09

DOMINIC

"Hi sweetheart. How are you today? Do you want to make two thousand?" Yurik grinned into the phone while scooting towards the opposite end of the table. He was side eyeing me and I glared at him, immediately shutting my laptop. We were the only two in the boardroom and he better not be talking to who the fuck I think he's talking to.

"Two thousand cash yes." He said nodding his head.

"That was a fucking joke! You wouldn't need to sell any of your body parts." Yurik yelled and leaned back into the chair spinning around before looking up at the ceiling in frustration.

"No. I promise it's not a trick." He continued speaking and I narrowed my eyes at him. Yurik was yet again doing whatever he wished to without consulting others.

"You're fucking broke but you're saying no to an easy 2K. That makes no sense. Haven't you got any ambition? " Yurik asked looking extremely annoyed at the rejection. My shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit as I watched his face crumble.

"You have a degree? Then where's the stable job, sweetheart?"

My jaw dropped as he placed a sickly sweet smile on his face and cooed into the phone. I shook my head - my brother had absolutely no filter but I guess it was one thing we had in common. I could hear the voice of Caitlin speaking ever so faintly but I wasn't able to make out what she was saying.

"Stop yelling at me!" He shouted before pulling the phone away from his ear and looking at me with a shocked expression. "She's the first girl to ever yell at me. She's amazing. " Yurik complimented softly and I rolled my eyes.

Caitlin would yell at anybody.

"All you'll have to do is put a little honesty drug into a little man's drink and learn a little information. Easy." Yurik muttered casually with a shrug. As soon as I darted out of my seat, his eyes widened and he jumped up. He pressed his back into the wall and held a hand out to me. He was pointing a knife at me and I glared at him - how the fuck did he manage to get that out so fast?

"She's not doing that." I said through gritted teeth. It was far too dangerous.

"Take one more step and I'm telling her your dirty little secret." He threatened still pointing the tip of the knife in my direction. He looked at the phone for a split second and that was my opportunity to lunge forward. I grabbed his wrist hard and locked his arm underneath mine until the knife was pointing at his neck instead.

Yurik was good with knives but agility was my strength. He stood no chance as my grip on him tightened and his face contorted into pain.

"You wouldn't fucking dare. Tell her you change your mind and that it's too dangerous." I growled at him before grabbing the knife out his hand and pushing him away from me. I flipped it closed and shoved into my pants pocket.

Yurik scowled before he smirked.

"Hey Caitlin, did you know Domo over here likes to-"

"Shut the fuck up. God, you're so fucking annoying." I said in complete irritation and plopped down into the seat. I rubbed my hand over my face and took a deep breath in.

Yurik grinned and straightened his suit jacket wiping away the creases. "So, you're in?"

Please say no.

"Good! We'll come over in an hour to discuss everything."

He put the phone off and looked at me with a smug expression. I wanted to shoot him in the face.

"Yurik - please explain to me why you're doing this?" I spoke in my mother tongue. My English failed me when I felt in any way upset or bothered.

"Did you know she's 30K deep in student debt and you're just going to let her struggle? Shame on you, Domo." He sighed and sat down alongside me. I didn't bother asking how or why the fuck he knew that in the first place.

"I was going to- you know what, never mind. It's far too dangerous. She's not trained." I argued giving him a pointed look but Yurik was as stubborn as an ox once he set his mind on something.

"Oh, you're one of those bosses who want experienced workers but won't give non- experienced workers the chance to gain the experience they need to find work so how is anybody ever supposed to find work if no one is willing to give them a chance." Yurik rambled on and I looked at him in utter confusion. My brain nearly malfunctioned.

"Are you on crack?" I asked slowly.

"Dominic," he sighed and him calling me by my full name told me he was serious. "You can't tell me that you don't see potential in her. She's exactly what we need."

"We don't need anything."

"You're wrong. I see a fucking queen and I know you see it too."

Yurik was right. Caitlin wasn't like any other woman I have met and I knew the second she pulled my gun out of my pants and placed it next to her own. She was strong willed and I had no doubt that she could achieve greatness but the thought of putting her at risk was enough to drive me up the wall. Just thinking about her getting hurt in any way made rage fill my veins.

I still had to deal with that Blake boy.

"The target on her head would be enormous if anyone finds out we're using her to get closer to our rivals."

"Nobody will find out. Can't you see that Caitlin isn't a weak little girl who'll crack under pressure?" Yurik asked tapping his fingers on the glass table.

I exhaled deeply, thinking about it for a second.

"You want to assign her to Lucas. Anybody can give him the truth serum."

"The man has five bodyguards around him

24/7. The only way anybody is getting close to him is if they have tits and a pretty face."

"You want to use her body? Do you not understand the risk? The danger? What if it goes wrong and Lucas ends up sexually assaulting her? He's a lowlife who won't think twice about it." I stated feeling my blood start to boil at the mere thought. I cracked my knuckles to relieve some of the tension.

"That won't happen." Yurik reassured and I looked at him unconvinced

"You don't know that for sure."

"You have very little faith in me, Domo. It won't happen because we'll have a sniper team ready if he does try anything and she'll have a weapon attached to her thigh." He said opening the laptop and going straight into the encrypted website only the Romanov mafia had access to.

I sat back into my seat pursing my lips.

Yurik sighed at my silence. "She's a grown ass woman who needs a little financial help so stop being a baby about it and let her decide for herself. We're not forcing her and if she says no, then so be it."

At the end of the day, my decision was final so I slumped in the chair and thought about it again for a moment. She did say working for me sounds exciting.

"Okay. Make it 5K." I muttered after a brief moment of quiet. That amount of money is nothing compared to what we would receive if Yurik's plan worked. He grinned, happy that he had received the go-ahead.

"Спасибо." He thanked me and I nodded my head leaning my elbows against the table.

*

I loosed the tie around my neck moving my head side to side - it had been two days since I last laid my eyes on her. I could feel myself start to heat up as images of her naked body sprawled on the bed bouncing as I pounded into her came to mind. Fuck, I thought about her constantly and she had no idea. Her moans, her groans and the way she trailed her nails down my back played like a broken record and my attempts to get rid of it was useless.

"Shit." I mumbled to myself as I tried to think of anything besides her soft body and how her ass

looked in my grip. I wanted to press my face between those cheeks and suffocate. I would die a happy man.

Just as Yurik raised his fist to knock on the door, it was opened and an unfamiliar face nearly walked into straight into us.

A young woman - probably in her early twenties with short red-hair and a freckled face stood there with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Her eyes moved to Yurik and she unashamedly checked him out from head to toe. She did the same to me and I exhaled in annoyance tapping my fingers on the doorframe impatiently. Her eyes scanned the tattoos on my neck and hands and I could see the judgement in them.

"Sorry, I think you have the wrong place." She chirped and I almost winced at her high-pitched voice.

"Does Caitlin live here?" Yurik asked ignoring her blatant ogling.

"Yes but why-"

"Leah, its fine. Let them in." Caitlin's sultry voice came from the living room and I swear I felt my heart speed up. The redhead seemed unconvinced and didn't step aside as Caitlin just told her to. Obviously our presence felt like a threat to her as we towered over her frail looking body.

"But-"

"Leah, I said its fine. Let them in, for fucks sake." Caitlin yelled out as we stood there waiting for her to move. I knew her for all of two seconds and she was already annoying me.

Who was this girl?

"They-" She was cut off by Yurik rolling his eyes and pushing her aside and entering the apartment like he owned the place. She gasped, looking completely offended watching us walk right in. I glared at her, just wanting her to fuck off.

"Girl, shut up." He muttered and her face turned bright red - matching the fierce colour of her hair.

"Okay, I'm going. Be safe and call me if you need me." Leah spoke keeping her eyes on me cautiously and I frowned as she closed the door behind her. Did she think we were going to hurt Caitlin? The thought alone nearly made me laugh out loud

I finally looked at Caitlin and she was sitting on the floor at a small glass table, leaning her forearms on it with a scissor in one hand as she cut up... weed?

"Hi, angel. Your friend is annoying as fuck." I mumbled and shrugged my jacket off before sitting on the couch facing her. Yurik went over to her side instead and crouched down closer to Caitlin's hands watching as she expertly and casually cut it up into the tiniest fragments on a piece of paper. She was dressed in a plain white hoodie that was way too big for her and her legs were bare showing off her thick thighs. Her head was covered in the hood but her long brown hair fell out the sides and down her stomach.

So simple but yet she still managed to be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

"Hey, you're twenty minutes early. Also, don't mind Leah - she's just paranoid." She muttered distractedly.

"Purple haze? Where did you find this? Dealers don't just sell this to anybody." Yurik asked leaning down to pick up a small amount between his fingers and studying it closely. I tilted my head to the side watching them interact - everything suddenly felt...normal, more normal than it should.

She grinned. "Well, my dealer has the fattest crush on me so I get all of this for free."

I clenched my jaw looking away from her. I had no right to suddenly feel the amount of jealousy I felt in that moment and I scowled at myself for being irrational. I shook my head and clasped my hands together willing myself to stop thinking about it. It was just weed.

"Free too? He must really want a piece of that ass." Yurik murmured and I felt myself tense again. He sat down alongside me so now we both faced Caitlin as she just sat there casually doing her thing.

"Oh, he does." She agreed with a nod and I leaned back into the couch rubbing a hand over my face. I had no reason to feel so stressed.

"Are you okay?" I looked up to see Caitlin speaking to me and I nodded silently. Was I that transparent?

"Yes, let's talk about the assignment and if you're willing to do it." I said clearing my throat and trying to get straight to the point. I couldn't believe that I was about to have that conversation and potential put her in danger.

"I'm in." Caitlin said without second thought and I watched her start to fill a brown piece of paper with the weed. Her long nails were painted a light blue and she had a silver ring around her pointer finger.

"Let us explain and-"

"Two thousand? I'm in." She mumbled before bringing the paper up to her lips and sticking her tongue out to give it a lick. I groaned and shifted in my seat - how am I supposed to focus when everything she did turned me on? Surely this is unhealthy.

"It's five now because-" Yurik started but I sent him a look. Caitlin did not need to know that I was the one upping the payment. Her eyes widened and the rolled blunt dropped from her hands and onto the table. She was so good at that.

"You're fucking lying." Caitlin said in surprise and abruptly stood up.

I chuckled shaking my head. "We're not but sit down so we can explain everything."

Caitlin grabbed a chair and sat down adjacent to me, her bare thighs squashing down onto the seat as she folded her ankles and leaned back.

She gestured with her hand to let me continue, almost impatiently and I cocked an eyebrow at her with a small smile. This woman… "If," I emphasised. "You're willing. Your target would be Lucas Trevino, software engineer and owner of Godfather nightclub."

I paused for her reaction and she simply just nodded her head waiting for me to continue.

"Every Friday night, he sits in the open VIP area of his club seeking beautiful women to join his side. The area is right in the corner, overlooking the floor of the club from above. Your job is to be invited in. Subtlety is key." I explained and watched her carefully for any sort of doubt.

"He has five bodyguards protecting the area but their backs are usually faced to him watching for danger from the entrance. That is why being besides him would provide the best outcome." Again, I waited for any reaction but she just nodded her head in understanding.

"We will give you a powder, hidden in either a bracelet or ring. It will make him drowsy, give him the sudden urge to lay down but at the same time it will make him want to spill his heart out to you.

"Above the club is his glass penthouse - you need to suggest finding somewhere quiet and hopefully this would lead to the both of you leaving and being alone. You don't need to worry about this because some of my men and I would be on the opposite building ready to blow his brain out if anything goes wrong." I announced, feeling myself start to get riled up at the thought of him touching her inappropriately.

I felt like I was sending her straight into the lion's den.

"Why can't you just kidnap him?" She asked scrunching her eyebrows curiously after a few moment of ingesting the information I had just given her.

"He is protected by highly trained guards but we know his weakness. A pretty face." Yurik intervened and I nodded my head in

agreement. "You find out what you need to and then leave. He won't remember a thing." He said.

"We will do our utmost best to ensure your safety but if you're uncomfortable with this in any way, you really need to let me know, angel.

We could try and think of something else you could do and-"

"What? Are you kidding?! Of course I want to do it." Caitlin said looking at me flabbergasted.

Yurik grinned shaking his head, obviously she wanted to do it. "What makes this guy so special?" She asked.

"Lucas is the second in command to a cartel drug lord. He's smart and he's the only one who knows the password and location for a large sum of cocaine hidden in an unknown deserted location." Yurik continued explaining and Caitlin's eyes widened - as if just realising how serious it actually was.

"And you," she pointed between Yurik and I.

'Think I'm right for the job?"

"We think you have potential and obviously we'll teach you a few things. You're a freelance journalist, right? Perhaps those skills could come in handy."

"I need coffee and then we can talk more. You want coffee, tea, whiskey?" She asked getting up from her seat and walking to the kitchen. I watched her legs and tilted my head to the side before Yurik punched my arm and mumbled,

"stop being a peru."

'Tea for me, please." I cleared my throat.

"Same, thank you." Yurik said and she nodded her head, switching on the kettle.

What am I getting her into?

*AUTHOR’s note

girl don't do it

what do you think Caitlin's star sign is?