Chapter Twenty-One
Leonid
I’m halfway through a meeting when I realize Elena hasn’t replied to any of my texts all day.
While her silence is longer than usual today, she’s usually so engrossed with work that she barely remembers to reply to her texts every few hours.
With everything going on, I find her lack of response frustrating. Maybe even scary, and my cock throbs at all the ways I’m going to punish her for making me worry when she gets home tonight.
I’ve spent twenty years building an empire. Men twice my age have failed to intimidate me. Rivals have tried to kill me more times than I can count.
And somehow a twenty-one-year-old woman not answering my texts has me distracted.
I tug on the knot of my tie. Pathetic.
Ever since our argument in my office yesterday and the reconciliation that followed, she’s occupied an embarrassing amount of space in my thoughts.
I should be focused on the reports spread across the conference table. Instead, I keep remembering the look on her face when she realized what she’d said and how she moaned my name while I fucked her.
A small smile tugs at the corner of my lips.
I swear that woman will be the death of me someday. I knew it from the first day I saw her, and I also know I’d drink from her cup even knowing it’s poisoned.
Bozhe moy!
“Leonid.” Mikhail’s voice drags me back to the present. I blink and turn my head to see my cousin peering at me through his narrowed eyes.
“What the fuck is it, Mikhail?”
He sits back, amusement dancing in his eyes as he gives me a suspicious look. “Please don’t tell me you were daydreaming of your wife while we’re all waiting for your answer.”
A few of my men exchange amused looks, and I shake my head. “God, Mikhail. I’m going to kill you after this meeting.”
He flashes a lopsided grin at me. “Good luck with that, man.”
I’m about to ask him to repeat his question when the door flies open and one of my security men steps inside, panting like he ran here. His shirt is soaked with sweat, his eyes wide with what I assume is fear.
I immediately know something’s wrong, and the first person I think of is Elena.
The second is Tatiana.
The guard walks directly to me. “Boss, there’s been an incident at dock twelve.”
Air stills in my lungs. I hold my breath, terror like I’ve never felt before striking me like lightning. “What incident?”
“There was an explosion.”
I fly to my feet, and Mikhail’s worried gaze follows me.
My fingers curl into fists as panic flares in my chest. I suck in a breath, reminding myself not to lose my shit before I know what the hell is happening. “Where’s my wife?”
The man freezes beside me. “At the marina. Dimitri said they were attacked before they could pull her out safely. Nikolai and Sergei are both down. Dead.”
“What the hell is happening?” Mikhail asks, stepping up beside me.
“The marina was attacked. Mrs. Nazarov is trapped there.”
I pull my phone from my pocket and dial her number. It goes straight to voicemail.
Frustration and fear claw at my chest.
This is Vasili’s plan to break me before launching an attack on me. It’s why he’s targeting Elena. I can’t let him hurt her.
I have to save her.
Pushing my emotions aside, I ask, “How many men?”
“Dimitri said there were at least thirty of them.”
I shove my phone into my pocket and stride toward the door. Mikhail and the guard fall into step beside me.
“Get the men ready. We’re heading to the marina.” The guard nods, but before he leaves, I add, “Order a kill on sight for Vasili.”
He nods again and hurries down the hallway.
Mikhail and I head straight for the parking lot, neither of us wasting time with unnecessary conversations. By the time we step outside, three black SUVs are already waiting with their engines running, the men inside prepared and armed for whatever’s waiting for us at the marina.
I make a beeline for the vehicle I usually drive and reach for the driver’s side door, but Mikhail steps in front of me and plants a hand against the doorframe, blocking my path.
“I’ll drive,” he says.
I shoot him a look. “Move.”
He ignores me completely and nudges me aside with his shoulder before opening the door and sliding into the driver’s seat himself.
“Not happening,” he says as he starts the engine. “You’re distracted, and I’d rather make it to the marina in one piece than end up wrapped around a tree because you can’t keep your mind off your wife.”
Under any other circumstances, I would argue.
Right now, I don’t have the patience.
I mutter a curse under my breath, slam the passenger door shut behind me, and pull my phone out again as Mikhail throws the SUV into gear.
Elena still hasn’t answered.
Clenching my phone between my fingers, I stare out the windshield as Miami rushes past in a blur of concrete and sunlight.
My phone suddenly rings, and my heart jumps. Every muscle in my body goes rigid when I see Elena’s name flashing across the screen.
I swipe the answer icon immediately. For a second, all I hear is static and distant shouting, followed by gunshots.
“Leo.” Her voice cracks, and I can tell she’s been crying. “Are you there?”
“I’m here, baby.” I close my eyes, trying not to let her feel the terror coursing through me right now. I’m so fucking afraid it’ll be too late by the time I get there. I’m so afraid I’ll helplessly watch someone I love get hurt again. “Where are you?”
A burst of gunfire explodes somewhere in the background, and she gasps. “I don’t know…I’m hiding behind some containers at dock twelve. Dimitri’s badly wounded. Sergei and Nikolai are dead. I’m so scared.”
“I know, baby. I know.” I close my eyes for a moment. “Listen to me carefully, okay? Stay where you are. Do not move. Do you understand?”
Her breath hitches, and I can tell she’s fighting a sob. “Okay.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes, okay? I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.”
Her shaky inhale makes my chest constrict. “Okay.”
The line goes dead.
Mikhail doesn’t ask any questions. He just presses his foot to the accelerator, and five minutes later, the marina comes into view.
Dark smoke covers the sky and police sirens wail in the distance, competing with the bang of gunfire still echoing between the shipping containers.
There’s a large crowd around the marina entrance, even though security shouts at them to get back to safety.
I don’t wait for Mikhail to pull the SUV to a full stop before I throw the door open and jump out.
Mikhail barks my name, his voice laced with concern, but I ignore him and keep moving.
Several of my men spill from the vehicles around us, their weapons drawn as they fan out across the docks.
I pull my gun from my holster as I reach the destruction ahead. Bullet holes pepper the sides of shipping containers; a forklift sits abandoned in the middle of the lane with its windshield shattered.
Mikhail catches up beside me, holding an assault rifle. There’s a newly lit cigar between his lips. He drags a long inhale from his cigar and exhales a cloud of smoke. “This could be a trap, you know?”
“Of course it’s a fucking trap.”
He stares at me as if he’s worried I’ve lost my mind.
Maybe I have.
But if Vasili’s stupid enough to be waiting for me in the marina, he’s about to have the worst fucking day of his life.
Another burst of gunfire erupts somewhere ahead. The sound bounces violently between the steel containers.
One of my men signals from the corner of a lane. “There’s movement at three o’clock.”
I round the container and immediately spot three armed men ducking behind it. One of them notices me and raises his gun, but he’s too slow.
I shoot first. The bullet pierces his chest and he drops dead instantly.
The second man dives for cover while the third manages two steps before Mikhail blasts him to the ground with the rifle, his blood splattering all over.
A scream echoes from one of the containers, and my heart nearly stops. I recognize her voice instantly.
“Elena.” Terror grips me at the thought of her being in danger. I push the image of one of these bastards hurting her to the back of my mind and break into a run, cutting through one lane after another while my eyes scan every corner.
A body lies near a stack of cargo pallets, and relief washes over me when I see it’s not hers.
I turn a sharp corner and see her crouched behind a shipping container, dirt smeared across her face and clothes, one hand pressed against her mouth as two armed men close in from opposite directions.
For a fraction of a second, relief crashes through me so hard it almost hurts, but then it turns into pure fury when one of Vasili’s men raises his gun to her.
“Ublyudok,” I bark, getting the asshole’s attention. The moment he lifts his head to look at me, I pull the trigger. Twice.
The fucker drops to the ground like a ragdoll. The second guy spins toward me, but Mikhail shoots him before I get the chance.
Elena’s head snaps toward me. She stares at me as if she can’t quite believe I’m standing in front of her. Then, suddenly, she jumps to her feet and launches herself forward.
I run to her and catch her halfway, only releasing my first full breath of air when I have her securely in my arms.
She breaks into a sob, her entire body trembling as she cries.
The sound hits harder than any bullet ever could. I’ve walked into gunfire without hesitation, but hearing Elena cry like this makes something dark and violent unfurl inside my chest.
Vasili.
His name roars in my head. He’s the reason she got hurt, the reason she’s crying right now. I’ll find him and I’ll make him pay in blood for this.
I wish I could hold her until she’s calm, but I have to get her to safety. I gently pull back and scrutinize her from head to toe, checking for injuries. “Are you hurt?”
She sniffles, trying to stop herself from crying. “No. I’m fine.”
I heave a sigh when I don’t spot any injuries on her. “Fine is okay. Fine is good, baby.”
She’s shaken, obviously terrified from everything that’s happened, but at least she’s alive, and that’s all that matters right now.
A new burst of gunfire erupts somewhere nearby. I pull her behind me and draw her against my side.
Mikhail scans the area. “We need to get out of here.”
Three of my men appear from behind the containers. They’re covered in ash and blood. “Boss, we’ve secured an exit,” one of them says.
I grab Elena’s hand and press a kiss to her palm. “I’m taking you home, ptichka.”
She nods and wipes her face with the back of her free hand.
I signal for the men to lead the way, then tighten my arm around my wife and start leading her to safety, leaving the chaos behind us.
After getting Elena out, my next priority is making sure every single man involved in this attack regrets the day he was born.
And God help Vasili Morozov.
Because the hunt for the bastard’s head has officially begun.
.