Guard (The Underground Book 3) (3 page)

She still had her legs tucked under her. They were stiff, but she was too tired to move. “Not sure yet. Jury’s still out.” She forced a smile.

Mikhail returned a grin. “You need food. There isn’t anything to eat in your apartment. I cleaned out your refrigerator yesterday while you slept like the dead so you wouldn’t have to face it. You want me to go to the store or take you someplace to eat?”

She chewed on her bottom lip. “You cleaned my kitchen?”

“Well, yeah. I was bored. It was rank.”

“What have you been eating?”

“Takeout. Ivan and Leo and Katie have all stopped by at one time or another.”

“Ivan and Leo are your friends, and Katie’s the doctor from the clinic?”

“Yes. She’s Leo’s girlfriend.”

Haley nodded. She needed to piece these people together in her mind. “Doesn’t anyone work? You’ve been here all this time?”

“I couldn’t just leave you.” He shrugged. “I work construction usually during the day, and I didn’t have a job lined up this week. But my main source of income is from fighting.”

She flinched. “Fighting? Who?” What the hell kind of man had been looking over her?

He smiled. “Not random people on the street, Haley. Mixed martial arts. MMA. In a cage.” He shrugged again. “Not that it’s much different from random people on the street, mind you. I fight the underground circuit.”

“What does that mean?”

“Under the radar. No rules. Unsanctioned.”

“Oh.” She sat up straighter. “Is that legal?”

“Not exactly. I have a manager. He books my fights. I show up, kick some ass, take home the winnings.”

She winced. “Lord. That doesn’t sound safe.”

“It’s perfectly safe.” He winked. “As long as I win.”

“I guess you win often.” She glanced down at his body, taking in his physique. He was built like steel. No wonder. His dark T-shirt barely stretched over his muscular arms. His thighs bulged inside his worn jeans. “As much as I hate it, I do have to get my ass to the gym today. I was going to have someone else come over if that’s okay.”

“Sure. Right. Of course.” Haley unfolded her legs, cringing at how much she ached. Everywhere. Now that she was more alert, she was more aware of how weak her body was. She’d spent two weeks in bed. No wonder.

“I don’t mean right this second. But eventually. Now, about food. It’s already lunchtime.”

“Yeah. I’ll uh…” She didn’t know what she would do. Decision making seemed to have fled. She needed to call her boss. Did she still have a job?

“How about if I run to the store? I can see there’s one a few blocks away. I’ll grab some staples and be right back. Yeah?”

“Good plan. But I don’t have any cash in the house. Can I give you my credit card?”

He pushed himself to standing. “No problem. I’ve got it.”

She tipped her chin back and looked up at him. He seemed monstrous standing so close. She didn’t know enough about him. She should be afraid. But she wasn’t.

He stepped across the room to the adjoining kitchen area and grabbed something off the table. When he turned around, he held it out to her. “Found this on the counter. It was dead. I charged it. It’s been beeping incessantly since then. Your purse is on the counter too. Why were you out delivering sandwiches with nothing on you?”

She smiled. “I never take anything. That way I can’t get mugged. I dress down. Blend in.”

“Of course, that also got you kidnapped.” He lifted one brow. “Do you always deliver meals alone?”

She nodded. “Not meals exactly. I just bring a few sandwiches with me when I go out. I’ve done this my entire life. It’s how I’m wired. Until now, I’ve never considered it to be unsafe. They’re human beings. Most of them are harmless. They just need someone to listen to them. Bring a blanket. A coat. Warm gloves. A sandwich.”

Mikhail watched her intently while she spoke. He didn’t judge her or reprimand her. Finally, he stated, “I’m sure whoever took you thought you were homeless.”

“Why would someone kidnap homeless people?”

He shook his head. “It’s a mystery to me too, but I can tell you we’re talking about the Russian Mafia. The man you saw next to the car with the syringe? He was Anton Yenin, leader of the Vegas Mafia. He seems to have moved to the area.”

“Why would he do that?”

“It’s not a coincidence.” Mikhail turned toward the door. “Long story. I’ll explain more when I get back. You need food.”

Haley stared at the door as it shut and then listened while Mikhail locked it in two places from the outside. She took a deep breath, realizing he must have taken her keys with him.

∙
•
∙

Mikhail leaned against the door for several seconds before walking away. Not only was it not a coincidence that Yenin was in town, but Mikhail feared it was largely his fault. If he hadn’t moved to Chicago himself a year ago, Yenin wouldn’t have followed, and Haley wouldn’t have been kidnapped.

The FBI would argue that Yenin had his sights on Chicago already and had a drug lab in the works years ago. But that didn’t make Mikhail feel warm and fuzzy.
He
moved to Chicago.
He
left Vegas.
He
pissed off Yenin by doing so. That was all on him.

The guilt he felt over that was tremendous. He’d thought about it time and time again while Haley slept and he paced.

And all the dead homeless people…

At least Haley had been a survivor. But why? And what were the permanent repercussions to whatever Yenin had done to her?

His phone rang as he pushed off the door and headed down the hall.

Nikolav.

“Hey. What’s up?” Mikhail answered.

“Heading your way with Sergei.”

“Figured that would be the case.”

“No idea what Yenin’s up to, but neither of us is sticking around Vegas any longer to find out the hard way. The man is making me fucking nervous as hell. He’s only here about half the time, and he spends most of that in his damn lab. Whatever that fucker is cooking, I do
not
want to know.”

“Except I think we
do
want to know. But I don’t blame you for bailing. I’m surprised either of you lasted this long under his thumb.”

“We’ll drive up early next week. You have space for us to crash for a few nights until we can find something?”

“Of course. The three-bedroom apartment currently has only Ivan and my sister, Alena, in it. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying with the social worker. She’s pretty shook up. And I don’t think she’s safe.”

“Doesn’t Ivan have his own place?”

“Yeah, but we didn’t want to leave Alena alone either. His apartment’s currently vacant, but frankly, I’d rather you two stayed with Alena. I worry about her. She thinks she’s invincible. Always arguing with me about getting out of the apartment. I don’t like her exposed. I don’t want Yenin to know she’s even in the country if I can avoid it. Don’t trust that asshole.”

“I hear ya. Can you hook us up with Abram Gromov? We’re gonna need a manager. You think he’ll take us on?”

“I know he will. He’s asked about you two several times. Wondered when you would break ties with Yenin and move to Chicago. I’ll give him a heads up and shoot you his number.”

“Perfect. See you soon, then.” Nikolav disconnected.

Neither Mikhail nor Leo, or even Ivan for that matter, had told Sergei and Nikolav everything that had happened in the last few days. There would be plenty of time to fill them in when they arrived.

They understood that some shit had gone down, some of Yenin’s men had been killed, and Haley had been rescued as a byproduct of the operation, but they hadn’t been brought completely into the fold.

The reality was Leo Gulin was an informant for the FBI. He had been for two years. And until Monday, none of the others had known it.

The thought of his best friend keeping such a secret had been like a shot to the gut at first, but then Mikhail had realized the gravity of the situation and the hard spot Leo had been in. The man had no choice. He’d been up against the wall when the FBI confronted him and brought him in.

Besides, Mikhail and the other five Russian fighters who worked for Yenin had been suspicious of Yenin’s activities for years. There wasn’t a chance in hell the man had brought the six of them over from Russia on his own dime altruistically to train them to fight.

Not. A. Fucking. Chance. In. Hell.

Yenin was up to something. But the money was good. The six fighters had been well taken care of for a dozen years. And they’d never asked questions.

Until a year ago when Yenin had Lauren Schneider kidnapped. Dmitry Volikov had the hots for the woman at the time, and he rescued her and brought her to Chicago at the same time Mikhail had come to Chicago when his sister arrived from Russia. Dmitry and Lauren had since fled the country to escape Yenin.

This had put a serious strain on every one of their relationships with Yenin. Leo followed Mikhail and Dmitry to Chicago and moved in with Alena and Mikhail before hooking up with Dr. Katie. Ivan arrived just over a month ago. That left Sergei and Nikolav. It had only been a matter of time.

And now was the right time. If the two of them hadn’t decided to bail from Vegas on their own, Mikhail would have taken it upon himself to press the issue sooner rather than later.

The group of them had seemingly performed an intricate dance with Yenin for the past year, one in which neither side acknowledged what they knew about the other party. But after rescuing Haley from Ted Christianson’s house, the entire precarious balance between Yenin and his six fighters had toppled.

It was no longer a matter of each party pretending they didn’t necessarily know what the other was up to. It was right out there for all to see. Yenin’s men kidnapped Haley Sullivan. She was alive to tell about it in detail. Which meant it was no longer a secret that Anton Yenin had kidnapped many homeless people as well.

For what?

That was the question. What the hell was he up to in his lab, and why were so many people dying as a result of his experiments?

Or more importantly perhaps, why had Haley lived?

Oh, yeah. The dance was over. The proverbial “he doesn’t know that we know that he knows that we know…” was finished.

Mikhail knew exactly what Yenin did this time. Plain as day.

And Yenin could no longer deny he knew the fighters were not in the dark concerning his malicious practices.

What next?

Mikhail had walked to the small supermarket so deep in thought he couldn’t remember getting there. And he cringed. He needed to be on top of his game. Lives were at stake. Currently Haley’s more than anyone else’s.

Mikhail grabbed a cart and made his way quickly down the aisles, grabbing fresh produce, milk, cheese, lunch meat, and anything else he thought Haley would like. It wasn’t hard. He’d seen the contents of her fridge when he emptied it. Easy to emulate.

In less than half an hour, he was back at her apartment.

She hadn’t moved.

At least he didn’t think so.

She sat frozen in the same spot he’d left her, although she had tucked her feet back under her and leaned to one side.

She jerked to sitting as he shoved his way into the apartment hauling several bags in each hand.

He set them in the kitchen on the table and turned toward her. “You okay?” How many times was he going to ask that?

“Guess I should have gone with you.”

“Why?” he asked as he unloaded the bags onto the table.

She licked her lips and took a deep breath. “I’m a mess. I’m not usually like this. I swear.”

He put the carton of milk he held in the fridge and left the rest to head her way. “Haley, don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m surprised how put together you are as it is. Most people would be freaking out. You haven’t even cried since the first day.”

“I don’t feel safe. I’ve never felt so unsafe. I’ve always worked with the downtrodden. It’s my life. How will I ever go back?”

“Well, you’re safe now. And that’s not going to change.”

“How can you say that? You don’t know. You can’t guarantee my safety. Anything could have happened while you were gone. Someone could have been waiting for just the right moment when you left the building to come in here and bust my door down.” She righted herself, setting her feet on the floor.

Her hands shook on her lap.

Mikhail took up his spot on her coffee table again, his face inches from hers when he leaned forward. He couldn’t resist cupping her cheek. “Someone was waiting outside for me to leave you, Haley. The FBI. Two of them. I never would have left you if I thought you were in any danger. I didn’t actually like leaving you even knowing those men were out there, but you needed food. And it didn’t seem as though you were going to be able to leave the apartment just yet.”

Her eyes widened. “The FBI’s watching me?”

“For now.”

“I really
am
in danger.”

“Well, I’m fairly certain the man who runs the lab where you were held is Anton Yenin. He’s not someone to fuck around with, and he’s probably furious you were rescued. Besides, three of his men were killed in the house Monday, including Dr. Ted Christianson. Anton has got to be pissed.”

“Was he the guy who owned the house? The short guy with the glasses?”

He nodded.

“He was a doctor?”

“Yes. Specialist actually. Epidemiologist.”

“Lord.” She shuddered and set her small fingers over his on her cheek. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

He smiled slowly. “I’m not just gonna leave you. I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.” He pushed to standing, mostly because if he didn’t, he feared he might lean in and kiss her. And she wasn’t ready for something like that.

He needed to find a way to use his big head to think. His little head was misbehaving of its own accord. Why did she have to be so damn gorgeous? All that flowing red hair… Those deep pale green eyes… Smooth skin like alabaster…

Mikhail turned away, fearing he might actually moan. He’d had every intention of making other arrangements for her as soon as she was coherent today. But that was not going to happen.

No way could he bring himself to abandon her, and she wasn’t up for it, either.