Savage Boss (Fire & Vice) Read online

  He listened with pleasure as her voice drifted over her words caressing each one with an energy that felt like a lightning bolt skittering through his veins. He didn’t hear a word she said, couldn’t concentrate on the direction of the conversation, he was so absorbed by every nuance of her. The ways her lips formed each syllable, the way her forehead wrinkled in concentration, then smoothed again. The way her tidy short-nailed fingertips tapped incessantly against the metal table. The coffee stain on her blouse.

  Finally, she stopped talking and shoved herself away from the table, clearly frustrated, and announced, “You’re free to go, Mr. Sitnikov. For now, please notify us if you have to leave town for any reason.”

  Vlad blinked and wondered how long they’d been in the room together. He was so focused on what she smelled like, what colour her bra might be, and myriad other questions that he’d lost track of time.

  He stood, stretching his long frame before striding swiftly to the door, brushing past the woman’s partner. Vlad reached for the card she was holding out, touching her fingers and allowing the feel of her to wash over him. He inhaled, catching the slightest hint of sweet feminine flesh.

  “What is your name?” he demanded, his eyes on her face.

  “I’m Detective McKinley and this is Detective Gruber. If you can think of anything pertinent to our investigation, please give us a call,” she told him.

  “Your given name,” he growled.

  She pulled her fingers from his grip and walked away, leaving Vlad staring after her wondering how fast he could get a complete file on the female cop. He wanted to know everything about her.

  The day Svetlana died, his heart had gone cold. He hadn’t felt a thing towards another woman since, except for occasional and fleeting lust. He’d assumed Svetlana was the only one for him. Or that the guilt of her death made him incapable of having feelings for another.

  But the cop, McKinley… she stirred something inside of him. She made him feel alive again.

  Chapter Two

  1.5 Years Later

  She’d done it again; she’d fucking done it again. He gripped Jane’s arm tighter as he tried to come to terms with his anger so he wouldn’t give into the urge to strangle her and leave her body right there in the junkyard. Before Jane he dealt with his problems by killing them. It was an easy solution that worked every time. Unfortunately, killing his wife wasn’t an option.

  But he had to find a way to control her and he had to do it soon before he really did lose his shit on her. She thought she’d seen the worst of him, but she hadn’t. Not even close.

  Vlad loved his wife, more than he thought himself capable of loving any human being, but he didn’t love all of her personality traits. Like her ability to effortlessly place herself in danger while gleefully challenging every person she came into contact with. Or her stubborn insistence in continuing down whatever reckless path she was headed. And her blind determination to do whatever she pleased, regardless of consequences.

  When Jane had realized her sister was missing, she hadn’t gone to Vlad for help. Instead, she’d gone with her partner, Mack Hudson, interrogated a lead and made her own way to a junkyard where a couple of cartel boys had buried her sister alive. Once again, she’d thrown herself and their unborn child directly into the path of certain danger without regard for her own life or Vlad’s feelings.

  Vlad was pretty certain even a marriage counsellor would take his side over Jane’s and he had a body count high enough to comfortably fill a banquet hall. Jane just didn’t quit, and he couldn’t bring himself to truly break her spirit, because he was fairly certain he wouldn’t love the woman she would become if he broke her down.

  “Why did you let him just leave with her?” Jane furiously turned on Vlad, yanking her arm in an attempt to pull away from him.

  Vlad, who had been tracking Mack’s truck out of the yard, turned cold eyes to his wife, pinning her with all of the pent-up fury he’d been storing over a long evening of dogging her footsteps through the city. “You will stop speaking, Jane,” he said in a coldly furious voice, “And calm yourself.”

  “Fuck you,” she spat, unheeding of his warning. “You let him take my sister, knowing we can do a better job of protecting her! Go and get her back!”

  Vlad reacted swiftly, gripping her face and shaking her. He checked his strength so as not to hurt her or the baby she carried in her womb, but raw fury vibrated through his tense body. It took real effort not to unleash on her. His grip on her face was steel and he used it to drag her against his long, lean frame. She gasped and tried to wrench back, but he held firm.

  He bent until his lips were a whisper away from hers and said in a low, sinister voice, “I’m done, Jane.”

  Shock flashed through her, stiffening her body. “Done?” she whispered. “Wh-what do you mean by that?”

  He could see the question in her eyes. She loved him but she didn’t trust him not to hurt her. Vlad felt a flash of guilt and anger. He’d put that look there, yet she should know him better by now, trust him.

  He brushed a thumb across her lips. “Even after the time we have spent together, you still do not understand the depths of my feelings for you.” His eyes hardened, and his fingers tightened on her face. “It is these feelings, this need to protect you, and your reckless disregard for my wishes that has driven us to this point, malysh.”

  She looked relieved but there was still a spark of defiance in her beautiful golden eyes. He was reminded of the first moment they met, when their eyes collided, that awareness, the breathtaking defiance he read in her. He’d wanted to own in, to keep it for himself.

  Without another word, he took her arm and pulled her toward his car, jerking his chin toward his men. Vlad shoved her into the car. She would have crawled all the way across to the other side, but he stopped her, forcing her into the seat next to his. She reached for her seatbelt, but he took it from her fingers and latched it himself. She narrowed her eyes in the darkness of the vehicle and made a small sound of annoyance.

  Vlad buckled himself in and gave the command for the driver to take them home. Without looking at her, Vlad said, “Get some rest.”

  She’d been chasing her kidnapped sister all over the city after attending a wedding. All while pregnant. She must be exhausted.

  It was a long drive back to their home and Jane slept most of the 45 minutes, the stress of the evening taking its toll on her body. She woke to Vlad unbuckling her seatbelt and lifting her from the car.

  “I can walk,” she said sleepily, shoving against his chest.

  She was forever trying to deny him.

  “Be still,” he growled, striding with her in his arms.

  For once she obeyed, snuggling closer against his chest, closing her eyes and enjoying the heat from his body. Vlad paused in front of the house looking up at the dark facade of his mansion. He’d built this place with the blood-soaked money he’d earned after moving to America.

  He glanced down at Jane’s dark head, pressed against his chest. He couldn’t see her face, but he thought she’d fallen back asleep. If he took her inside the house, they would continue their argument. She would have the security of their home to continue her constant defiance. He needed something to change. Needed her to change and she wasn’t going to do it if he took her into the comfort of her home.

  He strode around the side of the house instead, bypassing the garage. As if sensing that something wasn’t right, Jane lifted her head and looked sleepily around. They were crossing the back yard toward the bunker where he’d locked her up one year ago.

  As soon as she figured out his intention, Jane shouted something unintelligible and surged up in his arms, twisting sideways and sending an elbow toward his throat. Vlad reacted instantly taking her down to the grass where he held her face-down with her wrists behind her back. He kept her pinned while she struggled beneath him. The tight dress wiggled up her hips until it was nearly at her waist, revealing a pair of black lace panties stretched tight
over the curves of her ass.

  “Calm the fuck down Jane before you hurt our child,” he growled from above her, both furious and turned on. His constant state around this woman.

  “You’re the one hurting it, not me!” she yelled still twisting, but her struggles grew weaker as exhaustion overtook her.

  Vlad flipped her over onto her back, pulled her hands over her head and leaned over his knee between her spread legs. He placed his entire length, his entire weight across her, careful not to put pressure on her stomach. The position was sexual and combined with his anger it took effort not to tear her panties off and fuck her right there on the grass with his men only a few yards away.

  “I’ve had enough of this, Jane,” he yelled, his voice thundering across the lawn. “I’ve had enough of you. You’ve gone too far this time. Too fucking far. If I could, I would tear our baby out of you right now just to keep it safe from your stupidity and bury you so deep in Russia with my Bratva kin you would never see the light of day again.”

  Her mouth fell open and tears threatened to spill. His heart cracked at that look. It was an idle threat; he could never bring himself to send her away. She belonged to him. Forever. But he had to do something to bring her to heel, to make her see how much damage she could cause with her careless pursuit of whatever caught her fancy.

  Then Jane did what Jane did best, she came up fighting. She bared her teeth in a snarl and spit at him. The spittle landed on his neck where he could feel it dripping down his collar. That was his Jane, defiant to the end.

  Vlad moved his hand to her neck and pinned her to the ground so hard she wouldn’t have been able to breathe if they were anywhere except on spongy grass. “Do you have any idea who I am?” he snarled.

  She glared up at him.

  “I am the Boss and my word is law in this town.” He paused, allowing her to feel the strength in his body and the steel in his resolve. “This is the last time you will insult me like this, I promise you, wife.”

  Vlad stood, lifting her by the neck. She choked a little, but he let her go right away, gripping her arm and dragging her toward the bunker. She didn’t fight him this time, perhaps understanding that he was deadly serious. He was at the end of his tolerance with her.

  He punched a ten-digit code into the security panel next to the solid blast proof door. He could feel her gaze on the panel, but she wasn’t quick enough to catch it before he yanked her inside, slamming the door shut behind them. He dragged her past row after row of wine bottles, deeper into his prison. The last time he brought her here, Jane had fought him tooth and nail to escape. The fight had been exhilarating. It was at that moment when he realized how much his match she really was. He was the cold mobster to her fiery detective. Together they were explosive, unstoppable.

  But this was different. It was no longer about the two of them. It was the child nestled deep within her. It was Jane’s never-ending fight with Vlad that was causing her to place his child in danger and that was something he simply couldn’t allow.

  He took her directly to the same cell as before and opened the door. She gaped in surprise as he shoved her inside. It was completely different. Slowly she turned to face him, accusation burning bright in her eyes. “You were planning this.”

  Instead of the single plank cot and toilet she remembered from her previous stay, the space had been transformed into a lovely room with a four-poster bed, a bookshelf, a dresser, a vanity and a private washroom.

  He nodded sharply and stepped back, preparing to leave. “I knew you wouldn’t settle into this pregnancy. I knew you would put yourself and our unborn child in danger. I am sorry, malysh. This is the only way I know how to protect you. You will remain here until our child is born.”

  He slammed the door shut and left her alone in the place that was to be her prison for the next five months.

  Chapter Three

  3 weeks later

  The moment Vlad set the tray of food down, Jane picked it up and flung it at him. He moved fast, but not quick enough. Mashed potatoes dribbled down the front of his dress shirt. He flicked them away and gave his wife a cool stare.

  “This is not helping,” he said, unable to contain the edge to his voice. “You’re still showing me that you cannot control your impulses and until I’m convinced you can control yourself, you’ll stay here.”

  He glanced around her new ‘home’ and shook his head. She’d torn the place apart in mini fits of rage. He’d had a camera installed so he could watch her when he wasn’t with her. At first, she’d tried to remain calm, to convince him he could let her out, but as the days passed with no indication that he would relent, her temper got the better of her.

  “Where the fuck have you been?” she demanded, her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest, just over her tiny baby bump. “You promised you’d spend more time with me. I’m going insane down here.”

  Vlad tried to remain tough, but it was hard in the face of her distress. It didn’t help that she looked quite young in a pair of pajama shorts with an old T-shirt of his, threadbare and grey. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her face was freshly scrubbed. Her tiny feet were stuffed into a pair of fuzzy unicorn slippers.

  “I do have several businesses to run, malysh,” he said chidingly. “Now that Boris has left my employ, I am swamped by the day-to-day details of running everything.”

  He must have let some of his exhaustion show because her face softened, and she knelt on the floor next to his feet and started tossing food back onto the tray. He couldn’t entirely blame her for her temper. He wouldn’t be in a good mood either if he’d been locked up.

  He bent and took her shoulders in his hands, marveling once more at how delicate she was compared to him. He often forgot when her fiery temper sparked, and she started an argument with him.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, without looking at him. “I should’ve realized you would have more on your plate with Boris in Russia.”

  A few months earlier they’d gone to Moscow to attend Boris and Laney’s wedding. It’d been a wrench losing his second-in-command, but he’d proudly stood next to the man he considered a brother as Boris married a woman worthy of his strength and compassion.

  Vlad pulled Jane to her feet, his long fingers caressing her shoulders. “You do not kneel to me.”

  She looked up at him, an intimate glow in her eyes. She was looking at him with love. It was an expression that he wanted to snatch to his chest and hold on to forever. It was a look she didn’t often give him.

  Perhaps Vlad was a selfish man. His desire to keep Jane to himself and keep her safe at all times ran counter to her desire to live a free life. It’d been a miracle when she finally admitted to loving him, the criminal mob boss she’d sworn to put in prison. She’d stopped trying to bury him, but she never lost her desire to hunt bad guys.

  And that was the crux of their marital issues. Jane wanted to live her life the way she wanted, which included working as a private detective. Vlad wanted to keep her safe and healthy.

  “Please let me out,” she whispered, her face creasing with earnestness.

  Vlad’s heart cracked a little more. He dropped his hands and stepped away from her, remaining silent. He couldn’t bring himself to verbally deny her request, but he wasn’t going to let her out. Her temper was too short, too quick to take flight. She would immediately run full tilt into the first dangerous situation she found, and he wouldn’t allow that anymore. She would stay in the bunker until she learned to control herself.

  “How is the child?” he asked mildly, trying to keep his emotions from his voice. If she knew how badly he did want to let her out, to allow her to take her place at his side once more in his bed and in his life, she would pounce like a sociopathic kitten, shredding away at his vulnerability.

  She hunched her shoulders and cradled her belly which was becoming more prominent by the day. She was now approaching her sixth month of pregnancy. He’d been worried about her small bump but the private
obstetrician he’d hired had assured Vlad that the baby was growing at a fine rate, that not all women developed the same during pregnancy.

  “As if you care,” Jane mumbled.

  Vlad rubbed the bridge of his nose and called on a higher power for more patience. “We’ve gone over this Jane. If you don’t tell me how your health is, then I will be forced to bring a doctor in for an examination.”

  “You can try,” she snapped. “But I won’t let anyone touch me as long as I’m down here. If you want me to see a doctor, then you’ll just have to let me out.”

  Vlad lost his patience, grabbing hold of her and dragging her into his body. As frustrated as he was with her attitude, his body came to life the instant hers touched his. It was like he was completely dormant until she entered a room, until she touched him, her scent wrapping him in a cocoon of lust. It didn’t matter if she was angry or if he was angry. In fact, the rage stoked the flames of their passion.

  “You think I won’t have you tied down and examined?” Vlad snarled. “Try me, Jane. I am reaching the point where I would enjoy seeing your humiliation.”

  She shoved at his chest, but he refused to let her go. “You would, you fucking pervert.”

  He dragged her up onto her toes, his hands digging into the flesh of her arms. “How is our child, Jane?” he asked from between gritted teeth.

  Every other person in the world would shit their pants if Vlad looked at them the way he was looking at his wife, yet she acted like he was some kind of annoying fly buzzing around her head. There were days where he longed to unleash on her, show her what he was truly capable of. But such a decision would be irreversible. No one survived when he unleashed.