Chapter Five
Dimitri sat back in his chair and took a long look at the interior of what was apparently Boris Rustikov’s favorite hangout. The lounge atmosphere reeked of money. The place belonged to one of the richest Russian mafia men in the organization. Yuri Nikalevich held territory up and down the harbor. He laundered money, ran casinos, and supplied brothels with women from Central Europe and Asia. He was an arrogant prick, but he was a rich, successful man who also had several public officials in his pocket.
The lounge was all old world elegance with its dark wood and expensive antique furnishings. The crystal was real. The chandeliers were imported. And the staff was both beautiful and deferential.
“Dimitri!”
Yuri himself approached Dimitri’s table with his arms out wide and a huge grin on his face. He was a man in his mid forties who still maintained a trim, athletic figure. Dimitri had no doubt that Yuri could still brawl with the same brutal efficiency he’d been known for in his younger years.
“Yuri,” Dimitri said with a nod of respect. “How is business these days?”
Yuri glanced around at the dining room crowded with patrons enjoying themselves, and the full house back in the lounge. “I can’t complain. The restaurant is doing well, and everything else seems to be falling into place as well. And you?”
Dimitri shrugged. “Business as usual. Anatoli and I are fine. Things are good.”
“And yet you sit here with no woman to keep you company, nursing a single drink and watching the room as if you are looking for somebody,” Yuri observed.
Dimitri had forgotten how astute Yuri could be. “Perhaps I’m just enjoying a quiet moment?”
“Unless you’ve suddenly developed a taste for men,” Yuri said pointedly. “I believe your main interest lies in Boris Rustikov.”
“Perhaps.”
Yuri took a seat at the table. He leaned back, crossed his legs, and signaled a waitress to bring him a drink. The young woman practically fell all over herself in her haste to serve the boss. Moments later Yuri had a cocktail in hand and was watching Boris right along with Dimitri.
“What do you know of him?” Dimitri finally asked.
Yuri pursed his lips. “He’s formidable in business, but a bit of a peacock in his personal life.”
“Meaning?”
“Beauty’s sister is vanity,” he said in Russian. “And its daughter lust.”
Dimitri recognized the old proverb. He could remember his grandmother saying such things. “So you are suggesting that it is not enough for him to have pretty things around him. He must possess them as well.”
“Exactly.” Yuri paused a moment as though he were searching for just the right words. “Does this have to do with your sister?”
“Did he bring her here?”
“Yes.”
Dimitri pursed his lips. “And you said nothing to me, or to Anatoli?”
“It wasn’t my place.” Yuri spread his hands. “Had your sister been unwilling, I would have intervened. She was not. The way she looked suggested that she was having a fine time with him. He is capable of being very charming.”
“What do women see it that ugly old man?” Dimitri snapped. “It makes no sense.”
“Watch him.”
Dimitri swallowed back his distaste as he observed Boris approaching a beautiful young women in the lounge. Her expression at first was almost indulgent. Perhaps it was the lack of a perceived threat that made him seem agreeable. They weren’t afraid of him.
Boris leaned in and spoke to the woman. She laughed. Gradually they began conversing, she became relaxed. Dimitri could see in her body language that she was becoming comfortable with him. Soon he bought her a drink. They were laughing and chatting.
“He’s a talker,” Dimitri noted to Yuri.
“Not something you can say about yourself. No?” Yuri teased.
“Not particularly, and I’ve never thought of it as a failing.”
Yuri took a swig of his drink and then waved the glass in Boris’s direction. “Yet that skill is what makes him irresistible to the women he pursues.”
“I wonder what would happen if someone put a wrench in his game.”
“Such as?”
Dimitri stood up. “The usual way. If you’ll excuse me?”
Yuri didn’t answer. He was too busy laughing.
Dimitri closed the distance between himself and his quarry with long, confident strides. As far as he knew, Boris had no idea that Toni was staying in Dimitri’s home. It wasn’t something that needed to be disclosed. Not yet anyway. For now, he would let Toni remain missing in Boris’s estimation. Although the man didn’t seem very torn up about it.
“Perhaps I can show you my yacht sometime,” Boris was saying. “I would love to take you for a cruise to someplace warm.”
The young woman glanced down, half closing her eyelids and looking flirtatious. Dimitri struggled not to roll his eyes. This mating ritual people insisted upon going through was ridiculous. Why not just say what you meant and be done with it?
“Can I get a bottle of vodka and a shot glass?” Dimitri asked the bartender.
The bartender hopped to serve. “Coming right up, sir,”
Dimitri lounged against the bar, making certain that he was directly in the line of sight of Boris’s much younger companion. He gave the woman long, sultry glance and winked. Her cheeks colored very becomingly. Tossing his hair from his eyes, he took the bottle the bartender handed him and poured himself a shot. He threw it back, keeping an eye on the woman. She had ceased to pay attention to Bori’s conversation. Her attention was riveted to Dimitri. Not that he considered that very flattering. Obviously the woman was simply looking for attention from someone who could afford to show her a good time. If her interest could swing that quickly, she wasn’t worth the trouble unless he was using her to get back at Boris Rustikov.
“Chloe?” Boris said, his tone tinged with confusion. “Did you hear me?”
“Hmm?”
Dimitri smiled at her, giving her another wink to let her know that he knew she was interested. He poured one more shot. Throwing that one back as well, he waited all of ten seconds before making his exit. Casting a look over his shoulder, he jerked his chin.
That was all it took to snag Chloe away from Boris. The woman followed him as though he were the pied piper. It meant he had a little hanger on he needed to take care of now, but it also mean Boris had just experienced obvious and very pointed failure.
* * *
The first thing that Toni had done upon waking was to see who was in the house. When she realized that Anatoli, Dimitri, and even Ivan the terrible seemed to have disappeared, she set about exploring. She noticed two things that were very significant. One, there was no suite of rooms that seemed to be assigned to Katya. Her presence was conspicuously absent from the house. And two, there was also no office. There was no study, no office, no planning desk, writing desk, or anywhere else that Dimitri might conduct business.
That last one wasn’t helpful at all. She couldn’t exactly go waltzing into the kitchen and ask Mrs. Urevich where Dimitri kept his private, business papers. The woman would certainly tell her employer and then Toni would have to answer a bunch of awkward questions.
However, she could ask about Katya. So after her morning exploration, Toni walked into the kitchen and sat on a barstool at the enormous island. Mrs. Urevich was rolling out dough of some kind.
“Can I help you with something, Miss?” The cook didn’t look away from her task.
“Actually, could you tell me why Katya doesn’t live here? Both Anatoli and Dimitri do. Wouldn’t it be safer for Katya to live here with them?”
Mrs. Urevich’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Miss Katya has a home of her own at the back of the property.”
“Pardon?” Toni was having difficulty wrapping her mind around that idea. “You mean she lives in another house just a few hundred yards away?”
“Yes. The boys thought she might like to have her privacy.”
“I bet,” Toni muttered. “Do you think she would be annoyed if I went to see her?”
“I’m not sure,” Mrs. Urevich hedged. She turned around and grabbed her oven mitts. Then she opened the oven door and pulled out a pan full of flaky tarts with golden crust.”
“How about if I take some of those tarts over to her?” Toni suggested eagerly. “Surely you were going to give her some?”
“Of course.” Mrs. Urevich still seemed uncertain. “I don’t know if Mr. Dimitri would appreciate that, Miss. He’s very particular about the people his sister consorts with.”
“I know that.” Toni tried to sound as if she knew a lot more besides. “I’d just like to meet her. That’s it. If she asks me to leave I’ll respect that.”
“I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”
The cook boxed up a good portion of tarts and placed them in a basket along with some other items. Toni started to feel like Little Red Riding Hood. She could only hope there was no wolf waiting in the woods to eat her.
She scooped up the basket and ran out the door in the direction that Mrs. Urevich indicated. It wasn’t far. In fact Toni was a little surprised that she hadn’t noticed this place when she had first arrived last night. It wasn’t hidden. There were several large leafy trees, but the little cape cod style house with the wide front porch was easily visible.
Toni crept up to the doorway, feeling awkward as hell. This woman had slept with her father while her mother was still alive. That should mean that Toni hated her. Right? Except she didn’t hate her. She felt compassion for this poor woman who’d been supposedly seduced and then dropped when she got pregnant. Any woman had to have compassion for a fellow sister dealing with crap like that.
Toni knocked on the door and waited. It felt like forever before she heard the locks click open. The door squeaked as it swung back to reveal a woman with a fall of pale blonde hair. She looked a little younger than Toni, if that were possible, and her expression was wary instead of welcoming.
“What are you doing here?” Katya Alkaev asked in a terse tone of voice.
“I’ve brought you some things from Mrs. Urevich.”
That didn’t appear to appease Miss. Alkaev. “Yes, but why are you on our property?”
“Your brother Dimitri invited me.”
“No.” She shook her head, blonde hair flying. “You’re lying. Dimitri wouldn’t do that. And Anatoli would never allow it.”
“Why not?” Toni was confused. Did they never have guests?
“Because you’re Antonina Rustikov and my brothers hate all Rustikovs.”
“How do you know who I am?” Toni asked in wonder. She set the basket at her feet, afraid she was going to drop it.
“I’ve seen pictures of you inside your father’s house.”
Toni fell back a step. “What? How…I mean when were you in our house?”
“When I was with your father,” Katya said softly. “He took me to his home a few times. We used to play cards with some of his men. It amused him I think, that I was a decent card player. But I had played many hours of cards with my brothers. I would beat his men, but never him. You never wanted to beat Boris.”
“No,” Toni agreed, swallowing the lump that had taken up residence in her throat. “He never liked to lose.