Wild Men of Alaska 04 - Wild Men of Alaska - Four Book Bundle

sides of the fence. He’d trained her right out of Quantico. He’d taken her under his wing and taught her everything.
    “Perry told me that you’d slept vith him. He’s exact vords to me vere, ‘A few Black Russians and she’s an easy lay’.”
    Everything in the room stopped. Even the softly falling snowflakes outside the glass seemed to suspend in mid air. One night. She’d slept with Perry once and it had been after a few too many Black Russians. Nobody knew about that. Nobody.
    Nobody but her and Perry.
    “You refused to drink the Black Russian I ordered for you.”
    And yet, she’d still slept with him, not needing any alcohol for him to seduce her into his bed.
    “You don’t get to say bad things about Perry. You killed him.”
    “I was not the one who killed him.”
    “You sent the person who did.”
    “Just as he sent a person to kill you. I vould do it all again too. Everything, Katja. Everything. Perry vas not this perfect man that you have raised on pedestal. He vas a very flawed man not vorthy of your love and loyalty. If you can’t believe vhat I say, believe yourself. Your ‘American’ gut. Ask yourself, vhy I vas brought into the operation?”
    “You were the Russian spy we were working with.”
    “That is vhat you vere supposed to think. It’s vhat I thought. But Perry handpicked me to keep you occupied and paying attention to me instead of the deal happening right under your nose.”
    “I am not that gullible.”
    “I didn’t think so, but you are proving yourself othervise.”
    She snarled at him, faced him full on and he couldn’t help the arousal that heated his blood. She stroked his inner beast to life with her aggressive ways.
    “Perry brought me in to seduce you,” Sergei continued. “In his vords, you like them rough-looking.”
    That seemed to be the last downward chop of the ax that freed the tree from its roots. She roared through her teeth and came at him, arm raised with a kerambit.
    Where the hell had she procured a kerambit?
    It was curved and resembled a two-sided cat claw, with finger holds making it impossible to knock out of her hand. The black, highly sharpened blade was more wicked than anything he’d had slicing his way in a long time. An Indonesian weapon, arched to maximize cutting ability, and typically a last resort weapon, but she wielded it with swift finesse and deadly intent. He barely had time to prevent her stab. His armed blocked, but the nature of the knife sliced his forearm as she parried his move.
    “Son of a bitch, Katja. Nyet! ”
    “You nyet .” Her teeth were clenched, and bottomless pain had tears swimming in her eyes. Sergei deflected another swipe, but not the kick to his instep or the punch to his ribs. The truths he’d been hurling at her had stuck in tender places, and she couldn’t accept it. He hadn’t wanted the truth to break her. He’d wanted the truth to heal them.
    He knew what it was like to be betrayed and had tried to temper his responses to her with that in mind, but the woman was seriously going to kill him if he didn’t do more than defend her attacks. Blood from the wound in his arm smeared the hardwood floor. She’d been holding back in their earlier skirmishes. Either that or her rage was a hell of a motivator for his throat.
    He took her down, tripping her, but she was back on the balls of her feet dancing away from him, only to sucker punch him from behind.
    “ Katja ,” he warned.
    He was stronger, but she was faster.
    And one of them would regret tonight.

C HAPTER N INE

    Kate had to take her opening.
    Twice now she could have taken him out, sliced through his neck, cut open his belly, and yet she hadn’t.
    What the hell was wrong with her?
    His mind games had not worked.
    Perry was innocent of all Sergei claimed. Sergei was the dirty one. The double agent. The killer. Not Perry. Never Perry.
    Sergei reached for her, and she slid away, and then bounced back in easily. She could have sliced through the upper muscles of his thigh, but she didn’t. She growled in frustration as tears blinded her. Then he took her down. It was almost a relief to have him slam her hand to the hardwood, forcing free her grip on the blade.
    He growled as he picked it up and looked at it. Then her. “Ivan made you this?” One arm was across her throat, his other hand locked around her wrist, while his body pressed her into the floor. “How the fuck did you get one of Ivan’s kerambits?”
    She flattened her