Chapter 12
Valeri
Iwatch Evie as she walks around the counter, giving the newest bouquet of flowers I brought her a sniff on her way.
Her face lights up every time she sees them, even when she has no idea I’m watching her.
She’s not going to be happy when I tell her I have to go out tonight.
Last night had been a close call, too close of a call, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head.
That fucker had pointed a gun at her, and his death had been too quick.
Tonight is about revenge for more than just coming after my girl, although that is reason enough.
The man who’d had a heart attack while Volodya was questioning him had the same mermaid tattooed on him and so had the other men who’d tried to interfere with our weapons shipment.
I hadn’t put it together because it’s not an image I’ve ever seen associated with any of the locals we’ve run up against, but there’s no way in hell it’s a coincidence.
We’re going to be paying a visit to the Blue Lagoon tonight, and no one will be leaving it alive.
Evie walks towards me, a soft smile on her beautiful face, and when she curls up in my lap and rests her head on my chest, I wrap my arms around her and wish like hell I didn’t have to go.
It’s the first time in my life I’ve wanted to just stay home instead of go where the action is because there isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be than right here with her.
I bury my nose in her hair and breathe in her scent. She kisses my neck while her fingers play with the back of my hair. Just that simple touch is enough to make my heart speed up and my cock start to stiffen.
“I have to leave in a few minutes, baby,” I say, hating the way her fingers still and her body tenses ever so slightly. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“You’re going after them, aren’t you?”
“We have some unfinished business with them,” I say, trying to keep it vague.
“Because of what he did last night?”
“Partly,” I tell her, and then pull her closer for a kiss. “I can’t tell you details about what I do, baby, but I promise it’s the only thing I’ll ever keep from you, and the only reason I’m doing it is to keep you safe.”
“I know,” she whispers against my lips and kisses me again. I savor the taste and feel of her until my phone buzzes in my pocket and know it’s my brothers letting me know they’re waiting for me downstairs.
“I have to go,” I tell her, kissing her one last time before standing up and taking her with me.
Carrying her to the elevator, I keep her in a tight hug until I’m forced to set her down.
“Don’t leave the apartment, and text me if you need anything at all.
I’ll answer as soon as I can.” I cup her face, running my thumb over the bruise that’s slowly fading, grateful that it’ll be the last time I ever have to see it marring her skin.
“I love you, lapochka, so goddamn much it scares the hell out of me.”
She smiles and runs her fingers over my dimple. “Good. Now you know exactly how I feel.” Her smile widens when I laugh and give her ass a good squeeze. “I love you, Valeri. Be safe and come home to me.”
I rest my forehead against hers. “I will, baby. I promise.”
Giving her one last kiss, I force myself to break contact and step into the waiting elevator.
She hugs her arms across her chest and tries to hide how worried she is, but I see it in her beautiful eyes.
I hate it, but I also know it won’t be the last time that my work causes her worry and pain.
I’m determined to make sure she never regrets choosing to be with me.
I’ll make sure the moments of worry are outweighed so strongly by the moments of pure bliss that she’ll barely notice them.
With one last smile, the doors close and her face is hidden from me.
I immediately miss her, but I force it aside and put all my focus on work.
By the time I get in the back of Volodya’s Camaro, my head is fully in the game, and I’m ready to end some lives.
“How’s Evie?” Vasily asks from the passenger seat.
“She’s good. She took it better than I thought she would,” I admit.
“Was that before or after you fucked her up against the wall in the alley?” Volodya asks with a laugh.
“How the fuck did you know about that?” I ask him.
He laughs even harder and pulls us out onto the main road. “I didn’t.”
I try to be pissed, but I can’t be. I can’t ever stay mad at either one of them. “Bastard,” I mutter, but that only makes him laugh again.
“You walked right into that one,” Vasily says.
“Yeah, yeah,” I tell him, digging my phone out so I can send Evie a quick text before we reach the bar.
“If you want to call her, you can,” Volodya teases. “We’ll be quiet, won’t we, Vasya?”
Vasily laughs. “So when are you going to propose to her? You did clean out your phone, right? God that must’ve cleared up some storage space.”
I wait for them to stop laughing. “Have your fun. I deserve it. I teased you both when you turned into massive softies, so have at it. I’m going to propose very soon, and I did empty my phone.”
“Nina wants you both to come to supper this week so Evie can meet Dmitri and Misha,” Vasily says. “Be sure to have a son, too, so we can get the next Medvedev generation going.”
I smile at the thought. “I’ll do my best.”
“He may have been conceived last night,” Volodya says. “God, wouldn’t that be fitting? One of the next Bratva bosses conceived because his daddy couldn’t resist fucking his mom up against a dirty building right after he’d stabbed a man to death.”
“He’ll get along great with your son,” Vasily says. “We all know he was most likely conceived in the woods after you chased his mom down like a fucking psycho.”
Volodya laughs instead of getting offended. “Yeah, he was.” He gives a small shrug. “Maddie’s fun to chase.”
I laugh and read the text that Evie just sent, telling me she’s about to go for a swim in the rooftop pool.
Did you pack your suit?
No. ;)
I bite back a groan at her response. Images of her wet, naked body run through my mind, and now it’s mixed with what my brothers just said.
What if she is already pregnant? It’s a thought that would’ve sent me into a fierce panic before I met Evie, but now I’m sitting in the backseat with a huge fucking grin on my face while I try like hell to not get hard because now is definitely not the time.
When Volodya stops the car, parking against the corner near the bar, I turn all my attention to what’s about to happen. He checks his phone and then turns to us. “Everyone’s ready and waiting.”
The Blue Lagoon sits back from the street, and it’s a rundown-looking place that no one would ever pass and think, hey, let’s stop in here for a drink.
It’s clearly designed to be uninviting for everyone who doesn’t have a standing invitation.
The small parking lot is filled with motorcycles, and I’m betting they each have a topless mermaid with a blue tail painted on the gas tank.
“Everyone knows that Lyle’s mine, right?”
My brothers look back at me, each of them wearing a wicked grin, revealing that deadly part of themselves that they usually keep hidden away.
“Don’t worry, little brother,” Vasily says. “He’s all yours.”
Volodya checks his knives and then sends a quick text to Maddie, probably telling her to get her running shoes ready, because when he gets back to her tonight, he’s going to want to hunt her down.
Nina and Evie aren’t going to be getting off the hook either.
The Medvedev brothers will be going home after this with one thing on our minds.
Tomorrow our women will carry around an ache between their legs, every step reminding them of us.
“Let’s fucking do this,” Vasily says, sending out the command to everyone as we get out of the car.
Soon the night is filled with the sound of motorcycles drawing closer.
We’d told our guys to come on their bikes so it would be easier for them to slip in and out, and also it won’t look so suspicious from the outside to see a parking lot packed full of motorcycles when it’s a known biker bar.
The first group comes in as we turn onto the cracked path that stretches to the door.
Classic rock filters out from the dark bar as I grab my gun and click the safety off.
The second group comes into the parking lot while the third one stays around the perimeter to keep others out and to alert us if the cops decide to show.
Men dressed in black sweep along the building, watching the windows and backdoor. I catch sight of Oleg’s white-blond hair before he ducks around the back, and soon Nikolai and Ilya are next to us, both wearing excited grins as they ready their guns.
Vasily looks back, giving us a nod before he opens the door and steps into the dark interior.
We quickly fan out, covering every angle.
The jukebox flips to a new song while the crowd eyes us, clearly not thrilled to be interrupted.
Several more of our guys rush in, and when Volodya sees the bartender start to reach for something, he jumps over the bar and slits his throat before anyone even realizes what’s going on.
As soon as they see the blood, all hell breaks loose.
Some of the bikers start yelling while others try to reach for weapons, but we’ve got them outnumbered.
I hear a few silenced shots behind me, and when the asshole in front of me reaches for his gun, I put a quick bullet in his head and then point my gun at the next guy.
He wisely keeps his hands where I can see them and doesn’t attempt to move.
When a waitress comes out from the back, she looks around and then glares at the roomful of Russians. She’s older and judging by the hard look in her eyes, she’s been working this job for a long time and seen it all.
“Sit the fuck down,” Vasily yells at her, kicking the chair in front of him in her direction.