Chapter 21 - Vadik
It was one mistake on another once we lost contact with Tasha. We couldn’t get through the last door and somehow the alarms were triggered. Mr. Chernykh himself was waiting outside for us. He came with us to ensure we got the documents to him first.
But soon we found ourselves in the middle of what could be considered a war of families. My brothers and I ducked and dived between the shots. We barely missed the knives. We even threw a couple of punches as we tried to get around the fighting men.
My fist collided with a man’s face as I fought to clear a path to our boss, the Chernykh leader. If something happened to him here, we would not get off unscathed. His sons would likely blame us even though his own men couldn’t keep him safe.
As we moved through the last couple of men between us and him, someone came up behind him. He looked at me as he tried to turn. Our eyes met and I saw the flickering as his life drained from his body. He collapsed a couple of meters from us.
Turning, I grabbed my brothers by their arms halting them in their tracks. “We have to get out of here,” I blustered. I knew there was nothing we could have done to prevent it. As we started moving out, a heaviness came over me. What were we going to do now?
The last thing we wanted was to get in the middle of two bratva groups, but here we are. “Come, quickly, we can go through here,” I grumbled at my brothers moving to the corner of the house. I had seen a passage through the trees when we arrived before all the chaos started.
As we moved, we kept an eye out for any straggler’s following or coming our way. Once we reached the road, I hailed down a cab and we retreated to our home. The cabby stopped at the bottom of the driveway. Walking up to the house I couldn’t shake this feeling that something was wrong.
I noticed the front door stood open as we approached. Pulling my knife, I nodded at my brothers. We kept quiet as we entered. We couldn’t allow the intruder to know we were there.
Biting my tongue, I kept myself from calling out for Tasha. It’s been a while since we heard from her. She was supposed to be here. I worried that something terrible had happened.
Glancing over my shoulder, I motioned for my brothers to split up. Pavel headed back towards the kitchen and dining room. Makari headed out back while I went upstairs. Entering the second-floor hallway, I noticed all the doors were open.
Moving towards my office where I had left Tasha, I peeked into the rooms. Everything was a mess. Most of the drawers had been pulled out, beds were turned over, it was clear someone was looking for something.
I made slow and steady progress toward my office. The door was halfway shut. Pushing it open, I expected the worst. Holding my breath, I quickly scanned the room. Tasha wasn’t there, but I could see there had been a struggle. Her phone lay on the floor in the corner smashed.
With fear and worry settling in, I stopped being careful. I had to find Tasha. I turned and ran to her room. The door was broken and the window wide open. Looking out the window, I wondered if she had jumped.
I rushed through the rest of the house, but she was nowhere to be found. Dread filled me as I met up with my brothers in the foyer again. “Grab what is essential and meet me here in five,” I said. My mind was distant as I knew our house had been compromised.
My brothers returned with their go bags. I had no idea where we were going. I felt slightly out of function. I looked at Pavel with a blank expression as he touched my shoulder. “Tasha is gone, we have to find out what happened here,” I grumbled.
“Don’t worry,” Pavel replied. “Tasha’s a tough cookie, she will be fine. She can handle herself remember?”
“Yes, right,” I mumbled as we left our home.
Makari took the lead and drove us to our hide-out on the Chernykh compound. I was sure we would be safe there for a while. However, as we neared it, he stopped. “Look at that,” he said astounded.
Looking up, I saw the place surrounded by men. They had to be the Chernykh guards as no one else would be able to get in here. “Do we leave?” I heard Pavel asking form behind me.
Looking from Makari to him, I nodded as I replied. “I suppose we have to.”
Before Makari could put the car in reverse, we heard the tapping against the windows. I nearly jumped out of my boots at the sound. There were three men, one by each of our doors.
“Sirs,” the man on my side said. His tone was demanding and his stance threatening. “Please get out slowly and come with us.”
Looking at my brothers I knew they were also ready to take on this fight. We opened our doors slowly. But before we could get out there was movement. The man before me went down like a hot pack of potatoes.
Behind him, I saw Tasha standing. Pavel and Makari took their cue on time and had subdued the other two as well. I was stunned to see Nadia at Tasha’s side. Getting out I pulled Tasha into my arms. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” I breathed out kissing the top of her head.
“We have to move,” Nadia said tapping my arms.
“Yes, yes,” I replied letting go of Tasha and hugging Nadia. “Our houses have been compromised.”
“We know, but we have a plan. My family has a safe house where we can lay low for now,” Tasha added.
Looking back at my brothers, I waved them forward as I spoke. “Okay, let’s go them.” We followed Tasha and Nadia to the car they came in. Pavel got into the front with Nadia and Tasha joined Makari and me in the back.
Facing Tasha, I felt my heart swell with appreciation for her. “How did you find us? Or should I rather ask why did you come back for us? You had your freedom,” I asked gratefully.
Nadia laughed from the front as she replied. “Well to put it in simple terms, Tasha wouldn’t let it go. Her brothers wouldn’t help so she asked me. She knew you were in trouble.”
Her words hit me hard, I would never have expected this. Looking at Tasha, I noticed a glint in her eyes as I softly spoke. “Thank you.”
Tasha smiled sweetly as she laid her head on my shoulder. As we drove, I couldn’t help but ponder everything that had happened. I realized Tasha had defied her family and this could cause problems.
We would have to regroup and arrange a meeting with them. This meeting should happen quickly, but for now, I was relieved that we were safe. I would be able to look after my brothers.
Nadia took a turn and drove through a thick line of trees. The road had a couple of turns and twists. There were many small roads leading left and right. If you didn’t know your way around here, I was sure one could get lost easily.
We stopped in front of the large wooden cabin. Once we were safe inside, Nadia looked us over to make sure none of our wounds required treatment. “Thank you again for all of this,” I said as Tasha cleaned a craze on Makari’s arm.
She was so kind, gentle and loving. I wanted to pull Tasha into my arms and never let her go. But now wasn’t the time for such things. Once she and Nadia had cleaned all the cuts and bruises, we could have a cup of coffee and talk.
Sitting down at the kitchen table I watched in admiration as the two women made the coffee. Tasha brought me a cut. As she placed it on the table, she spoke softly. “Let me have a look at you.”
Turning to her, I held out my arms. “I would never have imagined that you would save me one day,” I said.
Tasha laughed lightly as she replied. “That makes two of us. I am just glad that we were on time and that you taught me so well.”
“Yes, you did good,” I complimented her as she wiped some blood from my neck. “You and Nadia must go. We’ll be fine here. Once we have a plan, I will contact you,” I said taking hold of her hand.
Tasha’s eyes narrowed as she glared at me. “No, I’m not leaving. I’m staying here with you. My family will just have to understand. Nadia must go home though before they start looking.”
Nadia nodded and I watched as the two women walked out. After a while Tasha returned. “I’ll make some supper and then we can turn in for the night,” she said taking out a pan from the cupboard.
Glancing over her shoulder Tasha spoke softly. “There are some clothes in the bag I brought with if the three of you want to clean up.” Turning to face us, she smiled as she continued. “I can’t guarantee they will be a perfect fit, but the clothes are clean.”
“Right,” I replied getting up and ushering my brothers out of the kitchen. We took a quick gander at the house deciding where each would sleep and then took turns showering. Supper was ready and served by the time we returned to the kitchen.
We ate in silence and then went to sleep. The bed was welcoming. I fell asleep almost instantly.