Sinful Embers (Vegas Bratva Kings #2)

16. RADOMIR

Chapter 16

RADOMIR

“Shit.” Sabrina hisses. “I told you these sneakers were too big. I just tripped over them, and I was nearly seen.”

“You tripped over the shoe lace you’re refusing to tie properly,” I point out softly, gripping my gun so tightly my fingers ache. My heart slams in my chest, a violent, pounding rhythm that makes it hard to think.

Never have I been so happy to see anyone as I was Leigh. She’s right there.

Sitting in the gardens, the sunlight casting a glow over her auburn hair, her head tilted slightly as she listens to the man beside her.

Dmitri fucking Mirochin.

My uncle my cousins and I once thought was the coolest man alive until he turned out to a psycho fuck nut.

And now he’s casually sitting on a bench with my wife They look like they’re on a fucking morning picnic.

My blood surges, rage making my vision tunnel. I’m moving before I realize it, my body operating on pure, unfiltered fury.

Sabrina yanks me back, her nails digging into my wrist. “Are you goddamn crazy?” she hisses, her voice low but sharp as a blade. “There are guards everywhere.”

“They are right there,” I growl, trying to pull free, but she holds tight and she’s freakishly strong for a tiny person. “I could just shoot the bastard right now and we could grab Leigh and get the hell out of here.”

Sabrina stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Oh, sure, because it’s that simple.” She gestures around us, her voice a furious whisper. “Look around, Radomir. You’ll be taken out before you get two steps.”

I grind my teeth, my breath coming hard and fast. She’s right.

I hate that she’s right.

I force myself to see. To take in what my blind rage had covered up. There are guards positioned strategically—watchful, alert. If I fire, even once, we won’t make it five feet before bullets rip through us.

Sabrina’s nails press harder into my wrist. “Calm down Speedy,” she murmurs. “We need a plan.”

I exhale slowly, reigning in the beast clawing inside me. “Fine. Do you have a plan? Because I forgot mine back at the inn as my mind was all consumed with finding Leigh. So I’m open to any suggestions.”

A slow grin curves her lips. “I think I might just an idea.”

Before I can stop her, Sabrina is already moving, slipping through the trees like a wraith. I curse under my breath, gripping my gun tighter.

Then, suddenly, chaos.

A loud, jarring crash echoes through the garden as Sabrina somehow manages to tip over the ugly waterfall fountain doing the garden a great service. Leigh gets startled, her head whipping toward the sound. Dmitri tenses beside her, already rising to his feet. I wait poised catching a glimpse of Sabrina nestled in the tree line opposite me.

Leigh and Dmitri wonder over to the statue. Just a few more inches…

Now.

I lunge from the shadows, my body a coiled weapon.

Dmitri barely turns before my fist slams into his jaw. A sharp, satisfying crack vibrates through my knuckles. His head snaps back, and he staggers. I don’t give him time to recover. I hit him again—harder. He crumples, out cold.

Leigh gasps, stumbling back, her eyes wide, disbelieving.

“Radomir?” Her voice is barely a whisper, her hands trembling.

Then, suddenly, she’s crying—sobbing.

I barely register the movement before Sabrina is there, pulling Leigh into her arms. “Oh, Leigh,” she murmurs, stroking her hair. “I know. I know. You must be beside yourself. But we have to go.”

Leigh clings to her, her body shaking.

I step toward her, my hands itching to touch, to pull her into me. But there’s no time.

“We need to move, now,” I grind out, scanning the area.

We can’t risk staying here. The crash might have drawn attention, and once the guards realize Dmitri is missing, we’ll have a fucking army on our asses.

But then—

“No.”

Leigh pulls away from Sabrina, wiping at her eyes. “We can’t leave him.”

My entire body locks up. “What?”

Leigh points at Dmitri’s unconscious form. “Carlos will kill him.”

“Good.” I spit the word, fury crackling in my veins. “Maybe we’ll be lucky and they’ll kill each other.”

“Or maybe,” Sabrina muses, “if we take him, Carlos will come looking for him.” She lifts a brow. “And you can finally kill that maniac.” She shrugs. “You know—two birds—one stone.”

A dark thrill courses through me at the thought.

But I don’t give a shit about Dmitri. I don’t.

Then I see it.

The bruises on Leigh’s wrists.

I freeze.

Rage blinds me.

The dark, mottled fingerprints stand out starkly against her pale skin. Handprints. Someone had held her down. Someone had fucking hurt her. Something inside me snaps.

“Who did that to you?” I say through gritted teeth trying hard to control my rage as I take her wrist in my hand..

“It wasn’t Dmitri,” Leigh assures me.

“I hope you’re not covering for him,” I warn her. “Because, trust me, he not worth the time of day.”

I don’t realize I’ve stepped forward until Leigh places a shaking hand on my chest.

“Radomir.” Her voice is quiet, but firm. “I’m not leaving without him.”

Our eyes lock.

And I know she means it by the stubborn set of her jaw and defiance in those insanely green eyes.

I grit my teeth so hard my jaw aches. Every instinct in me wants to leave him. To let Carlos finish what he started.

“Fuck.” I reached down and heft him over my shoulder. I’m alarmed to feel just how frail he is.

We head to the SUV in silence, and I can feel something is wrong. Something in Leigh has changed and my gut wrenches as black thoughts tumble through my mind wondering what else the fucking dick Carlos did her to.

I find some rope in the back of the vehicle and tie Dmitri’s hands behind his back.

“Is that necessary?” Leigh asks. “He’s really sick and …”

“Jesus!” I give a low whistle as Dmitri’s sleeves hike up and there is a spider web of black line creeping up his arms. “What the hell is that?”

“Vivienne’s designer poison,” Leigh replies, and I see her eyes heavy with guilt. What the fuck is going on here?

“That’s…” Sabrina sputters. “That’s what you arm looked like from the bolt, Leigh.”

Leigh’s head snaps toward Sabrina. “You saw it?”

“Not the bolt in your arm but the veins.” She nods. “They spread nearly all over your body.”

“How come you’re cured and he’s not?” My brow creases, not that I give a fuck. I hope there is some pain to go with it.

“Different types of designer poison,” Leigh mumbles. “The sliver is for the man with your father’s face and the gold for the Ice Man.”

I start to become alarmed as I see Leigh zoning out.

“Leigh!” Sabrina hisses. “There’s plenty of time to moon later. We have to move now and maybe get you some new clothes. Barny’s spring wear does not suit you.”

Leigh snorts and I breathe a sigh of relief to see the dark clouds in her yes lift a bit. “Not my choice of wardrobe I promise you. For the past fourteen days I feel like I’ve been wearing E.R. hand me downs.”

We all pile in, and I take off hitting the dirt back road, if you can call it that, it’s more like tracks made from a horse cart. Luckily we’re not in the Beetle as we’d never have made all this rocky gravel terrain.

Eventually we hit a main road and the old SUV rattles as we speed down it. The Russian landscape blurs past in streaks of green and brown.

Leigh is curled up in the seat beside me, staring out the window, silent.

Sabrina watches her, concern etching her features.

Dmitri groans, stirring.

Then—

“What the fuck?” His voice is raw, furious. He jerks upright, only to realize his hands are tied in super tight knot. “Radomir?” He glances at Sabrina. “Miss Craft I presume?”

“You presume correct.” Sabrina nods, watching him with suspicious eyes.

“Where are we?” Dimitri demands. “Leigh? Are you okay?”

“She is now!” Sabrina assure him. “And I sure hope for your sake it wasn’t you that bruised my friend.”

“I never touched Leigh,” Dmitri said, defensively. “But seriously. What are you two doing? Are you out of your fucking minds? When Carlos realizes we are gone…” I glance in the mirror and see fear flash in his eyes. “Jesus, Radomir turn around, you don’t know what you’ve done.”

“I could ask you the same thing, Uncle, because clearly you were out of your fucking mind when you snatched my wife. ” I shake my head. “Did you think you were going to get away with it?”

Dmitri glares at me, eyes blazing and his nostrils flare. “You’re going to ruin everything.” His anger radiates through the car until his body convulses with violent coughing.

Leigh shifts, her expression tight with worry. “Do we have any water?” She looks at Sabrina. “Do you have a tissue?”

Sabrina, who is sitting beside Dmitri, nods and pulls out some water and tissues.

“Here!” Sabrina holds the bottle to his mouth and quickly dabs the dribble of blood on the side of him mouth.

“Do you have TB?” I ask, a little alarmed and I can’t help my eyes darting to Leigh stomach.

“No!” Dmitri hisses. “Thank you, Miss Craft for the assistance.”

“Sure.” Sabrina nods. “We’ll just leave this here for you.” She caps the bottle puts the tissue near it and then pulls out her hand sanitizer.

“I’m not contagious,” Dmitri assures her. “I was shot with a poison arrow and it’s affecting all my organs.”

“It’s not you,” Sabrina tells him. “I don’t like touching blood.”

“She really doesn’t,” Leigh backs up Sabrina’s statement. “If we were near a shower now, Sabrina would’ve gone and taken one.”

Dmitri nods and then turns his attention back to Radomir. “I know you have no reason to trust me and every right to be fucked off with me, but you need to go back.”

“Not a chance,” I tell him.

“Look, this is now what it seems. I hadn’t seen Carlos in nine years when he showed up two years ago,” Dmitri tells them. “He needed a job, and my wife employed him to coordinate shipments.”

“I don’t care,” I hiss.

“Look, Carlos has Wanda, and he’ll kill her,” Dmitri pleads.

“So you exchanged my wife for yours/” I roar.

“Radomir, watch out!” Leigh’s hands grab the dash board bracing for a sudden stop as we hit a road block of Black SUVs.

“What the fuck!” I hiss and another spurt of anger bursts through me—Oleksi and his new crew.

“I see Oleksi’s new crew of traitors has grown since we last saw him scurrying from the house like the fucking rat he is!” Sabrina’s voice vibrates with anger.

I glance in the mirror. “I presume they’re here for you?”

Knock. Knock. Oleksi raps on the window. “You need to get out of the car, Rad.”

I look at him. That at the group of SUVs blocking the road ahead. My hands tighten around the wheel. As I see Syd’s head pop up from the back of the vehicle where I presume she’s just rolled out a carpet of spikes.

Sabrina lets out a long sigh. “Well this is just fucking fantastic.”

Oleksi steps forward, his gaze locked on Dmitri.

“Rad, please don’t make us use force. You need to hand Dmitri and Leigh over,” he orders.

Leigh stiffens beside me. “No.” She bellows and looks at me, placing an arm on my sleeve. “Please, I can’t go back there and neither can Dmitri.”

The car goes silent.

Everyone turns to look at her.

Oleksi’s brows lift. “Leigh…” He warns. “This is bigger than just you and Dmitri.”

“What is?” Sabrina retorts. “You’re ego?”

Oleksi barely glances at Sabrina and can see him stiffening getting ready to act with force.

“This is your last chance to do this the peaceful way,” Oleksi tells us.

“I said no.” Leigh’s voice is ice. I look at her frowning for a second. It’s like someone flipped a switched and let the princess out. “You’re not taking him.” Her eyes narrow as she stares him down. “

“Okay, time’s up.” Oleksi growls. “Can opener.” He orders and Clyde flicks out an expanding baton heading for the car.

“Leigh, are you sure we can’t just throw him out the door?” I ask her.

“No!” Leigh shakes her head. “Please, Radomir. You don’t understand.”

Sabrina frowns. “Leigh, this isn’t… like, a captor syndrome thing, right?”

Leigh gives Sabrina an impatient look. “No!” She scrunches up her face. “I…”

Clyde comes up to the back window. “Cover your eyes.” He growls.

“Wait!” Sabrina yells at him. “We’re getting out.” She glances at us. “Look lets just humor them.” She looks toward their cars. “We’re trapped.”