by Via Mari
I finally decide to use the element of surprise instead, and quietly reach for the handle and turn it, meaning to wrench it open quickly, but it doesn’t budge. The realization hits me fast and hard. I’ve been locked in. I am a prisoner.
Matt
I wake, groggy, but the pain in my ribs causes me to catch my breath as I try to inhale and sit up. “You’re gonna be sore for a while. Doc taped you up and gave you some pain meds,” Nick says, walking into the bedroom.
“Where the hell are we? Where’s Jenny?” I ask.
“Brian’s penthouse in LA. We had to half-carry your sorry ass from the plane to the limo and then to the elevators,” Nick says with a wide grin.
“Fuck you!” I say, but even those two words hurt right now.
Nick scowls. “Doc left some pain meds if you need them.”
I shake my head. My mind is groggy enough without adding to it. “No, I could use some Tylenol though. Where’s Jenny? I remember part of the conversation last night but that’s all.”
“She’s with Brian and couldn’t be better. Keith and the team on the ground did an amazing job keeping her safe,” Nick says.
“And the blonde, Marenah?”
“She’s under wraps. We had to pull in a few of our new guys with everyone spread across the globe, but they got her out and took her to the safe house. We’ve had Nate sitting on her all night,” Nick says.
My eyes narrow at the very thought of anyone that physically close to Marenah, especially the ladies’ man of our team. “Tell me he didn’t touch her.”
“Jeez, hell no. He fed her, and then she took a shower. She was a little pissed when she found out her door was locked for the night. Good thing those rooms are soundproof,” Nick says.
“He locked her up like a prisoner?”
“Matt, she took out men in the bar. She fucking knows how to fight. You don’t learn that shit from a lot of places. His assignment was to keep her safe and he did that. I would have done the same thing,” Nick says.
I nod, because he’s right, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about the beautiful blonde-haired princess who was scared and slapped around having to feel like she was still captive last night while I slept peacefully through it all.
“You hungry? There’s an egg bake with sausage that I can heat up for you. I’ve got dibs on the chocolate donuts, though,” Nick says.
“Yeah, that sounds great, man,” I say, pushing my hands down into the mattress to help leverage my body into a sitting position.
“Sit tight. I’ll get you some food and Tylenol. The team drew straws and I got stuck with babysitting duty,” he says, smirking.
“Fuck you!”
“That’s not included in the service. Besides, from what I hear the pretty blonde may have that service wrapped up,” he says.
I smile, because fuck … I don’t know why I’m so attracted to her, but the vibes were off the chart. She felt it, too. I grab my cell phone and hit Jay’s number.
“Hey, welcome back to the land of the living,” he says.
“Yeah, thanks to you and the team,” I say, knowing that if they hadn’t been there at that very fucking moment, the mafia would have moved both myself and Marenah and we would have been put through more than I even want to think about.
“You would have done the same for any one of us. We’ve got the blonde and she’s safe, but she’s giving Nate a hard time. She says she needs to get back to Russia, and she’s pretty adamant. I wanted to make sure she was safe and that you were awake to weigh in, but we don’t keep people against their will,” Jay says.
“I need to sort a few things out, but can you have one of the planes take her home or find a flight for her? Oh, and have one of the shoppers send her some clothes. Tall size six and small to medium shirt size. I’ll pay for it,” I say.
“No problem. I already had the shopper send some clothes for her on your behalf. The flight is standing by. Just wanted to make sure we were good. We’ll get her on it.”
“Thanks Jay. Hard to find the words to express my appreciation for everything,” I say.
“No need. Get some rest, and make sure that Nick takes good care of you. He’s on babysitting duty for the next couple of days.”
“Fuck you!” I say and he laughs out loud before disconnecting and Nick walks back in with a plate of food.
“Gifts from Gaby,” Nick says, holding a tray with a plate piled with her egg, hashbrowns, and sausage casserole, homemade biscuits, and a bowl of fruit.
“Put that tray across my lap,” I say, eyeing the food like the starving man that I am.
“Roger that! Eat up and let me know if you need anything.” He looks at the clock on the wall. “You should take some of that Tylenol after you eat, keep ahead of the pain,” Nick says.
“Yes, mommy,” I say, as he gives me the finger and heads toward the door.
“Fuck you!” Nick says, closing the door behind him, not having any clue how much he and the entire team mean to me.
I’ve just finished the platter of food when Brian calls.
“Hey, how’s Jenny?” I ask.
“She’s doing great and thanks in large part to you. I hear we no longer need to worry about the mafia stuff,” Brian says.
“I had quite a bit of help, but let’s just say it’s finally at rest. Bernatelli doesn’t want the fact he fathered an illegitimate child out of the bag. He knows the information has been stored in a secure place and that at the first glimpse of trouble from them Jay will have it spilled onto every social media outlet available.”
“Can’t thank you guys enough. How are the ribs today?” Brian asks.
“Nothing that a few weeks won’t fix.”
“Take all the time you need, Matt. We’ve got everything covered here.”
“Thanks, Brian. I’ll be fine, nothing was broken, just bruised, but I’d like to take some personal time off. I need to make a trip out of the country,” I say, surprising myself with the sudden decision.
“Whatever you need, Matt. Any place special?”
“Russia.”
“Don’t tell me you used to belong to the Russian Mafia, too.”
“Don’t make me laugh,” I say, gasping.
“Sorry man couldn’t resist, but seriously. You’re not in any trouble?”
“Woman problems,” I say.
“Well, in that case, take one of the planes,” Brian says.
“You don’t have to do that, Brian.”
“I know perfectly well I don’t have to, but I want to. I can’t repay you and the entire team enough for keeping Jenny safe. You can sleep comfortably on the way over,” Brian says.
“In that case, don’t mind if I do. I need to wrap up a couple things but was hoping to catch the next commercial flight out,” I say.
“Just let the crews know what you need, and they’ll set it up like normal. Have a good trip and let them know when you’re planning to return. Keith’s with me and Jenny for the rest of the week in Bel Air, and then we’ll be heading back to Chicago. Jenny wants to spend some time working on some of the plans for the Vegas expansions, and I’m sure Keith will be happy to be home,” Brian says.
“Sounds good. Give Jenny a hug for me. I’ll give her a call a little later,” I say, before disconnecting with him and reconnecting with Jay to get the trip to Russia set up so I can find the blonde-haired princess that I can’t get off my mind.
* * *
I wake hours after we’re in the air, glancing at my phone with a grimace. It’s an almost thirteen-hour flight from LA. I’ve been asleep for most of it. I down a few more Tylenol and calculate our landing time. Three hours to touchdown. Shit, I have to pee something fierce and push myself out of the queen-size bed of the Gulfstream and into the adjacent bathroom. I return to the bedroom a half hour later relieved, showered, and dressed f
eeling much more like myself.
The first order of business is to send our intel team, the one renowned for their accuracy, a request to find out where they dropped Marenah off and where she’s at now. In less than ten minutes I know exactly where my long-haired, blonde princess is, and my team has a plan to get me from the airport to her apartment.
Marenah
When I find the door locked, I try my best to scream the place down, but to no avail. They are not letting me out and it appears the safe house they’ve brought me to has walls of steel and sound-proofing to match. I just wish I knew for certain if they were keeping me for the mafia or protecting me from them. Dammit!
I resign myself to a night of no answers. The shower has revived me though and I keep watch, waiting to see if the person that I trusted is going to come through the door. He didn’t seem the type, at all, in fact I felt completely safe with him, but that could have all been a ploy.
At some point in the night, I must have fallen into an exhaustive sleep and in the morning I’m awakened by rapping outside my room. I march toward the door and turn the knob and now it opens. I pull the door back, glaring at him.
“You okay?” he asks and my leg draws back, and heaves forward, the intended target his balls, but he’s quick and captures my ankle in one stealth move. “Easy wildcat. I didn’t mean to piss you off. I just needed to keep you safe and we both needed some sleep,” Nate says.
“You told me I was safe with you and then you kidnapped me. I want to go home,” I huff.
“Where’s home?” he asks.
“Russia. Moscow to be specific, and if you aren’t kidnapping me and holding me against my will then I want to go now. Just take me to the airport and I’ll find my way.”
“You think we’re the bad guys?” he asks and I almost feel a bit of remorse. “We knew you were with Matt inside the bar and that you helped him. We were just trying to keep you protected. We knew Matt would want you taken to one of our secure houses. That’s what we did. Nothing more, just kept you safe until we could check in with him.”
“Take me home! If he wanted to talk to me he would have come by last night.”
He frowns and levels me with an intense stare. “Clearly Matt’s going to have his hands full with you. I’ll have the team connect with Matt. In the meantime, get ready for the day and then come downstairs. Gaby had breakfast made for us. French toast with pecans and maple syrup,” Nate says before leaving me to ponder my situation.
I wash my face and brush my teeth with the stuff that was laid out for me before sliding into some clothes.
“How did you know my size?” I say, inhaling the aroma of cinnamon and coffee as I waltz into the kitchen..
He turns from what he’s doing at the sink to look at me. “First off, it wouldn’t hurt to say thank you for making sure you had clean clothes, second, Matt wanted to make sure you were comfortable. He probably guessed, and our shopper took it from there. Any more questions?” Nate asks.
“No, I’m sorry,” I say, feeling ashamed of my reactions. “I appreciate everything you and your team have done to get me out of the situation I was in. I just freaked out a little bit when I found my door locked. I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted. I wouldn’t have locked your door if I didn’t think you might take off and get yourself into trouble. The Chicago Mafia is still out there, probably looking high and low for you.”
“They won’t dare come near me on my family’s turf,” I say and he raises his eyebrows in question.
“You don’t even want to know. Now, I thought you promised me this great breakfast or was that just some fancy line?” Nate chuckles and shakes his head. “No wildcat, sit your ass down and I’ll give you something to eat,” he says, gesturing me to the stool across from the breakfast bar. “Maybe a good meal will tame that little growl of yours.”
“Perhaps,” I concede.
“The car will be here shortly. We’ll take it to the private strip and the jet will get you home from there.”
“Do you think I can call my sister?”
“No can do. Not until Jay and Matt give the all clear and we know you’re not being followed. Let’s get you into the air and we’ll take it from there,” Nate says as we finish our meal.
“Breakfast was very good. I’m just going to brush my teeth and I’ll be ready to go,” I say, taking my dish to the sink to rinse it.
“Leave it, it’ll be taken care of. The jet will be at the strip waiting for us shortly. You’ll find a small suitcase and some clothes in the closet in your room. Pack up your clothes, Matt wants you to take them with you,” Cole says, glancing down at his phone.
“That’s seriously nice of him, but I do have clothes at home,” I say.
“Take them. He went out of his way to have them purchased for you,” Nate scolds.
I nod, because it was an extremely nice thing for him to do and I make a note to get his mailing address and send him a thank you note.
When I return, Nate’s waiting for me with a light jacket thrown over his arm. “What’s that?” I say, gesturing toward the luggage sitting on the floor next to him.
“You didn’t think you were getting rid of me that quick, did you?”
“Yes, I did, actually. What gives?” I ask, eyeing his bag and then him.
“It’s not safe for you to be without protection until we get you home.”
I scowl and he narrows his eyes at me. “Don’t even start, wildcat. You’ll have the back bedroom of the plane all to yourself. Read a couple books, watch a movie, catch up on some sleep. Whatever you want to do. You won’t even know I’m around, but in case they’ve tracked you back to Moscow, you’re not going alone. I’ve got my orders,” Nate says.
“Matt?”
He nods toward the door. “Let’s move, Chicago Mafia are still swarming and my job and my team’s is to get you from here to Moscow without incident,” Nate says, ushering me through the kitchen, into the three car garage and into the back of a black Lincoln. “Head to the private strip,” he says to the driver while sliding in beside me.
“Buckle up and don’t get any ideas,” Nate says as two other men climb into the car, one in the back with Nate and me and the other one up front by the driver. Clearly no escape with one of these baboons on either side of me. The garage door raises and we back out. The black car parked on the side of the road pulls out behind us as we make our way down the street. The driver navigates the residential area, a few turns left and then right before we reach a main thoroughfare, follow it for a mile or so and then hit the on-ramp to the highway. Another couple miles, a few turns and we come to a private airstrip and a sleek looking Gulfstream parked on the tarmac waiting for us to board.
* * *
The plane trip is uneventful, the entire time spent reading, watching satellite TV, and spoiling myself with a long, much needed nap. Customs is efficient and rigorous as it always is in Russia. I’ve been through the drill more times than I can count but always with trepidation and a little fear that someone will dig a little deeper. But no, the same questions, and same protocols are used by everyone, never a deviation if they value their jobs and the livelihood it provides to their families who depend on the income.
If I thought I was getting rid of Nate once we touched down, I was sorely mistaken. He hails a cab when we step outside and I turn with astonishment as he gives the driver my address using perfect Russian, just without an accent. Who the hell are these people? I reach for the handle and am about to get out of the car when he tuts his disapproval at me. “Wait a moment and I’ll assist you,” he says, walking around to open my door, and then taking my small suitcase out of the trunk, before leaning in to give the cabbie some cash. He walks with me up to my apartment and the doorman recognizes and greets me. “Welcome home,” the big burly uniformed doorman says to me.
“Great to be back,” I reply, headi
ng to the elevator that will take me to my haven, far, far above.
“Thanks for bringing me home and for everything you guys did,” I say, extending my hand to Nate outside of the elevator.
He just laughs. “You’re more than welcome, wildcat. I’ll escort you up,” Nate says, his eyes looking on with amusement.
I huff, and turn just as the private elevator arrives. When we reach the door, he spins me to face him. “You’re officially home. Call your sister, let her know you’re safe. She’s been worried about you. We just had to make sure everything came together and that neither one of you were being followed. Nice to meet you, wildcat,” Nate says, walking away before I can ask him any questions about my sister. I stick my key in the lock of my penthouse apartment and have just barely kicked my shoes off and have every intention of taking a long bubble bath to soak the worries of the last few days away while I call my sister when there is a knock on the door.
I open it and at first the words just don’t come. “What are you doing here?” I ask, so surprised that I can barely imagine how he got here.
I told you I’d come for you,” Matt says, flashing me a bright grin. His steely grey eyes are watching me, waiting for a response or something. I take a deep breath, trying to get a hold of the delicious thrill floating through my body caused by his nearness. The same feeling as when we were in the bar together, but somehow, so much more palpable now that he is standing right in front of me.
He finally takes pity on me. “I thought we could go somewhere for a cup of coffee and get to know each other,” Matt says, looking at me with a little smirk.
I nod, smiling, still trying to find my tongue which has embarrassingly forgotten how to move. “Of course, you just surprised me. You’re actually here, in Russia!” I shake my head, flustered by my embarrassment. “Do come in for a minute. We have quite a few places within walking distance we could go,” I say, opening the heavy white door and allowing him through before I close it.
