by KJ Dahlen
“And that’s why you thought we stopped to harass you again, for the fourth time huh?” Timor nodded.
She nodded back. “You go back to him and tell him I’m not selling. You tell that bastard he’ll never get this land. There has been an Ashburn living here for the last hundred and seventy fire years and there will be long after I’m dead.”
“My dear sweet woman...” Timor raised a brow. “If I see that man again, I’m more likely to put a bullet in his lying, cheating head. I won’t even great the lousy bastard before I shoot him.”
“He’s pissed you off too, huh?” She smiled slowly. “Hot damn, at least, I’m not the only one then. Most people are afraid of him because he’s just a plain bastard. You look into his eyes and you know that man’s got no soul.”
Timor saw her whole face light up from within and he just couldn’t stop looking at her. Her eyes he thought before were dark brown but when she smiled, he could see they were dark blue. Timor shook his head to clear it. “Da, he’s been that way since the day he was born I think. People used to whisper about him back in Russia too.”
She grunted. “He’s only been here in this area for about seven years. He moves from place to place leaving behind devastation and broken people behind him like trash. His reputation proceeds him for the most part.”
Timor lowered his hands but held them away from his body so as to let her know he meant her no harm. Looking around the area, he had to ask, “Why does he want this land so much? I mean its nice land and all but I don’t see Anton Azarov as a farmer.”
She now rested her shotgun at her side. “Oh, I don’t think he wants the farm for the land as much as he wants it as a way to the lake behind here.”
“The lake?”
“Lake Pontchartrain,” she told him. “He needs access to the water, for what... I have no idea but I don’t think it’s a good thing.” She stared at the man in front of her. “So you said you’ve known about him for thirty years or so, what’s his agenda then?”
“As you said, nothing good.” Timor snorted. “The last time I saw him he was on trial for corruption, betrayal and murder. I did hear he escaped the gallows within hours of being convicted and being hung.”
She frowned. “You actually hang people over there yet?”
Timor shrugged, “This was thirty years ago my dear. We usually put them in front of a firing squad now. A bullet costs less but it is just as effective, don’t you think?”
She held her breath for a moment. The corruption he spoke of she could believe, along with the murder charges but betrayal? She had to wonder what that was all about. “Who did he betray?”
“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you,” he replied without a smile. The Bratva took betrayal of any kind very seriously. To show them exactly what kind of man he really was, Anton had left his accomplice behind to take the fall for assisting in his escape. The only problem was the man’s throat had been cut and his tongue had been ripped out of his mouth. They had received the message clear as day. He told the other man where he was going and then he killed him so he would be unable to tell the Bratva anything about his plans.
Then Anton simply disappeared. They never did find a trail to follow. But the Bratva never forgot him. He knew that for certain. Timor himself knew this for sure because it was his job to try and find the bastard. Every year on the anniversary of the day he was to have been executed, Timor made his report to Sergi and the High Council.
At least this year, he could tell them he’d gotten a lead on the man. This year, he might be able to tell them the man was dead, as he would very much like to kill Anton himself. “We need to talk. I need you to tell me everything you know about the man,” Timor ordered in a harsh voice.
“Honey, I don’t have to tell you a damn thing.” She growled back. “You may be the best thing I’ve seen since sliced bread but you don’t have any power here. This is my land and here... I’m the boss, not you.”
Timor took a step toward her and immediately heard the sound of a gun being cocked somewhere off to his left. He growled. “Tell your man to back off.”
“No, I don’t think I will.” She arched a perfect brow at him. “I don’t know you from Adam and I will not give in to a bully. Never have, never will.”
“I am not going to hurt you.” Timor stiffened with affront.
“Damn right, you’re not.” She glared at him. Lifting her shotgun, she pointed it right at his belly. “Now why don’t you two just get back to your fancy car and get the hell out of here while you still can?” She nodded. “Save us all some trouble. I’d really like not having to explain to the sheriff why I had to shoot you in the ass. I might consider that a waste of good birdshot as it might just bounce off that tight butt you got. I’d really hate to mar that smooth skin.”
“Daisy!” Joel shouted out. “Will you stop that shit?”
“Why? I call them as I see them and he’s got a mighty fine looking ass.” She laughed as she called back to him. Looking at Timor from head to toe she called out again, “The front ain’t hard to look at either.”
“Daisy!”
She chuckled at the outrage in Joel’s voice. Then she turned to Timor and Pavel as she motioned toward their vehicle. “You two better get going. Joel doesn’t have much of a sense of humor anymore.”
Then she took a step toward Timor. Holding his eyes the whole time, she got right up in his face.
Timor didn’t move, curious to see what this woman would do next. He’d never met one like her. Bold and full of what the Americans called sass. Up close, he could see her much better. Her skin was clear and slightly tanned. Her scent was surrounding him with waves of a floral aura that was completely natural and not bottled.
He looked her in the eye and then his brows shot up as she leaned forward and crushed his mouth under hers. He was so stunned he couldn’t move for a moment then she backed away just as quickly as she had moved forward.
She looked as stunned as he did. Her hand rose to cover her mouth as she stared at him. Then Timor thought she whispered, wow before she took another step back. She raised her gun and motioned for them to go.
Timor stepped over to the car and as he got in the passenger side, he looked back at her. Their eyes met for a moment but in that moment, they both took a stand. The only question was what were they standing for?
Timor didn’t exactly know right now but he did know he’d be back. That small taste of her sparked something deep in his soul and he wanted more. It had been far too long since he met a woman that could light his fire and he was determined to this Daisy woman again.
Chapter Two
When they neared the city of New Orleans, Timor had to shake his head. Looking over at Pavel he asked, “What just happened?”
Pavel chuckled. He’d been with Timor for the last twenty years, half his life. He knew the man and how he lived. Timor was a rigid man in his discipline, in his devotion and loyalty to the Bratva and to his family. Not necessarily in that order. Bratva always came in first place. But discipline and family were tied for second place. “I’m not really sure but you may have just met the one woman on this planet that was meant for you. Either that or she’s just plain crazy, either way it should be interesting to see this play out.”
“Oh... ha-ha,” Timor grumbled. “I’m too old to play her silly games.”
“You are never too old to fall in love my friend,” Pavel reminded him.
“Fall in love?” Timor growled. “Bah, on your foolish thoughts, just get me to Yuri and the rest of the boys. I need to talk to them and Sergi.”
“So how do you know this man Anton?” Pavel asked.
“Anton Azarov was convicted of treason, corruption, and murder thirty years ago. He was sentenced to hang for his crimes of betrayal of the Bratva but escaped leaving his partner behind.”
“Who did he betray?”
“The entire High Council,” Timor muttered. “The Ukraines were plotting to take over the Council and looked f
or someone who would help them. They found that man in Anton. He spilled Bratva secrets to an elite sect of the Ukraine underground. But he played one side against the other and double crossed both sides. When the truth finally came out, the Council hung the Ukraines and hunted down one of the Bratva’s own.” Timor shook his head. “He didn’t even try to deny the charges. He just stood there with a smirk on his face and let them pass judgement on him. Then for the first time in Council history, he told them all to idi trakhni sebya...To go fuck themselves. One of the guards broke protocol and he struck Anton in the face, laying open his cheek. They threw him in the cell without medical attention. He wouldn’t live much longer anyway. He was sentenced to hang the next morning. When the guards went to collect him for the gallows, they found him gone.” He shook his head. “That was the last time anyone saw him in thirty years.”
Pavel parked the car in the underground parking lot and joined Timor as he made his way inside. He followed his boss all the way to Yuri’s office then stood outside as one by one everyone else joined them.
When Roman and Iosif joined them Roman looked at Pavel and demanded, “What trouble is he in now?”
“That is for him to tell you,” Pavel replied then he smiled. “But I think he’s finally met his match in a woman.”
Roman’s eyes widened. “What the hell?” he swore under his breath.
“Indeed.” Pavel nodded.
Iosif chuckled and slapped Roman on the back, “Come on I want to hear about this extraordinary woman.”
Timor was waiting for everyone to get there before he told them what was coming.
While he waited, Yuri studied the other man.
Yuri wasn’t comfortable with Timor being here in the first place. He knew Roman and Iosif weren’t all that comfortable either. Yuri was a witness to the unrest the other man left the last time he visited. Neither of his sons or their women deserved what he said and did to them. Timor was old school and didn’t want to recognize his son’s rights to live their own lives. He wouldn’t recognize their last names even, he insisted they were his sons and they should use his last name not their mother’s. It had been a mess.
Then Yuri grinned as he realized one important factor. Timor might have been stubborn to a fault but when he came up against Roman, he met his own son’s immovable force. Yuri had been there the day the two stubborn men were introduced.
“So what do you want?” Roman asked Timor.
“I want you to come home with your brother and I. I know you are Bratva and that will help you take your rightful place with me.”
Roman shook his head. “I am Bratva but I belong here with my blood brothers.”
“But you could be so much more at my side than you could ever be here,” Timor argued. “You and Iosif could rule Kazakhstan together.”
Roman shook his head. “I have no desire to leave this country or the family I have right here. I have a good woman that I plan to take as my wife and soon, I’ll have a son or daughter of my own. My place is here.”
“But you are my son,” Timor insisted.
“Perhaps, perhaps not. We may never know that for sure and even if we are related, the two of you are still strangers to me.” Roman pointed out. “I may have known my brother at one time but that was a lifetime ago. My life went on after I lost him and so did his. He had you and I had four other boys the same age as I was back then. We grew up fast and hard and that was no one’s fault, it just was. We formed a solid family out of necessity back then and every day since then we’ve grown stronger.”
“We share the same blood.” Timor held his ground.
“If you want to get to know me as the man I am today that’s fine. I would even welcome the chance to know you and Iosif. But I’m not leaving this family behind. If you cannot accept that then this meeting is done. I’m no longer that lost little boy I was thirty four years ago. I’m a grown man and as such, I can say and do what I want. This is what I want. You have Iosif to take his rightful place in your empire. He is the son you raised to follow in your footsteps. He should be the one to take over for you when you’re gone, not me. He’s earned that right.”
“But I want you both,” Timor admitted.
“And I have what I want right here,” Roman pointed out.
“I think we need to take a step back and evaluate this a little,” Iosif suggested. Turning to his father he said, “Why don’t we do as Roman said and get to know him first? When we get more comfortable with each other then we can make plans for the future. That’s fair.”
“I suppose it is,” Timor admitted after a brief struggle with himself. He hated when he didn’t get his own way but he also knew he wasn’t done trying to convince Roman to come home with him. “You said you had a woman? Where is she?”
Roman turned and motioned for Stevie to come forward. “This is Stevie.”
Timor frowned.
Stevie turned to the two men and smiled slightly. Timor’s frown grew deeper and she glanced at Roman.
Timor shook his head. “This won’t do. This won’t do at all. She’s too young for you.”
Roman’s expression hardened. “She is the woman I love very much and she’s carrying my child. I do not need or want your permission to keep her.”
“Does this child know what you are and what you do?” He sneered. “She will run away from you as soon as she finds out. She’s just a child herself.”
Roman wrapped his arm around Stevie as if to protect her. “She is my woman and she knows who I am and what I am. You’ve bullied your way in here and now, you dare to criticize my choices? This is outrageous and I think you need to go home.”
Roman never gave in to his father’s demands and managed to hold his own. Yuri and the others were proud of him during the showdown between father and son.
Now Timor had begged for another chance and Roman had given it to him. The first day he’d been here had gone well from what Roman told him but then this morning, Timor had barged into his office and ordered a meeting with all the brothers. Not only that but he insisted on a call to Nikoli and Sergi at the same time.
As the brothers began arriving, he could see the unrest among them. When Roman and Iosif finally joined them, they were finally all here. Yuri looked over at Timor.
He nodded at Yuri. “Call Sergi and Nikoli and we can get this meeting started.”
“You do realize Sergi is in Russia and probably sleeping don’t you?” Sazon asked.
“He’ll want to hear what I have to say,” Timor assured them.
“This better be worth it old man,” Yuri grumbled.
When Sergi answered his call Timor spoke up at last, “My old friend, I need to tell you something. I found the bastard, Azarov.”
“What did you just say?” Sergi’s voice had dropped low and harsh.
“I finally found the bastard,” Timor repeated his earlier statement. “He’s right here in New Orleans.”
“How the hell did you find him?” Sergi demanded.
“I saw his fucking crest on a fencepost. At first, I didn’t really know it anymore, it has been thirty years but something told me to check it out and when I did, it was real. I spoke to the landowner and she told me he wants her land and isn’t taking no for an answer.” He paused then said, “Sergi, he’s killing her animals to get her to sell to him for pennies on the dollar.”
“Can you find him before we get there?” Sergi demanded. “We can be there within seventy two hours.”
“Da, I’ll tear this fucking city apart with my own hands if I have to. I’ll find him.” Timor growled.
“Sergi what the hell is going on here?” Yuri demanded. “I think we have the right to know if we are going to get involved in this, don’t you? After all this happened a very long time ago.”
Sergi was quite for a moment before he told them, “Of course, you’re right. Let me try to impress on you the seriousness of the situation. Over thirty years ago, one of our own betrayed us by selling us out to the Ukraine unde
rground. They were an elite team of radicals that thought they could take over the Bratva High Council. They had nothing to do with the proper Ukraine branch of the Bratva. They wanted the power behind the Council for their own. We found out when one of the Council members was killed. We only lost one but they had plans to kill them all. The night before he was to be hanged for his wrongdoing he managed to escape with a little help from one of his guards. It is unknown what he offered this guard but he left the man behind after slitting his throat. Then he fell off the face of the earth. We’ve been looking for him for the last thirty years and this is the first time we’ve had any idea where he went. The High Council still wants this man.”
“Ok I can see why this is important to you.” Yuri nodded. “What do you want us to do?”
“I want eyes on this man, Anton. I want him sitting in a cell waiting for fate to catch up to him. The council member he killed was a mentor to me and Timor, a great man with honor who had been the first to want Bratva to change its ways for the better. He took that man’s life and destroyed his family, then he cheated death for thirty years and I want him to know fate will always win. I want him to feel the burn of a hangman’s noose.”
“Is this personal for you?” Sazon dared to ask.
“Da, very personal,” Sergi admitted. “The man he murdered was my uncle. My family has taken a blood debt out on this man.”
Timor interjected in the conversation now, “I and my men will watch out for the woman involved in this situation. He’s come after her three times now. So far, the only loss being her farm animals. The last time he was there however, she ran him off with birdshot. He isn’t going to let that slide at all and not for long.”
