Page 2 of Brutal Loyalty

Elena rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I got here as fast as I could.” She squinted at him in recognition. “Oh my God, you’re the chaperone. The chauffeur. The chauff-erone.” One corner of her mouth twisted up at him in a smirk. She had a cruel sort of beauty, Roman noted, like a wildflower with plenty of thorns, and Roman wasn’t keen on getting jabbed. He’d stay back from this one.

“My name, in case you forgot, is Roman Garnovich. But that is not the point. Your father killed Boris Sokolov.” Roman’s frown deepened. “And yet, I am supposed to take you straight to the Sokolov mansion. Why is that?”

“You ask an awful lot of questions for being the hired help.” She held the handle of her rolling suitcase out toward him. “Why don’t you just be a dear and load this onto the plane for me?”

Roman stared. He could practically feel his blood pressure rising. The gall of this woman. Had he not called Viktor and heard it straight from his friend’s lips, he wouldn’t have believed this was the cargo he had been sent to pick up.

“You can carry your own luggage,” he said flatly, reminding himself to at least stay outwardly cool and polite, no matter how much he loathed her. “But that’s onlyifI decide to allow you onto the plane.”

“What do you mean,if?” she demanded, taking another step toward him. “You flew all the way here to get me. It’s yourjob.” Elena pouted and held the suitcase handle toward him again. Her arm faltered visibly for a moment, and she made an exaggerated show of how heavy the bag was. Roman didn’t care.

“My job is to keep Viktor Sokolov safe.” Roman crossed his arms over his chest, his posture just as military-straight as always. “Your father is a sworn enemy of the family, and I do not trust you.”

“Well, what do you want me to say?” Elena shrugged and finally stood the suitcase on the ground, albeit at Roman’s feet. He pretended not to notice.

“Let’s start with why I should allow you on the plane,” Roman said sternly.

“Well, uh, duh.” Elena continued to spin her hair around her finger. “Because Viktor told you to, and Viktor’s your boss.”

“Not good enough,” Roman answered flatly. “Try again.”

“Really? I mean…really?” Elena’s pout turned into a sour glare. “It’s freezing here, we’re already running late, and you’re going to start interrogating me right now instead of just flying the plane like you’re supposed to?”

“Youare freezing, Elena, because we are in Russia, and you are wearing a short, impractical dress.Weare running late becauseyouarrived two hours late. And I am interrogating you because your father is my enemy. Instead of wasting time by arguing and pushing your poor choices off on me, it would be much easier for you to answer my question.”

Elena blinked a few times. Color rose to her cheeks and her eyes burned at him as he forced the standoff, but Roman didn’t care. His priority was keeping Viktor safe, and he didn’t trust Elena. He wasn’t sure what she could say right now to change that, but his gut told him that she was up to no good.

“Just shut up and fly!” she finally snapped at him.

Roman didn’t move.

Elena stalked past him, approaching the plane and inspecting the door. “How does this thing open?” she asked.

“It opens when I say it opens. Now, Elena, tell me why I am flying you back to Boston when your father killed Boris Sokolov,” Roman repeated.

“Because…” Elena sighed and turned to face him. “Because my family is fucked, and whatever my dad’s involved in, I don’t want any part of it. And you know what doesn’t help? Some uppity shit-fuck of a driver-pilot-chauffeurone asking a million questions when all he’s supposed to do is…you know,his job!”

Roman studied her expression but couldn’t tell if the anger lacing her voice was because he was unwilling to tolerate her attitude, or because she was upset over fleeing from her family. Assuming that was even the truth.

“So, are you going to carry my bag and let me into the plane so we can get the hell out of here or not?” Elena asked. “All this cloak and dagger stuff is great and all, but my dad probably has people out looking for me. He has to have noticed I’m gone by now.”

“I do not trust your father, but I also do not trustyou. As I have stated before, until I am certain Viktor will be safe when we land, I am not moving. If I do not move, the plane will not move.”

“What the hell else do you want from me, chaufferone?” Elena all but shrieked, her voice filling the hangar and stinging Roman’s eardrums.

It was going to be a long night.

CHAPTER2

Elena

The man was impossible!

Why wasn’t he budging? Elena could usually bat her eyes at any man, maybe show some skin, to get whatever she wanted. But none of that worked when it came to Roman. He saw right through her. Normally, she might consider that a challenge. One that required strategizing to come up with the right approach. But she didn’t have time for that now. She needed him to let her on that plane so she could get back to Boston.

Elena had been devastated when her father had insisted she go to Russia. Thank-the-fuck that she had been able to settle in a luxury apartment in Moscow instead of the old family home in St. Petersburg. But she missed her life in Boston and her best friend, Alexandra. She’d been devastated when her BFF had agreed to marry Boris Sokolov. Pakhan or not, the man had been old enough to be her father, which Elena found gross. Elena’d been overjoyed when she’d found out that Boris had died just hours before the wedding, but then Alexandra had agreed to marry the son in Boris’s place, despite having never met him before. Who did that?

It had killed her to ignore her friend’s messages and pleas for help when Alexandra’s father had been suspected of having some role in Boris’s death. But her own father had instructed her not to respond. He seemed almost panicked, which had worried Elena, so she’d run when he’d told her to go. But now, her father wanted her back in Boston, safely nestled in the Sokolov household—so she could strike down the new pakhan when he least expected it.

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