Page 84 of The Pakhan

He backed away but his eyes continued to sweep mine. What exactly was he searching for? I wasn’t at the point I wanted to ask. “Stop worrying about me, enchanted one. Not only am I a very big boy, but I’ve been handling dangerous men my entire life.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”

“Maybe I am a vampire.”

While he was trying to be light, I was more nervous than before. “Maybe so. Although I’ve yet to feel your bite.”

“Oh, you will. You will.”

When he finally headed toward the stairs, I found myself still yearning for him, even hanging in the doorway. For all the fantasies I’d had, all the fairytale endings I’d read about, I knew this wasn’t going to be one of them.

My heart still ached, perhaps more so than before. But I had work to do, something I was damn good at.

I didn’t need his experts to help me find anything.

I was determined to do so on my own.

After closing the door, I leaned against it, praying I’d been convincing enough. Fortunately, the room he’d given me was in the front of the house. I waited by the window until I noticed him finally driving away. I closed my eyes, a breath I’d been holding escaping.

I grabbed my keys from where I’d hidden them, shoving them into my pocket and opening the door. One advantage I had was that he didn’t post guards inside the house. The disadvantage was that if I tripped some silent alarm, he might have on his command center, I’d be screwed.

With no time to waste, I bounded down the stairs. The first goal was to find out how to open the protected room.

I’d seen enough spy movies to think maybe, just maybe there was a small button somewhere inside his office that allowed access. I quickly moved to the bookcase, feeling under every shelf, even pulling a few books from there to see if the simple action triggered the opening.

Nothing.

Where would I put it if I were Vadim? On or near his throne, meaning his desk and massive leather chair. Rushing toward it, I sat down, scanning the surface of his desk before starting to open the drawers. Damn it. I could still find nothing. I would soon need to abandon the crazy idea.

I sat back, taking a deep breath and twisting in his office chair. Something convinced me to feel under the thin ledge of his desk once again. I noticed a blip in the wood, like an imperfection. Yet when I pressed my finger on it, not only did it yield but the bookcase swung open.

I’d been shocked the man had left it open for any length of time, but it had all been for my benefit.

Now let’s see if I could work my magic.

Ten minutes later, I believed I’d bought myself time, fifteen minutes to be exact. It would appear there was a failsafe on the system that could be temporarily disabled but would automatically be turned back on in a few minutes’ time.

I pushed on the case, thankful it closed without me having to waste more time and raced from the room. Dear God, my window was getting shorter. I glanced out the windows, searching for any visible men. There were none. At least I could say I was enjoying some fresh air. Right?

Sure, they’d buy that. I was careful in my steps, making my way to my car without seeing anyone. When I slipped inside, I was jittery as hell, far too lightheaded.

I was no freaking James Bond, but I was happy my luck was continuing.

When the engine acted as if it wasn’t going to roll over, I became angry. Furious. This had to work.

I tried again, glancing from one mirror to the other before daring to press down on the accelerator. Now I had to pray that I could save the day.

There were such things as female heroines. Right?

CHAPTER 22

Vadim

Aleksander was not only a man of his word, but he also had the innate ability to call a meeting of the mind with flair and common sense. I’d honestly been shocked he’d been able to pull the meeting together so quickly given the men involved. However, the fact that he’d been able to accomplish the feat in record time told me something very important.

All three men had also been placed under some kind of duress.

Was the meeting I had planned unheard of? Not necessarily. Back in the day, the five more infamous families holding New York as a hostage position had formed a darker alliance of sorts.

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