Her expression hardened. Those dark eyes glittered with fury. "What are you saying, Yuri? If you want to accuse me of something, man up and fucking do it!"
He caught the hitch in her voice. She blinked rapidly before turning her attention to her wounded cousin. His chest ached at the realization he'd hurt her with his angry outburst. He had no proof and shouldn't have gone there.
Racing footfalls echoed downstairs. "Boss! Someone scrambled the alarm. I've got Derek on it but we heard the commotion! You okay?"
"Lena and I are fine. The intruder…not so much."
Jake appeared on the top step. He took in the scene with a quick scan. "Who the hell is this?"
Yuri's jaw clenched. He gestured to Lena. "Ask her."
Shock filtered across his bodyguard's face. "Lena?"
She gulped nervously and finally confessed, "He's my cousin. His name is Tommy Cruz."
White as a sheet, Tommy glanced from face to face. He licked his lips and kept his good hand pressed to his bleeding arm. He made no attempt to explain his presence.
"Jesus," Jake said with a shake of a head. "We're going to need an ambulance. I'll call 9-1-1."
"No!" Tommy finally spoke. "No. Please. If you get the cops involved, they'll kill him."
Yuri's gut clenched. "Kill who?"
Tommy swallowed and turned a regretful gaze Lena's way. "Your dad. They have your dad."
Her face slackened and she fell back hard on her bottom. "Who?"
"The Guzman cartel," Tommy answered in a shaky voice. "I'm sorry, Lena. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."
"What did you do?" Her broken voice gnawed at Yuri. "Tell me!"
With a tearful exhalation, Tommy explained, "There was this painting and I thought I was doing the right thing. I did, Lena. I really did. It was so much money. The feria—I couldn't turn it down, you know? I fenced it—but there was a bounty on it. It belonged to Lorenzo Guzman. I didn't know." He started to sob pathetically. "Your dad was on the wrong side of the border unloading some inventory and they grabbed him."
"You stupid jerk!" She smacked her cousin hard. Yuri winced at the loud crack of her palm against his cheek. "It's always money with you! Always! You greedy bastard! If anything happens to my dad, you're going to wish Sasha had finished you."
Feeling the situation spiral out of control, Yuri stepped forward. "Jake, please go back to the staff quarters. Keep Derek there. I'll handle this."
"But, sir, I—"
"No." Yuri cut him off with a slash of his hand. "What you've heard doesn't leave this room, understood? Under no circumstances are you to contact Dimitri. No one else gets dragged into this mess."
Jake's lips settled into a grim line. "Okay, Boss."
He didn't like it but he would do as told.
As Jake headed for the stairs, Yuri added, "There will be another car or two arriving within the next hour. Pay no attention to them."
When Jake was out of earshot, Yuri addressed Lena. "Go get some towels from my bathroom." He touched his pocket but it was empty. "Find my white phone. It's probably on the floor."
Lena held his gaze before finally nodding and pushing off the floor. As she passed him, he grasped her hand and dragged her close. Cupping her face, he kissed her tenderly. Later, in private, he would apologize for jumping to conclusions. She seemed to understand and returned his kiss with the gentle affection he'd come to expect from her.
Alone with Tommy, he fixed him with a glare. "I'm only going to say this once so listen carefully. If you lie to me and it causes Lena or her father to be hurt, I will make sure that the rest of your miserable life is excruciatingly painful. Me entiendes?"
Tommy nodded. "Yep."
When Lena reappeared, she pushed his phone into his hand and rushed to Tommy's side with the towels. She wrapped them tightly around his injured arm but she was anything but gentle with her cousin. Yuri dialed the only man who could help him.
"Do you know what fucking time it is?" Nikolai grouched at him.
"I need your help." He caught Tommy glancing at him. No doubt the conversation the younger man couldn't understand left him uneasy. Good, he thought angrily. He wanted the little prick to sweat.
The sound of rustling fabric came across the speaker. "What's happened?"
"Not over the phone," Yuri replied. "I need you here. At the house," he added. "And bring Kostya." Without saying the words, he'd told Nikolai how serious this was.
"Twenty minutes," Nikolai said and hung up the phone.
As he pocketed his phone, Yuri grew aware of Sasha's continued whining. The dog had blood matted around his mouth. The sight of it made his gut churn. Even though he'd bought the dog specifically for protection, he'd never really imagined Sasha would ever have to bite anyone.
Glancing at Lena, he said, "Nikolai will be here soon. Keep that arm wrapped. We'll get him medical attention as soon as I have all the answers I need."
"Okay."
"Sasha." The dog clambered to his feet and followed him through the master bedroom and into the bathroom. He grabbed a wash cloth, got it wet and soapy and made quick work of cleaning the dog's face. Later, when he had more time, he would brush his teeth. For now, this would have to do.
With Sasha clean, Yuri led him to his bedding and gave him a stay command. Sasha whined, no doubt because he wanted to keep Lena in full view, but obeyed nonetheless. Yuri shut the door, closing the dog safely inside. He didn't want to take any chances with Nikolai and Kostya coming.
Out in the hallway, he discovered Feodor kneeling next to Lena. It wasn’t until that moment that Yuri realized how scandalously underdressed she was. She had his shirt tucked around her thighs but he doubted she had anything at all on under the thin cotton.
Crouching down behind her, he rubbed her back. "You should get dressed. It's going to be a long night."
She didn't argue with him. She took a step away from him but then hesitated. It finally occurred to him that she had no idea which guest room Feodor had given her. The older man gestured to the door right next to Yuri's master suite.
After she entered the room, he caught Feodor's questioning gaze. With a shake of his head, he silently communicated that this wasn't the right time. Feodor didn't push. Instead, he said, "We should take him downstairs."
Yuri agreed and helped secure the towels firmly around Tommy's bleeding arm. The skinny bastard hissed in pain as they got him to his feet but Yuri didn't feel any compassion. If the Guzman cartel, one of the most notoriously violent gangs south of the border, had Lena's father in their custody, he was probably feeling a great deal more pain than this.
They were halfway down the stairs when Lena caught up with them. She'd thrown on a pair of hot pink shorts and gathered her hair in a high ponytail. An expression of fear and worry twisted her beautiful features. Yuri's heart ached for her. He could only imagine what she was feeling right now.
Down in the kitchen, Feodor draped a tablecloth over a chair and put another on the floor to protect it from any dripping blood. Tommy sat down and anxiously eyed them as they waited for Nikolai to arrive.