Just Business (Aegis Group Dangerous Ladies Book 1) Read online

  Yeah. She had a thing for her boss, which was highly inconvenient.

  Haley stared at her phone while her insides twisted up.

  Her first reaction was to text the other girls. There weren’t a lot of women employed by Aegis Group. Security was a hard field. It wasn’t something many women gravitated to. Which was why Haley and the others all thought it was important to stay in contact.

  The chat had begun as a sort of loose affiliation of individuals. And over the last five years, they’d become the best of friends who rarely saw each other. Lately everyone had been on Haley’s case since she brought up potentially leaving.

  She had to talk about this with someone, so she tapped out a message and hit send.

  Haley: Kiddo finally said what she wanted for her birthday.

  Merida: ?

  Jennifer: A pony?

  Jennifer: Love them when they’re little. When they get to be 21 they’re assholes.

  Merida: You have a pony?

  Merida: They live to be that old?

  Jennifer: Where the fuck would I keep a pony?

  Jennifer: I’m talking about little girls.

  Jennifer: I’m about to open a can of whoop ass on this girl.

  Merida: Deep breaths. She’s a client.

  Jennifer: Not for long if she keeps this shit up.

  Haley chuckled at the exchange. Jennifer had a tough job watching an heiress whose only job was to party. And Jennifer wasn’t a party person.

  Haley: She’s 10 and she wants a movie night.

  Merida: That’s cute.

  Jennifer: I’d do crimes for a movie night at home.

  Ivy: What’s the catch?

  Haley: She wants to have the movie night with me and her dad.

  Merida. Oooooooooooooo

  Ivy: Knew it.

  Jennifer: I’d still do a crime. Your boss is hot.

  Merida: Yeah, idk about that. That’s very family like.

  Haley: I know.

  She sighed and let the phone drop in her lap. The girls would chime in for the next day. She’d respond. They’d go in circles and ultimately end up back in the same place. She didn’t have to watch it happen in real time.

  If she didn’t like Zasha, this would be easy. She’d quit. But the fact was, Haley loved Zasha. She’d never wanted kids. The whole idea never clicked with her. But then she’d met Zasha and fell in love with another man’s kid, which made for a messy emotional situation.

  She was attracted to her boss, and could not act on that. She loved her charge, but she wasn’t Zasha’s mother.

  Slowly but surely Haley had begun moving to this point.

  There was no way she could stay on. Sometime soon, after she’d figured out who took Konstantin’s pictures and they’d weathered Zasha’s birthday celebration, Haley would leave.

  Her throat tightened at the idea of not being there to help Zasha pick out clothes or redo her room like they’d been talking about.

  All little girls eventually moved on to big girl things. Maybe Haley was just one of those things that needed to be left behind. Then why did the idea of leaving hurt so much?

  WEDNESDAY. ROSE HOUSE. Arlington, VA.

  Tasha strolled into the Washington, DC house. Every time she came here she was struck by how much she liked the place. It was a shame it was all the way down here and not up north. She strolled through the rooms, soaking up the quiet, and wound up in the formal living room with its wide windows letting in all the afternoon light.

  It was time.

  She’d spent years trying to get here, and now she was ready. All that work to strengthen her position, strategically maneuver herself and others. Almost twenty years, to be exact. A hell of a lot longer than she’d hoped it would have taken her, but here they were nonetheless.

  After so long, she had to wonder just how much the others had changed.

  Her transformation was obvious, but what about her husband? Her son?

  It was hard for her to believe that either of those two had changed much. Oh, she’d gotten updates on both regularly since she amassed her own little empire. Even when she’d been struggling to get by, she’d always kept herself in the know. Knowledge was power. But this would be the first time she’d seen either her husband or son since she’d left them.

  That night was still the best night of her life. Cutting those cords and striking out on her own was the absolute best decision she’d ever made. If she hadn’t, she’d still be the wife of Leonid Titov, mistress of shadows who mattered to no one.

  Her assistant bustled in through the front door.

  Tasha smiled.

  The journey to the top had begun.

  “Is everything to your liking, ma’am?”

  She turned to face the two men hanging back in the entry.

  Nikolai looked at her with hopeful eyes. He made her think of a puppy. A very smart puppy, but still a soft, defenseless thing.

  The other man, Oleg, wasn’t as familiar to her. Nikolai had used him for regular updates on her son, which made him one of the more important individuals at her disposal now.

  “You have news for me?” She flicked her fingers.

  Tasha crossed to the sofa and sat. Some women wouldn’t want to concede the height difference. It was a paltry move to retain some appearance of power.

  No, queens didn’t stand to assert their power. They sat on thrones.

  “Tell me about my son,” Tasha demanded.

  Oleg nodded. “He’s currently at home. His daughter’s birthday is today.”

  “According to our data, he always spends her birthday at home,” Nikolai interjected.

  Tasha grimaced. She still couldn’t believe her soft, idiotic son went off and got a whore pregnant. Her husband had to be involved somehow. But what had Leonid been thinking?

  “He keeps two to four guards around him or the home at all time, in addition to building security. Then there’s the child’s security.” Oleg produced his phone and showed her pictures of strapping young men with headsets and gun bulges. Not very discrete, but maybe that was by design.

  “Who is that?” She frowned and pointed at the last image.

  A woman held the hand of the little girl Tasha knew as Zasha Titov.

  Her grandchild.

  As if she was old enough to be a grandmother.

  The absurdity of it all.

  “That’s the girl’s security,” Oleg said.

  Tasha frowned. “She looks like she could be her mother.”

  Still, the longer she looked the more she saw the lines of a tight fitting protective vest. That bulge on her ankle would be the gun, if Tasha had to guess. Still, she was pretty and not likely to raise any flags unless you knew what to look for. Which only made Tasha think her son might not be as much of an idiot as he’d been as a child.

  He did have her blood in him. Maybe he’d finally gotten some sense?

  Oleg briefed her on Konstantin’s days, the hours he kept, who he met with and so forth for another hour before she dismissed him. Much of what he said she already knew from her other source, one even Nikolai knew nothing about.

  The question remained, what was her next move?

  She had all the pieces and all the plans, but how to begin?

  Once this started, she was going to take it all the way to her piece of shit husband. She was going to take everything he held dear, just like he’d done to her.

  The link was their son. To get at Leonid, she needed to lure him out. And he’d gone off and let his greatest weakness get away from him.

  What to do? What to do?

  2.

  Wednesday. Home, Arlington, VA.

  Haley peered into Ivana’s room, but the elderly nanny had already retired for the evening.

  Figured.

  Lately every time Haley needed help, or an out like tonight, Ivana left her high and dry.

  “Relax, it’s just like every other movie night,” Haley muttered to herself.

  Except tonight they’d be w
atching a movie in Konstantin’s living room. With him.

  It was innocent, really it was. And yet, Haley felt herself getting sucked into something. Lately this whole job seemed to operate that way. Her one and only focus should be Zasha’s safety. Instead, Haley had to divide her attention between home duties, safety, monitoring school work and entertaining Zasha.

  The job was too much. The lines were blurred. She was feeling the strain.

  Haley stopped in the hall, closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.

  She loved Zasha with all her heart. Kids hadn’t ever been her thing, but Zasha was special. She was full of wonder and joy that reminded Haley to live life, when she got a minute to herself.

  “Haley, come on.” Zasha burst out of her room dragging her new throw blanket. “We don’t want to be late!”

  Haley laughed and allowed Zasha to pull her along.

  A whole evening with Konstantin and Zasha.

  Great.

  Haley snagged the basket of snacks on their dash through the main room. Zasha opened the adjoining door between the two condos and dragged her in. Haley stepped over the threshold and into Konstantin’s domain.

  The room smelled of him. Woodsy. Masculine.

  Konstantin stood in the narrow kitchen looking out over the rest of the main space. His arms were braced on the marble countertops. Unlike earlier, he wore a T-shirt that showed off the corded muscle in his lean arms. The lights shining down on him picked up the strands of gold in his light brown hair that fell forward over his brow and his warm gaze took them both in.

  “There’s my girl.”

  Haley knew the words and smile were for Zasha, but they affected Haley. His smiles were rare and reserved completely for his daughter. But every time Haley saw one, she couldn’t help but bask in it. Truthfully, it was probably a good thing Konstantin didn’t smile often. He was a handsome man normally, but when he smiled? It was devastating.

  Zasha let go of Haley and darted around the counter to wrap her arms and blanket around her father.

  He placed a hand on Zasha’s back and flipped the top of a box open with the other. “Perfect timing. Pizza just got here.”

  “Pizza!” Zasha’s face lit up like she hadn’t known there’d be pizza.

  Haley smothered a laugh and slid onto one of the leather barstools.

  It felt strange to not be the one plating pizza, but technically she wasn’t working tonight. That technicality mattered very little in the grand scheme of things. Living with her clients made that line almost vanish.

  Konstantin crouched beside Zasha, tilting his head.

  Haley leaned forward.

  Just what was he up to?

  “Which piece do you think we should give Haley, hm?” he said softly, though not enough Haley couldn’t hear him plainly.

  Zasha grinned at Haley. “The biggest one.”

  “The biggest?” Konstantin turned his head to look at her.

  Damn.

  Oh, damn.

  She’d almost forgotten this.

  He was so serious it was easy to forget that he had this side. This mischievous, playful side that only came out with Zasha. Haley didn’t see it since most of the time she used every moment Zasha was with her father to get ahead on other work. But tonight she had a front-row seat.

  “This one?” Konstantin asked.

  “No, this one and this one,” Zasha said.

  “Two? You want to give Haley two slices?” His brows rose.

  Zasha giggled. “She’ll eat three.”

  “Three? Do you think she’ll have room for cake and three slices of pizza?” He glanced up at Haley and winked.

  She was smiling and didn’t care to stop herself.

  For the last few weeks she’d gotten all twisted up in her head that if she left, Zasha would have no one. It was arrogant. Before Haley had been in the picture, her father had been there. He might not be her morning till night caregiver in everything, but when he was with Zasha, he was really with her.

  Zasha would be okay. Without Haley.

  It was a realization that stung, but she was also glad for it.

  Dinner was a lively affair. Zasha did more talking than eating, and Konstantin surprised Haley with two jokes bad enough to be labeled Dad Jokes. Even sexy bosses weren’t immune to them.

  “Who is ready for cake?” Konstantin stood and stretched.

  Zasha hopped in her seat. “Me!”

  Haley glanced at Zasha to keep from eyeing the inches of toned abs or the soft gray sweatpants. What was it about gray sweatpants? They weren’t special, and yet there was something about putting a hot guy in them that made the man irresistible.

  “Um, Zasha, you didn’t finish your dinner?”

  “It’s her birthday.” Konstantin whisked away their plates without another word.

  Haley opened her mouth to protest, then thought better of it. They’d been waging a steady war on Zasha’s reticence to eat vegetables or finish an appropriate amount of food that wasn’t straight sugar. But he had a point. It was her birthday.

  Zasha leaned across the table, that mischievous look so much like her father’s. “Maybe you can eat with us all the time now?”

  Haley opened and closed her mouth.

  She didn’t know what Zasha wanted, but Haley knew this wasn’t a path she could take. Both because in the near future she was leaving and she just couldn’t be around Konstantin. Not without losing her head. And her relationship with Zasha mattered too much to allow that to happen. Because Haley saw nothing good happening if she tangled with Konstantin.

  “What did you say now?” he asked, glancing from Zasha to Haley and back.

  Zasha’s smile turned sly and she peered up at her father. “I really like having dinner with my two favorite people.”

  “Favorites, huh?” Konstantin passed Haley a slice of cake with a rosette on top. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Don’t let Nany Ivana hear you say that.”

  Zasha shrugged and glanced at Haley.

  The darn kid winked, right there in front of her father.

  Konstantin frowned and peered at Haley.

  She picked up her fork and shoved a bite of the rich, chocolate cake into her mouth. There was no coming out of this unscathed.

  “Have you decided what colors your big girl room are going to be?” Konstantin asked.

  “I like Haley’s room.”

  “Do you?” He turned his gaze on Haley. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.”

  “She has all her plants up on a shelf over her bed,” Zasha said between bites. “And she has the fuzziest chair. What color is that?”

  “Teal,” Haley mumbled.

  “Teal?”

  “Yeah. Teal. And a bright yellow wall.”

  “Hm.” Konstantin studied Haley with that warm gaze of his.

  She was used to his daily looks, the cool, professional ones when he hadn’t quite shifted from work mode into dad mode. Those she could handle. These? They made her very aware of how warm it was in his condo.

  “What about your haircut? Have you decided what you want to do this time?” Haley asked in an effort to change the topic.

  “I want to grow it out so it’s as long as Haley’s,” Zasha announced.

  Haley shoved another bite of cake into her mouth and wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

  “I don’t know, kiddo,” Konstantin said slowly. They’d gone through some turbulent hair times right around the time Haley came onboard because Zasha was so tender headed hardly anyone could brush her hair.

  Zasha’s eyes went impossibly large and her little lip quivered.

  Haley gaped at the kid. She’d never seen this act before. It was an act, wasn’t it? Or was she really upset?

  “You don’t think Haley’s hair is pretty?” Zasha asked in a shrill voice close to breaking.

  “Haley’s hair is lovely,” Konstantin said without missing a beat. “Are you ready for all the brushing you’ll have to do if your hair
is that long again?”

  “Yes,” Zasha said indignantly.

  “I’ll discuss it with Ivana tomorrow.” He didn’t sound convinced.

  Neither was Haley, for that matter.

  What would happen to Ivana when Haley left? Would the old woman manage to keep her job? Or would Konstantin let her go?

  Yet one more thing Haley worried about.

  Would a man have half the concerns she did?

  Probably not, and there was no use comparing her lot with that of her male counterparts. These things were just different.

  “I notice you didn’t have any problem finishing your cake,” Konstantin said dryly.

  Haley glanced at Zasha’s nearly licked clean plate. Haley hurriedly scarfed down her last few bites.

  “Is it movie time yet?” Zasha asked.

  “You bet, kiddo. What are we watching?” Konstantin asked.

  Zasha bounded out of her seat and back into the other condo.

  Konstantin chuckled and smiled after his daughter. Haley had no idea what he’d been like before Zasha, but she thought it was a safe bet to assume that Zasha made Konstantin a better person. With his history it would be far too easy to become cold, distant, cut off. But that couldn’t happen with a ray of sunshine running around in pink, frilly dresses demanding movie nights and cake.

  He glanced at Haley and caught her looking at him.

  One side of his mouth hitched up, and just like that his amused, fatherly expression turned smoking hot. She sipped from her water glass in an effort to hide getting caught.

  “Thank you for doing this,” he said.

  “Not a problem. It’s a nice night.”

  “It is.” His warm gaze remained on her, openly looking.

  She bore it. It was only fair, though she didn’t have his composure. Give her danger and bullets? She was fine. An attractive man wanting to look at her? She’d blush and squirm like she’d never been kissed.

  “How many more birthdays is she going to want her favorite people?” He sighed. “How long until she just wants her friends?”

  Relieved at the turn of conversation, Haley echoed his sigh. “Sooner than you’re ready for.”