Chapter 13
M egan practically runs into me when she catches up to me in the living room.
“She doesn’t need your gun,” she says, catching her breath.
“I do. Give it to me.” I put out my hand and wiggle my fingers, like a teenager asking for some money to go to the mall.
Slowly, Rurik gets to his feet. It’s amazing how silently the man can move with all those muscles.
“Why do you think you need a gun?” He asks, remaining completely calm.
Maybe he thinks he can talk me out of my plan, but he’s wrong.
“I’m going to kill Marco.”
It sounded better when I said it in my head. I hatched a great plan while Megan relayed the horrors she endured on Marco’s orders. Being kidnapped by Rurik was basically a vacation compared to what the DeAngelo family put her through.
And all because of me.
“No, she’s not.” Megan grabs my arm and pushes it back down to my side. “Don’t give her a gun.”
Rurik’s eyebrows shoot up at Megan’s dictate, and for a moment I think he might actually give it to me, simply because she told him not to.
I can relate.
“No one’s giving her a gun.” Rurik folds his arms over his chest and settles his attention back on me.
Heat runs just under my skin thanks to the way he pulls his eyebrows together and sets his jaw. It’s his ‘what trouble are you causing now’ look, and it’s damn hot.
“Why does she want a gun?” Alexander bypasses me and asks his wife.
His wife!
Megan had to marry this man because of me.
I’m going to have to get her a seriously great present for her birthday this year. The sushi dinner and willingly sitting through reality TV with her for one night that I gave her last year isn’t going to cut it to cover all that she’s done for me to clean up this mess.
“Because Marco needs to die.” I glare at Rurik. “I can get my own if I need to. ”
This makes him tilt his head. Probably because he knows damn well I don’t know where to get one that won’t require a waiting period. And, even if I did, I would have already done it.
“He will.” Rurik gives me a nod that’s more like a promise. “But not by you.”
“It’s because of me.” The words come out heavier than I expected.
I suppose guilt weighs more as the victims of my actions pile up.
“Mira, you’re not killing anyone.” Megan shoves me playfully. “And I told you, this is as much my fault as yours.”
I shake my head. If she knew, she’d understand.
And I’d lose her friendship.
My stomach chooses that moment to make a rude entrance into the conversation with a grumble. Rurik frowns at me with a told you so look.
“I’m taking her home.”
“Rurik. I already told you; I’m not going with you.”
He moves, three steps in one sweeping stride, to stand toe to toe with me. I have to tilt my head back in order to glare up at him.
“And I told you; you were. You can’t stay at your apartment, and you’re not staying here.”
“Why not? She can stay here.” Megan argues on my behalf.
“Rurik will keep her safe.” Alexander enters the chat, of course siding with his friend.
“It’s not about that. If I stay with him, it will only encourage him.” I try to turn to look at Alexander, but Rurik grabs my chin, pulling me back to his gaze.
“No more arguing. We’re going home.”
“Are you going to let me come and go as I please, or are you going to lock me away like this guy did to Megan?”
“To be fair, he had caught me snooping around, and he didn’t know me at the time,” Megan interjects.
“Until this problem with the DeAngelos is finished, you can’t go walking around by yourself. It’s too dangerous.”
“I get that, and I don’t completely disagree, but you can’t just lock me in a room or something. You have to let me come and go whenever I want. I mean, I’ll let you come with me if you need to.”
“You’ll let me escort you?” The left side of his mouth tugs upward, but he’s good at stopping himself before a full smile breaks out.
“Or don’t.” I lift a shoulder.
His nostrils flare when he exhales.
“I think you forget who’s in charge.” His voice dips into the dangerous zone.
If I was smart, I’d back away, but again, pushing boundaries is my specialty.
“I know you think you are, but we’re home now. I can get around the city without you, and I don’t need you to protect me here.”
His jaw clenches, and I’m almost positive I heard something crack.
“A cab just pulled up.” A deep voice cuts through the thickening air filling the space between me and my still kidnapper.
From the corner of my eye, I notice a man has entered the room with us.
Striking a strong resemblance to Alexander, I assume he must be another Volkov brother.
Maybe the middle one, he has a more mature look around his eyes.
His hair is neatly brushed away from his face and he’s dressed in a business suit as though he’s on his way to the office.
“Ivan.” Rurik’s dark tone pulls my attention back to him to find his glare still settled on me even as he greets his friend.
“Rurik. I didn’t know you were back. Is this the girl?” Ivan’s tone is light, almost amused.
“Mira,” Megan says softly. “Her name is Mira.”
“Ah. Right. Well, a cab pulled in after me; he’s waiting in front.”
“Did you call a cab?” Rurik’s voice is so soft it could be considered a whisper, but there’s too much gravel embedded in it for that. It’s more like a tight roar he’s trying to keep contained.
“I did,” I confess.
With him getting me all irritated, I’d forgotten I put in the request while I was scrolling through Megan’s phone. She never did get any of my texts or calls.
“You’re not going anywhere.” The growl he’s struggling to suppress is dangerously close to being unleashed.
“You’re being unreasonable. You did your job. I’m here. Now your job is done.” Flinging the words wasn’t supposed to hurt my feelings, but they do .
An ache in my chest forms, and it’s possible I don’t want him to let me just go off on my own.
“You think my job’s done?” His eyes narrow, and that electric thrill, the one only he can stir within me, shoots through to my core.
It’s too dangerous being with him. He’s making me forget my new rules. No falling for him. No falling for anyone, but especially not a dangerous man like him.
“I don’t need you.” My throat burns as I force the words out, as though my body itself rejects them.
His eyebrow arches. The man sees right through me. Nothing is more unsettling than when it feels like your soul is being seen.
“If you try to get in that cab, you’ll regret it.”
Keeping my eyes fixed with his, I speak to Megan, “Meg, I’ll call you later. I’ll have my phone back on by then.”
Slowly, I take a step back, testing to see if he’s going to get all grabby.
He doesn’t, so I get braver and turn my back on him.
“Mira, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Megan pleads, but she knows better than anyone that once I have made a decision, I won’t be talked out of it.
With deliberate steps, I walk past her, past the new man who’s entered the room. Ivan . He watches me with slight amusement cracking his otherwise stony features as I walk past him and out of the living room.
“She can stay here, right, Alexander?” Megan’s still trying to take care of this for me. But she’s already gone through enough, and this is my fault .
I have to figure a way out of this mess on my own. Too many people have already been hurt.
The sun shines on my face as soon as I open the door. Still, no one has grabbed me or dragged me back inside, but I’m on borrowed time. Running down the steps, I signal to the cab driver to wait one second and I rush to Rurik’s car to grab my bag before I jump into the idling cab.
“Hi!” I let out a huge sigh, feeling slightly victorious because I’m sitting in the cab. After I give him my address, he starts punching it into his GPS.
A mere second later, there’s a fist banging on my window.
“What?” I roll down the window, allowing Rurik’s angry face only a few inches from me.
Forests burn in his eyes as he glares at me. Maybe he didn’t think I’d actually get in the cab. But he was wrong.
“Get out,” he orders. The beast has broken from the leash.
“I’m not fighting with you, Rurik. I’m going home.”
“I’m not fighting, either.” He lifts his hand into the window, pointing a Glock at the cab driver.
“Whoa! Whoa!” The driver throws his hands up like it’s a robbery. Which I suppose it is, since Rurik is stealing me again.
“Leave him out of this,” I argue.
“If he tries to drive off with you in this cab, he dies.” Rurik’s finger rests on the trigger.
I’ve seen what he’s capable of. He’s not lying. This isn’t a bluff .
Or maybe it is.
“He can’t shoot you once the car is moving; just go.” I sink back against my seat, hugging my bag to my chest.
A bead of sweat rolls down the side of the driver’s face as he stares at me through the rearview like I’m a complete basket case.
Which I probably am at this point. I’ve been knocked out, kidnapped, spanked, almost stabbed, and now I’m being kidnapped again.
I’d say that’s enough for any woman to start losing her marbles.
“Please. Lady, just get out,” the driver begs, swallowing hard as his eyes land on the gun pointed at him.
When he lets them travel further to the mobster holding it, all color drains from his face.
“Fine!” Defeated, I grab the door handle. “You need to put your gun away if you want me to open the door.”
Rurik stands to his full height, tucking his gun back into its place before yanking the door open for me. As soon as I’m out of the cab, he slams the door and the cabbie peels away. Tires screech as he hightails it down the long drive to the front gate.
“You didn’t need to scare him like that.”
“He’s not the one who should have been scared.” He grabs my bag, yanking it from me and taking it back to his car.
I start to climb the steps back to the house, but he grabs my elbow and pulls me to the passenger side of his car.
“At least let me say goodbye to Megan.” I tug back.
“You did already. You told her you’d call her later.” He picks me up and plops me in the seat, shoving a long finger in my face. “Don’t move.”
I’m tempted to push the door open as soon as he closes it, but the murderous look he has plastered on his face suggests I shouldn’t push it. Just this one time, I’ll play it safe. I mean, he did just threaten to shoot a completely innocent man.
Megan’s in the window looking out at me with a knowing grin. She’s only there a moment, before she gets tugged away and the curtain falls back over the glass.
“All you had to do was promise that you weren’t going to lock me up. You’re the one who went all mobster on me.” I tug the seatbelt away from my neck to keep it from strangling me as he drives toward the gates.
I’m slightly surprised there aren’t tire marks from the cab driver peeling out of this place.
“I can’t protect you if you won’t listen.”
“I understand Marco is a problem. I get that. And after what happened with Megan, I want to him to pay for that.” I sigh.
“It’s not just Marco.” He grips the steering wheel tighter, steering us back onto the highway headed toward downtown.
“The detective?”
“He’s an issue too, but still not the most dangerous.”
“If it’s not just Marco, and not the detective, then what?”
“It’s not about your debt anymore. The DeAngelos touched Alexander’s wife. It’s full out war.”