Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
NATHANIEL
TEN MINUTES EARLIER
F ucking customs. I swear they were holding our plane at the airfield on purpose. Everyone in my family had been here many times before and never had to deal with the bullshit we just did. We had already taken off late because my pilot was out on a date with his wife and intoxicated, so I had to find one looking for last-minute work. That never sat well. The twelve-hour flight felt like an entire year, and with each passing second, my nerves became more frayed. Then we sat at gunpoint in customs for another three hours before finally being released when I managed to get someone from the Russian consulate on the line. Now, here we were, racing to the school to get to Savannah and my son before Aldo’s men did something stupid.
A horn blared as all of my men barreled through a red light. I didn’t give a fuck if the cops were called. They had no jurisdiction over me.
“Any word,” I asked as Ivan got off the phone.
“The hit is active, and my guy says that men are on the move.”
“Fuck,” I growled and punched the leather seat. If Aldo hurt one hair on either of their heads, it would be all-out war. Nothing would stop me until I ripped his beating heart from his chest.
“The school is coming up on the left. Holy shit, there they are,” Ivan said, pointing as I followed the direction of his finger, and my world slowed. Savannah had her hair down, the strawberry color catching the sunlight as it blew around her face in the breeze. She was still as beautiful as the first time I saw her in the hotel bar. My eyes dropped to my son, and if you can instantly love someone, I fell hopelessly in love and knew that I’d sacrifice my life to save his.
“Shit,” Goran growled from the diver’s seat, snapping me to attention. “Aldo’s men are already here.”
I pulled my gun and clicked the safety off. Savannah must have spotted them as well because she picked up Cutter and ran down the street out of view.
“Go, go, go, don’t let them out of your sight,” I growled as the men who had been standing around casually broke their posts. I didn’t even have to give the order for my guys following me. They were already taking care of those on foot as we flew past them. The tires squealed, and smoke rose into the air as we careened around the corner. I had to grab the door, so I didn’t roll to the far side of the car.
I didn’t care about the bullets hitting our vehicle as I kept my eyes peeled for Savannah. I caught sight of her just before she dropped down out of sight to take cover.
“Protect them at all costs,” I yelled over the noise as we screeched to a halt, blocking Savannah and Cutter from the oncoming cars that were already firing at us.
My men knew what to do. They were some of the best-trained soldiers in the world and immediately blocked the SUVs and returned fire.
Pushing open my door, I jumped out and stayed as low as I could. As I rounded the backside of the car, relief washed over me to not see any sign of blood. Savannah looked at me, and her eyes went wide. The connection between us, which sat dormant like a pilot light waiting to be ignited, roared to life.
“Nathan?”
“Let’s go. Now,” I barked out, grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her between the parked cars. I could just see a glimpse of black hair poking out from the top of her coat as she passed and ran for the open door. I shoved her roughly inside as more of Aldo’s cars came at us from the direction we’d just come. We needed to get out of here now. I slammed the door and then blanketed their bodies. “Go,” I yelled.
Everything was a whir as Goran floored the vehicle into action. We needed to get to the Russian consulate. They couldn’t touch us once we were on the property. Getting out of the country was another problem, but I already had a line on an ally to escort us safely to my plane.
“Boss, they’re chasing us.”
“Doesn’t matter, just drive faster,” I ordered.
“What the hell is going on,” Savannah asked, but I didn’t answer. “Nathan, what’s happening?”
“I’ll tell you when we’re out of danger,” I growled. As much as I still had this undeniable pull toward Savannah, I wanted to kill her at the same time. All of this could’ve been avoided if she’d told me about Cutter the moment she knew she was pregnant. Instead, she’d kept my child from me and made the two of them a target. I didn’t know if I could ever forgive her for that, but I was going to rectify the issue because Cutter was not growing up without his father. Not as long as I still had blood pumping through my veins.
It felt like we were on a fast-moving rollercoaster with the way the car was jerked one way and then the other, whipping around corners. I trusted Goran to get us out of this. He was the best driver I knew, and he was so dedicated that he sat on the plane—while we waited for customs clearance—memorizing all the roads for a ten-mile radius around the embassy.
“Hang on,” Goran yelled. I had just gripped the top and bottom of the seat when we hit a bump that tossed us airborne. My shoulder screamed at me as I held all three of us down. We landed hard, and I groaned, knowing that I was going to need my shoulder worked on when we got back. Stupid rotator cuff.
“Fuckers are trying to block us in,” Ivan said. “Go that way. My guy says they don’t have anyone to the East, and we can go around them.”
My muscles strained as Goran hit the brakes, and we skidded around the corner like we were on a race track. We were jerked to the left and then right before Goran accelerated on a straightaway.
“They’re coming from the other direction,” Ivan said.
“Doesn’t matter. We’ll make it. Is the gate open,” Goran asked. I hated not being able to see what was going on, but making sure Savannah and Cutter were safe was priority number one. “Hard right coming in three…two…one,” Goran counted down, and once more, I squeezed the leather in a death grip. “We’re good,” Goran said as he slowed the vehicle and finally came to a stop.
Pushing myself up, I looked up at the large building and had never been so happy to see the Russian flag before. I was born in the U.S., and it was my home, but our family allegiance was still to my father’s home country. Glancing out the side window, I watched our other cars pull in, keeping an eye on the few that stayed at the end of the driveway. Guards closed the gates, and I took in a deep breath. They wouldn’t dare storm in here, no matter what.
“It’s safe to sit up,” I said, and Savannah slowly pushed herself up. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No, we weren’t hit,” she said, and it was way too tempting to move her hair out of her face so I could see her clearly. My hands itched to touch her skin.
“Can I stop hiding?”
“Yeah, you’re safe,” Savannah said. Those three words shouldn’t have affected me the way that they did, but I loved the idea of being their safe space.
Cutter unburied his head and looked at me. “Thank you, mister,” he said perfectly and casually as if he had just gotten a coffee at a café and hadn’t almost died. “What’s your name?”
And just like that, all the sweet fluttery shit that I had no business feeling was stomped out as rage choked off my air supply and came storming back. Savannah had never mentioned me.
“Nathaniel,” I said, getting out of the car before the rage had me wrapping my hand around Savannah’s throat.
“We’ll be safe here for now,” I said as Savannah got out, and I escorted the two of them into the building. The guards inside stopped us and took our guns, which I really didn’t like, but we weren’t in a position to complain. A female officer walked over to Savannah. She put Cutter down so she could be frisked and pulled two knives from hidden sheaths.
“No gun?”
“My job had me here as a housewife and a bookkeeper. You don’t see too many soccer moms packing,” she said, her tone defensive.
“Maybe, but that’s not what you were really doing now, was it? You should’ve been more prepared for a day like today.” Her eyes turned glacial, which made me smirk.
Before she could say anything else, I stepped away and spoke in Russian to the Consul General who was on duty. I waved Savannah over as she picked up Cutter, and I held out my hand, pointing for her to head into the massive office.
“You can stay in here for now. There are a few phone calls I must make.” I closed the door on her as she opened her mouth to speak. I needed the distance before I did something I would regret. Pointing to three of my best soldiers, I snapped my fingers, and they moved into position in front of the door like a solid line of muscle. They wouldn’t let her out or anyone in.
I turned to the Consul General. “I need an office and a priest.”
“Any priest? I’m sure I could have one here in twenty minutes,” he said, leading me to an office further down the hall. “Would you like anything? A meal, perhaps?”
“Yeah, any priest. I don’t need anything else, but please have something sent to my wife and son. Nothing that requires utensils, especially a knife,” I said, and he smirked.
“I will see to it. This is a secure line, and you’re free to use it.”
“Thank you. Hopefully, we will be out of here in the next couple of hours.”
He nodded. “You are free to stay as long as you like.”
I waited until the door was closed before I pulled out my phone and looked up the number I was after. Picking up the secure line, I hit the numbers and drummed my fingers on the wooden desk as I waited.
“Pronto? Chi parla?”
“Mr. Genovese, it’s Nathaniel Mikhailov calling.”
“Nathaniel, I wondered if I would hear from you. I was looking forward to a visit, but not under these circumstances,” he said, and I sat down to compose my thoughts.
“That was my hope as well, but no such luck.”
“I assume you are looking for safe passage to your plane?”
“I’m impressed. You not only know that I’m here but that I was attacked and now need your help. Anything else you’d like to tell me about my trip?”
He burst out laughing on the other end of the line. “No, but you certainly have stirred up a hornet’s nest with this mess. Luckily, no civilians were hurt.”
“I didn’t start the shooting. I only came to protect, not start a war.”
“Fair enough. But tell me, why would you allow the mother of your son to investigate one of your allies?” I remained quiet, and as the seconds ticked on, Mr. Genovese sighed. “You didn’t know about the boy, did you?”
“I did not. Nor did I know about the investigation.”
“Well, that makes my life easier. I will grant you passage. My soldiers will escort you as Aldo is a wildcard of a man who continues to be a thorn in my side. But Nathaniel, you either need to kill her or make sure she never testifies. I’m sure the Mancinis will already have men hunting the others on the case.”
“Understood, and I will see to it that Savannah never sees the inside of a courtroom. But I want you to know that I will kill Aldo Mancini before this is done. He put a hit on my son. My son. No one does that and lives.”
“Hmm. I’ll make you a deal, Nathaniel. My assistance today is a debt repaid for the help you gave me a few years ago, and if you can remove Aldo, then I will owe you in the future. As long as Cesare or Romeo Mancini don’t find out, of course.”
“Very generous. I was happy to eliminate him for free. Consider it done.”
“Excellent. I will have my soldiers there for noon. That gives me time to warn other families not to join Aldo, or they will face my wrath.”
I smiled. “I wouldn’t want to.”
He laughed again. “Grazie, ciao, ciao.”
The line went dead, and I slumped in my chair. Thank fuck. I really had no interest in spending the rest of my life hiding out in this building.
“Savannah, Savannah, Savannah,” I mumbled as I stood from the desk. “I fully intend to shut your mouth up forever.”