Of course, the hated woman and her followers had not stayed back. She had been pushed into a chair and they had done what they wanted to her despite her attempts to escape. When Cheri told Paulette to cut off all of her hair if she so much as sneezed, Rune had frozen. The slender woman had a huge section already wrapped in her hand with the scissors ready. Rune had whimpered as she heard the first slice and closed her eyes in shame.
Now, one of the reasons for her shame stood before her grinning. Sheer frustration over being thrust into a situation she did not understand overwhelmed her. She hated the feelings the two men stirred inside her. She had never felt this way before and had no one to turn to for advice. She should have had her mother and older sisters but everyone she loved was gone. She had never felt as lonely and out of place as she did now.
“I hate you both!” Rune said in a low voice. “Do you see what those… those horrid women did to me? I look like a whore!”
She glared when Dimitri choked back a chuckle. She pulled her hair around and waved the shorter length at them. She was ready to kill them both. If she had a sword, she would have tried. Tears brightened her eyes as she stared back and forth between Sergei’s astonished look and Dimitri’s amused one.
“They cut my hair!” She cried out in a hurt voice. “They put paint on my face.” She sniffed. “They put this, this thing on me and called me your mistress. They would not listen when I told them I wasn’t. I hate you! I will never be your whore! I am the daughter of a landowner. I am…” She cut her hand across the air and turned on her heel. “I am leaving. I don’t care if you need help or not. You can help yourselves.”
Without another word, Rune walked by the stunned servant leaving behind two equally astonished men. She would find her way back to the atrium. She didn’t care how long it took to find it. She would search every corridor until it led her to where this had all started. She hurried down the corridor, breaking into a run as she turned the corner. She didn’t care what happened to her. She refused to live out the last few days of her life in shame.
*.*.*
Sergei cursed under his breath as he shot Dimitri a hot look of confusion. Dimitri returned Sergei’s gaze, wondering what in the hell just happened. He thought she had looked beautiful.
“I swear I don’t understand that woman,” Sergei muttered as he watched the servant quietly disappear. “I do not know a single woman in the world who would not have been demanding more designer clothes and makeup.”
“Or who would have complained about being our mistress,” Dimitri commented looking down the empty corridor.
“We had better go find her before she tries to escape,” Sergei bit out. “It is below freezing outside.”
Dimitri pulled his cell phone out and pressed a series of buttons. “Secure all entrances and exits. No one is to leave until further notice,” he instructed before disconnecting the call.
“Where do you think she might have gone?” Sergei asked.
“Let us start in my rooms,” Dimitri replied.
*.*.*
It had taken her almost three hours of wandering and a servant who understood enough French to point her in the correct direction before she found the atrium. After the first thirty minutes, she had begun to appreciate the beauty of the palace that Sergei and Dimitri called home. Beautiful paintings, tapestries and statues lined the many corridors. Polished marble and glossy aged wood gleamed as she wandered from one floor to the next.
Servants laughed and talked in rapid Russian as they worked in different areas. All had been polite but none had understood her quiet plea for directions until a young man pointed her toward a narrow staircase. He told her to stay to the left until she came to the place she was seeking. Rune had given him a grateful smile.
“Thank you,” Rune whispered as she took the cup of hot tea from Micha. “I hope I didn’t get you into trouble.”
Micha chuckled. “I have been in trouble many times in my life, little one,” he said as he poured himself a cup of tea and came to sit next to her in his tiny office. “My first time was when I was but a young man. War had just broken out…”
Rune listened as Micha told one story after another. She relaxed, pulling the light wool lap blanket he had given her over her knees. She still wasn’t comfortable with the shortness of her dress or the black stockings the women had made her put on. When she made a comment about what happened, Micha had calmly explained that women, both young and old, wore make-up and such clothing. It was no longer considered a mark of a lady of ill-repute.
Rune flushed as she realized that she had over-reacted. She touched her hair which did feel better with some of the weight cut off. She had never considered that hair could actually ‘feel’ heavy.
“So, they were not trying to make me be a…,” she blushed and looked up at Micha with searching eyes. “… a whore? They said I was Sergei and Dimitri’s mistress and I must dress accordingly.”
Micha patted Rune’s trembling hand. “Sergei Vasiliev and Dimitri Mihailov are two very, very powerful and wealthy men. To be considered their mistress is not a bad thing. It is common today,” he reassured her.
“But a mistress means a kept woman,” Rune said, sitting forward. “I would refuse to be one, even if it was possible.”
“And it is not?” Micha asked.
“No,” Rune replied quietly, looking out of the small window at the Christmas rose. Already, she could see the bottom littered with petals and the remains of where a blossom had been. “I came here to help someone. I don’t know who. I can’t imagine it being those two men,” she said looking back at Micha. “They are both so… strong.”
“Even the strongest need help sometimes,” Micha replied thoughtfully.
“Do you know if they are in trouble?” She asked earnestly. “I don’t have much time, Micha. Please, if you can, will you help me?”
Micha’s eyes darkened with worry. “What will happen if you do not finish what you have come for?”
“I don’t know,” Rune whispered looking back at the rose. “I’ve never failed before that I know of but this time, I’m not so sure I’ll have time. This is the first time that I’ve known that it is important that I not fail. It is also the first time that I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do,” she added.
Micha glanced up and stood when he saw the two dark figures heading toward his office. “I will do what I can to help you,” he promised as he moved slowly to open the door. “It would appear you have been found.”
Rune set her empty cup down and stood up with a sigh. “Thank you, Micha,” she whispered as he opened the door.
*.*.*
Sergei’s eyes flashed with fury as Rune’s slender figure appeared in the doorway of Micha’s small office. They had searched Dimitri’s apartment before heading to the atrium. There had been no sign of Rune or Micha the first time they had come down.
His heart had been heavy the closer they got. In the back of his mind, he thought she might have found her way back to wherever she came from. His stomach churned at the thought that Rune could somehow disappear as mysteriously as she had appeared in the first place.
He didn’t say a word when he reached her. Relief choked him. Pulling her into his arms, he turned her so that she would be trapped between his body and Dimitri. He captured her lips as she gasped, drinking from her with a ravishing thirst of relief.
He could feel Dimitri’s hands sliding between their bodies to cup her breasts as he pressed her against his friend’s broader form. He cupped her face, sliding his hands under her hair and twisting it between his fingers so that he could kiss her lips. Dimitri was pressing heated kisses against her neck. After several long seconds, he released her lips and glared down at her with glittering eyes filled with determination.
“You are not a whore,” he said, huskily. “You are our woman. Don’t you ever refer to yourself as a whore again.”
“He is right, малышка,” Dimitri whispered as he brushed his lips along her neck
. “You are our woman.”
“I…,” Rune groaned as Dimitri turned her so she was facing him.
“You are ours,” he whispered before capturing her lips with his own.
Sergei watched as the man he considered to be his brother kissed Rune. The sight turned him on until he thought he would explode. He ran his hands down along her sides until he could cup her ass.
Soon, he thought. Soon, this will be mine.
Dimitri reluctantly broke the kiss, breathing heavily before he pulled back. He gazed down into Rune’s upturned face. He was amazed when he saw his fingers were actually trembling as he traced the curve of her cheek.
“I was afraid you had disappeared,” he admitted in a husky voice. “We looked for you. Where did you go?”
Rune’s lips curved upward in a rueful smile. “You have a very big home. It is easy to get lost in,” she replied before looking away. “Micha explained that you weren’t… he explained some things I didn’t understand. I’m sorry I accused you and Sergei of trying to make me…”
Dimitri laid his fingers against her lips. “We never thought of you as such,” he responded firmly. He glanced over her head at Sergei. “Isn’t that right, Sergei?”
“Never, маленький огонь,” Sergei said.
Rune glanced over her shoulder with a frown. “You two keep calling me things I don’t understand,” she complained. “What does, малень… малень… what does that word mean?” She demanded.
“маленький огонь means ‘little fire’,” Sergei replied with a smile.
“Then what does ‘малышка’ mean,” Rune asked, stumbling over the unusual word.
“малышка means ‘little one’,” Dimitri said.
Rune shook her head in confusion. “I’m not that little, you know. My father…,” her voice faded. “I need to ask you something very important.”
Chapter 11
Rune pulled away from the two men who were confusing her more and more. They kissed her and said she was theirs but she knew that could never happen. In all the previous lives since her death the first time, she had never been tempted. Of course, the only men she ever encountered before were either not interested in her in that way or trying to kill her.
And usually very successful at it, she thought ruefully as she brushed her hand over her stomach as she thought of Randolph.
She walked toward the beautiful Christmas rose, stopping to touch the soft petals. She sighed heavily. She had never told anyone about who or what she was before. She had never had a need to but something told her she didn’t have the time to waste trying to figure out what was going on.
What did it matter anyway? She thought as the petal fell off into her hand. She wrapped her fingers around it and held it to her heart. Why does it hurt so much to think of leaving them? I have never cared before. Is it because I know that this will be the last time? She wondered, puzzled.
“What do you want to ask us?” Dimitri said, coming to stand next to her.
Rune looked up at Dimitri before glancing at Sergei whose expression had suddenly closed up, as if he knew he wasn’t going to like what she had to say. She turned away from the rose bush and walked toward the center platform where she had originally appeared.
Sergei’s muttered expletive filled the air as he saw the empty area where the statue had been set. He and Dimitri hadn’t come this far when they had come to the atrium earlier. They had checked the small office and called out before turning to search the rest of the rooms.
“Where did it go?” He muttered, climbing the steps and turning in a circle in the empty area. “Where is the statue?”
Rune started to climb the steps but found herself suddenly trapped in Dimitri’s arms. His eyes flashed in warning as he scanned the empty space. His arms tightened as a shiver of apprehension coursed through him.
“Don’t,” he hissed quietly in her ear. “I don’t want you to go up there. You must promise me that you will not.”
Rune leaned her head back with a puzzled frown. “Nothing will happen if I go up there. It isn’t time for me to go,” she stated looking back at the platform.
“What do you mean ‘It is not time for you to go’?” Dimitri demanded turning her around in his arms and gripping her forearms tightly in his huge hands. “When do you think it will be time for you to go?”
Sergei stepped down the steps, stopping on the last one as he frowned down at her. “Where will you go?”
Rune bit her lip as she turned her gaze back and forth between the two men. She felt like a child’s ball being tossed back and forth. She finally jerked backwards and stepped away so she could think clearly. Her eyes went to the empty platform then the two men before settling on the crushed petal in her hand.
“I’ve never told anyone about me,” she began softly, not looking at them. “It was never necessary, or wise,” she added with a rueful curve to her lips. “I had already been accused of being a witch once and that was because I fought against the wrong man.” She looked up at both men and grinned. “The bishop died a much more brutal death than I did that time. Lord Rathbone struck an arrow through my heart so that I would not feel the flames.”
“What?” Dimitri whispered in shock.
“I had saved his beloved daughter from the bishop who had designs on not only her but the wealth and power of her father. He considered himself above the law,” Rune murmured as she looked at the petal again. “He accused me of being a witch and ordered that I be burned at the stake when I confronted him. The villagers were afraid to stand up to him. He used brute force and his small group of cutthroats to control the area. Lord Rathbone had been away and returned in time to regain control with his army. He had the support of the King. I was thankful I did not live long enough to feel the flames,” she murmured distractedly.
“You think you have died before?” Sergei asked hoarsely.
“I have died many times before,” Rune said looking up into Sergei’s dark brown eyes.
“You said it was not time for you to go yet,” Dimitri said. “Do you know when the next time will be? You never said where you will go?”
Rune closed her fists and wrapped her arms around her stomach. She suddenly felt cold, alone. She walked over to the bench and sat down on it. She bowed her head for several minutes before she lifted it.
“I only have a short time,” she replied in a low voice. “A few weeks at most. I don’t know where I will go,” she whispered in a strained voice. “I don’t think… I don’t think I will be coming back again. I think this time will be my last time.”
“What do you mean, your last time?” Sergei ground out, running his hand over the back of his neck in aggravation. “None of this is making sense? You expect us to believe you have lived and died many times? How many? Where? How can you expect us to believe this nonsense?”
Rune felt a rush of anger sweep through her. She was opening her soul to him and he didn’t believe her! She turned her gaze to Dimitri’s face and saw the doubt mixed with reserve on his face, as if he wanted to believe her but couldn’t.
“Fine,” she snapped, standing up. “Forget it! I made it all up. I came here on my own for my own nefarious plans. Obviously it won’t work so if you will excuse me, I think it is time I left.”
Sergei’s eyes narrowed on her flushed cheeks and defiant eyes. “And what were your plans?” He asked in an icy voice.
“To… to steal the statue from you,” she declared waving her hand toward the platform. “Which I have done!” She said in bitter triumph.
Dimitri’s mouth tightened as he glanced back at the platform before turning his gaze to Sergei’s closed expression. His heart felt heavy as he realized that made more sense than what Rune had said at first. They had paid two million dollars for the statue. Had something else been hidden inside it? Something far more valuable than a statue created by an unknown artist?
“What was inside the statue?” Dimitri bit out as he turned to loo
k at Rune with dark suspicious eyes. “Where is it?”
“Gone,” Rune said, suddenly deflated. “The statue is gone.”
“Where, damn it?” Sergei said, striding over to where she was standing. “What was in it and who are you working for?”
Rune winced when hard hands gripped her forearms in a bruising hold. She clenched her teeth when he shook her when she didn’t respond right away. She looked up into his angry eyes in resignation.
“It is gone where you will never find it,” she whispered. “Nothing was inside that would matter to either of you.”
“Who sent you, Rune?” Dimitri asked quietly in an emotionless voice. “Who do you work for?”
“Loki,” she whispered, remembering her father’s teasing so long ago. “He calls himself Loki.”
*.*.*
Sergei stood looking out the window of his office. He had finished reviewing the tapes for the fifth time. The video had been fine until the time between when the statue disappeared and Rune appeared on the platform. There was a section of empty video feed, as if someone had paused it before restarting it. It lasted only a few seconds but it must have been longer. There was no way someone could have taken the statue in the few seconds shown on the time.
Dimitri had left after they had run through the video for the third time. He had received another call from his man in Los Angeles. Sergei took a sip of the brandy he had poured. He normally didn’t drink during the middle of the day but he had made an exception as disappointment and disillusionment battled for first place inside him. He had been right to be cynical of the beautiful young woman.
They had escorted her back to the room next to Dimitri’s apartment downstairs and posted two guards with the instructions that she was not to be allowed out for any reason. She had not said a word after they made it plain she would not be leaving any time soon. She had walked quietly beside them.