Chapter Two
Nikolai’s scowl was enough to send anyone in his path scrambling in the opposite direction, scared to have his head hung on a pole. But tonight, the Russian Bear did more than just scowling. He smirked, his lips curling up into what looked like a crazy version of a smile, but that was as good as it could get. Yet, everyone in the dark basement knew that it was worse than him scowling.
It was one of Nikolai’s secret locations, out of the prying eyes of New Yorkers, in Asharoken . Located deep in the woods, Nikolai had built a shelter stocked with the barest minimum, so there wasn’t enough light seeping in from the small windows, and the cold at night was enough to drive anyone crazy. But Nikolai knew what he was doing, leaving it that way. It made his interrogations easier.
A scraping sound resounded as Nikolai drew a cane along with him on the cemented ground, heading towards the bloodied man tied up on a high back chair in the middle of the room. Without the ugly bruises and bleeding that his face now sported, Oleg was a hard man with big muscles all over the place and a face that looked like he always had something he was angry over. He looked unconscious, with his limp hand hanging on the left hand on the chair, but Nikolai knew it was only a ploy. The Russian bear could still see the man’s chest move, and his left eye twitching from time to time.
Just a few days ago, Nikolai asked Oleg to move the ammunition at the port because he thought it was time to give him something more to do. Even though his intuitions told him something was amiss, he still wanted to give him a try, just for the sake of it. But he had asked some of his other men to keep a close watch on him. Nikolai had been a hundred percent sure that someone had been feeding information to a rival Bratva. He just needed to know who it was.
Turned out this fucker was the culprit.
“It’s time to wake up.” Nikolai stooped slowly in front of Oleg; the smirk far wiped off his face. This time, it was replaced by anger, and the dire need to stick a knife into this man’s bowels. The one thing no one did was to double cross the Bratva and the head of the Davydov family.
Oleg opened his eyes at once, fear etching on his features. He shook his head emphatically and lifted a broken wrist to plead with Nikolai, but pain shot through his bone at the movement, and he returned them to the hand of the chair at once.
“Hurts like Hell, doesn’t it?”
“No! No!” Oleg shook his head again, trying to scamper for safety, but only ended up accentuating the pain from his broken bones. “I deserve it!”
“Hm!” Nikolai was pleased that, at least, this one didn’t deny the fact that he had messed up. All the others, even though caught in the act, still at least tried to pin it all on someone else. “So, oblige me, why were you trying to sabotage the shipment? Who asked you to do it?”
“Boss, I didn’t know…”
“You didn’t know what ?” Oleg was not in any way prepared for the authority in Nikolai’s voice, even though he spoke like that all the time. The strength and power in his voice still sent tremors down Oleg’s spine as starts shaking in trepidation.
“They …they told me that…they wanted to get rid of you. They have my sister. That was the only way to keep her safe.”
Nikolai chuckled, a cold, sinister sound coming from somewhere deep within him. His cold eyes fell on Oleg. “Did you ever think about coming to me for help? Or do you think I’ll watch the family of any of my men get toyed with?”
The Russian Bear might be the most ruthless leader that ever existed, but one thing he didn’t joke around with was the affairs of his men. Even though most of the times he acted like he didn’t care when any of them were in danger, he was willing to sacrifice anything for them. That was what his late father taught him - keep your friends attached to you because only then does true loyalty spur.
So, this wasn’t about Nikolai’s unwillingness to help, and they both knew it.
“You were about to be trading sides,” Nikolai tells Oleg, getting on his feet. “That was the reason you invested this much time trying to get me to trust you. It was never about the Bratva from the very beginning.”
“Boss…”
Nikolai didn’t have time for any of this. The girl at the hospital would be awake anytime soon, and he wanted to be there when she opened her eyes. He still had this strange and compulsive feeling that he knew her from somewhere, and knowing Nikolai, there was no way on Earth he was letting this go without getting to the bottom of it. Although he barely stressed about things that had no connection with the Bratva or the five leadership families, something about this girl kept making him do things he would usually not do.
Driving her to the hospital himself was one of them. It was the only reason Oleg was still alive by this time, albeit hanging on the precipice of life itself.
Nikolai withdrew his handgun from his strap, blowing an invisible speck of dust off it. He relished in the way the presence of the gun brought a look of horror on Oleg’s face. He should have thought about the consequences first before even conceiving the idea of crossing the Russian Bear.
“No,” he muttered, returning the gun to the strap. “You’re not worth my time.”
One nod to his men was enough to convey his message, and a chorus of "Yes, Boss!” followed him as he backed out of the basement, the sole of his brogues hitting the floor. As soon as he got out into the open, he retrieved his phone from his pockets with one solid movement, the silence of the woods doing nothing to unnerve him. He had been here more than enough time to recognize when his surroundings were becoming a threat. And the people in the area knew the Russian Bear marked this territory as his.
The tall trees surrounding the path leading away from the building formed an arch above his head, and Nikolai smirked as he remembered how he had come there often as a child to practice shooting a gun with his father. It felt like ages ago now, and even though Nikolai didn’t exactly have one of the best relationships a son could have with his father, since the older Davydov was so focused on getting Nikolai ready to take over as the leader of the family, he was still his father, nevertheless.
“Boss!” Dmitri’s voice echoed through the phone, and at once, Nikolai pressed it against his ears. He could feel his heart beating wildly as the words formed on his tongue, and he paused for a second. Why was he acting so weird?
“The girl,” he muttered, willfully detaching every emotion from his voice. It was one of the many skills he learned from his father. “Is she up now?”
“The doctor said that should happen any minute now.” Dmitri wasn’t one for a long string of words, and that was one of the things that made Nikolai keep him right beside him.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes.” It felt like Nikolai was telling Dmitri to do everything he could to ensure that the girl didn’t get up until he arrived. But that was hardly possible, even for someone as powerful as Nikolai. If he could control the forces of nature, the Russian Bear would be top of the list of worshiped gods by now.
The usual thirty-one-minute ride at an average speed took Nikolai only fifteen minutes. Aside from all of his intriguing qualities, he prided himself as the best racer there is. No one has ever been able to beat him on the road, not even Dmitri, who was also a terrific racer.
The glass doors leading to the waiting area in the hospital jumped open as Dmitri strode powerfully through the room. He looked straight ahead, with his usual demeanor - scowling and, at the same time, broody - and took the elevators, reaching the third floor and heading towards the private ward. He stopped at the first door and unconsciously adjusted his perfect suit before proceeding inside.
For a second, Nikolai was stunned as his eyes fell upon Lisa’s face the moment he stepped into the room. He had seen her before she was admitted, but the dull lights of the night hadn’t given him this clear and sharp vision. Now, he could see everything - how her hair, he had thought rough, was actually shiny and wavy, now flowing on the pillow like in a world of its own. Her face had been scrubbed clean already, and Nikolai was once again pulled back in memory, only that he had no idea where he was headed.
And he so hated feeling this way.
Being armed with knowledge was one of the greatest thrills about being a member of one of the five leadership families, and the leader of the Davydov family at that. But now, faced with the gnawing at the back of his brain as he tried to figure out why her face looked so familiar, Nikolai had to admit to himself that he needed to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. He needed to feel wholly in charge again, but in the meantime, this would have to do.
Nikolai knew the best thing to do was to let it go, just as he had done in the past with situations he felt weren’t worth his time or energy, something that wasn’t bringing any particular benefit to the family. But again, he doubted he could let this one go.
“It’s nothing,” the Russian Boss told himself as he settled into the couch directly opposite the bed, grabbing the day’s papers and spreading it wide open. “It’s just a new toy for me to use.”
***
Although she didn't know where she was, Lisa was quite confident that this wasn't Heaven. The room was sterile, with the sound of beeping machines coming from somewhere beside her. Her eyes met the white drapes, as well as the matching tiles. She had read books about what Heaven looked like, and one thing was sure - guys in Heaven didn't wear such perfect-looking suits and stared into nothing with hardness in their eyes. He didn't know she was awake yet, so Lisa tried to get her brain working, even though it gave her a bit of a migraine. She remembered leaving the restaurant after her shift and heading back to her shitty apartment when…
"Fuck!" Lisa cursed as the memory came flooding back. The dark suit, the eyes… How dare she have thought that he was an angel?
The man sitting on the couch opposite her bed looked nothing like an angel. Instead, he looked like a devil's spawn, only a hotter version of the way the books told it. Breathlessly, Lisa allowed her eyes to fan through his body, hoping that he didn't look her way just yet.
Nikolai was a perfectly structured man, a replica of the one Lisa used to dream of back in grade school after sneaking off to read those cliche romance novels where her foster parents wouldn't find her. However, she also knew that men like that didn't exist, with piercing blue eyes that looked like they could stir even the calmest of waters, squared shoulders that easily filled the perfectly tailored suit, making him look like he had just walked out of a fashion magazine. Lisa blinked once as she took in his face, his wavy shoulder-length hair, as dark as nightfall, falling across his forehead. Lisa felt a weird need to put her hands through the silky strands, but the scowl on his face made her doubt he would like that. He looked like someone who hated any form of physical contact, particularly from someone he had only just met.
Get a grip on yourself, Lisa!
But there was one more thing resounding in Lisa's head. She tried again, flicking her eyes through his body, noting how fit he was, with lean muscles. She was a hundred percent sure that he would easily tower over her, not even caring whether she felt comfortable with him flexing his abilities over her. Lisa just knew he was that kind of person. She could feel it even without having to say a word to him. It radiated off of him like a strong and compelling aura, but rather than run in the other direction, Lisa felt strangely intrigued.
And that was the problem! If she had seen this man before, there was no way she would have forgotten him in such a hurry. Yet, she was almost certain that it wasn't her first time seeing him. Those eyes - they reminded her of a faraway memory that seemed to go away from her reach every time she tried to grasp it.
"Oh!"
Lisa hadn't meant to moan out that loud, but the pain in her head had decided otherwise. The man in the dark suit cast his eyes on hers casually, as if her little outburst had disturbed his peace, even though he wasn't doing anything. At least, nothing that Lisa could see. But that was more than enough to get her hyperventilating. Lisa swallowed impulsively and tried to calm her raging breaths as he got off the couch and approached her, taking his time to reach the bed. He obviously also loved doing things at his own convenience.
Who the hell was this guy?
"Now that you are awake, do you care to tell me what that stunt you pulled was all about?"
Lisa was right! He towered over her easily, his tall frame looking perfect on his build.
His voice sent tremors down her spine, and Lisa resisted the urge to go with her emotions and scrambled to safety. A lot of people probably already responded that way to him. Even before she knew Nikolai fully, Lisa had already decided that she would not be one of them.
"What stunt?" Lisa felt embarrassed that her voice came out in that croaky tone when his voice was as hard and deep-set as a lieutenant in the army. Maybe that was exactly what he was.
"I've seen the results of your scan. You don't have amnesia."
Lisa blinked twice, and the lights made her feel dizzy. No! No! No! She couldn't possibly fall asleep right now - at least, not when this familiar stranger was talking to her.
The next time Lisa woke up, Nikolai was in the room with two other people, one of them obviously a doctor, decked in white, and the other was dressed similarly to Nikolai, although without the swagger. The second person was not as tall as Nikolai, but he looked more buff and had an even harder look. Lisa noticed how his eyes never seemed to leave Nikolai, watching him like a hawk. A bodyguard, maybe?
His eyes fell on hers as if he could sense she was watching them, and he looked at her oddly, like he didn't want her anywhere near them. Lisa could sense the hatred coming off him, but she had no clue what she did to make him hate her already. Or was that part of his job as a bodyguard too? To hate everyone his Boss comes in contact with?
As if affirming her thoughts, Dmitri nodded to Nikolai. "Boss, she's awake."
Oh well! There went her opportunity to ogle a bit more without being discovered. Lisa had already decided that she hated the bodyguard.
Boss? Is that what they call him?
Nikolai wordlessly approached the bed and lifted her in his arms easily, as if she weighed nothing. Lisa oddly remembered something similar happening after the accident: a pair of large hands picking her off the ground. She couldn't remember the scent of whoever it was, so there was no way to decipher if it was the annoying bodyguard that had brought her here, even though the chances were high.
Although it was really petty, Lisa prayed Nikolai was the owner of that pair of hands.
Still saying nothing, Nikolai carried Lisa out of the room and walked through the waiting room outside while the nurses looked on with a tinge of jealousy in their eyes. Lisa, on the other hand, squirmed in his arms as she struggled to get back to the safety of the ground. And it wasn't that she felt uncomfortable in his arms, far from it. Lisa didn't know this man, yet his strong, woody, and earthy scent wafted through her nostrils and cloaked itself around her, tightly pulling at the strings attached to her senses.
She held her breath, not wanting to do this to herself. This man wouldn't hesitate to throw her on the floor the moment he discovered what she was thinking.
"I can walk by myself!" she protested countless times, and each one of them fell on deaf ears. Nikolai didn't put her down until they were by the car. Dmitri appeared suddenly beside him, and pulled open the door of the backseat, while Nikolai dropped her carefully inside. She could see the look on Dmitri's face as Nikolai paused for what was longer than necessary after dropping her.
Was this unusual?
Lisa wondered if he too thought she looked familiar. Perhaps, that was what was going through his head in those few seconds.
Nikolai, however, couldn't vouch for the exact reason his body refused to move. He found himself pleased with the color of Lisa's eyes - unexpectedly gray. Watching her, he imagined how it would feel to have those eyes rolled to the back for him and only him. The mere thought of it made him hard.
Now, that only added to the number of strange things that had happened in the space of twenty-four hours.
The Russian Bear wasn't a horny bastard because he had great control over his desires. But this woman… this woman!
"Address?" Nikolai asked as he got into the driver's seat. Lisa gave it to him, and they began the short journey to her home. As they approached her neighborhood, Lisa couldn't help but feel so self-conscious that this man was about to see how she lived. No one had ever been to her home or even had a clue where she lived, for that matter, yet everything changed in the blink of an eye. How would she get out of this without looking like some desperate beggar?
"You can leave me here," Lisa said in a low tone, putting her hand on the lock. "My apartment is just ahead."
"Where?"
Was he always this bossy?
"It's fine…" Lisa struggled with what to call him. Boss didn't sound ideal to her. But then again, why not? "Boss. I can manage on my own."
Nikolai smirked, oblivious to both Lisa and Dmitri. He liked it when she called him Boss - it made him think of some great ideas. Looking ahead, Nikolai's eyes fell on the only building in sight - an apartment complex painted cream, although he was sure it must have been a brilliant white about a hundred years ago.
One moment of stretched silence abounded in the car, and every pair of eyes was fixated on Nikolai, whose eyes were still fixed on the building. It was wobbly at one corner; give it another few months and it would have collapsed totally to the ground. There was an ugly green patch of spirogyra covering the base walls of the building, as well as a puddle of water Nikolai was sure bred a lot of insects.
Lisa stayed quiet in her seat, unconsciously holding her breath. She recognized the look in Nikolai's eyes - she had seen it in the eyes of some of the peers at the orphanage she grew in each time she was returned by her numerous foster parents; she saw it in the eyes of her mates at high school each time she walked in sporting a new injury. It was pity and sympathy, two of the most hated human emotions, at least to Lisa. Now, Nikolai would think she was some charity case that needed a swift intervention.
As if reading her mind, the soft purr of the engine brought Lisa back to the car, and she opened her mouth in protest as Nikolai backed out onto the main road and away from her apartment.
"What are you doing?" Lisa protested, annoyance subtly building in her. "Stop the car! I want to go home."
"You call that home?" Nikolai said coldly, stepping on the gas. "I'm changing your lifestyle, so you better stay mute and be grateful."
Lisa thought Nikolai pitied her, but his tone said otherwise. He was bewildered that anyone lived in that sort of manner. But that still didn't give him the right to lord over her. God knows that she had had enough of that leaving with her foster parents.
But deep down in Lisa's heart, she knew that Nikolai was nothing like her foster parents. Only that she had no clue what he was exactly.
"Boss, as much as I hate to admit it, I think she's right. Let's leave her at home."
"No."
"But…"
"Dmitri, enough! Can't you see the state of where she lives? This has nothing to do with what any of us feel. I would rather put up with her than feel the guilt when she dies all alone in her frail apartment just because I hit her with my car."
"Hey, I'm right here, you know?"
Silence.
Lisa wanted to say more than her weak comment about how they spoke as if she wasn't in the car with them. She would have if she hadn't had this strong feeling that this man called Boss didn't like people opposing his ideas. But it still stung hearing him talk about her like some inconsequential being, only causing an interference in his perfect life.
Lisa could tell that from the air of authority about him, how expensive his suit looked, how he regarded the apartment complex with disgust, and, of course, the car. It was a fucking Jaguar!
But how dared he speak about her life like that? Did owning a nice car make him any better?
Suddenly, Nikolai brought the car to a halt by the roadside and got down. Dmitri did the same, walking around the car to Nikolai.
"Take her to the mansion and have the nurse check up on her. Make sure she doesn't go wandering into places she shouldn’t."
It was strange, though. They barely had outsiders in the mansion, so none of the men had any trouble tagging rooms as prohibited. The most they had was hosting a party with all the members of the leadership family in attendance, but it never went beyond the large living room.
Although Nikolai didn't want to admit it to himself, he knew he should stop right here. Personally ensuring she was taken care of was one thing, but bringing a total stranger to the home of the Bratva was a line he never crossed. However, Nikolai couldn't bring himself to close his eyes to a possible new distraction. He didn't know what he was going to do with Lisa yet, because he kept on making spontaneous decisions.
But that was what made the prospects very exciting.