Russian Enforcer's Reluctant Bride Read Online Free PDF Page A

way I know to keep you safe. Marry me, and all will be well. I promise.”
    “How can I trust you? I don’t even know you.”
    “I realize that. Still, there is the matter of your husband’s debt. If not for him, you would be a free woman now.” He took a firmer grip on her hand. “I recommend you accept my offer, Joanna. Other men will come, and they won’t be as considerate as I am.”
    She stood, withdrawing her hand and clasping that infernal dog in her arms. The moment she lifted her chin in that gesture of defiance, he knew he’d lost his plea.
    “I’ll take my chances. You honestly can’t expect me to marry a total stranger, just because he comes barging into my house in the middle of the night with stories about debts and danger. I must ask you to leave now, Vitaly. Whatever business you have, you will have to take up with my ex-husband.”
    With a somber finality, he acknowledged her decision. He hated to see a good woman fall victim to the kind of monsters Yury would send after her, and when he gazed upon her, his hand automatically stole up her cheek, and he caressed it in a rare moment of tenderness. He’d gambled and lost, and now her fate was no longer his to decide.
    “I’m sorry,” he offered before turning away from her. He picked up the sledgehammer he’d casually parked against the banister and slung it over his shoulder, then expelled a piercing whistle to summon his men, and stalked out the door without another glance back.
    The sooner he forgot all about Joanna Royale, the better for his peace of mind. The last thing he heard were the yapping sounds of her Maltese. At least the men who would follow in his footsteps would take out the dog first, he thought. It wouldn’t do to kill the woman and leave the dog to mourn over her dead body. They were killers, to be sure, but they still abided by a certain code. If not, they’d be no better than the animals in the wild.
    Spartak removed his mask and eyed him curiously. “What was that all about?”
    “I decided to give her a chance,” he muttered, the memory of her eyes haunting him. “After all, it is not her fault that no-good husband of hers got into trouble.”
    “We should have grabbed her,” Spartak offered. “You know it’s only a matter of time before Yury sends Viktor.”
    Vitaly fell into a moody silence as he climbed behind the wheel, the prospect of the madman that was Viktor plying his sickening trade on Joanna.
    Boris, the third man, now also removed his mask. He was large and muscular, tattoos running the length of his shaven head. “I think she was mighty pretty,” he remarked. “Pity to whack her.”
    Yes, thought Vitaly. A real pity. Then he slammed the door shut, deciding to put her out of his mind once and for all, and shoved the key into the ignition.
    When the engine roared to life, and he stared out the windshield into the dark night, a pair of piercing green eyes seemed to stare back at him. His jaw working and his lips a tight line, he lurched the car into gear and soon they were swallowed by the blackness, the light in Joanna’s window quickly retreating in his rearview mirror until it was nothing more than a distant memory.

CHAPTER 7

    Joanna watched the van pull away from the drive and the red streak of brake lights trail off into the darkness and only now became aware of the harness of tension that had held her suspended. To release some of it, she expelled a deliberate breath, then bent down and scooped up a nervous Ram. Cuddling the animal close to her chest, she whispered, as much to the little dog as to herself, “It’s all right now, honey. The bad men are gone.”
    She felt a pervasive sense of urgency and restlessness creeping into her bones that had her stomping up the stairs, wondering about her next course of action. Vitaly had told her other men would come, and they wouldn’t be as nice as he was. Other men who would use her to get to Jonathan. As she swept into the bedroom and surveyed