************
I drove up to the lake and parked. I walked up the row of rocks that separated the parking area from the sand and felt myself relax slightly. I normally loved being here; it was peaceful. I was going to have to bring Hannah here some time. Right now, it was nearly deserted, as it was coming up on sunset.
Drago pulled up about ten minutes later, parking his black Mercedes sedan about forty spaces away from my black Range Rover. He looked around and started walking to a crop of trees without even acknowledging I was there. I waited about ten minutes then followed him. It probably looked like we were going to hook up in the woods, or something, but I didn’t care. I rather people believe that, than my father’s associates really figure out what we’re really here to talk about.
Drago was standing by a tree, smoking a cigarette. He was wearing a dark grey Henley and black jeans. His clothing was nondescript enough, but when you got to his intense, grey eyes and the livid scar that decorated the left side of his face from his temple curving down to where the jaw curves up to the ear, he was hard to ignore.
“What the fuck is going on, Nikolai?” Drago demanded, irritated with my impromptu meeting.
“I need to know what is going on with the timeline.”
Drago took another drag on his cigarette as he leaned against a tree. “Why?”
I sighed and looked away toward the water. “I’m sort of seeing someone. We ran into Yuri and he looked very interested in her.”
Drago laughed humorlessly. “Ah, you’re worried about your girl?”
“Considering the shit he’s into, wouldn’t you be?” I shot back furiously, feeling my fists clench.
Drago’s smile dropped away. “Da. Your father, he’s sadistic and impulsive. A fatal combination. For everyone.”
“Look, Drago, she’s already had to deal with some shit. She doesn’t need a fucking maniac like Yuri on her.”
Drago simply stared at me, then looked off to the lake, a hardened look falling over his face. “Nikolai, there is a lot shit going on right now. We are close to finding the Rossi girl. I have to keep an extra eye on Katya, in case the Rossi’s gets any fucking ideas about retribution. Once that’s taken care of, we can handle your father. No reason to fight a war on two fronts, yeah?”
As Drago finished, he raised an eyebrow at me as if everything he was saying was elementary. And it was, to be honest, but that didn’t stop me from anxiety wrapping around my neck like a boa constrictor. It was not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear we were going to take him out immediately. Fuck.
“Is there anything I can do expedite the shit with the Rossi girl?”
“Well, unless you can find out where she was taken and retrieve her without getting yourself killed in the process, I don’t think so.” Drago responded dryly.
“Who’s working on it?” I was curious and concerned. There were good soldiers in my father’s organization. And there were fuck-ups.
“Roman.” Drago replied, and I raised my eyebrows. Roman was usually deployed as an assassin. He was ruthless, accurate, and efficient. He was a powerful ally and a deadly enemy.
“So, he’s with you?” Drago knew I was referring to him overthrowing my father.
“Da,” Drago cracked a rare smile, his scar pulled slightly at his jawline. “He and I were in Matrosskaya Tishina together. It’s where we were recruited by the army,” he explained, referring to the infamous Moscow prison. “He has no love for your father, that is a fact.”
Few people did.
I felt myself release a breath, feeling more confident about the being resolved if Roman was handling it. If we returned the daughter, hopefully with a minimum amount of trauma and then executed my father, the Rossi’s should be satisfied. I was just going to have to stay vigilant and keep Hannah off my father’s radar.
“Nikolai, I got shit to take care of. Any more questions?” He stubbed out his cigarette against a tree and shoved the butt in his pocket.
“Not right now but keep me informed.” I knew this came off like an order, but Drago only smiled at me patronizingly.
“Yes, Pakhan.” Drago responded sarcastically.
“Fuck you,” I said without any real heat. “You know I don’t want anything to do with that shit.”
Drago nodded his head, still smirking slightly. I watched him walk through the trees and head back to his Mercedes. It was completely dark now, but Drago navigated the trees, rocks and other debris as though he had night vision. I saw him hop in his car and drive away, as I contemplated how I was going to protect Hannah. I know my father hadn’t actually done anything yet, but I knew him. He would. He couldn’t help himself.
I needed to go blow off some fucking steam. The combination of anger and anxiety was making me jumpy as fuck, and I needed to work it off. Normally, I would go find a fight or a fuck. Fucking someone else was out of the question. I wasn’t going to fuck anyone except Hannah, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to fuck her for the first time feeling like this. If she thought I was at all rough before, going to her in this mood would definitely freak her out. Of course, she had shown herself to be very receptive whenever I got a little rough with her, so who knew? Fuck, now my dick was getting hard thinking about giving Hannah a hard, rough fuck.
I got out my phone and texted Jack. I needed to find a fight.
Chapter 35
Hannah
My alarm went off at seven, but I just laid in bed. I had slept terribly, thoughts of what was going on with Nikolai keeping me up. He didn’t contact me last night, and I wasn’t sure if I should reach out to him. His mood was so closed off and distracted last night, I had felt uncertain about reaching out to him. I couldn’t exactly talk to Ava about it either. I doubt Nikolai would be thrilled if he heard I had a heart to heart with her about what it means when your boyfriend freaks out after his mobster father comes home and acts like a creep.
I hopped out of bed and started getting ready for the day. It definitely lifted my spirits to walk over to my closet and see so many pretty items of clothing to choose from. It added an extra fifteen minutes to my morning routine, figuring out what to wear and getting ready. Previously, I would have grabbed a pair of jeans and sweatshirt, thrown my hair up in a bun, thrown on my glasses and called it day. I didn’t even really need my glasses, except to see far away. It was the reason I always had to sit I the back of the class when I used to wear them. Ironically, if I sat too close, I couldn’t actually read the board. Another reason to hate Jeff.
Ugh, Jeff. I wondered if he was going to be at school today. I felt the same little zing of anxiety I always felt when I thought of him, so I was devoutly hopeful he wouldn’t be there. Especially with everything being so weird with Nikolai right now. I know he said he’d protect me, and I actually did trust him, but the timing felt super shaky.
I finally grabbed a pair of black leggings, a thin, white long boat neck t-shirt and a long grey cardigan. I also grabbed a blue, grey and white multicolored scarf to hide my fading hickey. I probably could just get away with a little make up, but when I’d put it on before, the shade of the make-up was slightly different than my neck and it had looked ridiculous, so scarf it was. Fortunately, all the new hickeys Nikolai had planted on my yesterday were below the neckline of my shirt.
I was just pulling on my new pair of knee-length black boots when there was a knock at my door, followed by Emmy. She was wearing her school’s uniform, a grey and black plaid skirt that hit just above her knee, a white button down, a black blazer and black penny loafers with little white socks.
Her long black hair was in a bun, but not messy like mine used to be. In fact, she would often beg me to let her do my hair, not understanding it was my intention to look a mess. She’s probably convinced the only reason I got a date was because I brushed my hair. She actually needed the square, dark-framed glass she was wearing, the darkness of her frames making her cobalt and amber eyes pop in contrast. Looking at her with objectivity, I couldn’t believe she didn�
�t have a boyfriend. She was a beautiful girl, with a magnificent figure, not that it was being shown to its greatest advantage in her school uniform. Emmy had made comments about the boys in her school, and apparently dating a girl with no money was a considered social suicide. Emmy acted like she didn’t care, but I knew it bothered her.
Emmy stopped and took in my clothes with a look of shocked appreciation, then frowned. “Okay, what the hell is going on, Hannah? Since when do you have all these clothes? Where did they come from? And, most importantly, can I borrow them?” I laughed, but it did not distract from the look of suspicious confusion stamped all over her face.
I sighed because I knew I was going to blab my secret. Again. God, I was so freaking bad at this.
I gave Emmy the quick rundown of what had been going on with Jeff as she gasped in shock and horror. Her eyes filled with tears and she kept interrupting me, asking why I never let her help, why I suffered alone. When she asked, I didn’t really have a good answer. Not telling anyone had always felt like the right decision, but now as I looked into her face as it riddled with compassion and frustration, I realized it wasn’t the right decision. I never gave my family the chance to support me. If she had been dealing with someone like Jeff, I would have wanted to know right away, if only to lend a shoulder to cry on. I felt like a total fool.
I sat down next to Emmy on my bed and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry I never told you, honestly, Emmy. I thought it was the right decision not to add to everyone’s stress, but now…” I slumped my shoulders in resignation to the fact that I had made the wrong move.
Emmy pulled back, wiping her eyes. “I understand, Hannah. We don’t exactly have an awesome track record of trust in this family,” she laughed humorlessly. I could tell she wasn’t taking it personally, but was referring to the impact of our irresponsible, unreliable father.
“That’s true, but I still should have said something. I think it was also the fact that you were so young when it started. It felt heavy to confide something like that in someone your age, you know?” I gave her a look, begging her to understand. What I was saying was true, she was only twelve when all this started.
“Of course, I get it, Hannah. Honestly,” Emmy replied, patting my arm in reassurance. “So, what does the thing with Jeff have to do with the clothes?” she asked in puzzlement.
I sighed again. God, we were never going to make it to school at this rate. I launched into the story about approaching Nikolai and, I swear, Emmy looked like she was going to faint. “Are you crazy, Hannah?”
I rolled my eyes and continued. I finished by telling her how things between Nikolai had…. evolved. Her eyes widened comically upon hearing this. “Let me get this straight, you and Nikolai were pretending, but now you’re really together?”
“Um, yeah,” I said realizing it sounded crazy, given the circumstances. “I told you he was the one who gave me the hickey,” I reminded her.
Emmy leaned back on my bed, propped up on her elbows, watching me swipe mascara on my eyes. “I know, but I thought you both got drunk and hooked up or something. I can’t believe he bought you all these clothes. Did he also teach you to use make up?” she asked, gesturing to me as I swiped some tinted lip balm on.
I laughed at the image of Nikolai teaching me how to apply mascara. “No, he has a friend, Katya Petrov, she helped with the clothes and make up and everything.”
Emmy sat up straight. “Katya Petrov? Red hair? Green eyes?”
I frowned. “Yeah, that’s her.
“Oh my god, Hannah, she goes to my school! She’s super popular. I can’t believe you hung out with her!” I had never seen Emmy so animated when talking about someone from her school.
“I’m actually getting together with her after school today.” I had plenty to talk to Katya about.
“Whoa, if you went to my school, you’d be popular by association.” Emmy said enviously. Again, she normally didn’t lament her lack of social standing at her school, but I could tell sometimes being a genius and a musical prodigy didn’t make up for what she felt like she was missing out on socially.
“When I see her today, I’ll tell her you know her from school. She’ll probably want to hang out with you.”
“Are you serious?” Emmy gasped. Then, as if realizing she was acting like a fan girl, adopted a more neutral expression. “Well, don’t make me sound pathetic, or anything. I mean, I don’t need to be friends with her.”
“I know, and you’re far from pathetic, Emmy.” Emmy blushed at my praise. Emmy usually acted so mature and logical, that I often forget how young she was.
“Thanks, Hannah.” Emmy popped off my bed and gave me a quick hug. I pulled back and glanced at the clock, gasping at how late we both were.
“Shit, Emmy, we have to go. I’m going to be late for first period at it is. Your school is even farther, you might miss first.” I said frowning, even though I knew Emmy would hardly suffer academically from missing one class.
Emmy gave me a dismissive gesture with her hand, shaking her head. “I’ve got band first period. All I do is play by myself, for the most part. Mr. Foley only wants me to accompany the band when there is a good spot for a harpist, otherwise, I’m pretty much self-directed.”
“Well, I don’t want to be late, so we’ve got to go.”
We grabbed our stuff and headed out the door to wait for the next bus to take us to our respective schools.
*********
Since I was late, I didn’t see Nikolai, or anyone else, before I got to class. I hated arriving late; it was so embarrassing to have everyone stare at you. Fortunately, the class was doing group work, so there was a low buzz of conversation to camouflage my entrance. I quickly took my seat and joined the group closest to me.
I scooted my desk over while giving the other three members an apologetic smile. My group consisted of Amy Marshall, who was kind of a social outsider like me, Matt Holloway, who was most definitely a social insider, mostly known for baseball, and Cara Mitchell, another insider, but more low level. I remembered seeing both Matt and Cara at the party last week, but I didn’t talk to them.
Amy had the novel we were reading in class open, was furiously scribbling notes. Matt and Cara had unopened novels in front of them but were mostly talking to each other.
“Sorry, what are we doing?” I asked, eager to at least help Amy out a little bit, as it looked like Matt and Cara were comfortable letting her do all the work.
“We’re finding examples in the book of the different themes in the novel,” Amy muttered, not taking her eyes off her work.
I dug my book out of my back pack and looked at the board, so I could see what themes the teacher was looking for. I opened the book but was brought up short by Cara.
“So, Hannah, you’re dating Nikolai Ivanov, right?” Cara asked, frowning. She had light brown hair and brown eyes that looked me up and down, as if taking in my newly updated appearance and trying to figure what was going on. I shot a look at Matt, who was also looking at me speculatively, and if I wasn’t mistaken, appreciatively. I felt my face flushing red under his appraisal. This was definitely the part of dressing more noticeably that I struggling to adjust to.
I cleared my throat. “Yep.”
Cara look became avid as she leaned in towards me. “So, you know about the fight he got into last night, right? Do you know what it was about? Was it about you?”
I looked at her, stunned. “Fight?”
Cara looked puzzled. “You didn’t hear?
I shook my head slowly. “What happened?” I dropped my novel, having completely lost focus on the assignment.
Cara looked at Matt and turned back to me. “We don’t know. We just know that Nikolai, Jack, and a couple of other guys got into it with a bunch of kids from Briar Ridge last night. We thought maybe you knew what happened. I mean, it’s not unheard of that guys from our school get into fights with guys at the private school, but usually there’s some drama that went on beforehand.” She smiled
impishly. “I just wanted to know the drama.”
I sat there feeling totally swamped by conflicting feelings. I was simultaneously frustrated and saddened that Nikolai went out and started a fight with someone. I knew he started it. He was mad about what happened with his dad, so he chose to deal with those emotions by fighting. I hated that he turned to violence, but felt compassion for him too, knowing how much his father upset him.
I gave Cara a small, fake smile in return. “I guess I’m going to have to get to the bottom of this.”
Cara responded with a conspiratorial smile of her own. “Definitely, and when you do, come back and fill us in.”
I nodded dumbly, picking up the book so I could pretend I was focusing on the assignment, although I didn’t read a word on the page.
When the bell rang, I popped out of my seat and ran out the door, eager to go find Nikolai and talk to him. Yesterday, he had been waiting for me after every class, but he wasn’t there today. Now I was starting to worry. Did we break up? Is that what this silence was? Him ghosting me?
I stood there like an idiot for another minute, thinking that maybe he was running late. I then texted him, asking where he was and waited another minute. Nothing. Feeling stupid, I started trudging to my next class. How could I have trusted him? A small, sad part of me figured this would never last, but Jesus, twenty-four hours? I thought it would last longer than that. What I felt like doing right now was running home, burying my face in a pillow and crying for the next three weeks. Concerns about Jeff started to creep into the edges of my awareness. Was he at school today?
I took a frantic look around and didn’t see him, but stepped up my pace to my next class, now realizing, as I slipped back into my old patterns, how nice it had been not to worry. For a day. Dammit. As I continued my downward spiral into self-pity, Ava walked up beside me and nudged with her elbow.
“Hey, girl, why the hell are you practically running?” she said jokingly but was frowning a little and looking back behind me as if she might find a gang of ninjas or a yeti behind me.
Nikolai (Dangerous Love Series Book 1) Page 16
