Chapter 30 Nathan
It took a little digging, but the Kharitonov’s aren’t people we want to get on the wrong side of.
There’s a certain amount of power that comes with money, with us having paved our way over the last ten-plus years, but the power they wield…
It’s not the same.
I’m not even sure we should have asked for her help, and while Vince assures me that’s not who he called, anyone connected to her could be bad news.
The fucking Bratva…
Oh well, it’s too late now. All I can do is hope that if anyone can find Carter, it’s them.
It doesn’t take long for them to deliver.
And I mean that in the most literal sense of the word.
It’s been only four days since we spoke with them. We’ve just finished dinner, and Kat is upstairs giving Addison a bath while we clean up.
It’s strange how not strange it is being tasked with things I once found so beneath me, such a waste of my time.
We had hired help with everything, and while we still have some, probably always will, I don’t find we rely on them so heavily anymore.
Kat made us present in our lives again, just another thing that I’m forever grateful to her for.
Pounding on the glass door makes all of us freeze, eyes darting from one to the next as we stand in shocked silence.
Nobody should be able to reach the back door without going through security, and I haven’t heard of anyone being approved, nor do I remember any meetings set.
Not that we would ever set one up this late at home, but still.
The sound echoes through the kitchen to us again, and this time we all move.
Vince quickly pulls a gun from the holster he has hidden beneath his coat and stalks into the kitchen with the rest of us not far behind him.
I’m not sure what I expect to find, but it’s not the group of people standing at the back door, one of whom is waving with a smile that seems more dangerous than inviting.
“Who the fuck is that?” Des hisses, letting me know I’m not the only one confused.
Nobody answers, though.
That’s not good.
Crazy Smile seems to realize something before he holds up a finger and turns his back to us. Whatever he does with his back to us has someone else moving forward, and now I’m going to have to fire all of my security team because how the fuck did this guy get past them?
He’s enormous, but that’s not what’s important here. No, what’s important is what he’s showing us, which none of us seem to notice until he all but slams it against the glass.
Carter.
Sure as I’m standing here, Carter is on the other side of the glass, his face pressed against it in what appears to be an uncomfortable way.
Good.
Vince tucks his gun away and moves to the door, and slides it open before stepping back.
The big guy all but shoves Carter over the threshold, and he looks a little roughed up but not too bad. However, the gag in his mouth is definitely appreciated, considering there are little ears in the house.
He stumbles forward but somehow manages to stay upright before he bolts out of the kitchen, leaving us all to stare after him.
Well, all but Crazy Smile.
“I love when they run,” he mutters like a prayer to the heavens before he gives chase.
There’s a clatter in the dining room, and less than a minute later, Carter walks back in with a knife to his throat. I’ve met many men in my life, many of whom are capable of killing or have killed, but he’s different.
I can see from the look in his eyes that he not only can do it, but he enjoys it.
“One cockroach delivered, alive.” I turn at the sound of the voice, the female voice, and I know who it is, but seeing her is strange.
She’s small, probably no taller than Kat, and her hair is dark at the roots and fades into green at the ends. Tattoos and piercings are here and there, and she has that same hint of wild in her eyes that crazy smile does, but her smile is just as harsh.
“I assumed you wanted him alive, but I wasn’t sure. If not, we can handle him for you,” she offers as if simply asking about a food delivery or some other mundane thing, not literal murder.
I can’t bring myself to mind, though. I’ve had a fair share of men murdered in my time, most of whom Vince has been in charge of handling, like Trevor. It’s a necessary evil, and something tells me these guys know all about that.
“No, that won’t be necessary,” I say before Crazy Smile gets too excited and offs him by mistake.
“Yeah, we have a few questions for him first.”
“Perfect.” She gives a little clap, and Crazy Smile walks Carter over to Vince, looking almost as if he’s moping. “Oh, don’t pout, Zan. We have others you can handle later.”
Clearly, I wasn’t the only one to notice.
“Yeah, but he was fun,” Zan says, and it’s impossible to miss the whine in his tone.
“He was,” she says with a nod, holding her hand out to him, and he’s quick to move to her. “If I might ask, what makes finding him such a priority that you needed our help?”
I open my mouth to answer, but before I can, I realize she isn’t looking at me.
No, her gaze is behind us, and I have a feeling I know what I’ll find even before I turn around, even though I really hope I don’t.
I’d hoped to shield her from this, at least until she could let me know how she wanted to handle it.
“I…” Her eyes cut to me, and I see the panic there.
“You don’t have to, Katherine.” I push past everyone around me until she’s in front of me, quickly wrapping her up in my arms.
A very unmanly wail muffled by a gag has me turning, and I hold Kat’s head to my chest, looking up to find that Jade, the tiny girl who runs the Russian mafia with her brother and cousin, is every bit as deserving of that title.
Carter is on his knees, clearly having been dropped forcibly. Her hand is wound in his hair, yanking his head back. The angle looks uncomfortable, but I’m sure it’s nothing compared to the feel of the knife that’s biting into his throat.
“You don’t, but I promise it helps,” Jade assures her, and I see it, the flash of trauma that shines in her eyes, and while I have no doubt she uses it to her advantage now, I’m sure it wasn’t always that way.
Kat pushes at my chest, and I reluctantly let her move back enough that I can meet her gaze when she looks up at me.
Her eyes shine with determination, and I don’t want to let her do this. I want to protect her from everything, but I know I can’t, especially from things that have already happened.
I make myself let her go, or mostly let her go; letting her face this doesn’t mean she has to be alone. Letting my hand trail down her arm, I intertwine our fingers and allow her to see the position Jade has Carter in.
I’m not sure how I thought she might take it, but the way her eyes shine was unexpected. All that does is let me know how fucked he must be; our Kat doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.
Kat tells us about how they met in school, how she thought they were soulmates, and how everything was wonderful—until it wasn’t.
Her face falls, and I hear her disdain seep in as she talks about how he started treating her, leaving her home, disappearing for ‘work trips,’ comparing her to coworkers.
By the time she gets to the part where she walked in on him with said coworker, I’m not the only one seething.
Jade’s guys look like they would love to tear him apart themselves.
“And you're sure you want to handle this yourself?” Jade asks, and again she doesn’t look at any of us but Kat.
She turns to look at me, and I see the uncertainty in her eyes.
I hate it and need it gone. So, I do the only thing I can think of that will whip that look away.
Cupping her face in my free hand, I hold her in place as I lean into her, pressing my lips to hers with more force than necessary, as if I could physically force away her doubts with just my lips alone.
When I finally force myself to take a step back, I get the satisfaction of watching her slowly blink up at me in a daze.
“What was that for?” she asks in a quiet voice meant only for me as she presses a finger to her lip.
“I just wanted to make sure that you understood how important you are. He might be a stupid fuck with a death wish, but at the end of the day, he chased you away, right into our arms, and I’m super fucking grateful for that. For you.”
I hadn’t meant to pour my heart out, but it’s all true, and the way her cheeks heat is so damn cute.
“Yeah, Kitten, you’re ours now. So let us handle the trash and be done with it, once and for all. We have a life to build, and we don’t need any skeletons in the closet.”
Kat shakes her head at his silly metaphor, but the smile on her lips gives away how she really feels.
“If you guys want to handle him, that’s fine. I don’t care who does it. I just want him to leave me alone. I don’t want to put Addy in danger again.”
“Your daughter?” Jade’s question catches me off guard. Make no mistake, my family is very much in the public eye, but I didn’t expect her to know us, not like that at least.
“Yes, he tried to kidnap her, making Kat give herself to save her,” Vince hisses, his gun pointed at Carter as if daring him to move so that he can shoot him.
“Fuck, let me have him, please, Doll,” Zan, the crazy one who chased him earlier, all but begs, making Jade roll her eyes.
“No, he’s theirs. We did our job, Zander. Besides, we have other scum to clean up in the city while we're here.” She shoves Carter down, and without his arms, he ends up sprawled on the ground, where he stays.
Smartest thing he’s ever done, if you ask me.
Zander pouts but doesn’t argue.
“Daddy, call Elio and see if he can meet with us. Maybe he has something for you to do, Zan.” I see the shock on the rest of our faces at the use of her nickname, but I’m more interested in the name she just dropped.
I know Elio; he’s also a very successful businessman here in New York.
“Yes!” Zander jumps around like a child who's been told he can have a Christmas gift early. I’m somehow not shocked when the big-ass guy is the one who pulls his phone from his pocket to do as she asked.