Russian Law (Law Series ) (Volume 1) (16 page)

Dmitry
rolled his eyes which only made Elena madder. Her left foot began to tap in a
repetitious beat that Lucas recognized from his childhood as one his mother
would often do when he had done something he wasn’t supposed to. His poor
mother had often tapped her foot at him. He had always been surprised that the
thing hadn’t fallen off. At this point he was expected to promise her never do
it again, which they both knew he would most likely do the moment her back was
turned.

“Oh
come on Elena,” Dmitry argued. “We both know I can always go onto your agency’s
website and hack them. If I was caught which offense do you think would get me
less time?”

He
grinned at her and she was surprised at how much it looked like Lucas’s grin. Little
boys, she thought. They both thought they could sweet-talk or charm her into
believing them or getting her to follow them into a downright ridiculous
situation. But Elena had news for them. She was onto the pair of them. No more
will she let herself be suckered into something she didn’t want to do or found
no viable reason to do so.

“Besides,”
Dmitry said, continuing to make his case. “It’s more fun than Satellite,” he
turned to Lucas. “Am I right?”

Elena
shook her head, but couldn’t help but smile. Dmitry always did that to her.
When he was little she always knew when he was up to no good by the look on his
face, years later that still hadn’t changed and she was glad for that. “Lucas
Gates, Dmitry Ivanov – my little brother.”

Dmitry’s
eyes widened as he took in Lucas as if he had only just realized that they were
not alone in the room. He studied Lucas’s face before saying, “Nice hat.”

“Hey,”
Elena said slapping Dmitry on the shoulder. “I bought that for him.”

Lucas
grinned. “There’s no accounting for the woman’s taste.”

Dmitry
shook his head. “I don’t know about that, have you seen her apartment?” he
suddenly became serious, his face changing in an instant. “You’re the American
right, the one the SVR is out for blood?”

Lucas
nodded and held out his hand. “Hope you don’t hold it against me for getting your
sister involved in this mess,” he said, looking in the man’s eyes. Elena’s cool
grey ones looked back at him. It was definitely the same man from the wedding
photo.

Dmitry
grinned, looking younger when he did. “Knowing Elena, she probably brought it
on herself.”

“I
most certainly did not Dmitry, why would you say that?” Elena’s automatic defense
of herself came from the kitchen where she had disappeared to after introducing
the two men.

Dmitry
and Lucas smiled at each other, their smiles quickly disappearing when Elena
walked back to them carrying three mugs of coffee on a tray along with some
biscuits she must have found in Dmitry’s pantry. She handed them each a mug and
then offered some biscuits, Dmitry declined and Lucas and Elena gobbled them
all up. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was.

“So
what have you got for me?” Dmitry’s face turned serious again. It was amazing
how versatile the man was. He was probably only a couple years younger than
Elena, Lucas put him at around twenty-six. Where Elena was fair haired, Dmitry
was dark – almost black. He was tall only an inch shorter than himself and they
both towered over Elena. He could just imagine some of the horrible things
Dmitry would’ve done to Elena growing up as only a little brother could.
Although Lucas didn’t have any siblings, he knew what boys got up to and he and
his best mate had always teased the boy’s sister. They even had competitions on
seeing who could make her cry first. God, he had been terrible to the girl, he
suddenly realized.

Lucas
brought out the small data crystal and Dmitry frowned as Lucas placed it in his
palm.

“Do
you think you can read it?” he asked.

“I’ll
give it a go,” Dmitry said. “It may take some time, so if you want to get some
rest. I’ll wake you if I find anything.”

Elena
smiled at her brother. “Thanks I might catch a few zee’s right after I take a
shower. I feel horrible.”

The
idea of Elena in the shower sent blood coursing hotly through Lucas’s veins.
Why did she have to bring that up? That was sure to put ideas in his head. Not
that they weren’t there already. He could see so clearly Elena standing in the
shower, wet all over, soap suds sliding down her body. Lucas wanted to climb in
with her and run his hands all over her flawless skin, to lick away the beads
of water resting on her shoulders. He could feel himself growing hard and knew
at once he had to move away from the fantasy. He shook his head clearing the
erotic images playing through his mind.

Elena
collected the empty mugs and returned them to the kitchen before wandering down
the hall to the bathroom. Lucas settled himself on the couch nearby the
studious Dmitry and stretched his legs out. He was just drifting off when he
heard Dmitry’s voice.

“You’re
going to get my sister out of this aren’t you?”

Lucas
opened his eyes and turned his head to face Dmitry, he looked into the eyes
just like Elena’s and said very clearly, “Yes I am.”

Dmitry
nodded. “I thought so, you seem the type to finish what you started but I had
to make sure. Elena’s the only family I have left since Nikolai died, I don’t
want to lose her too, for any reason,” he added.

Lucas
could see the brotherly concern for Elena on Dmitry’s face. He knew that they
were close, the two of them alone in the world with only each other to rely on.
Lucas liked Dmitry instantly from that moment. The guy would do just about
anything for his sister.

“Did
she love him a lot?”

Lucas
immediately regretted the impromptu question when Dmitry raised an eyebrow. He
knew what the man must be thinking and hated the fact that he had left himself
as open as a book.

“Yeah
she did,” Dmitry answered, not asking the question that was clear as day on his
face. “The thing is with Elena, she loves whole-heartedly. It’s amazing to be
on the receiving end of such unconditioned love.”

Lucas
didn’t disagree. Elena was one hell of a woman. One in a million, he thought,
thinking back the night’s previous events. Not many women would have, first,
risked everything to help him. Second, would not have put up with the scenic
drive around Moscow and to top everything off a visit to the unfriendly neighborhood
mob.

He
heard the shower cut off from down the hall, after a few minutes the door to
the bathroom opened and they heard Elena ask, “Dmitry do you still have some of
Olga’s clothes?”

Dmitry
looked towards the bathroom. "Yeah, in a box in the spare room,” he
replied turning back around and catching Lucas’s eye, a blush rose from his
face and Lucas pretended not to notice. “An ex-girlfriend,” he explained. “Haven’t
had a chance to get rid of her clothes.”

Lucas
nodded having had to remove his ex-girlfriend’s clothes from his home on more
than one occasion.

“I’ve
never understood how they can spread their shit so far then forget to take it
with them when they leave,” he commiserated with a fellow male.

Dmitry
nodded. “Elena’s not like that though,” he added.

Lucas
wasn’t sure why Dmitry had felt the need to divulge in Elena’s housekeeping so
he kept quiet and soon was fast asleep on the couch.

Dmitry
Ivanov turned his full attention to the
photorefractive
crystal. He was fascinated and loved a good challenge. He hadn’t found any
computer system yet he couldn’t crack although he liked to think of himself as
a grey hat, using his powers for fun and thrill not thieving or terrorism. He
made quite a bit of money in the private sector designing software for
businesses around the country. He also designed web security programs along
with spy ware and Trojans. Dmitry loved experimenting with certain systems
seeing what worked and what didn’t.

Dmitry
turned as his sister approached. Elena glanced over at Lucas asleep on the
couch. His mouth was slightly open, devoid of drool. His head was on an angle
and didn’t look quite comfortable but Lucas didn’t seem to mind. He was
probably so exhausted he could have slept standing up.

“You
know you’re not cheating on Nikolai right?” Dmitry asked softly, sensing the
attraction between the two. He had liked Nikolai, thought him as a brother but
he wanted nothing more than to see his older sister happy and if the American
currently conked out on his couch did it for her then he was glad.

Elena
turned her shocked grey eyes on him. “What?”

Dmitry
shrugged. “I see the way you’re looking at him, don’t think I haven’t noticed.
The air around you two is charged.”

She
made a dismissing motion with her hands. “No it’s not.”  She looked over at
Lucas nervously. His eyes remained closed, his breathing regular. Dmitry
doubted if the Russian National Orchestra playing
Swan Lake
would wake
him.

“Relax
Elena he’s dead to the world and yes,” he stared into her eyes. “Yes. You did
what you said you’d do. Until death does you part. I know you think that that
is all you get but it’s not.”

He
had watched his sister fall apart after Nikolai’s death and had wished to ease
her pain somehow knowing full well he couldn’t. Slowly she had begun to heal
but still she had not gone back into the world of dating. He had tried on
several occasions to come out with him but she had declined each time. He was
surprised when he had felt the vibes bouncing back and forth between Elena and
Lucas. He hadn’t seen Elena show any man that much interest in a long time.

“I
love Nikolai Dmitry now drop it.”

“There’s
all kind of love. Just because you love Nikolai does not mean you can’t fall
for Lucas. I know you like him and it’s the same for him.”

Elena
frowned. “He said that?” she again looked over at Lucas as if expecting him to
answer her question.

Dmitry
followed her gaze. Lucas wasn’t exactly the type of man he saw for Elena –
another Nikolai - but that seemed to be the kind she was attracted to. He
admitted that Lucas seemed like a good guy. The kind you could trust, a man
whose word and promise meant everything. He believed Lucas when he said he would
get Elena out of the mess she was in.

“He
didn’t have to. It’s written all over his face Elena. Remember I’m a guy too. I
know what a man looks like when he’s interested in a female.”

It
may have been a while since he had last looked at any woman like that but he
knew the signs and they were all there. Lucas most certainly had the hots for
Elena. He was surprised the room didn’t burst into flames when Lucas would look
at her. He also seemed the type to be possessive of his woman and protect her
no matter what.

“To
sleep with me maybe,” Elena said, denying any deep feelings she and Lucas may
have for each other.

Dmitry
grinned. “More than likely,” he conceded. He wasn’t stupid enough to assume
that Lucas’s intentions were entirely honorable. “But I think it’s more than
that and what’s more I see what he’s doing to you. You’re happy even with the
entire government on your ass and the situation what it is. I haven’t seen you
like this since before Nikolai died. You’re practically glowing, it would be
hard not to notice.”

And
she was. That was the strangest part. He practically needed sunglasses just to
look at her. Any man that could bring her back into the world of the living was
okay in his books.

“Shouldn’t
you be working on that crystal thingy?” she said, deflecting from the issue,
looking closely at the crystal he had set up to catch light, not as brilliantly
as a diamond would but still nice enough.

“I’m
taking a page out of your book Elena and am
multi-tasking
,” he said the
word as if foreign to him, tasting it.

Elena
flopped down on the stool beside him and watched as he begun the extensive
process of retrieving the data from the crystal, sending monochromatic light
beams into certain angles of the photorefractive crystal and retrieving the
data. It would take some time to sort out the layers of 3-D holographic images
that he collected. He heard Elena let out a reluctant sigh.

“I
admit I like him but it can’t go anywhere.”

Dmitry
didn’t look up at her, figuring she would do better to bare her soul if it was
more like confession, giving up your dirty secrets anonymously. All alone in
the darkness without spectators waiting to scrutinize every word spoken and
action made.

“Because
of Nikolai?”

Elena
shrugged. “Partly – mostly. Besides the last twenty-four hours have been a blur
of nothing but adrenaline and anxiety. No it’s impossible and you know it.” She
began to work herself up, her face reddening as her blood boiled. “Even if I
did want to and I’m not saying I do. But he’s going to go back to America in a
few days and that’ll be it.”

Would
it Elena?

“You
could always follow him,” Dmitry suggested.

She
shook her head. “Even if I thought we’d have a chance I could never leave you.
You’re the only family I have left.”