Owned by the Russian Mafia Boss: A Mob Romance Read Free Page B

As the men set down her bags and began to unzip them, she bolted forward in horror.
    “No. Please. I’ll unpack them.”
    One of the guys straightened and shook his head. “They must be inspected for weapons.” There wasn’t a shred of regret or apology in his voice, and the men continued to rifle through her things. Since she wasn’t allowed to bring any clothes, her things mostly consisted of books, notebooks, electronics, and her toiletries. Hidden at the bottom of one of her bags were her undergarments. She’d hoped to sneak them in. While she’d immediately thrown out anything remotely sexy while she packed, she’d tried to sneak in her bras and practical underwear. They were immediately thrown into a plastic bag.
    Hidden at the bottom of her lingerie was a picture. As one of the men reached in to grab the rest of her bras, it tumbled out and fell to the floor. She gasped when the glass in the frame broke.
    “Boyfriend?” one of the men asked when he picked up the frame. She refused to answer him as she reached over the snatch it.
    “You need to be careful with my things. This frame was important to me,” she said in a thick voice as she struggled to keep from crying. The broken glass bit into her finger, and she gasped and stuck the bleeding finger into her mouth.
    “I’ll get you a bandage,” the man said gruffly. “We’re done here anyway.”
    There was no apology for breaking her frame. They immediately left her alone in the suite, and she crumpled to the floor in the middle of her things. Holding the picture of Niko close to her heart, she rocked back and forth. Finally, Bones’s cries to attention pierced through her shock, and she carefully placed the frame back into her bag. Leaning over, she opened the carrier.
    Twenty pounds of black fur streaked out of the carrier as her cat immediately headed for a hiding spot under the bed. She leaned down on the floor and stared into his golden eyes. “It’s okay, Bones. You’ll get used to this place.”
    The door opened, and she pushed herself up. The guard handed her a Band-Aid for her fingers, and she tried to smile. “Thank you.”
    “Alek will be back for lunch. You will join him.”
    It wasn’t a request. His eyes lingered on her for a little too long before he exited the room. She sucked her finger before wrapping it with the bandage. With a sigh, she went back into the suite and began to pack the things back into her bag. She had no intentions of putting anything out to make things seem homier. She’d just pull things out as she needed them.
    Natalia also had no intentions of taking part in his hospitality. She closed the door to the suite and opened the curtain to look outside. Down below, she could see more guards patrolling around a sparkling pool. To the right was a beautiful garden still bursting with colors even in the late spring. Her lips parted in surprise. The grounds were beautiful. Of course they were. Alek probably had millions. He’d want to show that money off for prestige and class.
    Sneering, she shut the blinds and sat on the floor. She would enjoy nothing in this home. Grabbing her journal, she jotted down what little information she’d gathered this morning. Lots of weapons. Strict policies. Nothing illegal yet, but she had no doubt she’d stumble across something soon enough.
    Soon there was a guard throwing open her door. “Mr. Evanoff requests your presence in the dining room.”
    Natalia jumped and stared. “Can you knock?” she hissed. Would there be no privacy while she here?
    The guard merely stepped aside and waited. Natalia rolled her eyes and followed him out the room. Alek was seated at the expansive dining room table with several dishes in front of him. He didn’t smile when he saw her, but his eyes did fall to the Band-Aid on her finger. She sat as far away from him as possible at the table and glared at him.
    “How was your morning?” he asked softly as he reached for one of the