Chapter 3 - Avraam
Finally, the day has arrived. I’ve been waiting too long for this moment and now it’s here. She’s slipped her guards and she’s out on her own. No one to look out for her. No one to take care of her. And no one to stop me when I kidnap her.
I knew my patience would pay off eventually.
There is a fast-moving undercurrent of excitement flooding me as our SUV follows her. She appears to be finished shopping. That means that she will start looking for a taxi to head home, if I’m not mistaken.
We need to move now.
“She’s heading towards the center of the district, sir.”
“Yes, I think she’s done here.”
My driver moves across a lane and takes the turn.
Ruslana darts down a side alley.
Shit.
There is no reason for her to suddenly be moving with such purpose when she’s been relaxed the entire time before this.
She’s obviously realized that we are following her.
Dammit. I really didn’t want this. I wanted to drive past her and just drag her into the SUV without causing too much of a scene.
My driver turns to catch her as she’s coming out the other side of the alley and she quickly turns into another one.
“She’s seen us. Stop the car. I’m going on foot,” I say, agitated and feeling adrenalin begin to surge. I can’t risk losing her. This is my one chance. I have to get her today. If I don’t—chances are her guard will triple after this.
I jump from the car and tell the driver to keep me in sight but hang back.
Then I hurry in her direction.
Stalking through the back alleys and side streets, I watch my prey.
She keeps glancing over her shoulder, her long hair flicking out behind her as she moves faster.
I find myself watcher her hips, swaying as she starts to jog. Everything about her, every move she makes is filled with sex appeal. She is far too alluring for her own good.
My heart beats even faster. Pulsing in rhythm to her steps.
I want her.
I will have her. By the end of today, she will be locked up and under my control. She will belong to me.
She darts right down a narrow alley and I duck into the alley alongside it, shooting out the back to just miss her as she runs past.
To my surprise, she shoots a comment back at me.
“Too slow, asshole,” she says, sounding breathless but feisty.
Are you kidding me?
She’s that confident.
That self assured.
She’s dropped her parcels somewhere and moving more freely, unencumbered by the shopping bags.
She’s realized just how serious this is and the chase is on now.
She knows she’s in trouble, there is no more subtle play.
She’s running for her life.
But still choosing to be cheeky.
I chuckle as I bolt after her. She just made me want her even more.
As I run, I wave my hand in the air to signal to the driver to stay closer to me. Once I have her, I have to get her into that SUV as quickly as possible.
Ruslana appears to know this place well. She is choosing a route that, so far, has kept her safe and blocked me off on a number of occasions. But what she doesn’t know is that I grew up not too far from this district and my sister and I used to play around this area a lot when we were young.
There is a dead end coming up. An alley that leads to nowhere.
All I have to do is lure her into that street and the rest will be easy.
“What the fuck?”
I freeze, looking left and right up the street as I round a corner. She’s gone. It’s like she’s vanished into thin air. I look up, half expecting her to be hanging from a drain pipe, trying to climb onto a roof. But I don’t see her. She’s gone.
How can that be?
There is only one road, there is nowhere she could have—
I hear a sharp shout of alarm. Someone caught by surprise.
“Get out of here!”
“Tommy, Tommy, call the police.”
Of course.
I chuckle.
Shit, she’s good.
She’s slipped into the open door of someone’s ground-floor apartment. They must have had a good fright when a gorgeous girl suddenly ran through their living room.
I run around the back of the apartment, knowing she is heading through the place and planning to escape out the rear exit. Pity the tenant gave her up with their noisy outburst.
She comes tiptoeing from the door, looking to her left—and then to her right—directly into my eyes. I’m grinning and she’s frozen like a deer in the headlights.
She opens her mouth to scream, but I grab her, spinning her around and pressing her back to my chest—I clamp my hand over her mouth.
She kicks and squirms and claws at me—silently.
I hold my position, blocking her air, she can only fight for so long without oxygen. My eyes are darting around me. I don’t need those tenants stepping out back and seeing me. No witnesses. It will be too dangerous for me. And the last thing I want to do is have to take them out.
“Stop fighting, it will be over quickly,” I sigh softly.
She kicks one last time, desperate to get away, but it’s useless.
Slowly, her body begins to go limp in my arms, sinking against me, her soft moans of panic fading to nothing as she losses consciousness.
“It’s ok, butterfly. Relax. I’ve got you,” I whisper against her ear.
When she is completely limp and I’m one hundred percent sure she isn’t faking it—because that’s what I would expect of her—I lift her off the ground and jog to the waiting vehicle.
My driver is anxious to leave.
“Did anyone see?” I ask.
“Not that I can tell, but we should get going. It’s not like we were as subtle as I would have liked.”
“I’m ready,” I say, slamming the door.
Sleeping beauty is sprawled out on the back seat, her head on my lap.
I brush a strand of long blonde hair from her face, moving it away from her lips. Running the pads of my fingers across her smooth, warm skin and over her mouth.
She is absolutely stunning.
Resting peacefully with her lips parted, her breathing soft and even.
“We are going to cause some trouble, aren’t we, Ruslana?” I chuckle, imaging how angry her brothers will be when they realize she has slipped her guard—and how devastated they will be when they can’t find her.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this?” I mutter to her, pulling her onto my lap as we head towards my mansion.
I just need to get off the road and away from any potential witnesses before her brothers find out she’s gone. I want her locked up and safe before the shit hits the fan.
My driver moves quickly but not fast enough to attract unwanted attention. We arrive at my mansion in good time.
Ruslana is starting to stir. She’s mumbling and muttering, but I can’t make out what she’s saying.
In the driveway, I push my door open and lift her into my arms. She weigh nothing, light as a feather as I carry her up to the room I had prepared for her weeks ago. I didn’t expect this process to take so long, but it doesn’t matter now. It was all worth the wait.
“Park that car in the garage. Better to keep it out of sight for a while.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dex and Royce stand up when I walk past, carrying the sleeping girl.
“Fantastic, you finally have her,” Dex comments with enthusiasm.
“Is that Ruslana?” Royce asks tightly.
“Who the fuck else would it be?” Dex snaps.
“Can you two please double the guard around the perimeter as we planned for her arrival? I’m going to settle her down into her new room.”
“It’s already done, sir. As soon as we got the report that you were preparing to take her, I had everyone work quickly to get ready.”
“Thanks, Dex.”
Upstairs, I gently set Ruslana on the bed, smiling down at her. I don’t know what it is about her, but I definitely admire her. I can’t wait to meet her face-to-face. While I feel like I already know her, from following her for so long, I am looking forward to having a conversation with this feisty little minx.
“Did she get hurt?”
I hear his voice from behind me and turn, agitated, towards Royce.
“What are you doing in here?” I ask bluntly.
“Was she injured when you captured her? I mean—we need her to be safe if we want to use her—“
“She’s perfectly fine, Royce. I asked you a question. What are you doing in here? You should be downstairs watching the perimeter and organizing the guards.”
“I wanted to offer to watch over her. Someone should be stationed in her room or outside the door—just in case. I know how resourceful she is. I’m sure you do too, sir. I can stay in the room with her and make sure she doesn’t escape.”
I shake my head, standing up from the bedside and turning to face him. “That won’t be necessary, Royce. I will be watching her myself. All the other guards can be downstairs and outside. She can’t leave the property without needing to go through the garden.”
His jaw muscles feather, his eyes are fully focused on her, not me.
“Royce,” I say sternly.
“Yes, sir. I will secure the perimeter. She won’t get past,” he huffs.
“Why do you look so agitated about this—is it her? What is going on?”
“No, sir. We just have a lot riding on this—that’s all, sir.”
He spins away from me and walks briskly out of the room.
Something about him sets my internal alarms going. I don’t know if he’s worried about the girl or worried about the success of our mission. I can assume that because he put so much effort into tailing her previously that he is very invested in this mission—at least, I hope that is what’s going on here.
I’ll stick to my gut instincts, though, and keep a close eye on him.
He must be pissed off about how the last kidnap attempt went. A lot of his team members were killed. That gives him a lot of reason to hate the Kuznetsovs—and her. But as long as he isn’t going to try and exact his own revenge—as long as he follows my lead—I have no problem with him wanting vengeance. But it has to be on my terms. I am the one in control here and he will do best to understand that.
I stand in her room for a moment, watching her, sleeping peacefully.
She is going to wake up and be really pissed off that she didn’t win that chase.
I grin.
“I’m looking forward to meeting you,” I say quietly, then I walk out of the room. Closing the door gently behind myself, I lock it, two clicks as the bolt falls into place.
No one else has the key.
I slip it into my pocket.
“I’ll come and see you a little later this afternoon, butterfly.”
Heading downstairs, I walk the full perimeter of my property. I know Dex would have done a good job, but I feel more confident about security once I have laid my own eyes on it.
The men are alert, in position, and the patrols are all running smoothly.
During my walkabout, Dex stops me and jogs over.
“Is it to your satisfaction, sir? I can add more guards if needed, but it’s just one girl.”
“Remember, it’s not only the girl we are guarding against. We are also prepared for anyone who is going to try and break her out from the outside.”
“I have taken that into account. We have several teams on standby, not patrolling, but in rotation in the west wing of the mansion should they be needed.”
“Thanks, Dex. I knew you would set this up properly.”
Happy with the security, I head inside to have dinner and unwind a little. I’ll give her time to wake up, most likely throw a fit, and then calm down when she realizes there is nowhere to go—then I will go and see her.