by KJ Dahlen
Her arms dropped to her sides, as she looked puzzled. “What promises? To who?”
Sergi wore a blank expression as he shrugged. “To Alexi from me but—”
“You knew my grandfather,” River cut him off. “You even said I had his eyes.”
He slowly nodded at her.
“So where were you when he was murdered then? Where was this high and mighty Bratva, huh? He is dead and buried. Gone! And I never got to—” Her voice broke as tears formed in her eyes.
“You see, you are too emotionally invested in this. You could get hurt and that, we cannot allow.” Sergi glared at her.
Huffing angrily, she turned to Leonid.
Leonid knew this might make or break their new relationship but her being safe was far more important than taking the brunt of her anger. He shrugged. “You are my woman and you want me to say that it is okay for you to go and possibly take a bullet?”
“Ooh!” She tossed her hands up in the air and marched out of the room.
Leonid stared after her.
“She will be fine,” Sergi assured him. “I promise when all this is over, she will be better off.”
Leonid swung his gaze over. “I don’t know that for sure and neither do you.”.”
Lucifer and his men were now heading toward the front door. “We will be getting into place, whatever you decide. At Zero-Five Hundred.”
Felix stared after them then turned to Sergi, as he looked confused.
“At dawn, Felix,” Sergi explained. Is a military phrase. Zero’5 O’clock is always dawn.”
“Wow, really?” Sasha asked.
Felix shook his head. “See? All that is in that big head of yours.”
“Stop being so facetious, my friend.” Sergi scoffed.
Sasha snickered.
“Shutochnyy? God dammit, now I have to look that word up too.” Felix shook his head.
Leonid cleared his throat to get their attention.
Sergi looked over at him. “So, you will stay with her to make sure she is safe, correct?”
Leonid nodded. “He is my uncle, so I would rather be there, but...”
“Da, I get it.” Sergi nodded. “We have several of our own men to bring with us. We couldn’t get our Nomads as they are in...” he paused. “...another part of the world.
Sasha gasped. “So, the Enforcers are real?”
Sergi glanced over at him. “We try not to let that out. Like I would rather most of the world thought they were comic book heroes. You know like the Justice League or something.” He grinned.
Felix laughed at this comparison. “Those men are not made by DC.” He joked.
Sergi stared at him. “Really, Felix?”
Felix shrugged. “You know Washington DC and DC comics. Don’t you get it?”
Sergi shook his head. “Felix, my friend, you are not a good comedian, so do not quit your day job.”
Sasha laughed loudly.
Felix joined him.
Leonid left the room to go and check on River. He hoped to talk some sense into her.
He headed to the bedroom and halted at the door. He never had a steady woman. He knew that you needed to listen to them and try to be patient. But this whole subject of her farm and Vlad was going to be difficult at best. He could understand her frustration but he couldn’t care. Keeping her alive and safe was his top priority. He paused and thought maybe asking for advice might be wise. He walked to the end of the hall and called Barron. He had to check in with him and inform him of the happenings in any case.
“Da?” Red answered on the first ring. “Talk to me, Leo.”
Leonid took a deep breath and launched in, “Sergi met the MC here. River did process the film and it revealed the secrets or one of them that my uncle was trying to hide. He has been in league with the Prechinko brothers. Sergi says they were supposed to be dead by Vlad’s hands years back.”
“So, we now know why he is here and why he—”
“Yes, Red but...I called about something else.”
“Ok, what?” Red asked.
“River.”
“Yes? You claimed her didn’t you?”
Leonid blinked in surprise as he thought he would have to explain that part to his president.
A laugh came from the other end of the phone. “I never saw you look like you did yesterday, my friend. I knew this was to come.”
Leonid shook his head and went on, “Yes, okay so you know that already. She wants to go on the raid at dawn to the farm.”
“Mm-hmm,” was all Red said.
“Mh-hmm?” Leonid snapped. “I can’t let her go there!”
“I see your issue,” Barron replied. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“That is why I called you brother. I need advice.”
A chuckle now sounded over the line.
“This is not funny Red!” Leonid sated in an exasperated tone
“No, no. It is not, but you have two ways to go.”
Leonid pushed his fingers through his hair. “Two?”
“Da, two. You talk to her.”
“I tried that and it isn’t going over so well.”
“Ok, number 2.” Barron’s voice rumbled over the phone. “Tie her up.”
Leonid batted his eyes and even lowered the phone to stare at it. Lifting it up, he asked, “What?”
“I am sorry my friend, but some women are too stubborn. She will forgive you later.”
“Oh? She will?”
“Yes. IF you handle it right.”
“Handle?” Leonid voiced his frustration. “You say to tie her up and make her stay till it all blows over?”
“Exactly. Then well... use your lion charm and persuade her that you did it FOR her.”
“This?” Leonid scoffed. “Is your advice? Ty nenormal'nyy, Red?”
“I am very sane, Leo. This may be the only choice.”
“Why did I ask you?” Leonid sighed. “There has to be another way.”
“If there is, my friend, you will have to find it. Women can be stubborn and this is about her very life.”
“I will update you,” Leonid told him.
“Da, you better.” His prez ended the call.
Chapter Thirteen
River raised the bedroom window and quietly dropped to the ground. She still couldn’t believe what she’d overheard. How could Leo say he was going to tie her up to keep her here? Tears filled her eyes. She thought when he said claiming that it was like—well, not that! Forcing her to stay against her will? She still had trouble believing it. How could he have talked of forever when he was willing to treat her like a dammed hostage? She had to learn not to trust anyone. Her chest even hurt from this blow, but she refused to think about it, she had to get the hell out of here. She stared down at Sammy. “Boy, I cannot take you. I don’t know what might happen and I may have to run to the car too. Stay and be good for Leonid. Protect him. Even if he doesn’t deserved it.”
The dog whined and patted his tail on the floor.
“I will be back for you buddy, I will.”
She sniffled as she brushed away the tears to get her focus on track and made sure her backpack was over her shoulder. It had all that she would need for this. She would end this once and for all with Vlad. The man hadn’t taken her whole family away from her. All these years, she had been alone and it was because of him and his deep, dark fucking secrets.
She slowly crept around front of the cabin. Sergi’s vehicle and the bikes were all gone now. Good. She’d already pocketed her car keys, but she needed to make sure they couldn’t follow.
Sneaking low along the ground, she crept up to Sasha’s cycle and raised her dagger. Popping the tire made a rather loud noise. She raised her head a bit and peeked at the porch of the cabin.
The door slowly opened.
Dammit! She now stood and took a flying run to her car.
“River!” Leonid shouted.
Sliding in, she slapped the key into the ignition and started
it up.
Leonid came running toward the car as she moved the vehicle backwards in reverse as fast as she could go and her door slammed shut from the motion. Looking up, she could see he was almost to her.
Damn, the man could run fast.
She spun the car around in a huge circle of dust, while yelling out the window, “You were going to tie me up!” She then lurched the car into drive and sped down the dirt road. Tears rolled down her cheeks. How could she have been so stupid? The man with the sexy green eyes and a body made of dreams. She had been fooled by that! Fooled. Men were all bad. Look at that two faced uncle of his! Well, no more.
She had her maps and she had finally figured out what her grandfather had built. She would have the element of surprise this time. Fuck all these bossy ass men. She would finish this herself.
River felt totally shell shocked as she cried all the way along the back road and hoped she wouldn’t get lost.
“Chert voz'mi, chertovski der'mo,” Leonid let out a string of curses. “What the fuck?”
Sasha walked over to his bike. “Why did she have to go and pop my tire?”
Leonid swung his gaze over. “She didn’t want us to be able to follow, but why? We know where she’s going.”
Sasha swiped his phone and lifted it to his ear. “Hey, are you guy’s still close by?”
Leonid turned and walked back to his brother.
“Good,” Sasha spoke into the phone again. “Look we need a ride. Well, we need a vehicle really.” Sasha listened. “Alright, thanks man.” He swiped his phone and looked over at Leonid. “What the hell happened?”
Leonid swiped the dust from his cheek. “I called Barron.”
“And?” Sasha looked confused.
“I wanted his advice on how to get River to stay.”
Sasha studied him and then looked like he understood. “She yelled you were going to tie her up!”
“No!” Leonid let out a frustrated breath. “I wasn’t going to tie her up. Barron advised me to.”
“What?” Sasha did not look any less confused.
“Yes, that was his advice and she heard me repeating it back to him.”
“Oh, shit.” Sasha looked down the road at the cloud of dust. “Well, I called Demon and he has a truck coming. But what about Sergi and dawn?”
“I don’t know. This fucked all that up. I have to call Barron, so he can let Sergi know. You need to call Demon again, and tell the Guardians. Damn, all this has to happen now, not at dawn.” Leonid looked at the dust on the road as it was finally settling. “What the hell does she think she can do? Just ride right into a cascade of bullets?” He pulled his phone out just as it rang. He swiped to answer.
“Don’t do anything,” Sergi ordered.
“What?” Leonid snapped.
“Felix has her on GPS and she is heading the wrong way.”
“GPS? How?”
“Well, I saw it in her eyes. I know these Russian women, they will do what they do.”
“What the hell kind of explanation is that?” Leonid pushed his fingers through his hair in frustration. He was tired of all this cryptic advice about his woman.
“I had Felix tag her car before we left and American raised she may be, but she is Russian.”
“Wow.” Leonid was taken by surprise with this news at them tracking her.
“Da and she is heading the wrong way. Either she’s lost, or just running. And that begs the question. Why?”
Leonid sighed and explained the misunderstanding.
“Well,” Sergi spoke again. “I can see why she took flight but for now, we go with dawn. Unless Felix sees her car close to the farm.”
“So, we just wait?” Leonid asked in frustration.
“It is all we can do. Look, I know it will be hard. But we wait until we know something for sure. I will give you a call if we have to move in before that. Means no sleep for most of us, but the Guardians are already filled in.”
“Sergi, I will be coming to you. I will follow her. I have to.”
“Ok. I get it. We will be at the compound.” He ended the call.
Leonid went in to gather his stuff. Heading into the room, he spotted the open window. Then he looked down at Sammy. “Why did she leave you?”
The dog came over and sat down by his feet.
“Oh, so now you are my protector?” Then looking around, he saw one of the boxes that had been in River’s car. He walked over and sat down on the floor next to it. He knew there had to be a plan. She had to have a plan, but what? The girl he’d met wasn’t stupid. He dug out the maps and set a stack aside to look at some architectural designs of the farm. His eyes widened when he realized what she must have seen. His heart pounded in his chest as he stood up and gathered his stuff. He went to the kitchen and dumped snacks into a bag. Then he moved to the fridge and took some water out and some cheese. There would be no time to stop.
When he got outside, the truck showed up and Demon rolled out a tire for Sasha’s bike.
“Damn man, you are efficient.” Sasha grinned.
Demon smiled. “Been here done this.” He rolled the tire over to the bike. “Let me get some tools.”
“Nah, in my bag,” Sasha said as he beamed. “Been here done this.”
Both men laughed.
Demon then went back, rolled his bike out of the truck and tossed Leonid the truck keys. “Drop it off when you get the chance and we’ll give you guys a tour of our place.”
“Thanks man,” Sasha said.
Demon started his bike up. “See ya with the sun.” He took off down the road.
Sasha finished with the tire and looked up at Leonid. “You got a plan don’t you?”
He nodded. “I figured out where she’s going.”
“But I thought she was heading the wrong—”
“Nah, she’s going there all right.” Leonid opened the door and Sammy appeared from the side then rushed in front of him to jump in. Leonid shook his head at the dog but got into the truck. “So, you can head back to the comp—”
“The hell I will.” Sasha settled his stuff into his saddlebags and got on his bike. “Barron said to protect you and her. I like my ass unkicked if you do not mind.” He kicked his stand up and started his cycle.
“And Sergi says Russian women are stubborn,” Leonid grumbled to himself as he turned the truck around and headed away from the cabin.
Chapter Fourteen
River waited. Her car sat hidden in a cluster of trees. She waited for the sun to dip down. It had to be dark for her to be able to approach the back acreage. She had a flashlight, a compass, and her weapons. Damn, she wished she’d thought of food and drink. Her stomach rumbled.
She had an hour at least, so maybe a catnap? She should be safe here while hidden so well. But her mind was still full of one thing. His face. All she could see was Leonid, his eyes gazing into hers with tenderness in them. How could he? She shook her head. She needed to forget about the man, but she had to be honest. Most of her would never forget him.
Fatigue was setting in. She hadn’t had any decent sleep for days it seemed. So now was the time. She fought to blank out her mind as she leaned her head back.
As she fell into sleep her mind again, betrayed her as she saw Leonid again, the way he looked when he was plunging into her. Her body heated up as the whole thing played out in her head. Now, her body betrayed her as well. The way he had touched her, played with her body like she was his own musical instrument. Her breathing sped up, as her panties got wet. She couldn’t fight the memory even with as hard as she tried.
Those hands, they way they’d handled her. God, how was she going to live without them now?
Suddenly, hands were on her. She didn’t know if it was the dream or if it were real.
Her eyes popped open and she opened her mouth to scream.
A hand came down over her mouth. “Shh, Malyshka...”
Leonid? How? Then she got angry. He was here to trap her! She started to struggle.
She huffed air out through her nose as she finally stilled. Why should she listen after what he planned to—
“I would have never tied you up, do you hear me?” he asked his warm breath up against her cheek. “I called Red for advice on how to keep you safe. That was what he suggested and I said it back to him. I never considered doing it.”
She sucked in another breath.
“We are so new to each other that I didn’t want to fuck it up, so I asked someone who had a woman to deal with. And well... his suggestion was in fun, I think? I’m not sure but I would never do something like that...” He lowered his mouth to her neck and gave her a warm kiss. “Unless you asked me too.”
Her body trembled and yes, panties soaked by now.
“So, I am going to let you go. But don’t scream okay? We don’t know if someone is near.” He slowly dropped his hands away.
Biting, her lip, River swallowed heavily then took a deep breath. “I-I heard you and I just—”
He took her hand and raised it to kiss her palm. “I want to keep you, not scare you away, Malyshka.”
Turning in her seat, there was still enough light from dusk to see those incredible green eyes of his. “What is this name you call me?”
“It means sweet girl. And even if you are stubborn and sometimes abrasive...” He chuckled. “You are still my sweet girl.”
“Abrasive?” She laughed. “So how did you find me?”
He stilled.
“Leonid?”
“Sergi.” He let out a sigh.
Her brow wrinkled up. “What does he have to do with this?”
“He had Felix tag your car and I followed you.”
“Oh, that man. Who does he think he—”
Leonid grasped her face and kissed her hard.
His tongue delved in and met hers. The kiss was demanding and deep. Her breath left her lungs with the force of it.
Moving his mouth from hers, he gazed into her eyes. “Are we good now?”
