Page 13 of Scarred (Russian Sinners 2)

His hardened eyes watched me carefully, as if assessing me.

“You could help me with my niece. She’s under my protection, my ward.” That was the last thing I expected him to say.

“W… what?” I wasn’t sure why my voice was slightly shaking, maybe in hope.

“You could watch my niece for me,” he repeated. “It would help me greatly, and I’d eliminate your fiancé from your life.”

The last two weeks have been hell. Worrying about my best friends and how our summer ended weighted me down. Then further worry of the impending marriage. My intended future husband was a sick and cruel man. Once his ring was on my finger, it would be too late for me and there was no telling how much crueler he would become. I’d pretty much be his captive.

“Why would you do that? And can’t you find a nanny?” Gosh, sometimes hope was worse than facing a reality but I so needed hope.

“I can’t stand an asshole that beats those weaker than him,” he replied coldly. “The fact that it is Malcome Schmidt is an extra bonus. And I think I just found a nanny.”

My fiancé’s name on his lips sounded like a curse but I was surprised he knew it was him since my brother and I didn’t bring up Malcome’s name. Did Anastasia tell him?

“How did you know my connection to Malcome?” My voice was breathless and my heart was thumping wildly. “That he is my fiancé?”

“Your hair is very unique,” he answered simply. “You’ve been all over the paper as the fiancé of Malcome Schmidt, but your face never shows. When I saw video footage of you with your friends at the Russian Orchid, I thought it was an interesting coincidence. But your friend, Anastasia, confirmed it.”

I didn’t realize we were being recorded while we were at the Russian Orchid. But of course it would be my hair! He must have recognized me as soon as I took the damn hat off. Anastasia hated Malcome too. How did she convince this man to help me? Or maybe it was the fact that he could bring down Malcome that drove him. He seemed to despise him.

I took a deep breath in, unsure whether we should trust this man.

“What has Malcome done to you?” I asked.

There was something about the way he said my fiancé’s name that I was sure there was some personal vendetta going on. But then, everybody had a personal vendetta against Malcome Schmidt. I had yet to meet a man or a woman that liked him. Everyone hated him. He was cruel, selfish, backstabbing, and power hungry.

“That is no concern of yours,” he stated coldly. If I thought he gave dangerous vibes before, I was mistaken. He seemed downright murderous now. Malcome must have done something horrible to this man and this guy was not the forgiving type.

My brother’s hand took mine. “I think we should go for it,” he suggested eagerly. “Anastasia trusts him. I can make sure Mom is okay while I work off my debt. I’ll pretend I’m searching for you.”

“I don’t want to jump from the frying pan into the fire,” I told my brother and then asked Nikolai, “When you say the appearance of a kidnapping, what do you mean? And what does it mean being a nanny to your niece?”

He studied me as if deciding whether he could trust me with his plan. I waited for an answer and doubts swarmed my mind. I didn’t want anything to happen to my mother because I was being reckless. I planned on disappearing before the wedding and taking my mother along. She was so broken, the shell of a woman she used to be. I was sick and tired having my life controlled by men, although this one was intriguing.

Best thing is to keep your distance from this man,I told myself. I didn’t need any more danger or cruelty in my life.

Chapter Four

Nikolai

Ispotted her as soon as she snuck past Ilya. There was no mistaking it; she was Anastasia’s friend I had been after since I came back to the States. The moment she entered the room, the world shifted. Each step she took brought her closer to me, just as I planned. Observing her, I couldn’t deny she was gorgeous beyond my wildest imagination even hiding behind the fancy hat and dark sunglasses that hid most of her face

Her beauty when I watched the footage from the Russian Orchid captured me, but it was nothing like seeing her in front of me. It was a punch in the gut, in a very good way. She was stunning although the carefree woman from the footage I watched barely a week ago seemed to have been replaced by an anxious young woman. Was it the fact that she was within Malcome’s reach?

I did thorough research on the woman. Her connection to Malcome Schmidt landed her in the papers quite frequently, although she always hid behind sunglasses and under a large hat. Always careful to hide her face in every single photograph.

Anastasia’s father reached out to Dimitry barely a week ago, desperate to find his daughter that was kidnapped in front of the Russian Orchid. Luckily, the Russian Orchid was owned by a third member of our group, Sergei. The three of us grew up together, tied together forever by our shared experiences.

Anastasia and Dimitry had an almost instant connection. My brother didn’t realize it but from the moment he saw her on that footage, he’d been obsessing over that woman. I had never seen him taken by a woman before. I caught him watching the footage of his intended target over and over again. When I questioned him, he barked back telling me to mind my own business.

He had proven my point with that small tell. Dimitry never lost his cool. Anastasia Manciatti captured him before he ever laid his eyes on her but he was a lost cause once he got his hands on her. The only problem was he thought he didn’t deserve her. Anastasia would prove him wrong though; I had no doubt. She was exactly what he needed.

And Olivia was exactly what I needed. She’d be my ticket to getting Malcome Schmidt to finally pay for his crimes, but there was also something about this woman in front of me that called to me.

Anastasia told me they ran into Malcome in the casino; it just happened to be one of mine. Through my research I found my confirmation. That sick bastard set his sights on Olivia and hasn’t let go ever since. Since she attended college, she managed to avoid him most of the time. But not all the time. Maybe it was the only thing that saved her; not being within his grasp. Because his women never lived very long unscathed.

Once I got back from Russia with our plan to save Olivia, it was impossible to lure this woman out. She kept herself closed off from almost everyone, her brother the only connection to the world she maintained. And Malcome’s men were constantly following her. So I didn’t have any choice but to use her brother as bait. And he certainly wasn’t hard to lure into the trap.

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