**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.
"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 once again acting as he pleased without consulting anyone else.
"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." The words grated out of me. 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 in pain.
"You wouldn't fucking dare. Tell her you have changed your mind and that it's 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.
"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.
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, пожалуйста, объясни мне, почему ты это делаешь? (Yurik, please explain to me why you're doing this?)" I spoke in my mother tongue. My English let me down whenever I felt 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."
"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 his 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." He said, opening the laptop and going straight into the encrypted website that 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. The amount of money is insignificant compared to what we would gain if Yurik's plan works out. He grinned, happy that he had received the go-ahead.
"Спасибо (Thank you) ." He thanked me, and I nodded my head, leaning my elbows against the table.
I loosened 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 were 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 a woman with short red hair was halfway out, pulling it closed behind her. She froze, her eyes widening as she took us in.
"Sorry, you have the wrong place," she chirped, her voice too high, her body blocking the doorway.
"Does Caitlin live here?" Yurik asked, not bothering with pleasantries.
"Yes, but..."
"Leah, it's fine. I'm expecting them." Caitlin's sultry voice called from inside. My heart kicked against my ribs.
The redhead, Leah- hesitated, her eyes scanning the tattoos on my neck and hands with clear judgment. She looked back at Yurik, giving him an unashamed once-over.
"But they look like..."
"Girl, shut up and go," Yurik said, rolling his eyes and gently pushing past her. She gasped, affronted, but moved aside. I followed, giving her a glare that had her snapping her mouth shut.
"Okay, I'm going. Be safe and call me if you need anything," Leah said, her eyes lingering on me with suspicion before she left.
I finally looked at Caitlin. She was at a small glass table, but she wasn't rolling weed. She was closing a laptop, a notepad filled with scribbles beside her. 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. So simple, yet she still managed to be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.
"Hey, you're early," she said, her gaze flicking between us, sharp and alert. "Don't mind Leah. She's paranoid."
"Angel," I nodded, shrugging my jacket off before sitting on the couch facing her. Yurik took the spot beside me.
"Are we interrupting work?" I asked, gesturing to the laptop.
"Just freelance drudgery. The kind that doesn't pay 5k." She leaned forward, forearms on the table, all business. "So. Let's talk about this assignment."
"If you're willing," I emphasized. "Your target would be Lucas Trevino. Software engineer and owner of the Godfather nightclub. He's second in command to a cartel drug lord."
Caitlin's eyebrows lifted slightly, but she didn't flinch. "Okay. What's the play?"
"Every Friday night, he sits in the open VIP area of his club, seeking beautiful women to join him. Your job is to be invited in. Subtlety is key." I observed her closely, looking for any signs of doubt.. "He has five bodyguards, but their backs are to him, watching the crowd. Being beside him provides the best outcome."
"We will give you a powder, hidden in a piece of jewelry," Yurik cut in. "It will make him drowsy, suggestible. He'll want to spill his secrets and find a quiet place to lie down."
"The goal is to get him alone to his penthouse above the club," I continued, my gut twisting. "My men and I will be on the opposite building, scoped in. If he so much as touches you wrong, he's dead."
"The powder," Caitlin asked, her journalist's mind engaging just as I'd hoped. "How fast does it work? What's the exit strategy for me if he gets handsy before it kicks in? And how can you be sure he won't remember anything?"
Yurik grinned, delighted. "Fast. Ten minutes. And we'll have a waitress on payroll to 'spill' a drink on you, creating a distraction if you need one. The memory loss is a side effect; he'll wake up thinking he had too much to drink."
"And the 5k?" she asked, her eyes locked on me.
"Yours, upon completion. No tricks."
She was silent for a long moment, absorbing it. "Why can't you just kidnap him?"
"The man is a ghost outside that club. But his weakness is a pretty face," Yurik said. "You find out the location and password for a hidden cocaine shipment, and you leave. He won't remember a thing."
"We will do our utmost best to ensure your safety," I said, leaning forward, needing her to feel my sincerity. "But if you're uncomfortable, angel, say the word. This isn't the only way."
Caitlin looked from Yurik to me, a slow, calculating smile spreading across her face. It wasn't just about the money. I could see the thrill in her eyes, the challenge she couldn't resist.
"Are you kidding? Of course, I'm in." Her voice was flat, final. A challenge in her gaze. "What do I need to learn first?"
I leaned back, a mix of dread and fierce pride warring inside me. What was I getting her into? And why was I so goddamn excited to see her do it?
"First," I said, my voice low. "We teach you how to wear a wire."