Dark Desire Lauren Smith (books for 8th graders .txt) 📖

blonde woman, young, with big green eyes. Tatiana’s file had resurfaced because her daughter had used a DNA profiling site. Her DNA markers had triggered an alert in their system. Vladimir’s blood ran cold as he realized what that meant.

Tatiana had been a direct Romanov descendant, straight from the line of Nicholas and Alexandra. Tatiana’s daughter carried that same imperial royal blood. No one had told him or Viktor this when they’d sent them after her twenty years ago. If Vladimir didn’t find out what had happened to Viktor and fix this mistake, things could go badly for him.

He continued to search the file. There had to be answers somewhere in it. Viktor wouldn’t go this long without reporting. Failing to report to headquarters meant Viktor was injured or dead. He had a cyanide capsule in one of his molars, so if he had been captured, he wouldn’t have stayed alive long enough to betray his country.

Vladimir was going to have to handle this himself.

Vladimir slammed the file shut and put it in his attaché case. He grabbed his coat from the coatrack in the corner of his office.

The man who had told him Viktor had not checked in was lingering in the hallway. “Sir?”

“I’m leaving for a week. Report to Boris Yatvin while I’m gone.”

“Yes, sir.” The man ducked back into his cubicle and left Vladimir alone.

His mind was already miles away, plotting the death of a girl who should never have lived.

14

Elena wasn’t sure what to think when she woke alone in the master bedroom of the lodge. For a second, she didn’t remember where she was. There was no sound of the sea, no briny breeze drifting through an open balcony door. Then last night’s events came screaming back, creating a dull ache behind her eyes.

She was descended from Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. It was like something out of a childhood fairy tale . . . except for the fact that Russian assassins were trying to kill her.

She stretched across the bed, feeling the slight indent left in the mattress where Dimitri had been beside her. Last night, he’d promised to stay with her, to be with her. She searched the pillow, expecting to find a little note from him, but there wasn’t one. Her stomach cramped with sudden panic.

Had Dimitri already broken his promise to stay with her?

When she pushed the covers back, she suddenly heard Dimitri’s delighted laugh coming from down the hall. The knot of tension inside her eased. She dressed in jeans and a sweater and padded on her bare feet toward the sound of activity. She halted at the sight of the four handsome Russians cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Dimitri was working the griddle, flipping pancakes. Maxim was slicing lemons and dropping them into a pitcher of water. Nicholas was setting the table. Leo was cooking scrambled eggs on one skillet and frying bacon on another.

“Good morning, kiska.” Dimitri beamed at her.

“You all cook?” It wasn’t like they were impressive chefs or anything, but she’d honestly expected to come in and see them cleaning their guns instead of doing something strangely domestic.

“Naturally,” Nicholas answered with a wink. “We have many skills.”

“Did you sleep well?” Leo asked.

“Yes, I did. I’m sorry I woke you all last night.” She remembered seeing all of their faces crammed in the doorway, staring at her as she suffered a night terror.

Dimitri pointed at the kitchen table with the spatula. “Have a seat.” He seemed far more relaxed now that his friends were here. She was glad. In a way, they were making her more relaxed too. It felt like she had a small but fierce army to protect her now. But she still worried that it was selfish of her to ask him to stay with her when it put his life in clear danger.

Dimitri filled up a plate with food and set it down in front of her. She was relieved to see a sensuous gaze mixed with affection in his eyes. So he hadn’t changed his mind about them. He’d merely gotten up early to make breakfast. She felt like a fool for worrying.

Soon, the four men had their own plates and were seated all around her. Their plates were stacked high. She almost laughed. They definitely needed the calories, though. They were all built like Dimitri, tall, hard-muscled, with raw power emanating off them. She was glad they were on her side.

As she ate the men spoke freely, with a gentle, brotherly intimacy between them, and it filled an emptiness inside her that she had never noticed before. She was an only child, and she had never had the camaraderie of siblings before. Dimitri hadn’t been wrong—these men were his brothers. She should have felt shy around them for any number of reasons, but they were surprisingly easy to be around and didn’t expect her to join in their conversation if she didn’t want to. They spoke in English and offered her brotherly smiles, which still made her blush.

“So, where in Colorado are we headed?” Maxim asked as he buttered a slice of toast.

“Steamboat Springs. There’s a mountain resort that has private cabins that have plenty of bedrooms. We’ll be close to civilization, but not in the middle of it.”

“What about internet?” Leo asked.

“They should have it, but I imagine you’ll need to enact every security protocol you have and boost the signal,” Dimitri said.

“I’m sure I can,” Leo agreed.

“Max, Nicholas, and I will be training Elena once we get there.”

“Training?” Elena said suddenly. “What training?” She didn’t like the sound of that.

Dimitri reached across the table and placed one hand over hers. The touch instantly calmed her sudden panic. “Self-defense.”

“What, you mean like throat, nose, and groin punches?” she asked.

Nicholas winced at the mention of groin punching. “Yes, but more than that.”

“Yes. There is more to self-defense than punching. Most often, the attack comes before you are ready. You need to learn how to react when you’re already in a losing