Lyosha simply frowned at her but didn’t respond, just pulled his phone out of his pants pocket when it buzzed. After a short conversation in Russian he shoved it back into his pocket then opened the door a fraction.
Hope bloomed inside Dominique that Viktor was there, but another man…Kir was there. The blond-haired, blue-eyed man seemed to have an easy smile for everyone. Now his expression was tight but after murmuring quietly to Lyosha, the other man stepped back and let Kir in.
“Protect the woman with your life.” Or else, seemed to be the unspoken words that followed. Lyosha’s words were sharp, deadly, and sent a frisson of fear down her spine.
Yeah, she was glad he wanted Kir to keep her alive, but the way he spoke was scary. Okay, everything about him was terrifying.
Kir turned to look at all of them as Lyosha left, and half-smiled. “Everything’s okay. We’ll be in here for just a little bit,” he said calmly, his words having a soothing effect on all three of them. “The threat has been neutralized so don’t worry. And Viktor’s fine,” he added before she could ask. “He sent me here to keep an eye on you. To keep you safe.”
That was all she needed to hear—that Viktor was okay. Yeah, she had a lot more questions but knowing he was unharmed allowed her to take a deep breath and let some of her panic go. She leaned against one of the racks and turned to look at the other two men who were standing in what looked like a state of shock. Especially the chef. His dark eyes were wide and his entire body was trembling as he more or less stared blankly at her.
She pulled one of the bins off a rack. “Why don’t you sit?”
He nodded and did as she said as if he was on autopilot.
“You should probably ask for a raise after tonight,” Dominique said to the server, hoping to dispel some of the tension in the small room.
Kir was standing guard and clearly not interested in making the two men feel better, and when she was nervous she tended to talk.
The server let out a shaky laugh but she could see some of the tension leave his shoulders. “No kidding. I’m Eric, by the way.”
She forced a smile, glad he seemed to be handling things okay. “I’m Dominique.”
*
Viktor eyed the fallen bodies, anger a live wire inside him, pulsing and ready to strike out at whoever had ordered this.
He didn’t recognize any of the men, and from experience he knew that these guys would be hired muscle. There were six men in all, each one wearing a bulletproof vest and armed to the teeth. They didn’t have on more tactical gear, however. Which made Viktor think they weren’t that well trained. Careful not to move the body too much, he pulled down the shirt of one and saw what he knew was a prison tattoo.
When he saw Lyosha striding across the lobby strewn with dead bodies, he frowned. “Why are you here?”
“Kir is with the woman and the others. They’re fine.” His words were almost dismissive, but Viktor knew better. He could see the worry in Lyosha’s gaze, faint that it was. “My priority is you. Are we calling the police or not?”
He looked around again. His men were all law-abiding citizens and worked for the security division of his company directly under Lyosha. He was their boss and from experience he knew they’d do whatever he said. “Someone could have heard the gunfire and called it in,” he finally said. He absolutely hated involving the police but sometimes it was better to show that he had nothing to hide. And getting rid of half a dozen bodies was doable, but not easy. He’d rather let the police take care of them and have all this on the record.
Lyosha nodded, clearly on the same page. “I’ll photograph all the dead men, remove any personal items—if there are any—and take their fingerprints before we call.”
“Good. I need you to take Dominique out of here. Kir can make sure the other two get home safely. I’m going to tell the police I was going over the layout of our new plans when we were blindsided. It will be like Dominique and the other two were never here.”
Lyosha nodded again. “Good. The chef is about to piss his pants, if he hasn’t already. I’ll make sure they know they’ll be compensated for their silence.”
Viktor nodded. It would be easier this way, less messy. He didn’t want Dominique dragged into anything and she didn’t deserve to get hauled to the police station where she’d be questioned for hours. No, she should be at his home, safe and resting. Her condo was easy to breach so that wasn’t an option. He needed her where he could control the environment more. “I’ll go talk to Dominique but I want you to take her to my home.”
Lyosha’s eyebrows raised. “I should be with you.”
“I need someone I trust with her. I need to know she’s safe while I’m dealing with the cops.” And Lyosha had been his driver for years, had joined him after he’d split from his father’s organization.
“Fine. But are you sure you can trust her?” There was no malice in the question, the only reason Viktor reined in his temper.