He shrugged and looked toward the Pacific Ocean roaring outside the windows. “There are internet forums where we personal assistants discuss how best to do our jobs. When you needed that tuxedo for His Serene Highness’s wedding last month, how do you think I got a couture tux ordered, produced, and fitted in less than a week?”
Tristan nodded. “It’s always good to have multiple sources of information.”
“I assure you, Mr. King, I am discreet.”
“I would expect nothing less, Jian. So, do you know how all these bratvas are interconnected?
“That is private information, Mr. King, but some are also adversaries.”
“But if I asked you about certain people, would you know who they were connected to? Without breaking any NDAs, could you find connections, so I know who I’m dealing with?”
Jian nodded. “At least in theory, sir.”
“And what if one of them said they’re in the Butorin bratva?”
Jian flinched, and Colleen wanted to soothe him. He said, “They are a very bad sort, indeed.”
“Dammit,” Colleen said. In twenty-four hours, she’d gone from being a destitute retail worker with no future, to an unemployed destitute retail worker who was about to become homeless, to being threatened by the Russian mob. “This is ridiculous.”
Tristan placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her toward him. “I apologize from the bottom of my heart for getting you into this mess. I am mortified that I have placed you in danger. I will get you out of this no matter what it costs, no matter what it takes. I will return you to your life in Phoenix with some extra money and in absolutely no danger.”
“I don’t see how you’re going to do that. Once the Russian mafia knows you exist, they don’t forget about you that easily.”
Jian bobbed his head from side to side. “The girl has a point. They’ve already threatened her. I don’t like the way they talked about her as ‘a loose end.’ I think you should officially employ her so that she has some sort of protection by association. I can make one phone call to a lawyer and drop a quick contract with an NDA.”
“Do it,” Tristan said.
“Do I get a chance to say no?” Colleen asked.
Tristan looked down at her with one side of his mouth a little raised. “If you don’t want to sign it, no one can force you to. However, Jian has made a good point. If you are employed by my company, then you are not an unknown. To them, unknown means no loyalty and no strings attached. They don’t like that.”
Jian shook his head, agreeing. “They don’t.”
Colleen asked, “So, that’s it? Are we just going to play along with these guys?”
“At an appropriate point in the future, I will fire you, and we’ll make sure you get out safely. In the meantime, I’ll shield you from any business dealing that might make them nervous when you leave. That way, they’ll have no reason to come after you.”
“But I’m going to be at the dinner tonight.”
“Evidently, that is a command performance.”
“Why don’t we just get on your plane and fly to New York or something? New York is so far away that no one would even think to look for you there.”
Tristan raised one dark eyebrow. “I think they might be able to get there.”
“Oh, yeah. Russian mafia guys probably have enough money for plane tickets,” Colleen agreed.
“Right, and if they want someone, they don’t stop. The kids at school were ruthless that way, and they were teenagers. You have to either talk them out of wanting you, or else you bring in someone more powerful than they are to make them stop. Since Putin consolidated the Russian bratvas under his control when I was at school, there isn’t anyone in the world more powerful than they are. There’s only in-fighting between them for superiority.”
A chill washed over her. “That sounds awful.”
“Yeah, Putin took over during my sophomore year. Half the Russian kids packed up and went back to Russia at the end of that semester because their parents had been killed or suddenly had no money, and the other half was cockier than ever and started bullying the kids of diplomats and world leaders.”
Colleen stared at him. “Uh, wow.”
“Le Rosey was a microcosm of global power, and that’s why we can’t just hop on my plane and flee. There’s nowhere to run. That last crack about you being easy to find was a threat. If you don’t show up tonight, they’ll hunt you down. And if I don’t show up tonight, they’ll hunt you down. So, we’re going to a restaurant tonight with the Russian mob, hoping to talk our way out of it.”
Colleen’s head was spinning, but pragmatism rose to the top. “I don’t have anything to wear to a fancy restaurant.”
