Free Russian Mobster’s Blackmailed Bride by Bella Rose

outcome? He had failed in his duty, had he not? Why would that satisfy him? The puzzle did not sit well with Anatoly. “Why is this funny?” he demanded.
    “You’re pretty hot stuff here in Moscow,” the big man said evenly. “We all know that. So you can make an asinine decree like the one you just delivered.”
    “Asinine?” Anatoly didn’t appreciate that. “How?”
    The man waved his hand. “Oh, she’s yours until you’re done with her. How do you think her father will like that one? His daughter apparently believes you’re a better person than the rest of the world is inclined to give you credit for. She sat here and told us you’re not the monster we all think you are.”
    Now it was the skinny man’s turn to speak. “So even though we all know that you would shoot her in the head to save yourself, she’s willing to turn her back on her family and her regular life because she sees something in you that the rest of the world does not.”
    Anatoly felt oddly flattered by this knowledge. However, it also made him uncomfortable. Had he somehow misrepresented himself to Trisha? Surely not. He was the man he was. It wasn’t as if he tried to be someone else. He had taken her captive against her will after fabricating false charges against her for cheating in his casino. There was no element of hiding in that scenario.
    The big man turned to walk away. “Best of luck to you, Mr. Zaretsky.”
    “I’m sorry,” Anatoly snapped. “Did I give you permission to leave?”
    “We’ve stayed too long already,” the big man said with amusement. “And it wouldn’t do you much good to shoot the messenger, would it?”
    Anatoly watched the two men leave and felt even more confused and off balance than he had while standing in the stairwell only a few moments ago. What was it with Trisha? She could never behave the way he expected. People were self-serving. It was the one consistent thing in his life. Or it had been consistent until he had met Trisha.

Chapter Ten
    Trisha sat primly in her seat in the back of the limo. She was worried for those men. What if Anatoly got angry with them? It wasn’t like she wasn’t aware of the sort of violence he was capable of. She just believed he was capable of controlling that urge in order to be compassionate or even merciful.
    The back door swung open, and Anatoly slid into the car. “Frederick, drive us home please?”
    “What about my things?”
    “I’ve put them in the trunk.” He cocked his head at her. “Did you think I would forget after all of the trouble we’ve gone to in order to retrieve your luggage?”
    “No.” She felt her cheeks blush red hot. “I guess I just didn’t realize how distracted I was. I didn’t see or hear you put anything in the trunk.”
    “So.”
    Anatoly’s tone suggested he was done talking about the incident in the dormitory. Damn. Trisha wanted to know if the men were okay. She’d asked them to give her father a message. What if they couldn’t do it? Trisha needed to speak to her father, or he would just keep sending people to bring her home.
    Of course her host was completely oblivious to this need. “You have expressed an interest in seeing other parts of the continent. Would you like to go to one of my resorts in Siberia?”
    “Like for a vacation?” The issues with her father were momentarily forgotten. “Yes! That would be amazing!”
    He tilted his head, a lock of dark hair sliding across his forehead and giving him an almost boyish appearance. “You make it sound as though you have never gone on vacation.”
    “Oh, not since I was little,” she said dismissively. “My parents took me on the obligatory trip to Disney World when I was seven. My father doesn’t believe in travel or vacation. He likes to say that vacation time is better spent relaxing at home.”
    “I would disagree.” Anatoly’s tone suggested that was his pronouncement and there was no other opinion on the topic worth discussing. “So we