12. Caden
12
CADEN
I was still seething from my conversation with Nathan the other day. She was the sacrifice.
Anastasia was the virgin sacrifice.
I thought my heart was going to explode with how fast it was beating. The Hawke family was in charge of finding a virgin for the solstice this time around, and she was meant to be the virgin sacrifice.
I should have figured it out sooner. She exuded innocence and purity. Of course, she was a fucking virgin. And because of that, she was being targeted. Fuck . The urge to fling my glass of bourbon into the wall was nearly unbearable, but I didn't.
Of course, I wasn’t letting them anywhere near her. But if I went against them, it would mean war and I had to be prepared. That’s why I was currently on a jet to Russia. I was going to meet with Aleksei Ivanov, my mentor. Honestly, Aleksei was more like a father to me than my father ever was. Even after I left Russia, I went back there on many occasions to help Aleksei.
My father thought sending me away would finally break me but, instead I built relationships with people in a lot of high places. I had been preparing for this day for years.
I had Reece set up cameras in her house and by some stroke of luck Aleksei’s right-hand man, Damien was in Seattle on business and when I called Aleksei, he gave me the go ahead to use him. Damien was currently acting as a bodyguard for Ana. Of course, she had no idea about that though. I spent two plus days getting things organized before I had to fly out to Russia.
I sighed. I was even more irritable than usual because I hadn't seen Ana in the past few days. This flight was the first moment I've had to really sit down. I wish I could've brought her with me, but she wasn't ready yet. I couldn't bring her into this world of darkness yet. Every step I took, every decision I made, was driven by a desperate need to shield her from the darkness that consumed my own heart. A part of me wanted to taint her, to pull her down to the darkness I stood in.
I pulled out my phone, swiping to the app that showed me the camera view inside her home. I swiped and swiped. She wasn't home. A bolt of panic shot through me, I pulled up the tracker app. I placed a small tracker on her phone the day at the library. I had come back to check on her after talking to Nathan and saw her phone laying on the table. I took the opportunity to place the small chip into her phone.
The tracking app finally loaded, and I zoomed in on her location. She was at—A Halloween costume store? I let out a breath. She was safe. Damien was probably tailing her. She was safe .
I pulled up the messaging app and typed a message and sent. Minutes ticked by. No response. I frowned and sent another text. She finally responded. I smiled at the text. Oh, I know you little red . And I let her know just that. Her next text came in immediately after. I chuckled. She could lie all she wanted, but I knew she missed me.
The few times I’ve had the chance to even look at my phone at night, I’ve watched her through the camera in her room, as she would frantically touch her wet cunt. She still wasn’t able to give herself orgasms. It took everything in me not to go to her and show her how. But I was always miles away when it was happening.
Once, I had to excuse myself and jerk off in the bathroom because it was too much. My balls would soon fall off with how often I was getting aroused and ignoring the thing. The hostess came in then and refilled my glass. I was grateful that I wore black because she would have seen my erection otherwise. The hostess left, and I picked my phone up. I wanted to know what she was doing, so I asked where she was, even though I already knew, intending on leading the conversation to why she was there in the first place.
Her snide comment about me being a stalker made me laugh, and I took the bait. Showing her just how much I had stalked her. Finally, she told me what she was doing there, and I didn't like it one bit. She was there with her roommate, who I was sure was in on Nathan’s plan. I had a bad feeling about that party, but I didn't want to scare her. Her smart mouth response came, and I growled. She'd pay for that when I got my hands on her, and I told her just that.
No response.
Me: Ana?
No response.
Me: Answer me little red.
No response.
My heart rate picked up, and I opened the tracker app. She was moving—and moving fast towards a bad area of town.
“What the fuck?” I said out loud and immediately called Damien. No answer. Fuck. She stopped. I called Reece.
“Hey man, what’s up?” Reece answered.
“Can you check the cameras at-” I gave him the address. I could hear his hands flying over the keyboard. I was pacing now.
“Fuck” He cursed.
My heart sunk.
“Reece,” I said even though I could barely breathe.
“She's okay. Someone was trying to take her. The fucker rammed his whole weight into her, and her head hit the pavement. Damien is there though; he took the guy out. And… she just passed out.”
My knees wobbled, and I sat back in my chair. I hadn’t even realized I was standing and pacing the entire length of the private jet.
I was going to kill them all. Starting with Damien. How could he let her get hurt?
“He just took his phone out. He is probably going to call you. I’m sending a car to them right now,” Reece said and then hung up just as Damien’s call came in. I answered and chewed his head off for nearly five minutes.
“So where do you want me to take her?” He said.
“Take her to my condo. A car is coming to pick you up,” I told him.
I waited and anxiously watched their progress through the tracker app. Finally, they arrived at my condo building and I watched through the cameras in my apartment as Damien gently carried her to into my living room. Berta, my housekeeper, was startled by his sudden visit with an unconscious woman in his arm who was bleeding. But then he said something, and she led him to my bedroom. Berta immediately began tending to her. I sighed as I watched. Damien walked into the living room and sat on the couch like he fucking owned the place. If he wasn't Aleksei’s right-hand man, I would've killed him already. I was too far right now to do it myself, but I would have asked Reece to do it or put a hit out on him or something. I sighed again. No. He had saved her. I should be grateful. As he reminded me while I was berating him.
I watched Ana sleep for who knows how long. The hostess came in and let me know we were landing soon. I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. I gave Damien instructions to bring her some of her clothes and things. Reece came over then to be there while Damien was away. I hadn't even asked him to. She was perfectly safe in my building. He wanted to be there to protect her.
Most people thought hackers were scrawny nerds, but Reece could kill just as swiftly and lethally as I could. I trained him, after all. I told him to let her know she couldn't leave until I was back. I knew she wasn't going to take it well, but I didn't care. I needed her to be safe.
I sat in the dim study and felt a sense of nostalgia filling me as I took in the familiar mahogany floors and desk. Even the bookshelf was made of a dark mahogany wood. I looked at the grey-haired man sitting behind the desk, smoking a cigar. His suit was as immaculate as ever. I got my love of suits from him, after all. Cade, just because we do bad things doesn't mean we have to look bad doing them. He always said.
“So, you found yourself a woman?” He finally said.
I nodded.
He smiled. “You going to marry her?”
I nodded again. There was no question about that.
“Children?” He asked, then laughed when I just raised one brow at him.
“Of course, you will have many children,” He said waving the question off like it was a silly one. Which it had been, but I wasn't going to say that to him.
“And these people, they are trying to take what’s yours?” He said, his tone dark.
I balled my fists and my jaw clenched. I nodded. This was how Aleksei preferred conversations. He did all the talking, and you answered his questions.
“Don’t fret Cade, what’s mine is yours. Protect her with your life.”
“You know I consider you my son and you will always be a part of the Bratva. If you need me. I’m there,” He added, and my heart felt weird at the familiar declaration.
At sixty-five, he was still fit for his age. I recalled the times he killed with lethal grace and precision. Everything I know, I learned from him. Aleksei should have been retired by now and should have already handed his position to his son or someone he deemed fit but, he didn’t have a son. He had 5 daughters who lived their lives outside of all this .
“I’m glad you came Cade, I’ve been thinking…I’d really like you to take over my position.” He said.
I stiffened, knowing this was coming.
“Aleksei, I can't stay in Russia,” I explained carefully.
He smiled. “I knew you’d say that.”
I frowned. Then he explained.
“That’s why I have decided that I will be splitting up everything, my men, my power, my resources. A lot of them are getting restless over here. So, they will be coming back with you. You are now the other half of me and when I die Damien will take over things in Russia while you handle things in the US.”
I was stunned speechless. I came to Russia for few men, but I was leaving with a lot more than that. If I could cry, I would've in that moment. I was touched beyond words. I truly owed this man my life. I humbly accepted his offer because anything else would have been an insult to the great gift of the support he was giving me. We shook and talked details and specifics as we drank expensive vodka to celebrate.
I finally made my way to the room I used to sleep in when I lived here. I peeled off my jacket and shoes, unbuttoning my shirt as I walked to the window. I pushed it open, letting the cool air fill the room. I got into bed, picked up my phone and pulled up the cameras in my bedroom. Ana was still sleeping. I had more than enough to protect her now. With that thought, I fell asleep.
I cursed as I woke up several texts from Reece saying she ran away. How the fuck was that even possible? I watched the footage from the last hour and saw the sneaky little minx steal Reece's key right from his sleeping body and then quietly unlock the elevator doors and ran. I could see on the tracker that she was back at her house. Damien had stepped out to get coffee when it all happened, but he was on his way to her now. I was going to put her over my knee for all the stress she was causing. I moved to the messaging app and texted her.