Kat.”

She should have known. He
was just being professional, and obviously, a gentleman. “Do you
think I’m pretty?” Oh lord, she should just shut up. She’d always
been quite blunt, but not so forward. She had embarrassed herself
by asking the question, but he didn’t seem the least bit bothered
by it. Fact is, she had to know. She was finding herself more and
more attracted to this man. She wished there was a button she could
just push to turn it off, but apparently that’s not what happened
in this situation. Well, if he said ‘no’ that would definitely push
the button. She sighed inwardly feeling the heat climb higher in
her cheeks just from thinking about it. What she wouldn’t give to
have his steel demeanor at that moment.

His eyes moved over her
face. He wasn’t smiling anymore, and the humor left his expression
all together. “Yes. You’re quite beautiful, in fact.”

She flushed further, and
her heart jumped, but kept her gaze steady on his. He had such
stunning grey eyes. “I slept really well.”

“I know.”

Yes, he did. She woke up
under the covers with her robe off. “Thanks for being
there.”

“You’re
welcome.”

And that’s all he said. She
turned and looked out the side window unbeknownst that Ryan studied
her further after she looked away. Yes, he knew she slept well,
because he’d watched her that night. Memorizing her peaceful
expression, and the rise and fall of her breasts against him as she
breathed. She looked like an angel. He’d lifted his hand and
brushed ebony strands off her face to see her better. She murmured
something softly with those entrancing full pouty lips at that
gentle caress, but didn’t wake. She had thick black lashes, high
cheekbones and a perfect nose that curved down the bridge slightly
and turned up at the end. Everything about her was completely
attractive. The bruise on her eye was just barely noticeable now,
and the ones around her neck were gone. He traced his finger down
her jaw to her neck, then slid the robe off her shoulder. Her
shoulders were even delicately curved, just like the rest of her,
and very kissable. Her whole body was a piece of delectable art.
She was graceful, elegant, and possessed an aura of class that was
admirable to her sex. It was natural for her too, no matter the
boarding schools and governesses. It was because of her pride. She
fought tooth and nail to keep it even though she’d been through
hell. Not many of her social status could brag about that. She
didn’t even know how rare that was. His gaze lowered to her
breasts, then her jean clad legs.