Chapter 26 #2
I took a deep breath, the anger seeping in.
“Lachlan O’Shaughnessy was working for someone and from what I’ve learned it would appear that person was Yuri Dmitriyev.
Jesus Christ. You allowed two little girls to be placed in harm’s way because of your secrets and lies.
You allowed my daughter and Lainey to be taken when you could have stopped it.
If you’d just told the truth. The truth.
Do you even know what that means any longer? Do you?”
The gasket had blown and I could no longer hold back my anger. I turned slightly, fisting my mouth and counting to ten.
“We’ll get them back, Sasha,” Mikhail stated.
“You bet I will. Me. I don’t need your fucking help. I finally managed to break free of the chains of sorrow and fucking guilt. You knew all along she was the target. Not me. But I’ve been made a target because of my daughter. You’ll forgive me, but right now, I can’t stand any of you.”
I didn’t bother giving them time to object or try to coerce me into staying. I just didn’t care.
So I walked out the door, finally able to take a deep breath.
“What now, boss?” Bernie asked.
“Now we get ready. We’re leaving tonight.”
Flying into Russia was tricky, but I’d found a private airstrip where we could land. As long as my contact hadn’t lied to me. I’d paid the man enough damn money he better not betray me. Or fucking else.
I hadn’t calmed down entirely, but enough to keep my head on straight.
Through another contact, I’d found the address of the compound where Yuri and his sons, my cousins lived.
The near fortress-like series of buildings had topnotch security, but there were a couple of weaknesses.
With only Bernie, Danny, and four other trusted men, that could mean we’d signed our death warrants, but they were willing to do so.
That was loyalty.
Should I feel guilty for dragging them into a battle some of them had no business in?
Maybe, but that’s what members of the Bratva did.
Only our family had been so embroiled in finding success that we’d all but ignored the signs over the last few years.
We’d had several attempts to destroy our wealth and to break our family apart.
We’d had people toss out innuendoes and bold lies that we were drug runners and worse.
We’d had our new Pakhan almost killed after fucking with his mind over something that had occurred twenty years before. I could go on and on, but the main point that had lingered in the back of my mind was that we’d all but failed our duties as a family. As a business.
And as a Bratva.
Now we were paying the price for past sins.
As my mother had told me early in my life, they would never be forgotten.
In other words. Make good choices.
Well, I was making one right now. I was choosing the woman I loved and my daughter over everything else.
The plane was fueled and ready, bags of weapons already stored inside. We had enough tactical gear to destroy a small city and in my mind, that still wasn’t enough. But it had to be.
As we headed across the tarmac to the waiting plane, I felt a crushing weight on my shoulders.
Images of Lainey and our time spent together, of my little girl frolicking on the beach and making sandcastles with Lainey.
Ice cream and movies. Laughter and silliness.
They all came crashing down. Yet I was cold inside.
As cold and dead as I’d been when I’d turned my back on my family.
“Boss,” Bernie said quietly. “We’ve got company.”
Immediately, I reached for my weapon, spinning around and almost eager to exact rage on whoever the fuck dared to try to stop me.
Except instead of firing, I cocked my head, curious as to why I had this company. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Alessandro stepped forward first. DiAngelo, Stefano, and Giovanni followed. Dressed in dark clothing and carrying weapons and duffle bags, they appeared ready for combat. Behind them were at least a half dozen soldiers, all dressed the same.
“We thought you might need a little help.” Alessandro grinned as he walked closer. “And no. We are not taking no for an answer.”
He threw out his hand and I accepted the gesture. “Why would you help me? This is my family’s battle. Or at least mine.”
“We might not be family, Sasha, but we are your brothers. We will stand by you and we will bring back Lainey and Nina. Nothing is going to stop us.”
Chuckling, I nodded to each one as a thank you and also as a sign of respect. “I appreciate all the help I can get. We have coordinates of the location where I think they’re being held. We might have one shot at this and even so, the mission will be highly dangerous.”
“Which is why you need our help as well.”
Sounds caught my attention and while I bristled, a strange sense of relief flowed through me.
My brother and sister, my cousins, and at least two dozen soldiers surrounded us. All willing to risk their lives to save two of our own.
And to end a war that should have been done generations before.
Noticeably absent?
My father and uncle.
Well, I guess I knew where they stood.
Mikhail approached, a weapon in his hand and his arms crossed at his wrists in front of him.
His eyes burned with the same kind of rage I’d felt for days.
“You are family, Sasha. Never forget that. We aren’t the past. We are the future.
But if you ever doubt me again, I will kick your motherfucking ass. ”
The spark in his eyes was the one I’d remembered from years before when we’d been little more than delinquent teenagers spreading our wings and using the power we’d felt entitled to.
Thank God we hadn’t gotten into much trouble.
Maybe because both our fathers had used iron fists to control us instead of a firm hand.
That had made us into men of loyalty, virtue, and respect.
Now we’d become those reckless teenagers with no care for what happened to us in the process of our mission.
I was not only appreciative to have what would now forever be considered an extended family by my side, but also honored.
“Let’s roll. We have a job to do.”
“How are we going to fit on one plane?” Alexsey asked in jest.
Mikhail laughed. “I already took care of that. We have two. Alessandro confided in Vissarian so I was allowed to prepare. Sasha is right. Let’s do this. We aren’t coming home unless we have Lainey and Nina with us.”
I glanced at my brother then at Alessandro who shrugged. This time, working behind my back could mean saving my girls.
“What about Uncle Yuri and our other cousins?” Vissarian asked.
Mikhail kept his eyes locked on mine as he considered the question. Gregor, Konstantine, and Nikandr were three loyal sons, only Mikhail likely to remember Gregor the oldest. Our lives were completely different, our beliefs and cultures based on freedom on one side and tyranny on the other.
Yet we were family. Should that matter?
I had my opinion, but the only one that counted in the decision on how they’d be handled was Mikhail. Our Pakhan.
“We do what’s necessary to get Lainey and Nina back. No matter what it takes.”
As we jogged toward the awaiting planes, my thoughts drifted to Lainey, where they’d been almost every minute of every day since I’d last seen her.
I’d taken so much for granted in seven years. Or maybe most of my life. In enjoying the perks of being from a powerful family, I’d forgotten the true meaning of what life was all about.
Simple things.
Enjoying time together. Celebrating anniversaries and birthdays. Holidays and just any day.
That would change. Why? Because she’d changed me. With every song she’d poured her heart into, every brush of her hand, and every soft kiss, she’d turned me into a ravenous beast.
For her.
Only her.
The woman I loved.