Shadows Of The Past

by KJ Dahlen

  Now he watched as Sergi’s private plane settled. He knew within minutes the big man himself along with his team would be walking through the doors where he was waiting. This day had been long in coming but meant just as much today as it would have meant thirty years ago after the attack that almost took Misha’s life.

  Kosta watch as the doors opened and a group of big men came toward him. Sergi might be an older man but he carried the power of the Bratva with him. He was still a huge man in height and width, the only concession was his white hair but even at sixty seven, he carried it off well.

  Misha walked beside his father, never behind him and Felix walked a step back of the other two but never would he be behind them totally. Their protection was his responsibility and he took that job very seriously.

  Kosta held out his hand to the men as soon as they came close enough. Sergi shook his hand first then Misha and then Felix grabbed his and pulled him into a hug. Sergi and Misha chuckled.

  Then when Felix released him, he looked over at Sergi.

  Sergi turned serious. “Well, what news do you have for us?”

  Kosta nodded. “We began hitting his business and contacts. Once we knew his street name, we had no trouble finding him. He’s been here for a while now.”

  “Is it true that the bastard took Nikoli’s daughter?” Misha asked.

  “Da.” Kosta nodded. “He told her mother that he would kill her or sell her if she fucked up and didn’t get Nikoli in a place he could kill him.”

  “So how did she end up telling him about the plot against him?” Felix asked his brother.

  Kosta looked at the men in front of him. “She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t let him die even at the cost of her own child. She’s loved him the past decade and even though he treated her like shit from day one, she couldn’t bear the thought of leading him to his death. She knew she might never see her child again from the beginning.”

  “How did Nikoli take hearing he has another child out there somewhere?” Misha asked.

  Kosta gave a small smile. “He called in the troops and he’s taking down the threat piece by piece. You know Nikoli. He protects his own very well.”

  Felix matched his brother’s attitude. “Nikoli is very stubborn indeed.”

  Sergi clenched his fingers into fists. “But this is a man I want to see die. You’d better tell Nikoli I want to be there when this fucker meets his Maker. I have that right.”

  Kosta nodded. “Nikoli knows that. It will be as you wish.”

  “Then let’s go to Nikoli’s and find out what more he knows about Danton Valeril,” Misha suggested.

  A half an hour later the men entered Nikoli’s penthouse.

  Kirill was there and Felix nodded at his younger brother. He didn’t approach him, as the man was busy marking off a street map as calls came in. They were slowly narrowing down where Danton might be hiding. Taking down his contacts, one by one, street by street. They weren’t leaving him anywhere to go.

  Sergi and Misha found Nikoli and were talking quietly in one of the corners. Felix, Kosta and Kirill all got together as well.

  Kirill clasped his brother, Felix’s hand and smiled.

  Then Felix asked, “What’s going on here? Why did Sergi come all this way for one man?”

  “You remember how Misha was attacked in the street years ago?” Kirill asked.

  Felix nodded. “I know this is the man who attacked him but how did he come to light here and now?”

  “Danton Valeril kidnapped Nikoli’s nine-year-old daughter and threatened to kill her or sell her if Bella, the child’s mother didn’t get him at a certain café at a certain time so he could kill him.” Kirill shook his head. “She couldn’t do it. She said she knew she might never see her child again but she couldn’t set Nikoli up to be murdered. She loved him too much to do that.”

  None of the men said a word as each was thinking about what that kind of love was like. Finally, Felix asked, “How close are you to finding the bastard?”

  Kirill stared at his brother for a moment then spoke, “We know exactly where he is. It didn’t take us long to ferret him out but Nikoli wanted to ruin the man first. Besides, he needs to know if his daughter is still alive before he moves in for the kill. We found the one man who knows Danton the best and he agreed to work with us.” He nodded toward Nikoli. “We are surrounding him and planned on taking him down as soon as Sergi arrived here. Sergi has arrived, so we should be good to go anytime now.”

  Felix nodded. “Da, this is good. Sergi spoke of the plans he made all the way over here. Danton will rue the day he attacked a son of the Bratva.”

  Danton moved to his hiding spot and waited. As he heard the church bells peal out the top of the hour he felt a shiver of anticipation flow though his body. He had wanted and waited for this day for thirty years.

  Danton’s lips tightened when he thought about that day again. The blood, the pain and the betrayal. Out of all of that, the betrayal hurt the worst. Betrayal meant the end of his dream of being somebody. Of ever being in the Bratva, of ever having the power and prestige he’d craved all his life. Being the youngest of four sons of a farmer meant nothing to Danton. He didn’t want to work the land he wanted more than dirt under his nails, more than a small house and land to call his own.

  He wanted riches beyond his dreams, money and power and the title that went with being Bratva. He’d already made up his mind to that when he was but fourteen years old. The day his father keeled over of a heart attack tilling the hard-barren ground.

  So he learned on his own the skills he needed to be a solider for the family. Then when he was seventeen he went looking for way to get in. He thought about it and even chose the one man he thought would be a good patsy, then when he made his move, Nikoli had stepped in.

  Now it was time to settle the old score. He needed this to free his soul and clear his mind. Bringing the rifle up to his chin, he looked around the café through the scope. There was no sign of Nikoli yet but the café was getting full. He smiled, as he thought this would work well for his escape. The chaos the shot would cause would help him simply walk away from the scene.

  Looking through the scope again, he scanned the café. He was afraid Nikoli wasn’t going to show. But he had to show, he just had to. Danton needed to watch as Nikoli bled out. One man had taken everything away from him, not just once but today Ramon told him everything they worked for was gone again.

  This time, he vowed before he ended Nikoli’s life he would know exactly what his daughter would have to look forward to every day for the rest of her life. Danton had decided not to spill her blood, but he would make her wish he had.

  Then he spotted his target. He watched with a half-smile on his face as Nikoli sat down on a chair at a table for four in the courtyard of the café. Half a heartbeat later he saw Sergi and Misha sit down with Nikoli.

  Danton knew in that half a heartbeat his revenge would never happen. Oh, he could take the shot but he’d never make his escape. He knew the Bratva was waiting in the shadows for him. Sergi was always well protected. His soldiers were well versed in keeping him and his son safe from anyone and everyone. He also knew they wouldn’t kill him in public nor would they kill him quickly.

  He’d been on the run for thirty years. Scrimping and scratching out a bare ass living all these years. If he knew anything about Sergi, he knew that old bastard held a grudge and almost killing his own son? Well, Danton didn’t want to think about that. He did have one chance, slim as it was, he still had Nikoli’s brat.

  Danton rested his head on the barrel of the rifle in his hand. Glaring at the man who seemed to have a horseshoe stuck up his ass. If he hated Nikoli before he really hated him now. Danton got up to his feet. Laying down the rifle he stepped out of the shadows as he walked over to the table the three men shared. Sitting down at the only empty chair, he glared at Nikoli. “You are a hard man to kill did you know that?” Danton asked him. “You just refuse to die.”

  “An
d you refuse to go away and stay away, don’t you?” Nikoli growled. “Where is she, Danton?”

  Danton glanced quickly over at Sergi and Misha then turned back to Nikoli. “She’s safe and alive for now.” Then he shook his head. “Nikoli you should really know better. Did you even know about the little bitch before last night? She didn’t know about you.” Leaning back in his chair he smirked. “But then you do have a habit of losing your spawn don’t you? Why should this one be any different than your son?”

  Nikoli shrugged. “My son was stolen but he was returned to me by an honorable woman who taught him to be a good man. And my daughter was well cared for by a woman who loved me for a very long time. At least when my final day comes, I will have a legacy to leave behind. What exactly do you have to leave behind?”

  Danton snarled. “I have nothing to leave behind, you saw to that. You took everything I managed to claim as mine this morning didn’t you?”

  Nikoli shook his head. “I saw to nothing. Your own actions played out just the way they were meant to. You were willing to lie, cheat and kill to make your way into the Bratva where that sort of thing is frowned upon. The Bratva is honor bound and your actions were not.”

  “No one would have ever known if not for you,” Danton argued. “You could have walked away that night and just let things happen but you didn’t do that. You had to stick your nose in my business, didn’t you?”

  Nikoli shook his head. “I guess in your mind that’s all you would see but that’s just not true. You would have known with every breath you took it would have been a lie and sooner or later, your secrets would come out. You can’t forget lies. They have a habit of coming back to bite you in the ass.”

  “Now karma will be your judge,” Sergi informed him. Shrugging he added, “Well me and karma will judge you.”

  “Where is my daughter?” Nikoli wanted to know.

  Danton studied his opponent. For all intents and purposes, he seemed relaxed but Danton could see the signs of his unrest. Danton noted his tapping fingers, his tightened lips, the throbbing beat of his carotid artery. He smiled slightly. “Your daughter is with a friend of mine,” Danton told them. “If I’m not back before twelve thirty, he has orders to kill her.”

  “Indeed?” Nikoli nodded. “You know I gave you an opportunity to come clean and do the right thing here, don’t you?”

  Danton frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Nikoli nodded toward the edge of the café.

  When Danton looked over there he saw Ramon standing there with a small child. It was Nikoli’s daughter. There were three men standing next to Ramon and one flashed a gun at Danton.

  Danton knew he was done for. Ramon had gone over to the other team. Hell, maybe he had no choice. It didn’t matter anymore now. Danton had nothing left to offer, nothing left but a certain death. Suddenly, he felt tired. Tired of the everyday struggle to draw breath, tired of the fighting for his place in the hierarchy, tired of breathing the dirty air and knowing he was never going to breathe free clean air.

  Suddenly, his mother’s words came back to haunt him. She told him when he was ten years old and had been left behind by his father and older brothers because he took the easy way out and didn’t do his chores, she looked at him and said, “You will never make anything out of your life if you don’t put forth an effort. You have to do the work to gain the rewards.”

  That her words would come back to haunt him after all this time was something he couldn’t believe. His mother died almost twenty years ago. His five other brothers had worked the farm day in and day out and when their mother died, they had found a small treasure hidden in her things. With that and the sale of the farm the five brothers started over and they all made something of their lives while he struggled day in and day out.

  Desperate times called for desperate actions. Danton had one last play and it would be his last. If he was going to die, then so would Nikoli. He would take his enemy to hell with him even if he had to do it kicking and screaming.

  Shifting in his seat, he slipped his hand into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the knife he had hidden there. The knife was something he never went anywhere without. While the Bratva soldiers might not kill with an audience around them, he had no such lofty ideas. In fact, he would be safer in police custody. At least with them he could claim he was mentally ill. Hell, he might even get away with it. They would put him in a metal cage 8 by 8, give him three hot meals a day and he would live another twenty years while waiting for his death sentence to be upheld.

  With Sergi, all he could hope for was an easy and painless death. Even though he knew that would never happen, he could always hope for it. Without another thought, Danton flicked open the knife and leaned toward Nikoli. Plunging the blade into the other’s man side he smiled as the look of intense pain wracked Nikoli’s face.

  Nikoli fell forward just as something hard slammed into Danton’s head.

  Chapter Four

  The commotion of people screaming and running away from the café was oud.

  Misha carefully lowered Nikoli’s body to the floor as Sergi motioned for two of his own men to drag Danton away.

  One of the people standing on the sidelines of the crowd stepped forward and announced that she was a doctor. She said she would attempt to assist. She cleaned the wound and once they had done that, they found the wound was superficial. The cut itself was deep and would require stitches.

  Sergi assured her he would take care of it. He had his own doctors on call.

  The doctor nodded then moved away.

  More men came in and helped Nikoli to his feet. They moved in mass to the cars parked on the street.

  Ramon was allowed to go free but one of the men standing behind him swung the small girl from his arms and carried her off to one the waiting cars.

  Twenty minutes later, the cars pulled up outside the building where Nikoli lived. Men lined the sidewalks and between Misha and Kosta, they carried him inside the doors.

  Nikoli passed out from blood loss halfway to his home. Five minutes later, the elevator doors closed and Nikoli was whisked upstairs.

  When the door was opened Misha and Kosta carried him into his bedroom. Sergi was calling the doctor in and everyone stood watching as Kosta began to get Nikoli’s bloody shirt off to better see the wound.

  When the doctor arrived, he examined Nikoli quickly and determined that the doctor at the café had been correct. The wound he received was deep but the blade used had not hit any major organs or blood vessels. He sewed up the wound and gave him a shot for the pain.

  Nikoli had woken up when the doctor began sewing his skin together and he was determined to stay awake and meet his daughter.

  Then after some bandaging of the wound and checking his vitals again, the doctor packed up his items and left the room.

  Bella waited in the doorway of Nikoli’s room. She felt stunned when he’d come home wounded. This had never occurred to her when he had an entire army around him. How had he gotten hurt? This might be bad news but the worst could be yet to come. To her, this didn’t look good at all. She felt pure panic inside. No one was talking about what happened and she had no idea if her daughter was dead or alive. She wanted to scream and shout but she didn’t.

  Malina called out to her mother and Bella turned and saw her child. “Baby!” Bella shouted in relief as she rushed for her child. Wrapping her arms around her daughter she hugged her close. “Oh sweetie, you’re back.”

  “Mama!” Malina squealed. “You’re squeezing me too tight.”

  Bella giggled and loosened her hold. Forehead to forehead with Malina she whispered, “I’m never letting you go again, baby girl.”

  “Mama?” Malina asked. “Is that man they carried in earlier really my daddy?”

  Bella felt her heart stop briefly. Now, it was time to tell her the truth. “Yes baby Nikoli is your father.”

  “Where has he been all my life?”

  “Oh sweetie...” Bella took a
deep breath. “He never knew about you. He never knew you were born or where we lived.”

  “But why?” Malina asked with tears in her eyes. “Didn’t he love us?”

  Bella carried her daughter over to the sofa in the living area. Sitting down with Malina on her lap she looked at her child. “Sweet girl, you know I love you very much right?”

  Malina nodded.

  “Well, I love your daddy just as much. I’ve loved him for a very long time, but you see he never loved me. You, he will love forever. You are his child.”

  “But mama, if you never told him about me, maybe he could have loved you too.” Malina reasoned in her child mind.

  Bella shook her head. “It’s too late for that now, but I hope he will want to know and love you. You deserve so much more than I am able to give you.”

  “Is my daddy a good man? Will he love me or hate me?”

  Bella hugged her daughter to her. Malina’s questions broke her heart. Bella knew and understood what kind of man Nikoli was but in the eyes of her child, she couldn’t lie. “Honey your daddy is a good man. The best man I know and while I love him and you, he would never love me. And that’s ok, do you know why?”

  Malina shook her head.

  “We all hold a secret place in our hearts.” She wrapped her arms around her daughter. “He filled that place in my heart but I never filled that place in his heart. Your father has honor and with that honor, he’s bound to tell the truth. He told me once that he’s only ever loved one woman in his life. That was his Bethany.”

  “Are you okay with that?” Malina asked.

  Bella smiled. “I’m okay with that. Love is never wasted. My love for him allowed me to have you. Someday, another man might come along and take his place but until that day comes, I’ll be very happy with the way things are. I can share you now with him. I want you to let him in, let him see the amazing girl you are. I want him to imagine what a wonderful woman you will become.”

  “What kind of man was that Danton? He wasn’t a good man,” Malina commented. “He scared me.”