TAKING HOME WHAT IS THEIRS

Mikhail's P.O.V

Cassandra.' My chest tightened in its already confined space at the thought of the little vixen. She was so slight, her frame could easily be crushed with my palms if wrapped around her tiny waist and her big grey eyes which held so much secrets that I planned to uncover one after the other.

The tiny woman needed to be protected; her eyes held so much pain which is masked with her air of innocence and that thief cannot perfect the job of protecting her.

DeLauro uncovered her past and sent me the details I needed to know. Her last name isn't Wills. DeLauro even went to the length of telling me to stay away from her. Her father is Kieran Black shadow, the most feared mafia leader in Texas. How the wispy little thing ran from home successfully was beyond me but it sealed the fact that I have to protect her, for Kieran black shadow would go any length to get her back. I always thought I was finally done with the crime life but Cassandra just sucked me back in whether she knew it or not.

My knuckles tightened around the steering wheel as she parked her battered Cadillac of her vehicle in front of her apartment and I made a mental note to get her a new one, an Audi maybe.

It took her a full minute to wrestle open the stuck door of her car and I wondered how the crap of metal even worked, it sure did because it transported her to me.

Finally, Cassandra made her way towards me, a backpack thrown over her shoulders reminding me of the way I forced her to agree to stay with me for week. Does she even know what she had gotten herself into?

I found myself admiring her hair—which in the sunlight, looked almost blue, a glorious mixture of black with blue highlights, which rippled down her back and shimmered like raw silk.

I noted how her fashionable skinny jeans emphasized her slender figure and how her long-sleeved t-shirt clung to her small breasts. With a rucksack thrown over one shoulder and a hand holding her waist, she looked adorable and sexy at the same time. Her clothes were rather scruffy, I thought irritably. That would change during her stay with me and I am certain she wasn't wearing a bra—although her breast were pert enough that she didn't need one.

Trying to ignore the flare of heat in my groin, I reduced the volume of the classic song spilling from the inbuilt speakers.

She raps her knuckles on the window of my Mercedes and I clicked the door open. A scowl was painted on her pretty face as she slammed the door close after making herself comfortable beside me. A smirk lifted the side of my face as I studied hers, "And Good evening to you too, Miss wills." My Russian accent was really prominent, even more so when I am speaking with her.

She rolled her eyes, her scowl deepening, "There's nothing good about the evening Mr. Vladimir, now please let's get this over with."

"I hope you aren't even thinking of driving behind me in that crap you call a car?" I asked tightly and she hissed furiously.

"Fuck you!"

"Bad day?" I mused jocosely.

She let out a sigh and I could feel the stress rolling off her in waves, "You could say that."

I nodded and keyed in the ignition, "Have you broken up with your boyfriend?"

The moment of peace evaporated and her scowled returned as she turned a glare at me, "You wish!"

I chuckled, "You can't blame a guy for trying."

Narrowing her eyes at me she said, "I need some sort of proof or document that you would keep to your words and not arrest Mark after our deal is off."

It was my turn to scowl, "I have no reason to lie to you Miss Wills and I am a man of honor. I always keep to my words."

She shrugged, "I don't care who you are Mr. Vladimir." Her eyes shined with distrust and I wondered if she was the same gentle soul wafting about at my party few weeks ago. She was so feisty and stood her ground.

"You don't care who the man that would be fucking all holes in your beautiful body is? Starting with your sassy mouth." I said calmly and her mouth fell open.

"Y-you…" her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water and my laughter feel the confines of the car. She snapped her mouth shut and glared bullet holes at the side of my face.

"After we get to my house, I would wait for my bodyguard to arrive and you should head on into the house, make yourself comfortable." I added when I saw her startled expression.

"you have a bodyguard?" She said faintly.

I shrugged, focusing on the rambling road ahead of me. "I can take care of myself, but it's sensible to take precautions. I am well-known in San-Diego and Russia, and there have been a couple of kidnap attempts in the past back in Russia by the…." I stopped. I don't think it would be smart letting her know I have any relations to a Mafia. "Let's just say many criminal gangs would love to get a hold of me and demand a billion-dollar ransom."

My lips twisted in amusement when she could not disguise her shock at my revelation that I was a billionaire.

I continued driving for a couple of hours before I reached my estate at the outskirts of the city, it was a two-floored duplex and I owned the whole of the top floor but it doesn't really matter because the other apartment hasn't been leased out yet and besides I already purchased the bottom apartment and I renovated the whole building into a mansion. As soon as I put the car into park at the mini garage out in front, Cassandra roughly pushed the car door open and stormed off into the building. "Let me take your bag." But she acted like she was hard of hearing and totally ignored me.

She was in a really bad mood.' I mused, but who wouldn't be in a bad mood when cornered in a situation like hers.

As I came down through the driver's side of the car, I couldn't help the smile that twisted my lips at the sight of her pert ass swishing this way and that in her tight jeans.

'Cassie—be careful!" I suppressed a laugh as she fell into the deep end of my large pool that was about twelve feet deep. I don't know how she stumbled into the pool, there was no way she wouldn't have noticed it but she was too pissed I guess.

Smirking, I leaned back against the bumper of the car and pulled out my phone to send a quick text to DeLauro, I would need him to hire the best security details to protect Cassandra if I'm away from her.

I jerked my head towards the pool and saw her bag floating on the surface while she nowhere to be found. Fear gripped me like a vice and I ran over to the pool, the surface was clear but when I peered in deeper, I saw her sinking to the bottom of the pool. My phone fell to the ground as my shaky hands couldn't hold on any longer.

Blya! She can't swim! I had no fucking idea.

Without thinking, I jumped into the pool, the freezing water bit into my skin as I swam to the bottom, holding my breath while the sharp chlorine of the water stung my eyes. Looking around submerged frantically, I saw her crumbled body lying on the floor of the pool and with vigorous strokes and a speed I never knew I possessed under water, I sluiced through the water till I got to her. By the time I got to her, my lungs were burning as I held my breath for more than two minutes. I grabbed her and rippled my way to the surface, drawing in lungful of breaths.

A glance at the little woman in my arms threw me off guard and I swam to the edge of the pool, carefully placing her on the tiled stair then I followed after.

I knelt beside her and placed my fingers to her neck, there was a very weak pulse. Her formerly lush pink lips were turning an icy blue and my thoughts spiraled out of control.

Oh my god, am I going to lose her? So soon after I just found her?' how the fuck did I miss her screams, she must have screamed for help!

Entwining my fingers, I dropped them on her belly and pressed hard. Saying a quick prayer to whatever God that was listening to me, I gave five presses and nothing happened.

Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck! I cursed repeatedly as I continued to pump her belly.

My last try was a mouth-mouth resuscitation. Taking deep breaths, I held her lips open and placed mine horizontally over hers. I breathed thrice into her and pulled away waiting, my heart was in my mouth and every heartbeat felt like my existence was ebbing way.

Suddenly, water spurted from her dry lips as she stirred to consciousness and I rolled her to her side. She coughed severally as the lasts of the water she had gulped down left her lungs. I touched her face and it was freezing to touch. Pulling her into my arms I pushed open the double doors of the mansion with my shoulders and, placed her on a lounger that I had forgotten in front of the electric fireplace.

I grabbed a remote control, my fingers flying over it pushing buttons to increase the intensity of the fire. I tore her wet clothes off and piled warm fleece blankets over her shuddering body, cursing aloud as I did so.