Shadows Of The Past

by KJ Dahlen

  Bella shook her head. “No, he wasn’t a good man, but I don’t think you have to worry about him anymore. He won’t ever bother us again.”

  Malina laid on her mother’s chest. “I was so scared,” she whispered. “I didn’t know if I would ever see you again.”

  Bella tightened her arms around her child. “I know baby, I was scared too.” She kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “I’m so glad to have you back.”

  “What’s going to happen now?” Malina asked.

  “I don’t know,” Bella admitted. “But whatever it is, we will face it together. It’s always been you and me against the world but now, it’s you, me and your daddy. You have to give him a chance ok?”

  Malina nodded. “Ok, as long as he treats you decent, I’ll give him a chance. But if he is ever mean to you, I won’t even give him a smile.”

  Bella closed her eyes and laughed a little at this. “Oh baby, I do love you so much.”

  Then someone sat down next to them. Bella knew without a doubt it was Nikoli. She wanted to scream and shout at the man to leave her alone, but she knew she couldn’t do that. Her feelings weren’t the point now. Well, they had never been. This little girl was the one who would benefit from having a father finally. She now had to share her daughter with this man and to do that she had to acknowledge his position.

  She opened her eyes and noted Nikoli’s gaze was centered on the little girl on her lap. She could have been a bitch about it but that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to make this as easy for both of them as she could. It hadn’t been easy at times, raising a child alone, but she had done it. It would rob Malina if she did not give them this chance. She wasn’t a bitter person not even after the way he treated her the morning after their night together. Truth be told, he hadn’t promised her anything beforehand and she’d had no right to expect it. That she had fallen for him so completely hadn’t been his doing after all.

  “Baby girl,” she called out softly. When Malina raised her head to her mother, Bella nodded at Nikoli. “This is Nikoli, your daddy. He’s waited a long time to meet you.”

  Malina peeked over at her father. He waited for her to say something and when he smiled, she knew it would be ok. “Hi.”

  “Hello.” Nikoli kept smiling.

  “Are you okay?” Malina asked. “I saw that nasty man hurt you.”

  Nikoli shook his head. “I’ll be fine. Are you okay?”

  Malina nodded. “He didn’t hurt me.”

  “Ok that’s good. I’m told you’re my child.”

  Malina nodded. “I know.”

  “How do you feel about that?”

  “I don’t know you. My mom always told me you were out there and hopefully one day, I would know you but she would never tell me who you were.”

  Nikoli closed his eyes. “I know. She didn’t tell me about you until last night.”

  “She was scared of the nasty man,” Malina whispered. “He said he would hurt me if you didn’t come. But you did come.”

  “Yes, I did. But your mother protected us both by telling me what was going on.” He sat back and looked at his child. “She didn’t have to do that. She could have done what Danton wanted and allowed him to hurt me.” He looked over at Bella.

  Bella looked away her cheeks pink.

  Malina smiled. “If you think that of my mother then you don’t know her very well. If she loved you she would never hurt you or allow you to be hurt.” Malina glanced at her mother then back to Nikoli. “She told me you filled a part of her heart and that’s good enough for me.”

  Nikoli stared at the little girl for a moment then he looked at Bella again. He read the truth in her eyes. And the truth should have set him free. It did not. The little girl was breathtaking to say the least. He looked into eyes that were so much like his own. A precious innocence lie in that gaze, yet she seemed so much wiser than even he was. It was true, he hadn’t taken anytime to get to know Bella. At that time, he wasn’t ready to be with anyone long term. He had mourned his loss of his wife and the world he was in was somewhat brutal at that time. He now realized he’d been a selfish bustard. No honor in what he’d done to Bella. It weighed heavy on him now.

  Bella gave him this gift. She’d selflessly raised the little girl on her own, with no asking assistance or confirmation from him. Amazing.

  Then he heard Sergi clear his throat. When Nikoli looked over, he saw Sergi motion him over. Nikoli got up and walked over to the other man.

  Sergi watched the two girls on the sofa and then he looked over at Nikoli. “As much as I know you want to stay here, I think you deserve the chance to face Danton. We must deal with this now before we forget our objective. I want to close this chapter in my life.” He looked over at Bella and Malina. “Then it seems you have a new chapter in your life to begin.”

  Nikoli nodded. “Let’s get this done then. I want to get back and get to know the new women in my life.”

  Chapter Five

  As the men entered the warehouse in the old harbor, they noted the man tied to the chair in the middle of the room.

  Danton was covered in bruises and blood. His right eye was swollen shut and he had blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth.

  He looked at the line of men in front of him. Nikoli, Sergi Misha, Kosta and Felix. “Oh it’s the Bratva golden boy.”

  Nikoli shook his head.

  Danton snorted and winced as his broken ribs made breathing difficult. “Did you come to see how low I’ve fallen?”

  “No, I’m here to close a painful chapter in my life,” Nikoli assured him.

  Danton looked over at Sergi and Misha then he looked back to Nikoli. “Do they know who you really are?”

  Nikoli stared at him. “Da, they know exactly who I am. I never had to hide anything from them.”

  Danton turned to view Sergi and Misha. “So you know Nikoli and I are first cousins.”

  “Da.” Sergi nodded. “We’ve always known. Nikoli never hid that from any of us. In fact, that made him work even harder to become the man he is today.”

  “Before she passed away your mother called me,” Misha admitted. “She asked me if I could ever forgive you for something you tried to do a lifetime ago. She told me you were the only one of her children who looked for the easy way out of working hard for an honest living. That even if she didn’t live to see it, she knew you would die alone and with nothing. You see she told me about a dream she had. Out of her five sons, you would be the only one to bring shame and discord to the name your father gave you.”

  Danton scoffed. “Even my own mother gave up on me. Well, that just figures.”

  Nikoli shook his head. “The only one who ever gave up on you was you. You never gave hard work and honor a chance. You thought you’d skip over the hard work part and just take the easy way. Well now, you know that was the wrong way to go. My life hasn’t been easy and glamourous all the time. In fact, right now it sucks. But this is something I need to do. I need to see this through.”

  Danton nodded. “I know you do.” He looked over at Sergi and Misha. “I know you have a grudge with me and I can understand why you think that. But over the years, I did learn something. I think I worked harder trying to earn my own way than I would have if I had done the right thing to begin with.” He nodded at Nikoli. “He got the life I wanted. He was the golden boy I thought I wanted to be, but I was so wrong. My mother was right. I will die alone and with nothing. My life was over the moment I tried to kill Misha. I never knew who he was and that night it didn’t really matter, not to me. He was just a means to an end. I would have lied and cheated and that didn’t matter either. Not then and not now.” Danton swallowed hard. “I know I don’t deserve it but I’m asking for mercy. Make my death quick. I’m so done with this thing called life.”

  Without a word, Misha stepped forward and with a knife in his hand, he sliced through Danton’s throat. Blood sprayed them both as Danton’s eyes rolled back in his head and he breathed his last
breath.

  Misha dropped the blade and it hit the floor with a clatter. Then he stepped back and his father handed him a towel.

  “Why?” Sergi asked.

  “Because vengeance needed to be done,” Misha explained. “It’s been a long time coming and now its over. We can move forward with our lives and forget this man ever existed. This did not have to be us torturing a man who was already tortured and done with his life.”

  Nikoli gazed at his cousin. “I don’t know about the two of you but I’ve got another chapter in my life I’d like to begin.”

  Sergi nodded. “As do I.”

  Misha threw the bloody towel down on the floor. “I think as long as we’re here we should make a trip to New Orleans. I’d really like to see my daughter and grandchildren before we go back.”

  Sergi smiled. “I think we can do that. After a good night’s sleep, we’ll fly down there tomorrow.”

  Half an hour later, the three men stood in front of the door to Nikoli’s penthouse. Nikoli felt nervous about going inside for some reason. He couldn’t move forward. Bella had shown him that not all women thought of themselves only, as had been his experience in the past. If he’d gotten any woman pregnant, they would have been at his door immediately, expecting to be married or at least wanting money. Yet, Bella had done neither. How peculiar and with the way he’d treated her like she was a woman of the night back then. She had every right to be bitter, yet she wasn’t. He winced a little. It hadn’t been his best moment.

  Pausing beside him, Sergi told him, “Beyond that door is your future. We buried the worst part of your past, the future is yours to mold into something beautiful. But to do that my friend, you have to have the courage to open that door.”

  Nikoli took a deep breath, when he exhaled his hand reached for the doorknob. Turning it, he pushed open the door and stepped inside to greet his future.

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  K.J. Dahlen

  Bratva Blood Brothers Series

  About K.J Dahlen

  Author of the bestselling, award winning Bratva Brothers and Satan Spawns MC Series...

  I live in a small town (population495) in Wisconsin. From my deck, I can see the Mississippi River on one side and the bluffs, where eagles live and nest on the other side. I live with my husband Dave and dog Buddy. My two children are grown and I have two grandchildren. I love to watch people and that has helped me with my writing. I often use people I watch as characters in my books and I always try to give my characters some of my own values and habits.

  I love to create characters and put them in a troubling situation then sit back and let them do all the work. My characters surprise even me at times. At some point in the book, they take on a life of their own and the twists and turns they create becomes the story. Of all the stories, I could write I found I like mystery/thrillers the best. I like to keep my readers guessing until the very end of the book.

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