Chapter 10 – Eduard
Sleep evaded me, again.
Marielle’s escape attempt didn’t leave my mind.
When I saw her approaching the back door through the security monitor screens, I could have asked my men to bring her back. Asking the men guarding the gate to block her once she got past the outer gates was another option. But I couldn’t go with either.
It felt personal.
As I watched her get out of the back door, it didn’t feel like she was running away from the estate.
It felt like she was running away from me.
And that unsettled me more than having a target on my back. I felt the urgent, albeit unreasonable, need to reclaim her.
I removed my suit jacket in a flash and dashed out of my office.
There was no doubt in my mind about catching her.
I knew I would.
I should be happy that she was leaving the house.
It would mean I could breathe and sleep without thinking of how beautiful she was on the screen and in the flesh.
Her escape should mean freedom for me. A freedom that I could even blame my men for.
I could punish the men who left their posts and allowed her escape. Then everything would be normal again.
But I didn’t want that.
I realized I didn’t have my phone as I got into the rain. She was getting close to the outer gates.
That meant my men there could shoot her without any questions. It was what they were there for. They knew she wasn’t a domestic staff member, so they had every reason to think she was either trespassing or spying. Questioning wasn’t in their job description.
Marielle could die.
I should have left her to die.
That would have solved many problems in one. I wouldn’t have to worry about her sharing the information with the wrong people if I released her. Neither would I have to deal with the maddening effects of leaving her under my roof.
But the thought that she could die made my strides larger.
When I caught her, I held her there. I took all her yells and shoves.
I watched her break.
When she asked me why I didn’t hurt her, I was caught off guard. And that was something that never happened to me.
I told her the truth without considering how to filter it.
Her astonished blink told me my response wasn’t what she was expecting.
Rolling over, I stared at the ceiling, hands folded beneath my head.
It had been hours since then, but I lay sleepless in bed, the thought that I could have lost her reawakening things I thought were dead.
I was no stranger to the sound of gunshots; I heard it as often as students my age heard rock music.
So, I was sure. This was a gunshot.
Throwing my T-shirt on, I took the pocket knife I always had on my nightstand. I didn’t turn on the lights as I stalked out of my bedroom.
A scream followed the next gunshot.
I stilled.
That scream wasn’t just any scream.
It was my mother’s scream.
Moving stealthily, I became one with the wall as I moved closer to the sitting room.
My mother was on the floor, her sky blue satin nightgown stained with blood around the edge.
Three men were standing by her, all with guns pointed at her.
Where are my father’s men?
“Of course, he can’t always take you with him. The most feared Mafia boss leaves his wife behind, at last,” one of the men rambled.
“You don’t have to do this,” my mother told them, her voice firm.
The guy directly in front of her backhanded her face.
I felt the pain and fury in my bones.
If only I could get to my father’s room and get a gun. But, to get to the stairs leading to his room, I’d have to cross the sitting room. It was too bright for me to move without alerting the three bastards who stood over my mother.
Blood stained my mother’s cheek and lips.
“I absolutely have to do this. I’ve waited four fucking years to do it.
Your husband killed my sister, the only person who gave a shit about me.
And for what? She was just doing her job!
She only delivered the explosive as instructed.
Even after she ran away, your husband hunted her down.
He ended her before she had a chance of building the family she wanted! ” the guy directly behind her spoke.
He went on.
“I’ll tell you what, because you’ve been so cooperative, we won’t make it as painful as intended.”
My mother’s eyes met mine.
Then they moved.
I knelt there, unmoving.
“They stabbed her and left her to bleed out,” he revealed. “13 fucking knife wounds!”
My mother’s eyes moved again.
I realized she was telling me something.
She looked down before looking at me again.
Her eyes moved to the left.
The only thing on the left was the door. The door that led out of the house.
She was asking me to go.
Hell if I did!
“But that won’t be your lot. To be honest, seeing his face when he watches this video is worth it to me. He’ll rush home, telling himself he can still save you. Only to find you dead,” he revealed.
My body shook as I prayed to the powers that be for my father to arrive now. Or his men.
The rambling guy stepped in front of my mother.
Right in front of my eyes, he dug a knife into my mother’s stomach. She brought her hand to cover her mouth, but her tear-filled eyes showed her pain.
Her eyes signaled to the door again, with urgency and even anger.
But that wasn’t what made me run away.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I ran away from the feeling of helplessness.
My mother’s scream sounded again.
I didn’t stop running until I got to the dogs’ cage.
“Go inside. Play,” I instructed the three dogs as I opened the door.
Although the dogs killed one of them and my father completed the job weeks later, nothing could bring my mother back.
She would have been alive if she weren’t my father’s wife.
My teenage self vowed to never put any woman in that position. Ever.
My phone’s vibration brought me out of my thoughts.
“Ivan.”
“Boss. We’re done. They just left.”
“Okay.”
“Do we wait for you here or head back?”
“I’m not coming out tonight.”
“Okay, Boss. We’ll head back now.”
I sighed. My thoughts went to my father’s anger when I accused him of killing my mother.
“A mob boss is always a danger to those he cares about! Your mother knew this; she chose to be with me! I killed those who killed her, didn’t I? Sometimes, avenging is the best you can do,” he’d yelled at me.
“I won’t ever be like you. I’d rather be alone than put my family in danger!” I had fired back.
“You can’t escape it,” he declared. “And what about the others? Have you forgotten you are a Yezhov?”
While he wasn’t around to taunt me when it happened, my father was proven right.
I lowered my guard and fell in love. What I didn’t know, until it was too late, was that I was the only one falling. It was clean business to her. A masked betrayal.
It was a mistake I had sworn never to make again.
I swore never to feel anything again.
Marielle was shaking the very foundation of that resolve.
I had to stop her.
***
“What can I do for you, Mr. Ken?” I asked the man sitting across from me.
“I need a loan. My company is going bankrupt. We can’t acquire a bank loan. My personal worth isn’t enough to get the stock we need to continue production. So I need cash as soon as possible.”
“How much are we looking at?”
He heaved a sigh before answering, “I need $700,000.”
“That amount is a bit high for this time of the month.”
“Anything around $500,000 will go a long way. Personal loans can cover the rest.”
I leaned forward.
“My interest stands at 50%.”
“Oh,” he commented. “I’ll take it.”
Whoever told him about me must have prepared him for the kind of interest to expect.
“Good. I’ll loan you the whole amount. How do you intend to pay back? If you’re paying in installments, the interest rises to 65%.”
“How long do I have to pay back?”
“18 months.”
“I’ll pay once, then.”
“Good.”
“The information you give me in the form is merely preliminary. Disappearing into thin air when it’s time to repay is impossible. I don’t kill loan defaulters; I send them missiles to motivate them to pay up. Do you understand?”
He nodded. “Yes. I won’t default, I promise.”
“That’ll be all. One of my men will meet you outside to give you a form. After the necessary steps, the money will be wired to you within 48 hours.”
“Oh, thank you, sir,” he gushed.
“He’ll meet you outside.”
Leonid came in as Mr. Ken stepped out.
“Boss, Harry said Navarro’s men have been moving frequently in the last few days.”
“Have they been involved in any known attack since then?”
“No, Boss.”
“Hm. They are preparing for something.”
“Yes, Boss. Could be us or anyone else. It might not be for an attack at all. Harry hasn’t seen anything heavy.”
“Maybe not us. But if Lucien Navarro is half as smart as I think he is, he wouldn’t move at once either. He knows who he’s dealing with; he wouldn’t want to draw suspicions.”
“They always rely on an ambush. All of them, every time. They never learn,” he scoffed.
“Double the men guarding the estate. Ask Yves to recheck the breach alarms on all the doors.”
“Okay, Boss. What about the warehouse?”
He was right. Protecting the warehouse always came first; it was my business center, after all. Houses could be replaced at any time. But something had changed.
Marielle was in the estate.
“Increase the security here, too. But he shouldn’t be so daft to come here; I’m always here.”
Navarro couldn’t do me harm.
He wouldn’t even come close.
***
The sound of laughter bounced off the study walls as I got close to the door.
There were at least two people in there. But I recognized one voice.
Marielle’s.
She was saying something I couldn’t quite decode from where I stood, but the rush of excitement in her voice was clear.
The laughter came again—loud, nonrhythmic, alive.
It was definitely hers.
Not being in that room with her felt like I was losing out on something. I placed my hand on the knob.
But I held back.
I hadn’t seen her since her small escape attempt. Maybe in a few more days, I’d be free from her invasion of my thoughts.
I shouldn’t be walking deeper into my own undoing.
I turned around and left.
***
The attack hit just before dawn.
The invaders hadn’t gotten close enough to the house to trigger the alarms, but they had breached the east fence.
As I went downstairs, I instructed one of my men to check on Marielle.
She wasn’t in her room.
If they were Navarro’s men, she might be in danger.
That changed everything.
The rain started again.
I was out with my men in seconds. Eyes scanning the woods for her, I caught one of the invaders running toward the back garden. My finger paused on the trigger when I heard him speak into an earpiece.
“I have eyes on her…. She mustn’t survive; she knows things. I get it.”
I heard her scream at the same moment I saw his knife.
I pulled the trigger, and he dropped to the floor with a hole in his head.
The fact that he even got close to her made me want to give him a slow death, but there was no time for that.
From what he said, Marielle must be somewhere in the garden.
That was safe, for now.
So I launched myself into action, blood splattering all around. Lucien’s men were more than my men, but they were no match for us.
“Make sure none of them escape!” I instructed my men, pointing to the bloody bodies on the floor.
I ran back to the garden.
I found her curled against a tree, pale and trembling.
But she’s alive. It’s all that matters.
I was almost too late.
She didn’t say a word as I lifted her into my arms and went back to the house.
I dropped her at the foot of her bed, looking away when she lifted her soaked dress over her head. She got under the covers, blinking like she was in a trance.
I stood there at the edge of the room, watching until her blinks slowed and her eyelids eventually drooped.
As I left her room, my men confirmed that Lucien’s men were all dead.
I didn’t bother trying to sleep; I went straight to the study.
The attack wasn’t for me. It was for her.
She knew things that the bastard couldn’t risk getting out. And he was ready to kill her for it.
She’s a threat to Navarro.
That meant one thing: He wouldn’t stop.
Navarro wasn’t a Mafia member; he was more of a dirty businessman with friends in high places.
No doubt, he had plenty of shady involvements that certain people mustn’t get a wind of.
Even when he tampered with our shipment years ago, it took us weeks to discover the issue and stop him.
He certainly had his fangs in many other people’s business and would do anything for his secrets to remain hidden.
He would do anything to make sure Marielle couldn’t spill.
There was no second-guessing it; I couldn’t let that happen. The mere thought made me want to behead him.
I had to protect her. But her current hostage position was a limitation. I couldn’t give her enough cover as my hostage. I had to keep her close.
That almost made me chuckle inwardly.
As if she wasn’t disturbingly close already.
But now, I had to keep her even closer.