Chapter 9
“Congratulations, gentleman,” Alexi says as he surveys the twenty-two men standing before him.
Every man is wearing a tailored, pressed suit in uncompromising black. Like soldiers, they stand before him with military precision, awaiting his instructions. Despite their exhaustion, an undercurrent of elation and pride flows through them.
“You have all passed the training program.”
Shouts ring out as the men briefly let their enthusiasm show.
Once they have quieted back down, Alexi continues. “The twenty-two of you are now the elite tier of our ranks. Your compensation and responsibilities will reflect that.”
Another round of excited hollering follows his statement.
He quiets them with a small wave of his hand.
“Any man wishing to become a member of a specialized team will need to compete in the challenges. There will be three challenges designed to put you through real-world scenarios. I want to see how well you can work together, follow commands, and persevere when the odds are against you. Only twelve men will be selected for two teams. Anyone not interested in competing for placement on the teams is free to leave.”
None of the men steps back or makes any move to leave. They’ve come a long way in four weeks. Every one of them has proven they can handle themselves. Alexi can tell they’re hungry for the upcoming challenges.
From beside Alexi, Bill steps forward to address the gathered men. “The first challenge will be held in three days. Take the time between now and then to rest and recover, because you’ll need your strength and wits.”
“You’re dismissed,” Alexi tells them.
Grinning, the men all disperse, likely headed back to the bunkhouse to get some much-needed sleep.
Alexi turns to face his team. It’s been a long four weeks for them as well, and they’re probably almost as tired as the men. And that’s without considering that they have apparently been training Ulayna on the side as well. “You did well with their training. Thank you,” he tells them.
He looks each of them squarely in the eye so that they can see how sincere he is. He wants them to know how much he appreciates their hard work and gives them a moment to absorb his praise. But after a few seconds, he shakes his head, and his expression turns disbelieving.
“But what the fuck? Someone want to explain to me what you’ve been doing with Ulayna?”
He still can’t believe his entire team seems to have gone behind his back to teach her skills that she has no business learning.
After getting the shock of his life last night—literally—his first reaction had been rage.
He’d wanted to beat Ruger bloody for showing her how to rig the booby-trap because she could have gotten seriously injured had it gone wrong.
It had taken all of his control to simply walk away last night instead of laying into his team.
When none of his team members explain immediately, he continues to lecture them.
“She’s only nineteen—still practically a child.
She should be spending her time shopping and painting her nails or whatever else it is that teenage girls do.
Not learning to rig explosives or guerrilla warfare tactics. ”
“I’ll be twenty next week,” a soft voice says from behind him.
Surprised, he spins around to see Ulayna standing there. How did she manage to sneak up on him?
Her chin is raised, and she has a look of fierce determination in her eyes.
She’s dressed in black jeans, combat boots, and a form-hugging black leather jacket.
Her hair is braided tightly against the crown of her head, and she’s done something with makeup to give her eyes a smoky, sultry look.
And her lips. Dear god, her lips are painted a deep, sinful red.
She certainly doesn’t look like a teenager. She looks stunning. And capable.
Alexi shakes his head, trying to brush off the instant stab of lust that shoots through him as he looks her over.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are, Ptichka,” he tells her, gentling his voice.
“I want you to live the life that was taken from you—a life full of joy and fun.” He gestures toward his team.
“What they’re teaching you will take you down a dark path, and that’s not what I want for you. ”
Her expression turns sour, and she looks at him with disgust. “So you would keep me intentionally defenseless?”
“What? No. That’s not what I mean,” he stutters. “That came out wrong.”
She shakes her head as if disappointed in him, and it hits him low in the gut.
“You just said that you think of me as a child and that my time would be better spent painting my nails than learning to defend myself. If you truly believe that, then you’re no better than the men who thought they were my Masters. ”
“Ptichka,” he says pleadingly. “You know I’ll protect you.”
His gut roils. The idea of her getting hurt? He can’t stand it. He knows he shouldn’t, but all he wants to do is cocoon her in layers of protection so nothing bad can ever happen to her again. A dark possessiveness unfurls within him.
He turns back to his team. “I’m sorry. I can’t let this go on. No more training.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?” Ulayna seethes next to him.
He turns back to Ulayna and places a conciliatory hand on her shoulder. “It’s too dangerous. You could get hurt.”
She narrows her eyes at him.
“Careful, boss,” Bill says from behind him. “I know that look.”
Alexi glances over his shoulder at Bill in confusion.
Suddenly, before he can react, he feels Ulayna yank his hand off her shoulder and tug him toward her. Off balance, he turns back to look at her just in time for the edge of her palm to connect with his throat in a vicious strike.
In reflex, his hands clutch his throat as he struggles to breathe. But the next instant, his feet are swept out from under him, and he lands heavily on his back, further knocking the wind out of him.
Shocked, he lies on the ground struggling to breathe as Ulayna crouches beside him. She leans in close, her face only inches from his.
The lack of oxygen must really be getting to him, because for a brief second, he wonders if she’s about to kiss him.
Instead, she whispers, “Help me become the woman I am meant to be or get out of my way, Pakhan.”
Her breath ghosts across his lips as she practically spits the last word at him with derision.
He watches as she stands, steps over his prone body, and gracefully walks away.
Gone is the tender young girl struggling to overcome her past. In her place is a fierce, dangerous creature.
A woman who has found her power and is completely capable of taking him out at the knees. Literally and figuratively.
He lies on the ground for a few more seconds, trying to sort out his reactions. Guilt, shock, pride, and… lust. Most of all, terrifying, soul-consuming lust. What is wrong with him?
Bill reaches a hand down to help him up. “I tried to warn you, boss.”
Alexi climbs to his feet, then braces his hands on his knees to catch his breath—both from having the wind knocked out of him and because of his reactions to Ulayna. He glances in the direction she left and shakes his head at himself.
Once he’s steady again, he straightens and faces his team.
“I fucked that up, didn’t I?” he asks.
Five faces nod at him in agreement.
—
Furious, Ulayna storms back into the mansion.
A part of her wants to run up to her room, slam the door, and crumple into a heap on her bed to cry her eyes out.
But she resists the temptation. That is the reaction of a spoiled child.
She’s never had the opportunity to behave like a spoiled child before, so it’s hard to resist. But Alexi’s words keep ringing in her ears.
She’s practically a child. She’s practically a child. She’s practically a child.
Gah! She wants to scream in frustration.
Agitated, she paces back and forth across the foyer.
All this time, while she was crushing on him, while she was imagining it was his lips between her thighs at night and not a battery-operated version, he was thinking of her as a child.
How embarrassing!
He called her a child in front of the team. He acted like she was some brat who needed to be coddled. Protected. Sheltered.
He tried to forbid her from learning how to defend herself. She stops and sucks in an angry breath. Her embarrassment morphs into righteous fury. How dare he!
She needs to prove to him that she can take care of herself. And she needs to prove to him that she’s not a child. It’s been a very long time since she was innocent, and it’s time he remembered that.
Ulayna nods to herself. She doesn’t know how she’s going to make either of those things happen, but she will. One thing she knows for sure is that she isn’t letting this go, and she definitely isn’t backing down.
She understands that this is a pivotal moment in her life. Either she gets Alexi to see her as the capable, strong woman that she is or she leaves. She’s had enough men in her life controlling her and wanting her to be nothing but a pretty little girl they can dress up like a doll and play with.
She wants more. She needs more.
As she always does when her life feels like it’s out of her control, she takes a deep, steadying breath.
She reminds herself that even though she can’t control how others treat her, she can control her own reactions.
She has the power to determine what happens next.
And she can either act like the child Alexi thinks she is, or she can put her big girl panties on, woman up, and figure out what the hell she’s going to do next.
Calmer, she heads to the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. A cup of tea always helps.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees movement. Her gun is in her hand before she realizes it, the reaction now instinctual and the movement easy with practice.
Phoenix steps into the hallway, hands raised. “It’s just me,” she says.
Ulayna lets out a breath, then lowers the gun and holsters it at the small of her back.