by S. E. Smith
“Yes, Mr. Randolph,” Sam muttered before he stepped back. “I’ll be there.”
“You’d better be, Mr. Weston,” Randolph said before he tapped on the roof of the carriage. “You’d better be.”
Randolph looked out the window of the carriage as it pulled away from the curb. His eyes rose to the figure silhouetted in the upper window. A cruel smile formed as he saw the figure disappear as the light inside was blown out. Tonight he would not only make the property available for his future plans but he would have the beautiful Miss August under his control.
*.*.*
“Rune, where are you going?” Timmy asked.
Rune turned and pulled her dressing gown closed. Timmy had come to the orphanage a couple of months before. He was a soft-spoken boy of eight whose eyes held too much sorrow. His father had died when he was just a babe and his mother of tuberculosis two months ago.
“You should be asleep,” Rune whispered sternly. “What are you doing up?”
Timmy looked down at his hands and didn’t reply at first. Rune sighed and knelt down in front of him. She gently tilted his trembling chin up so he could see she wasn’t mad.
“How about some warm milk and a small piece of cake?” She asked softly. “It always helps me when I have a sad dream.”
Timmy looked into her eyes with a serious expression. “Do you have sad dreams too?” He asked, raising his hand to touch her cheek as she nodded. “I dreamed about my mom. She was coughing again and couldn’t stop.”
“It is hard when someone we love dies,” Rune said sadly. “Just remember, as long as you keep them in your heart they are never really gone.”
“Do you keep your family in your heart?” Timmy asked innocently.
Rune schooled her face not to show the pain she still felt at times. She often wondered if anything would ever heal the grief she kept locked away deep inside her. Being around the children and watching them grow helped.
“Yes, Timmy,” Rune replied as she stood up. “I keep them locked inside my heart so I never forget them. Come on. Let’s go see if Mother Magdalene saved us any of Sister Mary’s pound cake. You know she loves it.”
Timmy giggled and slipped his hand into Rune’s. They snuck down the stairs and through the corridor. Rune decided to cut through the garden. She loved going into the garden on a clear night.
Timmy giggled again when Rune teased him about being quiet as a mouse. She was about to remark that maybe they should be stealing some bread and cheese when a movement on the other side of the garden caught her attention. There was a flash and brilliant orange flames flared up; silhouetting a form that Rune was only too familiar with along with the scarred face of the man who had been watching her earlier.
“Timmy, wake the others,” Rune said, pushing the boy behind her. “Run! Tell them fire! Wake the others now!”
Timmy’s eyes were huge as he briefly looked over his shoulder at the two men. One stared back at them in surprise while the other glared at them in fury. He stumbled as he turned, his hand searching desperately for the handle to the door.
“Get him!” The man with the furious expression ordered. “Don’t let him alert the others.”
“Run, Timmy,” Rune ordered as she moved to stand in front of the door. “Save them, Timmy. It is up to you now.”
*.*.*
Rune knew deep down that her time here had come to an end. She never understood how she knew, she just did. Fury built deep inside her as the pain of losing her new family swept through her. She had sworn that she would protect the children and the Sisters with every fiber of her being and she would do so.
She heard the door slam behind her as Timmy finally raced inside. She could hear his frightened voice rising as he ran back to the dorms and the rooms belonging to the Sisters and Mother Magdalene. She ignored it as the scarred-face man ran toward her.
Hoping to surprise him, she raced forward and grabbed his arm. She let her slender weight hit him head-on. He grunted and stumbled sideways when she refused to let go of his arm.
“Get the boy!” Randolph growled out harshly as he wrapped his arm around Rune’s waist and ripped her away from the scarred-faced man. “Kill him.”
“No!” Rune screamed.
Fury unlike anything she had ever felt swept through her. She slammed her head back into Randolph’s face, breaking his nose from the sound of the crunch. She turned as his arm fell away from around her and swung her fist.
“You bitch!” Randolph snarled out as he slapped Rune across the face, knocking her down. “You’ve ruined everything.”
Flames were crawling up the wall behind them as the wooden frame of the kitchen area caught. Rune’s eyes moved from the flames back to the man standing over her. She waited until he bent to grab her again before she threw the dirt that she had gathered in her hand into his eyes.
Randolph cursed loudly and stumbled backwards. Rune’s eyes narrowed in determination when she realized he was in front of the burning door. Pushing up off the ground, she charged him wrapping her arms around his waist and pushing him through the flames. They both landed on the floor of the kitchen as it gave way. Randolph lost his balance and fell on his back with Rune on top of him.
Rune gasped as he rolled so that she was trapped under him. She barely had time to raise her hands to protect her face when he raised his hand to strike her again. He cursed in frustration and rolled off her, coughing as the smoke thickened the air.
Rune rolled away from him and crawled onto her hands and knees. She looked at him with watery eyes. Flames were beginning to roll along the ceiling of the kitchen now and the wall where the door leading to the garden was engulfed. She pulled herself up using the table. Seeing the knife that they had used earlier to cut the pound cake, she reached out and wrapped her fingers around it.
“You stupid bitch,” Randolph cursed as he wrapped his fingers around the wrist holding the knife. “You could have had everything money could buy.”
Rune jerked, trying to break his grip. She cried out when he squeezed hard enough to almost break the delicate bones in her wrist. He reached over and grabbed the knife in his free hand.
“Money could never buy my loyalty or make me care about a self-centered bastard like you,” Rune choked out as sweat from the heat of the fire threatened to scorch her skin. “You are through,” she whispered. “Not even your money can save you from this.”
Rune could hear the bells of alarm and the yells of voices as people gathered to form a water bucket brigade. She could hear the sharp whistle of a policeman and the bells on the team of horses pulling the water wagon. A large beam cracked and fell behind Randolph. Rune reacted the moment his attention was distracted. She pushed as hard as she could against him. Pain exploded through her even as she watched as he lost his balance and fell back onto the burning beam. A second beam collapsed, trapping him between the two.
His screams followed Rune as she turned back toward the empty space where the door leading to the garden now stood. She walked forward, ignoring the flames. They could do nothing to her. She was already dead. She could feel the blood draining from her even as the pain from the knife that Randolph had stuck into her as he fell threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted to reach the garden. The garden that she loved. The garden with the flowers that she grew to sell for the children. The garden where their laughter echoed.
Rune fell to her knees near the center. Mother Magdalene, who was standing in the doorway leading into the dorm area, rushed forward. She gently helped Rune down before rolling her over onto her back. Rune stared up into the night sky as the familiar peacefulness of death swept through her. The stars glittered despite the thick smoke and the red haze of the flames.
“Please,” Rune whispered looking blindly up at the stars. “Please, let me stay this time. Let me watch over and protect them. Please don’t take me away again. I’m so tired of wandering. Please…” her voice broke.
“Oh, child,” Mother Magdalene whispered as she brushed
Rune’s sweat dampened hair back from her face. “What have you done?”
Rune turned her face into the withered hand and sighed. “I promised to protect you,” Rune whispered with a serene smile. “Don’t cry for me, Mother Magdalene. I’ll be alright. I won’t… leave you… or the… children,” she forced out softly before she faded away.
Tears coursed down Mother Magdalene’s cheeks. She touched the still face of the young girl who appeared out of nowhere and captured the hearts of everyone she touched. She brushed the damp hair back, holding Rune tightly for a moment. She gently closed Rune’s eyes with trembling fingers.
“Mother Magdalene!” Sister Mary whispered in shock as she rushed up to where Mother Magdalene was holding Rune’s lifeless body. “Oh no! Oh poor child,” she cried as she bowed her head to pray.
Mother Magdalene looked up at the stars and whispered her own prayer. She prayed that Rune would finally find the peace and happiness that she deserved. Her only regret was that she had never learned what put the shadows in the young girl’s beautiful brown eyes.
“Please help her find happiness,” Mother Magdalene prayed. “Please give her a second chance to find someone who will love her enough to chase the shadows from her eyes.”
Chapter 3
Present Day New York City
“You know it helps if you tell me when you plan to deviate from your plans before you do, don’t you?” Dimitri Mihailov told the man sitting across from him in exasperation. “As head of your security, I need to know this so I can plan accordingly.”
Sergei Vasiliev didn’t look up from the tablet he held in his hand. His brow was creased and the scar that ran from the corner of his left eye across his cheek pulled as his lips tightened in displeasure.
Dimitri sighed and waited. He had known Sergei long enough to recognize when his friend was upset. They had grown up together on the streets of Moscow. Dimitri had been the brawn during that time while Sergei had been the brains.
A lot of things had changed since their youth. Their combination of brute force and brains had worked in their favor. Both of the men’s assets were in the billions, though few realized that Dimitri was the second part of the Vasiliev-Mihailov dynasty. He kept a lower profile which allowed him to move unnoticed behind the scene. A fact that had helped in their acquisitions over the years. Neither one of them would ever forget the poverty of their youth. It was a distant shadow to them now but the scars left behind were a powerful reminder.
Time had changed them both. Sergei was no longer a scrawny boy. The tight fit of the black cashmere sweater he wore emphasized the thick muscles under it. He had filled out as he grew older until he was almost as powerful as Dimitri. A long scar marred the left side of Sergei’s face, a constant reminder that even having wealth did not guarantee safety. Guilt pulled at Dimitri. He had almost been too late to save the one man he knew trusted him.
“Knock it off, Dimitri,” Sergei growled out in Russian. “I can feel your guilt radiating off you. For the last time, it was not your fault.”
“I should have increased the security around you,” Dimitri grunted out. “I knew there was a threat. I should have done more.”
“I knew there was a threat as well,” Sergei said with a deep sigh. He turned off the tablet and looked at Dimitri’s face that was partially hidden in the shadows as he sat back against the limousine’s rich leather. “You warned me. I was the one who chose to ignore the warning. Do not blame yourself for my own stupidity, Dimitri.”
Dimitri snorted. The thought that anyone, including Sergei, could ever use the word stupid and his friend’s name in the same sentence was ludicrous. Sergei was constantly referred to as one of the smartest men in the world in the major business magazines.
Dimitri gazed out the window at all the holiday decorations and the crowd of pedestrians bundled up against the chill in the air outside. He didn’t say any more on the topic. It was an old argument that neither one of them won. Dimitri continued to feel guilty and Sergei became more cynical about the world.
*.*.*
Sergei could feel the frustration coming off his friend. In truth, Dimitri was the only human on the planet that Sergei trusted and he knew his friend felt the same. A lifetime of danger, first on the streets of an unforgiving city to the cutthroat world of the super-powerful was enough to make anyone jaded about humanity.
He set the tablet he had been working on aside and folded his arms across his broad chest. Something else was bothering his friend and it wasn’t the scar on his face. Dimitri looked... apprehensive.
“I was invited at the last minute to attend a charity event to raise money. Simone and Petre invited me. I could hardly turn them down,” Sergei said. “We are leaving as soon as it is over.”
Dimitri’s head turned and he scowled darkly at Sergei. “You could have told me,” he said. “What is the charity for this time?”
Sergei shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably another hospital or orphanage benefit.”
“Will Ms. Ferguson be attending as well?” Dimitri asked in a voice devoid of emotion.
Sergei’s lips curved, pulling on the scar on his cheek. “No. It was time for us to part ways,” he responded in a hard voice. “She was making demands. It became necessary to end our acquaintance.”
Dimitri’s eyebrow raised in surprise. Sergei’s latest lover had been the beautiful but shallow Eloise Ferguson, a top model and a horrible actress, at least in Dimitri’s opinion. She had tried to hide her greed for Sergei’s wealth behind a fake smile and a camouflage of innocence. There was absolutely nothing innocent about the former beauty queen who had lost her virginity at a very young age.
Dimitri had made it his business to know everything about the beautiful actress who came from an upper middle class family. She liked beautiful things and had a tendency to live beyond her own financial means.
“What demands?” Dimitri asked.
“She claimed she was pregnant,” Sergei responded.
Dimitri grimaced. Several other women had tried that same trick before. There were advantages to being a cold, cynical bastard. One was to make sure that each of their lovers were on some form of birth control and checked regularly. The second was neither of them ever let the woman they were with supply or touch the condoms that were used.
Sergei had caught one of his previous lovers purposely damaging a condom in an attempt to snare a lifetime of support from him. Dimitri had never given any of his lovers a chance in the first place. He had seen things even Sergei had not and had learned to be cautious at a very young age. Of course, none of his lovers were aware that he was as wealthy as Sergei. They all thought he was the lowly bodyguard, fit only to amuse them if they couldn’t draw Sergei’s attention.
“Is she?” Dimitri asked carefully. “Has she been seen by a doctor?”
“Two,” Sergei replied, picking up the tablet. “The first was her choice; the second mine. I want Dr. Umberto Angelo’s medical license. He took a bribe and lied about the results. It is not the only thing he has done. I will send you the information about his tax evasion and hidden accounts so you can hand it over to the authorities. Also check what he has been doing on his frequent trips to the Philippines. I think you will find he has been indulging in other unlawful activities.”
“Done,” Dimitri said, reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out a small notepad.
Sergei shook his head. “When are you going to come into the twenty-first century and use a computer to help you take notes?” He asked in amusement.
Dimitri scowled at the softly glowing tablet. “You know I always break the damn things,” he grumbled. “They don’t like me.”
“Yet, you are a master at setting up security programming.” Sergei looked at Dimitri again and frowned. “What is bothering you, my friend? You seem distracted tonight.”
“Do you think you will ever find a woman you could trust? One that you would want to spend the rest of your life with?” Dimitri asked, glancing at Sergei bef
ore looking back out at the colorful lights decorating the streets.
“Do you mean like we used to talk about finding or just one that I can trust enough to breed an heir?” Sergei asked before a sudden ugly thought crossed his mind. “Have you… found someone?” He asked tersely.
“No,” Dimitri snorted out. “I don’t think there is a woman alive that I would be interested in being tied to for the rest of my life.”
*.*.*
Sergei released the breath he was holding. They had talked about finding their perfect woman when they were younger. As they had grown older, they often compared the women they were dating with the one they wished for so long ago.
She would be strong. Dimitri insisted she would have to be to live with them but in a good way. In their adolescent minds, she would fit perfectly between them. She would be the one to complete them and make them the family they never had.
She would also be intelligent, compassionate, loving, and Dimitri added this trait as well, a little bit stubborn. Sergei had asked why he wanted their woman to be stubborn. Dimitri had replied she would need to be stubborn if she was expected to put up with both of them at the same time. Not to be outdone, Sergei had added that if she was stubborn than she also needed to be passionate enough to handle all the loving they would give her.
They had laughed as they wished upon the stars that night so long ago. They still talked about it on occasion, usually when they retreated to their ‘lair’ to regroup from the world of humanity.
Sergei looked out the window as they passed a large group of colorfully dressed women who were eyeing the limousine. His lips curled in distaste as one of the women opened her coat to reveal the minuscule dress she was wearing. He had seen the same type of women when he was poor. He had no more use for them now than he did when he was younger.
“Then I guess that answers your question,” Sergei replied. “I haven’t found a woman either.”
Dimitri breathed out a sigh. “I have to admit I was worried you would present Ms. Ferguson as a candidate. I don’t think I could have faked a hard-on with her,” he admitted in distaste.
