Page 72 of Den of Thieves

“I, uh, spent twenty million dollars on security and, um, persuading the headmistress to see things my way?”

“Good.”

“Good?” Karina parroted.

It was the highest she’d ever heard his voice go. That coupled with the bobbing of his Adam’s apple, she concluded her husband was probably going into shock. Vladimir looked close to having a stroke, then suddenly the tension squeezing his muscles together eased.

“Bribery’s gotten expensive,” he said, sitting back down.

“It wasn’t just paying off Headmistress Schmid. We built three separate security checkpoints before you get to the school. There is also a twenty-foot brick wall surrounding the edge of the school property. Key cards are now needed to access each building. No student, faculty or staff will be able to enter unless you are either working, a student or professor heading to class or are returning to your assigned housing. Nothing like that has been done before at the school, so we had to ensure that the structural integrity of the historic buildings remained in place.”

Karina waited for a beat before lightly touching Vladimir’s cheek. “Honey, say something.”

“I’m not mad. Just caught off guard.” Vladimir said, pulling at his collar. “Can we visit whenever we want?”

She nodded. “I bought a ski chalet near one of the resorts.”

“Do I want to know?” he smirked.

Karina laughed and rubbed Artym’s back when he wiggled in her arms. “It was a lot less than twenty million. I love it and I’m sure you will too.”

“Then that is all that matters.”

Vladimir looked Karina up and down. She’d seen that look a hundred times before.

“What?” she whispered, already sensing where his mind was headed.

“Why don’t you lay Artym down, just for a minute?”

“Vladimir.”

“Oh, it’s Vladimir, now?”

She stared straight ahead, clenched her thighs together, and tried to ignore what his deep voice did to her lady bits.

“It’s been days since I touched you.” He tried again.

“It’s barely been twelve hours.”

The two of them fucked like bunny rabbits on most of the flight to Panama. Taking breaks only to hydrate and nourish their bodies. She shook her head as she stood up and headed to one of the bedrooms at the back of the plane. They still had three hours until they landed in Orlando. She wanted her baby to be comfortable.

At least, that’s what she tried to tell her husband when he yanked her into the nearest bathroom before she could return to her seat.

They arrived at Gustaf’s house, which was not what Karina expected when Vladimir said they would be staying in Orlando. It was a peaceful, shore front property on Lake Chase. One of the Butler Chain of Lakes in Central Florida. Behind the ten-foot steel doors was a magnificent seven-bedroom, twelve-bathroom estate with an oversize office, professional gym, movie theater, game room, and indoor spa that led out to the infinity pool and down to the dock. The breathtaking sunset could be seen from every room in the estate.

Vladimir joined Karina on the first-floor balcony after getting their rowdy children settled for the evening. She smiled, breathing in his scent as his strong arms wrapped around her.

“What took you so long?” she asked, leaning into his touch.

“I made the mistake of giving the nannies the night off. If it weren’t for Dedushka threatening to tell Minni and Mickey Mouse about their behavior, they would have never laid down.”

Karina’s lips disappeared inside her mouth, desperately trying not to laugh at his anguish.

“I need to give the nannies another raise,” he grumbled into her hair. That got her chuckling for a second. Unfortunately, her husband’s tales of parenthood did nothing to sway her mood for long.

“Vlad,” she whispered, looking out onto the waves illuminated by moonlight.

“Da.”

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