Chapter 22
22
Adrian
“I need to shower,” I told Ivan as we left the basement after disposing of Crane’s body and cleaning the room up. “I smell like bleach and blood, and it’s not that great of a mixture.”
He snorted. “I can use one, too.” Turning to face me, he walked backward, heading for the stairs. I followed him, arching a brow at him, knowing something that would either irritate me or amuse me would be coming out of his mouth. “We can conserve water and shower together.”
I rolled my eyes. Looked like we were hitting both on the nail. “If I let you shower with me, we can’t fool around, Ivan. I need to quickly shower, get dressed, then pack a bag for everyone. They should be heading for the safe house soon, and I need to talk to James and get him up to speed now that he’s conscious.”
Ivan nodded and held up his hands in a complacent gesture that had me huffing a laugh. “Sure. No funny business. I promise. I’ll be good.”
Good . I snorted. Good wasn’t something Ivan was capable of.
He turned back around and began to ascend the stairs. I couldn’t lie and say I didn’t admire the way his ass flexed with every step he took. The man was beautifully sculpted and clearly took great care of his body. How the fuck was I lucky enough to have him obsessed with an old fuck like me? He was still in his late twenties, and I was already hitting forty.
Whatever part of his psychopathy made him obsessed with me, I wouldn’t question it. Because now that I’d given in to him and let him have me, I couldn’t envision my life without him now. In such a very short amount of time, we’d become so deeply tethered, I didn’t know if I could breathe without him.
“I know my ass looks great in these pants,” Ivan said, turning on the landing to look down at me, “but you’re the one who said we don’t have time to waste.”
I nodded and began to climb the stairs. “Sorry—got lost in my head for a moment.”
He arched a brow at me. “Anything I should be concerned about?”
I shook my head. “Nah. I’m good—promise.”
He hummed and headed down the hall. “If you say so, kotik . Which room is yours?”
I snorted. “As if you don’t know.”
He turned his head and winked at me over his shoulder. “I was trying to dim down my stalking skills a bit, kotik , but yeah, I know.” He pushed open my bedroom door, already working at the buttons of his shirt with his other hand.
I just sighed and followed him inside, nudging the door shut back behind me with my foot.
* * *
The safe house I sent the family to was set in a quaint little neighborhood with a lot of blue-collar families. Moms drove vans and SUVs, and dads drove trucks. Kids played in the street, and it felt like there was a speed bump located every fucking three yards. I understood it was for safety reasons and to keep people from speeding, but after speed bump number seven, I’d lost my fucking patience with them.
We pulled into the driveway of a large, single-story, white brick home with blue shutters and flowers planted in little baskets on the windowsills. Jaxon and Darren were sitting on the porch in rocking chairs, both of them dressed down in jeans and t-shirts with regular dad sneakers on their feet. Emmaline and Juliana were sitting on the grass with the little ones, watching them play. I knew they were trying to fit into the neighborhood, but in my opinion, they just looked wrong . The suburban dad life didn’t fit them.
Everyone looked up when we pulled into the driveway, and when I got out, Amberose and Carter came running to me, squealing in pure delight. Grinning, I swept them up into my arms and kissed both their cheeks. “Uncle Adrian!” they screamed.
“Hey, kiddos.” I set them on their feet after squeezing them and crouched, reaching up to ruffle Carter’s hair. “Are you two being good?”
They both nodded, but I knew that was a lie. They were mostly well-behaved kids, but when they got together, they turned into entirely different children full of mayhem and mischief.
“Are you coming home, Uncle Adrian?” Carter asked.
I shook my head. “Not yet, bud.” I nudged them in the direction of their mothers. “Go on and play. I need to talk to the grown-ups.”
They rushed back off to Emmaline and Juliana. Standing, I jerked in surprise when Ivan pressed a hand to my lower back. He watched the two kids playing, then looked at me. “You’d make a good dad.”
Immediately, I shook my head. “Fuck no.” His lips twitched in amusement. “Kids are not in my life plan, Ivan. So don’t get any fucking ideas.”
His brows raised. “So, we’re talking long-term here?” he asked, gesturing between the two of us with the hand that wasn’t on my back.
I frowned, suddenly feeling unsure. “I thought we were?” I hated that it came out as a question, revealing my uncertainty.
Ivan scoffed. “Oh, no, kotik , we definitely are, but I thought getting you to agree to it would be much more of a hassle than this. I’m fucking pleased.”
I rolled my eyes and began walking toward the house, letting his hand fall from my lower back. “Of course, you fucking are.” I nodded once at Jaxon and Darren. “James inside?” When they nodded, I pushed the door open, almost running into Inessa, who was heading for the front door with a tray of food in her hands. “Sorry,” I muttered, quickly moving out of her way. “I didn’t mean to almost run into you.”
“You’re good.” She smiled at me. “The kids have missed you.”
I grinned and pretended to brush lint off my shoulders. “Why wouldn’t they? I’m the cool uncle, after all.”
She laughed before heading outside. I heard her call, “Food!”, and the kids squealed in answer, no doubt damn near trampling her on the porch. Ivan made it inside just in time, his eyes wide. I snickered as I shut the door behind him.
“Yeah, no. I agree. Kids are definitely not in our life plan. They’re adorable until they almost run you over. Never been afraid of anything in my life until those kids almost tackled me. They’re like those little raptors off Jurassic Park .”
Barking out a laugh, I headed for the master bedroom, knowing that was where I’d find James at. It was not only a respect thing to give the Don the biggest room in a house, but I knew Emmaline would demand nothing less but the best comforts this house had to offer while he recovered. And like hell would anyone argue with her. She was the queen, but it wasn’t just that. She was soft-hearted and so damn easy to love that we all just wanted to give her whatever would make her happy, so long as it kept her safe.
James was sitting up against a bunch of pillows when I walked into the room. He wasn’t connected to anything, but there was a blood pressure monitor on the nightstand, along with a thermometer, and Dr. Lebedev’s medical bag he’d come over to the states with was sitting on the floor near the chair was occupying in the corner. James turned his head to look at me, a small smile tilting his lips.
“Hey,” he rasped.
“Hey, yourself. I leave home for a little while, and you get yourself shot for the first fucking time.” I shook my head. “You’re lost without me, man.”
He laughed, then winced. “Maybe I just wanted to see your ugly fucking face.” I snickered. “I assume you’re here because you have news?”
I nodded. “That and I brought everyone some clothes. With everyone being displaced, I thought it might be better if everyone had something familiar to wear rather than having to buy new clothes.”
“Appreciate it,” James said.
Igor walked into the room, making James scowl. “Yo, I get you’re Ivan’s consigliere, but have some fucking respect and knock,” James snapped.
Igor looked up at him, and with the most serious look on his face, he knocked on the open door. I rolled my lips into my mouth to keep from laughing, but Ivan didn’t care as much and snickered. James sighed and closed his eyes, clearly too tired and in too much pain to deal with the disrespect.
Igor handed Ivan his tablet. “I managed to track it. It’s a general location since it’s a burner, but it’s better than nothing. I couldn’t narrow it down any further.”
Immediately, I moved closer, peering over Ivan’s shoulder at the map. According to the map, Boris and Ninel were in the US—in Brookyln, to be exact. No doubt, they’d had eyes on Crane’s mother, and if I had to guess correctly, I’d bet money they’d been stalking Crane for months before deciding to reach out to him. How else would Boris know to use his mother against him?
“Where?” James growled, obviously frustrated at being out of the loop.
“Brookyln,” I told him as Ivan handed Igor his tablet back. Crossing my arms over my chest, I faced James again. “Boris used Crane against you. Crane’s the one who tried to take you out. He thought if he dismantled us first, he could get to Ivan easier. Don’t know why he thought that, but that’s his game plan.”
“How did he get his claws into Crane?” James snapped. “He’s always been loyal.”
“His mother,” Ivan answered. “He used Crane’s weak link, and instead of going to your family, he turned against it.” James reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Crane has been dealt with and will no longer be a problem. I suggest having Jaxon do a sweep of your security guards and getting rid of the ones you can’t prove are one hundred percent loyal.”
James just nodded, his face too pale for my comfort. “We’re going to find Boris and Ninel,” I promised him. “And I’m going to wipe them off the face of the fucking earth, James. They’re going to pay for what they’ve done to you and what they’ve done to our family.”
“I know,” James rasped. “That’s why, despite your hatred of Ivan, I trusted you with this.” He looked up at me, a knowing look in his tired eyes. “I’ve always known who you are, Adrian. I just let you keep your secret. And I knew if anyone could help you, it was him. You were fighting it so goddamn hard, it was damn near killing you.”
I swallowed thickly, suddenly feeling flayed open and exposed. “You know?”
James nodded. “You’re my brother in every sense of the word but blood, Adrian. I’d wager to say I even know you better than Darren.” His eyes flickered between me and Ivan before settling on me again. “Take them out, Adrian. And use them as a message to anyone else who even thinks they can fuck with our family. They’ll see what happens to those who do.”
I nodded once. “Understood.”
With that, I turned on my heel and headed out of the room, Ivan silently following behind me.