The Russian Billionaire’s Secret(6)

Alexei’s suspicions eased up a bit. Tiffany was a girl who liked to party, not a criminal mastermind. “Will Douglas be there?”

“I don’t think so.” Tiffany shrugged then flashed him a flirty smile. “But Heather will. She’s been wanting to spend some… quality time with you again.” She moved a little closer, touching Alexei’s forearm suggestively. “We both do.”

That settled it. “Only a few hours,” he said. He stepped out into the hallway with her then hesitated. What if Ashley had only stepped out for a moment. What if she changed her mind and came back.

“I’ll have you back before dark,” Tiffany promised, putting her hand in his. “Come on, big guy. Let’s go have some fun.”

‘You don’t owe Ashley anything,’ he reminded himself. He found it odd that he was having such a hard time getting her out of his head. Clearly going out with Tiffany and Heather really was the right choice. He followed her downstairs.

“Come on,” she said, leading the way around the hotel building, toward the adjacent parking structure. “We’ll take my car.”

Alexei started to object. He had a perfectly good rental. He would prefer just to follow her to wherever it was she was going. It was too late that he noticed the car with the tinted windows pulling up behind him. Someone large and strong was grabbing him from behind before he had a chance to react. A damp cloth was pressed over his nose and mouth. Alexei was a big guy who could hold his own in a fight, but even he couldn’t fight through the effect of a rag soaked in chloroform.

Chapter 5
The Son

Alexei didn’t know where he was at first. This wasn’t the first time he had woken up to find his hands tied and something covering his eyes. He had been in the underworld for a while. This sort of thing was often part of the job description, unfortunately.

That said, being kidnapped wasn’t exactly something you got used to.

“Are you awake?” asked Ashley.

Hearing Ashley’s voice reminded Alexei of what had, undoubtedly, happened. The last couple of days came rushing back to him. Her voice was a bit muffled by the bag over his head, but it was definitely her.

“Where are we?” he asked, even though he was fairly certain that he knew already.

“At Douglas’ place,” said Ashley. “God, I’m sorry I dragged you into this. This is all my fault.”

Alexei snorted. “Please. This is hardly your fault. You didn’t exactly ask for my help… I don’t suppose you’re in a position where you could untie me?”

“No,” said a voice that was not Ashley. “But I am.” Douglas pulled the bag from over Alexei’s head.

It took Alexei a moment for his eyes to adjust. He was back in Douglas’ living room. Douglas stood in the center of the room, holding a gun and making a real effort to look menacing. Ashley was on the sofa across from him. Her hands were tied behind her. Her legs were bound at the ankles. On either side of her sat Tiffany and Heather. Both women looked rather fidgety and awkward. Tiffany, especially, wouldn’t meet Alexei’s gave.

Alexei gave a sigh. “You’re making a mistake,” he told Douglas, calmly.

“I am?” Douglas laughed. “It seems to me like you’re the one who made a mistake. Do you have any idea who I am?”

Alexei rolled his eyes. He couldn’t help it. “Do you have any idea who I am? Who my father is?”

Douglas’ wry smile faltered. Apparently, he really didn’t have any idea of who Alexei’s father was. That wasn’t uncommon. Generally, people didn’t take Alexei for anything more than a simple grunt.

“Your best bet would have been to complain to my boss,” Alexei continued. “If you have a problem with how I’m handling things-”

“You helped the woman who stole from me!” Douglas interrupted, waving his gun toward Alexei for emphasis.

Alexei shrugged. “I liked her more than I liked you,” he admitted. “But, the fact remains, my boss might have been more sympathetic if you had come to him with this news. Maybe he would have even given me a slap on the wrist. As it stands, you’re going to get a lot worse than that for kidnapping his son.”

The color seemed to drain from Douglas’ face. He stared at Alexei.

Tiffany’s brow furrowed. She looked from Douglas to Alexei than back again. “He’s his son?” she asked.

“Shut up, Tiffany,” snapped Douglas. He turned away from Alexei and started to pace. Suddenly, the situation was a much more complicated one than he had anticipated.

Maybe this whole thing could still be defused. “Let me go, and I’m willing to not make any mention of this to my father,” said Alexei.

Ashley shot him a meaningful look from where she sat tied up on the sofa.

“Let Ashley go, too,” he added.

That was the wrong thing to say, apparently. “Why her?” Douglas demanded, glaring at the woman who had betrayed him. He shook his head. “No, how can I even believe you?”

Alexei would have called him paranoid, but he had a fair point. Alexei had every intention of letting his father know what had happened and no way of proving to Douglas that he wouldn’t.

“I’m going to have to think on this,” Douglas murmured to himself as he wandered off toward the kitchen. Alexei could see him through the door and down the hallway, cell phone to his ear as he made himself a drink. If he could find a way to make this all go away, he was going to go for it. There was a very real chance that involved getting rid of Ashley and Alexei much like he had Ashley’s sister. This wasn’t looking good at all.