Kaznachei’s Pain

by Mason, V. F.

  Oddly, he returned it, and whispered, “Take care of yourself, girl.” With that, I got out, closed the door, and walked toward my future.

  If only I had known back then what awaited me, I’m not so sure I would have chosen that path.

  Moscow, Russia

  September 2018

  Melissa

  “He said a narrow path near the lake.”

  “Don’t worry. I will get you to your date on time.” Arden chuckled, and I glared at him, but he just raised the volume of the radio higher. “Frowns will give you wrinkles.”

  “Ha ha. Since when are you the funniest guy on the block?”

  He shrugged, taking a swift turn to the concrete path where we noticed several steps. “He didn’t come alone,” he muttered, but then answered my question. “Since life served me so much shit, I learned to laugh about it.”

  Instinctively, I patted him lightly on his hand and he nodded, acknowledging the sentiment. “We will find her. I promise.” Although my line of the work taught me to never promise anything to anyone, because we couldn’t predict anything, I discovered parents didn’t need reality while their child was in danger.

  They needed hope.

  Finally, he drove through the green bushes and a gasp slipped past my lips as a beautiful lake glistening in the sunlight along with the greenest grass came into view. Several birds were chirping and flying around.

  The clear blue sky only added to the serene atmosphere, transforming everything into beautiful nature that for a moment in time gave a person peace.

  But then I saw a man, wearing jeans and a shirt, with a squealing baby who fisted his hair with one tiny hand while the other tried to reach some kind of berry located on the tree. Artur sat on Yuri’s shoulders, and since his lips moved, he must have spoken something in the language only he understood.

  Without thinking, I unfastened my seat belt and opened the door, while Arden shouted, “The car is still—” But I’d already hopped out and was racing toward them. Yuri looked in my direction as my boot-covered feet thumped on the grass.

  In seconds, I was next to them, as he growled, “You do not get out while the car is still—” I blocked all the sounds away as I clasped my hands together and gazed with awe at my son who paused his hand midway to the leaf and cocked his head, studying me.

  He was so beautiful, and I drank him in, because the last time he was asleep and I couldn’t see all his small features. The green eyes, his chubby cheeks, and the mesmerizing smile.

  Artur leaned toward me, and Yuri dipped a little as I stepped forward so our son could touch me with his little fingers as he skimmed them over my face. I closed my eyes, although the tears slid down as I couldn’t hold them back.

  Wrapping my hand around his, I gave it several soft kisses as utter gratefulness filled me for the fact that he was alive.

  All the pain I lived with on a daily basis was worth it as long as he could be healthy and happy with us. “Hi, honey,” I murmured, and he leaned back, frowning.

  I thought something bad had happened and he would cry because a stranger touched him, and as much as my heart hurt because of that, I understood. He didn’t know me. How could he like my presence?

  But I couldn’t dwell on it much as he raised his hands, and I heard Yuri say, “He wants you to take him.”

  “How do you know?” He couldn’t even see him.

  He laughed, but I could feel tension coming from him. “I see the shadow. Take him, Melissa.”

  With shaking hands and raspy breaths, I followed his advice and had Artur in my arms.

  I held my son for the first time in my life.

  His heavy weight settled on my chest as he fisted my shirt and rested his cheek on my shoulder, while I hugged him close, rocking him. I inhaled his smell, forever memorizing it while tears just continued to come with sobs, because there was a time I thought this would never happen.

  “Mommy loves you so much,” I whispered, and I smiled at Yuri, who kept the serious expression on his face as he wiped away my tears and gave me a gentle kiss on the forehead. He circled his arm around my shoulders, putting us in the cocoon of his protection.

  In that moment, nothing existed but my family, and I wished to stay like that forever, but I couldn’t be this selfish.

  There were parents who still didn’t have their kids at home with them, instead wondering with agony if they were still alive.

  “Arden is here,” I said, and Yuri nodded, turning to my friend who walked toward us with an indifferent expression, although his eyes softened as they landed on Artur.

  “Kaznachei,” he greeted, but I groaned in disbelief as Yuri punched him in the face, making Arden stumble back as he laughed. “Okay, I deserved that.”

  “Don’t ever touch my woman again.”

  “Yuri!” Unbelievable. We had so many important things to cover, and he acted like a jealous Neanderthal! “We need to act.”

  “Really? Back in headquarters, he touched you to taunt me. Admit it.” He pointed at Arden, who shrugged and nodded.

  “Had to see how much you loved her.” But before Yuri could dish something else, Arden splayed his palm up, stopping him. “Won’t do it again. I care about her, man, because she is my friend. Nothing more. No one is trying to encroach on your territory.”

  “Good, because she is mine.”

  “Oh my God, what’s going on with you?” I punched him lightly on the arm, but he ignored me.

  Instead, he shouted, “You can come out.” And my jaw dropped to the freaking ground when I saw Dominic, Gleb, and Vitya emerging from the bushes, lifting their chin at Arden.

  “I told you we would meet alone. You brought all your friends!”

  “I don’t know if I should be hurt or insulted,” Gleb replied, and I gave him a death glare, but he just chuckled, hugged me, while Artur fussed, clearly not liking being squished. “Glad to have you back, agent,” he murmured, and I patted his back.

  “Thank you.” Vitya winked at me, and I asked, “No Michael?”

  “No, but he says hi.” Ah, I missed him, and since Yuri decided to make this a reunion, he could have at least persuaded Michael to come.

  “Melissa,” Pakhan addressed me, and I tensed a little, because Dominic and I were never really close. Generally, I didn’t see his affectionate side unless it had to do with his wife.

  “Hey, Dom. Sorry for all the trouble.”

  I expected him to just brush it off and move straight to our discussion, but I blinked in surprise as he enveloped me in his arms, patting my back while he whispered, “It’s good that you are alive. It’s good for my friend.” And I relaxed in his hold, allowing myself to add Dom to the list of people I could always trust from now on. If this didn’t speak of affection and acceptance from the pakhan, I didn’t know what did.

  “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? The whole reunion can wait,” Arden barged in. “The deal is happening tonight.”

  “Aleksei agreed?”

  “Yes,” I replied, huffing in exasperation. “Although I could see his mafia house is not happy about it.”

  Vitya rubbed his chin, kicking a stone under his shoe. “They haven’t been happy with him for a long time now. He takes deals that endanger members, doesn’t treat anyone right, and looks at daughters and sisters.”

  “But they still keep him as a leader, so they will follow the command.” Gleb then asked me, “If they have a meeting tonight, it means he will have all the papers. Enough to put him behind bars, right?”

  I nodded. “Yes, I think he operated with Yuri’s father for years.”

  Yuri shook his head. “This kind of business in the States without the men operating mafia houses in there? It’s impossible. There is a third partner. I’m just trying to understand who.”

  “Can’t you ask Jaxon or Don?” After all, wouldn’t they know? The Boston chain was out of the question, because they had no such resources to act on it.

  “It has to be someone very powerful, Meliss
a. The amount of money he has… I just don’t know.” Yuri sounded concerned with each word and I understood why. In all my years of work, I saw a lot of powerful men. But this one took the cake, because if he ruled Aiden and Jaroslaw, it meant they had to be afraid of him.

  And what kind of fucked-up person could create such fear? I shuddered, and Yuri rubbed my arm, giving me his silent support.

  Dominic listened to us carefully and finally spoke up. “We know this is personal to you. But their business is not here. It’s in the States. Even if we kill him, how would we have access to it?”

  “There are no big players in the market anymore after all the situations you guys went through. Whoever he is, he will show up somehow. And then you can ask for Cosa Nostra’s help,” Arden offered, and Dominic stepped forward as they stood there facing each other. “Funny how you want to handle all your problems and issues with the hands of others.”

  “My brotherhood won’t go against my father. I can only reign the Irish throne once he is dead.”

  “Then why won’t you do it? Excuses after excuses.” The tension quickly escalated between the two, and I wanted to say something, but Yuri squeezed my waist, indicating I had to keep my mouth shut.

  After all, this was their business.

  “Do you have a child, Pakhan?”

  “No.”

  “Then you don’t get to fucking judge me. God forbid you ever experience the pain I’m going through every single minute.”

  Everyone stayed silent; I could have heard a leaf fall onto the grass when finally Pakhan spoke out. “I will need to contact Don. Once we handle the situation here, he will have to be ready for the attack arising in New York.” Then he spoke to Vitya. “We will take our men and go to the meeting at the inn. I have a feeling we will have to fight the Kuzmin Bratva too. Tell Kostya to keep an eye on the women and leave around seven men with them, just in case. Block all the doors.” Then he shifted his attention to Gleb. “Gather all our women in the headquarters. They have to be safe at all costs.” With that, he walked to the side, taking out his phone, probably to prepare everything for the night.

  “You have to come and stay with the women,” Yuri ordered, and my brows rose.

  “Excuse me, but what?”

  Gleb whistled but shut up as Vitya punched him in the shoulder and dragged him away. Arden just shook his head at my man, muttering, “You have a death wish, man,” and joined the guys while I still drilled my angry stare into Yuri, who didn’t budge under it.

  Instead, his eyes reflected his fury.

  “This is my job.”

  “Really, your job?” Hollow amusement laced his tone. “Does the FBI know you are alive?” I gritted my teeth, because technically no, even though I kept in contact with the top people. But it meant nothing, as I had no jurisdiction to operate here anyway. “That’s what I thought. There will be a war. You cannot participate in it.”

  Deciding to take a different tactic, I placed my palm on his chest as Artur fussed a little again, but he still had his head on my shoulder. “Darling, I know you’re worried, but I’m not just a woman. I’m a trained agent and I have recovered—”

  “I had to watch you in the video. Lying on that table, dead.” I froze, not even breathing. “All these months, I thought you were dead. Do not talk to me about being an agent. You are not an agent to me. You are my woman, a woman I just found again. I want you safe,” he proclaimed, and I sighed heavily, feeling his pain deep in my bones as if it were mine.

  I hated for him to suffer, but what choice did we have? Fisting his shirt, I brought him closer and urged him to lean forward, and before he could even blink, I gave him a soft kiss that quickly transformed into deep and probing as his tongue sought mine while his hands laced in my hair, holding me tightly so ours mouths met in a never-ending duel.

  His kiss awakened everything inside, proving to me that nothing could break our real connection, and I let go, breathing air into my lungs. “One last time. I will do this one last time and then no more chasing criminals all over the world.” Truth be told, I was tired. I wanted to enjoy my time with my son more than anything, and I didn’t want to risk me dying and for him to be raised without me.

  Life was too short to live with regrets.

  “No, I—”

  My fingers stopped him as I continued. “Aiden will be suspicious if I don’t come. He insisted for me to be there. For him, I’m his son’s wife who doesn’t remember shit about her old life. He would bring me there just to spite you or wanting you to make a mistake. Please don’t give him that opportunity.”

  I could see the inner battle in him as a myriad of emotions flashed on his face, and I said, “Please. One last time.” Instead of answering, he hugged me tightly as we stood there under the sun and blowing wind, together yet doomed because the inevitable fight was closer.

  Soon we would be able to put all the nightmares behind us.

  If only I knew how big an error we’d made, maybe everything would have been different.

  Yuri

  If I’d only listened to my instincts, no one would have been harmed.

  If only.

  Chapter Seventeen

  New York, New York

  Melissa, 17 years old

  Tapping my foot on the floor, I rested my hands on the metal table as I sat in the interrogation room at the FBI headquarters and waited for the agent to come to me and fill me in on my case.

  The last ten days had been surreal.

  A special plane had brought me to the States, where immediately they sent me to their headquarters and assigned a case agent to me. They provided me with a room to sleep in and patrolled the place twenty-four seven while asking me various questions about the family.

  I didn’t have many answers for them and only spilled the information I knew. Most of the time though, I was left alone in the room without any form of connection or entertainment, so I just paced the room back and forth, desperately wanting to know about my family.

  Arden said they would follow me shortly, but so far, no one updated me on the progress, and whenever I asked questions, they dodged it and reminded me to stay quiet.

  But finally, a few hours ago, Agent Bates called me over here, claiming they finally had important information for me. They left me in this room around an hour ago, and only came to offer me a drink, but I was too nervous to keep anything down.

  Frustrated, I got up with the intention of banging on the door when it opened swiftly and Agent Bates entered, his face grim as he held a folder in his hands. “Melissa,” he greeted me and pointed back at the chair, so I sat back down and he did the same. “I’m sorry for making you wait.”

  Yeah, whatever. “It doesn’t matter. They told me you have news about my family?”

  “Right.” He cleared his throat and flipped the folder open, and I gasped at several photographs of a burned house.

  My family home. “Oh my God,” I said, raising my eyes to the agent. “What happened?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “You don’t know?” Disbelief filled with fury laced my voice, but he didn’t even flinch.

  “We lost our contact in Ireland, so for now all I can say is there was a fire and Arden got hurt. He is in the hospital now. Doctors are doing their best to save him.” I was happy for him, but why did he start with my friend?

  “My family?” I asked, although I already suspected the answer. What did they say in business? Always start with the good information, right?

  Which meant that the second news wouldn’t be good.

  “The fire was so strong it was impossible to save anyone. I’m sorry, Melissa, but everyone is dead.” Up until that moment, I thought whenever someone close to you died, unbearable pain rushed through you and you couldn’t breathe.

  But it wasn’t the case.

  Instead, the ringing in my ears started, and I blinked in shock and shook my head, not accepting the fact. “You must be mistaken. My father knew all the exits. He would have nev
er—” My voice halted as he placed his hand over mine, giving it a light squeeze.

  “It was a carefully planned attack. They found the bodies. I’m sorry.” Shaking my head at this information, I pushed the chair back, my mouth opening and closing while I tried to make sense of it.

  Images of my family danced in front of my eyes, while I could hear their voices and laughter in my head, but at the same time understood he wouldn’t have lied to me.

  They were dead.

  My entire family was dead! Tears formed in my eyes, but I didn’t let them slide, not now. I couldn’t lose my temper like this. “What happens now?” I asked, completely calm, and his brows rose.

  He clearly expected hysterics.

  I would have time for them behind closed doors where I’d be able to cry my heart out into my pillow and wish I had stayed in Ireland with them so I wouldn’t feel this unbearable stabbing pain in my chest. But showing this to strangers? Out of the question.

  “You were valuable because of your family. But right now, there is no point in protecting you,” he said, and I blinked, digesting his words.

  Right, since I didn’t know much and Dad was not there to help them with the case, the FBI essentially told me to get lost. But without their support, I could die any minute.

  Aidan didn’t leave witnesses to live.

  “I see. If that’s all—” I started, but he interrupted me.

  “I have a proposition for you.” And with that, he offered me a different life, a career that I never wanted but ended up loving with all my heart.

  Melissa

  I entered the room and smiled at Arden who raised my hand to his lips, kissing my palm. “You are stunning as always, my love.” Subtly, he motioned to the side, alarming me with Aiden’s presence who stood a few feet away from us and watched our interactions.

  Even though Arden fed him a story about us, I knew some part of him always looked for signs to show if I’d truly lost my memory. That was why I always had to guard my reactions so carefully.