27. Chapter 27 #2
Before she could touch it, the door swung open. Nikita Volkov stood, holding the door open, staring at her. She and Dimitri stopped dead in their tracks, staring back at him. A deep scowl burdened his face. His eyes finally dropped to the man who lay dead at their feet.
“Kill any more of my men,” he seethed, “and you’ll get to watch me shoot the stray between the eyes.”
Jackie raised her chin in defiance. “Give her back, and we won’t have to.”
Nikita chuckled, exiting the hall, and forcing Jackie and Dimitri’s retreat. He crouched down, checking the man’s pulse to confirm he was dead. He looked up at them before standing, his eyes drifting to where Dimitri’s hand pulled Jackie against him.
He stepped around the body, not breaking eye contact with Jackie. “You two fools are still under the notion that this is a negotiation.”
“Well, it should be,” Jackie spat. Dimitri stepped around her, putting himself between her and Nikita. “You have Talia, and we want her back. So what will it take to have her?”
Nikita’s dark eyes remained fixed on her as the scowl returned. “Did your boyfriend not share with you what I need to return Talia?”
Dimitri remained quiet. He didn’t like that Jackie couldn’t seem to hold her tongue, but he also didn’t seem to be able to speak himself.
“Of course, I know what you want. But since I’ve given plenty of myself to get Talia back already, you’re going to have to come up with something else.”
Nikita chuckled at that. “You’ve covered your bruises well. Your face is still a little bit swollen, though. At least I see your mouth still works.” His smile made Jackie’s stomach churn with dread.
“What do you need in exchange for Talia?” Dimitri asked before Jackie could spout off anything else. “You’re not getting Jackie, so what do you want?”
Nikita didn’t look at Dimitri; his eyes remained on Jackie.
Hers fell to the ground, knowing that Dimitri’s insistence on another trade was futile.
Just like JP, the more they fought against it, the more he wanted Jackie.
Nikita wasn’t going to budge, and Jackie wasn’t about to let Talia be sold off.
“Are you both in agreement of that?” Nikita asked, his smile telling Jackie he knew he’d already won.
Dimitri turned to her, not hiding his panic at Nikita’s words. Jackie stared at the floor, refusing to meet his gaze.
“Don’t you dare,” he breathed. Jackie still wouldn’t look at him.
The door behind Nikita opened, and over a dozen other men filed out, forming a circle around them. Jackie and Dimitri watched as they were surrounded and realized they might have to fight their way out of there after all.
The last two men filed in carrying Talia by the arms between them. Dimitri’s arm shot out, stopping Jackie from launching forward, even as he himself stepped toward Talia.
She wore different clothes than she’d been taken in.
Jackie had watched the security footage so many times she had Talia’s outfit memorized.
Gone were the snug jeans and cable-knit sweater; now she wore dirty sweat pants and an oversized man’s T-shirt.
Her eyes were puffy and swollen from the tears that continued to fall down her cheeks.
Her lithe frame now looked gaunt, especially in the ill-fitting clothes.
Her usually beautifully kept hair was now matted down her back.
The men tossed her to the ground next to Nikita, but she didn’t look up as she sobbed quietly. Despite Dimitri’s protests, Jackie stepped around him, pausing halfway between where they stood and where Talia knelt next to Nikita.
“She’s already been paid handsomely for.
You two have now killed two of my men. As far as I’m concerned, I’m being generous, demanding to swap one woman for the other,” Nikita said.
He reached down, grabbed Talia by the hair and tilted her head up to finally see what had gathered everyone there.
She gasped when she saw Jackie and Dimitri.
“No,” she sobbed, trying to shake her head against Nikita’s grip.
“What happens with the buyer if she’s not delivered?” Dimitri asked. If they managed to get the Bratva off their back, he didn’t want anyone else coming after them.
Nikita shrugged. “Bodies don’t get delivered sometimes. Sometimes they arrive dead or half-dead. It’s a part of the business. Nothing is guaranteed.”
“You’re so full of shit,” Jackie seethed.
“It is an unfortunate truth of the business.” He shrugged again, pulling Talia’s hair in the process. “As long as I get paid, I do not care if or when the body is delivered.”
“How much?” Jackie asked, trying to keep tears from falling and her voice steady. “I’ll triple it. Quadruple it. Name a number, and it’s yours.”
“I’ve been paid,” Nikita scoffed. “I don’t need your money.”
Jackie closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She knew what she had to do, no matter how much she hated it. She finally looked back up at Nikita, raising her chin defiantly rather than letting him see her defeated.
She moved to step toward Nikita, but Dimitri caught her by the arm, pulling her back to face him. “Don’t do this,” he hissed. “We will find another way.”
“You are outmanned and outgunned,” Nikita answered before Jackie could speak. “You cannot possibly win if you try to fight. You will all die.”
Jackie stared at Dimitri, pleading with him to understand. If Nikita took her away with him, she should be able to best him and escape. Talia didn’t have any of the training either she or Dimitri had. She had a better chance of escaping than Talia could ever hope for.
“It’s my choice to make, and I’m making it,” she insisted.
Dimitri’s face hardened. He turned his attention to Nikita and stalked forward.
Jackie watched, noting the lethal look he’d had just minutes earlier had returned.
The men surrounding them reached for their guns as Dimitri approached their leader.
He halted in front of Nikita and leaned forward, speaking too low for Jackie to make out, though she thought it sounded like Russian.
Nikita’s face shifted, his brow creasing before an eyebrow lifted curiously.
He turned his face up toward Dimitri, and the two men stared at each other for a moment.
Nikita spat something back in Russian, making Dimitri’s face twist in disgust.
He turned on his heel and returned to Jackie. She clutched his shirt, pulling his attention back to her.
“What did you just say to him?” she asked quietly.
“I informed him of what this is going to cost him,” he answered, still staring hard at Nikita.
The Russian scoffed. “I will take my chances.”
Jackie stared up at her boyfriend, willing him to look back at her, even just for a moment. He finally did, looking resigned when he quietly said, “Don’t do this.”
“Talia has to go home,” Jackie replied simply.