by Janae Keyes
My brain wasn’t working, and I couldn’t think straight. The entire plan was going to fail before it properly began. Rae hadn’t followed directions and left on her own. I knew what she was trying to do and was minimizing the pain by leaving without me, but she’d made a possibly fatal mistake.
I splashed cold water onto my face to remove me from my shocked haze before I turned off the tap and stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. I knew I had to get her back from Vadim and his wrath before he caused her actual harm.
My eyes diverted to where the can had smashed on the wall, and my eyes trailed down to the trash, and something stuck out to me. I bent to the floor and picked up the half toilet paper wrapped stick. It was a pregnancy test.
Swallowing, I knew exactly who the positive test belonged to, and I grasped my chest where I could feel my rapidly beating heart. Rae was pregnant.
“Oh Kisska,” I grumbled as I plopped my butt onto the toilet seat and placed my face in my hands. It wasn’t just her I would be saving, but my only child as well.
The reality hit me as I realized she wasn’t going to tell me. Rae was going to disappear into the dawn without a single word of her love for me or the child that grew inside her. I knew she was doing it out of protection for our child and herself, but the pain still struck me viciously.
I stood in the small bathroom with determination in my soul. I had a few choices in how I would go about what happened next, but one thing was clear to me. I had to make sure that in the end, the love of my life and child would come out intact and alive.
Oleg and Jaxon would be my first point of defense.
Leaving the bathroom behind me, I went directly to the bedside table where the cell phone I’d retrieved upon first arriving in Moscow was waiting. It was early, and I wasn’t to make the call until much later, but circumstances had changed.
There were only two rings until a frustrated voice answered the line. I took a breath.
“I’m sorry, but there is a problem. Rae was taken. It has to be Vadim. He went back on his word for the meeting that was set.” My growing anger mixed with a type of fear I’d ever felt was causing my body to relentless shake.
Fear was a funny emotion that I couldn’t say I’d felt until Rae entered my life. I feared for her at every moment, and the fear grew upon learning of her pregnancy. I feared not just for the life of the woman I loved, but for the child that grew inside her. That child was the future. He or she was my future even if I’d never see him outside of a Skype call or photos.
“Come to the restaurant,” Oleg instructed before the line went dead.
I took a deep breath. So much could go wrong. Vadim was unpredictable and could have his men kill her instantly and dispose of her body as if she was nothing.
My fingers flipped the lights off on the room I’d shared with Rae. I locked the door behind me and started off to the place I’d been the day before.
The streets of Moscow were silent. It was as if my feet crunching on the ice were the only sounds for miles upon miles. Christmas morning was a time to be spent with family and in church. I could remember the old songs my grandma would sing to Katya and myself along with hosts of other cousins when the holidays were near. She would drag us to church after a family breakfast. Katya would whine the entire time.
With hands in my pockets, I continued to walk and chuckle at the thought of my cousin. She was always a sweetheart and a firecracker. The women in my family were always over the top, and Katya took the cake. I wondered, if the child that Rae carried was a girl, would my daughter have the same vibrant spirit that the Nikolova women held.
Getting Rae and my child to my safety was the only way to know what the future held for that child and for me.
***
The walk to the restaurant was filled with passing by churches and hearing the congregations sing with the joy of Christmas. Christmas hadn’t been a time filled with such joy for me since I was a little boy, but with Rae I felt something inside. It was almost as if that joy could return until she was taken from me.
I’d barely approached the restaurant when the door opened for me, and I was directed inside by an older woman. She didn’t say much but instructed me to follow her into the back room I’d been in the afternoon prior.
Unlike the day before, the room was completely empty. I took a seat. There was a click that caused me to jump. The woman had left the room, and I was alone. I twiddled my fingers and waited anxiously. The waiting was killing me. There was no time to wait and every minute that Rae was gone, she and my child were closer to death.
The door opened, and I jumped to my feet. Oleg entered, limping on a cane with Jaxson right behind him. The two men didn’t say a word to me as they arrived at the table. Jaxon leisurely took a seat and propped up his feet. I balled my fingers at his lack or urgency.
“It seems the plan is working,” Oleg mentioned as he slowly took his seat, leaning his cane against the chair next to him.
“The plan? What plan? The only plan I know is my meeting with Vadim today,” I anxiously mentioned still standing. I was much too antsy to sit down.
“Listen,” Jaxon began in English. “That plan was only to rope you in and not to happen at all. The actual plan benefits the United States government much more. We tipped off Vadim that the girl was here as we knew he’d want her because of you. We knew he’d take her and it would make my job much easier.”
“You piece of shit! You had her taken! I will kill you!” I went straight for Jaxon but was stopped in my tracks by his gun pointed directly in my face.
“You won’t kill me. You won’t lay a damn hand on me. You will follow instructions and if you do that, everything we promised you will come to fruition. Are you in agreement?” Jaxon asked.
“All I want is Rae. I want her live.” Those were my only demands. I didn’t want anything more but my woman. “Please, she has pregnancy.”
“Wait, the girl is pregnant?” Oleg asked with the pound of his fists on the wooden table. “This was not part of the plan.”
“You didn’t tell us this,” Jaxon directed at me.
“I only have learn this morning. My child will have no hurt,” I said.
“I can’t promise that, but the plan has always been to get her out without any harm.” Jaxon was trying to reassure me, but I felt nothing of the sort. Rae was taken, and they knew she would be taken. My brain was still trying to process the betrayal, and with each moment, the trust I’d held in them was deteriorating.
New plan. I needed a new plan. These men were never on my side, and there wouldn’t be a chance of getting them there. Time was precious and every passing second went against Rae. I could hear the seconds of her life ticking away.
“Go back to your hotel. We will call you when it is done,” Jaxon said giving his simple instruction.
“Okay. Bring her for me,” I said knowing I wouldn’t be going to the hotel, but I would be getting Rae myself. Fuck their plans, I had plans of my own.
***
Moscow was my father’s town. Everyone with a name knew him, and he was treated like a king no matter where he stepped a foot. The resources at my disposal were unlimited, and I knew I could show up anywhere and receive help from the men who worshiped him and those raised to know his name. Carrying the name of Stepanov would open doors for me. The name had always opened doors, even when they were not the best to walk through.
Arseny Burdukovsky. He was my father’s best friend and my Godfather. He was the man at my father’s side in his last moments, and he would do absolutely anything for me. I knew so because on every occasion he could, he told me so.
I could hear the sounds of joyous celebration as I stood at his front door. Christmas wasn’t the morning to ask for help, but there was no other choice.
With a deep breath, I rang the loud doorbell that sounded as if it chimed through every room in his large house. The passing seconds felt like hours as I waited and then the door swung open to see the man I’d known sin
ce I was born. He was older and had aged. I’d grown since I last saw him and it felt as if he’d shrunk.
The man was pale and wore his signature pinstripe black suit. I swear the man must have slept in a suit because I’d never seen him not wearing one.
“Alexei Stepanov,” he muttered seemingly to himself before a grin spread across his face, and he threw his arms around me and a hug that nearly knocked the air out of me.
“Hello and Happy Christmas Uncle.” I wanted to have more cheer for the glorious holiday, but I couldn’t summon it. There were matters to attend to and then I would be able to enjoy my Christmas properly with my girl.
“There is a problem?”
“There is.”
“Come inside, and we will see what we can do.”
I followed him into the house where there were guests. Some of them I knew and others not. The delicious smells that filled the air were difficult to ward off the grumbling of my empty stomach.
“Anna, get him food and bring it to the study,” Arseny called out to a woman who scurried away to apparently get food for me. I was grateful.
We entered his study. It was how I remembered it from when I was a little boy. The walls were filled from top to bottom with books, and a grand wooden desk stood in the middle. The desk commanded such power, and as a boy, I wanted to have that type of power.
Getting that type of power wasn’t easy and I enjoyed it when I had it, but it is what brought me to my current predicament. I’d rather have no power than all of it.
“Tell me exactly what you need.” Arseny asked no questions about my problems. He simply wanted to help me no matter my problem. He didn’t care about any legal ramifications because he’d made a promise to my dad. The promise was simple, it was to do all he could for me no matter the circumstances. Through my entire life, he’d never wavered.
“I need weapons and some equipment,” I noted.
He gave me a simple nod and with the press of a button on his desk, the bookshelves behind his desk parted. He crooked his finger in the international symbol for to follow and I followed.
Stepping through the bookshelves, we arrived in a large room that was filled nearly floor to ceiling with any weapon one could think of. There were guns on tables that lined the walls that could fit in the palm of my hand while on the walls there were guns that could take down whole armies.
“Take your pick, my son,” Arseny said giving me a grin.
“I’ve brought food for Mr. Stepanov,” a small voice called from the desk.
“Thank you, Anna, leave it there,” Arseny directed the woman who left the plate of food on the desk and turned out of the office as easily as she’d entered.
Strolling through the room, I ran the tips of my fingers over the weapons. Shivers ran down my back at the power that was held in the room. It was a pure and sinister power.
“Something is different about you, Alexei.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you have something in your spirit. You are not the lost boy I’ve always known, but one who has found his place in the world. You were lost, but now you’ve been found.” Arseny gave me a warm smile. Anyone could possibly sense it from miles away.
“You speak the truth. I’ve met a woman that has given me a purpose a never knew I had. I love her, and I need to save her. I can’t live without her.”
“Then go get her.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I knew there was a chance I wouldn’t make it out alive, but she sure as hell would.
Chapter 23
Rae
How stupid could I be? Ms. Responsible, really? She was far away. Bitch had taken a vacation. I was left stupid as could be. I was in some sort of warehouse, tied up, and being watched by the men who took me.
I should have never run, and I should have listened to Alexei, but there was no time for any could’ve, should’ve, would’ve. There was only the hope that Alexei would find me and rescue me.
Who was I kidding? I was going to die. My hands tied behind my back, I glanced down at my flat stomach. My child would never see the light of day, and it was all my fault. Alexei had promised to keep me safe. Alexei knew what he was doing, and I went against him like a daft fool.
I heard the click of the door. My head shot up to see the legs of a man strolling toward me. The tall and thin man wore a suit and a sad expression on his face. I knew him right away, Igor.
My heart pounded, and anger rose in me as I watched him shoo away the men that had spent the last few hours watching me. I swallowed as he approached and his eyes, which were bloodshot red, studied my face.
“What do you want?” I spat in his direction. I didn’t know how he could look me in the eyes after what he’d done.
“I am sorry,” he muttered in a low voice that no one else around could hear. I blinked. Was he apologizing for being a murderer? There was no accepting of an apology from him. I only shook my head. “I never want to kill Katya. I love Katya.”
“You didn’t love her. You would have never—”
“I had to.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“You will have understand in day soon. I had to.” He finished, and my anger only grew worse. I wasn’t a bad person, and I never thought I’d do what I did next. I spat in his face, and with that, he walked away. He left me sitting there dumbfounded and confused.
“Murderer!” I screamed after him. His act of walking away only made my rage grow.
With the sound of the door shutting, I bent over as far as I could with my hands tied behind my back, and I vomited stomach acid onto the floor. The bile splashed all around, hitting my feet that had been stripped of shoes upon my arrival.
“Here, here, pretty one.” My head shot up at the words of a new voice. I hadn’t seen him come in, but Vadim stood in front of me. He sent shivers of fear down my spine the same way he did when I first met him at Alexei’s apartment.
His wrinkled hand came to my face and caressed my cheek. His skin was ice cold, and his touch only made me want to vomit more. I held it in, I was determined to sing my resolve and keep my composure. I’d already lost my cool with Igor and acted out of my personality. With Vadim, I knew I had to survive.
“Don’t touch me,” I growled.
“You have spice. I like spice very much in my girls,” he snickered.
“I’m not your girl.”
“Oh pretty one, you will have much to learn. What I want, I claim as mine. You don’t belong with Alexei. You belong with me as my pet. I very much like pretty black American pet. I will watch you die from inside to out. I will kill your soul and willpower. You will be a shell and a toy.”
His description sounded worse than death itself. I’d rather die for myself and my baby. I’d rather my heart stop beating and to be buried away, only left as a memory. A whimper escaped me, and a tear dropped down my cheek. Vadim laughed at my emotions. It was the most sinister bit of laughter one could imagine, and it shook me to my core.
Please, Alexei, find me and save me.
Vadim stood back to his full height and turned away from me. He walked a few steps back to where a few men and Igor had arrived. He spoke to them in Russian. I swallowed and tried to not think too hard about my impending fate.
That’s when I heard a whisper. It was struck me at once, and I knew that face as soon as I heard it. Alexei, he was close, but where.
I turned my head in every direction looking for him. The men weren’t paying me any attention as they still spoke in a huddle. There, my eyes landed on him between a few giant pallets of whatever Vadim was shipping out of his warehouse.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was my love and my savior. A smile found its way onto my face, but only for the briefest moment as yells erupted from the pack of men. They noticed where my attention was and guns were drawn.
Alexei rushed out gun in hand, shooting in every direction. I closed my eyes and tried to mentally muffle the sounds of shots in my ears as I couldn’t with my hands
.
At once as shots rang out, there were fingers on my wrists. I was being untied. I opened my eyes to see Alexei gunning down two men of Vadim’s. He wasn’t the one untying me. I turned my head as much as I could to see Igor working vigorously to loosen the knots that held me in place.
“Almost,” he said to me as he continued to work until I felt the freedom granted to my hands. I didn’t understand any of it. “I tell you. I never want hurt for Katya. She was my everything. Believe me, Katya was heart.”
I nodded. There was something in his eyes that told me he was giving me the truth—his truth. I wiped my tears quickly before he pulled me out of the line of fire. He ran with me to give me shelter behind a line of pallets when he let out a scream and stumbled to the ground.
His black shirt was growing wet. I knew right away it was blood. Igor had been shot. I bent to the man that I’d despised yet was trying to save my life. With no thought, I pressed my hand to his wound to try and stop the bleeding. If he wasn’t going to let me die, I wouldn’t let him die.
“Go,” he hissed through his pain. “I want death. I want to be with Kitty.” There was a grin that graced his face. I sniffed my tears away as I removed my hands. “Save life, make life with Alexei and have happiness. Katya and I will be forever.” He closed his eyes and took a strained breath. Words in Russian left his lips, and I knew those were his last words, his goodbye to the world and Hello to eternity with Katya.
In the past few days, I’d seen too much death. It was time for life. I took stock of my situation. Shots were still ringing past me, and I had to find my way to safety.
On hands and knees, I crawled to the area that Igor was trying to run me to. I sat with my back against the stone wall, and my knees pulled to my chest with hands over my ears to muffle the continued gunshots.
At once though, there was only silence. I only heard my rapidly beating heart before I heard my name called by Alexei. I jumped up from my location and saw him standing in the middle of the warehouse. He was near where I’d been seated previously. He stood with a gun in each hand, but once his blue eyes met mine, he dropped the guns to the floor.
