Chapter 24David
24
David
“ I want to come with you.” Hazel’s eyes are like spiky, sharp ends of a blade.
“I love you so much, and that’s why I can’t let you do that,” I tell her gently, but firmly.
We’re sitting in the vacant apartment together, as my best crew goes through a rundown on where to strike Oleg next.
“You let me come with you to the other warehouses,” Hazel reminds me.
I glance over my shoulder. Everyone is busy working and talking. I take Hazel’s hand. “Follow me.”
We walk into the empty bedroom, and I close the door so we can talk in private. Hazel’s expression is carved from stone.
“Please don’t give me a hard time about this,” I tell her.
Hazel looks away, staring at the wall. “I’m the one who lead you to where Oleg is doing most of his manufacturing.”
“That’s why I can’t let you go back there. It’s too dangerous. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”
“I do know. I’ve seen it,” Hazel argues.
I place my hands on her stomach, which is already starting to swell, changing everyday with growing life.
I’m looking at her stomach when I say, “you should consider the baby now. It’s not just about you, or even me anymore.”
When I glance up and meet her gaze, I see the spark of understanding brightening her eyes.
“What about you , then?” She quizzes. “You’re going to be a father. Should you really put yourself in this danger either, by confronting Oleg? You know it will end in gunfire.”
I lift my gaze to the ceiling and release a long exhale until there is no air left in my body, like I’m a crushed soda can. I look at her. “I need to go, Hazel. I’m the boss.”
“Well, I’m coming.” Her defiant voice dares me to argue.
“I hate it when you act like this.” I don’t say it unkindly.
She wrinkles her nose at me. “And I hate it when you tell me what to do.”
I scoff. “Don’t act like a brat.”
“Don’t treat me like one of your men that you can boss around, and I won’t.” Her voice matches the anger in her eyes.
I reach for her hand, surprised when she lets me hold it. I study the frame of her face. We’re in the dark, but my eyes have adjusted to it. Her gorgeous cheekbones and piercing eyes captivate me in a way that disorients me, like being in a dream.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
She sniffs, but she’s not crying. “You shouldn’t call me names.”
“I didn’t mean it.” I squeeze her hand.
Hazel’s eyes are wide like a sad puppy. Every bone in my body is going to break under the weight of how much I love her.
“Make it up to me by letting me come along,” she urges.
“Maybe I’ll just stay here with you.” It’s the only compromise I know how to give to make her listen to me.
Her mouth hangs open. “What?”
“I’ll just send Vlad. He knows what to do. You saw how well he handled the destruction at the other warehouses.”
Hazel screws her eyes shut and shakes her head. “No. You can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
Hazel starts chewing on her thumbnail. Her eyes are nervous, skimming over me as if she’s afraid I’m going to walk out the door never to be seen again. Her fears are valid. I just don’t have time to argue with her about it.
“Vlad might miss something important,” she declares, as if her statement solves everything.
When I open my mouth to protest again, she starts talking quickly. “Think about it. I saw these weapons being manufactured with my own eyes, and Oleg was there. I was originally going to write an article about gun trafficking. I’m already involved, David.” Her hands are clammy and warm, wrapped in mine. “I need to be able to take pictures, especially of Oleg there and running the illegal trade. It will help clear your name, David.”
I contemplate. The room is quiet, absorbing the millions of thoughts between us that we aren’t saying, like they’re being sucked through a vacuum.
I feel myself caving under the pressure. “Are you sure you don’t want to just stay here with me, where we will both be safe for the little one?”
I cup my hands on her belly, then lean down on my knees and kiss her navel, stroking her stomach.
Hazel puts her hands on my shoulders. She’s looking at me very fondly, but her mouth is upturned in a strange half-smile. She brushes her fingers through my hair. A buzzing sensation vibrates through my muscles, and I let out low groan, allowing my eyes to briefly close.
“I love you. We’ll be safe, I promise. We survived the hits at the other warehouses, didn’t we?”
I open my eyes. “That was different. Oleg and his men weren’t there.”
“David, you need me for the evidence. You can protect me, and I trust you to do that.” Her eyes blaze with a passion so fierce it makes my head spin.
I’m still on my knees in front of her. I lift my chin and gaze into her beautiful face, hoping tonight won’t be the last night I will ever see it, hoping that this won’t be the last time my fingertips will have the luxury of grazing across her warm, soft skin.
“Alright.” I blow out an exasperated puff of air. “We’ll both go. We’ll ride over with Vlad and meet a group of men I already have stationed nearby. They’re waiting for my clearance on the ambush.”
Hazel’s smile is almost giddy.
“I take back what I said before, when we were fighting,” I tell her.
“What?” She frowns.
“When I said you weren’t cut out for the bratva life. I was wrong. You belong. You have a storm inside you, and it’s memorizing. Sometimes relentless.”
Hazel beams. Her face is radiant under the moonlight framing her face, spilling into the room in squares of silver.
“At least you realize it now,” she hums, her lips inching towards mine.
Her breath is warm on my face. Her mouth flutters against my mouth.
A euphoria so paramount surges through me, I get dizzy. This woman has a complete chokehold over my emotions, and I love it.
I lift her in my arms, hugging her tight to me. Our kisses are indulgent. She moans softly against the back of my ear.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you too. Now let’s go. We’re out of time.”
In the car outside the warehouse, we’re cast in shadows. I turn, addressing Hazel and Vlad. “Hazel wants to be responsible for handing over the information to the police after tonight. She’s the journalist, they’ll take her seriously and won’t suspect her involvement.” I pause and look at her. “Not that you’re involved, really.”
Hazel chews on her thumbnail again. I’m surprised there’s anything left of it. “Well, not in the illegal aspect, anyway.”
Vlad shifts in his seat. “What kind of information?”
“Well for starters, I’m going to be taking pictures,” Hazel explains.
“From a distance,” I add.
“Yes.” Hazel nods slowly. “And I’ll give them information from what I saw when I came to the warehouse by myself.”
“Just so you know,” I begin, clamping my hand on her thigh to feel its warmth, and because I need it to ground me. “You don’t have to do any of this if you don’t want to.”
Hazel still has that motivated gleam in her eye. “I want to do anything I can to erase these charges from your record.”
I lean in and kiss her again as if my life depends on it. Maybe it does. Kissing Hazel is like breathing air.
I whisper in her ear so only she can hear me. “When this is over, I am going to be the best father and most attentive partner.”
There is magic in her eyes. Her palm presses flat against my cheek. “Those qualities are already woven into your soul.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I swipe to answer. One of Vlad’s crew captains says in a gruff voice. “They’re here.”
“Thanks. We’ll be there in a minute.” I look at Vlad. “Oleg and his men are inside. “Ready to do this?”
Vlad cocks his pistol. I hate that we must resort to violence, but Oleg will be prepared. Using guns is more about survival than anything else.
Vlad’s jaw is razor sharp enough to cut through glass. “Let’s take them down one by one, so they’ll regret ever betraying us.”