“Careful, Vlad.”
Vlad rolled his eyes. Roman firmly believed that familiarity bred contempt and usually distanced himself from his employees. The problem was, he and Roman had known each other for half of their lives and knew each other too well for a strict boss-employee relationship. On the other hand, they also weren’t close enough to be true friends. It was always a struggle for Vlad to find the right balance.
Vlad said gruffly, “Fuck off, I don’t have to be respectful until I sign the contract. Send it to me now. When do you need me in London?”
“By the end of the week.” Roman went silent for a short while. “Don’t disappoint me again,” he said at last, his voice deceptively soft. “If anything happens to him while I’m gone, losing your job is the last thing you’ll have to worry about. I’ll find you.”
Vlad smiled. He didn’t have any delusions about that. Roman rarely got his hands dirty these days, but when he did, it wasn’t pretty.
“I know,” he said. “I don’t repeat my mistakes twice. You know that.”
“I do,” Roman said and hung up.
Vlad heaved a sigh and stared at his phone, wondering if he’d made a mistake. He had his pride and didn’t really want to bodyguard Whitford’s brat. But on the other hand, he did owe Roman. If Roman hadn’t taken him under his wing all those years ago, who knew which jail’s cot he’d be warming today? He’d saved Roman’s life plenty of times since then, but he had never really felt like he’d repaid his debt. The truth was, until he’d met Roman Demidov, his life had been a shithole. He had been a nobody from some godforsaken village, with no education, no prospects, huge debts, and a penchant for violence and expensive drugs. Even after fifteen years of loyal service, Vlad still felt like he owed Roman something.
Maybe this job would finally do the trick and he’d be finally free.
Ignoring the knot of unease that had appeared in his stomach at the thought of going to London, Vlad went to his laptop to book a flight.
London was a huge city. The odds of running into someone he’d rather not see were very slim. He had nothing to worry about.
Chapter 3
London greeted him with fog and heavy rain.
The cab dropped him in front of Luke Whitford’s building, but Vlad was still soaked by the time he got inside. All he wanted was a cup of hot tea and a change of clothes, but the extensive security screening by the private lift leading to Luke’s penthouse took almost fifteen minutes. Although the security measures satisfied him, the long wait in soaked clothes didn’t exactly put him in a good mood. By the time he was approved and the private lift doors slid open to reveal Luke Whitford’s spacious penthouse, Vlad wasn’t in the mood to wait until its owner made an appearance. Silently, he moved toward the kitchen where he could hear familiar voices.
“...I still don’t understand why it has to be him,” Luke Whitford was saying. “He hates me. I don’t trust him.”
“Then trust me,” Roman said. “Vlad is the best at what he does. In the decade he was responsible for my security, no attempt on my life was successful.” Roman’s voice softened a little. “If things were different, I wouldn’t have chosen him to bodyguard you, but...”
Luke sighed. “I know. Soon, yeah?”
“Yes,” Roman said. “Vlad, you can stop snooping.”
Vlad stepped into the kitchen, schooling his face into indifference at the sight that greeted him.
Luke’s head was resting on Roman’s chest, Roman’s fingers running through the boy’s golden curls. Roman’s ice blue eyes fixed on Vlad over Luke’s shoulder, losing the softness they held just a moment ago. Now there was only the hard, calculating edge Vlad was so familiar with.
“Hi, Vlad,” Luke said unenthusiastically without looking at him.
“I have to leave earlier than anticipated,” Roman said, without bothering with social niceties. “I’ll be gone for a month, maybe more.”
Luke sighed, burrowing his face into Roman’s neck. “I hate it.”
“I know,” Roman said, his arm tightening around the boy for a moment.
Vlad shifted from one foot to the other, deeply uncomfortable.
“Be safe, yeah?” Luke murmured so softly Vlad could barely hear it.
Something flickered in Roman’s eyes as they met Vlad’s. They both knew there was no such thing as safe when your name was Roman Demidov. Roman was a dangerous and powerful man, but there were other dangerous and powerful men. Back in Moscow, Vlad had heard through the grapevine that Roman wanted to get rid of the criminal aspects of his business and was doing a major cleanup. It made quite a few of his former business associates unhappy.
“I will,” Roman replied.
Luke lifted his head and smiled a little sadly at Roman. For all the dislike Vlad felt for the kid, he knew Luke Whitford was far from stupid. After all, Luke’s own father had been killed during a “business” trip similar to what Roman was leaving for.