by Zoey Parker
Life used to be so uncomplicated, back before Vasilev resurfaced, when I had no cares, no worries, and access to any woman I wanted.
Did I want to go back to those carefree days?
No.
I rushed to my car and drove to our meet-up spot. Every month, I changed it to a new one. Couldn’t be too careful in this business, though my not being careful with my mouth was what got us into this mess in the first place.
When I freed Kelly, I’d kill every last one of Vasilev’s men and then him, too, and be done with the lot of them. Then I’d sit Kelly down and…what? Tell her everything? I wouldn’t even blame her if she wanted nothing to do with me, and if that were the case…I’d let her go. With my child. I’d provide for them both, without a doubt, and it would kill me to do it, but I would step aside. I would never force Kelly to stick by my side. Next chance I got — once she was safe, of course — I’d rip up the contract.
It took me much longer to reach the meet up point than I would’ve liked. Traffic conspired against me. Fuck, it felt like the entire world was conspiring against me.
As soon as I pulled into the vacant lot at the back of a bunch of foreclosures on the south side of the city, I knew something was up. I had a small scar near my ear from a knife fight when I was sixteen and had been too big for my britches. An older guy held me down and cut me with his pocketknife. In the end, I managed to knock the knife away and pin him in a wrestling move. Didn’t threaten him at all, just claimed his knife as my own. The scar he left behind often itched when danger was afoot, and it had happened too many times with eerie accuracy, enough to make it a legit warning system for me.
The scar was itching now, almost burning in intensity.
The feeling and my apprehension grew as I climbed out of my car. Aleksey’s car was parked a little farther back, and I rushed over. Why wasn’t he getting out of his car?
I rounded the car to his side, and that’s when I discovered why.
Aleksey was dead. A gory, bloody death. Around his neck was a rope and tied to it was a note.
Another body will be delivered if you don’t give up the search.
The search for Kelly? Or the search to discover the real motive for Vasilev’s return to my town?
My cell rang. No number popped up. Blocked call.
With a grimace, I answered. “Yes?” I asked tersely.
“I take it you got my message.”
Mikhail Vasilev. I might not have heard his voice in years, but it was instantly recognizable — guttural, low, insanely deep.
“What the fuck—”
“Listen to me,” he barked. “We have your girlfriend. Your pregnant girlfriend. I know you will do anything to have your precious heir. Heard about your little offer about finding a woman to bang until you knocked her up. Your desperation reeks, little Petrov. I can smell it from here. How badly do you want your whore and your heir?”
I was seething mad, practically foaming at the mouth. Before I could lay into him with a long and bitter foul-mouthed tirade, he started to laugh, the sound grating and irritating me to no end.
“Either you get me ten million,” Vasilev added, “or your whore and your baby will die.”
And he hung up.
Chapter 29
Kelly
Some time had passed. Those three guys hadn’t done anything else to me, hadn’t asked any more questions, hadn’t hurt me either, just huddled up and talked among themselves. The driver got a phone call and stepped out. Then he returned and ordered the other two to leave. He stayed with me, leaning against the back wall again, eyeing me.
By this point, I was getting hungry. And lightheaded. And thirsty. But I didn’t dare ask for anything. I didn’t want their food. I didn’t want anything from them. I wanted to be home again. Strange. When I thought of home, the image that popped into mind wasn’t the house where Mom was living. No, I immediately thought of Andrei’s house. Strange. Stupid. I was so stupid.
Andrei… Did he know I had left? Did he understand why I had? Did he think I just wanted to visit with my mom? Was my mom safe? Had she seen me be taken? Did the police know? Did anyone?
There was no way for me to get out of here. I took a single self-defense class years ago. A lot of good that would do me. I wasn’t strong enough to handle any one of those guys, and I might not see any weapons on them, but that didn’t mean they weren’t carrying. The thought of one of them pointing a gun at me or touching a blade to my skin had my stomach cramping up.
Relax. I had to relax. Stress wasn’t good for the baby.
Neither was the mom being kidnapped.
My hand went to my belly. I wasn’t far along at all. I hadn’t even had time to make an appointment with an OB yet. I didn’t know when my due date was. Would I be able to hold this baby? The only hope I had — that the baby and I had — was for Andrei to come for me. With his insistence about the bodyguards, he feared something like this would happen. He was paranoid, and that would hopefully make him puzzle everything out. But that still didn’t mean he knew where they would take me.
I never should have run away. Andrei had told me once he could only vouch for my safety at his place. I had thought leaving might give the baby a better chance at life, but honestly, that might not have been the case. I would’ve had to look over my shoulder, wondering if Andrei would ever come to collect the child. Plus, I would have had to find a job and medical insurance and I would have needed money for daycare. Yes, I could’ve tapped into the money Andrei paid for the child, but I hadn’t wanted my mom to worry or need money herself.
Leaving hadn’t been in the best interests of the child, and maybe I hadn’t only left for the baby. Maybe I had been terrified to realize I had fallen for a man who was a mob boss, who was a killer. And yet, here I was, imagining Andrei bursting in, firing shots, and killing my captors. He’d sweep me into his arms and carry me out of here. A chauffeur would drive us home and would ignore our wandering hands in the backseat and then Andrei would carry me inside his house and bathe me and then take me to bed.
But what if Andrei was angry with me for running away? I wouldn’t be able to blame him for that. He paid me to do a job for him, and I ran away without fulfilling my end of the deal. It would probably be easier for him to forget all about me, to leave me for dead, to find another woman willing to spread her legs and give him a baby.
My head lowered and bobbed, and although I fought sleep — too afraid of what the driver would do to me if he stopped standing there, staring at me — I eventually succumbed. My dreams were terrible and vivid, but when I gasped awake, my heart pounding, my forehead covered in sweat, I couldn’t remember what the nightmare had been about.
“You’re awake.” Handsy was back. Driver was gone.
I held up my hands as if to ward him off, even though he was standing several feet away from me.
He grunted.
Footsteps sounded, and I gripped the chair to keep myself from getting up and running away. The rope remained in the corner, and I did not want them to decide I was a flight risk and tie me. I would cooperate. Maybe they would grow lax. Leave me alone. Give me an opening. I wouldn’t be able to fight my way out, but maybe I could sneak away.
The driver entered. He carried a plate and a cup and held it out to me.
I took it. Burnt toast, some soup, and water. I drank some, but just looking at the food made my stomach churn. I was way too nauseated to even try to eat anything. Keeping my eyes on the guys, I slowly bent down and placed the plate on the ground.
I just wanted to get out of here.
I just wanted to go home.
I just wanted to be safe.
Would I ever feel safe again?
***
I dozed off again, too restless to sleep deeply. At one point, Handsy grabbed me. I struggled from him, but when the driver came over with his hand near his belt, I resisted. Handsy shoved the toast into my mouth, forcing too much in. I had no choice but to chew, and he crammed more in. It
didn’t taste good going down, and it tasted even worse coming back up again. Only because of instinct did I turn away from both of them to puke. Wished I vomited all over them instead.
The driver cursed me, and Handsy gave me a towel. Before I could start to wipe my mouth, he was already yanking on my arm, pulling me along. Soon we were back outside. There weren’t any stars visible in the sky, and even the moon seemed to be hiding. No one and nothing were parties to the spectacle of the guys forcing me back into the car, touching me as little as possible, acting like I had cooties.
Never seen a pregnant woman before? I wanted to shout at them. I don’t have a disease. I’m not sick. You all are. For kidnapping me. For listening to your boss, whoever he is. Wonder how much their boss is paying them.
Just before the driver could shut my door, I shoved my leg out to block it. “Look, I don’t know who your boss is,” I said in a rush, “but whatever he’s paying you, Andrei can—”
“Andrei Petrov can pay our boss, who will then pay us.” The driver slammed the door so hard the car rattled.
I wiped myself off. Driver got behind the wheel and took off, driving fast but safely. Even though he wasn’t turning corners tight, my stomach didn’t appreciate any movement, and I wound up sick again. Neither of them made any comments, and I just did my best to grin and bear it.
Watching the dark scenery go by made my stomach even more nauseous. Closing my eyes worsened it. Nothing helped.
After what felt like an hour, or maybe even longer, the car finally slowed. The driver opened the door for me, and I practically fell out of the car. Handsy walked around to hold my one arm.
The house they led me through the back door of was massive. Almost as nice as Andrei’s. In the darkness, I didn’t see many details, but it still made an impressive sight.
This time, I wasn’t shoved into the basement. I was taken into a room devoid of furniture. Two windows with dark curtains. And another stupid chair. More rope in the corner.
The guys left me, and I heard the lock of the door. Not wanting to lie down on the floor, I opted for the seat. Resting in a chair, a metal fold-up chair, was so uncomfortable, but I didn’t wake up because I had fallen off. No. I woke up because my stomach was cramping again. Terrible, sharp bolts of pain.
Even worse was the blood I saw darkening my pants.
Oh no. Oh God. Was I…I couldn’t be…
The room was empty. No one was guarding me. I would love to try and sneak away, but I wasn’t sure I could get far, and if I left the room and found someone, I would be in an even worse way. Besides, the door was most likely still locked anyhow.
Well, there was one way to see if anyone was around.
I screamed like mad, blood curdling and terrified, almost a wail.
Immediately, someone approached, his or her footsteps pounding down the hallway outside. Good thing I didn’t try to leave. Another cramp seized me, and I gasped for breath. I wouldn’t have been able to get far anyhow.
The door opened to reveal Brute. He stared at me. “What’s…oh.”
I could only nod as I started to cry.
Without a word, he left and came back with a dark blanket he laid on the ground. “Lie down,” he said a little kinder than I would have expected.
Still crying, I lay down, curled up in a ball.
“Ah…what…um… I’ll go ask my boss what we should do.” And Brute practically ran out of there.
I was losing the baby. I was sure of it. No. No! This wasn’t supposed to happen! The baby was supposed to come in eight months. The baby was supposed to be born naturally. The baby was supposed to be breastfed. The baby was supposed to grow up to be an amazing person who would change the world. His or her life was supposed to be amazing. And long. He or she wasn’t supposed to die before he or she was even born!
All I could do was cry and pray and cry some more.
Chapter 30
Andrei
Time was not on my side, but I had to do something. No. I had to do everything in my power to get Kelly back, and that meant playing dirty by involving the police.
No, I didn’t call them and explain the situation. I wasn’t stupid like that. And in case I was being tailed by one of Vasilev’s goons, I had to be very discrete. I walked into the mall and walked around until I found one of the men who participated in a few of the fights. I tailed him into a crowded store and made my move. I slid him a hundred-dollar bill and told him to deliver this anonymous file to the local sheriff station and that there would be five hundred more for him at the bar if he finished the job in five minutes.
Four minutes later, Darren, the guy I had watching the sheriff station, told me the guy had made the delivery.
Good. Very good.
If Mikhail Vasilev knew I had evidence of him embezzling money via Sanchez Trucking, he would’ve mentioned it on the phone. I had done more digging online, and had been able to collect enough facts and details; combined with the paid transaction I nabbed from his office, this should help the police out. As it turned out, the police in the city where Vasilev had been before moving back here had been mounting a case around him, slowly but surely. Hadn’t been able to make a move on him yet, and from a snitch in the police station who liked to gamble with my men — I had only two friends involved with the men in blue — I learned the cops in my city were sniffing around him ever since he stepped foot here and were in cahoots with the cops from his previous location. The intel I sent their way should be what they needed to be able to finally arrest him.
Going about this elaborate plan, convoluted as it was, to ensure the police received the info without there being a connection to me was necessary. No way did I want the fact that I was helping the police to get out. Didn’t want Vasilev to know. Fuck, I didn’t want anyone to know. Wouldn’t be good for business.
Should I have used my time differently? Should I have tried to gather up the ransom money instead? I knew from Aleksey through Vasilev’s daughter that Vasilev was stockpiling weapons. He owed someone a lot of money, and he was using me to get the money he owed instead of earning it. The fucking shithead. No wonder he hadn’t made a move on me, hadn’t tried to kill me. He didn’t come back to kill me. He came back to steal my money. Then he probably planned on finishing me off.
Wasn’t going to happen. I would make sure of that.
I gathered all of my men together, every last one. If Vasilev wanted to wage war against me, he would get war in retaliation.
“You know what Mikhail Vasilev did to me, did to us, to the Petrov mob. How he killed my parents, my family, your brothers and fathers. How he tried to wipe us off the map. Now he’s back, and he’s continuing to take. That’s all he’s ever done. Take. He’s a thief, a murderer, and a coward. He doesn’t deserve to live.”
There were a lot of cheers and grumblings about what they would like to do to Vasilev if given the chance.
I grinned. These were my men. Loyal to a fault. They felt my pain as much as I did. “Vasilev has crossed the line by returning here. He’s stockpiling weapons, and it’s not because he’s going after the police. No. He’s going after us. Are we going to let him kill our children, steal and rape our wives and girlfriends and daughters?”
“No!” they all shouted as one.
“Are we going to go down without a fight?”
“No!” they repeated.
“Aleksey was a good man. Vasilev had him killed. Kelly was…is…” I shook my head. I didn’t know how to describe her or our relationship. “Vasilev won’t stop with Aleksey and Kelly. He’ll keep on taking. Keep on coming. I say we give it to him. Give him slugs to the gut. Take his scalp. Reclaim what is ours. This city!”
The men cheered.
“Let’s move out and infiltrate his house!”
Their roar of approval and applause was deafening. Win or lose, we weren’t going down without a fight.
Only we couldn’t lose. I couldn’t handle that. Not again.
Never again.
&nb
sp; We all piled into cars and formed a long caravan. Ever since Aleksey started sniffing Vasilev’s daughter’s skirts and he located Vasilev’s house, I had two men casing the joint. Luckily for me, I had the foresight to do that. Unluckily for Vasilev, he moved Kelly there. Why, I wasn’t sure, especially since I hadn’t found out where he had originally stashed her. If she had stayed there…it wasn’t something I wanted to think about. Bottom line, I knew where she was being held.
What if you’re too late? What if she’s already dead? a voice in the back of my head asked.
Then I would make Vasilev suffer as slow and as painful of a death as possible.
But if I knew Vasilev, and I was pretty sure I understood how his twisted mind worked, he would have Kelly alive. He had more need for her to be alive…for now.
