Dark Desire by Lauren Smith (an ebook reader txt) 📗

Cody chuckled. “I know they look like rich playboys, but trust me, they know their shit. Hans has trained all of us, even me.”

That helped her relax a little.

Cody then called out to Emery, “Boss man, where should I set up?”

Emery looked to Dimitri, who nodded at Leo. “Cody, you can work with Leo,” Emery said.

Cody smiled at Elena again as he slipped past her and followed Leo into a room down the hall.

Having finished talking to the others, Royce came over and hugged her.

“Thank you for coming,” she whispered. “Dimitri is upset I called you for help,” she warned him.

Royce gave her a wink. “He’s fine with it now, I promise. How are you holding up? Kenzie was so worried when you called.”

“I’m okay—getting better. Thank you for sending Dimitri to look after me.”

He chuckled. “That was all his idea. He might have been a tiny bit obsessed with you. I would never have let him follow you to California if I thought it was a bad idea.”

“He’s been wonderful,” she admitted. The best thing in my life.

“Be sure to text Kenzie and let her know you’re all right,” Royce said to her before he called his friends over to start introductions.

Elena stepped back against the wall as the men paraded past her, each one stopping to shake her hand and introduce himself before Nicholas showed them to their rooms.

When at last only she and Dimitri were left in the hallway, he locked the front door. There was a strange finality to the moment, and it made something flutter in her stomach. Was Royce right? Was Dimitri fine with the others showing up now? Royce turned to face her.

“Are you still mad at me for calling in the cavalry?” she asked him.

He stalked toward her, backing her against the wall, an unreadable expression in his eyes as he placed his hands on either side of her head and leaned in.

“I was never mad, kiska, only worried. These men are my friends as well. They are more than capable of helping us, but I fear for every life under this roof, especially yours.” He closed the last few inches between them and kissed her. His seduction was so thorough that when he finally pulled away, she’d completely forgotten where she was. Her beautiful Russian badass smiled down at her, far too satisfied with his effect on her.

“One of these days I’ll figure out how to do that to you,” she warned.

Dimitri stroked a finger down her lips. “I will enjoy every attempt you make.” Then he took her hand in his and led her into the great room, where Maxim was waiting for them.

“We have everyone settled in. I’ve spoken to Hans, and we think we have a plan, if you want to hear it.”

“We’re listening.” Dimitri gave Elena’s hand a squeeze. She squeezed his hand back in silent appreciation. They were in this together.

Vladimir stood outside the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, scowling. He was so close, he could feel it. He had tracked Viktor’s movements to Malibu, but he hadn’t left the city by any traffic or CCTV cameras. There was only one explanation—Viktor was dead, and Vladimir was convinced that the man in the photographs Viktor had sent to his handler was responsible.

Dimitri Razin, the Russian billionaire Elena had been seen kissing, was more than he appeared to be. There had been a photo of Razin, blurry at best, taken in the lobby of the Bellagio the day after Viktor had taken the photos of Elena and Razin together. Razin was now on Vladimir’s radar. Whoever he really was, he had smuggled Elena out of California and had hidden her somewhere. Vladimir had run into a dozen dead ends already. It was nearly evening, and he’d had no luck whatsoever tracking down further leads.

His phone vibrated, and he removed it from his pocket. The number showed his office in Moscow.

“Yes?” he answered with a growl.

“Sir?” It was Viktor’s handler. “I think we might have something.”

Vladimir waited for the nervous man to continue. “Well?” he snapped when the man didn’t speak.

“It’s a photograph we picked up on social media. We believe it’s the girl.”

“How certain are you?” Vladimir’s eyes scanned the crowds of tourists funneling into the hotel, just in case.

“It’s a seventy-eight percent match.”

“Where is she?”

“Colorado, the resort town of Steamboat Springs. She was outside a restaurant.”

“Book me a flight there now. I’m headed to the airport. Activate the nearest agents in Colorado. I want at least thirty men to meet me there.”

“Yes, sir.” The handler hung up.

Vladimir’s hands twitched. Soon he would kill the girl and rid himself of the liability her existence posed. It might even result in a promotion if he played his cards right.

18

Elena fell into a rhythm over the next few days. Each day she trained for two hours with Dimitri and Maxim in the exercise room. Then Hans took her out into the woods behind the cabin to practice shooting a gun. Guns made her nervous, but the bodyguard had an easy way about him that put her at ease. He showed her the different kinds of handguns she might encounter, but when it came to firing, she used one with a silencer so the cabins a mile away on either side wouldn’t hear the steady stream of gunfire. They didn’t want to draw attention to their activities from the local authorities.

“Feel the weight, and prepare for the kick. Remember, squeeze, don’t yank.” Hans adjusted her stance, and she pulled the trigger. The tin can sitting on a stump didn’t move, but she could tell she’d hit the stump below it, so her aim wasn’t that far off. She frowned and bit her lip, wishing her aim had been better.

“It’s easier to hit a body than a can,” Hans said. “The target is much bigger.”

“It’s even harder to think about hitting a body.” She shivered at the thought of taking a life. She wasn’t