A Very Russian Christmas by Roxie Rivera Page A

others more calculated, that had forever closed certain doors to him. He was too dark inside, too stained with sin, to ever be loved by a good woman.
    And, anyway, if he didn’t catch a bullet by fifty, he would be shocked. There was no use in dreaming of things he simply couldn’t have. He wasn’t Ivan. He wasn’t getting out of Nikolai’s family. There would be no sweet, gentle woman like Erin to save him.
    His thoughts turned to Vivian and this shit brewing with her father. The situation had trouble written all over it. As he pulled into his driveway and waited for his garage door to rise, he flashed back to the night Vivian had nearly died in Nikolai’s arms. She had been the scrawniest little thing back then. No one looking at her as a child could ever have imagined how she would blossom into such a hauntingly beautiful young woman. It was no surprise that she had bewitched Nikolai with those sky blue eyes of hers.
    Getting out of his vehicle, he decided he would have one last smoke before heading inside. He had been trying to cut back and was doing quite well, but the poker game had whet his appetite for the jolt of nicotine. Letting the garage door close behind him, Kostya leaned against the side of his house and simply stared out across his quiet, still neighborhood.
    It amazed him that he was able to blend in so easily with the rest of his middle class neighbors. He had chosen the modest ranch-style home for that very reason. He wanted to live invisibly, to be the man everyone waved at when he retrieved his mail or the morning paper but also the man no one knew. The few neighbors who asked got the same answer. I’m a security consultant.
    Only Holly had ever dared to ask more questions. Only she had tempted him to break his number one rule. Don’t get involved . He repeated it to himself again and again.
    Unsettled by the way she affected him, Kostya tried to figure out what it was about his petite blonde-haired neighbor that caused his stomach to leap and his chest to buzz whenever she was near. Oh, Holly was pretty, but he saw beautiful women every day and none of them made him feel like that. She had a nice laugh but so did plenty of other women. Her figure was a bit slim for his usual tastes. He had always preferred big, lush breasts and a nice, heavy ass not that pixie-like build she sported.
    Fishing his lighter and cigarettes from his pocket, he started to light up but held off when he spotted the two headlights illuminating the street. Nosiness went naturally with his occupation. Safe in the shadows and well hidden, he watched the pricey sedan roll down the cul-de-sac lane. He didn’t recognize the vehicle as one that belonged to any of his neighbors. On alert, he shifted his hand back to his holstered weapon. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had ordered a hit on a rival outfit during the holidays.
    When the car swung around and slid up against the sidewalk lining Holly’s house, his body went stiff. A surge of something that felt suspiciously like jealousy tore through him. Settle the fuck down , he silently ordered himself. She’s not yours. She can never be yours.
    Wanting to make sure she got inside all right—and wanting to get a good look at the man who had brought her home—Kostya jammed his cigarettes and lighter back into his pocket and crept around the edge of his garage. He made sure to stay cloaked by the darkness.
    When the passenger side door opened, Holly’s angry, upset voice filtered into the night. Instantly, his jaw tightened. Before he could stop himself, he was cutting across his yard to rescue her. From what, he didn’t know yet, but the sound of a man shouting at her enraged him.
    “You’re a pig!” Sobbing loudly, Holly clambered out of the sedan and dragged her coat along the wet sidewalk. The sleeve of her pretty gold dress was torn, revealing the strap of her red bra. Any other time that tempting view of her silky flesh might have tripped him up but right now