The Exit Strategy Bundle

by Jocelynn Drake

  Gabriel brushed by him. “We’ll see. How’s that leg?”

  “Just fine. Never been better. You wanna see?”

  Definitely. He could play this game. The promise of Justin pressing against him, fighting to touch him, caress him. All of it in play, of course, but carrying with it the little bite of pain along the edge of pleasure.

  He wanted to roll his eyes at himself. Just thinking of Justin licking him, touching him, fucking him, had his dick growing hard. He would not adjust himself. Justin would not miss the motion, and the man would not let him live it down.

  At the top of the hill, Justin stopped and lifted the scope to his eye, scanning across the nearest street with fewer than a dozen homes. Gabriel raised his hand above his eyes, shielding them from the waning sunlight. The first street didn’t have much to point him in the direction of his sister. The cars sitting in the driveways were all small. The windows of the homes that were actively occupied were open, welcoming the sea breeze and any possible intruders. Nadia had to be expecting him. Her security would be tight.

  “That might be something,” Justin said. The light tone of joking and teasing was gone from his voice. He lowered the scope and walked farther down the ridge. Gabriel followed close behind him, accepting the scope when he handed it back.

  “Which one?”

  His gaze followed where Justin pointed briefly, his heart picking up pace when he spotted the large black SUV with darkly tinted windows sitting in the driveway without even using the scope. He squinted through the eyepiece, taking a closer look at the SUV. The model was common among the rich and important dignitaries. It had a solid steel frame and could easily be reinforced. The windows were likely bulletproof.

  He moved the scope over to the house, quickly scanning over the two-story building. The windows were all closed, and the shades were drawn so that no one could see inside. The front door opened, and a large man stepped outside. He wore a blazer and white button-down shirt. He glanced left then right, scanning the immediate area before moving out of the doorway. A second later he was followed by a tall slender woman with dark hair pulled up in a bun. He might not have seen her in fifteen years, but he would recognize his sister anywhere.

  “That’s it,” he growled, handing the scope back to Justin.

  Justin looked through the piece again. “Looks like she’s got two personal bodyguards with her. The car looks to be top of the line. We should probably assume that the house has a similar top of the line security system. We could follow her and—son of a bitch! She’s got a kid!” Justin ripped the scope from his eye and glared at Gabriel. “Did you know she had a kid?”

  Gabriel worked hard to keep his face blank, but he felt that Justin could still read his guilt. He’d heard whispers that his sister had a son within the first year of her marriage, but he’d never heard another word about the kid. Gabriel hadn’t been sure if the kid was still alive, but if he was, he’d be about ten or eleven years old.

  Reaching out, he grabbed the scope from Justin and looked through it. A boy with shaggy dark hair stood next to Nadia, talking excitedly to her, his hands flying all over the place. He was a tall, skinny thing, looking as if he were all arms and legs. His nephew.

  A nephew he was going to make an orphan.

  He thought he was going to be sick, but then he moved the scope back to Nadia and his resolve solidified. If she lived, she was going to turn that kid into a killer like herself and Gabriel and their father. Just like the rest of their horrible family. Maybe if he got rid of Nadia now, the kid would be able to escape their fate.

  He was surprised to see Nadia lean forward and press a kiss to his cheek before she stepped toward the front door. The kid waved and ran to the car, getting into the back seat. Both of the bodyguards walked to the car.

  “We move now!” he announced, jogging for the car. “The kid is leaving with both of the bodyguards. She might be alone. Or just have one other guard with her. We need to go now.”

  “Wait a minute!” Justin shouted after him, but Gabriel didn’t slow. Not until a strong hand closed over his arm and jerked him to a stop. Justin got right up in his face, bumping his chest against Gabriel’s. “What the fuck is your plan? I thought we were going to watch her for a while. Maybe find a way to talk to her. She’s got a fucking kid! You just want to kill her, a mother, without being one hundred percent sure this is the right thing to do?”

  “And what if it is? Are you going to have a problem with it?” Gabriel yelled. “That woman isn’t going to have a problem ordering a hit on you again and again if it’s a means of hurting me. I don’t give a shit if she’s got twenty kids. Not if it means keeping you safe.”

  Justin swore softly, taking a step backward. He looked torn and Gabriel’s heart broke for his lover. The man truly was good, right down to his core. He had lines that he wouldn’t cross. Gabriel respected the hell out of him. Loved him for it. But it didn’t change a damn thing in his mind. Allowing Nadia to live meant putting Justin’s life in danger. Even if Justin told him to fuck off and walked away forever right at that moment, the target was already painted on his back and Gabriel couldn’t live with that.

  “We just go talk to her,” Justin said evenly.

  “We talk to her now and we may never get another shot like this,” Gabriel warned. “She could run to Russia and hide in whatever fortress she’s built. Order an army to hunt us down.”

  “I can live with that. If she’s the woman you’ve told me about, then I’ll happily pull the trigger and end it. Kid or not.” Justin’s voice wavered on the end and Gabriel’s heart broke a little more. He didn’t want this for Justin. He wanted the life they talked about, away from the bullets and death.

  But Justin was still with him, trying to save his soul. Not walking away because it was getting fucking messy.

  “We talk to her,” Gabriel softly agreed. But he didn’t think that would be easy either.

  Gabriel started to pull free of Justin’s hold and resume the climb down the hill, but Justin pulled him close, wrapping him up in a tight hug.

  “I’m sorry,” Justin whispered. “We have enough regrets in our lives. I don’t want us to add more to them.”

  Gabriel held the man that had come to mean the entire world to him, burying his face in his neck. His heart pounded hard in his chest, but this time it was with hope instead of fear. He wouldn’t lose Justin and Justin wasn’t going to let him lose himself.

  As they pulled apart, Justin brushed a soft kiss across his lips and Gabriel smiled.

  “I’ve got to quit giving you reasons to save me,” he murmured.

  Justin grinned, but there was still a lingering sadness to his eyes. “I don’t mind saving you. I’ll do it every day for the rest of our lives if you’d like.”

  “Only if I can do the same for you.”

  His grin morphed into a smirk. “Just so you know…I’m kind of counting on it.”

  They carefully descended the hill, watching from behind some scrub brush as the black SUV passed them by. Justin jumped behind the wheel and they rushed down the street to the house they’d spotted Nadia at. Since they were just going to talk, they decided on the direct approach. Justin knocked while Gabriel remained hidden around the corner, just out of sight.

  It was all supposed to be so simple.

  But it went to hell so damn fast.

  Chapter 12

  Justin took a couple of deep breaths after he knocked on the door, trying to get his pulse to slow down while he forced an easy smile onto his lips. Everything felt like it was balanced on the edge of a knife. He was praying that Gabriel was wrong about Nadia. She had a kid. But he’d met more than his fair share of women who had kids but wouldn’t hesitate to sell them or betray them to get what they wanted. Motherhood didn’t save anyone from being evil at heart.

  His main concern was for Gabriel and the poor kid.

  There was the soft snap of shoes moving across tile a couple of seconds before the door swung partially ope
n. She looked at him with the same dark eyes that Justin had fallen in love with months ago. Standing closer, he could now see that she had the same angular face, but her lips were a cute bow where Gabriel’s mouth was too often an angry slash.

  “Can I help you?” she asked in Russian.

  Justin flashed her his most easygoing smile, but she didn’t seem to relax in the slightest. “I’m looking for Nadia Krestyanov.”

  “Who are you? What do you want?”

  Before he could reply, her eyes grew wide in her face and she softly gasped, taking a step backward. He looked over his shoulder to see that Gabriel had stepped from his hiding place. He didn’t look warm and welcoming in the least. The man looked like the fucking Grim Reaper. Oh yeah, talking totally looked like what they were there for.

  “Viktor!” she cried and then ran into the house.

  “Fuck,” Justin sighed and chased after her with Gabriel directly on his heels, the door slamming shut behind him.

  Justin turned the corner as they moved into what looked to be the main living room with pale beige furniture and brightly colored pillows. Justin barely had a chance to catch a glimpse of his surroundings before a heavy piece of pottery crashed down on his head. The world went black for a second before he hit the ground, his ears ringing and head throbbing. He was vaguely aware of a vicious snarl from Gabriel.

  Something thudded loudly against the wall and there were more shouts in Russian. Justin blinked, reaching for the gun tucked into the holster at his back, while pushing to his feet. When his vision cleared, he found Gabriel holding Nadia pinned to the wall. A long, wicked blade was clutched in one of her hands and it appeared that she was trying to cut Gabriel’s throat. Talking was definitely a bust so far.

  Holding his head with his free hand, Justin lifted his gun and was about to tell Nadia to drop the knife when the front door was thrown open and the young boy ran in. He came to a sharp stop at the end of the hallway, eyes wide with terror as he took in the scene. Fuck. This whole thing had shifted from bad to worse in a heartbeat.

  Worried about the bodyguards that were likely on the kid’s heels, Justin grabbed the kid by the arm and pulled him over so that he was standing in front of him, but he kept the gun pointed at Nadia.

  “No! Please! Don’t hurt him!” Nadia begged, immediately stopping her struggles with Gabriel. She turned her eyes to her brother, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. “Please, not in front of Alexei. He’s innocent. Not in front of him.”

  “We came to talk,” Gabriel snapped. Of course, his tone didn’t make it sound like he was all that interested in talking. “You attacked us first.”

  “I thought—”

  “I know what you thought. And you’re not necessarily wrong,” Gabriel interrupted. He glared at his sister for another second before taking a step backward, moving out of arm’s reach.

  Nadia dropped the knife and waved for the boy to come to her side. Justin released him and he dashed across the room, wrapping his arms around her slender waist before quietly crying against her chest. She murmured softly in his ear, and Justin could barely make out the tender reassurances to him.

  “You just want to talk?” Nadia asked, looking at Gabriel with narrowed eyes.

  “Talk.”

  She nodded, still holding her son. “That is fair.” She looked like she was about to continue when one of the bodyguards came in the front door. Justin moved his gun to point at the man while Gabriel’s appeared in his hand with a speed that was frightening.

  “Stop!” Nadia shouted with the kind of authority that Justin had come to expect from the woman. The guard blinked, clearly stunned. “Return to the car until I call for you. Not a word about what you’ve seen to anyone.” The guard nodded and retreated, looking as if he was glad to be escaping with his life.

  She then turned her attention to the boy. Gently cupping his face, she tilted it up so that he was forced to look at her. “What are you doing back? I thought you were getting ice cream.”

  “I…I forgot my phone,” he said in a choked voice. He cautiously turned his face a little to look over at Gabriel and then Justin. There was a smear of lipstick across one corner of his mouth from where he’d caught it with the heel of his palm when he wiped his eyes. It also looked like there was some mascara smeared around his eyes.

  Justin smiled, some small part of his conscience grateful beyond words that he’d managed to get Gabriel to take the time to talk to his sister. He had a feeling that Grunt was very right, that Nadia had changed, and they were all looking at the reason.

  “Do you still want to go get ice cream?”

  “No, thank you,” he said in a soft voice. “I’m not in the mood.” There was a low undercurrent of strength in those words. It was becoming clear that he meant to stay attached to his mother to protect her.

  Sighing softly, Nadia hugged him and looked up at Gabriel. She seemed to weigh him for a moment, while Gabriel stood stiff and distant. There was nothing welcoming in his demeanor, and Justin wanted to smack him. But he knew they had a long, painful history that couldn’t be put aside because of Nadia’s son.

  “Alexei, this is your uncle, Viktor,” she introduced.

  Alexei looked over at Gabriel, his brow furrowed. “Grandfather said you were dead.”

  “He wishes that I was dead,” Gabriel growled.

  “Then you are the reason Great-Uncle Sacha is dead.” Alexei released his mother and lunged at Gabriel, ignoring the gun in his hand to wrap his arms tightly around Gabriel’s waist. Over and over again, he whispered “Thank you” while pressing his face against Gabriel’s chest. Gabriel held his hands up and threw a panicked look over at Justin. He could only shrug.

  “Uncle Sacha was cruel to Alexei. He didn’t accept him and made his life hell. You’ve done us both a favor,” Nadia explained in a cold but even voice. She then softened her tone, beckoning the sobbing boy to her. She whispered sweet words to him, calming him while Gabriel moved over to Justin.

  The former assassin looked uneasy and lost. Justin wanted to wrap his own arms around Gabriel, pull him in tight while he tried to come to terms with the pieces that were starting to fall into place. But he understood what Gabriel was going through. The man had come to Nadia to finally put to rest an old pain, to close a chapter in his life so that he could move forward, but things had changed so drastically. This woman was no longer the person he once knew, and Justin worried whether Gabriel would be able to find it within himself to forgive her for their past.

  “Alexei,” Gabriel said, his voice rough and harsh. The boy looked up and Gabriel cleared his throat before motioning to Justin. “This is my boyfriend, Justin.”

  The smile that spread across Alexei’s face was a beautiful thing to behold. He stared up at his uncle like he was a conquering king offering him hope for a new future. Nadia’s smile was nearly identical to her son’s.

  “Why don’t you go upstairs and clean up?” she suggested. “I wish to speak to your uncle.”

  Slowly, Alexei released his mother and walked toward the stairs, looking at Gabriel and Justin several times as if he expected them to disappear. When the sound of his quick footsteps faded on the second floor, Nadia nodded toward the kitchen. “Coffee?”

  “That would be great,” Justin said when Gabriel remained silent.

  They followed her into the open kitchen decorated in bright blue-and-white tiles. She quickly filled the carafe and replaced the grounds and filter. It was only when she turned back, her arms folded over her chest that anyone spoke.

  “Thank you for that,” she said softly.

  “I did that for him. Not you,” Gabriel snapped.

  “I know. I am grateful all the same. Life has been very difficult for him. He feels like he’s an outsider. The only way he feels even a tiny bit normal and accepted is through what he can find online. You’re the first person he’s ever met who’s like him.”

  “You mean gay,” Gabriel said.

  Justin reached over
and placed a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, massaging the tense muscles there.

  “I understand now.” Nadia lifted her eyes and stared directly at Gabriel, facing his burning rage. “When we were young, when I heard whispers about you, I thought it was a choice. I thought you were doing it as an act of rebellion, to embarrass our father and our family. But I was wrong. And I am sorry. I didn’t know, and I’m sorry for how I treated you. Since Alexei has come into my life, everything has changed.”

  “We heard that you’ve put distance between yourself and your father,” Justin said.

  “I had to in hopes of protecting Alexei. He wouldn’t understand. Wouldn’t even try.” She threaded a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. There was a new weariness to her that Justin hadn’t noticed before. As if finally talking about the fight she’d been through to protect her son was allowing her to lower her guard at last. “Alexei has always been a smaller child with a soft voice. Sweet and so softhearted. I knew from an early age that he wasn’t made for the kind of life that our father trained us for. He liked dolls and dressing up. He’d rather spend hours playing in my jewelry box and making up stories about going to fancy parties than learning how to clean and reassemble a rifle. When he was eight, he told me he was gay.”

  “And did you tell him that you were going to kill him like you told me?” Gabriel snarled.

  “No. I did the next most horrible thing I could think of. I told him he had to keep it a secret. I told him that he had to hide who he was. I told my beautiful, perfect child that he had to pretend to be something he wasn’t so that the people around him, his own family, wouldn’t try to hurt him and kill him.” Tears streamed down her face and her hands shook. “I gave him lessons on how to stand and talk. I told him he had to keep his voice as deep as possible and avoid certain phrases. I told him to be bland and boring. And he hated it. He would come home from school and cry into his pillow. Tell me how much he hated himself and ask why he couldn’t be like all the other kids.”