Page 93 of Lord of Passion

"That seems like a bit much, don't you think?"

"No. I will kill any man who tries."

Roman looks up and nods. "Absolutely." He runs his finger across his throat and chuckles.

***

The Morozov Clinic is the most bougie medical facility in the country. Dr. Ella is there, Dmitri's wife Ava, who is a Physician Assistant, and several other nurses and doctors they called in. While all the guests and employees were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, the Bratva prefer to take care of their own.

Nikandr, the three brothers and I move between everyone still on a stretcher, thanking them for saving my guests. There's one person on a bed tucked in a corner.

"Oh, shit, Vasilisa!" I lean down to hug her and think the better of it. "Where are you hurt? Did they check on you yet?"

Her eyes open and she gives me a stern glare. "I am glad you did not attempt to hug me. I've killed people for less."

"Yeah, there's a lot of that going around." I look at my husband, who's watching me carefully.

"Yes, Dr. Ava has checked on me. The bleeding has stopped, so they're going to stitch me up when they've attended to the mostserious cases." She's pale, holding a big pad of gauze over her chest.

"Do not hug her." Nikandr walks over, patting her shoulder gingerly. "But I must tell you that she carried a gigantic man out the hotel and went back in for another. She also rescued your assistant manager, Trevor? He'd been caught behind a beam that came down from the ceiling."

"I love you so much right now." I just blurt it out.

She eyes me, her expression sharp and suspicious. "That will be fine. Just don't touch me."

"Sounds reasonable," I nod.

When everyone has been taken care of and we're all slumping in the lobby's comfortable seats, Koyla burst in, followed by two of his minions.

"Is everyone alive?" He looks at Nikandr, who nods wearily. "Excellent." His minions - and one of themiswearing a Minion shirt - pull out several laptops. Kolya hands one to Nik and me. "Okay, I've got good news and bad news. First, this shit is amazing. I'd heard some whispers that they were testing the compound out on humans, but Novikov must have gotten his hands on it first.

"The gas has a limited distance and only works for a maximum of sixty seconds, usually less. You can use it in a spray canister, a tiny little thing, easy to hide. Novikov must have hit Isaak with the gas. The victim stays where they are, they don't faint or anything. But when they open their eyes, their memory extends only to just before they're sprayed. Brutal, huh?"

"That's how he got into Caroline's office and out again, unseen." Nikandr is enraged. "Who knows how many times he's used this?"

"What's the good news?" Dmitri rubs his forehead. His suit is ripped and his shirt and face are still smeared with soot.

"The good news is…" Oh, Kolya isbesidehimself with joy. "I was able to track the residue from Novikov's bedroom when we went in that day to save Caroline." I want to cry. The history of that horrible day has changed.

"Anyway, I think I can reverse engineer the gas, with help from some of your guys in the pharmaceutical division. As far as we know, we'll be the only Bratva, or Mafia, or Syndicate to have it." He shuts his laptop, beaming.

"I'm going to buy you that house in the Keys and another one in the Virgin Islands." My husband slaps Kolya on the shoulder and nearly knocks him over.

Dmitri hides his smile. "And I'm doubling your salary. That was some damn fine work,geniy."

"Well, I'm probably not at genius levelyet,"Kolya says modestly. But his demure little smile says otherwise.

"Come,moya lyubov',"Nikandr rises with a groan. "I'm taking you home."

"What doesmoya lyubov'mean?" I whisper as we walk down the hall.

"My love." He stops to cup my face with his bandaged hand, kissing me thoroughly.

"Oh, I like that." I kiss him back.

***

Geniy -Genius in Russian