Master

by Catherine Taylor

  Her smile faded as she looked at the bruising on Andrei’s face. “What happened to you?”

  He laughed. “It’s nothing. Some minor disagreements in the past few days.”

  “With Poppa?”

  “No, of course not.” His joy vanished as he noticed Jahn. Glaring at him, he addressed Lena. “Has he hurt you?”

  “You’re the one with bruises,” she grinned. “Jahn has been nothing but kind to me. I was sick and he made me better and bought me lots of things and has cooked me yummy meals, and he made Greta better too. He fixed us both up.”

  Andrei frowned, still eyeing him. “Has he… has he been a gentleman to you, Lena?”

  She blushed and grinned. “He hasn’t done anything bad to me. Look at me, Andrei. Don’t I look well?”

  His eyes wandered over her and he smiled. “You look beautiful. It’s been a long time since I saw you this happy.”

  “Because I am happy,” she told him.

  Looking back at Jahn, he nodded. “You’ll excuse me if I’m a little reluctant to thank you. Your escape routine got me into quite a bit of trouble.”

  “So I see,” Jahn grinned.

  Andrei shook his head and sighed. “I should have known you were trouble the moment I laid eyes on you. Anyway, I have your money. Let’s conclude this business and we’ll be on our way.”

  Lena gasped at him and turned to glare at Jahn. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to sit down and have coffee and baklava like you promised.”

  Jahn shook his head. “It’s over, Lena. You’re going home with Andrei, and you and I are saying goodbye.”

  “No,” Lena insisted. “This time I’ve made some decisions. Everyone seems to think they can run my life, tell me what’s best for me, or not even bother to tell me anything. Well that stops now.”

  Andrei tried to placate her. “Princess, you don’t want to stay with him.”

  “Don’t tell me what I want to do,” she replied angrily. “I do want to stay with him, at least until Friday.” She faced Jahn solidly. “You chose me as your prize, gave me no choice to deny you. I walked out of there, broken and humiliated. Now I want to walk back in on your arm, proud and strong and show them all that I was not defeated. You owe me that.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” Jahn said quietly.

  “Yes it is, because I have this.” Reaching into her bra, she pulled out a disk marked ‘Zirconia’ and saw his startled reaction. “I don’t know what this is except that it is something to do with satellites, but right now we are surrounded by a bunch of foreign journalists and I’m sure one of them will have an idea. Maybe I should call out to them and ask.”

  Jahn’s face became furious. “Stop this now, Lena.”

  Her eyes glistened. “I can’t. I’m not ready for this to end. I’m asking for a few more days with you.”

  “You’re demanding it,” he snarled.

  She nodded sadly. “Is that so bad? I don’t think I’ve demanded anything ever. I’ve begged, I’ve pleaded and it’s never got me anywhere.”

  Andrei cut in. “Lena, listen to me, if I go back without you, you have no idea of how bad things are getting, not just for me, for your Poppa, for Vera…”

  “And is that my fault too?” she glared at him. “You all live by violence and greed. If you suffer for that, how can that be my fault? For a few days, I found a little peace and happiness and I want to hold onto it for a little longer… but I can’t do it like this.”

  She held out the disk to Jahn. “Take it. I don’t want to force anyone to do something they don’t want to do.”

  Taking the disk, he pocketed it. Andrei sighed with relief as Lena sank down onto a chair, tears running down her face.

  She stared at the table. “Would you order me something to eat, please, Andrei?”

  “We need to get going, princess. I’ll get you something from the restaurant, when we get back.”

  “She’s not going back.” Jahn said quietly.

  Lena nervously looked up at him, and her heart beat a little faster. Andrei seemed confused, glancing between the two of them.

  He laughed nervously and shook his head. “No, this wasn’t the deal. I brought your money and I came alone. Lena comes back with me.”

  Jahn eyed him with amusement. “Lena seems to have ideas of her own.”

  Sitting down, Andrei grasped Lena’s hands. “Princess, listen to me. You should never have been with this man in the first place. It was wrong and we let you down. Your father is distraught and…”

  “My father doesn’t give a damn about me.” Lena pulled her hands away. “He proved that when he let me go with Jahn. His pride was more important than I was.”

  “You don’t understand. The miners were edgy. Things could have turned nasty. We only let you go, believing that we were going to get you back immediately.”

  “But you didn’t. You let me down.” She gazed up into Jahn’s face. “Jahn hasn’t let me down once since I’ve been with him.”

  Andrei grew angry. “Whatever you think you have with him you’re wrong, and you’re setting yourself up to be hurt. I’ve known men like him. When he’s got what he wants he’ll be gone, and he won’t give you a second thought.”

  “And he’s never lied about that,” she replied. “He’s about the only person in my life who has ever told me the truth, and he hasn’t made promises that he can’t keep. I want three more days with him and then I can return to my shitty life with some dignity.”

  “Your life is all set to change.” A smile went across his pleading face. “I wasn’t going to tell you, but you need to know. Your grandfather has come for you. He’s going to take you away from all of this, first back to Moscow and then on to the rest of the world. Your life is going to be wonderful.”

  Lena stared at him and shifted her eyes to Jahn, seeing the hardness set into his face. His hand reached out and gripped her upper arm painfully, hoisting her up and embracing her against him.

  “Lena stays with me.”

  Andrei jumped up and faced him furiously. “You’re over your head with this one.”

  Around them, the buzz of conversation had died down and people were looking at them.

  Jahn smiled. “You’re making a scene. I suggest you fuck off and let me care for my woman. She wants to eat.”

  Even in his uncomfortable grip, Lena grinned. “It’s alright, Andrei. I am safe with him. Just give us this last time together and let me return the way I want to.”

  “You don’t understand, Lena.” His hands ran through his remaining hair. “I have to take you back.”

  “You heard him.” She moved in closer to Jahn and put her arms around him. “For now, I am his woman and you’ll have to go through him.”

  Andrei sighed deeply, and slumped as if the weight of the world has suddenly fallen upon him. Laughing softly, he gazed at her with watery eyes.

  “Look at you, beautiful, happy and smiling. It does my heart good.” His eyes shifted to Jahn. “Do I tell Dmitri that you’ll be fighting?”

  “I suppose I don’t have a choice.”

  Lena’s mouth dropped open and she looked up at him. “I didn’t mean you had to fight. You just have to drop me off.”

  “And then run away?” he asked. “You want to walk in on the arm of a champion. That means I have to fight.”

  “No, I don’t want you to go back in that cage.”

  Jahn looked back to Andrei. “Keep my money and roll it over on this next one.”

  Andrei smirked. “That will be a tidy sum, if you win.”

  “He’s not fighting,” Lena insisted, though neither of them seemed to be listening to her. “If it’s going to come to this, I will go with Andrei now.”

  She tried to pull away from him but his grip remained secure.

  “Let me go,” she demanded. “I won’t be responsible for you getting hurt or worse.”

  “It’s no longer your choice.” He told her firmly. “It’s mine.”

 
Lena shook her head. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “I want to do this.” His austerity melted into a smile and a gentle voice. “You deserve to walk back into that warehouse, with your head held up high and know that you are better than any one of them. Let me do this for you.”

  “And what if you lose?”

  “I never lose.” He said confidently.

  Andrei laughed. “I don’t know, my friend. I just watched a little girl bring you to your knees.”

  Jahn grinned and nodded. “That usually happens when they have you by the…” He glanced at Lena. “She fights dirty.”

  “So I see.” Andrei looked at both of them. “I can also see that she is happy and I haven’t seen that for many years.” He peered at Jahn. “Remember that when you walk into that warehouse on Friday night. Now, if it is alright with you, I would like to say goodbye to Lena.”

  Jahn released her into the arms held open for her. Lena embraced Andrei, her head against his shoulder. “It’s just three days and then you’ll see me again.”

  Andrei continued to hold her, but stared over her at Jahn, his face sombre. “Promise me that you’ll look after her.”

  “You have my word,” Jahn nodded.

  Planting a kiss on her head, Andrei released her and quickly strode away. Lena watched him go, staring down the street long after he had gone. Turning back to Jahn, she was smiling again. “I’m hungry.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The coffee and baklava were everything Jahn had promised they would be. Lena pushed her empty plate away with a satisfied sigh. Frowning, she began to inspect the salt and pepper shakers on the table and then bent down to look under it.

  Jahn watched her curiously. “What are you doing?”

  “Looking for bugs,” she replied.

  He laughed. “There aren’t any.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I used to install them.” He opened his jacket and drew out a small silver box with a few tiny green lights and an aerial. “And because I have this.”

  “What is it?”

  “A bug detector,” he grinned. “This is one I developed myself and is capable of picking up audio transmissions for about ten metres, leaving us reasonably safe.”

  “Then we can talk openly?”

  “As long as you’re not about to start calling out top secret program names, we can talk quite comfortably.”

  Lena blushed. “I wouldn’t have done it.”

  “We’re still going to have a little talk later about why it’s not a good idea to threaten me, or disobey me.”

  His threat sent a shiver through her and she tried to hide it with a disinterested shrug and a haughty tone. “I certainly didn’t demand to stay with you so we could talk the whole time.”

  Jahn peered at her. “Yes, you certainly have become quite demanding.”

  “Is that such a bad thing?” she challenged him. “To want to make my own decisions, to take charge of my life, instead of everyone running it for me?”

  “No.” He gazed at her. “Taking control of your own life is admirable.”

  “You did it with education, didn’t you?”

  “That, and being a scary, mean bastard.”

  Lena laughed. “Well that’s something I can’t be, but I can make myself smarter. I once saw my value in how pretty I looked and whether I was liked by boys. It made me do things I’m not proud of, but never brought me any joy. Having Greta changed all that, but losing her made me feel even more a failure. It was easier to create a fantasy world over which I did have control, and pretend that something magical would happen and make everything right, and in a way it did. You came along.”

  “Yeah,” Jahn sighed. “And I put you in more danger than you’ve ever been.”

  “Life is dangerous, but that’s what it’s about, isn’t it, taking risks, not hiding away trying to avoid heartbreak and pain. These last few days have made me want to live again, even if it isn’t the life I want, because somewhere in all the misery there are the few moments of happiness that make it all worthwhile.”

  Jahn frowned and nodded thoughtfully. “We should get back before Andrei has a change of heart and brings back company.”

  As they headed back to the car, Lena slipped her hand into his. “Why did you change your mind and let me stay? Was it because you knew that my grandfather would come for me? Are you now planning to finish what you started?”

  He stopped midstride. “Lena, you’re asking questions that I don’t have answers to at the moment. All I can tell you is…”

  When he didn’t finish, Lena felt annoyed with herself, seeing how agitated he was. “I’m sorry. I won’t ask anything else.”

  She didn’t look at him but heard him sigh. Bending down, he gazed directly at her with an expression of amusement and annoyance. “For now, can you accept that I like having you around?”

  “I already know that,” she grinned. “Otherwise you would have let me blow up.”

  “About that,” he growled, straightening to his formidable height. “And your behaviour today. I’m not very happy with you.”

  His remark sparked an instant quivering response in her body, but she tried to maintain her bravado. “I accept that I caused you some worry today, but…”

  “Some worry?” His frown deepened. “I nearly took out three cars and several pedestrians today getting back to you, before you blew yourself and many others to kingdom come. And that ‘Zirconia’ that you tried to threaten me with, it has the potential to reignite the Cold War between the United States and Russia.”

  “But I can hardly be held accountable for that.”

  “No, you can’t,” he nodded solemnly. “The consequences would have been solely my responsibility, as is dealing with your disobedience.”

  Lena pouted at him. “How am I supposed to act like an adult, when you treat me like a six year old?”

  Jahn smiled. “Because being with me, you don’t have to act like an adult, and I think you know that. You like that I take charge of you, even if means disciplining you. It gives you a freedom not to have to deal with responsibilities and guilt. This is your fantasy come true, isn’t it?”

  Her face heated with shame and she hurried on to the car, trying to pull the locked door open. Jahn came after her and gently took her by the arm, turning her to face him. Lena kept her head bowed.

  “Look at me, Lena.”

  When she shook her head, he took hold of her and lifted her to sit on the roof of the car. He gazed up into her distressed face and grinned.

  “I didn’t say it was a bad thing.”

  Her face remained distorted. “It is a bad thing to be nineteen and not want to grow up. To want someone else to make your decisions.”

  “You gave birth to a child on your own and then cared for her. That’s very grown up.”

  “That was different,” Lena shrugged. “I wanted to be grown up then, even though I was only seventeen. I wanted to protect her and love her and care for her. I was doing a good job. I never let her cry and I always changed her nappy and fed her when she was hungry, and I cuddled her all the time. I loved being a mother.”

  “It wasn’t you who let her down.” He gripped her hand. “What I’m trying to say is that you are very much an adult. When I am gone, I have no doubt that you will take on the world with more wisdom and courage than most. You just weren’t ready for it yet.”

  “And how is a few days going to change that?”

  “Because you already knew that it was going to end. I just sprang it on you a little too quickly. Like this, we do it your way.”

  Tears ran down her face as she looked at him. “That doesn’t make it any easier.”

  “I know,” he smiled. “But I want to leave you with a memory that will make you happy.”

  “Can’t you take me with you?”

  He shook his head. “I can’t give you the life that you need. In ten years you’ll be married with a bunch of kids, and you’ll look back and
wonder what the hell you ever saw in me.”

  “Bullshit,” she grinned. “I’ll probably measure every man against you and never find one that even comes close.”

  He laughed. “I’m a rare breed.”

  “And an arrogant one,” she chided. “You’ve ruined men for me.”

  “No, I haven’t. If I treated you as I usually treat women, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You need a man who will love you as much as you love him, and what you and I have done, will not come close to that.”

  Lena bit her lip. “So for now, I don’t have to feel bad about wanting you to care for me. It will be all about making me happy.”

  “It will be about you doing as I tell you and suffering the consequences when you don’t. You already have a smacked bottom pending, and it won’t be the little love pats you’ve had so far. Still happy with your decision to stay with me?”

  “I am,” she replied defiantly. “As long as that is not all you’re planning to do. In case you hadn’t noticed, I am very much a woman, and need to be treated as such.”

  “Oh, I noticed.” A stern frown set into his face. “But right now all I see is very unrepentant little girl, in need of a sound lesson in following a few simple rules.”

  He lifted her down and opened her door. “Get in, and enjoy sitting down while you still can.”

  Taking her seat, Lena grinned as she felt the stirrings of arousal. Her mind dwelled on the possibilities of giving him complete charge of her and not having to be ashamed. When Jahn climbed in, she studied him, openly admiring his body, picturing herself held in those powerful arms.

  After a few minutes of driving he growled at her. “What do you want, Lena?”

  “What any woman would want, just to look at you,” she smiled. “You excite me. I think about what you do to women and I wonder if I could ever be like them.”

  “Why would you want to be?”

  “So that I wasn’t so boring for you.”

  “Believe me, boredom is not a luxury I have had with you.”

  “I meant sexually.”

  “You’re not boring to me, Lena, in any way.” He looked at her. “You’re not the first woman I’ve had that likes an authority figure to discipline her. I’ve had one woman who wanted to call me Poppa and treat her like an infant, diapers and all.”