Timur studied Lipin. Definitely Russian, or at least of Russian descent. The man stayed in the shadows as much as possible and that marked him, as far as Timur was concerned. He watched him closely, while keeping the others in his line of vision.
“What can I do for you, gentleman?” Timur asked as he drew Ashe down onto his lap. She immediately pulled up her legs beneath the long skirt of her dress. “You’ve come at a very bad time. I’ve only got a couple of days off and I had planned on enjoying them with my fiancée.”
Every eye went to Ashe, first on her face, then dropped to her bare hand and then back to her face in speculation. She squirmed a little, her bottom rubbing over his groin. Instantly, his cock reacted, growing hard and long beneath her. She shivered visibly but stopped moving when his hand pulled a blanket from the opposite chair and spread it over top of her.
“Are you cold?” Timur was all solicitation, but he knew she wasn’t cold. He knew it was his reaction to her innocent squirming that sent that little shiver down her spine.
“I’m good now,” she said and leaned back into him, putting her head on his shoulder.
The action thrust her breasts forward and he slid his hand beneath the long skirt of her dress to splay his fingers over her belly. The tips brushed the undersides of her breasts. His cock jerked in response. He kept his features blank.
“Again, what can I do for you, gentlemen?” He looked to Jeff, who usually led the others.
“We were called to a motel this morning when several of the rooms were found abandoned.” It was Moran who answered.
Timur found that utterly astonishing, but he kept his mask in place. Why would the uniformed officer be the spokesperson? He stayed silent, waiting for an explanation as to why they were there.
“The motel charges by the day and rents are paid one day at a time. The rule to be out is very strict. Money changes hands by ten A.M. or the tenant must leave. There were six rooms rented and not one paid. No one was in their rooms and it looked as if they hadn’t spent the night there. More, all security cameras were on the blitz. The ones in the parking lot and above the door of each of those rooms along with the cameras installed on either side of the rooms.”
Timur drummed his fingers against the arm of the chair as if becoming impatient. With his other hand, he began to rub along the underside of Ashe’s breasts with the tips of his fingers. She was achingly soft right there. He loved the way she felt. She didn’t move a muscle, nor did she try to stop him.
“Get to the point, because I don’t see where this is going.”
“The point is this.” Moran leaned closer. “Clothes were still in the room, as if they were coming back. In the suit pocket of one of them was this address. Written on that paper was Fyodor Amurov, Gorya Amurov and Timur Amurov. There was a second address. I believe your cousin Mitya resides there. His name and his brother’s, Sevastyan, were also written there. There were other names as well. The names of men you employ and some in your cousin’s employment.”
Timur shrugged. “First, Sevastyan isn’t Mitya’s brother. They’re cousins, although quite close. And I’m not certain where you’re going with this. Was there a threat made against us? Against my brother or cousin?” He slid his fingers down to her belly and dipped them in her little belly button. He wished his fingers were his tongue.
“They are here from Russia.”
Timur frowned. “I still don’t understand. We haven’t been in Russia for many years.” That was strictly the truth. “What does that mean? I don’t understand.”
“We were hoping you would tell us what that meant.”
What it meant was, Jeremiah had fucked up again. His job had been to erase all threads between the men who would never be returning to those rooms and the Amurov family. Clearly, he’d dealt with the cameras, but he’d left behind an important piece of paper. That left the burning question, had he missed anything else?
“I have no idea. Who are these men?” He looked to his brother. “Did you have visitors I wasn’t aware of while I was out?”
Fyodor shook his head. “No. It was very quiet yesterday.”
Timur stroked the pads of his fingers down Ashe’s soft skin and settled them just on top of her mound. “What are the names of these men? Perhaps we know them from our homeland.”
Finn Moran indicated Fyodor. “He’s got the names.”
Fyodor passed a piece of paper to Timur. “I didn’t recognize any of them. Do you?”
Timur pretended to study them. His entire attention was on Ashe’s body. She was warm and soft and more than anything, he wanted to hold her close and spend time kissing her. Exploring her mouth. Learning every erogenous spot she had on her body. He knew he wasn’t the best man in the world, but for her, he would try to be, within the context of who and what he was. He wanted her happy above all else.