The Russian's Secret Child (The Fedosov Family Series) (2 page)

“Misha.”

“Sergei, the young woman that is headed down right now, I want you to follow her and tell me where she goes.”

“Is there a problem?”

“I don’t think so. I have a past history with her and want to know everything there is to know about her life these last eighteen months.”

“Will do. She’s coming out of the elevator now. I’ll follow her, discreetly, and let you know where she ends up.”

“Thanks.” Misha hung up the phone and then pulled up several programs on his computer. He started the searches and then headed out to grab some coffee while the computer programs ran. Jasmine Martin might think she could hide information from him, but she evidently had forgotten whom she was dealing with.

                                                                                    *****

Sergei followed the young woman with the white-blonde hair, wondering where she was going when she crossed yet another street, before turning right. This part of St. Petersburg was one of the poorest in the city, riddled with crime and Russian Bratva. It was definitely not a place for a young woman to be walking around alone in the dark, and the daytime wasn’t much better.

He watched her climb the stairs leading to a very rundown building, pleased to see that at least the outer door was locked and required a key to open it.

Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he called one of the other security personnel to come pick him up before calling Misha.

“Talk to me,” Misha told him, returning to his office.

“How well do you know this woman?”

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“She lives in the Ligovo area.”

“What?! What in the hell is she doing in such a crime ridden area? She was living on the university campus last time I saw her.”

“I don’t know sir, but she had a key to the outer door. At least it’s kept locked.”

Misha cursed loudly, “Come back here. I ran a check on her and it should be back. Have one of the off-duty guards watch her apartment. I want to know every move she makes and who comes and goes from that building.”

Sergei returned to the DAV Mining building and then sent his driver back to watch the building. Exiting the elevator on the top floor, he made his way to Misha’s office.

“Come on in. I don’t understand this. Her visa expired almost seventeen months ago and hasn’t been renewed. There’s also no record of her leaving the country.”

“So she’s here illegally?” Sergei asked. “If that’s the case, why would she come here looking for a job? She has to know she can’t work in Russia without a work permit.”

“I’m sure she knows that. Why didn’t she renew her visa if she wasn’t heading back to the states?”

“You said she was as student?”

“Yeah, she was finishing her doctorate when we met.”

“Forgive me for asking, but how long and how well did you know this girl?”

Misha looked at Sergei, “We were together for three weeks and two days. And I knew her better than anyone. She’s an orphan with no family to speak of. She was raised in the American foster care system and used federal grant monies to pay for her education. She’s allergic to dogs, hates strawberries, and is a fitness fanatic. When she gets stressed out, she runs or works out.”

“It shows.” Sergei raised an eyebrow when Misha glared at him, “I have eyes in my head. She’s gorgeous and anyone looking can see that she takes care of herself.”

“I can’t stop you from looking, but if you touch her, I’ll be forced to seek retribution.”

Sergei laughed at the serious look upon Misha’s face, “She really got to you, didn’t she? So what happened?”

Misha sighed, “She didn’t want to live in Russia, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. We argued. I stormed out. I was back in St. Petersburg for a short training mission and then we left for eight weeks. When I came back, she was gone, the school semester had ended, and no one knew anything about where she had gone. I assumed she had gone back to the U.S.”

“Well, she couldn’t go back now even if she wanted to.”

“That’s what has me worried. She was very level-headed. I can’t see the girl I knew eighteen months ago allowing her visa to expire and becoming stuck here in a country she said she would never stay in. Something else happened to keep her here and I want to know what it is.”

“We’ll find the answers. I assume you gave her the job?”

“Yes. If for no other reason than to keep her close until I can solve this mystery.”

“I’ll bring you a report in the morning.”

“Good. Let’s get out of here.” Misha shut down his computer, frustrated that the programs hadn’t returned more information no Jasmine’s activities the last eighteen months. He’d just have to see if he could get her to divulge more information to him tomorrow.

Chapter 3

Jasmine arrived at the DAV Mining building fifteen minutes early for her 10 o’clock appointment. She was actually looking forward to meeting some other Americans, especially women.

A hulking man named Sergei met her in the foyer and escorted her up to the top floor, directing her to a small office on the opposite side of the building from Misha’s office.
Thank goodness!

She entered the room, and was immediately greeted by two women chattering away in English. A petite brunette and a petite blonde. Both women were gorgeous and dressed in the height of fashion.

Jasmine cringed to think of how she must look coming in here in holey jeans and a too-tight t-shirt. She had donned a well-worn bomber jacket to help dispel the cold. She resisted the urge to cover herself and strove to portray a confidence she didn’t feel. “Good morning.”

“Hi.”

“Welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. I’m Julia,” the brunette told her.

“And I’m Desiree, but you can call me Desi,” her southern drawl making Jasmine smile.

“I’m Jasmine. I understand you are both going to be staying in Russia and want to learn the language?”

Both women nodded their heads eagerly, “Well, why don’t we get to know each other a little better and you can tell me what you already know and then I’ll have a better understanding of how to help you.”

“That sounds great.” Desi drawled, “I hate not being able to communicate with people. I’m a writer…”

“
Were
a writer. Now you’re a television reporter.”

Desi made a face at Julia before she continued, “Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted… I hate not being able to communicate with people or read the language. You can teach me to read Cyrillic, can’t you?”

Jasmine sat down and shook her head ruefully, “Not unless you have lots of time and like being frustrated. Cyrillic is one of the hardest languages to learn to read because it uses characters, not letters.”

“Well, I’m willing to put in the effort, if you’re willing to teach me. I was thinking that maybe I should get one of the primers the elementary kids use. That would be a good idea, right?”

Jasmine nodded, “Yeah. Are you wanting to learn to read Cyrillic, too?” she asked Julia.

“It would be nice to be able to read the street signs and such, so yes.”

“Okay, well, we’ll need to locate some primers…”

“I’ll ask Mrs. Rusnik. I bet she knows where to get them,” Julia jumped from her chair, leaving the small office.

Jasmine turned and looked at Desi, “Who’s Mrs. Rusnik?”

“She’s the dragon lady that keeps this place running and our men in line. She even keeps Misha in line, which is no easy task. Have you met him yet?”

Jasmine couldn’t stop the blush that rushed to her cheeks.
Had she met Misha? Boy, had she ever and then some!

Desi watched her new tutor blush and laughed, “I’ll take that as a ‘Yes’.”

Julia returned, “Mrs. Rusnik said she knew just who to call and they should be here tomorrow.”

“Great!” Jasmine returned, forcing an enthusiasm into her voice. “So, why don’t we take a walk? You can point out the items you already know the Russian words for, and I’ll teach you a few more.”

Both women jumped up, “That’s a great idea! Come on; let’s go before the men get back.” Turning to Jasmine, they explained, “They’re just a tad overprotective and if we’re still here when they get back, they’ll want to tag along and that would take all of the fun out of the adventure.”

By all means. Let’s leave before the men get back just in case Misha is with them!
“Sure, let’s go now.”

The women left the building without incident, not seeing Sergei send one of the security guards to follow them. They walked several blocks, naming things, and places in Russian while Jasmine filled in some they didn’t know. When they returned two hours later, Jasmine declined the invitation to go back upstairs with them and meet their almost-husbands.

She excused herself, saying she had another appointment and hurried off down the sidewalk. Both women shrugged and thought nothing about her fast departure. They had learned several new words, and were anxious to display their newfound knowledge to Mrs. Rusnik, and the men.

Jasmine hurried home, her feet hurting by the time she finished the ten block walk across town. She kept her head down, and her eyes and ears open for danger as she walked the last two blocks. The Russian Bratva was currently fighting amongst themselves, and since she lived in the heart of their territory, it was more common than not to see violence taking place in broad daylight.

She had never been the recipient of their violence, but she also knew there was a first time for everything and wasn’t stupid enough to think she could live in this part of the city without the possibility of harm coming to her.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the apartment complex. Climbing the stairs to the third floor, she knocked on her neighbor’s door, “Dasha, I’m home,” she called through the door.

Dasha opened the door with a smile of greeting upon her face, “Oh good, I was just about to put him down for a nap. Now we won’t have to wake him. Mikhail, look who’s here, baby. Momma’s here.”

Jasmine smiled at her son, picking him up and nuzzling his baby neck, “Hello sweetheart. Were you a good boy for Dasha?”

“He’s always a good boy. He was a little cranky at first, but he seems fine now. So, how was your first day?”

Jasmine smiled, “It was good. The two ladies I’m working with are very nice. I must say it’s nice to hear other American’s speaking English.”

Dasha laughed, she wished she could speak English, but alas, she only spoke Russian. It was a bonus that Jasmine spoke Russian as well as she did English so they had no problems communicating with each other.

“I should get out of your hair. Thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s worth getting up, to know that I get to play with this little man for a few hours. See ya tomorrow?”

Jasmine nodded, “Same time.”

“Have a nice day.”

Jasmine carried her son to her own apartment, making sure to fasten all of the locks and chains before she headed for the kitchen to put the kettle on.

“Mikhail, I did well today, baby. In a few months, Mommy will be able to afford to apply for a new visa and then we’ll go home to America. We just have to hold on for a few more months.”

Jasmine rocked her son to sleep, sipping her tea and dreaming of the day she could board a plane with her son and leave Russia. She should have left before her visa expired, but she had stuck around hoping Misha would come back so she could tell him he was going to be a father.

By the time she had realized he wasn’t coming back, she was extremely ill and it was all she could do to take care of herself from one day to the next.  She had met Dasha at one of the medical clinics and Dasha had taken her under her wing.

By the time she had been feeling well enough to make rational decisions, her visa had expired and she had lost her chance to turn in her final doctoral thesis. She had allowed her future to slip through her fingers, and ended up stuck in a strange country, pregnant and alone.

The only way for her to fix this mess was to obtain a new visa, a forged one, but one that would most likely result in her being able to enter the U.S. once again.

Unfortunately, the cost for such a piece of paper was in excess of two thousand American dollars. Money she didn’t have, and without a work permit, couldn’t earn. She was screwed!

She had called the U.S. Embassy from a payphone shortly after Mikhail had been born, but had been told that they could only assist with her visa. They couldn’t help her get her son into the U.S. because he was technically a Russian citizen. Since there was no way she was leaving her son behind, she had become stuck here.

When she had seen the advertisement for a Russian tutor and recognized the DAV Mining address, she had seen the first glimmer of hope. Now she just needed to keep the tutoring job until she had enough money saved to purchase visas for her and her son, and then enough additional money to purchase their plane ticket home.

She would still need to keep her other job of translating American newspapers for one of the local Bratva bosses, but that was only enough to pay the rent and purchase meager food stuffs for her and her son.  She needed to dazzle Julia and Desi so that they would keep her around until she had enough money saved to leave.
Please, let them want to keep me around!

Chapter 4

Jasmine put her sleeping son down on the bed and stacked the pillows behind him so that he couldn’t roll off the bed. She stretched her arms, feeling the tension in her shoulders and wishing she dared to go out for a run.

Living in Ligovo, that wasn’t an option. So she did the next best thing, she turned on some music and started going through an exercise routine that would have done the U.S. Marines proud, or one Russian Army Special Forces soldier.
Where did that thought come from?

She pushed her muscles for over an hour, wiping the sweat from her brow as she finished the last set of lunges. Her muscles were burning, but her mind was clearer. Heading for the shower, she quickly washed off, making sure to not drink any of the water.