There were highly intelligent criminals everywhere, including within crime syndicates, who used all aspects of modern technology from hacking to overseas internet banking to AI. It hadn’t mattered that my family was celebrating a marriage; my father had to provide every member with an updated security briefing. And I’d heard all about a new business opportunity that would make the family millions. A venture that my uncle didn’t want jeopardized. Maybe that’s why the Russians had arrived. They were businessmen. Right?
I pressed my hand over my mouth when a laugh bubbled to the surface. Wouldn’t my father be thoroughly impressed I was doing mental exercises with his pertinent information?
A slight rush of wind jarred the hell out of me.
Only what I feeling kissing my cheek wasn’t weather related but coming from the dangerous, grinning man hunched only a few inches away. At the same time while I offered my most hateful look yet, the SUV pulled up directly behind the truck and I didn’t need to even think about escaping again.
It wasn’t going to happen.
Kirill shook his head then looked in the opposite direction while taking a deep breath. No words were said but they weren’t needed. I didn’t resist when I was led to the SUV, his hand remaining on my arm until the very last second and just before he climbed inside.
As I settled into the seat, I glanced out the back passenger window, my body tensing the further away we got from the hospital.
For about a dozen reasons, I knew my life would forever be changed.
And in truth? I wasn’t terrified.
CHAPTER 10
Kirill
Behind a beautiful face stands unbreakable resilience.The Russian proverb was one I remember hearing my aunt say when I was very young.
She’d been one of the strongest women I’d met, or as she liked to say about herself,Zhenshchina, s kotoroy luchshe ne svyazyvat’sya.
A woman not to be fucked with.
Her Russian accent had always been heavy and dark from years of indulging in cigarettes. She’d been the light of any man’s party when she’d been young. I’d seen pictures of just how beautiful she’d been with her natural golden blonde hair, rosy, soft lips, and an hourglass figure when so many women starved themselves in hopes of garnering fame and fortune.
While her beauty had faded, her resilience had only grown stronger. She was the epitome of the proverb, untouchable in her class, someone to be admired.
As I stared out the window of Vivian’s apartment, I was struck by the fact that in my thirty-eight years, I’d never met a woman who could come close to having even one quarter of my aunt’s characteristics. Not one.
Until now.
There’d been no denying Vivian’s beauty. Her looks were classy and sophisticated without being forced. While she wore makeup, the colors were subtle, merely accentuating her natural beauty. The dress she’d worn on the plane had represented her recent vacation, not as if she’d just finished handling a board meeting of a wealthy corporation.
Yet I had no doubt she was both talented and intelligent enough to command a room full of CEO degenerates with corruption in mind. I allowed a slow and easy chuckle as I envisioned her standing in front of the aging men who’d overindulged on years of alcohol.
She’d eat them for breakfast.
I’d instructed her to take no more than fifteen minutes to pack, of which she had five minutes left. With both Cormac and Dante waiting outside, I felt secure enough in our position for that length of time but no more. I’d swept her apartment myself, doing a quick search for weapons or another escape route. Unless she was an acrobat, there was no easy access out of her sixth-story apartment.
I leaned against the wall, pulling her wallet from her purse. As soon as I tugged her license into my fingers, I was struck again by how stunning she was in the grainy photograph. So many people appeared as criminals in them.
Not her.
True eternal beauty.
Dr. Vivian Hamilton.
Even her name held a classic aura.
It also didn’t ring a bell, at least not in the terms of her family being powerful in the underground world of crime. But I could be wrong. The way she’d tossed out tidbits of crime syndicate data could have been learned from watching television.
But I doubted it.
Once inside the house, I’d handle the usual security checks myself. I couldn’t be too careful, especially since my instinct detected more knowledge inside her fascinating mind.
