Barshan (Bratva Blood Brothers Book 3)

by K. J. Dahlen

  He could see the blood pooled under her skin and he didn’t think that was a good thing. He’d seen this type of injury before and it never ended well for the person who had it. He knew he had to do something quickly. He grabbed his phone and called the one person from his past he felt could help him. When the call was answered on the other end, Bull called out a name, “Hawk, I need your expertize.”

  Hawk was silent for a moment then asked curiously, “What can I do for you?”

  Bull swallowed hard. This was a man he hadn’t spoken to for well over three years. “I have a girl here with a slit throat and a chest hematoma.”

  There was silence for a long moment then Hawk came back with, “How bad is the bruise on her chest?”

  “It’s black already.”

  “Shit,” Hawk swore softly. “And her throat?”

  “It’s a shallow cut but never touched either artery. It’s also high on her throat. The bleeding stopped but the wound itself bled a lot. And this all happened a while ago because the blood has had time to dry.”

  “How is her breathing?”

  “Shallow. It was a bit labored when I first found her but it’s easier now. I wrapped her throat because the slit was seeping fresh blood after I cleaned it.” He paused then added, “I may have to move her. Right now, she’s at my house but the town is crawling with River Ratz. They seem to be looking for someone or something and it might have to do with her.”

  “What the fuck are the Ratz doing in Mount Pleasant?” Hawk asked.

  Bull was silent for a moment. “How did you know where I was?”

  Hawk snorted. “Brother, we’ve always known where you were. We were giving you the space you wanted but we’re brothers, we watch out for one another. We’ve been watching your back since you left the military hospital and came home again.”

  Bull was silent for a minute as Hawk’s words washed over him. This was one of the things he missed over the last few years, but it took him until that moment to admit it even to himself. “Thank you. Can you help me?”

  “Do you have somewhere safe you can go?” Hawk asked. “We can be there in less than two hours and be there to watch your back. If you need our help, that is.”

  Bull hesitated then finally admitted, “Yeah, that would be great. I have a feeling trouble is coming and it ain’t gonna take no prisoners.”

  “Ok,” Hawk grunted. “I’ll get the others and we’ll be on the road shortly. Text me the address and we’ll be there soon.”

  “Thank you man,” Bull spoke softly. “I know I turned away from the group after we got back but I wasn’t in a good place just then. I needed to learn to cope with what happened.”

  “We were all fucked on that last mission buddy,” Hawk reminded him. “And the Judge found something interesting out much later. It wasn’t the military that screwed us it was a drug lord. Somehow, one of his minions hacked into our intel and gave us false coordinates and bad information. He led us into that fucking ambush. The odds were none of us were coming home but I think we surprised them all. We got us out of there, despite the odds.”

  “And if I remember right, we even took some of them with us.” Bull growled.

  “Yeah, we did.” Hawk chuckled.

  “But it cost us two really good men,” Bull spoke softly. “Does Judge know who gave us the bad intel?”

  “Yeah, he does and we’re closing in on him.” Hawk assured the other man.

  “Could you use another man?” Bull asked.

  “Anytime you’re ready to come back, you’ll be welcome to join us.”

  “I have another fight coming up soon but after that, I’ll be ready to help hunt this motherfucker down.” Bull swore.

  “Are you going to join us then?”

  Bull was silent for a long time before he finally said, “Maybe part time. I found something in the cage that I didn’t have before and I kind of like it.”

  Hawk chuckled. “Oh, the Judge is gonna like that real well. He always did think you were the crazy one in the group.”

  “Yeah.” Bull snorted. “But it worked didn’t it? My crazy just worked when it needed to.”

  “Yeah, it did brother,” Hawk agreed. “You were right there when we needed you.”

  Bull glanced over at the girl and found her eyes open and she was staring at him. “Gotta go brother, she’s waking up.”

  “Text us with the new address,” Hawk told him as he ended the call.

  Bull put his phone down all the while keeping his eyes on her. Her eye color was turquoise. Between that and her black hair, she was beautiful. She’d be even better looking without the bruises, he thought to himself.

  Her eyes watched him carefully and while there was a hint of mistrust in them she didn’t say anything. Instead, she pulled the edges of her t shirt together again. She hissed when she rubbed the bruise on her stomach but she didn’t take her eyes off Bull.

  He got up and went over to the desk beside the front door. Rummaging around the main drawer, he found a notebook and a pen. Bringing them back to the sofa he told her, “I know you’ve hurt your throat and I don’t want you to try to talk until I have someone look at your injuries. You lost a lot of blood and have been beaten to hell, but I need to know who you are and how you got hurt. Can you tell me that much?”

  * * * *

  Charlie stared at him for a long time then finally nodded slightly. Reaching out, she took the notebook from him and she couldn’t hold her shirt together and write at the same time.

  The big man noticed and grunted as he got to his feet. “Let me see if I can find you another shirt. Sorry but I had to see how badly you were hurt.”

  He disappeared and while he was gone, Charlie began to write. She wasn’t sure how much to tell him but she decided to tell him just enough to keep her safe but she knew she couldn’t tell him everything.

  When he returned, he pushed a t-shirt at her.

  Charlie frowned and held up the garment. It was five sizes too big for her but she knew it would fit him.

  He took it from her and helped her pull it on over her head then dragged it down to cover her body. Then he waited while she pulled her blood stained shirt off. Pulling her hair free, she couldn’t or wouldn’t look at him again.

  He watched her for a moment then glanced down at the paper in her hands. “So your name is Charlie huh?” he mumbled. “What the hell kind of name is Charlie for a girl?”

  Charlie stiffened and glared at him. A moment later, she wrote something on the paper and turned it toward him.

  He read it and his cheeks turned pink. “The only name you have huh? Well, I guess I spoke out of turn then didn’t I?” He shrugged. “I’m sorry. Guess I shouldn’t talk, everyone I know calls me Bull.”

  Charlie made a point of looking him over carefully and then shrugged. “I can see why.” She wrote on the paper.

  Bull shrugged. “It’s pretty obvious but that’s not what I want to talk about. I saw some of the River Ratz gang in town earlier. I hate to ask but is it you they are looking for?”

  Charlie nodded carefully. Then she wrote on the paper, “They did this to me.”

  “Why?” Bull demanded softly.

  Charlie stared at him for a long moment then began to write. “Because I witnessed them murder someone. They thought they killed me when they slit my throat but without a body they can’t be sure I’m really dead.” Slowly, she turned the paper toward him.

  He quickly glanced at her. “So they’ll come after you?”

  Charlie wrote something on the paper. “Paolo needs to see my dead body with his own eyes. He needs to know for sure that I’m dead.”

  “Why?”

  Charlie shrugged but wouldn’t look him in the eyes. She wasn’t sure she could trust him with everything.

  Bull reached out and grabbed her chin.

  Charlie hissed as his fingers caught the bruising on her jaw but he wouldn’t let her go. Instead, he turned her head to meet his eyes.

  “Why? What
else are you hiding?”

  Charlie pressed her lips together and didn’t say anything.

  Bull could read the hurt in her eyes but he also read fear and hate. “If you won’t answer that question will you tell me something else? Are they going to bring blood and chaos to this city if they can’t find you? That crew is bad news and when they show up nobody is safe.”

  “Paolo will use anyone and threaten anything to get what he wants and he really wants me dead. He won’t care who gets in his way.” Charlie wrote. “Maybe you should just find me a place to hide for a few days while I heal and just leave me there. At least you won’t be caught up in this mess any longer.”

  Bull read what she wrote and frowned. “No fucking way will I leave you to the mercy of those bastards.”

  Charlie shrugged. “I’m a dead person any way you slice it and I’d rather not take anyone else with me.” She turned the paper his way again.

  Bull stood to his full six foot four inch height and glared at her. “I once belonged to a unit in the Special Forces lady, and our motto was no man left behind. It’s a matter of honor with us and that still means something to me, so no fucking way am I leaving you to those dirt bags.”

  Charlie felt a wave of dizziness sweep over her. Suddenly, she was tired and very weak. She closed her eyes and almost couldn’t catch her breath.

  * * * *

  Bull watched as she passed out and his fingers clenched into fists. He had to move her to the safe house before her condition got any worse. He gathered her in his arms and carried her out to his car. He couldn’t use the truck as the Ratz might recognize it from earlier tonight.

  Before he left the house, he double checked his weapons and grabbed the note pad Charlie had used earlier. He laid her out in the backseat and threw a blanket over her to keep her warm. When he touched her forehead, he noted that her skin was cooling. Checking the wrap around her throat, he noticed fresh blood seeping through the gauze. He went over to the cabinet and opened the door. Reaching inside, he grabbed the huge first aid kit he always kept with him and put it in the car. Then last, he made sure he had a weapon within reach. He wanted to be prepared if the Ratz came around. If they started shooting at him, he wanted to be able to shoot back.

  Glancing down at Charlie one last time, he pressed the button and the garage door slowly opened. His eyes scanned the neighborhood carefully as he pulled out into the street. Pulling away from his house, he watched and listened carefully as he made his way to the safe house he’d set up when he first arrived in this town several years ago. It was something he’d learned a lifetime ago. Always have a way out and somewhere safe to regroup.

  Pulling into the loading dock and closing the door behind him, Bull quickly carried Charlie up three flights of stairs and set her down on one of the beds in the open room at the top of the stairs. He quickly turned on the security system he’d outfitted the old building with and took a moment to check all the cameras before he turned back to the girl on his bed. He laid his hand on her skin. It was cooler but still warm. Next, he checked her eyes. They were pinpoint but not dilated. Then he checked the bruise on her belly. It had grown since he checked it last and Bull was worried that it might just be a blood clot.

  He hoped Hawk would have some medicine that would take care of it when he got here but until that time there was very little he could do to help her. He hated being helpless right at the moment. So, instead of watching her lay there, he went over to the windows and looked out over the streets of Mount Pleasant. From this height, he could see almost the whole town. Everything looked quiet for now but he didn’t like the fact the Ratz were in town looking for her.

  He prayed the guys would get here soon. He knew in his heart they had no reason to come to help him after everything that went down four years ago but he prayed they would all the same. When they left the military after their last mission together, Bull had turned his back on them for his own reasons.

  Now, he hoped they could forgive his rash decisions. He looked over at the girl laying so still in the bed about twenty feet from where he stood. He didn’t know if prayers from him would reach anyone’s ears, or if he even believed in a divine entity anymore after what happened five years ago, but he prayed all the same.

  Chapter Two

  It was more than an hour later when Bull noted two vehicles pull in to the parking lot in the back of the warehouse. He tensed for a moment then saw the signal that told him his friends had arrived. It was sort of a code they had developed a long time ago in the desert of Iraq. A Morse code played out by the headlights.

  Bull hit the garage door opener then the vehicles pulled in to the loading dock and waited for him to join them. Bull stomped down three flights of steps and watched as five men got out of the two dark SUV vehicles.

  The tallest of the five men turned and looked at Bull. He stood six foot seven inches tall and his dark hair was turning silver at the temples. He crossed his arms over his vast chest and waited until Bull joined them.

  The other men took Bull in. He knew he looked like shit but that’s what happened after a fight.

  “Damn boy, what or who the hell did you tangle with?” Hawk wanted to know.

  Bull smiled and held out his hand. “This isn’t bad but you should see the other guy.”

  Judge nodded. “You told Hawk someone was hurt pretty bad?”

  Bull nodded and glanced up the stars. “She’s upstairs, third floor. Someone beat the shit out of her and tried to slit her throat. He didn’t do a very good job but she’s got a belly bruise that could be a problem.” He turned to look at Hawk. “I’m kinda worried it might be a clot.”

  Hawk shook his head. “Any idea how long she’s had it?”

  Bull shrugged. “I found her a couple of hours ago. Someone dumped her in the back of my truck. I was at the gym after my fight. When I was leaving, I saw taillights of a vehicle leaving the parking lot and when I was almost to my truck, I saw another vehicle driving really slow down the street. The car had four punks in it. Two in front, two in the back. Their music was deafening and they weren’t afraid to show off their guns. They were wearing River Ratz colors. It seemed to me they were looking for someone.”

  Hawk grabbed a large field kit bag out of the SUV and headed for the stairs.

  Bull was about to follow him when Judge held him back. “What the fuck are the River Ratz doing here? They’re headquarters are in Texarkana.”

  Bull nodded. “I know, that’s why I moved us here. No one knows I own this place so no one will look for us here. I made sure no one followed us. I really don’t know this girl and she can’t tell us who she is. She’s told me a little about her situation but she’s holding something back. I know it and she knows I know it too.”

  “So why did you call us?” Judge asked quietly. He studied Bull carefully for a long moment.

  Bull stared at the older man then looked away. He sighed then turned to face the older man. It was time to face his past. “Because you guys have always had my back in the past. I was so angry when we lost Pony and Blue. When I saw their blood staining the sand in that God forsaken place, I lost it. Those bastards kept coming even after they should have stayed down. Everyone was pinned down and couldn’t move.” Bull shook his head and his eyes glazed over as remembering the past was painful.

  Mustang snorted. “Yeah, we were pinned down but you evened the score for us didn’t you?” He moved over to where Bull was standing and slapped his hand down on Bull’s shoulder. “You started shooting and wouldn’t quit. You flushed Salim and his top two men out of hiding and showed them they weren’t as invincible as they thought they were.”

  Bull brushed off his teammate’s hand. “I was too fucking late to save Pony and Blue. They died in that fucking sand because I was too fucking slow. We should have known Salim was there. They didn’t have to die, only Salim had to die and I fucking failed to keep my team mates alive. When they died, a rage was born inside me and when we were forced out of the service, I l
et that anger rule me for a long time. But it’s time to let it go and I think I finally can do that.”

  Judge nodded then held out his hand to Bull. When Bull grasped the older man’s hand Judge grinned for a moment then grew serious. “Our last mission was fucked up from the start. What happened was something that we couldn’t stop. Pony and Blue didn’t die in vain and you were in no way responsible for what happened to them. We didn’t know before going in was that we were crossing into a drug trafficker’s territory and we should have. Our intel let us down. They didn’t tell us everything. Salim had been tracking us for a long time and he knew exactly where we were while we had no idea where the fuck he was or even who he was. We were the ones interfering in his business and we were closing in on him. He let us find him for the purpose of eliminating us once and for all. The drug king was using ISIS for protection and we walked in blind to what was waiting for us.”

  Bull frowned. “So our intel wasn’t wrong?”

  Judge and Mustang both snorted. “Oh, it was wrong alright, or rather just not complete. The higher ups didn’t want us to know they were tracking the biggest drug dealer in the area. They knew we were disrupting his business but they didn’t want us to know. We were told we were chasing ISIS not a fucking drug king. It was only after the battle when the helicopters showed up and Haling’s began to crow about finding Salim’s body among the dead that we put two and two together.” Judge began to pace and run his fingers through his hair. “I wanted to kill the man. He didn’t see the two bodies of our men lying there all shot to hell. He didn’t even notice or care that you were all shot up.”

  Mustang snorted and chuckled. “He cared though after we loaded Pony and Blue and Bull into his fucking Helo and gave the order to take off for the hospital. He cared when he thought we were going to leave his ass behind.”