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  FULL CIRCLE

  The Full Circle Trilogy

  Book One

  BLAKE HAUGEN

  Copyright © 2014 by Blake Haugen. All rights reserved.

  Although an intriguing romance, this story is erotic in nature and should only be read by individuals over the age of eighteen. Cease reading if you are under the age of eighteen, if you are under the age of majority where you reside, or if sexually explicit material is prohibited in the area in which you are reading this e-book.

  Warning: This novella includes explicit sex, light bondage, Dominant/submissive sexual intercourse, graphic violence, course language, and adult situations. Readers who find this subject matter objectionable should read no further.

  This book is a fictional work. Characters, character names, locations, and incidents contained in this work are fictional creations of the author’s imagination and are not presented to be real or reference reality in any manner. Any resemblance to persons, places, locations or organizations is completely coincidental.

  Cover Image: Blake Haugen Covers

  A note on Russian names for readers: Russians often call people they are close to (family and friends) by the diminutive of their first name. You might think of it as a nickname. For example, Jim and Jimmie are diminutives of the name James; Chuck and Charlie are diminutives of the name Charles. Several diminutives are found in this story; Marusya is the diminutive of Mariya, Vanya for Ivan, and Vasya for Vasily.

  Sometimes, when Russians address or announce one another, they use the first name and the patronymic name – a derivative of your father’s name that kind of serves as your middle and last name before your family name. The character Vanya would be addressed as Ivan Kirillovich and the character Lina would be addressed as Akilina Kirillovna as they are both the children of Kirill.

  Sometimes, if someone is a close family friend, they are oftentimes referred to by their patronymic name only. For instance, the character Vasily is often referred to as Viktorovich.

  If you find it distracting or confusing, all featured Russian words and phrases can be plugged into a good online translator. However, translation of the Russian phrases in the story is not necessary, and in no way enhances or lessens the plot’s direction or interpretation.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Prologue

  June 29, 2019

  Vanya was tense. “I have got to get to her,” he thought. He raced down the expressway. His wide blue eyes constantly darted to the rear view mirror, checking for followers. He had to cool it. Urgent was not him. Ivan Kirillovich Pravdin was strong, always in control, and never in a rush.

  If he was being honest with himself, he’d admit that version of himself seemed to wither away wherever she was concerned. She brought out a different Vanya; one he thought could have never existed. He took a deep breath and slowed the speed of the black sports utility vehicle. Although it was unlikely he’d get pulled over at this time of night, matters would get astronomically worse if he got a ticket. The authorities knew something had gone down; alerting them would cause trouble for his family and would be met with punishment from his father.

  Father. It always came back to what his father wanted. Everyone bowed to his will; any and every sacrifice would be made to ensure that will was achieved. It was only now that Vanya realized how much he himself had truly sacrificed.

  He finally pulled up to the shiny residential high-rise. Even at night it glistened as if hit directly by sunlight. He knew she lived there because of his occasional “check-ups” over the past week. No matter how hard he tried, he could never let her memory die – not while she was out there, living, breathing, and being the perfect woman that she was. Vanya’s heart beat more rapidly as he bounded up the steps. How many times had he fantasized about taking the stair steps two by two, barging into her condo, and swinging her around in his arms like Prince Charming? Now that he was finally taking the journey, he was anything but joyful. This visit would be difficult for both of them.

  It seemed like forever before he reached her floor. He took cautious steps toward the entrance of her place. All the nerves in his arms were tingling.

  “Get it together,” he chastised himself. This vulnerability came whenever he was in close proximity to her. There was a time when he had loved that feeling. He had even gloried in it. Vanya stilled himself, putting on the face that so many had come to respect and fear, and knocked soundly on the door. He knew it would frighten her, but he had no choice.

  There was no response. She wouldn’t answer unless he persisted. Smart. She was always smart. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips. How many times had he underestimated her? He rapped on the door again, this time in a louder, more rhythmic manner.

  “Persephone, I know you’re in there. Open the door; it’s me.” Saying her name released something within him. Vanya wasn’t sure what it was, but it was moving throughout his body like a fever. He knocked again, but was still met with silence.

  “Persesphone!”

  “Who is it?” Even as accusatory as it sounded, her voice was so sweet to him. He tilted his head toward the ceiling, closed his eyes, and inhaled.

  “It’s me.”

  “Who?”

  She was going to make him say it.

  “Vanya.”

  There was more silence. He wondered what she was doing. He had no way of reading her through the door. She was always the one that could read him anyhow.

  “Step back into the hall.”

  She was inspecting him through the peephole no doubt. Always thinking, always cautious. He wondered what it was that she saw. His sandy hair was now kempt, cut, and styled. His long nose and pronounced cheekbones were very much the same, though harder and more distinguished. The designer shirt, navy tie, and gray slacks spoke of a professional status. Could she tell how unsettled he was? How anxious he felt?

  The door cracked and part of her silhouette became visible. Dark brown eyes peeked up at him behind the chain lock.

  “Hey,” was her simple, groggy whisper.

  “May I come in?”

  “Um, yeah.”

  With that, the door shut again. There was a pause, and for a second Vanya thought she might have changed her mind. After a moment of apprehension passed, the locks began to clank. Soon enough, the door was swinging open, revealing her form to him.

  Her pajama pants were juvenile. They were red and decorated with little black Scottish Terriers. She tightly wrapped herself in a short, black and white striped house robe as though she was shielding herself. However, even in her jarring nightwear, she exhumed power and beauty. If anything, she had grown more beautiful. He wondered if that was just his heart’s enthusiasm talking; he kept his amusement at the question off of his face.

  The robe could not hide her round hips. Nor could her crossed arms contain her glorious breasts. Over a foot shorter than him, she raised her head to stare him straight in the face. There was no fear there, only scrutiny. She’d unwrapped her straightened, chin length hair and run her fingers through it. Her full, milk chocolate cheeks were somewhat flushed, just as he remembered they were every morning. Vanya wished that her flushed state had something to do with his presence.

  “Persephone.” He looked down on her trying to match her stoic gaze.

  She arched an eyebrow and gave him a look as if questioning some absurdity.

  “Alright, Percy it is then.”

  “That sounds better,” she said, stepping aside and granting him access. Her face softened slightly upon hearing the name only he had called her so many times before. She closed the door and slowly replaced all its locks. He heard her release a deep sigh and awaited her inqu
isition. That’s when Vanya remembered he had to get over the shock of his reunion; he didn’t have time for an inquisition.

  “Vanya –”

  “Look, I wouldn’t have come this late at night if it wasn’t really important. There are two things I need to ask you and –”

  “Vanya, I haven’t seen you in four years,” she stated plainly. Maybe it would have been better if she had said it with malice or anger. Even annoyance was preferable to her calm. She seemed unaffected by his sudden appearance. It bit at his heart; he steeled himself and went on.

  “We’ve gone separate ways, but I need your help now.”

  “Vanya, you’re as good a lawyer as I am. You know that.”

  “Yeah, but I can’t think clearly when it involves Akilina, and I might not be around to address the matter. Besides, two brains are better than one.”

  “You might not be around? What’s wrong with Lina?” her stoic gaze broke with concern. He held out new hope for the situation. She wasn’t completely opposed to seeing him.

  “May I sit down?”

  Persephone took a seat on the couch and gestured for him to take a place in the chair. He sighed resignedly; there would be no scooting closer as he revealed the issue at hand.

  “Before I say anything further, Percy, I want you know that what I’m telling you could put you in danger. Knowing it, I mean. It could make you liable for a number of things. I want to respect you by letting you decide whether or not you want to be a part of it.”

  Arms still crossed, Persephone readjusted herself against the sofa cushions. Her jaw ticked and she didn’t look at him as she spoke. “Are you sure you want to tell me, Vanya? I’m sure once I hear this I become a liability for you.”

  “I’ve always been able to trust you – more than anyone else, ever.” He noted her sharp intake of breath; that had gotten her attention. Vanya knew his truthfulness must have stirred her, making her remember what they had. Any idiot would guess Vanya wasn’t a touchy feely guy. Any other day of the week they would have been right. However, he was down to the wire. This wasn’t the time to hold anything back.

  He broke the pregnant pause between them, “Do I have your consent?”

  She turned away from him again, “Yes.”

  He inhaled deeply, and prepared himself to be completely honest with the love of his life for the first time.

  “I’m sure you’re aware of the government taking over research on concentrated laser targeting about five years ago. Your firm handled the litigation to stop it from happening.”

  “Yeah, it was one of the few times the government refused to contract out any of the research. I remember reading about it before I joined the firm. Matheson Technical was the client. They were furious.”

  “They were. There was no way they were willing to let go of those patents so easily. They had to turn over all the data to the government and halt any future work on the technology or derivatives thereof. Since they couldn’t keep their research team together, they put the concentrated laser targeting researchers to work in other departments, to work on other contracted deals, with clients other than the federal government.”

  “Nefarious clients, I presume?”

  “Some, not all. One of those researchers continued to work on ‘private independent research’ in his home country – subsidized in part by Matheson Technical. A group of interested parties funded the continuation of his previous work, and before long he was able to make some developments.”

  “Weaponized developments, no doubt.”

  “One step ahead, as always. To make a long story short, this group began to manufacture hand held CLTDs and have sold them to the few organizations and governments that could afford them.”

  Persephone shifted on the couch. Her eyebrows knitted together. Vanya knew she was getting frustrated, trying to figure out where he fit into all this. Instead of directing anger at him like he expected, she asked about CLTDs.

  “They’re Concentrated Laser Targeting Devices.”

  “Wait, hand held? Do you mean a laser gun? Like, a real laser gun?”

  “Pretty much, and not just your cartoon fare either. This is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s incredible. The destruction, the precision –”

  Persephone covered her hands with her face and leaned over. “Jesus, Vanya, you’ve been around them?” He couldn’t tell if she was expressing disappointment or worry. Most likely, it was both. He had forgotten that meaningless displays of power did not impress her, especially if it put someone else in danger. Persephone was the only person who felt a need to protect him and keep him safe. Out of respect for this, he calmed himself before continuing.

  “The thing is, it’s not just enough to have the gun. You’ve got to have a special refracting mineral – diamonds – to make them operate.”

  Understanding flooded her features, “Your father’s business.”

  “Yes. Non-artificial diamond manufacture for CLTDs is expensive and there’s no guarantee what you make will work. As it turns out, non-artificial diamonds that are from north of Sakha and expertly cut can activate these particular CLTDs. Fortunately for my father, he had two expert diamond cutters that worked for his stores and a direct connect to the rough diamonds.”

  “Well, at least now your father can finally fulfill his title as a jeweler,” Persephone smirked. Her expression faded when she noticed Vanya glance away resentfully.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean –”

  “I know. It’s not that. It’s just us here anyway. Besides, there’s no legislation on CLTD manufacture or sale yet. The feds would have a problem with him cornering the market more than anything else. Leave it to this gun crazy country to consider that the primary concern.”

  “Still, you’ve never relished talking about your father, and I’m still not sure why you’ve come to me with all this,” she replied, turning to look at the clock, “at two in the morning to boot.”

  This was it. This was where he dropped the bomb and prayed she would help him - maybe even accept him.

  “There was a deal tonight to trade twenty-five of these diamonds. It went down without problems until the buyer insisted that one of his own men try a demonstration. The guy burned a hole clear through the buyer’s son’s shoulder.”

  “Jesus Christ!”

  “Yeah, I’m mostly sure that was an accident. Even worse is that the blast shot through at least the next building. The ballistics on that sort of damage only point to one kind of weapon. Only one man within a thousand mile radius can provide the thing that makes those weapons work. The real kicker is that the debacle was meant to distract us while the guys we were making the trade with stole some of our most valuable assets right from under us.”

  “What, more diamonds?”

  “No, the two expert cutters; they were forcibly taken. My father considers them his friends.”

  Persephone looked somewhat drained. She pursed her full pink lips together and asked sarcastically, “So, Vanya, what’s going to happen now?”

  “We’re hunting every last one of them down. We can’t call the police, so it’s just my family and need-to-know staff. My father wants them found and dead before sunrise. Lina has already rounded up two and Mikhail is searching for our friends. I’ll be meeting with Lina and Yulian soon to go into the lion’s den. We’re not sure what to expect when we get there.”

  Persephone stood quickly and went to the window at the head of the living room. Vanya stood to approach her, but her words stopped him.

  “Where does your family think you are right now?”

  “They think I’m securing the jewelry shops, which I’ll be doing momentarily.”

  “Vanya,” she exhaled with exasperation, “your family has great lawyers. I don’t understand what it is you want from me.”

  “There is someone I – support – living outside of the state. It’s a matter the rest of my family isn’t privy to. I’d like to entrust you with the matter for a while. I’ve prepared th
is file with all the legal and tax information. It should be relatively easy to handle the transfers and the like. All the appropriate signage documents are there.”

  Persephone’s shoulders squared. He knew she was debating whether or not to probe him further and try to get him to reveal information she knew he didn’t want to divulge. That was the way it had always been with them; ignoring the colossal elephant in the room.

  “Percy, I wouldn’t have come to you like this unless things were serious. Fuck, you have to know this is not how I wanted to see you again and –”

  “I’ll do it, okay!”

  Her proclamation wasn’t what stunned him. It was the break in her voice. He knew this absurd favor would involve hurt; he just hadn’t realized how much. He rushed to her and placed his large hands on her shoulders. She immediately wrenched her body away, keeping her back turned to him.

  “Jesus, you come in here talking about how you’re probably gonna die, want me to keep the payments going to what god knows could be your lovechild. Hell, how could I say no?” her mumblings were erratic and barely audible as she waved her hands around. As she repeatedly wiped her face with her sleeves, it became clear that tears were spilling.

  Vanya didn’t hesitate now. He grabbed her shoulders, quickly turning her to face him. When he looked down on her, he couldn’t help wiping her tearstained cheeks. “I swear to you, it is nothing like that…not the lovechild part anyway.”

  Persephone rolled her eyes and let her trembling lips break into a half smile. He was glad they could have one last moment of humor. Realizing that his hands had begun to caress her face, she pulled away and wrapped her arms around her body once more.

  “Just put the file on the table. I’ll put it in a safe place after you go,” she exhaled and kept staring out of the floor to ceiling windows, “Vanya, if no one is supposed to know you came here, then what are you going to do about my building’s cameras?”