10. -9-
Nina
Adrenaline pounded in my ears, drowning out every other sound. It kept me alert, aware that the tiniest mistake would destroy everything.
By now, Malin and the entire security team noticed that Dorian was missing. I overheard the bodyguard shouting about sending someone to look after him, but we disappeared before anyone could detect that I led him to his car and drugged him.
They would come for me. I knew it. Like trained deadly dogs on a leash, once they caught my scent, I was doomed. But at this very moment, I was the winner.
I checked on sleeping Dorian in the rearview mirror and sped down the highway. Fear burned in my lungs, but exhilaration drowned it out. I kidnapped Dorian Zhumagulov from under the noses of his brothers and bodyguards.
What a fucking move!
I planned this only in case everything else failed. I never believed I’d actually do it. But desperation and obsession had long wiped out common sense.
My hands clutched the steering wheel tightly, and cold sweat covered my forehead.
My hair was glued to the skin on my neck and back, making me uncomfortable, and the high heels and long dress made driving harder.
I constantly checked the mirrors as if someone was chasing me, knowing the storm was on its way.
Not a storm. A fucking mayhem. Zyon and Malin would crush me, but I couldn’t go back. Not when I already had him.
“It’ll be fine,” I mumbled under my breath, stealing another glance at the back.
Dorian’s head hung low, only the seatbelt keeping him in place.
His dark hair stuck in all directions, and he was pale, but considering the cocktail in his veins, it was understandable.
I used a lot of sedatives, and he was drunk like a sailor on shore leave.
When I found him in the garage, he could barely stand. He had no idea who I was. The opportunity to execute my plan without him knowing who was behind the abduction was presented to me on a silver platter. I couldn’t let it slip between my fingers.
Playing an open game was dangerous, because if Dorian found out my last name was Valentino, he would instantly reject me. But with a kidnapping and the scene I prepared to get him where I needed him, it was possible to avoid uncovering my identity until he had no choice but to cooperate.
But Malin and Zyon…
Shaking my head at the scenarios appearing in my head, I forced myself to focus on the road.
There was nothing rational left to think about.
I’d kidnapped a man to escape another one.
The consequences would be catastrophic, but I wasn’t turning back.
Once I captured Dorian, which was incredibly easy, by the way, he was mine. Period.
My phone’s buzzing stirred me, and I quickly looked at the incoming text. Lucas was already at the meeting point where we would switch the vehicles. It was one of many precautions I took while creating this plan because I knew what kind of opponent stood against me.
Malin Zhumagulov was a genius. The security systems he built, the schemes he created, his hacking skills, and the diligence with which he worked on his tasks were unmatched.
He was incredible at sniffing people out.
He stalked people just for fun, and I knew he would find me eventually.
I would need tremendous luck to escape his radar, but right now, I was one step ahead of him, and I intended to keep that advantage as long as possible.
Entering the abandoned underground garage on the other side of the city, I exhaled in relief when I saw Lucas sitting on the hood of his Land Rover. It was parked right beside the old Toyota I brought there yesterday. It was registered to a farmer in Texas, perfect for doing illegal shit.
“Help me move him,” I said as soon as I jumped out of the car and opened the back door. Dorian slept like a baby, snorting quietly, completely oblivious to his surroundings.
“Wait a second,” Lucas said, walking to me with his open laptop in his right hand.
He was a computer nerd who was great at hacking, and considering he tricked Malin and his team into thinking someone was on the roof while he sat in his car, it was a fantastic performance.
None of this would be possible without his help.
“I have live footage here from Starlight, and Zyon is going nuts. Are you sure you want to proceed?”
He turned the laptop, but I looked away.
“Yes,” I replied without hesitation, refusing to stare at the enraged beast. It would only plant more doubts in my mind. I knew what I was getting myself into. I risked everything, and I would either win or lose. There was nothing in between.
“Fine.” Lucas sighed, placing the laptop on the front seat. He pushed me away from sleeping Dorian, shaking his head at his tall, muscular form. “Not sure we can make it, though. He’s over two hundred pounds.”
“Two hundred and thirty,” I narrowed down with a smile, biting my lip to suppress it when Lucas noticed my grin.
“My point is that I don’t know if we can get him into another car,” he said in an annoyed voice, unfastening the seatbelt. Dorian instantly fell on him, his face buried into Lucas’s black shirt.
“Terrific,” my best friend groaned, moving and positioning him until his arms were wrapped around Dorian’s torso, and he pulled him out.
“Fucking hell,” he exhaled, dropping Dorian on the dirty concrete floor.
His massive frame hit the ground with a thud that echoed off the walls, and his watch cracked.
“He’s much more than two thirty.” Lucas straightened to his full height, moving the golden locks from his forehead.
“Bring the car closer, Nina. It’s going to be a struggle. ”
I’d never seen Dorian this close before.
He was enormous. Lucas was tall, lean, and athletic, and I always thought he was strong, but here we truly might have a problem.
Dorian was taller than him and more muscular.
His back was broader, and his biceps, straining against the expensive fabric of his suit, were much more prominent.
When I looked at his large palms and the shining golden Rolex encircling his wrist, my mind went momentarily blank.
The imaginary scene of him caressing my naked skin with those hands made the blood rush to my cheeks.
“Nina,” Lucas exhaled exasperatedly, tapping my shoulder. I flinched, waking from my fantasy about the unconscious god devouring me like his favorite meal, and ran toward the car.
I moved the Toyota as close as possible, my brain switching into survival mode as I desperately searched for a faster solution.
But Dorian was a dead weight. He was completely limp, and the awkwardness of this situation only heightened when Lucas lifted him into a sitting position, and his face rested against Lucas’s groin.
“He can’t know about this,” Lucas groaned, pushing Dorian away, but he fell to the exact same spot. “He would castrate me.”
A giggle escaped my lips, but I quickly masked it behind a cough when he glared at me.
“Would you mind having him on his knees?” I teased, realizing I felt no jealousy or hostility, even though he was gay and surely found Dorian attractive.
“I would kill for it,” he answered with a strained smile, looking down as I leaned Dorian against my legs to support him.
“However, he’s not into men. It would be considered an attack, and the retaliation would be deadly.
” He narrowed his eyes at me. “But you already know that because that’s what awaits us if we fail. ”
“We won’t fail,” I said through gritted teeth, helping him lift Dorian and drag him to the car.
My muscles burned, the bruise on my abdomen flared with pain, and my feet in high heels slipped on the uneven floor, but the car behind me provided support to lean into.
Half of Dorian’s body slammed into me, and his head crushed against my shoulder.
It hurt, but I was more worried about his nose colliding with my bones.
“Fuck,” I grunted, pain shooting through my entire arm.
“Are you okay?” Lucas’s head appeared on Dorian’s side as he pulled him from me. But when his weight fell on my friend, he wavered.
“Yes.” I forced a smile, finding the door handle. “Let’s go.”
Lucas nodded, sweat dripping from his temples.
I could barely breathe, and my back was as wet as if someone had thrown a bucket of water at me, but we managed.
Together, using all our strength, we pushed Dorian into the back seat.
I didn’t care about the seatbelt or that his arm was bent at a weird angle. He was inside. That mattered the most.
“I have to go to the safe house with you,” Lucas panted, resting his arm against the car roof. “You won’t get him out alone.”
“But the car,” I objected, pointing at Dorian’s Jaguar XJL. We had to ditch it somewhere to keep Malin off our asses.
“I have a reliable man to take care of it,” he reassured me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder like a brother. “We are mafia, too, baby. Our people are terrific at hiding traces.”
“Terrific enough to catch the Zhumagulovs by surprise?” I raised a brow in doubt, but Lucas’s smile only widened, showing me his adorable dimples.
“They’ll be stunned, I promise.”