“Did you have to completely knock her out with your amnis?” Mika Arakis, Oleg’s head of security, liaison to the Sokolov crime family, and general enforcer was bitching about carrying a woman who probably weighed less than an average steamer trunk.
“Relax, Mika.” Oleg held the heavy wooden door as Mika walked the small human woman out to the waiting car in the courtyard. “I tried to use a nudge, but she resisted my influence.”
The elemental energy that fed his fire and kept him alive for eleven centuries was commonly called amnis. It ran like an electric current under the skin and was the reason that Oleg could manipulate fire, thrive on blood, and influence the cerebral cortex of ordinary humans.
Of course, different humans had different natural shields.
“She resisted your amnis, so you used a hammer instead?” Mika grunted as he put the woman in the back of the car. “Bodies aren’t heavy, they’re just awkward to carry.”
“You’ve gotten soft,” Oleg muttered. “Too many minions jumping to do your bidding.”
“Fuck off.” Mika straightened and looked at Oleg. “Why did you use your influence at all?I was watching, and she agreed to your terms.”
Unfortunately, amnis didn’t work on other vampires, which was why Mika was such a pain in his ass.
“She could tell something was different about me.”
Mika lowered his voice and stepped close. “Tatyana Vorona suspected… that you are a moody bitch who needs to get laid?”
Oleg smirked and patted Mika’s cheek. “It’s good that you amuse me.” He walked to the other side of the antique Mercedes where one of Mika’s men was holding the door. “The Admiral Hotel.”
“Right away, Mr. Sokolov.”
The man closed the door after Oleg slipped inside, glancing at the unconscious human before Mika joined them in the front passenger seat.
“She’s going to be a problem,” Mika said.
“She’s going to be a solution.” Oleg reached over and patted Tatyana Vorona’s shoulder. “She’s going to find thirty million dollars for me.”
“Thirty million,” Mika muttered. “You spent that last year on good caviar.”
“The money isn’t the point, and I don’t think that’s correct. You like caviar, not me.”
“Like I said,” Mika repeated. “You spent thirty million on good caviar last year.”
“I’ll probably kill you.” Oleg stretched out his legs, grateful that he had a fleet of antique vehicles to enjoy, rather than the cramped modern cars that humans used. “One of these days.”
Vampire amnis acted like an electrical current to modern technology. That meant nothing digital and no computers. There were companies who had adapted modern technology for immortal hands, but Oleg didn’t use them. He hired humans to use technology for him, humans like Tatyana Vorona.
“Even if she can find the money, she’s going to be a problem. She’s seen your face.”
“And?” He waved a hand over Tatyana’s pretty blond head. “I can make her forget me.”
“But will you?” Mika turned around and switched from Russian—which their driver spoke—to his own native Estonian. “Don’t think I missed the resemblance, Alek. She could be Luana’s sister.”
“Except she was born twenty-seven years ago in a government hospital in Kerch and not to a wealthy merchant in Vienna.”
“Details.”
“Details matter.”
“Don’t pretend you didn’t notice.”
Oleg glanced at the limp woman beside him. In repose, she looked younger and the lines around her eyes had relaxed. Her hair had come loose from the neat bun at the base of her neck, and the vivid blue eyes that had captured him during their meeting were closed; light brown lashes rested against her cheeks.
“I noticed.” He looked away. Resemblance to his dead mate or not, he would use Tatyana Vorona to claw back what Zara had stolen from him, then he would wipe her memory and let her resume her simple human life, richer by several million dollars. “Make sure she gets the money Zara owed her.”
“I’m sure Elene will take care of it.”
“See to it personally,” he snapped. “Elene has enough to do.”
“And I don’t?” Mika’s eyes were stormy. “You think it’s easy dealing with all the shit your daughter left in her wake? I’m still sorting out allies in the east who Zara fucked over when she left Sevastapol for Laskaris’s mansion in Istanbul.”
“How much last week?”
“She increased the tariffs again.” He snapped his fingers. “No sorry. Laskaris increased the tariffs through the Bosphorus. It’s definitely not your daughter.”
As irritated as Oleg was about the extra money Zara was leaching from his businesses, he had to admire her cunning. He’d left his own sire once, and it had been just as brutal to create his own reputation in the vampire world.
If she wasn’t a sociopath, he’d be proud of her.
“I have an idea,” Mika said.
They were pulling up to the luxury hotel where Oleg kept a dedicated suite of rooms for humans who worked for him. “Later. Let’s get this one situated.” He snapped his fingers and touched Tatyana’s cheek. “Miss Vorona.”
At Oleg’s touch, her eyes flickered open, but they were confused. “Where—?”
“We’re at the hotel, Miss Vorona. You passed out in the conference room, and we’re making sure you’re delivered safely to a hotel.”
“No I want…” She sounded exhausted. “My bag.” Her voice grew in strength. “My bag is—”
“Right next to you.” He patted the shabby messenger bag. “We have a deal now, Miss Vorona. We’re partners and I don’t steal from my business partners.”
Her fingers closed around the handle of the bag and he saw her trying to sit up.
“Relax.” He touched her hand and the natural shields that had been so strong before were weak and soft against his touch. He saw her hand relax and ignored the quick burst of pleasure it gave him to see her surrender. “Relax, Tatyana.”
Her blue eyes flickered open and found his own. “Who are you?”
“Oleg.” He used the Russian pronunciation, so it sounded more like Alec.
Mika opened the passenger door and held Tatyana’s back so she didn’t fall out. “The concierge is bringing a chair over.”
“Excellent.” He kept his eyes on Tatyana’s. “My assistant has called for the concierge. She’s a lovely woman named Marina and she’ll see you to your room and make sure you have everything you need.”
“I don’t know…” She closed her eyes. “I’m tired. Why am I so tired?”
“It’s late and you had a stressful day.” He touched her hand again. “Sleep, volchitsa. I’m sure your fangs will be back when I see you tomorrow night.”
He smiled and allowed a hint of his own fangs to peek out, but Tatyana’s eyes were already closed.
NEXT WEEK…
“With your permission, I will put the word out among the immortal gossips of the world that Tatyana is our new favorite human,” Mika said. “And she has all the information we need. Whether it’s true or not, it will draw Zara out.”
“It could put the human at risk.”
Mika frowned. “Do you care?”
“An excellent question.”
Oleg kept strict standards on who could be subjected to harm in his world. Mundane humans simply living their lives were a resource. They created the economies that fed his wealth and produced the blood that he needed to live. To harm them was as foolish as salting his own fields.
Humans who willingly entered into the vampire world were another matter, which made Tatyana a bit of a conundrum. She had been working with vampires, but he was fairly sure she had no idea what Zara was, which should have made her immune to immortal violence by his own rules.
But…
“Put her name out,” Oleg said. “We’ll keep an eye on Miss Vorona, but getting Zara away from Laskaris is more important. Once she’s not whispering in his ear, we’ll be able to negotiate more reasonable tariffs for our shipping partners.”
“And Zara will finally be under your control.”
“Exactly.”
Blood Mosaic, Copyright 2024, Elizabeth Hunter All rights reserved.