Vasily's Revenge: The Complete Story (The Medlov Men Book 1) (7 page)

Chapter 6

The palatial Medlov mansion was a thing of absolute beauty. Never had Lilly seen such breathtaking chandeliers, vibrant and expensive paintings, large exotic flower arrangements, exquisite furniture pieces and extravagant ceilings and flooring in her entire life. She took in her surroundings as best she could. But the mansion was so massive, so very luxurious that it was hard to fathom that one family lived here.

Every room that she passed, she tried to spy a quick look, but following the men who led her made the simple task that much harder. Their strides were long and powerful, and they all moved with unwavering purpose. She almost felt as though she was running through the hall or at least moving a jogger’s speed to keep up.

Nearly every 50 feet down the long corridor she saw a guard, dressed in the same type of black suit, tactical gear or jeans. They all had tattoos and accents, and a look of clear loyalty and devotion.
That was normal in a situation like this
. But what was odd, unique, was the way that all of the men interacted with each other. This was their home, their place in the world. They all seemed to regard it as such and as a result, she imagined, they took on a role of protector that meant a great deal more than just someone who was paid to do a job.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she sat on the brown leather sofa in the elaborately designed and extremely masculine study – a room big enough to fit over half of her home.

Anatoly poured each of them a glass of vodka at the bar in the far corner of the room, while Vasily reviewed all the monitors on the other wall, leaving her to her thoughts.

Did Vasily think that she looked pretty anymore without all the diamonds, designer clothes and expensive hair weaves? Did he think that she looked dramatically older or heavier? She had picked up a few pounds since the baby. No doubt that he was surrounded by beautiful women now, many of them vying for his complete attention.

She berated herself quietly for even caring as long as he kept her safe, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted him to see her, but more than that, she wanted him to feel the same thing that she felt for him.

Pulling her hair back behind her ear, she tried to catch a glimpse of herself in the oversized mirror across the room without being too obvious. When she saw herself, she instantly wished that she hadn’t. She didn’t have on a smudge of lipstick from biting at her lips in nervousness. Her eyeliner was smudged from crying, and she was sure that she needed a bath.

Sheesh
, tonight couldn’t be worse.

In all the uproar back in Mississippi, she had forgotten to freshen up. At that moment, it was life and death, but now that she was at least a little safer, reality was starting to creep in.

It was too late to fix up and cover up. He’d seen her at her worse.

He probably thinks I’m some charity case
, she thought to herself. The idea of such a thing tugged at the strings of her once-fortified pride. Sure, she didn’t have money, but before tonight, she still had her pride intact.

Anatoly walked over to where she was sitting on the leather sofa and passed her one of the three tumblers gripped between his fingers. “Do you like vodka?” he asked. “Sorry, I didn’t ask before I began to pour.”

“Sure,” she said, taking the glass. Before he could turn around, she downed the contents and hissed. “Can I have another?” she asked, bucking her eyes at the burn.

Anatoly smirked and turned back to her and gave her another glass. “Rough night?”

“The roughest,” she replied sincerely. “I haven’t had this much to drink in years.”

“Well, this situation definitely qualifies as stressful,” Anatoly said, looking at his watch.

The closed door flung open and a guard came in followed by Dmitry, now dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt. As he walked in, Vasily stood up from his chair and went rigid. Lilly, on the other hand, wasn’t sure what to do. Should she stand?
Shit
, should she kneel?
Who was this guy?

Dmitry walked over to her and offered a hand. “Hello,” he said with a warm smile. “You must be Vasily’s Lilly.”

Lilly
was
beyond shocked. This mountain of a man was Dmitry Medlov? His inhuman perfection was almost vulgar. Not only was he tall, muscular and tan, but also blonde and handsome, he had an air about him that made her feel that he was truly royalty of some sort.

She couldn’t help but smile. Placing her small hand in his, she shook it back. “I am,” she said, proud of the title,
Vasily’s Lilly.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m just so sorry that it had to be under these circumstances.” He motioned back at the sofa. “Please sit back down. Try to relax. I’m sure that you must be exhausted both mentally and physically.”

Dmitry’s demeanor made the tension ease a bit. She was expecting a monster, but the man standing before her was hardly that. “I just appreciate everything. I can’t say it enough,” she said, sitting back down.

“Well, as soon as Vasily heard, he headed straight toward you,” Dmitry said, walking over to the front of his desk. He leaned against it and crossed his arms across his chest. “But I was also told of a little surprise once he got there.” He looked over at Vasily, who had made his way closer to Lilly during the introductions.

“Yes,” Lilly said, looking over at Vasily. “My son.” She instantly corrected herself.
Force of habit.
Shaking her head, she tried it again. “Our son.”

Dmitry looked in between the both of them. “Well, which is it?”

Vasily was behind the sofa, standing directly above Lilly. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he spoke up. “He’s mine. I can vouch for her. I’ve seen him. He’s my boy.”

“No disrespect to you, Lilly, but are we sure about this?” Dmitry asked carefully.

“Certain,” Lilly answered.

Behind her without words, Vasily nodded.

The confirmation was just what he wanted to hear. Dmitry nodded. “Well, we’ve all been there. Let me be the first to congratulate you, Vasily.” Clasping his hands together, he yawned and shook his head, fighting sleep after a sex session from hell with his wife. “So, Lilly, you’ll be staying with us for a while, at least until we get this business with Leo Rasputin under control. As I understand it, we are not really sure if he is looking for you or not. So, we’ve got some feelers out there to get an idea of what he’s looking for. If it’s not you, then well, you can go on with your life. If it is you, then that’s why we are here.”

She felt herself bristle at the thought. “I hope that we’re all just over reacting.”

Dmitry smiled at her. “But you don’t think that we are, do you?”

She nodded no.

“Why do you think that?” Dmitry asked.

“Because I know Leo,” she said voice shaky. “He wants revenge for me testifying against him. I put him in jail.”

“And you did that why?” Dmitry probed further. He needed to see where the woman’s head was to make sure that they were making the right decision.

Lilly swallowed hard. “I had to get back at him for what he’d done to Vasily. He shot him, almost killed him, just for trying to protect me. I had to get him back for all the beatings I took. I had to get him back for all the times he had caused me pure and utter humiliation.”

Dmitry hated the idea of a man beating on a woman. He looked at her now, obviously fighting for what little life she had been able to make for herself and felt sorry for her. “Well, the Medlov Men are not saints. I don’t want to give you that appearance. It would be a false one. But we don’t beat women. However, I have to be honest with you and tell you that that is not the reason that you are here.”

Lilly looked up confused. Why was she here then?

Dmitry looked up at Vasily. “If I housed every beaten, bitter ex-wife or ex-girlfriend of one of my men, then I’d have a house full and a lot of bad relationships with families across the world. You are here, because Vasily is family and you are the mother of his child.” He wanted to make himself perfectly clear. “That said I expect you to be completely honest with me.”

“I have been,” she answered sincerely.

“Does Leo Rasputin have any other reason to look for you?” Dmitry asked. “Is this search driven by more than just revenge? I have to be honest; it sounds like it’s about money.” He looked up at Vasily.

“It could only be about revenge,” Lilly answered. “I don’t have anything else.”

Dmitry hated to ask in front of Vasily but he had to know. “And are you still married to him?”

He looked over at her curiously. He had never thought about that? Was she still married to him?

“No. I filed for divorce during the time that he was detained by the FBI,” she answered. “It was finalized while he was in prison.”

Dmitry knew that there would be a far greater push back from the other Russian mafia families if she were still his wife. “Good,” he said, more confident in his decision to help.

Quietly Vasily exhaled a sigh of relief. He knew the law and if Lilly was still married, then that made Dylan his son legally, and that he simply could not take.

Dmitry nodded and stood up. He had heard everything that he needed to know directly from the source. “Find out what Leo wants,” he said to Vasily and Anatoly. “And make this quick.”

“I will,” Vasily said stepping from behind the sofa as Dmitry passed.

Dmitry looked between Vasily and Lilly and smiled. “It looks like to me that everyone here needs to get some rest. So, please go to your quarters and do just that.”

As quickly as he was there, Dmitry was gone. He and his men disappeared back out of the door and down the hall, leaving the original three alone in the study.

Anatoly rolled his neck and picked up the bottle of vodka he had been pouring from earlier.
Now, it really was time for him to call it quits
. Yawning, he walked toward the door. “I’m taking this upstairs to my wife and run her a hot bath,
if she isn’t already asleep
. You two have a good night. We’ll see you in the morning. Lilly, I’m sure that Vasily will give you a rundown of the grounds and what to do and what not to do. So, I’ll leave you in his very capable hands. It was nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Lilly said, glad to finally be alone with Vasily again.

As the door closed, she deflated. Turning toward him, she ran a hand through her hair. “Wow,” she whispered. Words were too difficult at the moment. She just needed to let it all settle into her head. After all that she had seen, and all that she had been through.

Vasily saw her visibly grappling with everything and took her hand. “I’ll take you to your room.”

Lilly wiped a tear from her eye. “Is my son in the room with me? I’d really feel more comfortable if he were. I don’t want to impose… ”

Vasily cut her off. “He’s in the room with you, and you’re not imposing on anyone. Once you’ve had a chance to rest, you’ll be able to think clearer,” he assured her, rubbing her back gently.

She looked up at him, thankful for his tempered strength.
God, bless him. He was trying
. “Okay, well take me to my temporary home.”

“Come with me,” he said, motioning toward the door.

As Lilly and Vasily walked through the house, alone and slow this time, Vasily gave her a tour. Each room had a story, one that either he had been there for or heard about. Relaxed and composed, he told her funny stories about his time with Anatoly and Dmitry and how much he had learned under their leadership.

“I can tell that you’ve grown,” she said to him as they made their way up the back staircase.

“Time here has given me clarity,” he confessed.

“Can I ask a question completely off of subject here?” Getting to the top of the staircase, she looked around the second floor now in just sheer amazement. “How big is this place?”

He looked up at the ceiling to recall. “17,000 square feet,” he said, guiding her down the dimly lit corridor.

“17… ” Lilly shook her head. “You need a map to get around this house.”

“You learn it over time, but at first, it can be intimidating,” he said with a shrug. “So, what is your question?” he asked, stopping and turning toward her.

“That
was
my question,” Lilly said with a laugh. “How big is this freaking house?”

Vasily also laughed. As he did, his face lit up and Lilly couldn’t help but stop and look at him.
Wow, he was still so incredibly handsome
. It made her heart skip a beat just to see him happy, to see some glimmer of something other than gloom. “It’s really good to see you smile,” she said, voice wispy. “I don’t think that I’ve seen that in a very long time.” Her head ducked shyly. “It suits you.”

He tilted his head.
Was that a compliment?
“It’s just good to see you, period.” He stepped closer.

The smile left Lilly’s face. It was inevitable that they would arrive back at the conversation about
the elephant in the room
. She was just relieved that they were alone.

Licking her dry lips, she beetled her thick black brows at him. “You may not believe this, but I wanted to tell you, Vasily,” she said, heart beating faster by the second.