Russian Mobster's Forbidden Mistress (10 page)

He lurched for the door as soon as it was in range. His fingers touched the metal and it burned him almost instantly. Josef groaned in pain and snatched his hand back. He ripped at his shirt, pulling the cotton material over his head and using it as a hot pad in order to turn the doorknob.

Cool air spilled into the room, but the increased oxygen sent the fiery blaze out of control. Josef gathered every bit of strength he had left and bolted from the building. He managed to make it to a pile of trash across the road before the explosion rocked the entire street.

Car alarms went off on this street and the next. The shriek of sirens began to blare and Josef was too disoriented to know if it was from the car alarms or the fire trucks that seemed to be converging on the scene.

“Sir?” someone shouted. “Sir, are you all right?”

“I’m alive,” Josef whispered hoarsely. “That’s good, I think.”

* * *

Dani paced back and forth in her bedroom, trying to decide whose bad idea it was to put a ten-minute wait on a pregnancy test. She glanced at the timer on her phone. There were thirty seconds left and she was practically frothing at the mouth with agitation. She had even left the test in the bathroom to avoid checking it every five seconds.

Her phone buzzed. She leaped into the air with surprise, not expecting the timer to go off for another few seconds. Then she realized it was a text from Josef.

“Finally!” she said, relieved beyond belief. Then she read it.

At St. John’s Hospital. Come now. Tell no one.

Her heart nearly stopped in horror. “Shit.”

The timer suddenly began buzzing insistently on her phone. She almost threw the thing across the room. Feeling so off-balance she was almost ready to cry, she ducked into the bathroom.

“Shit.”

Nothing was going to change the fact that there were two faint pink lines, one in each indicator window. She had too much on her mind to even worry about this right now. So she shoved the test into the pocket of her hoodie and grabbed her keys and wallet.

Dani made it all the way to the bottom of the stairs before she saw anyone. It was just her bad luck that she nearly smacked right into Mikhail when she was on her way to the garage.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked suspiciously.

“To hang out at a friend’s house.” She gave him one of her trademark dirty looks. “What? Are you suddenly paying attention to me? I’ve been coming and going for a month without you even noticing.” It was on the tip of her tongue to say more, but that would have seemed fishy, so she shut her mouth and forced herself to be quiet.

Mikhail grabbed her arm, preventing her from walking away. “I want you to go to dinner with me.”

“You and the Rusnaks,” she clarified. “Yeah, no thanks. I have plans. We’re going to a movie.”

“Looking like that?” Mikhail sneered.

“It’s a movie with a girlfriend, why am I going to give a shit what I look like?” Dani gave her brother a droll stare, willing him to just drop it.

“You will be sorry someday that you did not do as I asked,” Mikhail promised before flinging her arm away and stalking off.

Over my dead body.

* * *

Josef twisted in the hospital bed, trying to get comfortable. He’d checked three times with the nurse to see if Dani had come by yet, but there had been no word. He was starting to get worried.

“There you are!”

Her voice might have been that of an angel, it was so welcome. Josef managed to turn his head toward the door and saw her come into his room. She was dressed in the same black yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt she’d been wearing that morning. Her long blond hair was pulled away from her face, and without makeup she looked even younger and more innocent.

“Oh my God,” she whispered. “Look at you! What happened, Josef? Who did this to you?”

He inhaled a ragged breath. “I think it was Mikhail.”

“My brother?” She looked dumbfounded and he couldn’t blame her. “You’re all scraped up, and those look like—are those
burns
?”

“You remember he said we had to go take care of something?”

She nodded.

It was painful to be awake, and he struggled to stay that way. The pain in his head was fierce. “We went to one of the family warehouses. He claimed there were intruders. I went in first. I could have sworn there was someone else in there with me, and maybe even a scuffle going on. But then a voice said, ‘This wasn’t meant for him, Josef.’ Then someone smacked me over the back of the head. The next thing I knew I was on the floor and the warehouse was in flames.”

She put her hands over her mouth and he could tell she was holding it together by a thread. Reaching out slowly, she touched his face. “Josef, I almost lost you.”

“You’re not going to lose me,” he told her firmly. “I just don’t want you leaving here until I do. I’m not sure who we can trust right now.”

The way she pursed her lips made him think there was something else going on. “Do you know something you aren’t telling me? You look as if you need to say something. Just tell me. Whatever it is, we need to know the truth about what’s happening.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with the fire, Josef.” She laid the back of her hand against his cheek. Her touch felt so good. Her expression turned thoughtful. “Mikhail wanted me to go with him to lunch with the Rusnaks today. And then again when I was leaving to come here, Mikhail wanted me to go to dinner with them.”

“It wasn’t Mikhail’s voice inside the warehouse,” Josef murmured. “But perhaps it was one of the Rusnaks. I would have to hear it again to be certain.”

Josef was just thinking of all the possible ramifications of Mikhail colluding with the Rusnaks against
him
, when Dani lifted his hand to her cheek. She pressed a kiss to his palm and awareness shot down his spine. The things this woman could do to him. It was absolutely incredible.

“I’m going to keep you safe, Dani.” He met her gaze and held it. “You know that, right?”

She nodded, but he wasn’t quite sure she was with him. Something was still off and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what.

Chapter Thirteen

Dani wrapped her hand around the pregnancy test in her pocket. She was trying not to freak out, but this was an awful lot to take in all at once. Forget the possibility of the two of them having a baby. Somebody was trying to kill Josef!

“Are you all right?” Josef asked softly.

Dani forced herself to smile. “I’m fine. I’m just tired and worried. I think I’ll go get a drink. Do you need anything?”

“No, thank you.” He tugged at her hand as she started to get up from her spot on the edge of his hospital bed. “Please don’t go far and don’t be long. All right? I don’t know who we can trust.”

“I know.” She cupped his cheek and brushed a kiss over his lips.

Dani left the room for the hallway, taking deep breaths and trying to decide what to do. She pulled the test out of her pocket and stared at it. The lines were faint. In fact, they looked like they were fading. Maybe they weren’t real after all.

“You know, sweetie,” a passing nurse said kindly, “I’ve seen people stare at those things for hours and never get a different answer.”

“I was just wondering if the darkness of the lines means anything,” Dani mused. “It’s just not a very good time right now.”

“Tell you what.” The nurse put her hands on her ample hips. She looked friendly. “How about I do a quick test right here in the hospital? Would that make you feel better?”

“Oh yes!” Dani perked up. “That would tell me a lot, right?”

“Of course.” The nurse took Dani’s arm. “Just come right over here.” She took a plastic cup from a shelf. “Just get about half a cup of urine in this cup.” She gestured to a door right beside them. “You can use this restroom right here.”

“Thank you,” Dani said gratefully. “You’ve got no idea how much this means to me.”

“Oh I’ve been there, sweetie.” The woman gave her a broad smile. “I think we all have at one time or another.”

Dani slipped into the restroom and did as directed. She was just pulling open the heavy door when she caught a glimpse of Mikhail striding down the wide hall. Panic surged and Dani pushed the door closed again. She flinched as it slammed shut, but it was too late to worry about that now. Trying to breathe normally, she counted to twenty before opening the door again.

The sound of Mikhail’s distinctive voice drifted out of Josef’s hospital room. Dani minced down the hallway, trying to hear what they were saying.

“Do you have that cup for me, sweetie?” The nurse appeared behind Dani, startling a squeak out of her. “My, you’re a jumpy one, aren’t you?”

“Just nervous,” Dani said, trying not to speak loudly. “Here you go. I really appreciate this.”

“It’ll be just a few minutes.”

“I’ll wait here,” Dani assured her.

Behind Dani, she could hear just enough to make out the conversation in Russian between her brother and Josef. She pressed her back to the wall, holding her breath in order to hear more effectively.

Mikhail was laughing. “You thought you were going to get away with it, but you are not so sneaky, you know?”

“What are you talking about?” Josef asked, his voice perfectly calm.

“I saw you going to her room last night. I saw you coming out this morning.” Mikhail heaved a gusty sigh. “But even that I could have let slide.”

“Could you?” Josef didn’t sound convinced.

“A month ago, you spoke with my father.” Mikhail’s tone gained a razor-sharp edge. “The two of you colluded behind my back. He asked you to
spy
on me. On
me
!” Mikhail was shouting now. “How could you? You were my friend. I trusted you. Yet you told my father that I was lying to him. You told him that I was keeping secrets from him. That I had motives you did not understand.”

“You did.” Josef was still calm, still completely rational despite the fact that Dani could hear Mikhail flailing around inside the hospital room, stomping his feet and throwing a regular tantrum. Josef’s soft sigh was almost lost beneath the racket. “And you still have another angle you are working, Mikhail. We all know it.”

“Is that right?” Mikhail lowered his voice, his silky tone almost more terrifying. “And you think this involves my sister?”

“I know it does.”

“She is mine to do with as I wish.”

The first hint of anger entered Josef’s voice. “She is her own woman. I hardly think you can call her your property.”

“Ah, but only because you are in the way. Once you are gone, she will be more cooperative.”

“So you’re going to kill me right here in the middle of a hospital?” Josef’s voice was almost resigned. “After a lifetime’s worth of friendship, that’s how you’re going to end it?”

Mikhail scoffed. “Do I look that stupid? There are too many witnesses. It will come as it did before. When you least expect it.”

“And in the meantime?”

“Stay away from my home, my family, and especially my sister. I will tell the others you are a traitor and let them make of it what they will.” The sound of footsteps suggested that Mikhail was preparing to exit.

Turning away from the door, Dani slipped back down the hallway in the direction of the nurse’s station. She didn’t want Mikhail to see her. Tears burned her eyes. How could her brother do this to his best friend?

“Oh there you are, sweetie!” The kindly nurse drew her over to the desk. “I have your results for you.”

“And?” Dani was having trouble fighting back tears already. The additional stress wasn’t making things any easier.

“It looks like you are pregnant.” The nurse patted her sympathetically on the back. “Sometimes these things are unexpected, but that hardly means they have to be unwelcome. A baby is always a blessing. Try to think about it like that. All right?”

Dani could try, but somehow she just wasn’t sure that was going to cut it right now.

* * *

Josef stared morosely at the stark white wall of his hospital room. He felt utterly and completely trapped. Exiled from his family and his social group. He was now an outsider.

“Josef?” Dani stood in the doorway, looking very uncertain.

He held out his hand to her. “Come here, sweet girl.”

She sat on the bed and then curled up beside him. He put an arm around her, ignoring the pain in his head and his shoulder. “Having you here is a comfort,” he told her. “Thank you.”

“I heard what Mikhail said.” Her voice was small. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know.” It was an honest answer, but he felt her tense up. He pushed her hair away from her face. “Until I can smooth things over with Mikhail, I will have to watch my back.”

“I could speak to Papa,” she ventured. “Mikhail still listens to him. Maybe Papa could fix this. I’ve never told him how I feel about you. Maybe if I did, Papa would let us marry.”

“I’m not sure you should risk that.” In fact, the idea damn near gave him heart failure. “If Mikhail were to hear you, he might decide you were going behind his back like he did with me.”

“That was my fault.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “I asked you to talk to Papa about Igor Rusnak.”

“I would have done it anyway.” Josef sighed. Everything hurt, but he had no time to wait for his body to heal. “Your father asked me to investigate Mikhail’s motives. Mikhail was right. His father didn’t trust him, and I’m the man he went to about it.”

“Papa is
right
not to trust Mikhail,” she said darkly. “He’s got his own agenda and the welfare of the Mikalevich family is pretty low on the priority list.”

“Do you have any real evidence of that?” Josef wondered if they could use it to get her father to sanction Mikhail. “If your father could take Mikhail’s power and give it to you, that would change everything.”

“Make me the head of the family?” Her tone was dubious at best. “Why would anyone follow me?”

“Because you’re smart and compassionate, and you think about the welfare of the people who depend on our family.” He wished she could see herself as he did.

“I have to talk to Papa,” she whispered. “I have to make him see.”