by KJ Dahlen
Sergi had stopped in his tracks when Timor had rushed way like he did. He now stared at the reason why Timor had acted like that. He gave a nod to Daisy.
She shook off Timor’s helping hands and set her own on her hips. “And who, pray tell, are you?”
Sergi blinked his eyes at her rude tone.
Timor stepped closer to him. “This is Daisy Ashburn, she own this farm.”
Sergi gave her a nod of his head. “I am Sergi Constantine.”
“Oh?” she snorted. “And that means what to me? I don’t know you from Adam. Why are you here?’
Sergi now raised his brows as he looked from her to Timor. Then back to her. “I am no one of importance.”
Men behind him snickered.
Daisy looked around at the men. “So you travel with a band or what?”
He looked confused.
“I mean a band and groupies maybe?” she added.
Roman and Isoif gasped at this.
Timor shook his head then he stepped in front of Daisy. “He is here to help find Anton.”
Daisy stepped around him as if he wouldn’t stop her from saying what she needed to say. “And what’s so big deal about you? If they cannot catch this lowdown no good snake, then what can you do?”
Sergi was now smiling, as were Timor’s sons.
“Oh and don’t you grin at me like he does!” She shoved her thumb at Timor. “I don’t like pushy men, and charm will get you squat with me.”
Sergi looked from her to Timor again. “Is this... the woman Yuri spoke of?”
Timor nodded then stood next to her. “She most likely is and she’s mine.”
At this surprise, Sergi looked like you could have knocked him over with a feather.
Roman and Isoif stared at their father, seemingly speechless.
Timor intended to get past this episode quickly. “Daisy, we have a room set up in the den remember?”
She nodded though her eyes remained narrowed on Sergi.
“So we need to go in there and have a meeting,” he added.
Daisy cocked her head and then motioned ahead with her hand. “Well, let’s go then.”
Sergi was smiling again, as he motioned to Timor. “You heard the woman.”
You could hear Roman and Isoif snickering from behind the man of all Bratva.
Timor could see Sergi was enjoying this immensely as were his sons. In the past, a Maxim would have never endured this kind of insolence. Yet, Timor now looked at it differently. He knew already that Daisy could be unpredictable and headstrong and he would have to maneuver around it. He hoped to have to do so for the rest of his life too.
Roman had raised eyebrows as they all passed in front of him.
Timor raised a finger to his lips in a hush sign.
Isoif was chuckling now.
They all went into the den where a huge table was already set up with laptops.
Daisy looked around. “Wow, your men have been busy.”
“Yes, they have,” Ethel piped in, as she carried in a tray with coffee mugs. “I got coffee or tea, not sure what you Russians drink.”
“Vodka I will bet,” Daisy replied.
Timor chuckled. “Yes, but not so early in the morning.”
“Speak for yourself Maxim.” Sergi laughed.
Timor shook his head. Yes, the man was having a good time at his expense, yet he did not care. He’d better get used to having this reaction to his woman. He almost smiled again. His woman. “Very well, have a seat.” He motioned to Sergi and to his men. “As many as can be seated.”
Sergi turned to Felix and nodded.
Felix looked over at the ten men who’d waited all the way to the door of the den. “Let us see what Timor’s security detail has set up outside.”
With Sergi, Pavel, Timor, Daisy along with Roman and Isoif, they all sat down as the screens came on.
Chapter Eleven
Sabine Pass, Texas...
Pappy, the President of Hell’s Fire Riders MC swiped his phone shut and scowled at the group of men around him. He and the others had just arrived back home from New York after helping Yuri and Deke...
He looked over at his men and frowned.
“What’s up Pappy?’ Calico asked. He, Bear, Dewey and Reaper were waiting on Pappy to say something as they knew this look on him. It meant trouble.
“That was Yuri Anatoly.”
“Oh, what did he want?” Bear asked.
“He wanted us to check out a lead on a man they are hunting now,” Pappy announced. “He thinks this man is a wanted criminal in Russia but that he has been doing bad deals here in our country for many years. I recognized the last name as well. A man with that name has bought up most of the land around New Orleans, he deals in all kinds of slime too.”
“Want me to get Trudy in on this?” Dewey asked.
Pappy nodded. “Yeah, she could save us a lot of time, yet again.. This man has been holding a ranch under siege for the land he wants so he can access the lake and the river behind it. Probably for drug smuggling. He shot the owner in the shoulder yesterday and has killed her animals.”
“Didn’t they have security around the place?” Reaper asked.
“They did and they found where the sniper shot came from but by the time they found his nest, he was gone. They all went off into the fuckin glades to follow him.”
“Nah, not a good idea. There’s lots of dangers and places to hide there man. I’ve been there. So, now what?” Calico asked.
“The Russians are going to double their protection while we dig into the pair that might be behind this attack,” Pappy assured them.
“Pair?” Reaper asked. “I thought you said it was one man?”
“Well see, apparently they feel the man they have hunted all these years, is two men. Like twins? So we need Trudy to screen up with them to get the info they have and the meeting is going to be in ten minutes or so.
Trudy had come into the room and in on the conversation, “Well damn, I needed a little heads up, Pappy.”
“I’m sorry kiddo, this just came to me this morning.”
“Well, I got my laptop and Dewey has three more.” Trudy nodded. “Hon, can you help me set this up?”
Dewey nodded and came around the table.
Pappy explained further as they worked with the screen set up, “We’re going to work with Yuri and his group to find this pair.”
“Okay, didn’t take long,” Trudy called out. “We’re set.”
Dewey then moved walked over to join Pappy and the guys.
“A sniper shot this woman who owns the land that this Anton Azarov wants,” Pappy informed him. “They hoped to get Trudy to do a full background check on the man. Maybe she can find something everyone else missed or are overlooking.”
“I’ll find out what they ate for supper six months ago,” Trudy vowed. “We may not be part of this mission but we can do what we can do here.”
“Honey,” Dewey replied. “As long as we have their backs, we are part of any mission they’re on. Whether we’re with them on point or not.”
Just then, the screens lit up and they were looking at Sergi Constantine himself and another hookup with Yuri.
“Gentleman and Trudy,” Yuri greeted. “We need this man badly. He may strike again and he owes his life to the Bratva Council for past crimes of murder.”
“He murdered my uncle thirty years ago,” Sergi stated. “He left a widow and three children, my sister. She was never the same. They tried him and convicted him. But he escaped the day before his planned execution.”
Trudy was busy tapping at her private PC as they all spoke for a few minutes giving them all the details they themselves knew. Then she spoke up, “It seems there are two of them, Raimus and Anton. They run gaming rooms, smuggling, and human trafficking. This is why they want that property so they can access the water channels.” She looked up at the screens. “This Raimus is... well, a whacko as far as I can tell. He has been caught by the law many tim
es. Murder, rape and many small offenses. Yet, he escapes justice on all of it. The bail bonds alone on him are at 35 million.”
“Whew,” Pappy whistled.
“So they are brothers,” Sergi spoke up.
“Yes and maybe it was Raimus all along that did the killing,” another man spoke up.
“And who are you?” Trudy asked him point blank.
“I am Timor Maxim.” He paused and looked over at Sergi. “No one of importance, really.”
Sergi actually smiled as he shook his head. “This is Timor Maxim and he has pledged to find this killer and protect this ranch.”
“My ranch,” a woman interjected as her face came into view. “Nice to meet y’all. I’m Daisy. I just want to thank you for what you’re doing. I mean you don’t even know me and yet, here you are. So thank you.” Her big blue eyes almost sparkled over the screens. “Well, that’s all from me.” She smiled and moved away.
Pappy nodded. “Umm, you’re welcome?”
Trudy nudged him.
“Go ahead, Trudy.”
She cleared her throat. “My SAT view shows a compound deep in the glades just three miles from this ranch of yours, Daisy. It is unapproachable mostly though. Except by boat and that may be why you all cannot get at these men.” She paused and did a zoom up. “Also, they have at least...” She seemed to be counting as her lips moved silently. “Thirty men as patrols, rooftop, and all sides. It looks like an electric fence around the building...” Her voice slowed as she zoomed in further. “And—what the fuck?” she exclaimed.
“What is it Trudy?” Pappy asked as they all waited.
She looked up at him then at the screens. “There’s an actual fucking moat around the place and...” She gulped heavily. “It is full of crocodiles.... Or Alligators, I couldn’t ever tell which but there are perhaps fifty of them and they are huge. Like... well damn.”
Dewey moved over to peer at her screen and his eyes widened. “ I can tell you why they’re huge.” He looked a bit pale. “It’s the diet they have them on, apparently. Just now they are feeding a whole man to them on the backside of the property.” He seemed to look a bit green for a moment then he shut the laptop. “I don’t want my wife seeing any more of this mess. These men are animals. They just fed a live human being to a pack of god dammed gators.” He stared at all the screens. “These men are purely evil and I wish you luck that’s for fucking sure.”
Ashburn’s Ranch, outside of New Orleans.
This man Sergi called his men in and gave them all orders then he stated he was calling in the ghosts.
Daisy listened and watched them all. Ghosts? What the hell was that? Whoever this Sergi was, he was important, unlike what he had claimed. She looked over at Timor, he was standing with them going over maps.
He too, was in charge, she could clearly see this. The men around him seemed to tread carefully with him, like he was someone totally in command. She couldn’t seem to get enough of looking at him though, when he did not know it. Large shoulders, muscled arms and she already knew about that wide smooth chest. Her panties got damp as he lifted his head and gave her a smirk. Dammit, he had caught her ogling him.
She never thought she would get with a man like this. Russian, for one thing, great looking for another and powerful in so many ways. No, he didn’t scare her, not from moment one. But he intrigued her and she wondered if he really meant all that he had said. He wanted to stay here with her? When his life was usually like this? Having men under his command, fighting some battle. On the phone with important people all over the world. She would bet he had his own jet too.
It all kind of overwhelmed her. If she had gotten with a man, she thought it might be a rancher, or farmer, maybe even a trucker or something. Not this world hopping mogul of a man. She felt sure he would get bored and then just drive away in his limo. Daisy realized that life was too short to worry over what he might do. She intended to make him stay once he promised he would. She had her ways too.
Another one of their men brought more maps in when Yuri came back to the ranch. A flurry of activity and planning went on as different groups of men came and went while getting orders from Sergi and Timor.
The operations-room-den became a war room. She watched over the next two hours as more men arrived until there actually was a veritable army of 50 on her land. Finally, it all set in. This was going to be all out war. Right there in the glades, just a few miles from where she stood.
If she hadn’t believed it before she did now. Timor’s promise to get Anton was going to come true. She felt useless though, as she had nothing to contribute really, so she went to the kitchen to find Ethel and see about feeding 55 or more men.
Joel looked up from the bar counter as he sat on a stool. “I fed all the animals and bedded them down. I knew you wouldn’t be up to it.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, wow. I entirely forgot about the chores.”
“It’s no wonder,” he replied while looking down at his magazine. “What, with all that going on in the den.”
She gazed around. “Where’s Ethel?”
“Oh, she and Edward went out the back gate to go get supplies. She was fussing about not having enough food for this bunch.”
Daisy just stared at him while feeling stunned. “You let them go out?”
He looked up at her. “Well, sure, they took the truck like they always do. They were gonna take the back way to McGregor’s store, why?”
Daisy couldn’t breathe for a second. Could the man be this daft? “Joel!”
He blinked at her. “What?”
“Oh, my god!” She gasped with true fear and apprehension as she went out through the kitchen door. Running to the closet, she grabbed her shotgun and some ammo. She winced at the weight of it. Her shoulder wasn’t going to like this at all. She would have to get Raven saddled. She was her fastest horse. She needed to make it out through the backlands.
Rushing, she grabbed her boots from the closet and headed out to the barn.
She went by several men as she rushed. They all stared at her then looked away.
Daisy knew she had to hurry or her cousins would be dead. She just felt it in her gut. That those two pigs were waiting for them to fuck up. Which her cousins had certainly done.
When she got back she was gonna do two things...Kiss Timor breathless while grabbing that tight ass of his and kick Joel’s ass. Probably in that order too.
Chapter Twelve
They had helicopters coming and planned on simply bombing the compound in the glades. Timor had brought up the fact that this was a veritable fortress in the swamps. They all had discussed the possibility that they needed Anton and his brother alive to be executed but was it worth the lives of just one of their men? The answer was a sound no. They also knew if they went in on foot or by ATV, there would be casualties. They needed to make it quick and painful. Wipe the entire place of the map.
The ghosts were already on the ground scoping out the land around the compound. They had reported in, that all had seemed quiet.
“Quiet?” Sergi had asked.
“Da, that cannot be true,” Timor had argued.
But the ghosts were the best at what they did. They were Viktor’s backup team for the Enforcers. Only called in on special issues and only by High Council approval. Which this situation met that stipulation. The High Council had themselves waited years for this bit of justice to be carried out. They also cleared Sergi and Timor to do whatever they deemed necessary in this situation.
Timor wanted one thing and only one... to see Anton and his twin’s face when they realized it was over. They were done. He couldn’t wait for this. He was going to be in one of those helicopters with nocs, so he could watch it all come down and he assumed Sergi would be in the other copter doing the exact same thing.
Sergi swiped his phone shut and looked over at Timor. “Very well, everything is a go. We are just waiting on the copters to be ready.”
Timor nodded. He then glanced up to gaze a
round the room. “Where’s Daisy?” He looked around.
Roman spoke up, “She went out a few minutes ago.”
“Zero-zero. Nine ...” one of the walkies went off.
Timor picked it up.
“We have a breach. It’s from the inside though,” Felix’s voice spoke over the walkie.
Timor hit the speak button. “What do you mean?” he asked gruffly.
“It was your woman on a horse. She cleanly jumped it over the back fence and she had a shotgun strapped to her back.”
Timor’s eyes widened as he met Sergi’s concerned gaze.
“We see on the tapes that a truck with two people went out about ten minutes ago, too.”
“Bylad! Why didn’t you stop them?”
“We had no idea about the truck till we saw the video. But the woman, we tried to stop her and well...”
Timor tapped the button hard and asked, “Well what?”
“She flipped us off as she almost ran Pavel over and then she neatly breached that fence.”
Timor grabbed a shotgun then checked his handgun and his ammo.”
“Dad!” Roman barked.
“What?” he replied as he strapped his gun on his back.
“You cannot mean to go out on your own after this woman?”
Timor narrowed his eyes at hm. “And if this was Stevie?”
Roman pushed his fingers through his hair as he let out a frustrated sigh.
“Yeah, that is what I thought.” Timor headed to the door.
“Well, we are going with you,” Isoif added as he already had his weapons ready.
Timor moved out through the living room and down the steps. “We will take the ATVs. I hope you boys know how to drive one.” He didn’t wait for an answer in fact, he didn’t wait for them either.
He was out of the house and on one in 2 minutes flat. His sons and three other men could barely catch up with him as he tore out of the yard and out the back gate. His chest hurt so badly as he thought of something—anything happening to the woman he just discovered was his soul mate. Dammit, why didn’t she ask him for help? He shook his head as he navigated the dirt road. Because she is Daisy, you fool. She is used to standing on her own and now, she could be killed because of it.
