Chapter 27
There is no creativity among villains anymore. I’m in a warehouse. Probably the same one I met him in weeks ago, from what I can see from the window of this office he’s locked me in.
At least there’s furniture in here. A desk with a chair, and even a water cooler with those paper cone cups.
I could do without the Playboy calendar on the wall that hasn’t been moved from January of seven years ago. Maybe the guy who works in this office is really into redheads with tiny little heart tattoos where her pubic hair would be.
It must hurt like a bitch to get a tattoo there. Although, all that vibration so close to the clit might make the experience a little more pleasant.
I wonder if she accidentally had an orgasm when they were putting on the lowest one. Was she embarrassed if she did, or did she own it?
Filling another cone of water, I plop down in the desk chair. Rust covers a small portion of the metal arms, and the leather is cracked and sharp against my ass, but it’s still better than the floor.
My head hurts, but getting backhanded across the temple will do that, so I’m not too worried about it. And whatever drug Janis injected me with seems to have worn off for the most part already.
Obviously, he didn’t want me dead.
Can’t make a deal with a corpse as your only leverage, I suppose.
I spin in the chair like I used to when I was a little girl and the boys would take me into our father’s office to play. They’d put me in his chair and spin me until I was so dizzy, I couldn’t walk straight when I got up.
Deciding my head is in bad enough shape already, I stop the movement and get back up.
“They’re here!” a man yells from outside the office.
I hurry to the single window and make an opening in the blinds. Seven men dressed in dark suits stand outside the office. They’re all carrying guns. Huge ones. No handguns for these guys. These things come with shoulder straps and big magazines.
From the other side of the warehouse, Janis walks into view. He has no weapon. Probably confident all the heavy arms these assholes are holding will be enough to protect him.
What a fucking moron.
Aside from the fact that my brothers no doubt already planned his death from the moment they realized who took me, there’s Artem.
And if he has anything to say about it, Janis isn’t going to get a little bullet to his head. He’s going to spend a lot of time atoning for his sins.
I used to hate this part of my family. Violence never really solves anything. It just creates another reason for vengeance from someone else, and it turns into a cycle of bloodshed and death.
A door rolls open outside of my view. Metal creaks as it rolls open like a garage door. Several of the men standing near the office look at each other. I can’t get a good look at their expressions, but if they have any working brain cells, they’re regretting their life decisions.
Artem stands with my brothers flanking his sides. There’s a look of calm on their expressions, but I know the truth. Beneath their facade is chaos ready to erupt.
Janis stands in front of my brothers and Artem, his hands flexing at his sides, and he rolls his shoulders back like he’s trying to expand himself. If he was facing a bear in the woods, maybe making himself look bigger might help. But these aren’t bears.
These are Volkovs.
Much worse.
“Where is she?” Alexander speaks first, his eyes never leaving Janis.
“She’s safe,” Janis says.
I’m over this. Whatever game they are all playing, the chest thumping, the drama of it all. I just want to go home.
I knock on the window.
Artem sees me first. Our gazes lock, and I give a small wave with a smile. His body relaxes. The death glare still fills his eyes. To anyone else, it looks like nothing’s shifted inside him, but I know this man. The tension softens inside him when he sees that I’m not hurt.
Now he can focus on the task at hand.
Janis’s head snaps to me, his lips thinning as he presses them together. Did he think I was going to be a good little captive?
“She’s fine, like I said.” Janis tries to turn the tables, make it look like he has power here.
“You’re lucky, then,” Ivan speaks up. “We’ll only break half of your bones before we let you die.”
I’ve heard Ivan when he’s angry, and that voice has nothing on this tone. A shiver runs down my spine, and for a second I feel bad for Janis.
“No one’s breaking anything.” Janis shakes his head. “Unless you want her to be returned to you in pieces.”
He makes a motion of his hand, and the men surrounding the office move aside. Artem’s body goes stiff again.
“What? What is it?” I yank at the blinds until they fall from the window and press my cheek to it, so I can get a better view of what everyone’s staring at.
A bomb.
A homemade bomb is attached to the outside of the door. Another one just below the window I’m looking out of.
When I raise my eyes to Janis again, he’s holding what looks like a remote.
My heartbeat blasts in my ears.
When I look at Artem, his expression is blank. Stone cold.
This is bad.
“What do you want?” Alexander asks, keeping his gaze away from me.
“Your fucking family has interfered in my business, I expect you to fix it.”
“I’m not playing games with this prick.” Kaz shakes his head and turns to Artem, jerking a thumb toward Janis. “He’s a little shit, you let this fucker get away before?”
“I was trying to get your sister out of the building at the time.” Artem shrugs.
“Well, she’s back in the building, Artem. As you can see.” He swings his arm toward the office.
What are they doing? They can have this little conversation later. After I’m miles away from the bomb.
“I see that.” Artem nods with a casual tilt to his lips. “She has a way of finding herself in these positions.”
What? I didn’t do this!
“Hey!” Janis barks, lifting his hand. “I’m not fucking around. You either make things right, or I’m blowing her sky high.”
The men guarding the office step away, moving across the warehouse to stand on the other side of Janis. Apparently, they realize that should Janis go through with it, they would die with me.
“No. You’re not.” Alexander glances at the guards and gives them a nod.
All of them move in, surrounding Janis and raising their weapons at him.
Janis’s face pales as he turns to his men. Realization sweeps across his face at the same time I understand what’s happening.
These aren’t Janis’ men.
“Drop the remote.” The man in the middle says, his Irish accent thick.
“What the fuck?” Janis swivels his head one way, then the other, trying to figure out what happened.
“There’s a pile of your men outside. You really need better security. And better trained men.” Artem steps forward, away from my brothers. He puts his hand out. “Give me the remote.”
“No fucking way.” Janis moves his thumb, and I cry out, squeezing myself into a ball as I wait for the blast.
But it’s quiet.
Except for Janis’ screaming.
The Irish security shot Janis in the leg. He’s on the ground, screaming his head off.
Artem picks up the remote that he dropped and leaves Janis and makes his way to me.
He stops just outside the door, glaring at the bomb rigged to the door. A man with deep auburn hair jogs up to him.
“Don’t touch it yet.” He pats Artem’s shoulder, signaling him to move out of the way so he can get to the device. “You touch the wrong thing and we’re all going to be floating in the harbor.”
“Hurry up.” Artem snaps and the Irishman turns up at him with a frown.
“You want me to kill the bomb or set it off?” He shakes his head. “Calm yourself. You’ll be with your woman in just a second.” With deft fingers, he splits the bundle of wires and slips a thin pair of wire cutters over one of them.
From my position, I can’t see which wire he’s cutting, but the look on Artem’s face makes me tense. If he does this wrong, there’s not much hope any of us are going home tonight.
“Got it!” The Irishman declares, but when he leans back I can see the utter relief flooding his face.
“Wait.” He keeps Artem from bursting through the door with one arm. “Let me get the second one.”
Artem’s lips go white with how tightly he presses them together. Just below the window, the man crouches and gets to work.
“This should do it,” he mutters on the other side of the glass and I tense, not sure if I’m about to be blasted through the warehouse or set free from the night of madness.
“Do it.” He orders, his eyes meeting mine.
A second passes, then another, then finally a fist shows up in the window with a thumbs sticking up.
“We’re good!” He yells out.
Before he has a chance to stand, Artem bursts through the door. It hits the wall and bounces off, the dismantled bomb falls to the ground with a clatter. We freeze, staring at the device laying at his feet. Slowly, we raise our gazes. The air sizzles when our eyes meet.
“Artem,” I breathe.
He doesn’t say anything. He wraps his arms around me and holds me tight, kissing me until anything resembling sense has floated away.
“Fuck, baby. I love you so much. Are you all right? Are you hurt?” He pulls away, grabbing my face and twisting my head one way then the other looking me over. I know the second his eyes lands on the goose egg protruding from my left temple.
A murderous rage fills his eyes. His entire body locks up.
“I’m okay.” I frame his face with my hands in the same manner, dragging him down toward me so I can kiss him again. “Artem. I’m fine. A little headache. That’s all.”
The muscles in his neck flex, but his face softens.
“You weren’t scared.” It’s not a question.
I laugh. “Of course not. I’m getting used to men pointing guns at me. It’s barely an inconvenience at this point.”
He raises his brow.
“Besides. If you were able to find me when I was trying not to be found, I had no doubt you’d find me this time.”
I brush my lips across his. “I love you so much, Artem.”
“There’s still two live bombs; we need to go.” Kaz interrupts us. “Now. I’d like to return home in one piece.”
Artem growls, but nods. “Let’s go. We’re leaving tonight.”
He leads me from the warehouse and into one of the SUVs waiting for us.
“How’d you get Cole to let you use his men?”
“He assured us he’d have Janis under control. When I called him, he had his men on the move before we got off the phone.” Artem straps my seatbelt—too tight.
While he’s rounding the car to get in the driver’s side, I rebuckle so I can breathe.
As we drive away, the warehouse fades into the distance in the sideview mirror. But before Artem turns out of the lot, I witness my brothers dragging a bloodied Janis from the warehouse to one of their waiting cars.
“Where are they taking him?” I ask.
Artem checks the rearview mirror and tightens his grip on the steering wheel.
“To where he belongs.” He reaches across the center console and squeezes my hand.
A warmth spreads through my body beneath his touch. It’s a feeling of home and belonging. He breathes life into my soul, and all he has to do is be with me.
“I love you,” I say again when the car falls into silence at a red light.
He squeezes. “I love you, too, Babygirl.”
The light changes to green, and we drive off.
Together.