Seducing the Badman (Russian Bratva #2) (13 page)

“I am fine, Radimir. I am all right,” I say, trying not to stare at the slumped form on the floor that was once Erik.

Radimir wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into him
tightly
, his face just inches from mine, his blue eyes dark and menacing. If I were ever to fear him, it would be in this moment—but all I can do is adore him, even though he has killed a man right in front of me. He is my protector, frightening to the world but a safe place for me to curl into. I know in this exactly moment, he will always keep me safe.

“He comes in here, disrespectful, sees you bare, and falls to his knees like a pussy at the first thought of pain? He would have been a liability. He would have been a rat and a snitch,” he tells me, as if to explain his actions. He has no need to explain himself to me. I didn’t care much for Erik to begin with.

I cup his rough cheeks in my hands and search his eyes, showing him that I am not angry.

“I realize this, Radimir. You do not need to explain it to me,” I brush my lips over his and take his hand in mine, leading him to our guest, stepping over Erik’s body.

I almost spit on the slumped, still form for the lewd comment he made to me only days ago, but I don’t. I cannot turn into my father.

“Sergei, I need to call a cleanup crew. Can you hold for just a moment?” Radimir asks as a knock sounds on the door.

“No need. I heard the scuffle, that is the crew,” Sergei informs him. They act as though this is normal and an everyday occurrence.
It probably is
.

Radimir nods and lets the men in. They ignore us and go right to the office.

“We have problems. Yakov’s woman has disappeared. He has lost her. We do not know if she was taken or has simply taken off. She knows too much, if she has just taken off,” Sergei announces.

I don’t know who they are talking about. I have never met the woman. As far as I knew, Yakov had no single woman he called his own. I knew that he had been busy with some woman that Gregori had in his care before they eliminated him.
I wonder if this could be her?

“Could this be retaliation from Ivan?” Radimir asks. I gasp, but Sergei shakes his head.

“We know nothing, Radimir. Absolutely nothing. No ransom demands, no blackmailing. We will have to dig into the underbelly, even farther than we currently reside,” Sergei says with a grimace. Radimir shivers and looks down at me, his eyes unfocused and cloudy.

“Let us go, then, and meet. We will need a good team.” Radimir suggests. Sergei nods in agreement.

“The team will be you, me, Pasha, Alex, Maxim and Yakov.”

“The best, Sergei; we will find her quickly, then,” Radimir offers.

Radimir and I rush upstairs to quickly shower and change our clothes. Then, the three of us walk out of the apartment to let the crew cleanup the Erik mess. Without a word, we pile into Sergei’s luxury car. The driver pulls out onto the street and takes us the familiar route to Maxim’s home.

“We will find her,
kotik
,” Radimir says, holding my hand in his. The move is meant to comfort me, but his hands are like ice. He is scared, and that is not comforting at all.

When a man with the amount of power that Radimir has is fearful, that means turmoil, a shift of balance; and nothing good can come from that.

R
ADIMIR KNOCKS SOFTLY ON
the apartment door of Maxim and Haleigh. I am surprised when a beautiful, rough looking man answers the door and lets us walk right inside. Immediately, I look around for our friends, but my eyes clash with Yakov’s.

I should be angry at him, but I’m not. I rush over to him and wrap my arms around him, hugging him,
my brother
. With a stiff body he hugs me back and pats me like a child. I almost roll my eyes at him.

Affection was not something we had as children, but I still yearn to hold my brother, to feel protected by him. I have missed him, and I know that he is hurting in this moment.

“You did not return my calls,” I scold as I back up and glare at him.

“I have been busy, Emiliya. You are not the only person on earth whose life has been shifted and uprooted,” he snaps. I take a step back at his hard words and stern voice as I gape up at him.

“
Yakov
,” I whisper. He just shakes his head, holding his hand up to me.

I forget how he can quickly change direction—how his moods can shift so suddenly; a person can easily get whiplash. It is a deplorable trait my father had as well. Yakov comes by it honestly.

“I do not wish to fight with you, sister, not when I need you to help me,” he states. I cringe. Isn’t that normal in our lives? Don’t fight with someone because you may need to use them later.

“I was worried about you,” I admit. He smirks and shakes his head.

“I am a man, Emiliya. You do not need to worry,” he smiles sadly.

“Who is the woman that was taken?” Sergei asks bluntly, interrupting my reunion with my brother. He frightens me. Not many men scare me, but Sergei is one of the most frightening men I have ever come across. It is as if his gaze can penetrate to your soul and see everything about you with one glance. It is unnerving.

“Ashley,” he says softly, his eyes full of what I can only assume is torment.

“She is?” Sergei prompts, his eyes focused on only Yakov. My brother sighs before he begins.

“When I went to clean up Gregori’s home in the states, she was there—chained to the wall in his basement. She had a bucket to use for her waste, and it had been apparent she had not bathed in at least a month. It was deplorable. She was dehydrated and undernourished, her food and water having run out days before my arrival.

“It took me weeks to bring her physical health back. Her mental health is a different story. She is strong, not broken like I originally thought she must be, living in that situation. Somewhere along the way, I decided to keep her. She has been quiet but well behaved, reserved, and soft. Then, when I was out on business, I came home and she was gone.

“The alarm had been set when I left, but it was off when I came home. There are no security cameras, so I do not know if she left willingly or not. I know that she has a cousin, but no other family. She’s just a slip of a girl, so small and fragile. If she was taken, there is no way she could have fought anybody off.”

Tears begin to fall from my eyes at my brother’s explanation. I chance a look to Maxim, who appears devastated and bursting with anger altogether. He must be remembering Haleigh and her abduction from years past. I cannot imagine the reliving he is doing this moment. Though we are not very close, I feel the need to comfort my cousin. I don’t. Instead, I stay silent, as I have been taught to do, and I wait.

“The women need to be taken away,” Sergei announces as we all sit down. I gasp, grabbing Radimir’s hand, but he doesn’t move. He is completely motionless.

“Where?” Maxim asks, breaking the silence. I can see a sheen of sweat forming on his brow.

“Away from Russia and the U.S. We have safe house in Keiv, Ukraine. It is secluded. They will be safe there,” Sergei informs. Maxim shakes his head.

“The baby,” he mutters, sounding panicked. Haleigh is looking down at her hands, afraid to look anywhere else.

“The estate will be fully staffed, including a doctor for the women. This is what our safe house is for, Maxim. If she was indeed taken, they will come for Haleigh. Emiliya is a public figure. Once he figures out she is Radimir’s, he will gun for her next. Until we figure out who the fuck this bastard is, we cannot leave the women unprotected. That place is the most protected home under our control,” Sergei informs him. It is not an option, but an order.

I watch as several different emotions pass through Maxim’s features. Then the settles on one. Resignation. He will send Haleigh there, and I will be right beside her.

“Yes, all right,” he agrees. Haleigh’s head shoots up as tears fall from her eyes.

“I want to keep you here,
angel moy,
but I want you, Maks, and our baby girl safe, which is the only reason I am sending you. I do not know if someone has this Ashley girl, or how powerful he is. I will not live if you are taken from me again,” he whispers.

I know the words are meant for only her ears, but I cannot tear my eyes away. Trembling, she nods and kisses his lips softly. Cupping his cheek, she whispers something to him. It is so sweet, soft, and intimate, I feel dirty for even watching them.

“Radimir,” Sergei prompts. Without hesitation, he too agrees. He doesn’t even look to me, his eyes focused ahead of him.

“We meet here at noon tomorrow, and will take separate cars, in case we are being tailed. We will all go different routes. Alex and his partner will stay with the women as part of a front. They will run all their errands in town so that the girls or the staff are never seen in public. Once we have a better handle on where Ashley is, we will devise a better plan,” Sergei announces.

“Yakov has taken the American girl as his slave,” Radimir informs me as we slide into the backseat of Sergei’s car. We’re on our way back to our apartment.

“No, Yakov wouldn’t,” I say in shock. Radimir chuckles as he shakes his head.

“I have known your brother since he was sixteen. I think he may be more of an asshole and more controlling than even me. He likes submissives and slaves, but that girl is his slave. The way Gregori was, there is no way she would ever be anything but a slave,
kotik
.”

I can’t believe it. I won’t believe it. My brother wouldn’t do that to some poor girl. What that girl must have been through at the hands of Gregori, and who knows who else—Yakov wouldn’t. He couldn’t, and I don’t want to believe Radimir. He slides his hand behind my neck and squeezes gently before he speaks again.

“Don’t over think the situation,
kotik
. Just because she is his slave girl does not mean he treats her badly. I don’t think your brother could willingly hurt a girl under his control. It isn’t in him; and from what I could tell, it seems as though he truly cares for the little girl. If he didn’t care for her at all, he would have sold her off or just sent her home. He
likes
her, Em. He is blaming himself now for her possible kidnapping, and probably always will. It is his duty to protect her. Just as it is mine to protect you.”

I can’t help the crazy thoughts that swirl around in my mind. My brother likes girls that bow down for him and crawl around.
Maybe she even licks his shoes
? I don’t know what slave girls do, but I shiver at the thought.

“What about the wedding tomorrow?” I ask, trying to get my brother’s sexual preferences from my head.

“I called the officiant and a photographer. They will be here within the hour. Change into your pretty dress and we’ll do it now. The press will be buzzing by daylight,” he announces. I look up at him in shock.

“An hour?” I sputter, unsure that I could be perfectly presentable in an hour.

“Yes. Go quickly,” he chuckles as he slides out of the front seat of the car. I don’t hesitate and wait for him to open my door. Instead, I turn, pushing the car door open and springing into the apartment and our bedroom to dress.

I leave my long black hair straight, and apply my makeup to precise perfection; or at least, that is what I hope to have achieved. I slide the white lace dress up my body and step into the expensive robin’s egg blue high heels.

One look in the mirror proves that I indeed look as perfect as I can, with what little time I was given. I quickly walk downstairs, and my eyes clash with Radimir’s. He is standing with another man while a woman snaps my picture. I smile hesitantly as I walk toward him.

There is no music playing, no flowers or guests.

Just Rad and me
.

It is more perfect than I ever imagined
.

The flashy lifestyle I have led was for appearances only, at my father’s insistence. This moment, with just the two of us, is exactly what I have longed for. I only wish that Maxim, Haleigh, and Yakov were here.

They are my true family.

I close my eyes and exhale the breath I had been holding as I marry the man who owns me. The man who possesses me. The man I seduced back into my life. The man who is looking at me like I am everything. Like I could disappear at any moment.