I bent, looking into his eyes as the life slowly faded from him. I didn’t even know this man, yet he wanted me dead. Right before my eyes, I watched him take his last breath, and I didn’t feel a single ounce of remorse that he was dead.
“Monroe, who was that guy?” I heard Lexa demanding, pulling me back to what was going on around me.
“Don’t tell anyone,” the girl pleaded with a sob. “Daddy will kill him if he knows.”
“Knows what?” Lexa half shouted. “A strange guy just killed a man for hitting you… Not that I’m complaining. He saved us all just now. But what the actual fuck, Monroe? You have some stalker with a hero complex or something?”
“Swear you won’t tell anyone. Not even Ben,” Monroe said in a voice that was growing stronger with each word. “Don’t let them take him away from me.”
“I don’t understand any of this. But there’s no time to discuss it. What’s wrong with Aunt Willa?”
“That guy knocked her out in the kitchen then took me upstairs to wait for you.”
I frowned down at them. “How did he know we would come here?”
Lexa’s jaw tensed. “That, I don’t know. Unless he has someone with insider intel. Which means we have a rat.”
The pounding of feet on the porch alerted us to a new arrival. Ben came running in, sweat soaking his work shirt, both arms lifted with his gun at the ready. “Lexa?”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Monroe might have a concussion, though. She hit her head and was out for a minute.”
“Did you shoot this guy?” His brow was pinched. “You don’t have a gun.”
“I don’t know who shot him,” she told him honestly. “Someone came in behind us and shot him. I didn’t see their face, and they were gone before I could get a look at them.”
Walking over to the dead body, he kicked Adas in the ribs. “Well, it doesn’t matter now. He’s dead.”
Things moved fast after that. More cops showed up, along with Raven and Monroe’s father. The man they called Spider was the scariest motherfucker I’d ever seen with his head shaved and a tattoo of a deadly spider on his neck. He was taller than almost every man in the room, his shoulders even wider than Ben’s. But it was the pure rage in his eyes that terrified me the most. Yet he was so gentle with Monroe that I was shocked speechless.
Lexa found Willa in the kitchen, still knocked out cold, and both Monroe and her mother were transported to the hospital by ambulance. Raven wrapped a blanket around me and made me sit on the couch in the living room while paramedics took Adas’s body away.
The events of the evening were starting to catch up with me, and I shivered as reality began to set in. Adas was dead. Theo was gone. I was all alone. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me next.
Chapter 16
Theo
Yury was waiting for me at the airport when Anya’s jet touched down. With Ivan out of commission from that bullet he took to the shoulder, it would just be Yury and me. Pops had worked out who all the traitors were within his men and had finally gotten Mom and Sofia’s details sorted out, but they were still staying at Anya’s home until I’d dealt with Petrov.
Without a word, I slid into the passenger seat of the SUV Yury was driving and picked up the Glock that was already waiting for me. I checked the clip then placed it in the holster under my jacket as he drove through the city.
I didn’t expect Adas to be out in the open, enabling me to just pop him in the head a few times so I could to step back on the plane before the engines even had time to cool and I could return to Tavia. The bastard was too smart for that, especially after incurring Pops’s wrath the night before when he’d attempted to have Sofia taken.
No, the motherfucker was probably in hiding, afraid for his life now that he was on Adrian Volkov’s shit list.
But he would still want Tavia. His blood feud with the Bykov family was too strong for him to give up. I needed to be patient and set a trap to catch him before I could put a bullet in his brain.
And that meant letting everyone see me. If he knew I was back in the city, he would come straight for me. For one, because I’d killed his brother, but mostly because he knew I was hiding Tavia.
“Where to first, boss?” Yury asked.
It was early evening, but I could still make the first move.
“Let’s make the rounds. I don’t care where we start.” All that mattered was that it would get me to the endgame.
Twenty minutes later, we were walking into one of the many clubs Pops was a silent partner in. I visited them all often, checking up on Pops’s investments for him. The music was loud, and the liquor was flowing quickly.
Walking up the bar, I jerked my chin at the bartender, and he immediately set a glass of whiskey down in front of me. Lifting it, I tossed back the contents and motioned for another. This time, I picked up the glass and sipped as I turned to look around the club.
Across the room, Yury was standing guard, watching my back.
Pulling out my phone, I saw I had a few missed texts and grimaced.
Lexa: She doesn’t want your presents. She’s been in her room since this morning, from what Aunt Flick said. Didn’t you tell her you were leaving, dumbass?
Me: I didn’t want to worry her. Try again tomorrow with the presents.
Lexa: Fine, but I doubt she will accept them. You taking off without telling her, without so much as a ‘goodbye,’ is counterproductive to showing her you really do care about her, idiot. If you ask me…
Me: I didn’t ask.
Lexa: If you ask me, your words seem pretty empty. Good luck proving to the woman you love her when all you do is show her she doesn’t matter.
Muttering a curse, I tossed back the rest of the whiskey and motioned to the bartender for another. Lexa was right, but I couldn’t worry about that yet. Once I knew Tavia was safe, I would deal with proving to her how much she meant to me.
“Hey, Theo.”
I turned at the sound of my name to find a woman in a barely there dress walking toward me. Her long blond hair was curled over her shoulder, her lashes huge and fake, and I was positive those lips were just as surgically enhanced as her tits were. I couldn’t remember her name, but I did remember her trying to seduce me the last time I was in this club.
I leaned back against the bar, watching her draw closer. I wasn’t in the least bit interested, but the more people who saw me, the bigger the chance it would get back to Petrov. And there was no missing this woman.
Her hand slid up my chest as she stepped into my space, and I kept my face neutral to hide my revulsion. She wasn’t my Tavia, and I hated her hands on me. Grasping her wrist, I pulled her off me.
“What do you want?” I asked her, my tone chilly and uninterested.
She pouted her thick lips up at me, the stark red of her lipstick and her barely there dress that left nothing to the imagination making her look like a porn star. She probably was for all I knew, but that kind of look did nothing for me. My cock only got hard for Tavia.
“It’s been so long since I last saw you, lover,” she purred, rubbing her free hand up my chest before snaking her arm around my neck. Leaning in, she inhaled deeply and moaned as if I’d just touched her clit. “Mm, you look delicious. Let’s get out of here. I promise you won’t regret it. Come on, baby. I’ll ride your dick so good.”
Disgusted with this bitch, I lifted her up and placed her on her feet away from me. “Pretty sure you come with a shot of penicillin. I’d rather not catch what you’re carrying, honey.” Her face turned blood red, and her mouth dropped open. She was so dumb, she was still trying to figure out if I’d just complimented or offended her.
Turning, I tossed a few bills on the bar top to cover my drinks before moving around the gape-mouthed hooker.
After three more clubs, I’d had enough, sure that at least someone would let Petrov know I was back.
I was tired and ready to call it a night, but instead of going to my apartment, I went t
o the compound to check on my sister since it wasn’t too late.
The house where my aunt lived was so big, she and her husband and two kids lived there with Mom’s twin sister, Scarlett, her husband, Ciro, and their five kids, with plenty of guest rooms to spare for when Nova and Garret came to visit during the summer. As soon as I stepped into the house, I was assaulted by pure chaos with Samara running around, dancing and playing.
Of all my cousins, she was the only one I was biologically connected to. She looked so much like Anya, especially her blue eyes, that it was almost like looking at a miniature version of my aunt.
“Theo. Theo. Theo!” Samara chanted my name when she spotted me. “Let’s play.”
I bent to lift her into my arms, her long dark hair falling over my wrists as I kissed her cheek. “Sorry, little one. I don’t have time to play today.”
Her bottom lip pouted out. “Maybe tomorrow?”
“We’ll see,” I said evasively and placed her back on her feet as Mom came into the room.
Her brown eyes lit up when she saw me, and I was instantly pulled in for a fierce hug. “How is Tavia?” she asked quietly, eyeing Samara for a moment to see if she repeated anything she said.
“She’s healing,” was all I could tell her, because the truth was, I didn’t know how Tavia was doing at the moment. Lexa had said Tavia was in her room, and since she wouldn’t take the things I’d sent Raven and Lexa to buy for her, I wasn’t able to speak to her personally to know how she was feeling.
“And how has she been dealing with the loss of the baby?” Mom’s dark eyes filled with sorrow. Because of how bad her diabetes was, she’d always been advised not to have children. She never seemed to let that bother her, though, having adopted first me and then Sofia when I was still a young boy.
I grimaced, unsure what to tell her. “She hasn’t talked about it much, Mom. Maybe it’s because of everything else going on, but she hasn’t really dealt with the loss yet.”
“Oh, that’s not good, Theo. She needs to take time to grieve, or it’s only going to get worse.” She twisted her hands together, shaking her dark-red head. “Maybe I should fly out there and be with her. She needs a woman to help her through this right now.”
“Raven is taking good care of her,” I told her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “But once I bring her home, you can take care of her all you want, Mom.”
Light footsteps approaching had me lifting my head as Sofia walked into the room. When she saw me, her eyes lit up and then darkened when she glanced around and didn’t see Tavia. “Where is she?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. “What have you done with Tavia?”
“She’s somewhere safe,” was all I told her.
“You left her in some godforsaken safe house?” my sister seethed. “All alone with no one she knows to care for her while she’s still recovering from being shot? How heartless can you be, you selfish bastard?”
“Sofia,” Mom scolded. “You don’t know anything about what is going on, so stop treating your brother like he’s a douchebag.”
Sofia snorted. “Could have fooled me.”
“I didn’t leave her alone. She’s got people I trust watching over her. She’s being well cared for, and she wants for nothing.” When my sister only continued to glare at me, I threw up my hands. “Believe me or don’t. I’m done discussing it with you. This is none of your business anyway.”
“All right, that’s enough,” Mom snapped.
“No, Mom,” Sofia said with a shake of her head. “It’s not nearly enough. That’s the whole problem. But I’m done discussing it too. So, don’t worry, I won’t bring it up again. After all, Theo is the one who is dicking around all over town, while the girl he should be taking care of is God only knows where.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I demanded, getting more pissed with my sister by the second.
She shoved her phone screen in my face. “Want to tell me why you’re fucking around with Courtney Blanco while my best friend is still recovering from being shot?”
A picture of me lifting the blonde from earlier was in Sofia’s social media feed. The picture had been taken just as I’d picked her up, so my hands were on her waist and she was lifted off her feet. If someone didn’t know what happened next—that I’d put her away from me and walked off—they could easily assume the blonde had wrapped her legs around my waist.
“Nothing to say?” Sofia said with a humorless laugh. “I’m not surprised. You are such an asshole, Theo. Tavia deserves so much better than you.”
Mom took the phone, her eyes narrowing when she saw the picture. “Theo… After all that poor girl has been put through recently, you do this? I thought I raised you better. I thought you were a better man than to—”
“Mom,” I cut her off, my voice full of ice. “I only picked her up to get her away from me. I would never do something like that to Tavia.”
“Sure you wouldn’t,” Sofia sneered. “You’re like every other man on the planet, dear brother. Heartless and only thinking with your dick. Tavia is better off without you. I should have warned her off you when I first realized she had a crush on you. I can only blame myself, though.”
“This picture is very damning, Theo.” Mom shook her head sadly. “If Tavia were to see it, I’m sure it would cause her untold pain. Especially right now when she’s so vulnerable.”
A door slamming had us all turning. I grabbed my mom and sister, pushing them behind me, only then noticing that Samara was no longer in the room with us.
Pops stormed into the room, his face tense and gray. “We have a problem,” he announced. “They found her.”
Fuck. I never should have left her, not even for a second.
“I have to go,” I muttered, already running for the door.
“Theo, be careful,” Mom called after me. “Please, honey. Don’t do anything reckless.”
“Theo…” Sofia’s pleading voice stopped me at the front door, and I turned impatiently to look at her. “Please, take care of Tavia…and yourself.”
“I will, Sof. I promise.”
Chapter 17
Tavia
The night wore on, and it didn’t seem like I was going anywhere anytime soon. I overheard Raven’s brothers talking, saying that the structure of the house had to be checked out before anyone could go back in, but apparently they had a contractor who could do all of that the next morning.
I sat on the couch in a blanket Raven had wrapped around me, curled into a ball.
Thankfully, Flick had been gone to pick up Nova from a friend’s house, and Garret had been next door when my uncle’s henchmen had driven the van into the house. Raven and Lexa were both in the kitchen and not the living room, or things might have gone a hell of a lot differently.
No one said anything where I could hear them, but their strained, hushed whispers told me they were discussing me and who the rat Lexa had mentioned could be. All I could think was that I’d brought this evil into their lives. Because of me, Lexa and Raven could have been killed. Monroe and Willa, too.
All I brought with me were trouble and danger. No wonder no one cared about me.
Eventually, things began to quiet down, the blood-soaked carpet was rolled up and removed, and the cops left, along with Ben and Lexa. Mila came to sit with me and, soon after, her brother, Maverick. Mila turned on the television to some weird reality show I’d never heard of before, but apparently she couldn’t not watch because Monroe had called her asking for cliff notes on the night’s episode.
Max, Lexa’s brother, joined us around nine, but by then, I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. My entire body ached, and I felt so tired, it was all I could do not to fall asleep sitting up. But I didn’t know where I would be sleeping, and I didn’t want to inconvenience anyone by asking for a bed on which to lie down. Especially when I’d caused so much trouble already.
More hours passed, more mindless TV watched, and I was trying in vain to stay awake.
But then I heard his voice, and everything inside me woke up instantly.
Turning my head, I looked over at the front door to find Theo walking into the house, five men I vaguely recognized as security for his family behind him. His face was tense, but when he saw me, it relaxed somewhat.
“Are you hurt?” he asked in a raspy voice.
I turned my gaze back to the television. “We both know you don’t care, so why bother asking?”
“Tavia…” His voice was strained. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I thought…” He trailed off, and I didn’t care enough to know what he’d stopped himself from saying. “If you’re uninjured, I would like to take you home.”
That caught my attention. I jerked to my feet, grimacing when my muscles protested and locked for a moment before I turned to face him. “And just where is that? Huh? I don’t have a home, Theo. I have a dorm room where I sleep and study. I don’t have anything or anyone who cares if I live or die. So where exactly do you want to take me?”
“No one who cares if you live or die?” he repeated, his face darkening. “Everyone who meets you can’t help but love you, krasotka. You are more precious to me than any other person in the world.”
“Whatever. I’m not going to stand here and argue with you. Just take me back to New York so I can return to my classes.” Folding the blanket I’d been huddled under all evening, I placed it on the couch beside Mila, who was watching Theo and me just as avidly as she’d watched her reality shows all night. “Please tell your sister and mom I’m so sorry for what happened. I hope they don’t hate me too much for causing them so much trouble.”
Mila stood, her warm hands clasping mine and squeezing. “None of this was your fault. I overheard Uncle Bash saying earlier they have a rat who must have been feeding that Petrov jerk-off intel. If they hadn’t, no one would have even known you were here. So, this is on them, not you.” She wrapped her arms around me, giving me a tight hug. “Don’t be a stranger, Tavia. You were fun to hang out with, and I don’t say that about just anyone. Monroe and I will both miss you.”
Sweet Agony (Angels Halo MC Next Gen Book 2) Page 9
