Without Remorse

But where were the traffic noises? The people screaming at each other in the alley at three am? The sirens?

Goddamned unnatural.

Nicholas looked at his laptop, his hands fisting as he thought about the gorgeous woman he’d left back in that falling-down house in the middle of fuck-all nowhere.

He’d known she was a cam girl. Obviously, that was how the crazy fuck his boss had sent him here to nab had become obsessed with her.

Oleska was the youngest son of Ukrainian mob boss Nazar Tereshchenko. The Tereshchenkos were notoriously paranoid about their safety and rarely left their super-fortified luxury mansion compound in New Jersey.

The Tereshchenkos were small time in the scheme of things and would have been fine if they’d stayed that way. But old man Tereshchenko underestimated Nicholas’s boss and started moving in on his gambling dens and drug territory. More importantly, he was stealing away the richest clientele who were always on the lookout for something new.

That was where Nicholas’s boss—Dimitri “Papa” Vasiliev—drew the line. The man was Bratva through and through. He’d been big time during the 90’s in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. At least until he’d been betrayed and had to escape to the US.

Vasiliev still had plenty of ties to the Motherland, especially when he’d taken up in America right where he’d left off in Russia. But he was far more careful this time, trusting no one and flying under the radar enough that when other, more flamboyant bosses were busted, he remained.

Especially now that his son, Alexei, had taken over leading many of the operations in an increasingly digital age. Alexei had been born in America and Nicholas spent most of his time working directly for him.

Alexei was the far more… well, reasonable of the Vasilievs to deal with, that was probably the best word for it. But it was Papa Vasiliev who’d sent Nicholas on this errand.

Nicholas had been wary at first. Usually he just worked as a bodyguard to Alexei and as a bouncer at his club. This felt like a test—something Papa was notorious for. Nicholas hadn’t thought much of it. He was loyal and a chance to prove himself was just that.

But now that he’d gotten here and met Sloane… well, liking her didn’t change his job description.

His thick fingers hovered over his laptop. It’d be so easy to type in her camgirl name. He’d seen it on the paperwork he’d spied when rifling through her things while she’d stepped into her bedroom to change.

Usually Nicholas stayed in absolute control.

His alarm was set to go off at five a.m. and it was already—he pulled his phone out of his pocket—shit, it was almost eleven.

He was being an idiot. Today was just like any other day. He was here to do a job and that was it. He’d just get in bed and go to sleep.

He’d already put motion sensors on all the entrances to the house, yard, and driveway, along with a wide-angle-lens camera on the property. He’d done it in the dead of night, right when he’d first gotten to town a week ago. He was more used to being the muscle than being put on surveillance but he managed all right setting up the equipment. Their tech guy Bo had walked him through the whole thing several times before he’d come.

He’d been watching the house since. And realized that the woman inside never ventured outside.

Ever.

Her mail was delivered through a slot in the front door. Groceries and packages came to the front door and she’d peek out, then snatch them, but nary a foot was ventured outside.

Tonight was the first time she’d opened the door for an extended period of time and he’d caught more than just a glimpse of her face on camera. So he’d gotten his ass over there and pretended to be jogging by.

Making contact with her wasn’t strictly part of his orders—he was supposed to just watch and wait for Olezka to make a move. But his impulsive decision to help with the cat had paid off, he thought. More access could only be a good thing.

Sure he could have found out which cam site she worked for from Bo. He was the one who’d tracked her address here, after all. But he hadn’t asked—hadn’t thought he cared. Bo was tracking Oleska’s movements within the camming app and giving Nicholas relevant updates.

But then seeing the paperwork after meeting her…

Nicholas pulled his shirt off over his head and then grabbed the button for his jeans. Where he encountered his still stiff cock.

“Motherf—” he half swore, jerking his jeans over his hips and shoving them down. It was fine. He’d ignore it. He was a grown man, not a teenager. Just because he had a stiffy didn’t mean he had to do anything about it.