Page 82 of Bedazzled
Tania put three flash drives on the table. “This one is for the Cayman Island accounts. And the red one has the holdings from Suisse Bank. This little purple guy has the cash transfers from their prostitution and white trafficking business. I would really like you to use that money to support these women while they recover and get back on their feet.”
For once, my brother, the mightyPakhan,was speechless.
“You slinky little minx,” I leaned over, kissing her hand. “What have you been up to?”
“I had a feeling O’Rourke was fucking with me when my job description went from financial hacker to undercover redhead. So I used his firewall program to breach the bank accounts and transfer the money.”
Ella gave Tania a standing ovation and Maksim finally regained his power of speech. “You are a woman of many talents, sister. You’re dangerous.”
“Only to assholes,” she said sweetly. “I had a feeling O’Rourke was going to strip all the money from the O’Connell businesses and make it impossible for Patrick to get everything moving again. This way, he’s got some capital to work with and there’s enough for the Bratva so that he won’t have to pay tribute for a while.”
I grin at Maksim and he nods.
“I had planned to offer you a job at the company here in St. Petersburg even before this genius stunt but now, Maksim and I are very enthusiastically inviting you to join the new construction and land development company we are opening.” I kissed her hand. “No one could be a better CFO.”
Tania thought about it. “This is an actual position where I have the power to make independent decisions?”
Maksim and I nod. “This is in your area of expertise, darling, not ours. You are far too skilled to be wasting the clever brain of yours,” I said fondly.
“I’d like to look at the business plan,” Tania said, “but you already know the answer is yes.” She grinned, bouncing in her seat,“Hell,yes.”
“To our brilliant and cunning brides,” I toasted.
Maksim raised his glass.“Vashe zdorov’ye!”
“Cheers!” Ella said, and Tania echoed her. It occurred to me that this dining room rang with more laughter tonight than at any time in my memory. I raised my glass to Maksim silently, both of us toasting our very good fortune.
“When you said you were giving me a pearl necklace,” Tania said lazily, “I kind of thought you meant the other kind.”
We were lying on the rug in front of the fireplace in our bedroom, my wife sprawled on top of me. Hooking my finger under the golden Australian South Sea pearl necklace I had given her tonight; I pulled her closer. “I am always happy to fulfill all of my beautiful wife’s wishes,” I said, “but you might need to give me a moment to recover.” She laughed, wrapping her arms and legs around me.
I spent some time kissing along her neck and shoulders before saying, “I am proud of you, finding a way to pull all that money right out from under O’Rourke’s nose.”
“I owed Patrick,” Tania said, smoothing back my hair, “I never would have come here without him pushing me.”
“I would have lost you forever,” I sighed, resting my forehead against hers, “without you having the courage to come charging the rescue.”
“Yeah…” she drawled. “Not my smoothest maneuver, babe, but here we are, right?”
“Forever,” I promised, raising her hand and kissing her wedding ring.
“Now, there’s just one last thing to do,” she said.
Groaning, I sat up against the leather couch, stretching my back and resting her head in my lap. “What would that be, myKoroleva?”
The evilest smile spread across her sweet face. “Going back to New York and meeting my mother. You’re going to have a lot of ass-kissing to do.”
My jaw dropped and my bride cackled gleefully.
Epilogue
In which Patrick’s plans for the Doyle dynasty include one extremely unwilling participant
Yuri…
“Where is your wife?” Maksim asked as I entered the study.
“Blissfully unconscious,” I said, rubbing my eyes and feeling my chapped, overworked cock twinge against my leg.
