“Quit that.” Legend glared at his partner. Now wasn’t the time to interject over misplaced jealousy. They needed to learn as much as they could from Karolena if they were going to have any shot at protecting her.
“He’s always treated me like a little sister.” Karolena’s lips softened and curved upward a bit as she replayed some memory of the man. “In fact, that’s what he calls me when no one else can hear.Sestra. It will break me if he gets into trouble because of what I’m telling you or how he helped me.”
“To be fair, he’s some high-ranking mafia bastard,” Tavish grumbled. “Guaranteed anyone who’s called a security officer in that organization has blood on his hands.”
“You above all should know things aren’t always black and white.” Karolena shifted her focus to Tavish. “Sometimes extreme measures are justified. Aren’t they?”
“Not when the end goal is to take a girl captive or steal a fancy car or sell guns to terrorists in order to profit. Nope.” Tavish popped the P.
“Levin was born into this. His father wasobshchakbefore him. He doesn’t know anything else, any other way of being. Or he didn’t until recently. About a year or two ago he started changing. I noticed it bit by bit. He started acknowledging me, talking to me while waiting for meetings with Vladimir. He often escorted me from social events after I’d made enough of an appearance to suit Vladimir and before he settled in for serious negotiations or whatever deals he would make under the guise of a cocktail party. Several times, Levin was there to clean me up after Vladimir had used me particularly harshly or taken out his anger over who knew what on me. He’s cleaned my wounds and even stepped between us to keep me from getting worse punishment a few times. Never once did he make me feel ashamed and even convinced me, over time, that it wasn’t my fault Vladimir never seemed pleased with me.”
Legend stiffened, wishing there was something he could do to erase the remembered agony causing her voice to waver for a moment.
“So Levin convinced you to leave?” Kennedy asked, her fingers locked together as if to keep them still while imagining Karolena being beaten. Suffering always took a toll on their medic, and she’d seen plenty of it.
“He did.” She swallowed as if even remembering scared her. “He said he could get papers, arrange a private flight, send me far away where I could start over. It sounded like a dream. So when I agreed, in theory, I didn’t think he’d act so quickly. It was only a week later when he picked me up from a party at one of his brigadier’s mansions. As soon as I got in the car, Levin handed me a backpack full of cash and said that when it was time, I should run. He gave me an address, and the name of the man who would meet me there and take me to a waiting jet.”
She paused, taking several deep shaky breaths as if even now she wasn’t sure they could pull it off.
Tavish cracked. He reached over and offered his hand, which she clasped before continuing. “I asked why he couldn’t take me himself, or come with me, but he insisted he had to stay behind to divert Vladimir’s attention. To throw him off the scent until I was off the ground and out of reach. It seemed like there was something else but he never had a chance to say what. Before I was ready, he rear-ended a car in downtown traffic, blocking the street. Not just a fender bender either. I think he was hurt pretty bad, maybe broke his leg. He screamed at me to run. To flee while there was a distraction and a reason he could give Vladimir for how I got loose. I think he planned to blame it on another gang, but I’m not sure.”
Karolena rubbed her upper arm, which had been obscured by her T-shirt even while they were fucking. Was she injured? Had they aggravated any wounds while they were screwing around? She lifted the edge of the cotton to reveal a scabbed over gash that could probably have used stitches and would definitely leave a scar.
Legend groaned.
“I climbed out the smashed window, grabbed the backpack, and ran as fast as I could for as long as I could away from the sirens, then took a taxi to the spot Levin had arranged. I don’t remember much after getting on the plane. I was in shock, pretty sure. And next thing I knew, I was getting on a bus heading for a town I’d never heard of and hoped no one else in Russia had either.”
“Damn, Karolena.” James sank deeper into his chair. “That must have been terrifying.”
“It still is.” She didn’t bother to lie anymore. “It’s weird out here. Overwhelming. Deciding what clothes I’m going to buy, or what to have for breakfast, or where to go… Honestly, I don’t really like being by myself. I’m not used to it, and so when James said I could stay here—“
Her voice broke and she took a minute to get herself together again. Legend rested his hand on her knee. She seemed to appreciate his support, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment.
“I’m worried for Levin. I haven’t had a friend since I went to live with Vladimir, which is part of what finally made me realize how wrong my life was.” She looked to Jordan. “Can you help him too? He said he didn’t want to wreck my chances, but I suspect there’s something else to it.”
“Honestly, this is what we do.” Jordan nodded slowly. “We look for entry points, connections that could undermine an entire organization. This lead could be what puts a stop to this for good. Then you—and your friend, if he agrees to facilitate the mission—could start fresh. You wouldn’t have to worry constantly about your past catching up with you. It would be a permanent solution.”
Karolena looked to Legend. He doubled down. “We’re good at what we do, I swear. With reliable intel and the backing—official or not—of international law enforcement, we’re capable of pulling this off. Vladimir won’t be able to bug you, and he’ll never be able to do what he’s done to you to anyone else either.”
“Plus, if you stay with us, we’ll take real good care of you.” Tavish couldn’t help but reduce the genuine emotion swirling between Legend and Karolena to something crude. His tone made it obvious he was referring to what they’d done earlier. He coped by downplaying what they’d done, which irritated Legend. Of course Karolena didn’t understand.
“Not exactly subtle, are you? Was this your plan from the start?” She narrowed her eyes at Legend, then cut her stare to Tavish. “Did you fuck me to make it more likely I would agree to this?”
The murmurs around the boardroom table made it clear their friends were settling some bets. Had they expected the partners to act so fast? Legend hadn’t, but he wasn’t mad about it either. Unless jumping into a physical relationship so soon had fucked things up between the three of them for the long run, because their explosive session earlier had proved to him that even several stellar orgasms weren’t going to be enough to satisfy his appetite for Karolena and sharing her with Tavish.
Lost in thought, Legend didn’t deny Karolena’s assumptions fast enough. She rounded on him. “Does Jordan pay you extra when you have to sleep with an informant to soften them up?”
Ah damn, she had been so soft. And warm. And wet.
He shook his head. “Shit, no.”
“What he means is the idea was all theirs,” James clarified, helping the partners pull their boots out of their mouths. “And purely for recreational purposes. No one is going to judge you for having a good time around here.”
“See, that’s what we told you before.” Legend was going to have to figure out how to communicate better. With Karolena, sure, and also with Tavish. He’d let things drag on too long while the other man licked his wounds.
Karolena read the room, then nodded slowly, as if it was nearly impossible for her to believe them.
“Here’s what we’re going to do.” Jordan returned to business mode. He paused for James, who flipped open his fancy-ass planner and color-coordinated pens to take notes. “I’m going to call some people and tell them about this unique opportunity we have. I’ll find out what their level of interest is in intervening. In the meantime, Ruby is going to divide the dossiers of information I’m sure she’s been downloading this entire time and assign them to you all to comb through. Let’s identify any gaps and figure out what Karolena might know that could be valuable to putting together a plan of attack.”