by KJ Dahlen
“This isn’t something your Russian friends need to know about, at least not quite yet.”
“Dad, I will not keep information they need from them,” Frankie whispered loudly.
“Keep your voice down, girl,” Joel hushed her. “You need to avoid any undue stress on your throat.”
“No dad. We won’t stay quiet with this,” Galen replied. “This could give them what they’re looking for and I will not keep it from them. Please don’t ask me to do that. This man needs to be stopped by any means out there.”
“And he will be, Baby Girl. But if anyone is going to stop him, my team will do it,” Joel insisted.
Viktor heard two slaps to the table and he knew it was his Frankie trying to get a message across to her stubborn father.
There was a brief silence then he heard Joel admit tiredly, “I know its wrong girl. Believe me, I know this isn’t the way things should be, but there’s something here the two of you don’t understand. Averin has been doing all of this for so long...” He sighed. “I need this. He cost me so much over the years, then he came for my daughters? It needs to be me that takes him out. Me!”
“But Dad, these guys are trying to stop him too, just like your team is,” Galen spoke softly to her father but there was an edge in her voice. “Your team asked to be here, to work with them. Viktor and his team pulled Frankie and me out of a dangerous situation when they didn’t have to. They’re honorable men Dad, no matter how much you hate that fact.”
Joe let out a frustrated sigh. “But that’s my job. Don’t you girls understand that? It’s my job to keep you both safe and I failed. That was the one thing I thought I was doing right up until some bastard snatched you off the street. I wasn’t there to stop it from happening and now, all I got left is to mop the floor with this guy’s guts, so he can’t do this all over again to some other unsuspecting woman. I want you girls to know I’ve always got your back, that I’ll be standing right behind you every step of the way, not some Russian dude.”
“Oh, Daddy,” Frankie whispered hoarsely. “Don’t you think we know that? You’ve been there for us since the day we were born, each and every step of the way.”
“She’s right you know,” Galen continued. “You and those men out there have been right behind us since we learned to walk. And that will never change, Frankie and I know that. But Dad...” she paused for a moment. “You have to let us go at some point. We aren’t ever going to go far but we do need our freedom, to grow as women, to find the one man we are meant to be with. I don’t know if Deter is the man I’m meant to be with or not, but I’d like to find out. I know Frankie is fairly sure she has found the man she needs. We’re your daughters and we always will be. Nothing will ever change that. But there will be other men in our lives and you have to allow them to come in.”
Viktor peeked around the doorway and saw Joel hanging his head in defeat. He was about to join them when he heard a footstep behind him.
He turned and saw Judge standing there. By the look on his face, it was obvious that he had heard the conversation between Joel and his daughters as well. The other man had a hard stare in his eyes and Viktor motioned for him to follow.
As they walked into the kitchen, Viktor first looked over at Frankie and took note of her frightened look, then he turned to Joel. “This is not a pissing contest between my men and yours. We can work with you, side by side or we can work alone. The job will get done either way. I would rather work alone but as we are going after the same group of bastards, it seemed more prudent to work with you rather than fighting for top position. I just want you and your men to know that Frankie and Galen are not part of this deal. They’re not now or ever in the future, prizes to be had. I don’t consider Frankie anything but a woman first but I have claimed her as mine. She will always be your daughter but now... she is my woman.”
“And I have claimed Galen.” Deter’s voice sounded from behind them.
Everyone turned and found Deter standing in the doorway.
“Accept it or not, Galen belongs with me.”
“I think this is getting off topic here.” Judge tried to steer the conversation into neutral territory.
Galen cleared her throat, “We have some new information we want to share with you.” She paused and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she pointed down at a map. “When you guys sent that picture of what Tegan Averin looked like back to us, Frankie remembered running into a man who looked like him right here in New Orleans. For some unknown reason, she followed him the day she spotted him and she remembers where he went and she saw who he made contact with.”
“And what does that mean to this mission?” Viktor asked with a frown.
Frankie paged through her notebook and found a drawing she’d made earlier. She pushed it toward him.
When Viktor studied the photo, he instantly recognized the man. His name was Karik Provoc. He was Bratva as well but he came from the Ukraine not Russia proper.
He knew the Ukraines didn’t always have the same morals as everyone else but he didn’t expect them to sink this low. Human trafficking wasn’t a good thing. He snatched up the photo and went back to the security room. He got on the video monitor and called Yuri.
Sergi was still in the city and Yuri promised to check into this new link. He didn’t think the Ukraines were involved in the ring but it was something they had to find out. Yuri did warn him, “You can’t do anything about this until we find out from our own sources that Karik is involved in this. Demi wouldn’t allow this to happen if he was aware of it.”
Viktor snorted. “Didn’t Galina write in her diary that she saw Demi along with McKenna Knight in her town one day? She saw them both with Alexi.”
“That could have been a business deal about any kind of business, not necessarily trafficking,” Yuri argued. “Let us check this out before you make a move on Karik or the Ukrainians.” He glared at Viktor through the monitor, then added, “Do not start a war between the fractions of the Bratva. You will not win this type of battle.”
Viktor glared right back at him. “I may not win the battle and I may die in going after one of our own but I will take this man to hell with me,” Viktor vowed. “I hate men like him who make money off the misery of others and what happens to these women.”
Yuri leaned in close to the camera and stated, “I happen to agree with you my friend, but let us check this out before you act. If he is working this on his own, we have to let the Ukrainians deal with him. We cannot interfere with their system. We wouldn’t want them coming in here and messing with ours. We have to follow protocol here or we will live in chaos.”
“Then do what you have to do but get some answers or this man will go down by my hands.” Viktor snarled.
“Send me the information your Frankie uncovered, the when and where of this meeting and I will follow up. But do not disrespect me or the Bratva. You don’t have to like what is happening but you never disrespect this institution or the men who run it,” Yuri told the other man with a dignity only he could pull off. “Do you understand what I am saying?”
Viktor let out a resigned sigh. “Da, I understand, and it was not my intention to disrespect you or the Bratva.”
Yuri wrote something down on a slip of paper and handed it to Kosta who stood in the background then Kosta rushed off to pass along the info Frankie had given them. Finally, Yuri raised his gaze to give Viktor that penetrating stare he was well known for. “I will get back to you as soon as I have more information.” He signed off the video.
Viktor sat for a long moment as he was left alone with his feelings of frustration. He knew well how tense and tenuous the relationship between the Bratva was with the Ukraines, but he also wanted all these traffickers buried under 6 feet of soil.
He went back to the kitchen where Frankie and Galen were explaining when and where she ran into Tegan who’d made contact with Karik right under the noses of everyone.
Viktor walked over to the breakfast nook area of
the room. He stopped and stared out the window as the late afternoon sun shone in the backyard. The cul-de-sac the house was located on was banked by trees and a quiet neighborhood. He knew there were security cameras all over outside, so he wasn’t worried about standing in the full window but his thoughts weren’t about what was outside just then. No, his thoughts were locked into his past, way back in his past. Back to when he was a child. He was remembering something from almost a lifetime ago.
Then he felt someone coming up behind him. Viktor tensed as he waited, then he relaxed as he felt her soft touch. Frankie laid her hand on his arm and his tension faded to nothing. Her scent hit him next and he turned to wrap his arms around her. He gathered her close to him and neither of them said a word as he held her close for a moment.
Viktor then took her hand and dragged her out of the kitchen down the hall to a room he’d claimed. He pulled her inside and closed the door behind him. Backing her up against the door, he took her lips with a raw savageness he rarely portrayed. He was usually in control of his emotions but at this moment—he wasn’t. He was lost in his past and he needed to forget.
His fingers tore at her clothing and as he bared her skin, his mouth and hands roamed along her body. He tugged her pants down to her knees and turned her face the wall next to the door. He loosened his own pants and before he could even think, he grasped her hips, raised her up, and sank his cock deep inside her. He knew he’d possibly hurt her but he couldn’t seem to stop. He reached up and grabbed her throat holding it in his hand as he plunged in and out of her. He felt her tears on his hand as he fucked her but he couldn’t seem to control his own actions.
What surprised him was the fact that she moaned in pleasure and her wetness increased, lubricating his invasion. Within moments, she was pushing back while allowing him to go deeper and when he bottomed out, she moaned in ecstasy at the feeling of him pressing into her, stretching her body to fit his.
Viktor lost his mind as he pounded into her and then he felt her pussy grip him as she shattered in his grasp, her moans were low and long as she came hard. He quickly followed her and soon, he was filling her. He wanted to shout his release but he didn’t. Instead, he hissed and let out a long, low groan.
When he was done, Viktor pressed himself against her, pinning her to the wall. “I am so sorry, Malen’kiy.”
Frankie turned her head and looked up at him
He could still the tears on her eyelashes. He felt like the worst kind of man. One who took what he wanted with or without her consent. This was one thing he’d never done before...Taking a woman without her consent.
Frankie lifted her hand to cup his jaw. “Don’t be sorry for me,” she whispered. “You didn’t do anything wrong here. You needed me and I was here for you.”
He frowned at her. “You should not be trying to talk yet. Your throat...”
She smiled. “My throat is getting better. It’s not up for much yet, but it is healing.”
“But I hurt you.” He protested. “I’ve never done that to any woman before.”
She smiled. “You didn’t hurt me. That was incredible. You gave me a small part of you here today and I’ll gladly accept it. I don’t know what happened, or why you needed this but I was right there with you, in case you missed that point.”
Viktor closed his eyes at her whispered words. He couldn’t believe how understanding and forgiving she was. His past wasn’t a forgiving one but it was all he had...it made him the man he was today. He opened his eyes to look at her face. “There are things I need to tell you but not today.”
“Okay, not today but soon.” Sighing deeply she reminded him, “We should get back to the others.”
“Da, we have much to discuss,” Viktor agreed and pulled out of her.
He carried her into the bathroom and gently cleaned her up as she smiled up at him. He a paused and stared down at her sweet face. His heart felt like it was being squeezed in his chest at the look of tenderness in her eyes. He knew now...Something he never knew or felt before.
Love?
For a moment, he paused and stared down at her beautiful face. The world was in her eyes, but not the harsh world he had always known. No, this was something else entirely. Nebo, he thought. Heaven. Ray na zemle. Maybe the only heaven on earth that existed. He’d heard of this but never believed such a thing existed.
He could get lost there and in fact he had just a few moment ago. A place where there was only the two of them. How strange, yet powerful it was.
Yes, love.
This truth blasted him from all sides, like some attack that he couldn’t fight nor even see to fight. He was suddenly stormed by feelings he’d never felt before.
Viktor caught himself staring back at her like a man lost in a trance.
After a long moment, he finished washing her up and helped her to get dressed again. He needed to push this all aside for now.
Focus. Focus on the takedown. He would assess this later, if he could at all.
Kissing her on the forehead, he ushered her out to rejoin the group.
Chapter Twelve
When they rejoined the others, Joel didn’t look too happy. His teammates gathered around him to keep him in line but no one said anything about what just happened.
Deter asked Viktor, “What just triggered the call to Yuri?”
Viktor went over to the table and picked up the drawing of Karik. “I know who this man is and when I showed this to Yuri, so did he. He’s checking into it. He wasn’t happy but he will get the answers we need.”
“Who is this bastard?” Judge demanded. He was glaring at Viktor and Deter with narrowed eyes.
“His name is Karik Provoc. He is one of our own,’ Viktor stared back at him. “He is Bratva, but one from the Ukraine. He’s under Demi Strauss’ control. Yuri is going to contact Demi and find out if he is aware of Karik’s activities. Bratva is an honorable institution and while the Ukraines are into other things we do not touch, human trafficking is one of the area’s the Uktaines are also not into. I have a feeling Demi does not know what Karik is doing.”
“And what does Yuri hope to accomplish?” Judge asked.
“He needs to go through protocol. Sergi, the head of the Bratva is still here and can make the proper inquiries. The Bratva follows a certain way of doing things. We will find answers but it’s going to take time.”
“Time we may not have if Tegan gets wind of this.” Joel growled. “He could just disappear and pop up somewhere else with a new name and we would have to track him down all over again.”
“And that is something we are not going to do,” Viktor assured him. “We can’t move on Tegan just yet, but we can keep track of the man. We can track him down and keep him within our sights. We may not be able to touch him yet but we can keep an eye on him.”
“In the meantime, we can continue to destroy his businesses right?” Bull asked.
“Him and the cartel,” Deter stated.
“Da.” Viktor nodded. “We will continue to pit one against the other and make them destroy each other. But this is just the beginning. Tegan has business all over the nation, according to Galina. We will track them all down and destroy them but that is going to take time.”
“We still want to follow up on this,” Judge told him. “This affects everyone here, one way or another. We can’t just know about this and not try to stop it.”
“I agree, but the future isn’t set in stone and we can discuss this at a later date. For right now, let’s just deal with Tegan,” Viktor suggested.
Judge nodded. “So, I think we should send two men, one of yours and one of mine to keep an eye on this Karik character. If they do meet up, I want to know about it.”
“Da, I agree,” Viktor agreed.
“I can do better,” Matvey interjected.
Judge turned to him. “How can you do better than having men with eyes on him?”
“I can run cameras on his home and businesses. We can have eyes on him without actually
being there in person. A person standing around, he would notice after a while,” Matvey pointed out. “We can go in after dark and wire the cameras and he won’t even know we’ve been there.”
Judge looked over at his men and saw what Matvey had said made sense to them too. “We can send two teams, one to cover his home and the other to cover his business. I don’t know if Tegan will make contact with him at all but he might.”
“And we need proof to show Sergi, to make our case against Karik,” Ivan added.
Then men all kept discussing their plans of surveillance.
~*~
Frankie and Galen went over to the fridge and began hauling food out to prepare the evening meal. They mixed, measured and threw together a decent meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. After everyone ate, Deter and Galen did the dishes.
The two teams left after dark to wire the cameras at Karik’s home and business places. The others made plans for the coming days.
Frankie was going over her notes she had taken on her journey to find her sister when she ran across something else she’d seen and forgotten.
A symbol she had seen on a doorway. She frowned as she studied the image she’d taken of this symbol. She didn’t understand what it meant but she thought she should bring it to Viktor or Judge’s attention anyway. She looked up and saw they were busy looking over the map but her “uncle” Bull wasn’t.
She motioned him over and pointed to the screen where the symbol was.
Bull studied the photo for a moment then called Judge over. “Colonel, maybe you guys should see this.”
Judge and Viktor both came over and studied the symbol.
“Where did you see this?” Viktor asked quietly.
Frankie grabbed her notebook and wrote a message down. “It was on the door of a building down by the water. I followed this Tegan down there, but didn’t know who I was following.”
“What did you see when he got to the building?” Bull asked.
“Men were busy loading four large dog cages onto a boat.” Frankie wrote. “The cages were covered and whatever was in the cages didn’t move so I couldn’t see what they held.”