Russian Hitman's Innocent American Read Free Page A

boy grew up hearing these words. Ivan chanted them every morning, and every morning, the boy thought less and less of his father. Soon, the man’s face was a blur. A lifeless blur. He carried the idea of his father’s death around, but he soon forgot what kind of man his father was. He forgot the lessons of his father. He began to be the son of Ivan instead.
    ***
    Three weeks in, and Charley was in love. She missed Veronika, but Daphne was the perfect roommate. She cooked for the both of them. She cleaned up for the both of them. And she’d paid her deposit and first month’s rent. Charley was already starting to feel better about the summer.
    “I promised myself that I wasn’t going to take any classes, and then Professor Niko offered me an assistantship for the summer, and I just couldn’t turn it down. I thought it would be a dream, but I should have gone with my gut instincts. He’s so cool in the classroom, but he’s a nightmare in his personal life,” Daphne muttered grouchily as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “He actually called me into work last night because he couldn’t find his reading glasses. Are you kidding me?”
    “Really? Where were they?”
    “On his head. They were on his head. I thought my manager was going to have a stroke, but what could I do? I have him next semester, and I can’t afford for him to fail me.”
    Charley drained the rest of the milk from her cereal. “So I guess trying to talk to him about invading your personal time is out of the question?”
    Daphne moaned. “He would probably fail me on the spot. By the way, I found this under my bed. It’s not mine.” She pulled out a pair of blue boxers.
    Charley grimaced. They no doubt belonged to Kaz. “Sorry, I thought I cleaned everything out.” She took them gingerly and carried them to the trashcan. Daphne watched in amusement.
    “I take it you know who they belong to?”
    “My previous roommate’s boyfriend. He was…an interesting guy,” Charley said.
    “Ah. That explains the boyfriend question. Why didn’t your old roommate stick around? Did you two not get along?”
    “Actually, she’s practically my best friend. She moved in with said boyfriend. They’ve got a nice house in the ritzier part of town. Damn, he was sexy. I miss the eye candy.”
    “Did any of his friends ever drop by?”
    Charley turned her head. “Why?”
    “I could use a little sexy in my life,” Daphne said dryly.
    Laughing, Charley shook her head. “If you weren’t so busy, I’m sure you could find plenty of sexy. Okay. I’ve got a meeting with my advisor, and then I am off to work. I’ll see you later?”
    “Probably not. I’m going to work straight from Dr. Nico’s,” she said forlornly.
    “Whenever you get frustrated, think of how good an assistantship to Dr. Stefan Nico is going to look on your resume,” Charley pointed out.
    A dreamy veil crossed Daphne’s face, and Charley left her with that image to keep her warm.
    Charley stopped by the house between school and her job for a quick bite to eat. Daphne’s car was in the drive. Did Nico fire her?
    She opened the door and stepped in only to hear the familiar sound of a bed squeaking. Freezing in the doorframe, she heard Daphne’s moans filtering through the house.
    “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
    Shaking her head, Charley quietly slipped from the house. Apparently Daphne had taken her advice and found herself something sexy. And she’d adopted a Russian accept for the playtime.
    ***
    “I’m supposed to be spending all summer naked and in the arms of a beautiful woman,” Kaz complained. “So explain to me again what the hell I’m doing here meeting with you.”
    Dmitri pulled his hat low over his face and frowned. A few dark curls escaped the cap and wound low on his neck. He and Kazimir met on the veranda of a popular coffee shop, and although few people would recognize him, Dmitri couldn’t take the chance with Ivan looking for him.
    “Tell me what you know about