his thug.
“His wife? That bastard was married?!?” Darius chuckled in surprise. Ben nodded, holding the man’s eyes. “And she just signed over everything to you?”
Ben nodded again. He didn’t deserve more of an answer than that.
The crime boss moved slowly around the table until he was behind Trish. Ben bristled but noted the man stopped outside of Trish’s strike zone. So he was aware of how she’d bested one of his men.
“Rainor was managing some funds for me. He had a considerable amount of my money switching from account to account. Then he disappeared without delivering the final account numbers and ownership credentials. I believe the ledger of these accounts is now in your possession,” Darius said with a little stiffness. Rainor’s theft had damaged his pride, and with Rainor’s death, Darius lost the opportunity to punish him for the betrayal.
“So it was you and your men who trashed the condo?” Ben asked.
The smirk was back. “I don’t personally deal with such trivial tasks. Not when I have people to do them for me. The ledger wasn’t there. It must be in the bank safe deposit box you will be visiting today.”
Ben blinked at the man in surprise. “May I ask how you’re aware of that?”
Darius’ smile widened in satisfaction. “No, you may not. What will happen today is that you will go to the bank and bring the ledger to me. My assistant will accompany you to ensure this happens.” He looked behind Ben and gestured for someone to approach.
The sound of heels on concrete was too sharp and high pitched to come from the shoes of one of Darius’ men.
Ben turned to see a woman striding towards him with a confident smile at the corner of her lips. She was tall, over 6′ with the 3″ heels on her tall, tan leather boots. She wore her long, red leather jacket open, and the plunging V of her white silk blouse displayed a delightful amount of cleavage courtesy of a black lace push up bra. Her body was svelte and long-limbed, and she moved with an energy that hinted at strength beneath her grace. Her yellow blonde hair fell in soft waves to mid-back. She had high cheekbones, almond-shaped sky blue eyes, a slim nose and a sensual mouth painted with a deep crimson lipstick to match her manicure. Right now that mouth was beginning to display a broad smile of recognition. Her step faltered only momentarily as she moved to stand before Ben. She reached out a hand, and Ben automatically enclosed it in his larger one. He felt her testing his grip, and the unexpected strength in her hand caused his brows to rise slightly as they shook hands.
“Mr. Shepherd! It is an honor to meet you!” Her thick Russian accent flavored her speech, but she could make herself understood. There was a sharp intelligence in those lovely eyes.
“Not under the best of circumstances,” he responded with a frown. The blonde turned her eyes to Darius curiously.
Darius wasn’t pleased with the charmed tone in the woman’s voice. “Benjamin, this is Liliya Sokolov. Liliya, you will accompany Benjamin to the bank to collect my ledger. There and back with no delays.” She nodded to her employer as she dipped her eyes downwards submissively.
Darius turned his attention back to Ben. “To ensure you do not attempt anything stupidly heroic, your companion will remain with me until you return. Contact the police, prevent Liliya’s retrieval of the ledger, fail to follow any of my instructions, and the bitch dies, slowly. Do you understand me… Benjamin?”
Ben locked eyes with Darius, the scar across his face flaring from his scowl. He gave the man a slow nod. Then he looked to Trish. She looked into his eyes and smiled at him.
“See ya soon, big guy,” she said.
A shiver ran down Ben’s back when he heard her confidence in him in her voice. A small smile slipped onto his lips, and he gave her a nod.
Turning back to Milonas, the smile fell away. He could almost feel the machismo and arrogance radiating from him. He could see Milonas was physically strong and his eyes gave away his cruel streak. The man was clearly a vicious criminal and matched the description the police gave the previous night. “I’ll assist Ms. Sokolov in collecting your ledger for you but, trust me, make any attempt to harm Trish, and you’ll regret it.”
Dropping his smile, Milonas nodded for Liliya to lead Ben away. She nodded and turned, gesturing for Ben to join her. She guided Ben back to the elevator, and he noted they were being followed by three armed escorts. One had remained behind, probably to guard Trish.
Ben picked up a slight stiffness in Liliya’s smile now, which just increased his unease at leaving Trish behind. He glanced back at the guards, but they were watching him like hawks.
When she opened the gate, he had no choice but to step into the elevator. The three gunmen followed them on. Soon they were on their way down, and Ben lifted his eyes to look up to the floor rising above him.
He turned his face to Liliya, but she looked away.
A cold lump formed in his stomach but there was nothing he could do. Trish was on her own.
-=-
Once he heard the elevator depart, Darius turned his eyes to the redhead who looked back with a smirk on her lips.
He took off his jacket and hung it over the back of a chair neatly.
“Benjamin should not have challenged me as I never back down from a challenge.” He unbuttoned his shirt and stripped it off to place it over the chair back as well. His thickly muscled chest was now on display, and he smiled as he saw her eyes scan over the thick curls there. He rolled his neck and shoulders to stretch his muscles in preparation.
Trish’s smirk grew into a condescending smile. “His warning wasn’t to protect me.” She turned her head to look at the remaining guard with the automatic weapon watching her so carefully. Looking back to Darius, she snorted quietly. She saw his jaw muscles jumping slightly then he gestured for the guard to leave.
“Sir?” the man nervously asked as he’d been part of the group that collected her.
“Leave!” Darius snapped.
The guard moved to the plastic sheeting and passed through the gap. Trish heard his heels scuff against the cement as he rushed away towards the elevator. Doing a quick survey of the space around them, she nodded to herself. She kicked off her runners and tugged off her socks before standing to face Darius who was slowly prowling towards her. She moved back and turned slightly to put the building’s core at her back.
“I hope you don’t have a fragile male ego because you’re about to get your sorry ass kicked by a woman.”
“American women, so fucking arrogant. I will enjoy teaching you some humility,” he returned with a grunt as he kicked off his leather shoes and tugged off his socks.
He went into his fighting stance, and Trish tried to identify the style. She bounced on her toes and raised her arms, hands ready to deflect or strike as required.
Milonas made a few feints and Trish stayed just out of range as she watched his eyes. He was fast; maybe even approaching Ben’s speed. That wasn’t good.
He threw a series of jabs, a few of them glancing off her upper arms, and she realized if he managed to strike her solidly, he might put her down for the count.
A swift sweeping kick skimmed past her cheek as she threw herself back to avoid it. He followed up with a series of lunges she barely managed to escape, but the last one left him open for a cupped palm slap against his left ear. He gasped and staggered from the popped eardrum. She hadn’t been able to hit him hard enough to burst it, but it dazed him at the very least.
Seeing a chance, she launched an attack of her own but crashed backward as he lashed out with his heel, catching her solidly in the gut. When she hit the concrete, she rolled and narrowly avoided his follow up stomp. Gasping to get the wind back in her lungs, she spun and jabbed the point of her elbow into the meat of his calf before rolling away. He grunted loudly in pain as the dense muscle knotted immediately. He bounced back from her on his uninjured leg.
“Fucking Bitch!” he barked as he put his foot down carefully. He grimaced as he tried to stretch the muscles out.
“You hit… pretty hard… but… not as hard… as Ben,” she wheezed out as she got her breath back.
Darius paused to look at her in disbelief. “He hit you?”
She wickedly grinned as she got her breathing back under control. Her stomach hurt terribly as did her bruised arms, but she wouldn’t let it show. “Ben hit the heavy bag I was bracing. Knocked me off my feet and I lost my wind. Not like your little punk taps.”
Darius’ eyes went cold. “I think you don’t understand your situation or your station in life.” He took a step closer, and she took a step back. They repeated this pattern slowly, but only he could see she was getting close to the building’s core and soon there would be no room to retreat.
“Station in life? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Are you one of those disillusioned shit for brains who whines about the days when men were men and women were subservient?” she spat.
He allowed himself a smile to keep her talking. He’d have her soon as they continued to move back.
“A woman’s place is in the kitchen making her man meals, ironing his clothes, keeping the house clean?” She risked a glance to the left, and her target was finally within reach.