Taken by the Boss

by Brook Wilder

  “Any word from my father?” I ask Lukas.

  “Brandon got him and Nadia out of there as soon as the first shots were heard over the coms,” Lukas explains as he expertly weaves through traffic. “They should be almost home.”

  I nod, then turn my attention to Stella. Her hands are fisted in her lap. Gently, I reach for them, and she scoots closer. “Danya? What’s going on? Were you trying to kill someone tonight?”

  Too bad the booze wore off already. I blow out a heavy breath and wish for a moment that I could be the drunk one, so I might not remember the shit storm I’m about to start.

  Chapter 19

  Stella

  I wait impatiently for Danya to answer. He seems to be trying to come up with what to say, possibly hoping I’ll get distracted. I face him fully and wait, brow raised. “You going to tell me or just look like you’ve been smacked with a fish all night?”

  His lip twitches, but he doesn’t smile. Not sure why either of us would. Those were definitely gunshots back in the hotel. Was he supposed to be working with the others? What if he’d been upstairs instead of out in the gardens with me? He might be dead. I squeeze his hands harder and that seems to bring him back.

  “Yes,” he says, but I’m not sure which question he’s trying to answer. “Look, I told you there are some parts of my life I’m not ready to talk to you about yet.”

  “So you were trying to kill someone,” I say, ignoring the shaking in my words.

  He licks his lips, then nods.

  “Who?”

  He glances toward Lukas in the driver’s seat then back to me. “Francesco De Luca.”

  My eyes bulge, then I haul off and smack his shoulder. “Are you insane? Why would you try to take out the head of the De Luca family at the charity ball? Fuck, why would you try to do it at all? And you call me fucking crazy. You’re a goddamn moron.” I smack him again until he catches my arm and holds me close to his chest.

  “Can we discuss this at the house, please?”

  “No, we’re talking about it right now. I knew you were keeping something from me. Dammit, Danya. This is how you start a war.”

  “Like you’re one to talk,” he replies with a bark of a laugh. “Between the two of us, you’re the one acting like you’re suddenly suicidal.”

  I cross my arms. “I’m not suicidal.”

  “Really? ’Cause that’s what it looks like from here. Running around with innocent students, getting them involved in this shit. The same shit that you’re trying to get out of,” he scolds, and I roll my eyes.

  “They’re not getting into it.”

  “You are not this naïve. I know you’re not. If that documentary is actually completed and sent out into the world, what do you think is going to happen to the students who made it? And the traitor who gave them the information? Tell me, dammit,” he shouts, and his words echo around the car.

  I square my shoulders and slide over as far as I can. “I’m not a traitor. They pushed me to do this to them.”

  “That’s not how the families will see it, and you know it. And now the two men we were going to kill tonight are alive, and they know we’re after them.” He rubs his forehead hard and mutters under his breath, “I should’ve seen this coming.”

  “Who’s the second target?” I ask.

  His eyes lock onto mine. He says nothing, but the warring emotions I’ve been seeing in those hazel depths start to fall into place. He said Joseph wouldn’t be a problem for much longer. I assumed he meant he was going to put my father in his place.

  Now I realize he meant he was going to put him in a grave. I swallow hard as all the champagne I had throughout the night roils in my stomach. I clap a hand to my mouth and just stop myself from getting sick. I know what those tattoos on Danya’s stomach mean. He kills people for Mikhail. I know it. I told myself I accepted it’s who he is, but knowing that he was about to end my father’s life has me confused and pissed all at the same time.

  “We’re almost home,” Lukas says loudly.

  “Stella.”

  “How long has Mikhail been planning this?” I manage to ask. When Danya hesitates, I grab his arm and squeeze. “Answer me, dammit.”

  “Months, apparently.”

  “Before we were married.”

  “Yeah, he wants to bring them under the folds of the Ivanovs to help against the fallout from killing Francesco. Joseph is bad for business, but the others in your family have potential.” He’s calm as he says it, his expression blank.

  I knew Mikhail was after Joseph from the beginning. It was the only play that made sense. I was merely the bait to get Joseph on the line, and it worked.

  Danya rests his hand on my thigh, but I flinch away from him. I can’t deal with him. Not right now. The whole night catches up with me at that moment. Danya went to that ball to take lives and potentially start a war between the families at his father’s orders. All this talk about keeping me safe was because of what he was planning to do. And then I had to go and help make that fucking movie. Shit. He’s right. The second the families find out who’s behind the documentary, they’ll kidnap and torture the students for answers.

  Then they’ll come for me, and I don’t think even Danya can keep me safe from them.

  We finally reach the mansion and Lukas parks right by the front door. I rush out before Danya can open the door for me. He calls after me, but I burst into the house and charge for the kitchen. I reach the sink just as the champagne comes rushing back up. Familiar hands hold my shoulders as I heave. Danya drags my hair back from my face then rubs my back, quietly speaking in Russian the whole time.

  “Sorry,” I mutter.

  “For what?”

  “Not being as strong as I thought I was.”

  His hand pauses. “Stella.”

  “No, it’s true, all right? I thought I was ready for whatever shit might be coming our way because I’ve seen worse. I’ve heard worse. But you and your father, everything happening right now …” I trail off, at a loss for what I even want to say anymore. I bite back a sob and rub my face hard enough to hurt. “I let myself think I didn’t care about what the fallout might be from my actions.”

  “You’re a good person. You shouldn’t be in this life.”

  “But you are, and you’re a good person, too.”

  He tucks my hair behind my ears after he turns me around. His frown is filled with the weight of his years of sin. “I used to be back when I was with you. The line’s been blurred for me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back.”

  “Danya,” I try, but he places his fingers over my lips.

  “No. I deserve to be in this shithole after everything I’ve done for my father. Jesus, I was ready to kill your father tonight because of him. Your father, Stella. A good man does not do that.”

  My resolve stiffens, picturing Joseph Russo finally getting what he deserves. There’s not even a scrap of sympathy for the man that made my life a living hell. “I want him dead.”

  “You don’t mean that.”

  “Yes, I do. I hate that man. Death is too good for him. I should’ve been the one to kill him a long time ago. I should’ve done it to save Mom and me.”

  Danya shakes his head slowly. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “No, you don’t,” he shouts, startling me. He takes a large step back then shrugs out of his tux jacket and chucks it across the kitchen. With his back to me, I can see the pistol holstered at his lower back. I hadn’t even realized he was armed while we were at the ball. “You do not want blood on your hands, all right? It changes a person.”

  “I can handle it.”

  His gaze shifts to the sink as his brow arches. “No, you can’t. I never should’ve taken you to the ball tonight.”

  “Don’t do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Handle me. It’s all you’ve been doing this whole time.”

  He stalks back toward me as he whisper
s, “Then stop acting like a child. I don’t think you fully comprehend the danger we’re both in at this moment.”

  “De Luca is not going to send men after you. Their family is not large enough to go against the Ivanovs in open war,” I say, but Danya’s eyes say he isn’t in agreement with my statement. I know Joseph won’t send anyone because he hardly has any men left. He’ll never risk sending them away when he knows someone’s trying to kill him. I should check in with Mom, though. That bastard will use her for a shield if he can. “What are you so worried about? Your father?”

  “He’s going to be pissed the mission was a failure, but no.”

  “Then what, dammit?”

  “Danya,” Lukas yells from the foyer, then rushes to join us in the kitchen.

  I hang my head, realizing he must’ve been listening to our argument the whole time. Why the hell is he inside the house? They never come inside when I’m home. It’s one of Danya’s rules to try and give me some semblance of a normal life.

  “De Luca?”

  “He’s fled the city. We have other troubles. The twins and your uncle Vlad are missing.”

  Danya shifts closer to me, and I catch his hand twitching toward his pistol. Is he expecting someone to come charging into the house to what, kill him?

  “No one’s seen them?”

  “No,” Lukas replies. “They’re not answering their cells. The men who made it out of the hotel said they didn’t see them once the mission went south or after they gave the order to go early.” He glances at me briefly and my heart races. “Danya,” he says, but stops short.

  “I know.”

  “Know what?” I yell, tired of being kept in the dark. “Shouldn’t you be worried if your brothers and uncle are missing? You think De Luca got them?”

  “Not exactly.”

  I grunt in annoyance and he scowls. “You’re not making sense. Just fucking talk to me.”

  “I thought my brothers went early to try and get the drop on both targets to get back at me,” he explains. “But it was a setup. Someone tipped off De Luca and your father. A traitor ratted us out,” he says roughly. “Now, I can’t find my two asshole brothers or my uncle. All three of them have been seen meeting this past week.”

  “And you think they’re coming here? To do what? And why would they betray your father?”

  Danya glances at Lukas then says, “Because Mikhail Ivanov is a dying man.”

  Shit. That changes everything. Ringing from the home phone makes me jump. I’m closer, and as Danya tells me to hand it over, I glance at the caller ID. “It’s Mom,” I say, confused, then answer it. “Mom? Are you home? Please tell me you made it out of the hotel all right.”

  I don’t give two shits about Dad, just her.

  “Stella,” she gasps, and I clutch the phone tighter. “Your father, they tried to kill him. I think they’re coming for all of us.”

  “No, Mom. Just calm down. Take a breath.”

  Danya’s giving me a questioning look, and I hold up a finger telling him to wait. He takes the cordless from me and puts it on speaker. Mom’s panicked breathing echoes through the kitchen. “We made it home, but someone is trying to kill us. Stella, please, get out of there. Mikhail. I think he’s double-crossing your father.”

  “Mom,” I say as fear clutches at my chest, “It’s fine. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  Danya reaches over and puts the call on hold. “You need to tell her to get out of there right now.”

  “Why? They’re only after Joseph, right?”

  “I don’t know who’s giving the orders anymore or what they are. Stella,” he says firmly and grabs my wrist holding the phone. “Look at me. You need to stay calm so she stays calm. Tell her to leave.”

  I bob my head, sending my hair falling over my face. I take the call off hold. “Mom, I want you to get your purse and walk out of that house right now.”

  “What? I can’t just up and leave your father.”

  “Yes, you can,” I say as Danya nods in agreement. “Grab your things and go.”

  “Stella, you know I can’t,” she whispers. The fear in her voice is evident. She’d never contemplate walking out on Dad. Ever.

  “Mom, for once in your goddamn life, stand up to that man. He got himself into this situation. Now you need to get yourself out. Just head to Danya’s mansion. You’ll be safer here. Please. Just walk out of the house—Mom!”

  She screams through the phone as a thunderous boom resounds. It’s a gunshot. Then there’s more screaming and yelling. I think I hear Joseph shouting at someone, and then it’s Mom shouting. I’m yelling for her, but all she does is keep screaming. I wait for her to say who’s there, but there’s one more shot and a thud.

  “Fucking Russos,” a male voice grates over the line. “About time we wiped them all out.”

  Then the line goes dead. My jaw drops as I stare, horrified, at the phone.

  “Was that one of the twins?” Lukas asks.

  “No, might’ve been Vlad, but I can’t tell. Why would they attack the Russos if they’re siding with them against Mikhail? I need to get to him and figure out what the hell is going on. Stella?” Danya pries the phone out of my hand, then tilts my face upward. “Take a breath.”

  “Dead,” I mutter. “She’s … she’s dead. They’re all dead.”

  “I know. It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. Those men weren’t there under my orders. I’m going to Mikhail, all right? I need to get a handle on the situation before we wind up with an all-out war on our hands.”

  “What? No, you can’t leave.”

  Mom’s dead. I heard her die. This can’t be real. I won’t let it be. My fingers go numb, and then the rest of me. The next thing I know, I’m upstairs with Danya. He’s setting me on the edge of the bed in my room, holding my hands. He’s talking, but the words can’t penetrate the roaring filling my head. He squeezes my hands harder and I fight back a sob.

  “Stella, can you hear me? Come on, love, stay with me.”

  “What are we going to do?” I shake my head, hoping to clear away the fog, but it doesn’t do anything. “Danya, I don’t know what to do.”

  “I know. Just listen to me. Promise me you’ll do as I say.”

  The fight’s gone out of me in the face of losing Mom like this, and I mumble, “I promise.”

  “I need you to change and then head back downstairs. Can you do that? Stella, I need you to answer me. Can you do that?”

  I take in the gown I’m still wearing. Yeah, changing is a good idea in case someone comes here to kill me. Another sob catches in my chest, but I can’t break down. I won’t. I’m stronger than this. I manage a nod, and Danya helps me to my feet.

  “I’m just going to be in my room. If you need me, you yell, got it? Lukas is right in the hall.”

  He leaves far too quickly, but at least he got me on my feet first. I kick out of my heels, not about to traipse around in those, then head to the closet. I grab the first pair of jeans I can find along with a T-shirt and sweater. I vaguely think about putting on a bra, but don’t care too much right now. At least I thought to grab underwear since my other pair is still in Danya’s pants pocket. Once my slip-on sneakers are on my feet, I pull my hair back in a messy ponytail then exit my room. I jump at the sight of Lukas standing just outside.

  “Sorry, Stella. You ready to head down?”

  Danya’s bedroom door is closed, but I hear him yelling. “Who’s he talking to?”

  “One of our men back at the hotel. He said he’d join us in a minute.”

  I want to wait up here for Danya, but when the yelling grows louder, I take that as meaning the situation is growing direr by the second. Lukas escorts me to the main level and I take a seat in the living room. I hold a throw pillow to my chest for comfort as Mom’s screams replay over and over inside my head. Am I next? They said all the Russos needed to die. Technically, I’m a Russo. A person isn’t always safe in this world just based on their last name. It’s the bloo
d that gets you killed. If you have good blood or bad.

  “Lukas, bring the car around,” Danya calls as he stomps down the stairs.

  I rush to meet him, then pause. He’s wearing his black combat pants and has a shoulder holster over his black T-shirt with two pistols ready to go. There’s a knife at his right hip and when he shifts, I catch sight of a second one sheathed at his lower back.