Boss: Romantic Thriller Read online

  “We shouldn’t, you aren’t well,” she said and traced his nipple with her tongue.

  “It’ll make me feel better,” he wheezed.

  She looked up into his eyes. A delicious shudder heated through her body at the mere thought of it. She slipped under the covers and licked the head of his dick like a lollipop.

  “In your mouth, darling, put it in,” he pushed down on her head. She swallowed the head, and then let her jaws relax as well as her tongue to take half of his stalk into her mouth. Tarek snatched away the covers to reveal her actions. She didn’t care if he watched. And to her surprise he wanted to do more than just that.

  He pulled on her to force her to come closer and turn. She was too busy sucking and licking his dick to understand the position he was now putting her in. Her knees dropped on either side of his chest, but she didn't dare apply pressure. Her ass and sex were splayed before his face, and her breasts were now rubbing against his chest, and she found she could swallow him all the way to the back of her throat without gagging.

  And then she felt his tongue slickly lick up her core. Kassidy froze. Her eyes stretched. Was he even well enough to do this? He had to be made of steel. Her lids fluttered shut as he licked and teased her clit, and he pulled back on her thighs to smash her pussy against his face. Kassidy sucked him harder, and his tongue lashes seemed to keep up with the rhythm. She was the first to climax. She couldn’t take it. He’d pushed her that far. And then he released into her mouth and on her face as she drew away.

  She panted. She dropped on him, not sure of what she’d just experienced. She moved off him and wiped his essence from her face. His eyes were closed, and his lips, glossy with her essence, were turned up into a satisfied smile. Kassidy went to the bathroom and cleaned herself. She returned to bed to find him snoring. She smiled.

  When she wiped him down, he barely said a word. She found another cool rag and brought it to the bed to press to his brow. She wanted to comfort him. He turned over and buried his face in between her breast, preferring that kind of comfort instead. Kassidy tossed the rag to the floor and settled down to sleep.

  50.

  In her sleep, she felt the empty space next to her. She opened her eyes to confirm she was alone. Kassidy sighed. Would it be the last time she saw Tarek? The wooden deck outside of her bedroom was where he escaped. He went down the stairs in the middle of the night. Though she said downstairs he’d never been to her place before it was lie. Tarek had been to her place and in her bed many times.

  There was a strange noise downstairs. It sounded like the slamming of cabinet doors. She got out of the bed and found her robe. She went to the stairs and froze. She listened. The person was scavenging, searching. She could hear the closet doors below shutting. And it dawned on her that she left the gun downstairs. It was best she confronted the person than be backed into a corner upstairs. So Kassidy went down.

  It was of little surprise to her to find Reese, rummaging through her things.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Where is it?” she slammed the closet door. “Your time is up. Where is the thumb drive?”

  “Gone,” Kassidy said.

  “What do you mean gone?” Reese asked.

  “Why do you care Reese? What's in it for you?”

  “Are you so dense that you haven't put it together now?” Reese asked.

  “No, I just wanted you to say it. Say that you have been conspiring with Dale. That you still are.”

  Reese gave her a snide smirk. “You should have cooperated with me Kassandra, Kassidy, or whoever you are. Tarek was never in charge. Dale is. And Dale knows you have the thumb drive. I have been letting myself into this apartment for a week looking for the damn thing! I’ve searched everything even your damn purse.”

  “I lost it. When Tarek kidnapped me he tossed my purse,” Kassidy said.

  “You're lying. I'm not an idiot.”

  “You sure about that?” Kassidy asked.

  Reese pulled out a gun. “I have done too much. Been through too much! Give me the damn thumb drive!” Reese’s eyes were bright, wild.

  “I don’t have the damn thing,” Kassidy said. “So you're going to have to believe me or pull the damn trigger.”

  “Don't you want to know what happens to people who turn on Dale. Look at Tarek, look at your friend Daniel. Did his life mean nothing to you?” Reese smiled. “Ah, look at your face. Of course it meant something. When the storm hit, Cash already had orders to bring you in. He had given Tarek the information we dug up on you to make sure he stayed out of the way. But Tarek didn't. He went after you. And he got to you before Cash did. So Dale and I had to come up with another plan. But apparently you and Tarek had already had your own drama going. I didn't know you were sleeping with him. Or that the idiot would kidnap you and your friend. The stupid idiot ran off the road in the snow. Cash found him trying to push his car. It was my idea that he slit his throat before he put a bullet in his gut.”

  Kassidy frowned. The story Reese was telling was a lie. Daniel was very much alive when he arrived at the ranch. Why did Reese think Cash had already killed him? And if Cash didn’t do what Dale ordered him to do, who was Cash and Daniel really working for?

  “You had Daniel killed,” Kassidy said loudly into the room. “For what, a man that doesn’t give a shit about you? What the hell is wrong with you, Reese?”

  Reese sniffed. “Don’t make me do it, Kassidy. Don't make me kill you too. Give me the damn USB thing. Or I will. I will...”

  The door exploded and several agents rushed inside. They shouted at everyone to get down. Kassidy dropped to her knees. She put her hands up, as did Reese. There was so much shouting she didn’t know who spoke. And then Kassidy lifted her gaze from the floor to see Reese handcuffed. She fought against the agents who dragged her out.

  The agent stormed the upstairs room. They would not find Tarek upstairs. This was the final card dealt in their game. And this time her life and Tarek’s was on the line.

  Two Days Earlier –

  Kassidy sliced into the head of lettuce. She glanced up to the television news report. There was a prediction of another winter snowstorm coming their way. She reached for the phone to call her adoptive mother. She finally got the strength of mind to do so. But it rang before she could dial. At first she wasn't sure if she should. It could be the press she was warned about.

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Kass... it's me,” the person breathed.

  “Tarek? Where are you? Are you okay?”

  “Listen to me. We don't have much time. My brother is coming after you.”

  “I know. Reese has already been here questioning me.”

  “Thumb drive,” he said in a weakened voice.

  “They want it Tarek. They know I have it.”

  “Never admit you have it. Tell them you lost it. Or say you destroyed it. Never mention it exists. Not to me, not to anyone, until we... my plan...” he said. “I want you to contact the feds.”

  “What? No. How does that help anything? They'll arrest you and your family.”

  “Contact them and make a deal. Have them wire the place. Does Reese come often?”

  “She's been here. Snooping around my things when I’m not in the room. She says she'll be back and there are men outside. She says they work for your father.”

  “Probably not. Those men probably work for the feds. I dunno.”

  “Tarek, you don't sound good.”

  “I'm fine. The name Kovalevsky, make the feds tell us how he is connected to my father and that man in the picture.”

  “You know who the man in the picture is?”

  “I have known for two months. And the feds know too. Make them tell you, and convince them that I have no idea who my father really is. Do you understand?”

  “No. None of this make sense. Who is your father?”

  “It’s too long of a story. The feds need a way in. If they can’t use you they will take you down with all o
f us. So we use them. Can you play this game with me Kassandra? One last time?”

  “You think I have that kind of power?” She sniffed and wiped away her tears.

  “You’ve always had that kind of power over me. You can do it. You're good at this remember My wicked sorceress?”

  “What if what they have incriminates you?” she asked.

  “Then all the better, just make sure you get it before we give them what they think they want. Everything. A mailman is going to come by tomorrow. He will have a package for you. In it is a cellphone and a thumb drive. After the feds give you the deal you call me on the number I’ve put in the phone. You tell me their plan and then you destroy the phone. Hide the original USB where no raid can uncover it. The one I send you is the one we turn over. You’re my daredevil Kassie. We can do this. Together.”

  “Why will we do this?” she asked.

  “I can’t protect you like this. Not from my family or Yegor. They all want to silence you. This is the best way.”

  “No. I want to know the real reason. Why are you doing this?”

  “Because I’ve fallen in love with you. And I’m not going to lose you. Not I like I lost Clarissa.”

  “I love you too Tarek. I always have. I'll do anything for you,” Kassidy said. And she meant it.

  “Good girl. Call the feds. Make the deal.”

  “Tarek...”

  The line disconnected. Kassidy sighed. She put the phone down. She went back to her purse and located Detective Grason's phone number. He could put her in contact with the FBI. She had to make a choice. And her heart she discovered she already did.

  Present –

  Kassidy put her face in her hands. Agent Matthews was the last to arrive. He walked in and she could hear his conversation with his team. The door hung off the hinges. There was chatter all around her. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and tried to block it out. The sound of the kitchen chair being dragged across her hardwoods drew closer and closer. Someone sat in front of her. She didn’t bother to look up to see who it was. She didn’t care.

  When the person didn’t speak after a minute she lifted her face from her hands and looked at him.

  “You’re a very complicated woman, Ms. Turner. I’m disappointed. Even after our talk, you still held back,” he said.

  “You got your confession from Reese. You heard her and Tarek.”

  “Yes, I heard her. But I also heard you,” he pointed a finger at her. “The deal was Tarek Marshall. I don't have anything incriminating on him. Not even this infamous jump drive.”

  Kassidy lifted her gaze and locked in on the agent's angry glare. The FBI told her everything on Tarek and the Russians. Even things Tarek didn’t know when she shared it all back with him. Kovalevsky was scarier than the Russian Mafia. Kovalevsky had even deeper ties within the Kremlin. And he was untouchable. Nothing the feds did could bring them closer to him. That was until the FCC started its investigation, and the Marshalls got sloppy with trying to cover up their laundering of their money.

  He was right.

  She would never hand them Tarek. What she was bargaining for was both their lives. And now it was time to move the final piece on the board.

  “Still playing innocent?” the agent asked.

  “I showed him the truth about his parents on the computer. I tried to convince him to tell me about his connection to Kovalevsky. I did try.”

  “And then you took him upstairs. Knowing full well it would cut us off. I almost sent my agents in to drag him out. But we didn't have enough. So we let him leave. If it wasn’t for your friend arriving and exposing you, we wouldn’t have anything.”

  “She came in here with a gun, looking for that damn jump drive. You let her come in here and put my life in jeopardy. You’re the one playing games. You don’t have anything connecting Kovalevsky to Tarek. You used me, and my fear. You got what you deserved.”

  “I had the situation under control,” the agent said.

  “Liar!” Kassidy shouted.

  The agent continued to glare at her.

  “What happens now, To Tarek?” Kassidy asked.

  “He’s the one you’re concerned about?” the agent asked.

  “Answer me!” she demanded.

  “Thanks to you we don’t have much. He didn’t say anything really to incriminate himself with Kovalevsky.”

  “But arresting Reese will prove to Tarek that I betrayed him.”

  “Sounds to me being betrayed is a thing he’s used too.”

  “Then I need protection,” she said.

  “You know the price. No more games or lies. I want the fucking USB drive.” The agent said.

  She smiled. She opened her palm and revealed it. She had it the pocket of her robe the entire time. The agent eyes stretched like a kid at Christmas. “I want a deal. Do you understand me? A real one.”

  “You will have to testify against the Marshalls in court. Are you prepared to do that?” he asked. He took the thumbnail from her. She nodded.

  “Then congratulations Ms. Turner. You have won. You have brought down the Marshalls.”

  Chapter 22

  Two Weeks Later –

  The door opened and then it closed. Tarek turned his gaze from the window to the men. Vladimir Kovalevsky had arrived. He was wheeled in by his son Yegor. Like Alek Marshall, Vladimir had many sons, but only one that ruled his empire. Yegor was a few years older than Tarek, and the closest person he had to a friend. It was his relationship with Yegor that helped convince Vladimir to agree to the meeting. He nodded his gratitude at Yegor, who did the same in return. Kovalevsky didn’t appear welcoming. The once vengeful tyrant of a man that stood over six-feet tall had shriveled to an intolerant bastard who breathed from an oxygen tank. Tarek found it ironic that both Vladimir and Alek were in the same weakened state.

  The meeting spot took days to secure. The feds were crawling in and out of his ass regularly so he couldn’t leave the state. He had to call in several favors to arrange a meeting at the Benson Ranch located near the border in El Paso. He only got a pass from the judge to make the trip because of an office and side business he owned in the area. Still he had concerns that he was being watched.

  Tarek walked over and embraced Yegor, and then gave a respectful kiss to Kovalevsky’s cheek. “It’s good to see you.”

  “This will be the only meeting I grant. After what your father did you should be on your knees before me.” Vladimir said.

  “He isn’t my father,” Tarek corrected.

  Vladimir’s brow arched. He looked up at his son and then to Tarek for an explanation of his statement.

  “Viktor is my father. I know the full truth. Alek Marshall is done denying it.”

  “You know what those government agents have fed you. That isn’t close to the truth. I hear you’re considering an offer from them, to turn against your family.”

  “Papa. I told him the truth. Two months ago. I prepared him for this.”

  “Why?” Vladimir asked with his eyes narrowed like a serpent prepared to strike on Tarek.

  “My family has turned against me. They were going to implicate me and Yegor, to bring us down. I found out what my brother Dale was up too and told Yegor. It was then we decided how to deal with them.”

  “I’m listening,” Vladimir said.

  Tarek nodded. “Dale tried to kill me. I know you know this. And Alek, the man who pretends to be my father, he let it happen.”

  “American values,” Vladimir chuckled. He took a hit of air from his oxygen mask and inhaled deeply. “Whatever happened between you and them, it is family business and you deal with it that way. You never bring in outsiders. And you never turn against them to me. My interests are not yours.”

  “I think they can be. I haven’t told the government anything about you,” he said. “My brother Dale, however, will do anything to save his own hide. And Pops… He’s surrounded by lawyers and politicians to protect him. What about your interests?”

  “Me
?” Vladimir chuckled. “I have diplomatic immunity. Gorbachev made that happen for me long before you were born. Nothing your father does matters to me. He knows the limits.”

  “Times have changed since Gorbachev. Have they not? Your diplomatic status isn’t a bulletproof shield. If the feds get my brother to talk, and they will, he’ll give them anything to save his ass. It will disrupt your business, and put a blemish on your international relations with the other countries.”

  Vladimir narrowed his eyes on him. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d want me to have him silenced. Your own brother.”

  “Like I said, they are no longer family to me. I’m the son of Viktor Bychkov.” Tarek took a seat in the open chair so he could look eye to eye with the old man. “I want what should be mine. I want to cross into Bratva.”

  Kovalevsky gave him a toothy smile. “Viktor Bychkov was not Bratva; it is not your destiny.”

  “It is my destiny to be what my father could not become. To walk into the brotherhood and I will be one of the Vory. And I know the way Pakhan. I know the price.”

  Vladimir looked over to his son “Yegor? Have you been given lessons again?”

  “I meant no disrespect. I'm serious,” Tarek said and spared his friend from his father’s wrath.

  “Are you?”

  “To be Vor I must shed the Marshalls. No? So, I am making my offer first. I’ll confess to the insider trading and securities fraud charges. I’ll get four to eight years federal time. I doubt I'll serve more than two.”

  “And the murder, kidnapping charges?” Vladimir asked.

  “Murder charges are going to be pinned on Dale. They don’t have any reason to pursue kidnapping charges against me.”

  “It's that easy?” Kovalevsky sneered.

  “No. It's not. But I will prove my loyalty Pakhan. And you will my destiny. As for my father's money, his patent, all of it, I intend to sue to get it returned to me. And I’ll win. I can be useful to you.”

  “And what of your family, The Marshall legacy you have been so fiercely protective of?”