Chapter 33
E dmundo
My phone rang, interrupting the meeting. That in itself wasn’t unusual, but then I saw Ana’s name. She never called this time of day.
“I’m sorry, gentleman. There’s an emergency. I need to take this,” I said, dismissing everyone from my office.
When the door closed behind the last person, I answered.
“Ana, what’s wrong?”
“Eddie…I have to leave right now, or a soon as you can get here with the jet. I know you said you need a few more days, but….” Ana stopped, her voice a little frantic, and it sounded like she was holding back tears.
“Stop, Ana, it’s okay. I’ll come get you.” The fear I’d managed to keep on the back burner for the last few years quickly ignited. “What happened?”
“I thought Christov was crazy, but Eddie…Alina is truly insane. Maybe they share the same screwed-up gene, but she is….”
“Ana, you’re scaring me, and you haven’t told me what happened,” I said as I sent off an email to my pilot. I needed to know how soon he could have the jet ready to fly to our usual spot in Russia.
“Eddie, I thought she was just trying to mess with me. It was random at first, and it was my word against hers. Eight months ago, she poisoned me. There was no proof, but I knew it was her. I told Christov, and he said he’d talk to her. Things have been quiet since then, but today, she rigged a trap for me to fall down the stairs. If I hadn’t grabbed the railing part way down, I’d have more than a twisted ankle.”
“Poison! Stairs! Jesus Christ, Ana…why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
My heart was beating out of control, and I had to sit down.
“We were so close to our escape plan, and I didn’t want to worry you. I just needed to stay strong until they left for their holiday. Why rock the boat before we were ready?”
“Because she tried to kill you, that’s why,” I growled, trying to rein in my anger.
I was terrified and furious that she hadn’t told me, but yelling at Ana wasn’t going to help anything.
“I’m sorry. I’m not angry at you. I just wish you told me. Our plan doesn’t matter when your lives are at risk.” I ran my hand through my hair and closed my eyes. “I love you, Ana.”
She sniffled on the other end of the line.
Fuck.
“I know, Eddie. I’m sorry. Maybe I’ve got more of my father’s stubbornness than I realized,” she said, and I chuckled.
“Oh, I know you do. But it’s just one of the reasons why I love you so much. Are you safe now?”
“Yes, I’m at Mom’s retreat with her, all of my guards, and Frida.”
“Okay, good. I’ll finish making the arrangements and message you with the time to meet me. We’re going to get you out of there, Ana. You and Lilya are finally coming home.”
“There’s something else,” she said, and I held my breath.
“What?”
“I’m struggling with the businesses. I wanted so badly to take care of everything on my own, but….” Ana sighed. “Without drawing from my trust, I only have enough to pay the guards, other employees, and Frida for a month. I need your help.”
“Ana, you do know that it’s not a weakness to ask for help?”
“It’s not that…okay, it’s not just that. I wanted to prove I could do this and beat my father. I let the wheels fall off, Eddie.”
She sounded so disheartened, and I hated it. She really had worked her ass off to pave her own path.
“No, they’re just a little wobbly and need some tightening. I’ll help you get them back on track. You can take over once you’re settled. I’ve got you, Ana, always.”
She stifled a sob. “Why are you always so perfect? I love you so much, Eddie. Before you go, someone wants to say hi.” I heard Ana open a door.
“Hey there, baby, do you want to talk to Eddie?”
“Yes,” came Lilya’s squeal. Her enthusiasm was completely infectious and made my heart swell.
“Hi, Lilya, I hear you’re coming for a visit. Are you excited to see the dolphins again?”
“Yes, and turtles, and the…parr…parr….”
“Parrotfish?”
“Yes.”
Lilya was so far advanced for her age and could talk my ear off. I loved sitting with her while she told me all the new things she’d learned. Our favorite activity was reading. The books she liked best were always two and three years above her age level. She made my heart sing.
“I’m excited to take you,” I said and then she chatted on happily about everything she’d done the past week. “Guess where else I’m going to take you,” I asked, and she hummed as she thought.
“The ice cream store?”
I laughed. “Yes, but that’s not the surprise. It’s so much better than an ice cream store. It’s this magical place where all the stories of dragons and princesses come to life. It’s called a library.”
“Wow…can we go now,” she asked, making me laugh.
“Not yet, but when you get here, we’ll go, promise.”
“Okay, baby, I need to talk to Eddie.”
“Bye, Eddie. I’m excited to see the magic place.”
I cringed, wanting so badly for her to call me Papa.
“Bye, Lilya. I’ll see you soon.”
“I’m sorry that took so long. I know you need to get going,” Ana said as I stood from my desk.
“No, I always have time for my family. I’ll message you when we are ready to take off. I love you, Ana.”
“I love you more.”
“Impossible.”
1 Day Later
Yulianna
“I’m going to miss you so much,” Mom said, grabbing my hand.
I couldn’t stop my knee from bouncing as I looked at her.
“I’ll miss you too, Mom. Do you think you’ll ever be able to come and visit?”
She wiped away tears and patted my hand.
“I’ll make sure of it. I’m not going the rest of my life not seeing my girl. We spent so long at odds, and the last few years have been a rebirth for me. I’m never going back,” she said, and I smiled.
Lilya was sitting across from us, explaining to Vlad why the rainforest was called the rainforest. She gave him a complete rundown of all the animals that lived there and nowhere else in the world. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind and was listening intently to her tutorial.
“Do you think Father will come for us,” I asked, hating that my mother would be in the cross-hairs of this drama about to unfold.
Mother sighed and looked out the car window for a long time before answering.
“At one time, I thought I knew him well enough to answer that with a firm no. But honestly, the way he has handled this entire situation makes me question if I ever really knew him at all.”
“So, yes,” I said, shaking my head.
“Unfortunately, I would lean that way.”
“Are you going to be okay? He won’t do something to you, will he?”
She scoffed and crossed her arms.
“No, don’t you worry about that. I’ll be just fine. If Vadin insists on being an ass, I’ll go to my retreat until he’s prepared to act like a human with a heart and a brain.”
“You know that was always my favorite story, and now Lilya loves The Wizard of Oz just as much,” I said.
Mother squeezed my hand. “I remember.”
We began to slow and pulled into the private airfield’s driveway. My heart started to race, and my knee started bouncing again. The tall chain-link fence gates rattled as they slid open. I glanced outside. At least the weather was fair today, so Eddie wouldn’t have had any issues landing or us taking off again.
The hangar door was closed, and I didn’t see his plane, but maybe Eddie was being extra cautious. I gave my mother a tight hug as the guards hopped out.
“I’ll wait here until you take off,” Mom said.
“Okay.”
Lilya climbed onto the seat beside me, and I grabbed her hand as Vlad opened the limo door. We’d no sooner stepped out when the hangar began to open. The butterflies in my stomach took flight as it slowly rose. Then…everything crashed at the sight of the soldiers with automatic weapons and Christov standing in front of them.
“Daddy,” Lilya said, smiling as opposed to the look on my face. What the hell did he do? “Are you coming on the trip, too?”
My guards reached for their weapons, but I held out my arms. “Don’t! You could hit Lilya,” I yelled.
“Smart choice,” Christov sneered.
“Lilya, stay with Vlad.”
She looked confused but transferred her little hand to Vlad’s. I marched over to Christov.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m bringing my wife home.”
I laughed and then realized he was serious. “What? We have a deal.”
“You mean this?”
He held up the contract that we’d signed years ago, then pulled a lighter from his pocket.
“Don’t you dare.”
I reached for the papers, but he yanked them away and lit them on fire before tossing them over his shoulder. I tried to run around him, but he snatched me by the waist and hauled me back.
“Let go of me. You can’t do this. We had an agreement.”
“And that agreement is now dead. Oh, and that was the copy you gave your lawyer. I already destroyed mine.”
“You, asshole,” I growled, staring helplessly at the ashes. “What if I have another copy?”
“Careful wife, that almost sounded threatening. It would be a shame for someone to get trigger-happy accidentally.”
“You haven’t even begun to see threatening,” I said, yanking out of his hold. The contract didn’t matter now that Christov’s father was dead. Everyone already believed Sabastian was legitimate, and Christov and Alina had a plan to kill me.
“What is the meaning of this,” Mother asked, getting out of the car.
“Mrs. Mikhailov, how lovely to see you. I didn’t know you were aware that your daughter was about to run out on her marriage.”
My mother narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t play games with me, Christov. You won’t like the outcome. What have you done with Edmundo Genovese?”
Shit. I’d foolishly hoped that he hadn’t landed yet. She was right. Eddie should already be here.
Christov smirked. “I didn’t do anything to him.”
“Answer the question,” I ordered, the anger taking over.
“I called in a favor when we made our deal. I was notified whenever Mr. Genovese’s plane arrived in our country. So, imagine my concern when I come home from my meeting to find that you’ve fled the house and the Genovese jet has scheduled a landing.”
He tapped his chin like he was so smart, and I wanted to punch him square in his smug face.
“Since Edmundo cut all ties with Mr. Mikhailov’s businesses, there’s really no need for him to visit. Vadin felt the same way, and we had his entry onto Russian soil revoked.”
“What?”
How will Lilya and I escape now?
“Vadin would never agree to that,” Mother said.
“Don’t believe me? Call him. But he is adamant that his daughter not do something stupid that will embarrass us both.”
“I don’t believe you,” she said.
He waved his hand at her. “I’m in no rush. See for yourself.”
“It was very entertaining watching Edmundo land, Yuli. Then, to see the look on his face when soldiers greeted him instead of you.”
I envisioned Christov’s death while he talked. I knew he was capable of the evil things, but this crossed a whole other line. Eddie was a powerful Don from another country with business dealings here. The favor he called in had to have been a huge one. How long had he been sitting on it for a moment like this?
“They gave him an option, you know. He could go to prison and wait for a hearing to have his passport reinstated or leave. In case you’re wondering, he left. Obviously, he doesn’t love you enough to fight the claim.”
My hand cracked across Christov’s face so hard that it burned. His head snapped to the side, and his eyes turned deadly.
“How dare you,” Christov snarled and grabbed my arm.
Suddenly, guns were up on both sides.
“Put the guns down,” I yelled. It took a moment, but they slowly lowered.
“I warned you that if you tried to run, I would make you pay,” Christov growled.
“I wasn’t.”
“Liar,” he said.
“No, you’re the liar. I made that contract with you in good faith. I’ve never interfered with your relationship. I held up my end of the bargain, but no more.” I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper. “If you insist on doing this, then I’ll make sure that everyone knows Sabastian is a bastard.”
“Do you really think I give a shit?” Christov jerked me closer, his nose almost brushing mine. “Let me fill you in on a little secret. No one cares now that my father is dead. I have complete control of the company.”
I laughed, and his face darkened further.
“Another lie. You wouldn’t be worried that I ran off if you didn’t care about appearances. Who are you trying to fool?”
A wicked grin turned up the corner of his mouth. There was a depravity that coated him like a second skin. It had always been there under the surface, but now he wore it like armor.
“Oh no, no, no. I did this to fuck with Edmundo. It felt so fucking good to take what he still thinks is his. But you’re not his. You’re mine, and you’ll never see him again.”
“I was never and will never be yours. Keeping us apart changes nothing.” His fingers dug painfully into my arms, but I didn’t flinch. “You’re nothing more than a bottom feeder. That’s why your father forced you to marry me, so you’d actually have some class.”
He raised his hand to strike me, but I spat in his eye. He yelled like I shot him. I quickly broke his grip and stepped back.
“You’re a weak piece of disgusting filth. You and your prostitute deserve one another,” I said.
He looked like he was going to tackle me to the ground, but my mother returned.
“Enough, both of you. Is this any way to act in front of your daughter?”
Christov’s eyes flicked to Lilya behind me and then back to my face.
“Fine.”
He made a show of pulling leather gloves out from his coat pocket like being hit with a glove would scare me.
“What did Vadin say?”
I looked at my mother, and my heart fell.
“Father didn’t?”
“I’m sorry….”
That was all she said before she turned her back on us and got back in the limo.
Are you kidding me? What the hell is going on here?
“Well, now that we have that settled. There is one more matter that needs to be handled.” Christov pointed at my guards. “You’re all fired from Yulianna’s service. If you want to continue working, then leave with Mrs. Mikhailov. But you won’t step a single foot on my property ever again.”
Oh my god, he was stripping me of my last line of defense. Vlad and Mylo looked ready to fight to the death. But this wasn’t the time or place, not with Lilya here and the government soldiers with machine guns.
“It’s fine, go with my mother, please,” I said.
They were livid, but Vlad let go of Lilya, and I held out my hand.
“Come here, baby.”
She ran to me, and I picked her up. She’d been so quiet and strong, but I could tell she was terrified and confused by everything. She wrapped her arms around my neck and tucked her face under my chin.
Christov waited until my mother’s limo was out of sight before turning his venomous gaze on me.
“Now that the unpleasantness is out of the way. Take her home. I’ll be there shortly.”
As I turned, I caught Vlad and Mylo’s stare just before they got into their SUV. I subtly shook my head. I really didn’t want them to interfere. My main concern was Lilya, and there were too many men with guns in here. One of the soldiers escorted me to a van with no windows, and I pushed aside my fear for Lilya’s sake.
I thought I knew what it was to feel trapped, but this…this was like having my leg locked in an animal snare, dangling high in the air with certain death below me.
I had to get us out of this.
Edmundo
I thrashed from side to side in the chair, screaming in rage. The tape on my mouth muffled the sound as I tried to get loose. I watched what was unfolding on the screen, completely helpless.
My men, including Marcus and my pilot, were all tied up back-to-back on the concrete floor of the plane hangar. Tape covered their mouths, and zip ties held their legs. We’d been ambushed.
The jet landed and we were waved over to the hangar by the minimal ground crew like normal. But when the engines shut off and the stairs were lowered for the routine inspection, soldiers marched onboard. We were thrown to the floor with guns pressed to our heads as we were stripped of any weapons, and our hands were secured.
Glancing over at Marcus, I’d never known my friend to look so murderous, but his expression mirrored how I felt. I turned my attention back to the television and growled when Christov grabbed Ana’s arm roughly. She looked scared but was covering well. All I could hear was the blood rushing through my body and the steady thumping of my heart.
Lilya ran to Ana, and she picked her up. More words that I couldn’t hear were exchanged before Ana and Lilya were taken to a white van. My rage quickly turned into terror.
What is he going to do to them?
I roared behind the gag, and the cuffs cut into my wrists as I tried to pull my hands free or break the fucking chair. Then they were gone. My beautiful family was ripped away from me all over again. They’d been so close. We’d been so close. It was like déjà vu of Ana’s eighteenth birthday. One moment, everything was going just as planned, and then bam, it was blown up.
The metal door that divided the two hangars opened, and Christov strutted across the room with an evil smirk on his lips.
“There you have it. I win. Did you really think that you’d ever best me?”
If I had my gun, it would be pressed right between his eyes.
“I will kill you,” I growled, but my promise was so distorted through the tape that it lost its effectiveness.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” Christov said and then laughed.
Walking over, he stood directly in front of me. He tried to act intimidating, but all I saw was the same cowardly piece of shit that had gone behind my back and set this ball rolling years ago.
“I don’t really like the way you’re looking at me,” Christov said.
He threw his first punch right at my face. I didn’t flinch and took the blow, the pain only adding to the fury in my chest. I glared at him again, and he hit me three more times, but I still never gave him what he wanted.
He needed my fear, but I would never be scared of him even if he held a gun to my head. Christov was a little boy pretending to be a man. Mentally, he was stuck at Wayward hoping to get one over on me while I’d grown up and accomplished ten times more than he had in the same amount of time. The insecurity was there in his eyes. He had craved his father’s approval and from what I’d been able to learn he’d never gotten it. Explains why he ran like a little bitch to Mr. Mikhailov for help. He made me sick.
Christov hit me in the stomach, and it drove the air from my chest, but I still didn’t cower.
“Fucker,” Christov snarled, pulling his gun.
“Enough,” Vadin bellowed as he strolled over. “We need to return him alive unless you want to start a war. Are you prepared for that?”
Christov swore but put his gun away like a good little puppet. I should’ve known that these two would team up to keep Ana and me separated. Christov straightened his suit and stepped aside, but I continued to stare at him, planning his death.
Vadin walked over and dropped the bag holding our passports and guns on the floor in front of me.
“You can either go home and never come back, or you can stay, and I’ll make sure that you’re locked up in a maximum-security prison and never see the light of day again. I may not be able to kill you, but I can make sure you get lost in the paperwork long enough that you won’t even recognize yourself once you get out. But what you’re not going to do is ever see Yulianna again.”
My chest heaved, but I didn’t react. There had to be another way to get Ana out of the country, but I needed to keep my cool. I was no good to her dead. Vadin grabbed the edge of the tape and ripped it off.
“Which is it going to be?”
Reminding myself that today was just another battle, I sucked in a deep breath. Living to fight another day was necessary because Ana and Lilya needed me to win the war.
“We’ll leave,” I said.
“Good choice.”
Vadin looked at the twenty armed soldiers.
“Wait ten minutes. Then make sure that Mr. Genovese and his men are escorted safely onto their plane and that they leave the country.”
Vadin and Christov left the hangar while I stood there, letting my rage consume me.
This is not over .