by S F Draven
I’d fallen asleep afterward, and when I finally woke, Aleksandr wasn’t laying next to me. I supposed it was something I had to get used to, because while he was trying his best to make sure that I was safe, he still had business to attend to. I rose from the dusty sheets, getting dressed in the clothes I was wearing earlier, and I headed outside into the living room. Aleksandr was sitting there with a cup of coffee in his hands, looking over some files. He smiled at me when I came out, wondering how I’d slept, and it was then that I realized the sun had gone down completely.
“How long was I out for?”
“A few hours at best. I left you to sleep because I know you’ve had a hard time as of late and you need the rest,” he said, motioning for me to join him.
“What’s going to happen now, Aleksandr?”
“Now, we’re going to focus on keeping you safe, Irina. I know it must be frustrating to be cooped up in here with no end in sight, but there’s nothing else I can do until we get to the bottom of how dangerous Edik really is. I can’t allow him to get a hint of where we are, and even if he does, I need to be ready for a fight. There are going to be a lot of days where I’ll have to make a trip back into the city to deal with things on my end, and you’re going to have to stay here. If I bring you along, I’m just putting you in harm’s way and that’s the last thing I want,” he said, and I could tell that all of this was truly hard for him.
“I will wait, Aleksandr. My concern is not that I have to stay here for an extended period of time, I’m just worried that there will be a night where I’m waiting up for you, and you don’t come home,” I said, somberly, as I stared at the wooden floor beneath my feet.
“Hey, look at me,” he said, caressing my cheek. I stared into those beautiful eyes of his, waiting for him to tell me that everything was going to be okay. I needed to hear it from him directly, otherwise I was going to have a hard time believing it myself.
“I’m always going to come back to you, Irina. I have everything set in place so that you can contact me at any time, and if for some reason something happens, I have protocols in place to make sure that you remain safe. I won’t allow anyone or anything to keep me from you. I know we’ve only known each other a short amount of time, but it already feels like forever. I’m not going to lose that, and I’m not going to lose you,” he said, kissing me softly. It was a different kind of kiss, one that indicated that his feelings for me had been genuine all along. There was no defining what we had together, because I could tell that it shocked both of us to know that we’d succumbed to such a feeling. After all my time spent in captivity with Edik, I truly believed that I was never going to love again, and Aleksandr changed all of that.
He gave me a second chance at life, a second chance at love, and that was something that I’d always be grateful for. I was indebted to him for everything he’d done to protect me, and the more time I spent with him, the more I began to realize that I was falling in love with him. His captivating presence, the way he commanded a room, and how willing he was to put his life on the line for me were all the reasons that made me love him even more. I knew that he felt the same way about me, but the time for that conversation would come at a later date. Right now, we had much bigger problems at hand, and when I was left alone with my thoughts, all I could think about was how angry Edik must’ve been to learn that I escaped. I hated having Aleksandr in the middle of all of that, but if it wasn’t for him I never would’ve made it out in the first place.
If he hadn’t taken Edik’s contract and showed up when he did, however late, my fate would’ve been sealed because Edik would’ve found me after having killed the man that owed him money. There was no telling if I would’ve ever been able to escape on my own, judging from how powerful Edik and his army truly were. I would have found the will in me to try, but that didn’t mean that I was going to succeed. Aleksandr made everything possible again, he was the sole reason I was able to revisit my old dreams for one day, of stumbling upon happiness. There was a part of me that thought I already found that happiness with Aleksandr, and I promised myself that I would do whatever it took to protect it at all costs.
Chapter Seven: Aleksandr
I’m starting to feel quite differently about Irina, in a way that I never expected. I knew she and I had a connection, but I never thought I could even fathom falling in love. I suppose it’s too early to tell her, and to be honest, I have absolutely no idea how to even go about that. I have little to no experience in that department because no one has ever made me feel the way she does. I worry that things are only going to become more complicated, and the longer I wait to deal with Edik, the more danger she’s going to be in. We really won’t have the chance to explore our feelings for each other until this is all over, and I cannot wait for that day.
I still didn’t know how I felt. I’d grown up my entire life believing that men like me weren’t capable of love, that it was a construct that was meant for those who had honest jobs and ordinary lives. I knew that I was conflicted, that my feelings for Irina had taken on a life of their own, leaving me in the dark about the woman I was supposedly falling in love with. She was captivating, absolutely beautiful, but I worried that by getting closer to her, I would be softening up far too much. In all my efforts to build a business that stood tall, a force to be reckoned with, I had to keep up appearances. I had to show the world that I was capable of anything, that I hardened up just enough to make any of my enemies run and hide. However, I couldn’t deny that Irina deserved to be loved, and that the spark between us was conspicuous. I saw it every time I looked in her direction, every time she shot me that gorgeous grin of hers. It said that she’d been through enough, that it was time for her to focus on her new beginnings, but I didn’t know if I was truly ready to be that for her.
Can I really be the lover she needs when I spend my days hunting down criminals, dealing drugs, and getting paid in blood money? I thought to myself, remembering that Irina had already been introduced to this life a long time ago, and the decision to stay with me was entirely hers. My sole purpose at that moment was to protect her, to give her everything I could until I figured out where I truly stood.
It was just after six o’clock the next morning when I poured myself a cup of coffee, going through the mess of files I’d laid out on the coffee table while Irina was asleep. I didn’t want to worry her about my upcoming plans to deal with Edik, because I knew if she were to learn about what was going on, she would just try to help. While I appreciated everything she’d be able to offer me, the last thing I wanted to do was put her in harm’s way unless it was absolutely necessary. I needed to protect her at all costs, keep our location secure so that no one learned of where we’d taken off to, because if that were to happen, it would be near impossible to keep her safe. I knew she may have felt like she understood the magnitude of what was happening here, saying that she’d been with Edik long enough to understand that he was a vile, vicious human being, but I knew that there was more to the story. Even Irina wouldn’t understand the lengths that a man like Edik would go to in order to prove a point. I remembered when we were younger, how much fun we’d have completing small contracts together, barely getting our feet in the door, but Edik would always want to take things too far.
He had a knack for torturing anyone that got in his way, and from what I saw from the few runs we had together, he quite enjoyed himself. Judging from what Irina told me, it seemed that he was only keeping her around so he could use her, just to toss her aside when he deemed her to be useless. That was not the kind of life any woman should live, and it was one I promised myself I’d protect her from. I couldn’t even imagine the distress she must’ve been under, rattling around that big empty house wondering where the time went. I knew she probably must have asked herself countless times why she even got involved with a man like Edik in the first place, but even I knew the answer to that.
Women were always fascinated by this kind of lifestyle, always longing to go on these cr
azy adventures, not really taking in how dangerous all of it truly was. I could imagine that Edik charmed her quite well when he began pursuing her, and how he could let a woman like Irina go was absolutely beyond me. I could barely put into words how angry it made me every time I thought about the way Edik treated her. From every conversation we had together, I knew that there was a lot of pain underneath that strong façade she tried to play up. It was admirable how much she was able to hold herself together, to get through the worst of those times, and keep looking forward. I’m so glad that I got the chance to rescue her from that life. I have no idea how long she would’ve lasted under Edik’s reign, and if he were to have killed her, I don’t know what I would’ve done. At the time, we barely knew each other, but I could see it from the look in her eyes that night when she stood up there with him that she was wildly unhappy. I had to do something, and so I took a chance. Now, I can’t imagine my life without her.
In such a short amount of time, Irina had completely changed the way I thought. She gave me a purpose while I was trying to rebuild myself from the ground up, having fallen short of my brothers’ successes. Part of the reason I broke out on my own in the first place was so that I could show them that I was capable of more than they were throwing my way. I wouldn’t have been able to avoid them forever, and when I did eventually come face to face with them again, I wanted to have something to show for myself.
I could imagine that they would’ve heard through the grapevine that I was supposed to be doing business with Edik, because that was how fast word traveled in the Bratva community. Though, now that I’d had the chance to rethink things, and taking Irina into consideration, that would’ve been the worst mistake of my life. Men like Edik didn’t understand the concept of sharing the spotlight; he was just looking for another errand boy to do his bidding for him. That was not the life I signed up for, nor could my ego ever take something like that. He may have had all the power in the world right now, but if there was one thing I’d learned coming from one of the most commanding families in the entire country; it was that power could always be taken away.
I planned to take all that Edik had once I disposed of his body, so that I could give Irina the life she truly deserved, and I could start building my empire with her by my side. If there was ever a time to take action on those plans, it was right now, because the longer I waited, the more time Edik had to prepare. I had to get my men in order, I had to line up my troops, scope out the right people for the job, before I could even imagine taking him down. My only worry was leaving Irina alone, out in the woods, hopefully away from the chaos. I had to implement extra measures to make sure that I had a way to reach her at all times, and I was beginning to think it was time to teach her how to protect herself if she ever had to take on more than one enemy at a time.
I left a note for Irina to let her know that I was going to be out late, hoping to be back just before midnight, but there was no telling how long this was going to take. I gathered my things, making sure my gun was loaded in its holster, along with my other weapons before I got into the driver’s seat of my car. I took off back into the city, winding down the front windows to get a little fresh air on the long drive. The idea of putting so much distance between Irina and I scared me, but I had to do what was best for the both of us. I needed to get in touch with a few people who might be willing to help me out once they learned what was in it for them. It was finally time to start building my army, and there was certainly a part of me that was excited about it.
I’d been skirting around the idea for such a long time, I truly thought that maybe it wasn’t going to happen, and that was one of the reasons I almost joined forces with Edik. I knew that he had his quirks, but I couldn’t have even imagined that he would’ve been that nasty of an individual. He was cold, cunning, and cared about no one else but himself. It was no surprise to me, after learning so much about how he’d changed over the years, that he was a master of coercing people to follow his direct orders. It was a good skillset to have, and I planned on using it to my advantage once I started taking out his men one by one. Going out into the city alone posed a threat, because I could imagine that Edik had his minions crawling around waiting to catch sight of me before they called in the strike.
I had to keep a low profile, maintain my distance from anyone who might be suspicious, while I tried to grow my network to gear up for this fight. I had just enough people to stand watch and make sure that Irina was safe, but that wasn’t nearly enough to launch an entire operation against one of the biggest emerging crime bosses. Edik knew how to play his cards right, he knew what to offer his confidants so that they’d stick around, and I supposed that tonight I was going to take a leaf out of his book.
I entered a corner street bar, noting that the place was pretty lively for it being so early in the evening, but I was grateful. The more people around me, the easier it will be to blend in. I went up to the bar as the pretty bartender came round to take my drink order. I ordered a few shots, to calm my nerves, but also because I needed something a little harder to deal with the conversations that were coming. She came back with a tray of straight vodka, and I threw them all back in one go, minus the chaser. It burned the walls of my throat, distracting me just enough from the worry that was beginning to build up inside of me, as I turned to gaze at the crowd to my back. I had to find a man who now called himself Jack, because I knew he also ran with Edik back in the day. He was the only Englishman I’d ever heard of coming to our side of town, but I heard through the grapevine that he was back, and it was up to me to find him.
I knew that Edik would’ve tried to recruit him too, so it was up to me to make sure that he knew where he should place his cards, because no one wanted to be on the side of a losing fight. I spotted a gray-bearded man in one of the corner booths, drinking his dark, hard liquor and trying to ignore everyone who tried to make eye contact with him. It was clear that he didn’t want to be bothered, but if that were the case then he probably should’ve just stayed home. I wondered if he was going to be able to recognize me, because it was quite clear that everyone knew who I was and which family I descended from, just by getting a good look at my face. While I never ran contracts with Jack myself, I’d heard great things about his capabilities, as well as how persuasive he was when it came to rounding up a few choice candidates.
I finished my liquor and moved through the crowd, taking an unwelcome seat across from him in the booth, while he stared up at me, nearly snarling.
“What the fuck do you wa-” he started, just before he realized who I was.
“Ah, if it isn’t a Volkov. I wondered when I was going to run into one of you when I came back into town. I was counting down the days, but here you are. Let me be clear, I want nothing to do with you, nothing to do with your family or anyone else involved. I run alone, and I will continue to do so,” said Jack, and I knew I had to try something different.
“Is that why you’re planning on going into business with Edik Ostrovsky?” I asked, bluffing because that information was unknown to me, but it was the best I could come up with.
“How the hell could you possibly know that, boy?”
“I’m not your average Volkov, Jack. I hear that’s what you’re calling yourself these days, and while I don’t care to learn that much about you, I need you to know that you’re making a grave mistake by going into business with a man like that,” I said, waiting for him to take the bait.
“Oh yeah? And why would that be?”
“Because you’re running with a madman that only cares about protecting himself. Let me guess, he offered you a place at one of his festivities, treated you like one of his friends, just to hand you a file hoping that you’d do his bidding for him in order to prove your loyalty. Tell me I’m wrong, Jack,” I said, testing him.
“What do you want, Volkov?”
“I want you to know that you’re on the losing side of this war. I’m going after Edik and everything he’s worth, and if you stick w
ith him, that means I’m going to have to come after you too. Though, if you decide to play for the winning team, I can safely say that you will be rewarded,” I said.
“Another empty-handed proposition. What’s in it for me?”
“Well, for starters, here’s something that you might find a bit interesting,” I said, reaching into my pocket to pull out a very rare coin that my father had left to me when I was just a little boy. That little piece of metal was worth millions, more than Jack had made in the last year alone, I was sure. He was a coin collector, or so I’d heard from some of my associates who had run-ins with him in the past. I did my research, making sure to hit all of the boxes before even approaching him to have this conversation, because I needed him in a place where it would’ve been impossible to say no.
“Well, he comes bearing gifts,” said Jack, staring down at the coin like a child who’d just stumbled upon a candy shop.
“Will you help me for a while, Jack? At least I can guarantee that you won’t end up dead by the end of it,” I said, trying to work every angle I could possibly think of.
“You drive a hard bargain, Volkov. Edik is running some of the most powerful underground trading to date, some that even your family has a hard time matching up with.”
“And when this is all finished, Jack, that will all be ours. You’re a smart man, and I know you’ll make the right decision. Take the night, sleep on it, and you’ll come to find me when you’re ready,” I said, getting up from my seat.
