Russian Mobster's Pregnant Mistress Read online

  “I thought I might find you in here.” Courtney entered the room and perched on the edge of a table. “I swear you’ve become the queen of snacks. I keep thinking you’re going to blow up like a balloon, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting you like it would a normal person.” Courtney’s features scrunched into a frown. “How is that fair, by the way?”

  Maggie popped the top on a container of yogurt. “So, you found me. What do you want? Or is this actually work related and are you trying to talk to me like a lawyer talks to a paralegal?”

  “Nothing that dramatic, I assure you. I want you to go out with me tonight!” Courtney said eagerly. “You haven’t been out since that one time you slept with what’s his name.”

  “His name was Jacob,” Maggie supplied. “And no. I haven’t felt like doing another one-night stand. I got lucky last time. Jacob was really nice to me. He could have been a total douche, but he wasn’t.”

  “So you’ll go and meet another guy who isn’t a total douche. It’s simple.” Courtney jumped down from the tabletop. “I’ll pick you up at eight. We can split a cab. We’ll even go to the same club.”

  There was a tiny part of Maggie that wanted to agree, only because she secretly wondered if she would somehow manage to meet Jacob once again. The idea of seeing him was a pleasant one. Although he had started to get kind of weird when she had left his hotel room. He’d told her that she would be seeing him again. Yet she hadn’t. Had he changed his mind?

  “Come on, Maggie.” Courtney put on her best pouty face. “Please?”

  Maggie was just about to respond when something on the news caught her eye. She blinked in shock as she realized that there was a picture of Jacob—her Jacob—on the screen. Leaning over, she turned up the volume.

  “What are you doing?” Courtney demanded.

  “Hush.”

  Courtney didn’t appreciate that one bit. “Seriously, Maggie. You’ve been acting really weird lately.”

  That was true enough. Maggie felt weird. “Don’t you recognize the guy on the screen?” she asked Courtney. Maybe it was a feeble attempt to hope she wasn’t seeing what she was seeing.

  “Holy shit!” Courtney gasped. She went to the television and got so close she could have kissed the picture. “It’s that Jacob guy!”

  “And apparently he’s the most notorious mafia kingpin in New York,” Maggie groaned. “How is it possible that I didn’t know that?”

  “Are you up on all of your local crime news?” Courtney asked with a snort. “Because I assure you, I’m not. He really is hot though. Look at him!” She pointed to the screen. “Even in a mug shot he looks good.”

  “Are they saying they indicted him?” Maggie was having trouble following what the news anchor was saying.

  “No. She just said he was released without charges because they didn’t have any evidence.” Courtney pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I wonder how often he gets arrested. Hmm, that is so”—she paused as if she were searching for the most dramatic way to say the obvious—“sexy. Yes. That’s sexy!”

  “Are you saying illegal activities are sexy? Because that is insane. You are a lawyer, Courtney! And both of us should be steering clear of this guy.” Maggie heaved a gigantic sigh. “You know what? I’m totally going out with you tonight.”

  “Woohoo!” Courtney bounced up and down. “That’s awesome! Although I’m slightly confused as to why you’ve had a sudden change of heart.”

  “Maybe I just need something to get my mind off Jacob.” Maggie didn’t add that she was hoping to see the jerk at Club 599. Then she could really give him a piece of her mind. What kind of man slept with a woman but didn’t mention that he was a real live criminal mastermind? Maggie realized that Courtney was still waiting for more of an explanation. “Okay, so the night I was with Jacob at the Plaza?”

  “Yes?” Courtney said expectantly.

  Maggie swallowed. She had no notion of how her friend was going to take this bit of news. “Well I sort of forgot to mention that he told me he would see me again.”

  “Wow!” Courtney looked thunderstruck. “So you’ve been waiting all month for this jerk to get ahold of you and he didn’t.”

  “And now I find out that he’s been a little busy with this big investigation into his mafia activities.” Maggie felt ridiculous even saying that. “Now I totally understand why he never contacted me, but I’m equally certain I don’t really want him to.”

  “This is messed up,” Courtney said with a hard nod. “You totally need to go out and get laid tonight. It’ll help clear your head.”

  “You have the most baffling outlook on life, Court, especially for a woman who negotiates prenuptial agreements and divorce decrees for a living.” Maggie told her friend. “Seriously, I think you honestly believe that sex solves everything.”

  “Oh it does.”

  Maggie didn’t even have to think twice about that one. “I think in this case it might just make things more complicated.”

  “Your place, eight o’clock,” Courtney reminded her. “We’ll share a cab.”

  Maggie felt the first twinge of real excitement she’d experienced since she had left Jacob’s hotel room. “See you then.”

  ***

  One night at a club did not make Maggie an expert in club rituals or the behavior of those who hung out there. Still, the second time she followed Courtney into Club 599 she felt far more comfortable than she ever would have expected. The music was still so loud it felt as though her teeth were growing loose in their sockets. The beat pounded off the walls and the sea of dancers spun and gyrated to the rhythm.

  Maggie spotted the man they had seen that first night leaning against the bar with a drink in his hand. Apparently he was still there picking up dates, or not as the case might have been. The bartenders were still all blond men with perfect bodies and brilliant white smiles. Yet when Maggie bellied up to the bar with Courtney, she felt more at ease than she had on her previous visit.

  “You want a Cosmopolitan?” Courtney had to yell to be heard over the music.

  Maggie didn’t feel as if her queasy stomach was going to enjoy alcohol very much this evening. “Actually, just get me a ginger ale please?”

  “Straight?” Courtney asked incredulously. “Are you serious?”

  “Very.” Maggie was already scanning the crowd for familiar faces. “I don’t want to puke and this place smells horrible.”

  “It smells bad?” Courtney looked confused. “How can you smell anything? It’s all just jumbled together.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Maggie muttered. She had to choke down the gag reflex as an overdressed man wafted by on a wave of noxious cologne fumes. “It’s like the whole city decided to shower in their cologne before eating garlic bread for dinner and then smearing fish all over their feet.”

  “Okay, that is disgusting.” Courtney made a face. She waved down the nearest bartender. “Give me a Cosmopolitan and a ginger ale please?”

  She got the nodded response and the bartender whipped up their drinks and set them on the countertop. Courtney picked hers up and sipped lightly at the liquid. In direct contrast, Maggie downed hers in one pull.

  “What is up with you?” Courtney looked concerned. “You’re acting so weird!”

  Maggie slammed her glass back on the counter. “I’m dying of thirst, that’s all.”

  “Oh, oh!” Courtney made a show of deliberately not looking behind them. “There’s a super hot guy headed in this direction. He totally just gave you the once over too.”

  “How do you know?” Maggie demanded.

  Courtney looked mystified. “How do you not? When you’re in a club you need to be watching every single quarter just in case someone is checking you out. It’s the only way to prepare the appropriate response.”

  “And the appropriate response in this case would be?” Maggie was dying to look over her shoulder, but even she knew that would be bad form.

  “You should totally dance with this guy. And if
he wants you to go get a room with him, you should do it.” Courtney sounded bizarrely businesslike. “He’s a mega hottie. Seriously. Prepare yourself not to act like a deaf mute.”

  “I think I’ve got this,” Maggie assured her friend with a chuckle.

  From the corner of her eye Maggie noticed a man heading in her direction. She actually felt a pang of disappointment when she realized that it wasn’t Jacob. Not that Courtney would have been able to keep that a secret, but Maggie still couldn’t be certain how she felt about seeing Jacob again.

  “Excuse me, ma’am?” The man’s voice was coated in a very familiar Eastern European accent. “My name is Sasha.”

  “Hello, Sasha,” Maggie said politely. She was starting to think this was not a normal pickup. Beside her, Maggie sensed Courtney practically panting over this Sasha person.

  “I am here on behalf of a man you met nearly a month ago,” Sasha said, leaning in close so she could hear him. “His name is Jacob Dolohov.”

  “Wait, what?” Courtney, who had obviously been eavesdropping, pointed right at Sasha. “Are you telling me that your criminal friend asked you to come over here and pick up my friend?”

  Sasha actually looked confused. It would have been amusing if it hadn’t been Maggie’s life. Maggie thought back to that first night. This Sasha guy didn’t look like one of the creepy goons that had been tailing her and Jacob from the club to the hotel. What if he was in a rival mob or something? Did that happen in real life or was she going a little too far down fantasy lane?

  “I’m not trying to pick up Ms. Morrison,” Sasha told them.

  It occurred to Maggie that she hadn’t given Jacob her surname that night. She’d just told him her name was Maggie. “How do you know my name?” She was afraid she already knew.

  “We know a lot of things, Ms. Morrison,” Sasha said. His tone danced perilously close to a threat. “But the only thing that matters for the moment is that Jacob Dolohov would like a word with you.”

  “Where is he?” There was no way Maggie was getting into some dark car and driving to a slum somewhere in New York. She might not be an experienced woman of the world, but she hadn’t been born yesterday either.

  Sasha gestured to an area at the back of the club that was roped off. “He’s in the VIP section. Considering recent events, he decided it wouldn’t be wise for him to walk about in the open.”

  “Recent events,” Courtney scoffed. “I’ll bet.” Then she turned to Maggie. “I think you should tell him to go fuck himself, but I know you probably won’t.”

  “I’d like an explanation,” Maggie admitted. She touched Courtney’s arm. “I’ll only be a minute.”

  “I’ll stay right here until you text me,” Courtney promised. “But for the record, I think this is a really bad idea.”

  Maggie nodded and then turned to follow Sasha. If Courtney was saying that something was a bad idea, it probably meant Maggie should be running the opposite direction, screaming her head off. So much for common sense.

  Chapter Five

  Jacob could not believe how tense he was waiting for Sasha to return. By the time he saw Sasha’s dark head bobbing through the crowd, Jacob was ready to tackle him for information. Then Jacob realized that Sasha wasn’t alone. Maggie was following close behind him.

  The sight nearly took his breath away. She wore a little blue dress that set off her dark hair and made her look even more fairy like. He had remembered her being beautiful, but he hadn’t recalled this sensation of having the wind knocked out of him.

  “Jacob,” Sasha said with a mocking little bow. “I found your lady friend.”

  “Lady friend?” Maggie propped on hand on her hip and glared down at him.

  Seated on a low couch, Jacob felt at a little disadvantage. He was unaccustomed to people towering over him, especially when they had a very unhappy frown on their face.

  Maggie gave Sasha a pointed look before making a shooing motion with her hands. “You performed your little task, now beat it.”

  The disgruntled look on Sasha’s face wasn’t a sight Jacob was likely to forget anytime soon. Jacob’s lieutenant sent a significant glance his way before retreating to the velvet rope barrier separating the VIP section from the rest of the club.

  Maggie glanced around, seeming to take in the grouping of couches, the private bar, and the lack of any other patrons in sight. Then she snorted. “You’ve got the place to yourself tonight, hmm, Mr. VIP?”

  “It seemed prudent,” Jacob ventured.

  “Oh yes, because you’ve recently been in the news for all of your criminal activities!” She took a dramatic step back and put her palm on her chest. “But don’t worry. There wasn’t enough evidence to indict so that probably means it’s all just trumped up charges the cops used to harass you. Right?”

  “Actually, no.” Jacob had no idea if he was taking the right tactic here or not. “A lack of evidence does not mean a lack of criminal activities.”

  “So that’s supposed to make me feel better?” she shouted. “What the hell, Jacob? You couldn’t have mentioned to me that night what you do for a living?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “You’re the one who was going on and on about wanting a one-night stand. Do you really think people are particularly honest about themselves in that situation?”

  “Well I was!”

  Jacob got to his feet and captured her hands. “I know, and that is what made you a singular standout to me. Nobody has ever been that honest with me before. It absolutely boggled my mind.”

  “Honest?” She looked confused. “I didn’t even tell you my last name.”

  “But you told me every single thought that went through you mind.” Jacob laughed at the memory. “You detailed all of your apprehensions about one-night stand protocol. You expressed to me exactly what you wanted in and out of the bed, and I loved every single second.”

  “Oh.”

  Jacob caressed her cheek. “I’m sorry if you feel I lied to you.”

  “I kept waiting for you to contact me.” Two lines appeared between her brows. “When you didn’t I decided you found another piece of tail to chase.”

  “First,” he began dryly. “You’re not a piece of tail. Second, I didn’t want to inadvertently drag you into this bullshit with the police.”

  “Appreciated, really.” Her tone dripped sarcasm. She pulled her hands out of his and lifted her palms to her cheeks. “I should really be going.”

  “Why? You just got here.”

  “I know,” she said with a bob of her head. “But now it seems like a really bad idea.”

  “Why?” Jacob was willing to do just about anything to convince her to stay the night with him.

  “Well, to be frank,” she began ruefully. “I’m really horny lately and trying to make good decisions when I’m horny is pretty much a failing proposition.”

  Jacob nearly choked on the laugh that wanted to burst forth. “Is this where you tell me that you’re usually not this bold, but you’ve been drinking?”

  “Nope, I’m totally sober. The only thing I’ve had is ginger ale.” She moved away from him toward the bar. “And I would actually like another one. I’m so damn thirsty!”

  Jacob signaled the bartender. The man flipped a glass right side up and used the soda wand to fill it with fizzy ginger ale. Maggie grabbed the drink and swallowed the whole thing in one long pull. She slammed it back down on the bar and gestured for another.

  Jacob couldn’t help but feel as if there was something a little off about Maggie tonight. Although he barely knew the woman so he might be completely off base. Still, he had the urge to take her back to his place and bundle her up in safety until everything was better.

  “Maggie,” he said quietly. “Please spend the night with me.”

  “At the Plaza?” She turned around, a fresh drink in her hand.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I want you to come to my place.”

  “If you have your own place in the city, why would
you get a suite at the Plaza?” Her brow knitted briefly, and then understanding smoothed the frown away. “Oh, business. Never mind.”

  “So, will you spend the night with me?” he pressed.

  She took a drink from her glass. “I really shouldn’t, you know. I’m going to do something I’ll regret.”

  “Because you’re horny?” he guessed.

  “Yep.”

  Jacob’s cock was already on board with that idea. “Then maybe I should help you with that little problem so that you can go back to clearheaded thinking.”

  “Wow.” She appeared to be suppressing a huge grin. “That’s good. Really. Public service sex. You might be onto something there.”

  He shrugged. “Just trying to help.”

  “Well how can I say no to that?” She set her empty glass back on the bar. “I suppose we’d better find a back way out though. Courtney is going to murder me when she finds out, and I’d rather put that off.”

  Jacob took the hand she offered. “No problem. Knowing all of the exits is a kind of occupational necessity for me.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  ***

  Maggie paced in front of the French doors leading to a wide terrace outside the living room of Jacob’s penthouse apartment. She held her phone in her hand. Deciding what to text Courtney in order to keep her friend from calling the cops was a real pain in the ass.

  “Can’t you just tell her to mind her own business?” Jacob suggested.

  Maggie swung around and gave him an open mouthed look of surprise. “Wow. You really are a mafia boss, aren’t you?”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Maggie texted a few sentences and sent them off to Courtney, hoping they were the magic combination. “Because you’re used to people just doing what you say.”

  “I suppose I am.” He stood at the counter, pouring her yet another ginger ale.

  She took the offered glass. “Thank you.”

  “So, not much of a drinker are you?”

  “No.” She thought about the real Maggie Morrison. “Not a drinker, a partier, or pretty much anything interesting.”