Kingstons salvation king.., p.11
Kingston's Salvation (Kingston Security 5), page 11
“Besides,” she taunted, “I remember that last night, you told me you prefer me naked.”
He continued to glare his disapproval once he stood in front of her. “You’ll find some of my sweats in one of the drawers in my bedroom.”
Tears of humiliation stung Mia’s eyes, not just because of Darius’s attitude, but because all the other men in the room had now stopped talking and were watching the two of them and listening to their conversation.
Their conversation?
It wasn’t so much a conversation as Darius throwing his arrogant weight around and embarrassing her in the process.
Totally at odds with the way Mia had hoped the two of them would spend the day together.
It was too much when she already felt overwhelmed by the presence of all the Kingston men in the room and then this conversation with the even more disturbing Nikolai Volkov.
“No,” Darius groaned when he saw the tears glistening on Mia’s lashes and knew his harsh tone was responsible for them. “Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to shout at you.” His voice gentled. “I’m a fucking idiot. I just… I don’t want—”
“I believe what my young friend is trying to say is that he is unhappy with other men seeing you in a state of undress,” Nikolai Volkov drawled. “Even though his T-shirt covers you from neck to knee.”
Darius glared at him. “Stay the fuck out of this, Nikolai.”
“Because you are doing so well on your own?” the Russian taunted.
No, because Darius hated even seeing Mia talking to another man and had reacted accordingly. “What are you doing here, Nikolai?” he demanded impatiently. “I asked you for information. You didn’t have to come here personally to deliver it.”
“I had nothing else in urgent need of my attention this morning,” Nikolai dismissed challengingly.
“Not even your Welsh friends?” Darius challenged back.
Those pale eyes narrowed to icy slits. “What do you know about them?”
“The Pendragon family?” Darius shrugged. “I’ve heard rumors.” Fantastical ones that hinted there was something…unusual about the eight Pendragon brothers who ran a security company from their castle in North Wales.
“I suggest you forget having heard those rumors if you wish our own association to continue,” the older man rasped. “As far as Gregori and I are concerned, the members of the Pendragon family are untouchable.”
Both a warning and a threat, Darius recognized.
He had known Nikolai for several years now and knew that the other man’s loyalty was totally toward his friend and pakhan, Gregori Markovic. To hear him issue these weighty warnings in regard to the Pendragon family was interesting, to say the least.
But the rumors Darius had heard about the Welsh brothers were ludicrous. Dragon shifters, men who could turn into dragons, didn’t exist outside the pages of a book.
At least, he didn’t think they did.
“I’ve changed my mind. I think I will go and find something else to put on,” Mia murmured before turning on her heel and hurrying from the room.
Darius watched her, unsure what he should do—
“That is your cue to go after her and make things right between the two of you before we begin our discussion regarding the reason Anthony Bart ordered a killing to take place in your apartment building,” Nikolai drawled.
“When did you become such an expert on relationships?” Darius scoffed.
“Since the moment I learned that ensuring my Daisy’s happiness is the most important thing I will ever do in this life or the next,” the other man answered him honestly.
“Sorry.” Darius winced. “I’m taking my worry out on you because the danger Anthony Bart represents to Mia is all I can think about.”
“Gregori has sanctioned Anthony Bart and his men being taken out entirely, if it becomes necessary,” Nikolai assured.
“He has?” Darius had no doubt that such a drastic move would start a turf war within the ranks of the criminal underworld that all factions would feel the tremors of.
The Russian smiled at his obvious surprise. “We value all our friendships, Darius, not just the Welsh ones.”
Darius immediately felt ashamed for his earlier remarks. “Thank you. And thank Gregori.”
Nikolai nodded. “Now go and kiss your woman.”
Darius had every intention of doing exactly that.
He just hoped he hadn’t pissed Mia off too much with his caveman behavior.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Mia came to an abrupt halt when she stepped out of the bathroom and saw Darius sitting at the foot of the bed, obviously waiting for her. Honey sat beside him, tail wagging.
Mia obviously didn’t have any of her own clothes to change into after showering, and she had no intention of wearing Darius’s boxers, so she was once again commando beneath the overlarge sweats that were fastened tightly about her waist. But she’d lifted the T-shirt up to her waist and tied it in a knot at the back. She looked neat, at least, which was a definite improvement on appearing as if she was wearing her father’s T-shirt.
Or her lover’s.
The fact she felt better for having showered and dressed in no way excused Darius’s arrogance earlier in ordering her to go and dress. “What are you doing here?” She tilted her chin in challenge.
He winced as he stood. “Asking for a do-over for earlier. Please,” he added huskily.
Mia felt some of the tension ease from her shoulders. “What did you have in mind?”
He stepped forward so that he could place his arms lightly about her waist. “Is this okay?”
“Yes.”
“And this?” He held her gaze as he slowly lowered his head until his lips could brush lightly over hers.
“Yes.”
He rested his forehead gently against hers. “I’m sorry for earlier. It’s no excuse, but I woke up to the sound of my brothers talking in the sitting room. Not just one, but all of them. I got up before any of them had chance to come looking for me.” He grimaced. “By the time I’d pulled some clothes on and joined them, Adam had arrived with Nikolai in tow.” He shook his head. “So far, I’ve had to listen to half a dozen differing opinions on how to deal effectively with this situation.”
Mia smiled ruefully. “None of which will be in the least relevant because Nikolai Volkov has already decided on what’s going to happen next. That man is scary as hell.” She felt an icy shiver down her spine just thinking of those cold, emotionless eyes.
Darius nodded. “He told me Gregori Markovic has given him carte blanche to deal with the Anthony Bart situation as he sees fit.”
She winced. “Do I want to know what that means?”
“Probably not.” Darius lifted his hands to cradle her face. “Last night—” He broke off as Mia pulled out of his grasp.
“If you’re going to say it shouldn’t have happened, then don’t,” she advised tightly.
It had been the most beautiful and emotional night of her life. One she didn’t regret for a moment, and she didn’t want to hear Darius say he regretted it.
“I wasn’t going to say that,” Darius chided. “I was going to ask if it could happen again tonight. Tomorrow night too. And the night after that.”
“Oh.”
“Making love with you is amazing. The best. Unique and beautiful.”
Mia gave a shaky smile. “I think so too.”
Darius kissed her gently on the lips. “Last night was also the first in a long time that I haven’t woken up after being plagued by nightmares of what happened that day.”
Mia knew exactly what day he was referring to. “Maybe that was Honey’s presence rather than mine.” She’d gone to the bathroom during the night and seen Honey sleeping on the floor beside Darius’s side of the bed.
“It wasn’t,” Darius stated firmly. “Oh, I’m sure she helps, but she wasn’t the reason I slept through the night. Holding you in my arms gave me that peace. The two of us obviously need to talk—I’m well aware of how those words usually precede bad news, but this isn’t one of those times,” he assured when she stiffened. One of his hands returned to cradling the side of her face. “I would just prefer the two of us to be alone in the apartment when we decide to have that conversation.”
Mia looked up at him searchingly for several long moments, releasing a shaky breath when she could see nothing but warm sincerity in his eyes and the soft curve of his smile. She was a little ashamed of herself for thinking otherwise. Darius had done nothing to cause her to disbelieve or mistrust him.
Yes, he’d pushed that file about her into a drawer, but it wasn’t his file, it had been compiled by a man named Rufus Wynter.
In every other way, Darius had been honest with her. In fact, he’d told her things about his past he hadn’t shared with anyone else, including his family. No doubt the Kingston men, several of whom had been in the military themselves, could add two and two together and come to a general consensus regarding the reason Darius had been injured in a bombing and left the army shortly after. But Mia knew he hadn’t shared the details of that day with any of them. Only she had been given that privilege.
She slipped her hand into his much larger one. “Okay.”
“Are you doing that ‘deliberately bamboozling the enemy with your compliance’ thing again?” he teased.
“No, I’m really just saying it’s okay. Besides, you aren’t my enemy.” She smiled shakily, overwhelmed with exactly what he was to her. “You never have been and never will be.”
Darius sobered. “Last night was…it was everything, Mia. I don’t have the words to describe how much it means to me.”
Her cheeks felt warm, and she knew she was blushing. “Then the sooner we go and listen to what Nikolai has decided we’re going to do, the quicker we can come back to bed.”
Darius chuckled. “I’m sorry I was such a jealous idiot earlier.”
She shrugged. “I should have found something else to wear before coming to the sitting room. In my defense, I thought the voices I could hear were on the television. I had no idea they were coming from the half a dozen large and overwhelming male human beings gathered in your sitting room,” she added ruefully.
His eyes darkened as he looked at her. “I love seeing you wearing my clothes.”
“Caveman.”
“Definitely.” He chuckled. “I just don’t want the rest of my family to see you wearing them too.”
“Noted.” She reached up on tiptoes and kissed him lightly on the lips. “What was all that about the Pendragon family?”
His mouth twisted. “I’m not really sure, but I’d like for the two us to go to Wales one day and take a look at Pendragon Castle.”
“Okay.” Mia liked the sound of “one day,” when it implied a future for the two of them. “Now let’s join the others and see if we can’t get this situation dealt with so we can all get on with the rest of our lives.”
“Your housemates have moved into a four-star London hotel this morning, which your landlord is paying for. I’ve also sent them wine and chocolates. But you’ll continue to stay here with me, right?” he prompted.
Her lashes lowered. “For the moment.”
“We really need to have that chat,” he grumbled.
“We will,” she promised. “But we have other things to do right now.”
It was no less formidable walking back into that roomful of alpha males the second time, but Mia felt less overwhelmed by them with Darius holding her hand and Honey once again walking protectively at her side.
Casper had made a fresh pot of coffee during their absence, and he handed them each a mug of the delicious smelling brew the moment they entered the room. “Help yourselves to cream and sugar.” He indicated the jug of cream and the bowl of sugar he’d placed on the breakfast bar before joining the rest of the men now seated about the room.
Nikolai Volkov was the exception to the coffee and sitting.
Darius’s fingers tightened about Mia’s free hand as he made the introductions. “For any of you who haven’t met her yet, this is Mia Smith.”
She was completely unprepared to see each of the Kingston men rise to their feet before forming a queue in front of her to then either kiss her cheek or the back of her hand after Darius had relieved her of the coffee mug. There were several murmurs of “Mia” and “Good to meet you” from the Kingston men before they all resumed their seats.
Again, Nikolai Volkov was the exception.
“We already introduced ourselves,” he dismissed the need.
“So did we,” Casper grinned. “But I got to kiss her cheek this time.”
The Russian gave him a scowl. “Perhaps now the lovers have returned and you have all been introduced, we can finally get to the business that brought us all here today?”
Darius tensed beside Mia. “You know, Nikolai, you can be a complete pain in the—”
“I would be very grateful if you could help to resolve this situation, Mr. Volkov.” She cut firmly across what she guessed was going to be a less-than-polite comment from Darius. They needed the help of the Russian, even if he was an arrogant arsehole.
Volkov glanced at her with those cold gray eyes. “I will resolve it, Miss Smith.”
Yep, arrogant arsehole. “Hopefully without anyone else getting killed?” She still found it difficult to believe she’d seen a dead body the previous day. Not just any body, but that of a client, Giles Fletcher, and his throat had been cut. It was surprising she hadn’t had nightmares last night.
Volkov gave her one of his wolfish, baring-of-teeth smiles. “I will do my best.”
Mia had a feeling this man did exactly as he wished, whether other people approved or not. Thank goodness that, on this occasion, his wishes seemed to be aligned with their own.
“So,” the Russian continued briskly, “since Darius contacted me yesterday, I’ve spoken to one of Bart’s men.”
“Spoken to him?” Mia echoed doubtfully.
“I doubt my conversation with that man involved any more physical coercion than Darius’s did with your landlord.” Volkov answered her obvious concern.
Darius’s fingers tightened about Mia’s. “How the hell did you know about that?”
“I’m privy to everything that happens in my city.”
Darius grimaced. “Then you know that their landlord is a charlatan, who takes advantage of young university students who can’t afford any other accommodation and are too afraid to complain. I didn’t hurt him, I merely pointed out the error of his ways.”
“Which is why there is currently an army of painters, decorators, and builders working on the house, and Mia’s flatmates are comfortably ensconced in a rather nice hotel.” The Russian nodded. “My conversation with Bart’s man ran along similar lines,” he drawled before straightening. “During that conversation I learned that, before her death, a Mrs. Gloria Fletcher worked for an accountancy firm in the city. She was also the money launderer for Anthony Bart.”
“Giles Fletcher’s mother was?” Mia frowned her puzzlement. Obviously, she’d never met the other woman, because Honey hadn’t needed to live with Giles until after his mother died. But from the things her son had said about her, she’d sounded like she was a good mother.
A good mother who, it seemed, had laundered money for London’s most notorious criminal gang!
“Yes,” Nikolai confirmed. “A month ago, Bart discovered that Mrs. Fletcher was syphoning off some of his money to herself before the rest was transferred into his offshore accounts. Never large amounts, but over time, it has amounted to millions of pounds. For Bart, it wasn’t the amount of money, but the act itself. It could not go unpunished.”
Mia gasped as an idea occurred to her. “Did Gloria die of natural causes?”
“Her death was ruled a suicide by the police and coroner,” Nikolai stated. “But a woman in a wheelchair would not have been able to throw herself off the balcony of her tenth-floor apartment.”
Mia hadn’t known that was how the other woman died, but she did remember seeing the incident as a local news item a couple of months ago. She just hadn’t linked that death and Giles’s mother being the same person.
“She was murdered,” Mia stated evenly.
“Yes,” Nikolai confirmed. “But not before two of Bart’s men had…questioned her as to where the money was hidden. Obviously, they didn’t receive the answers they wanted, or they wouldn’t have felt the necessity to later question her son on the same subject. Unfortunately for him, he had no idea of his mother’s dealings with the Bart gang, and consequently no knowledge of where his mother might have put the stolen money.”
“So, two people have died, a mother and her grown-up son.” Darius frowned darkly. “All because the mother decided to steal some of the money she was laundering for a criminal gang?”
“Exactly so,” Volkov confirmed.
“And the money is still missing,” Casper put in.
“My informant told me that Bart’s men did manage to get Mrs. Fletcher to admit that she kept the details of her own offshore accounts on a portable memory stick. But she continued to refuse to tell them where it was and apparently had a heart attack and died before they could pressure her any further. They threw her over the balcony so that any…evidence of their torture would be attributed to the fall.”
“They thought her son knew where it was,” Mia realized, trying not to think too deeply about the torture part of his statement. “Which is why they ransacked Giles’s apartment before sli—killing him,” she amended before swallowing down the nausea caused by once again envisaging the brutal way in which Giles had died. “They thought he had the memory stick.”
“They found nothing because Fletcher had no idea what they were talking about.” The Russian shrugged. “Why would he when he had no idea his mother was secretly working for a criminal gang?”
“They killed him because he didn’t know those things,” Sinclair, the eldest Kingston brother, realized.
