by S. C. Daiko
Dad pushed back his chair before I could finish. “Have you lost your fucking mind?” He was visibly shaking.
My mouth slackened. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
He jabbed his finger at me. “Semion Abramovich is a Bratva boss. No way will he stand by and let you steal his daughter. He’ll be on his way here as we speak.”
I shook my head. “No. You’re wrong. We left no traces…”
“He’ll know this is where you grew up.” Dad’s dark eyes bored into me. “You’ve put Catrin, me and yourselves in danger.”
He was right, and I knew it. I’d been so taken up in my reunion with Aly that I hadn’t thought things through properly.
Catrin glared at me. “How could you have been so irresponsible?”
“We’ll leave now,” I blurted out. “Head for Denver. Semion won’t know where to look for us in a big city.”
Dad shook his head. “No point in going there. Or in asking your uncle to interview Aly for a job. Semion is aware of the connection between you and Gleb, I’m sure.”
The realization dawned on me that Aly and I were in a no-win situation. I pulled in a deep breath before gradually releasing it, a sinking feeling in my stomach. I tapped my fingers on the table. “Wish we’d stayed in New York and brazened it out. At least my condo has security…”
“I’ll call Gleb. Ask his advice.” Dad pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll talk to him while I go to my studio to fetch us some guns.”
Guns?
Holy shit!
Catrin gasped. “I thought we’d escaped the mafia once and for all when Gleb left that life behind.”
I stared down at the floor. “I’m sorry...”
“Stay here, the two of you,” Dad said. “I’ll lock all the windows and doors then call my brother.”
I got to my feet and went around to the other side of the table to put my arm around Catrin.
But she squirmed out of my hold.
I rubbed a hand through my hair. I’d go see Aly. Tell her what was going down.
The sudden crack of a gunshot rang through the air.
Fuck!
Catrin let out a yelp.
The hair on my nape and arms stirred.
Dad burst into the kitchen and threw me a Glock pistol.
“Get under the table, Catrin,” he said to my stepmom. “You’ll be safer there.”
He dragged me out of the room, turning the key to lock her in and positioning me in the corridor.
More gunshots.
Shit!
The sound of the backdoor being kicked in.
I held onto Dad.
Running footsteps echoed.
Sweat broke out on my forehead and my belly clenched.
Semion Abramovich was hurtling toward us, gun raised, two bulls at his heel. “What have you done with my daughter?” he bellowed.
I didn’t grace his question with an answer.
Instead, I lifted my Glock, cocked it and readied myself to squeeze the trigger.
Alyona
I was in the bathroom when I heard the gunshot. My heart nearly beat out of my chest.
There could be only one explanation… my father was here. Who else could it be but him?
Sudden anger coursed through my veins.
How dare he come storming into Ben’s family home?
Fight or flight? I chose fight and threw on my dress before grabbing the canister of pepper spray Papa had insisted that I always carried in my purse.
My breathing shallow and sharp, I ran downstairs.
I tiptoed through the open-plan living room toward a corridor leading to the kitchen.
Oh. My. God. Papa was holding a gun pointed at Ben and Ben’s pistol was pointed at Papa. One of Papa’s bulls had grabbed hold of Daniel; he’d gagged him and had pinned his arms behind his back.
I clutched at myself, sudden nausea bringing me out in a cold sweat.
“Put your weapon down,” Papa growled at Ben. “We’re not here to make trouble, I’m here only to take my daughter back.”
“Aly doesn’t wanna to live with you anymore,” Ben sneered. “She wants her freedom. If you really loved her, you’d let her go.”
Heart thudding, I stepped forward. “Papa!”
He didn’t turn to look at me; he merely shouted, “Get out, Alyona.”
My body tensed and I wiped a hand across my brow. Tears of hurt threatened, but I bit them back and replaced them with a sob of rage.
“No,” I stuttered, inching further toward him. “I’m not a child. Please, let me have my say.”
“This isn’t the right time, Aly,” Ben interjected. “It’s not safe.”
“Don’t tell me what I can or cannot do,” I gritted out, taking another step closer.
I doubted Ben would shoot my father, but I knew Papa, knew he’d be more than capable of killing Ben. I’d protect him if it was the last thing I ever did.
“Alyona,” Papa snapped, his voice brittle. “This is an order and not up for discussion. Leave us. Now. This is between Brash and me.”
My heart beat so fast I was afraid it would crack.
“This isn’t between just you and Ben,” I said deliberately slow, like I was explaining something to a child. “This involves me too. It was my bad for encouraging him to bring me here. I should have stayed in New York and faced you like a grown-up.”
“Aly,” Ben pleaded. “I’ll sort this out with your father.”
“No.” With a roar, I rushed forward and slotted myself into the space between them. “If you wanna kill Ben, you’re gonna have to kill me first, Papa.”
My father’s pistol was now pointing straight at me. His expression was fierce and cold. Spit had gathered in the corner of his mouth.
I was rooted to the spot, holding my breath, my eyes snapping defiance.
“Move her out of the way,” Papa barked at the bull who wasn’t holding Daniel.
“Don’t. You. Dare. Touch. Me,” I raised my chin.
The bull, a new dude I didn’t recognize, came at me.
My heart thudding, I lifted my arm and sprayed the pepper in the eyes.
New dude let out a roar, moving away from us, rubbing at his face and cussing.
For a split-second Papa was distracted as he stared at the bull.
Ben took advantage, pushed me out of the way and quick as a flash, held his gun to Papa’s head. “Drop your weapon, Semion,” he snarled.
“Or what?” Papa’s question was a sneer. “You don’t have what it takes to kill me…”
“Ah, but I do,” a deep gravelly voice came from the doorway. “Drop your weapon.”
I did a double take. An older version of Ben had just stepped into the room, and his accomplices were even now overpowering Papa’s bulls.
“Gleb,” Papa jabbered, his brows pulling in. “What are you doing here?”
Ben’s uncle stepped forward and raised his gun. “I could ask the same thing of you, Semion. Oh, just remembered,” he smirked. “You always were a bully, even in the old days at Brighton Beach. It shouldn’t surprise me you’ve come to harass innocent women…”
“Your nephew has taken what’s mine,” Papa spat.
“I’m not your possession,” I said firmly.
“How did you get here so quick, Uncle?” Ben asked, keeping his pistol pressed into Papa’s temple.
“I was already on the way when Daniel rang. Let’s just say someone who owed me a favor got in touch and told me Semion’s pilot had filed a flight plan for Boulder.” Gleb took another step forward, wrestled Papa’s pistol from him, and trapped his hands behind his back. “My contact thought I should be informed.”
“Well I’m glad he did,” Daniel muttered, unlocking the kitchen door. One of Gleb’s men must have untied him and removed the gag from his mouth.
Catrin fell into Daniel’s arms. “Thank God you’re unhurt,” she said, kissing him, tears streaming down her face.
“Take the bulls out to the y
ard and keep an eye on them there,” Gleb ordered one of his guys. “The rest of us can go through to the living room. Talk things through like reasonable adults.”
Ben put his arms around me, attempting to lead me away from the scene. But I turned around in his hold and gazed at my father.
Papa had bowed his head in apparent submission. I’d never seen him like this. Like ever. There was so much I didn’t know about him. Had never thought to ask. He’d always been the Boss, as far as I was concerned.
He lifted his head and met my gaze. Stripped bare, his expression unguarded, he stared at me with something unidentifiable in his eyes.
Chapter Eighty-Five
Alyona
“I’d like to speak to my father on my own,” I whispered to Ben while everyone else was making their way to the living room, Gleb still holding onto Papa.
“You sure?” Ben cocked his head.
I nodded. “There are things we need to say to each other. It’ll be easier without an audience…”
His brows pulled in. “If that’s what you want, babe, I’ll go get him for you.”
I waited in the kitchen. With trembling fingers, I helped myself to a cup of coffee from the machine on the counter before sitting at the table. My father’s shenanigans and their repercussions still had me on edge.
The door swung open. “No need to restrain me,” Papa was saying gruffly to Ben as they came into the room.
Ben pulled out a chair and Papa sat down. “Will you be okay, Aly?” Ben asked. “I mean, do you want me to stay?”
A fake smile touched my lips as I waved him off. “I’ll be fine.”
Papa folded his arms and glowered at me. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
I mirrored his action, folding my own arms and glowering back at him. “I’m pissed at you for behaving the way you did. Coming here with your bulls… and guns. This isn’t a mafia turf war, Papa. I’m your freaking daughter.”
“Whom I love more than life itself,” he said without missing a beat.
My mouth opened and I closed it quickly. “You have a weird way of showing it,” I huffed.
He swiped a hand over his face. “All I want is for you to be safe, princess.”
“By imprisoning me in a life I don’t want?” My voice rose.
Paps blinked a couple of times, then scratched his head. “I had a sister, in the old country.”
I stared at him. “You’ve never mentioned her.”
Where was this going?
“Her name was Yuliya. She was two years younger than me. Headstrong, like you,” Papa released a heavy sigh.
I leaned toward him. “What happened to her?”
“She was killed. Murdered on a Moscow street during a demonstration shortly after your mother and I left Russia to come to America.” Papa straightened his spine and shot me a look of despair. “I’d tried to persuade her to leave with us, but she refused. I’ll never stop blaming myself for not protecting her.”
“She was leading the life she chose. You can’t restrict my freedom because of her,” I argued, my jaw tightening. “And what’s the deal with Pasha Ivanchenko’s father? It was like you’d sold me to the highest bidder…”
Papa shook his head vigorously. “You would be safe with him. And you would lack for nothing.”
“We keep coming back to the same problem. What you want for me and what I want for myself are polar opposites.”
He pressed his lips together. “What is it you want, Princess? It’s not Ben Collins, I hope…”
“We love each other, Papa.” I looked him directly in the eye. “He lets me be me. He’s willing to wait for me to make my way in the world. He brought me here to meet his uncle so I could apply for a job…”
“Your mother and I have just got you back from that godforsaken island, and now you want to leave us again.” Papa sounded desperate. “How can you have fallen in love with that reckless son of a bitch?”
Angry tears sprang to my eyes; I knuckled them away. “I almost died on that island and when I came home, instead of feeling loved I felt like a freaking prisoner.”
“It was Brash’s fault you were marooned. I needed to keep you from seeing him again, to protect you,” Papa spat out.
“If it wasn’t for Ben, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. He saved my life when the plane went down. He’s is a good man and we’re perfect together. I ground him and he brings out the best in me.” I gritted my teeth. “It was Carl’s actions that caused the crash. Nothing to do with Ben.” I shuffled my chair into the space between my father and me. “Now he and I will be separated. Living across the country from each other. You forced it on us when you wouldn’t let me leave home and threatened to break my trust fund.”
“I didn’t mean it,” Papa rasped. He reached for my hand. “I wouldn’t have left you destitute.”
I pulled my hand away. “It was callous of you to even suggest it.” I curled my lip. “But I wouldn’t have been destitute. I’d have gotten a job and managed like everyone else.”
“I believe you, princess. You’ve shown me a whole new side of yourself today.” His eyes glowed. “Would you consider staying in New York now that you’re aware I won’t break the fund and you’ll have enough money for the rent?”
I was tempted. God, I was tempted. It would mean I’d see more of Ben. Get to date and hang out with him more often than if I was based in Colorado.
But I gazed at Papa and saw right through him. I didn’t trust him one iota. If I returned to New York, he’d probably find a way to undermine me. For my own sake, I needed to be as far away from him as possible.
“I’ll think about it,” I pretended. “If you’ll apologize to Daniel and Catrin, say whatever it is you have to say to Gleb Sokolov, then leave me to make my own way home… or not, as the case may be. I want you to prove that you love me enough to set me free.”
“I do, Alyona. And I will,” he nodded emphatically. “Your mother and brother will be relieved. They didn’t want me to take you home by force.”
“And I’m relieved you didn’t as well,” I almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea. My own father kidnapping me. Except, deep down, I knew that if Gleb hadn’t turned up when he did, blood would have been shed. Ben had told me on the island how he’d learned to shoot. He could well have fired his pistol to protect me— or Papa would have shot him first.
A tragedy averted…
I switched my phone back on after Papa had left the kitchen, answering the missed calls from Mom, Valentin and Emma. I reassured them, told them I loved them, but didn’t make any promises about coming home.
Papa returned to inform me he was taking his men and leaving, having squared everything with Daniel, Catrin and Gleb. He didn’t mention Ben, and I suspected the omission was deliberate.
“Please keep in touch, princess,” Papa pleaded, pecking me on the cheek. “Your mom and I will miss you…”
Will you, Papa? Will you miss the real me, or the version of Alyona you want me to be?
“I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve made my decision,” I told him.
Almost the minute Papa had left, Ben breezed through the door, a big smile on his face. With a whoop, he lifted me up and kissed me. “How did you change your dad’s mind?”
We went for a short walk outside while I told him the whole sorry saga, adding that I still hadn’t decided what to do for the best. “I really need a job,” I said, “even though I have my own money.”
Ben smirked. “You can come and work for me…”
“No,” I protested, my thoughts scrambling. “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not?” He wrapped the arm that wasn’t holding his crutch around me, pressing his forehead to mine.
My heart skittered. “I’m your girlfriend. Best not mix business with pleasure.”
He dropped his crutch and held my face with both of his hands. “Your pleasure is my business,” he grinned wolfishly.
I gigg
led and slipped out of his hold. My nipples had pebbled and I was wet for him merely feeling his powerful body so close to mine.
He picked up his crutch, grabbed my hand again, and we strolled toward the small lake. We sat on the wooden dock and dangled our feet over the edge.
Ben squeezed my fingers. “Please come back to New York. Move in with me. If you won’t work for me, at least you can live with me…”
I turned to face him. “Honey, it’s too soon. I need time. We already talked about this…”
“Yeah, yeah…” He stared across the water toward the aspen-covered hills. “I’m a businessman. It’s what I do. You don’t need a job, babe. You need to set up your own photography business.”
I caught my lip between my teeth. “It’s been my dream since, like, forever. You think I’ve got what it takes to succeed?”
“I know you have.” He pulled me into his arms.
I nuzzled his chest and inhaled his sandalwood scent. “Before the island, I wouldn’t have had the guts to do it. But after everything we went through, I’m no longer scared I might fail.”
He lifted my chin and kissed me. “Let’s go back inside, babe. They must be wondering where we are.”
We found Catrin and Gleb in the kitchen, cups of coffee in their hands. I apologized for my father’s behavior, and they told me not to worry about it.
“About twenty years ago,” Catrin said, “my brother-in-law here,” she glanced at Gleb, “was a mafia boss… I’m originally from the UK, Wales, and hadn’t grown up around guns so I found it shocking, to say the least.” She smiled at Ben and me. “Before that, in England, Daniel had his own run-in with the brotherhood. All in the past, I thought…”
“It is in the past,” Gleb put down his cup of coffee. “I make sure that it is.”
“Thanks again for showing up when you did,” Ben said to his uncle. “God knows what would have happened if…”
“You still haven’t introduced me to your girl,” Gleb cut him off and slid his gaze over me.
My cheeks burned as he shook my hand. “Pleased to meet you, Gleb.”
