Page 42 of The Den of Sin
“Fuck, Vasili,” Alexei complained. “I wanted to do that. She’s my sister, not yours.”
But she’s my woman, I added silently.
When I found Alexei, he was all kinds of fucked up, on his way to ultimate self-destruction. It fucking killed me to see my flesh and blood so broken, only guessing what he had lived through. His wake-up call came in the form of Isabella and Tatiana. Once I revealed to him he had sisters and the dangers lurking in the shadows, waiting to get their clutches into his sisters, it gave him a purpose. He took that purpose and made it his mission to keep them protected at all costs.
I tilted my head to Regi’s accomplice that hung by the other chain, his pants with a big dark spot and the scent of piss all around him.
“You can have that one,” I growled, my entire body tense. “And make him fucking suffer. We’ll ship both of their body parts to dear old Alphonso tomorrow.”
I walked out of the room, screams echoing behind me, and headed straight to the bathroom. I stopped at the bathroom and caught my reflection. What would Isabella say if she could see me now? She saved people, tended to their wounds, and here I just killed a man. His friend would soon follow; Alexei would make sure of it.
There was blood splattered all over my white dress shirt and my arms. I stripped the shirt off and scrubbed my face and hands under the running faucet, using hand soap. I reached for a little closet that housed basic necessities in this bathroom. Nobody but my brothers and I used it.
Once there was no clearly visible evidence of blood on me, I headed back to my car and to my home. I found myself wishing Isabella was waiting for me there, in my bed. We wouldn’t even have to fuck; I just wanted her wrapped in my arms, in my bed.
I dialed up Adrian to check on the house. He answered on the first ring.
“All good?” I went straight to business.
“Yes, both women are in the house, in bed.”
I recalled all the trouble those two got in during their college years while they were supposedly at home and in bed. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, Vasili. I put Tatiana in her bed myself, and Isabella passed me in the hallway on my way out.”
“Did she say anything?” Great, now I sounded like some loser teenager schmuck.
“Yeah, that she wants you to crawl into her bed.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “Come on, Vasili. Do you think your woman would ever spill her heart to me?”
That’s right. My woman!Great, now I just had to pound my chest and all would be well in this world.
“I should come there and beat your ass,” I threatened half-jokingly. Although it didn’t sound like a bad idea. It would be a good excuse to show up there and check on Isabella in her bed.
“You better hurry up then,” he chuckled. “So you can catch me before I’m in bed. Otherwise, your poor-ass excuse to see your woman will be out for the night.”
“Fucker.”
“Right back at you.”
Adrian and I had an odd relationship. We were friends and business partners. Our friendship started when we were kids in Russia. When our expansion in the States started, my father brought him along. There was nothing but death waiting for him in the motherland. His father was a deadbeat drunk and his mother a junkie, both worthless humans that cared nothing about their son’s well-being.
Our first year of college, we started our own business. He always had a knack for security so it made sense to tempt him into starting a company with me. He managed all our security - personal, business, and illegitimate. There was nobody better than his company, and it made him rich. I was his top customer, but he had many other, high-profile clientele too.
“Tighten up the security around both of them,” I told him. “Those two today were after Isabella. On Alphonso Romano and Benito King’s orders.”
“Fuck.” He knew that meant a shitstorm. I wondered if Sasha’s elimination of Lombardo Santos kick-started the hunt for Isabella or was it already in the works all along. “I’ll make sure they are both safe.”
Adrian was the best. Next to locking them both up in my own home alongside Sasha’s and Alexei’s protection, there was nobody else better to protect them.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” I ended the call and took the turn towards my side of the town, although it was so tempting to sneak into Tatiana’s home and crawl into the bed with my woman.
Chapter Fourteen
Isabella
“Malyshka,” his voice rasped in my ear. I had missed his voice and the feel of his body heat so much.
“Please, Vasili.” I wasn’t sure what I was begging for but he seemed to know. His mouth took mine for a consuming, hot kiss. His tongue licked my bottom lip and my mouth opened, welcoming him. He tasted so good, like whiskey and the most delicious, wicked sin.
