"No." I couldn't trust the guard with information I couldn't even read.
"Should I get Yuri?"
I wanted Yuri so badly but it wasn't the right time. Yes, someone was trying to scare me and doing a damn good job at it, but I wasn't in imminent danger. "No. He's got enough on his mind. This can wait."
Kelly didn't seem to like that answer. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. He's going to tear me a new one when he finds out I've kept this from him all night."
"I'll deal with him. You just figure out who the hell was in our room."
"I'm putting Vasya on the door. That big ole Russian tank will keep you safe."
I smiled at his description of the gigantic man. Still, I had to be sure. "You're positive Vasya was with you all evening?"
"We haven’t been out of each other's sight since we arrived on this yacht."
"Okay."
"Listen to me, I promised Dimitri I would have your back and Yuri's. I don't my break my promises."
"Thank you."
Kelly stayed right outside the door until Vasya lumbered down to take over as my guard. I heard them speaking quietly in the hallway. A few moments later, Vasya knocked and opened the door. "I can come in?"
He hadn't quite mastered the finer parts of English but I had no doubt he would. Anyone who could speak and read two different languages with two different alphabets had earned major respect from me.
"Sure." I waved him inside.
He crossed the room and shut and locked the balcony door. "No more balcony tonight. Okay?"
"Okay."
"And I check on you every half hour."
"That's fine."
Finally alone, I did the only thing I could think of to solve the mystery of the letter. I snapped a picture with my cell phone and sent it to Vivian.
Some freak just left this on my bed. What the hell does it say?!
After I sent the message, I calculated the time difference. Vivi was probably gearing up for the evening dinner service at Samovar. If she saw the message before I went to bed, it would be a miracle.
Feeling uneasy but secure with Vasya so close at hand, I slipped into bed and turned on the television. I found an international news channel that broadcasted in Spanish and turned up the volume just high enough for me to hear. I tried to pay attention to the news stories but I couldn't get my mind to stop racing.
There was something seriously wrong here. I'd been convinced the shootout at Yuri's Houston home had been related to the cartel. Lorenzo Guzman was a nasty snake who wouldn't think twice about using that type of intimidation tactic.
But now I realized how wrong I'd been to go with my first assumption.
I started to wonder if there wasn’t some bigger plan at play here. The cartel, my dad's kidnapping, Tommy getting the phone call about that painting? It was too neat. Throw in the attempted sabotage of Yuri's pipeline and it had the makings of a plot from one of those thriller novels I loved so much.
My gaze fell to the envelope next to my hand. I ran my finger over the innocuous looking item and considered the photo and letter it held. Those were the keys to this whole thing.
I jumped as my cell started to ring. With a hand over my thudding heart, I picked up the phone and glanced at the screen. Relieved, I quickly answered, "Vivi!"
"Have you shown that letter to anyone?" Her panicked voice made my heart race even faster.
"No. Why?"
"Listen to me and listen very carefully. Delete that picture you took. No one can ever see it. Do you understand?"
"Vivian, you're scaring me."
"We should be scared. That letter—it says things, Lena. Things that neither of us have any business knowing about the men we care about most. Terrible things. Awful things. Just give it to Yuri and forget you ever saw it."
"And you?" I asked as I tucked the envelope under my pillow for safekeeping. "Can you forget what you read?"
"No but it helps me understand certain things."
"It doesn't help me understand anything. Is Yuri in trouble?"
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Someone is trying to rattle his cage. I'm sure they're going to succeed."
Dishes crashed in the background and Vivian swore softly. My eyes widened at the sound of a cuss word leaving her sweet little mouth. If she was dropping that word, she was really upset.
"Lena, please, I'm begging you. Be safe. Don't go anywhere without Yuri. Like don't even turn your back without him there to watch you. That letter? It's ancient history—and anyone who has been carrying around a grudge that long is seriously dangerous."
"I'll be safe. I promise."
"Remember what I said about the picture."
"I'm deleting it as soon as we hang up."
"Okay. I love you, Lena. Be careful."
"I love you, too, Vivian."
Our conversation ended with me even more confused and upset than I had been when I'd discovered the envelope. I quickly found the photo in question and deleted it without hesitation.
Feeling so conflicted and anxious, I dropped my phone on the bedside table and rolled onto my side, facing away from the door. I ran my hand over the spot where Yuri usually slept. "Baby, what secrets are you hiding from me?"
Chapter Eighteen
"I told you we'd pull this off." Grinning, Niels smacked Yuri on the back. "It cost us a small fortune but we did it."
Yuri rubbed the back of his neck and stretched his aching shoulders. He glanced around the bar at his friends' smiling faces. There had been a few times during the night when he'd been sure the painting would stay in Jerry's hands but Mikhail and Tari had come through in the end. After Archer had gone bust, Yuri had quickly followed. Niels had made it another round in the game.
Just as Yuri had started to feel real desperation, he realized that Mikhail and Tari were working their own game. They beautifully maneuvered Jerry right into their trap. He'd caught the subtle signs between Archer and Niels—a nose rub, an earlobe tug, a stretch or a yawn—that were easily interpreted by Mikhail and Tari. In that moment, Yuri had recognized how incredibly lucky he was to have friends like these.
After Mikhail had cleaned out Jerry and taken ownership of the painting, he'd laughingly asked Jerry to a rematch and offered to spot him the same amount of cash he'd just lost from the house bank. It hadn't taken Yuri long to realize that Mikhail was purposely allowing Jerry to win back everything but the painting. When Jerry had left ten minutes earlier, he'd done it with a smile on his face.
"I will admit to feeling guilty about playing Jerry that way," Yuri confessed as he sipped his drink.
"Don't," Tari interjected. "Do you realize what would happen to him if that cartel found out he had the painting? Getting fleeced by us? That was a favor."
Sadly, Tari was probably right.
"I don't understand it." Archer stood in front of the painting in question and stared upon it. "What the hell am I looking at here?"
Niels snorted and downed the last of his beer. He slapped his best friend on the back. "Come on. Let's get back to the hotel. Maybe Juliette is still hanging around our suite."