Page 130 of Lethal Alliance

Instead I have to content myself with sipping neat Scotch, staring at Darya’s cashmere-clad curves perched on the edge of Ofelia’s bed, and mentally plotting how fast I can get the storytelling done and get down to what I actually need right now.

Which is Darya, naked and moaning under my hands, while I’m sunk so deep inside her that it erases the nightmare we’ve all just lived through.

The fine-knit dress she’s wearing doesn’t help. Demure and elegant it might be, falling to just above her knees and long black boots, but nothing can disguise the length of silk stocking–clad thigh when she crosses her legs or the swell of her delectable breasts that are just asking to be freed.

I shift uncomfortably in my chair and try to focus on the conversation.

When Mickey gets to the part aboutPoppins, Darya’s hands fly to her mouth. “Oh!”

I have to look away from the sheen of tears in her eyes. Even hearing it a second time still puts an awkward lump in my throat.

She was the first one they thought of. When their lives were in danger, it was Darya the girls remembered.

I touch her hand, and she grips mine tightly.

My family. This is my family.

“Anyway.” Mickey picks up the story again. “Lars told us the only reason Alexei was still with the Orlovs was so he could protect Mer—Roman’s project.” He hastily corrects himself. “Apparently Nikolai and Inger had found out enough to be dangerous. Alexei was worried they’d take what they knew to Fedorov, who had the resources to be a real threat, so instead he undercut them by telling Orlov, who went to Inger and Nikolai himself. Then Alexei—or rather, Lars—spent the next few months sabotaging Orlov’s efforts to hack the project. Alexei’s been, like, a double agent for months now. Lars said Alexei didn’t have enough men to overthrow OrlovandFedorov. That’s why he started trying to contact us via the trojans.”

“He could have just picked up a phone,” I mutter.

“No.” Darya shakes her head. “He couldn’t. Lance Ryder was watching his every move. Rosa told me that Andersson was using Lance to gain information about you. If Andersson had started reaching out to us, all of Ryder’s suspicions would have been proved correct. He could easily have wound up exposing Alexei, or any of us, to Fedorov or the Orlovs. Lars is my brother’s closest friend. He wouldn’t risk doing anything to hurt him.” She gives me a small smile. “I guess my brother is just as paranoid about safety as you.”

Mickey snorts. Even Ofelia smiles.

“Tell her what was inside the box,” I say to Mickey.

“This.” He shows Darya a photo on his phone.

She gasps, her eyes widening. “The other key to the vault?” She frowns. “But I thought Alexei gave it to you in Miami?”

“Oh, so did I.” I’m well aware of the snark in my voice. I know Petrovsky hid that key to protect his sister. I can even admire the balls it must have taken him to look Orlov right in the eye and lie, especially given what the bastard put him through.

But when I think of what might have happened to my daughters if Petrovsky had misjudged the situation, my blood runs cold.

“It’s the original.” Mickey ignores my aside. “Alexei had a copy made several years ago, with enough flaws to make it useless. He had Lars Andersson hide the original in the same bank where Roman’s was. Alexei had been trying to tell me where to find it all this time. If I’d just worked it out earlier,” he says, scowling, “we would have known he was trying to help us. We could have done the whole plan differently.”

“Alexei was always on our side,” Ofelia says quietly. “Itoldyou he was,” she adds, shooting me a rather hard look.

“Lexi our friend,” Masha adds proudly.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “A friend who ensured I couldn’t open that vault, even if my children’s lives depended on it.” My voice comes out harder than I intend it to, but I also don’t feel inclined to hide my dislike for Alexei’s reckless tactics. “He risked all our lives. Surely someone with his level of tech capability could have found a way to warn us.”

Ofelia shoots me a reproachful look. “Alexei was just trying to protect Darya. And us, Roman. If that man had managed to open the vault, then they wouldn’t have needed us anymore.” She shudders, and the light fades from her eyes. “They were going to kill us,” she says dully. “I know they were.” Her hand goes up to the livid mark on her right cheek, then falls away again. Her eyes slide away from mine.

Darya takes Ofelia’s hand, squeezing it, but even then she doesn’t look up.

If I’m honest, it’s this that makes me want to murder Alexei Petrovsky. I’ve seen Ofelia do this countless times since we rescued her. Avoid my gaze, withdraw into herself, when she talks about what happened in that compound. Whatever she says, whatever assurances she gives me, she suffered in that place in ways she isn’t telling me about. It’s a dangerous storm inside her, one that needs to break before it breaks her.

My hands clench into fists. Ally or not, Alexei Petrovsky is damn lucky he never actually used his knife on my daughter. By the way she shrinks into herself every time she speaks about the experience, the fear of it alone will give her nightmares for the rest of her life.

Not to mention that there’s no doubt in my mind that Alexei is ruthless enough to use his knife, if he thought he had no choice. Even after his sister was nearly killed by Fedorov, and with his father in the hospital, he’s currently fighting a war for his home, torturing Vilnus Orlov to death, or both.

The fact that in his position I would be doing exactly the same thing is a rather uncomfortable fact that I choose not to examine too closely.

I shift restlessly, avoiding Darya’s far too penetrating gaze.

“Anyway,” I take up Mickey’s story, forcing myself to smile at her, “it seems your brother is currently in the process of eliminating the last remnants of the Fedorov/Orlov alliance. I’ve loaned him some of our men to help with the cleanup.”

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