His Queen of Clubs (Vegas Underground 6)

“What grade are you in?”

“None,” the boy replies defensively. Like he’s daring me to try to make him go to school.

“You want to go back to Russia, Mika?” Vlad asks.

Fear ripples over Mika’s expression and my heart squeezes. “Nyet,” he says quickly.

Vlad seems to understand the boy’s apprehension. “With me,” he clarifies. “I’m taking the girl to Volgograd.”

Mika still appears wary.

“You’ll stay with me, unless you’d rather I deliver you to someone else’s care.”

I sense reluctance in Vlad’s offer, like he hasn’t bought into the idea of taking care of this boy forever, but the relief on Mika’s face makes me want to throw my arms around Vlad and kiss him.

Poor Mika. Newly orphaned, he’s probably terrified of being abandoned or pawned off with someone else. He just wants to bond to someone to get his needs met.

I’m suddenly not as upset about Vlad taking me to Russia. Someone needs to look after this boy, to give him an education and make sure he’s cared for. If I’m along, I can make sure of his well-being. I owe it to him, considering it was Junior who left him orphaned.

Chapter 4

Vlad

In the bedroom, I untie Alessia’s wrists to check on the skin beneath. It’s chafed and raw, so I wind a scrap of one of my t-shirts around the area before retying her.

She’s quiet through it all. Withdrawn.

I pick up the glucometer to check her blood sugar before bed.

“You don’t need to check again. I should be stable now,” she mutters.

I ignore her and take the drop of blood anyway. She doesn’t strike me as the suicide type, but I’d rather not rely on her for all my information. She’s right, though, her numbers are in range, according to the range she gave me.

I make a mental note to research the hell out of her illness, so I can properly care for her.

Already a fierce protectiveness for her consumes me, which is unusual for me. I don’t trust women. In my experience, they are the most conniving, deceitful creatures under the sun. But this one happens to be completely at my mercy, which changes the dynamic significantly.

She’s also beautiful.

That shouldn’t matter. It shouldn’t make a difference, but it does.

Of course, Sabina was beautiful, and look what she did. Nearly got me killed. I still don’t know what her game was—why she’d want to set me up.

I remove Alessia’s ankle ropes and escort her to the bathroom. Find an unopened toothbrush in the drawer. “You can use this.” I drop it on the counter.

“How do you expect me to brush with my wrists tied?”

I shrug. “Your choice. Figure it out or don’t. And leave the door open.” I step out to the bedroom to give her a modicum of privacy.

She emerges a few minutes later and I tie her to the bed and turn off the light.

Then I don’t know what the fuck to do with myself. Lying next to her will make my dick so hard it will break off. But I’m not about to leave her to her own devices, either.

I do a quick check on Mika, not that the kid ever needs anything. He’s curled up on the sofa where he’s been sleeping and watching television. I don’t tell him it’s lights out time. He’s too self-sufficient to need that kind of shit. I just walk around and turn out lights like I do every night, leaving one on low in the kitchen in case he gets up.

“Dobri nochi, Mika.” I reach over the back of the sofa and squeeze his arm.

“Dobri nochi,” he mumbles sleepily and hits the off button on the remote control.

Upstairs I brush my teeth and kick off my shoes. I decide sleeping fully clothed on top of the covers is the best option. If I rub up against that soft, youthful skin of hers during the night, there’s no telling what I’ll do.

“What happened to Mika’s parents?” Alessia croaks in the darkness.

Christ. Was that why she was so quiet? She’s been thinking about Mika this whole time? A tight band squeezes my chest.

Fuck. I don’t want to find this woman so damn sympathetic.

“I already told you,” I snap, even though she doesn’t deserve it. Even though what I told her isn’t altogether true.

“Junior killed them?” Her tremulous tone forces the truth from me.

“Nyet. No. Boy had no father, as far as I know,” I admit. “His mother was a whore for the bratva. She and Mika came over here with Aleksi, one of the men in my cell. Then she ran away and left Mika with our cell. Aleksi looked after him. Your brother killed Aleksi.”

“His mother...left him with the Russian mafiya?”

“Da. Bitch ran off. Left her son as soon as they got to America. I guess she saw the trip as her ticket to freedom. She told Mika to be loyal to us so we’d take care of him.”