Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Maddox
The place was desolate, a farmhouse seemingly in the middle of nowhere with a barn and a few other outbuildings. There was nothing for miles, but Morinrock was decently close. It was the perfect hideout. Convenient and no neighbors.
We’d parked a mile out, nearly forty bikes and one vehicle of suits that was pulled over into the red dirt of Arizona.
“We hoofin’ it from here?” Whitney asked. The older man looked tired already in the full heat of the day, but he was a steady shot, and he had known Helena longer than all of us. There had been no way he would have let me leave him behind, even if I wanted to.
We’d pulled down a small side road into a dry wash to hide the bikes from the main road. The suits immediately exited their vehicle and approached Dimitri, looming uncomfortably beside him. A few of the club members had already strolled up to them to try to make conversation, but that hadn’t gone well. Pike was already eyeing them with interest.
“It’s a mile that way. There is a farmhouse on the left; you can’t miss it. Dimitri, Pike, and the suits will come with me in the Escalade. This guy is expecting the pakhan for the meeting, so he won’t be too alarmed when we pull up initially. Whitney.” I turned to the older man and pinned him with a hard stare. “I’m counting on you to watch the clock. Exactly fifteen minutes after we leave, you get the group geared up and follow us.”
“Count on it, prez.” He looked doubtfully at the Bratva soldiers and Pike. Are you sure you’ll be okay with that lot?”
“I’m sure, old timer.” Clapping him on the back and giving a chin nod to the Brotherhood grouped up, I headed towards the car, motioning to Pike to follow.
“Can you give the direction to your men to follow with Whitney?” It was weird for them to be under another club’s direction, but I didn’t have time for niceties.
“Already done. My VP has it under control. He and my men will go along with yours in fifteen. This is the ‘assistance’ the pakhan sent then?” Pike asked, one eyebrow raised in question as we reached the Escalade.
“It’s a long story that I don’t have time to answer right now,” I admitted. “We’ll talk about it soon though. This is part of it, though.”
“No explanations needed fucker. I’m here for it all.” He grinned at me then, and I realized how much I’d missed him.
To my surprise, Dimitri was in the driver’s seat. “Let’s go get your girl.”
“Fuck yeah.” My body buzzed with adrenaline and nerves as we drove out of the wash, tires bumping in the ruts left by last spring’s rain.
“Ok, Maxim talked to the asswipe earlier, and the plan was for him to meet up and pick up Helena from the house. He told Sergei that he wanted to question her personally.” Dimitri drove with one hand out the window and one hand on the wheel. I would think he was relaxed, except the tendons on his neck stood out in stark relief from his tattoos.
“That’s good then. He’s expecting the car, right?” I asked nervously. I could see the farmhouse coming up fast, and my palms were already sweating at the thought of what awaited me.
“Yeah, brother. That’s good. Just let me take the lead, alright? He’s expecting a Volkov Bratva boss, and he will get one,” he paused. I’ll get out first, cool?” Dimitri’s broad features, which I’d always associated with him, were pinched with concern as if he were worried he’d offend me.
“However, we need to play this. I’m good,” I confirmed. There had been in a time in my life when I’d concerned myself with the macho shit, but that wasn’t what this was about. If Sergei were looking for the Bratva, we’d give him the illusion of Bratva. I didn’t give a shit what I had to do.
“Let’s leave the cuts in the car,” Dimitri suggested. I immediately shed mine, even though I caught Pike’s surprised look as I shrugged it off.
“Man, I just want Helena back safely. The fewer shots fired, the better. Dimitri’s logic is sound.”
“For sure. This is the first time I’ve not been calling the shots in a long time. It’s weird.” He looked unsettled, but he pulled his Cobra cut off and folded it on the floor as the Escalade slid into place in front of the farmhouse.
The car’s windows were tinted so much that they were blacked out. The two goons on the front porch couldn’t see Dimitri as he pulled his vest off. They seemed as cool as cucumbers as if they weren’t holding someone hostage inside. Maybe they had no idea they were going against the Bratva or that two MCs were riding against them. Perhaps they had no clue they’d die soon.
We’d pulled in straight, which was brilliant since we were about to open the doors. Dimitri stepped from the vehicle, his shoulders square, pushing his sunglasses up onto the bridge of his nose. He spoke to them in Russian, but his demeanor threw me off. Everything about him seemed different, from how he held himself to how he talked to them as if he expected them to defer to him. He snapped his figures at us then, imperiously.
“Boss is ready,” one of the bratva soldiers said and opened the door. “Let’s go.”
Pushing out into the heat from the cool of the car, I reminded myself that this was Dimitri’s show. We were here as part of his entourage. This was about getting Helena back, not about shooting these fuckers — not yet.
“Lead the way then. Don’t make me wait.” Dimitri’s accent was more pronounced than ever as he addressed the men on the porch. They looked at each other apprehensively.
“Of course, sir. We had been expecting the pakhan. Sergei had said …”
Dimitri cut him off with a growl as he pulled his gun and pointed it at the one who spoke. “I speak for my brother and the Volkov Bratva. Do not doubt it.” He smiled with malicious glee, a sight I’d seen a few times that I’d rather forget. “I only need one of you.” The bullet hit the first man right between the eyes.
Pounding feet could be heard from the farmhouse’s interior as the remainder of the men had heard the shot. The man’s body had fallen unceremoniously onto the worn wooden planks, the pool of blood already spreading far enough that I had to step to the side so I wouldn’t be getting that shit all over my boots.
I sighed, “Fuck, you’re so messy.”
Dimitri waved his gun and gestured for the remaining man to move forward into the house and towards the footsteps that still seemed to be headed our way. “Let them know Dimitri Volkov has arrived for Helena Marsh. I don’t have all day either.”
Dimitri pushed him forward roughly right into the oncoming two men. The count of four men was on target then. One of the oncoming men was heavy and lumbering. He struggled to keep up with the second man, whip-thin with balding hair.
“Company, the Volkovs,” the man from the porch said. “He shot John,” he added.
“Toss the guns,” Dimitri demanded, giving his gun another wave casually at them. To the Bratva men, he said, “Prover’ ikh.”
The men moved forward to incentivize them as they resignedly divested them of their weapons. Brusquely, they patted them down.
My eyes searched for any signs of Helena, but the house’s interior was empty, except for a questionable-looking couch that looked like it could have come from any random thrift store.
“You’re here on behalf of the pakhan?” The voice sounded from the top of the stairway. This must be Sergei, stocky, muscled with blond hair and eyes that glinted even from here.
“Da,” Dimitri grunted. “I am Dimitri Volkov. Where is the girl? The pakhan sent me for her.” Dimitri had stowed his gun and had taken his knife out, cleaning his nails casually. If only Sergei knew that Dimitri had disemboweled people with it.
There was a moment of quiet, only an awkward shuffling of feet as the men looked from us to Sergei. I held myself still, trying to project Dimitri’s boredom as if we had all the time in the world when, in reality, my heart was thundering in my chest. What did it say that she wasn’t calling out for us? She must have heard the shot.
“You killed my man.” Sergei peered out at the porch in the sunshine with disquiet.
“I’m not here to play fucking patty cake. You have breached trust with the Bratva. Where is the girl? She has the information we want.” Dimitri’s voice was cold as ice, his stand hard.
Sergei’s shoulders slumped in defeat, and then indicated one of the bedrooms at the top of the stairs with a chin lift. “In there.”
“Very good. Let’s discuss while my men fetch her.” He waved an imperious hand down the stairs to indicate that Sergei should come down. “Go get the Marsh girl,” he said to Pike and I.
I was tired of playing this game. My boots thundered as I rushed the staircase, and I didn’t hesitate to give Sergei a hard push as I went past him, sending him tumbling down the steps. Turning, I gave Dimitri a stern glare. “No killing him yet,” I said, even as his body was falling down the steps.
Sergei’s men were beginning to rouse, struggling to put the pieces together in this new scenario and trying to figure out how they’d been duped. Still, Dimitri’s soldiers were already raising their guns and executing them efficiently.
Pike’s hand on my shoulder kept me moving forward, pushing me to the top of the staircase. As the door swung open, the momentum carried me into the room, but I came to a screeching halt. I’d known Sergei had ‘lost his temper’; I’d not known what that meant. Helena lay unmoving in the back corner of the room, one hand outstretched to me. Every inch of her appeared to be beaten; her face was already swollen and bruised, and her shirt torn, but the rest of her clothing seemed to be intact. Her delicate hands spread on the carpet as if she were tracing patterns in it. Even they hadn’t been spared.
“Maddox.” Her lips quirked into a semblance of a smile.
The words were a whisper, a prayer. She was alive, at least, but she was barely conscious. Kneeling beside her, I was careful not to touch her. “Princess, help is here. You’ll be okay.” My heart was breaking as I looked at her, my angel princess.
“We’re going to need to take her to a hospital,” Pike said behind me. I agreed; her injuries were extensive.
“Baby, I’m just going to take a look and see what that asshole did. Let me see how bad this is.” Lifting the edges of her shirt gingerly, she winced at the bruising along her ribs that was already present. Fuck. “Helena.” Placing my hand softly against the curve of her face, I tried to bring her back to me. “I’m going to need to lift you. It’s going to hurt.”
“Don’t leave me.”
“Never, princess. Never.”
“Should we move her?” Pike asks. “Maybe we should call an ambulance.”
“We have to. There are four bodies downstairs, and no time to move them. She can’t wait for us to clean this up.” I could feel the reverberation of the bikes as the rest of the Brotherhood and the Cobras arrived outside. Hopefully, they could deal with the cleanup.
As carefully as possible, I gathered Helena in my arms, stealing myself against the whimpers she made. I knew it hurt. There was no way she didn’t have at least one broken rib. I was only praying that there wasn’t any internal bleeding. Pulling her tight against my chest so I didn’t jostle her more than necessary, I exited the room, Pike behind me, leaving the ugly room behind us.
Dimitri took us in as we began our way down the stairs, the look on my face and Helena, battered and bruised in my arms. His face went blank as I walked as slowly as possible down the staircase. Each step made Helena moan with pain, sending a knife through my heart.
“What the actual fuck,” he growled. He turned back to Sergei, who was anchored between two Bratva soldiers. “You already knew you were a dead man, but you’re going to regret what you did to Helena. Mark my words.” He enunciated every word, getting right into his face. He poked a finger at him and whispered, Ty budesh’ stradat’.” Sergei’s eyes widened with horror.
“I’ll need the car,” I told Dimitri. “She needs a hospital.”
“Of course, I’ll have one of the brothers bring a car for us. I’ll take this douchebag to the basement at the Open Road.” Sergei looked at each of us, more and more confused.
“You are not Bratva?” he asked.
Not bothering to stop my progress, I said, “You’re a dead man. For touching Helena, your death will be a penance. Every bruise, every bone broken, will be inflicted on you a thousand times over.”