Chapter Thirteen - IVAN
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
IVAN
THE LAST THREE days have been filled with unexpected things. I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t developing full-on feelings for Emma.
When I went over to her apartment on that first day, my intention was just to make sure that she was okay. I know the pain that comes with losing someone you love that you are close to, and it’s not something I’d wish on anyone.
Seeing her curled up in bed crying nearly did me in. It brought up long-buried feelings of holding my brothers and sister, taking care of them after our mother died. I immediately went into protector mode with them, and that same protector mode came out while I was with Emma.
Emma shared her favorite memories of her babushka, and I held her while we watched her favorite show streaming on her laptop since she doesn’t have a television.
I didn’t mind, because it meant that I had to stay close to her to watch.
Except I wasn’t really watching, because I was too busy with my arm around her and my nose in her hair, breathing in the scent of her honeysuckle shampoo.
I made her eat three meals a day, and Boris even delivered some of those meals from the restaurant. I gave her privacy to take a bath or shower, and I held her close when she said she didn’t want to be alone.
Today, I needed to return to reality. I could only ignore my professional life for so long, so I am meeting with my father’s associates and my brothers at the city house to discuss the future of our brotherhood.
So far, the transition from my father’s leadership to mine has been smooth, and I want to keep it that way.
It makes my future plans easier to manage.
“Ivan! Where the hell have you been the last three days?” is the first thing I hear when I walk into the dining room at my home in Beacon Hill. Dmitri stands up from his place at the table, throwing his arms open wide.
“Busy,” I tell him while glancing at the messages on my phone. They’ve seen Emma at the restaurant during our weekly lunches, but only Mikhail is aware I was at Emma’s apartment the last three days.
“You know there are things that require your attention, right?” Dmitri replied. Maksim and Grigory nod in agreement.
“I’m aware,” I tell them while Mikhail hands me a folder of information.
Fifteen minutes later, every seat at the dining room table is full.
The men who have joined my brothers and I served under my father, and the last time they were in my house was the day my father gathered everyone and announced he was retiring.
In the months since, I’ve met with these men individually as well as with my brothers in attendance.
“Let’s get started,” I tell everyone, settling into my chair with a drink.
“We’ve acquired a substantial amount of real estate recently in the Seaport District,” Grigory starts. “We have now extended our influence in the area to encompass five blocks in each direction from the new central warehouse.”
“Security?” I ask, directing my attention towards Dmitri.
“We have men monitoring the neighborhood and keeping an eye on the Irish. With our influence expanding, we are getting close to territorial borders which could lead to future conflict. The security teams are adding cameras and monitoring systems to the new buildings,” Dmitri responds.
“Let’s not forget the apartment building over on Greenwood,” Maksim chimes in.
“Security is being upgraded on that building as we speak,” Dmitri confirms.
“What’s the purpose of a residential building?” asks one of my father’s men.
“Real estate diversity,” I tell him. “It also allows us to start keeping a closer eye on some of the Irish mafia soldiers. At least one of them lives in that building that we know of right now.”
“Do we anticipate conflict with the Irish?” another man speaks up.
“We always anticipate conflict with the Irish,” Maksim says. “They’re our biggest threat in the Seaport District.”
“Moving on,” I say to everyone. “Gentlemen, we are here today to discuss the leadership transition. My father is retired, and I am now in charge. Some of you will not like the coming changes.”
I notice my father’s men shifting in their seats. I also notice Maksim paying close attention to all of them.
“Starting today, those of you who reported to my father will start handing over your operations and personnel to my chosen advisors. This handover will be complete in the next three months.”
Mikhail starts handing out folders to everyone sitting around the table. These folders contain detailed plans created following the individual discussions I already had with my father’s men.
“You expect us to just hand everything over to your brothers?” one of the men asks, anger rising in his voice.
“Yes, I do. My brothers and several trusted associates have been shadowing you all for months in preparation for this transition,” I tell him.
“At the end of three months, if you choose to leave, you will be given a generous retirement allowance and transportation to a location of your choosing, including home to Russia.”
Two of my father’s men get up quickly from the table, muttering under their breath.
The other two men stand, acknowledge me at the head of the table, and follow the first two out the door.
They didn’t see this coming, which was their first mistake.
They should have known their positions would be in jeopardy when I took over.
My phone starts to ring, and I notice that it’s Yuri calling. Something in my gut twists. It’s too early for him to give me an update on Emma for the day.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, answering on the second ring.
“Boss. We got a problem,” Yuri says.
“What kind of problem?”
“The kind where Emma got pushed into a car driven by unknown individuals,” he answers.
“FUCK!” I yell, startling my brothers who stop to look at me.
“I’m following them right now, boss. They’re headed north on Tremont Street, and it looks like they’re turning east onto Court Street.”
“I’m on my way,” I growl into the phone before cutting off the call.
“What’s going on?” Maksim asks me.
“Some soon-to-be-dead assholes just forced Emma into a car,” I tell him as I pull up a tracking app.
While I was at Emma’s apartment, I put a tracking device in her phone—that’s another thing I’m sure she’ll be mad at me for when she realizes it, but it was for her own good.
I select the device assigned to Emma, and I’m instantly connected to her live location.
I grab my keys and head for the garage.
“Ivan, wait!” Maksim says. “I’ll go with you.”
“I’ll go, too. I came on my bike,” Grigory offers.
“Shit. I guess this means we’re all going,” Dmitri huffs. He seems a little reluctant, and I’ll discuss that with him later.
I’m nearly at my car before my brothers catch up to me.
My usual driver, Ilya, is leaning against the driver’s door.
When he sees the look on my face as I approach the car, he doesn’t hesitate to hand over the keys.
The app tells me they’re on State Street, and about to turn north onto I-93.
My tires squeal as I rev the engine and pull out of the garage.
Maksim keeps an eye on the tracker app while I weave in and out of traffic.
I know I’m breaking every traffic law known to man, but I don’t care.
I will not let whoever took my lyubimaya get away with it.
Traffic is light through the city, which is kind of surprising.
There are a lot of tourist sites in the area where Emma was picked up, and traffic is usually far heavier.
I make it to the interstate in less than ten minutes, ignoring all traffic lights and signs on the way.
Another five minutes of driving at a high speed, and I see Yuri’s car in front of me. Maksim dials his number and puts him on speaker.
“Yes, boss?” Yuri answers.
“I’m right behind you now. Which car is she in?” I ask him while maintaining control of my Mercedes.
“Black BMW X7. Three cars in front.”
“Got it.” I get over in the left lane and position myself one car in front of Yuri. I see Grigory following me on his bike. Maksim calls Dmitri from his own phone and puts him on speaker while telling him to pull into the right lane next to Yuri.
We follow the X7 and maintain our distance until the SUV exits onto Fellsway West and circles around to South Border Road.
It looks like these guys are driving right through a scenic area with woods on both sides of the road.
This is good for what I have planned next, and I smile. They’re doing half the work for me.
With Yuri on speaker through my phone and Dmitri on speaker through Maksim’s phone, I work out a plan. It will be dangerous, but it’s the quickest way to get access to the SUV and Emma.
“When I give the word, here’s what we’ll do.
I’m going to get in front with Grigory and start slowing down.
Yuri, you will stay behind Dmitri. Dmitri, you’re to stay behind the SUV and tap the bumper.
The goal is to get the car to start spinning and slow down,” I instruct.
“We are going to force them off the road as quickly as possible while trying to keep Emma safe.”
We’re basically doing a slightly different version of a technique used by police to stop a car.
I give my brothers and Yuri the word, and we move into position.
The occupants of the SUV have figured out by now that they’re being followed and have tried to speed up, but that’s not stopping my plan.
I still have no idea who these assholes are, but they’re dead men walking.
I speed up to overtake the SUV, and once I see Yuri get into his position, I slam on the brakes of my Mercedes. Dmitri taps his brakes and swerves into the bumper of the X7. Yuri makes contact with the SUV so it continues to slow down and cannot get away.
There’s a ditch by the side of the road that the X7 slides into.
I put my car in park and get out while pulling my gun out of its holster.
Pointing it at the driver’s window I start yelling for them to get out of the car.
Not wasting any more time, I fire a shot through the windshield and put a bullet through the driver’s head.
The rear passenger door opens and a guy gets out with Emma, a gun pointed at her head.
His companion gets out and follows them, gun drawn and pointed at me.
Maksim gets a shot off, putting a bullet through the head of the guy in the front passenger seat.
Yuri pulls his gun out and moves around the back of the X7, joining Dmitri.
“Ivan!” Emma screams out.
“Emma! It’s okay, baby. You’re going to be okay,” I yell towards her in response.
“Help me!”
“Let her go!” I yell at the man with the gun pointed at her head. “You’re not getting out of this if you don’t put down your gun and hand her back to us.”
“Not an option, fucker!” the man yells back. “I have orders to bring her to my boss, and that’s where she’ll go—dead or alive.”
“Your orders are to hand her over to me before I put a bullet between your eyes,” I correct him.
“You won’t risk missing your aim and hitting her.”
That’s where this asshole underestimates my abilities. I was trained as a sniper in the U.S. Special Forces. I don’t miss. However, what this guy hasn’t seen is Yuri and Dmitri sneaking up behind his partner.
I watch as Yuri puts the second man in a chokehold, disabling him, while Dmitri shoots the man with his hands on Emma. Poor bastard didn’t see or hear it coming thanks to Dmitri’s silencer on his weapon.
I rush towards Emma, gathering her into my arms and pulling her head into my chest. Her hair smells of her honeysuckle shampoo, and she’s shaking with terror.
“Don’t look, lyubimaya. Don’t look,” I tell her, holding her close.
She doesn’t need to see the three men we’ve killed trying to get her out of their grasp.
I walk her away from the SUV and towards my car, while my brothers and Yuri take care of the remaining kidnapper.
I know they’ll get information out of him before he’s disposed of.
I place her in the backseat of my car, then kneel down so I can look her in the eyes.
“Emma, focus on me, baby girl,” I tell her as I put my hands on either side of her face and focus her attention on me. She’s going to go into shock if I can’t get her to slow her breathing.
“You came for me,” she says as she throws her arms around me and cries into my shoulder.
“I told you that I protect what’s mine.”
“Who are those guys?” she asks through her tears.
“I don’t know, lyubimaya. I’m going to find out, and then I’ll make sure they never hurt you or anyone else again,” I tell her, holding her close.
Emma continues to hold onto me and cry into my shoulder when I see my brothers and Yuri walking towards the car.
“Emma, I need to talk to my brothers, and then I’ll take you home. Stay here.” I grab a blanket from the trunk and put it around her before walking a short distance from the car.
“These guys were Irish. Declan Callaghan sent them to collect her,” Dmitri informs me.
“FUCK!” I yell. “He’s up to something.”
“Don’t worry, Ivan. I’ve already called a clean-up crew to take of things here,” Maksim tells me. “They’re going to drop the bodies off the side of the road in Irish territory and scrap the SUV.”
“Good. Send a message to that fucker, and make sure he knows what happens when he messes with what’s mine,” I growl.
“I’m taking Emma to the Watertown house.
Dmitri, you and Maksim stay here until the cleaners arrive.
Grigory, you follow me home. Ilya will drive us.
I’ll sit in the back with Emma,” I instruct everyone, then head back to my Mercedes.
Ilya takes the keys and gets in the driver’s seat.
Maksim will drive Yuri’s car to the estate and Dmitri will join us later.
Emma puts her head in my lap and dozes off on the drive home.
I watch as she sleeps and think of what I would do if we hadn’t gotten her back safely.
I’m going to do it anyway, because someone dared to touch her.
As it is, I’ll be burning Declan Callaghan’s world for thinking he could take Emma and sending his minions to do the job.
Tonight, I‘m taking lyubimaya to my home.
Where she belongs.