Jane felt better than she had in a long time. Which was really saying something considering she was currently sitting in the tiny, run down apartment above her PI office with a massive, annoyed Russian handcuffed to her radiator. He'd woken up an hour ago. She had worried he'd try to use his brute strength to tear the heater off the wall, possibly crush her skull in his massive paws and then leave. Instead he'd only pulled himself up into a more comfortable sitting position on the floor and simply sat, waiting, and stared past her. Jane was sitting across the room from him cross-legged on her bed. There was no actual bedroom in the suite. Her new apartment was significantly smaller than her last small one. But it was convenient and much more affordable on her reduced and sporadic salary. Unfortunately, it meant that her bedroom, kitchen and nearly non-existent living room were all in one room. She worried about what she would do if her captive decided he had to pee. Despite her skill

Jane sat in her office sipping her first cup of coffee the next morning, contemplating the less than stellar furniture she had picked up for free on Craigslist and wondering if the decor of her PI office would put potential clients with money off. She was midway through thinking about adding a plant to brighten things up when the outside door chimed. Without a receptionist, Jane was forced to get up and greet the possible client herself.?Jane didn't keep regular office hours, and she wasn't expecting any appointments, so the entrance of two women into her dingy little office raised an eyebrow. Her brow went up further when she recognized the stunning blond as Claudia Cantore, fiancée to one of the most powerful businessmen in the country and owner of the newly revamped Underground. Interestingly, Jane had seen Claudia in passing at Knight's Out cafe several months earlier when Jane had confronted Anya Sitnikov. After further digging into Sitnikov's business and personal interests, Ja

"Sitnikov."Vlad looked up from his place at the table where he had been sitting for the past twenty minutes. He didn't like waiting. It was an insult. Insults made Boris twitchy. Vlad was sincerely hoping he wouldn't have to kill the younger man, sent to check out the Bratva's American interests. It could cause problems back in Russia. He watched the blond soldier's approach with barely concealed impatience, annoyed that this was the person who would be reporting on him. He lit a cigar and let the fragrant smoke linger in his mouth. The act relaxed him somewhat and created a fine haze across the table. The homeland bosses knew better than to annoy Sitnikov. Or they used to, before they decided to send children into his organization."You're late."The quietly spoken words were said with enough menace that Anton Petrov knew instantly he had made a mistake in baiting the Boss. He eyed the scar that ran down Vlad's head and across his jaw. No doubt wondering if the rumours were true

What. The. Fuck? Where were the drugs?"Where are the drugs?" she mumbled incoherently, squinting into the gloom of a dimly lit room.Movement to her left indicated another presence in the room. He stood, tall and predatory by her side, and swooped low over her bed. Brushing the hair off her forehead he asked in a deeply accented voice, "What was that, malysh?"Vladimir Sitnikov. What was he doing in her hospital room? Shouldn't a woman be allowed a little bit of privacy when she was slowly dying of increasing excruciating pain? And where the fuck was the morphine? Jane licked her lips and cracking her eyes as much as she could handle, rolled her head toward his voice, "Where the fuck are my drugs, Sitnikov?"He clicked his tongue. "Tsk, are you into the drug business, Jane? Well that would make us rivals, wouldn't it? I'd probably have to have you killed."Jane snorted painfully, "You know I'm not into that criminal shit. I mean where is the goddamned morphine? I shouldn't be

It had been two weeks since Vlad had brought Jane to his mansion. She was now well into her recovery except for some residual stiffness and becoming easily exhausted. Jane was beginning to find the pampered life to which Vlad subjected her entirely too stifling. She was used to hunting down leads, and if she was lucky, bad guys. She didn't particularly enjoy lazing around in bed with unlimited magazines and books at her disposal. She had memorized every inch of his backyard, including the guard's rotation (if Vlad were nice to her she would mention the alarming predictability of his security team). She'd reorganized every single article of his clothing, more for her amusement than his convenience. And catalogued the contents of the bathroom. Twice.She was over being an invalid. And when Jane was over something, she became cranky, unpredictable and possibly a little stabby.Vladimir entered his bedroom without knocking. Though she was getting used to his casual invasion of her privac