Natalia
I cannot remember a time that I’ve ever needed to be saved, and when this all started, I thought, well, this is the first time I’m going to need to be saved from the consequences of my choices. But listening to Daniel talk about his feelings makes me wonder if I haven’t already been saved. When he pulled me into his arms earlier, the world righted itself, and I felt safe and calm. It was the right place to be.
Then he opened himself up to me, and I sat there, staring at him. I feel like an idiot for not saying anything and letting him go to bed without me acknowledging his feelings or my own. Because there are feelings. I’m attracted to him, and maybe he doesn’t want a relationship, but I feel like being together right now is the right thing too.
He saved me, and that complicated my already complicated feelings about this situation.
The days pass by in a peaceful, almost otherworldly existence. I message Evgenii to let him know that we are away for our honeymoon since no one will let us be and that I will be back in touch when we return. I then shut my phone off completely, and we simply live. The days turn into weeks, and I feel like I am in a dream. Daniel takes me to a safe section of the woods for target practice together. He seems to have an endless supply of beer cans that he says is courtesy of his brother running a pub. He has also painted one of the rooms for the baby. I intend to tell my family about the pregnancy when we’re ‘back’ from our extended honeymoon. Daniel has been sending Evgenii photos of us together, all of them photoshopped, and Evgenii keeps replying that he wants me to call him or else.
I have asked Daniel to stop giving me Evgenii’s messages because they worry me. He has complied so far.
Spending these days with Daniel has made it clear to me. I’ve fallen for him…completely. The man I and everyone else have always assumed was a heartless killer, never to be challenged, is quite sweet. I don’t think he was an outcast because he was born to kill. I think he was an outcast growing up because he didn’t know how to socialize.
I wake up from my latest nap when I hear cursing. I sit up quickly and hear the knocking sound coming from what Daniel calls the baby’s bedroom. It’s cute.
I get up and walk that way, stopping at the door. He’s busy putting together the crib and doesn’t notice me standing there. I watch as he reads over the instructions and then uses a mallet to hammer the pieces together. He hits his hand and curses, and I let out a little giggle.
His head swings around, and he frowns. “Aye, laugh if you will, but just know this was made for people with fancy engineering degrees and shit.”
I lean against the door frame and watch him with a smile. “I’m sure it is because most of the time, people order them and get the guys to build them at the house.”
“I think the instructions are in Turkish.” He sighs and tosses them to the side, and grins at me. “I’m sorry, did my cursing wake ya?”
I move into the room, looking around at Daniel’s efforts in making a safe place for our child. “Yes, but it’s fine. You know, it just dawned on me. I think I need to go for a scan at the doctor’s. I remember everyone in my family saying how important they were, especially the older you were.”
Daniel stands up and dusts his hands on his jeans. “I’d prefer people don’t know where we are.”
“I know, which is why we should drive into the city and meet the doctor there.” I look up into his eyes.
“Not a chance. I don’t fucking trust any of them.” He moves to pass me, but I stand in front of him.
“It’s important that I go for the baby’s health. We need to make sure everything is okay. What if something is wrong, and we could prevent it from getting worse?” I put my hands on my hips. “I mean it.”
“Fine.” He sighs and rubs the stubble forming on his chin. “But we make it quick, to the doctor and out again, no stopping anywhere.”
“Deal.” I smile. “I made the appointment for tomorrow.”
“Natalia,” he groans. “You put us in danger. Did you use your real
name?”
“You do remember why you were looking for me in the first place? I’m not an idiot. No, I used an alias, and it’s a doctor I know is very discreet.” I smile and take his rough hands in mine. “You must learn to trust me like I’ve learned to trust you, Daniel.”
The way he looks at me excites me. He looks at me as though he would devour me.
“Tomorrow. We leave early.”
He moves past me, and the room feels cold and empty without him in it.
We reach the doctor by nine in the morning, and when they say I have to wait for the technician for the scan, I almost want to punch them. Daniel glances at me impatiently, and I smile. “It’s fine. I’m sure it won’t be long.”
The gel is cold, and I watch the screen closely as the technician freezes the picture.
“That’s your baby.”
I stare at the image and swallow hard. I feel Daniel take my hand in his and remember to breathe.
“I’m going to give you a list of prenatal classes you need to take and checkups you need to do, and I have some great reading material to help you guys as first-time parents. It’s a welcome package included in the first scan.” She smiles brightly.
When we get back into the car, I smile. “See. No one even knew we were here.”
Daniel scoffs and starts the car. “Don’t get cocky. It’ll get us killed.”
I’m reading the brochure on first-time pregnancies and what to expect when Daniel makes an unexpected stop. We’re almost out of the city already, and it’s a somewhat secluded road. I glance up, see vans blocking the way, and swallow hard. I recognize Evgenii and Ivan standing in front of the vehicles.
“I could kill them,” Daniel mutters, and I look at him incredulously.
He shrugs and steps out of the car.
I climb out as well, and we both move to the front of our car. I see Daniel scan around us for further threats.
Ivan steps forward and motions to me. “Come on, Natalia. You’re coming home with us. That’s an order.”
“I’m not in danger, Ivan,” I say steadily. ” I have to stay with
Daniel. I’m sorry.”
Ivan doesn’t break eye contact with me. “Is this really your choice,
Nat? I can order my men to take you from him without hurting you.”
“You could try,” Daniel growls protectively. My heart beats harder at the sound of his primal rage.
Evegenii steps forward. “Nat, come on. This is so out there for you. Come home, and whatever it is you’ve done, we can sort it out amongst ourselves as a family. Like we have always done.”
Ivan’s phone rings, and he steps away to answer it.
“Evgenii, I want to stay with Daniel. He’s my family now too.”
My brother glares at Daniel and shakes his head. “What did we do to you for you to turn on us?”
My heart aches, and I’m about to say I haven’t when Ivan comes back quickly. “Ana’s security detail was jumped by unknown assailants.
They left a message at the restaurant. Her life for Natalia’s.”
I feel Daniel tense. He knows it was the gang of Sicilian Dons making a power move.
“Nat, go with your brother. You’ll be safe there while I retrieve Ivan’s daughter. I’ll come to get you, don’t worry.” Daniel looks at Ivan but glances at me when I take his hand.
“No, where you go, I go.” I turn to Ivan. “We will rescue Ana in exchange for my freedom to be with Daniel.”
Ivan sizes us both up, and Evgenii steps closer to him, saying, “You can’t be thinking about this, Ivan. That’s my sister.”
“My daughter is heir to the Volkov empire and also your niece. Don’t forget that.” Ivan looks at him. “She wants to be with him. She’s even bartering to be with him. She’s clearly not in danger.”
Evgenii spits on the ground and storms off to get in one of the vehicles as Ivan looks at Daniel. “On the condition that you bring my daughter back unharmed and you don’t try to use her as a bargaining tool.” “Deal,” I say.
Daniel
“It’s not happening,” I say as we drive toward our home in the woods.
“Give me one good reason why I can’t come with you,” she snaps.
“You’re fucking pregnant, Natalia,” I roar. I drive through the woods, and it’s already mid-afternoon when we reach the house. She follows me inside the shed, where I start to gather weapons.
“I do this for a living. I am not some random person playing a shooting game. I’m a killer for the Volkov family.”
I turn around and grab her by the shoulders. “Stay. I’ll be back in a few days once I’ve delivered Ana to your cousin. I need you to trust me on this.”
“I trust you.” She looks into my eyes, and I can’t help myself; my emotions are heightened from arguing with her. I passionately kiss her, wrapping my arms around her and crushing her against me. She wriggles her arms out of my hold to grasp my face, kissing me back just as passionately.
I knew it. I had seen the difference in how she spoke to me, how she sat closer to me, and how she looked at me. She feels the same way about me that I feel about her. After a few minutes, I break the kiss and whisper against her lips, “I promise I’ll pleasure your every need when I’m back. I will be back.”
I look into her eyes, our foreheads pressed together, and she nods. She looks so unsure, but she slowly lets me go.
“Get inside and look in my room, bottom shelf of my closet in the safe. The code is your birthday-the date we met. There’s a spare phone in there. Keep it close. It will notify you if any of the perimeter sensors go off.” She nods.
“I’ll be right here, waiting for you.” I know she means it, and I kiss her again. “Go. I must concentrate and can’t think while sharing the air with you.”
She nods and hurries out. I take a deep breath and open the cupboard with a light touch. It swings open, revealing a hidden cache of weapons. I load them into a bag I get from the back and then look at my watch.
Fuck. I’m going to have to call him.
He will be pissed when he learns I’ve been using the house.
I wait until I’m in the car and driving away from the woods before I dial his number. It rings, and I wonder if he wants to speak to me.
He answers the phone laughing, chuckles, and says, “Hello?”
“Hello, Ronan.”
He snorts, “Little brother, it’s been a few months. What can I do for you?”
“No questions?” I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.
“Of course, I have questions, but first, I want to know what you need.” Ronan pulls the phone away from his ear and yells, “Shut it; I’m on a call with Danny Boy.”
I try not to groan out loud. It doesn’t matter that I’m in my early fifties. The man will always call me boy.
“I need a favor. I need men and some leads, and it involves the
Volkovs.”
“Helping them or hindering them?” Ronan asks. He’s moved into a quieter area, probably his office in the back of his pub.
“Helping,” I admit.
He goes quiet for a moment before he speaks again, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “All right, Danny, I’ll help you with whatever this is if you rejoin the family and work for us. Come home.”
I sigh. “I’ll consider it, at the very least. There’s a lot of extenuating circumstances in my life right now.”
“All right, what do you need to know?” Ronan asks.
“Who has the Volkov heir, and where are they keeping her.”
“Anastasia Volkov has been kidnapped? I feel sorry for whoever took her,” Ronan chuckles.
“Because her father will have them killed?” I play his game, knowing I need his help.
“No, she’s a ruthless bitch. She’s going to give them shit every second. I’ll call you back. It won’t be hard to figure out who took her. I’ll get Robbie to hit the street contacts now.” He hangs up without another word.
I am approaching the city again at this point and drive straight for my old apartment. I kept it just in case. I also have more weapons stored there.
I’m not there for long when my phone rings, and I answer, “Ronan.”
“She’s being kept in North Riverdale in a shitty house off Castle
Road. Definitely not the upper-class apartments she’s used to.”
“Thank you, please have your best shooters meet me there,” I say, standing up and cocking the gun I was loading to pass the time.
“Don’t thank me, Daniel. You owe me.” When he uses my name so seriously, I know he means it. This is a business transaction, not a family favor. I think I’ll neglect to mention that I’m using one of the hiding houses for now.
“I never forget my debts, Ronan Quinn.” I hang up and start putting my guns into their various holsters. I get into my car and take the shortest route I can find to North Riverdale. I know the area; many drug runners use the less-kept houses to deal their wares. It’s smart because everyone will be looking at the important family houses, not some run-down shit hole.
As I’m nearing the location, a text comes through from my younger brother Robbie. Ronan must have sent him with the men. It’s the exact location of the house. And another message with where they are a block away.
I pull up next to their cars and get out.
Robbie is smoking a cigarette; my dark red-haired younger brother smiles as he approaches me, flicking his cigarette to the side. “Danny. You look like an old piece of shit.”
I hold out my hand, and when he takes it, I pull him into a hug. “Not all of us are pickling our bodies with wine, whiskey, and women.”
He laughs and gestures behind him with his thumb. “They don’t seem to have that many guards, not decent-looking ones. They look foreign, though. So what’s the plan?”
“They won’t kill Ana. They’re not stupid,” I comment, looking at the house further down the road. “We walk in, we shoot everyone, we get the girl, we get out.”
“You taking her hostage?” Robbie asks as he takes his shotgun off the holster on his back and cocks it.
“No, I’m using her to pay a debt to Ivan Volkov.” I don’t elabortae, and he doesn’t ask questions.
The men assemble around us, and Robbie grins. “Shoot everyone who isn’t Anastasia Volkov, get her to Daniel, and we leave. No witnesses, no loose ends.”
The men chuckle amongst themselves; this is their favorite type of job.
While the hitmen from the Sorvino and Volkov families might be more subtle, hell, even I am more subtle, Robbie and my brothers are not. They like to make noise.
We walk toward the house in a line. The guards out front are talking and laughing, sitting around a small fire they’ve made in the ground. When one of them casually looks up, it’s too late. He leaps to his feet, but Robbie gives a happy shout and blows his head off his shoulders.
As typical with my brothers, the firefight ensues is a bloody massacre with lots of swearing and competition. As I make my way through the house, shooting the guards I encounter, I hear my brother yelling that he wonders how many men he can take out at the knees before he kills them.
I roll my eyes. There’s scurrying ahead, and I know I’m on to something. It sounds like there are numerous guards up in the next room.
“Robbie,” I yell, “I found her.”
Robbie and two of his men come jogging to where I am. “And?”
“Sounds like a few guys,” I comment. “Maybe six.”
Robbie chuckles. “Hell, Danny, that’s hardly anything, boy.” He drops his shotgun, reaches for the two handguns holstered on each of my sides, and pulls them out before he takes a short run and dives across the floor, opening fire.
“Fucking idiot is going to get himself killed,” one of the guys says.
I shrug. “Probably.”
I pick up his shotgun and follow him. Robbie’s taken down four guys and has rolled into another room for cover. I walk out with the shotgun while they concentrate on him and blast the other two out. We make sure all six are dead before I kick down the door they were protecting.
Sweeping the room, I see a girl tied to the radiator in the back.
“Anastasia, your father sends for you,” I say as I toss the shotgun to my brother and go free her.
She stands up and growls, “Give me a gun.”
I glance at Robbie, then hand her a shotgun. She walks out into the hallway and starts firing it into one guy’s head.
“Fucker,” she spits. “I wish to leave.”
“This way, your highness,” Robbie chuckles and leads her down the hallway.
We’re out, and the men are fixing to burn the house. I leave Robbie at my car, ruffling his curly hair. “Stay out of shit, little shit.” “Visit soon. The whiskey’s always good,” he calls.
I drive Anastasia home. We don’t speak, she doesn’t know who I am and has no reason to trust me, but she has kept the gun, which has two bullets left.
I pull up to Ivan’s house, and the guards, seeing Anastasia, open the gate quickly. Ivan comes hurrying out.
Some Italian guy runs to Anastasia and embraces her. I assume he’s her boyfriend, and then Ivan hugs her. “Go inside. We’ll discuss better security for you.”
Ivan turns to me and narrows his eyes. “Thank you, I appreciate that you got her back. But it’s been made known to me you’re a Quinn, and I cannot approve of your relationship with Natalia.”
I chuckle as I rev my car. “I wasn’t looking for your permission, Volkov.”
I turn around, and surprisingly, no one tries to stop me.
I make sure I’m not followed and drive home to my wife, Natalia.