Lyov
Something doesn’t feel right. We’re standing on the runway in Florence, South Carolina, waiting for Veselov’s plane to arrive. He’s later than scheduled. It’s putting me on edge.
Andrei seems as calm as ever, but Milana is tense. I keep my arm around her waist, holding her back against my chest – the need to protect her rules me every hour of every day. I hate not knowing what is going to happen when we meet with her dad.
We are like sitting ducks here, waiting for them to rain fire on us.
“I don’t like this,” I say, finally voicing my concerns to my pakhan. Andrei may perceive it as a weakness, but Milana’s welfare is too important to risk.
“Neither do I,” Milana mutters.
Andrei glances at the both of us, seemingly unconcerned. “The plane is delayed. It’s not unusual.” He glances at Filip, the jet pilot. “Filip, can you track their plane?”
He gives him a nod. “Sure, boss.” He walks back toward the jet and disappears inside.
Andrei is always the practical one. It’s unlike me to let my emotions get the better of me, but when it comes to Mila, I’m careful. She’s the single most precious thing to me in this world. The drone of a plane’s engine catches all of our attention, and finally, I see it heading down toward the runway.
I grit my teeth together and prepare myself for the brunt of what is to come. Veselov is going to go mental when he realizes the man who kidnapped his daughter has also bedded her.
According to my contacts, Veselov has been trying to find the highest bidder to sell Milana off to for a couple of years-ever since she turned sixteen years old. It makes me sick thinking about it, especially that he would considering selling her underage. Andrei hates the practice of selling women, be it in an auction or form of a dowry.
It’s something Andrei has set about trying to stop, ever since Vera went through hell in the capture of the virgin auction runners. It didn’t go down well with the auction runners, but Andrei shut it down. I’ve got a feeling Vera was part of the driving force behind it.
The plane touches down and Andrei takes a step closer to me, dropping his voice. “Follow my lead and don’t speak unless I tell you to.” He glances at Milana. “You too, princess.”
Andrei calling her princess rubs me the wrong way, but I keep my mouth shut. He has been more than fair to both of us since I landed him in this mess. We’re here because neither of us could resist the pull to each other, forcing my brotherhood to sacrifice peace for our happiness.
Sure, Andrei paints it as if Veselov is the reason for the war, but everyone knows that this wouldn’t have happened if I could have kept it in my pants.
We wait as the jets engines turn off, and the private airstrips workers set up the steps to the craft. Even as we wait, I can’t shake the feeling of unease. Milana knows her dad wouldn’t agree to negotiate, and deep down, I know it too.
After three years of war with the Los Angeles brotherhood, he is yet to even meet with Luka Romanov. All the signs point to this being a trap.
The door to the jet opens, and Georgy Veselov appears at the top, descending the steps onto the airstrip. Milana tenses in my arms, pushing herself tighter against me. Her brother, Dima, is the next to appear from the jet.
The agreement was that we would both only come with two men. Alexi is, therefore, waiting on the plane. I wait and watch for more movement on the jet, wondering if he’s drawn us into an ambush.
Surprisingly, no one else follows. I sigh a breath of relief, as the two men walk toward us. They both look rather calm, considering we’ve told him we have no intention of giving back his daughter.
“Veselov,” Andrei calls, stepping forward to address him. There’s a line already drawn that neither of us can cross. It’s part of the negotiation agreement.
“Andrei, I can’t say that it is a pleasure.” His eyes switch to me and Milana. “What is this nonsense about not giving my daughter back?”
Andrei beckons both of us forward. Milana grabs my hand, and we walk to stand by his side. “My spy and your daughter have fallen for each other. I have no intention of breaking them up.”
Georgy laughs a high pitched laugh. “My daughter doesn’t have a say when it comes to who she ends up with.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “I’ve already swapped for her hand in marriage. The deal is done and set in stone. I won’t leave here without her.”
Andrei takes another step forward. “It seems we are at an impasse then, as we will not give her up. Not to mention, she has no wish to go with you.”
Dima steps forward, right up to the line. “She doesn’t have a choice.”
The evil glint in his eyes tells me they are up to something. I’m not sure what. A commotion behind us makes my heart rate spike. Before I know it, a pair of hands land on my shoulders, dragging me back and away from Milana.
I try desperately to keep hold of her. Someone grabs her by the waist, hoisting her into the air and away from me. Andrei attempts to fight against the men who have seized him, swinging punches left, right and center, but it’s no good. He’s overpowered.
“Lyov,” Milana shouts, as she watches.
The man who grabbed her doesn’t struggle with her kicking and punching, as she desperately tries to break free. Her eyes are wide as he begins to carry her up into the jet. All I can do is watch as Veselov’s men hold me down to the ground.
We should have seen this coming. Andrei is too damn honorable to bring back up. If he agrees on terms of a meet, he sticks to them. It’s a weakness he needs to overcome. The bratva don’t honor terms of agreement often. They’re all snakes that backstab in an attempt to make it to the top.
The bratva is about who has the most power, and it doesn’t matter how you gain that power. If you have to lie and cheat, then you do it. Otherwise, someone else will.
As I watch Milana disappear into the jet, a sense of failure overwhelms me. I promised I would protect her, and yet I’m powerless. Veselov meets my gaze, laughing. “Rough them up and send them on their way,” he orders.
The men begin to kick and punch me, but I hardly feel the pain. All I can feel is the pain of failing my woman. I fight back, writhing on the ground with all the strength I have.
Somehow, I find the power to throw them off me. I punch one of them in the face, and another in the gut, downing them as fast as I can.
Georgy is a hundred yards away, getting into the jet. I break into a sprint. “Milana,” I shout her name, seeing her looking out of the window of the plane.
It speeds Veselov up as he dashes into the plane. The door shuts, and the engines whirl to life, as they remove the steps. I’m seconds too late. I consider jumping onto the plane, but I know it won’t do any good. Our only option is to try and chase them through the sky.
Milana presses her hand to the glass of the window, tears streaming down her cheeks. I want to tell her I’ll find her. I want to say to her I won’t let them get away with this.
Why would she believe me?
I told her I’d protect her, and I failed. A hand lands on my shoulder, and I swing around to land a punch. It’s Andrei, and his face is bloodied and bruised. The men who had attacked him are rolling around on the floor or unconscious.
“We need to get in the plane now, if we’re going to follow them,” Andrei says.
Thank God he is thinking the same as I am. I follow my leader back to the jet as he barks orders at Filip. Alexi follows quickly, face also bloodied and bruised. We all probably look a mess, but not as bad as Veselov’s men.
The man is a disgrace. He left his own brotherhood men on the tarmac, abandoning them in an attempt to save his skin. It says a lot about a pakhan.
As quickly as possible, Filip has Veselov’s jet on the radar, ready to follow him.
“Don’t lose him, whatever you do,” Andrei says.
It’s clear now that I can trust him. He has no intention of fucking Milana or me over. The engines fire to life beneath us, and before I can think, Filip has the jet taxiing down the runway to take off.
I take a seat beside Alexi. We haven’t really spoken since Andrei broke the news to the brotherhood just over three days ago.
“Damn, I never thought you’d get us into this mess,” he says, pressing a cold compress to the bruise on his cheek.
I shake my head. “Neither did I.”
Andrei leans toward us. “Veselov got us into this mess, and don’t forget it.” He holds Alexi’s gaze until he nods.
Andrei keeps staring at him with such intensity. “Lyov wouldn’t have had to kidnap Milana, if it hadn’t been for his dumbass actions.”
A swell of emotion floods my chest as I glance at my pakhan. Andrei hardly knows me, since I’ve always been so closed off to everyone, and yet, he defends me with loyalty. The brotherhood is supposed to be a family, but until now, I haven’t embraced it wholeheartedly.
It feels like I’ve been going through life on auto-pilot rather than living it. Milana has made me realize life is worth living.
Alexi clears his throat and nods his head. “It’s about time you found yourself a woman.”
It’s the first time he’s acknowledged it. Ever since Andrei announced it to the rest of the brotherhood, he’s been off with me.
I shrug. “Not exactly ideal circumstances, though, are they?”
“These are the kind of circumstances I’d expect from you, Lyov.” I raise a brow at him. “Really? No one else did.”
He claps me on the shoulder. “No one else knows you as well as me.” He’s right. Out of all my brotherhood members, he’s the only one that I’ve been more open around.
We settle into a comfortable silence, but inside I’m a mess. Until I have Milana back by my side, I won’t be able to rest. All I can hope is that they aren’t traveling too far. It feels like I’m in a nightmare I can’t wake from.