Pakhan's Salvation (Pakhan Duet Book 2)

by V. F. Mason

  His lips thinned, disliking being put in this position, but he finally said, “Melissa is pregnant with my child.” Vitya, who was sipping his coffee, choked on it and spilled some on the floor, while I just blinked.

  Blyat, what? “Melissa, as in FBI agent Melissa?” I clarified, and at his nod, my brows rose, because for the life of me, I couldn't imagine how this could happen.

  After Savannah died all those years ago, he never paid attention to women. He never fucked anyone at headquarters, so I had no clue if he got his dick wet or not, but sure as hell, he never wanted kids or a relationship.

  “Congratulations.” Vitya slapped him on the back with a smile on his face.

  I added, “Congratulations. Didn't know she was yours.”

  He snorted in disgust, shocking us both. “She isn’t. We fucked, and she got pregnant.” This was an unusual situation to say the least. Bratva members married the mother of their children or asked for them to be under the dome of our protection. Yuri did neither.

  “I see.” Although I fucking didn’t. But with Yuri, you couldn’t push him for much, and he didn't bring up the subject, so I couldn't make him. His child was his responsibility.

  He opened his mouth to either add something or disrespect the mother of his child more, when a soft knock sounded on the door, and Rosa entered the room with a hesitant smile, biting her lower lip.

  Of course, she would come begging me to let her go. “Leave us alone.” The guys stood up, bowed their heads to her, and left while she moved closer as I crooked my finger at her. Placing my feet back on the floor, I opened my legs and she came between them, circling her arms around my neck while I picked her up and sat her in front of me on the table. With our height differences, we faced each other. I rubbed her thighs, hating the denim of her jeans, which didn't allow me to reach her skin.

  “Dominic.” Instantly, my lips were on hers, for who could resist such a sinful mouth? She opened hers in protest, probably wanting to discuss the issue first, as if I didn't have an answer for her already, but I took this as a good opportunity to push my tongue inside and deepen the kiss.

  After a few seconds, she stopped struggling and gave in to the kiss. Rosa fisted the front of my shirt, hugging me closer, scratched the back of my neck with her nails, sending tingling sensations down to my cock, and moaned softly. Not liking this distance, I picked her up and she wrapped my waist with her legs as my hard-on pressed against her covered pussy. More so when I lay her down on the desk, throwing all the shit on the floor, and she arched her back as I ground into her, making sure to arouse her clit. The kiss was hot and deep, and I tugged on her hair and angled her head better for my penetration. Her velvet tongue played with mine, but the burning of our lungs required me to lift my lips from hers. We separated on a gasp and ragged breaths, and while she gulped needed air, I nipped on her chin.

  “Dominic,” she half moaned, half whispered.

  “I know, baby. God, do I know.” I came back to her mouth, and now the kiss was slower, gentler, more sensual.

  Did anything more perfect exist in this world? She was made for me, my krasavica. I never understood the importance of love until she was taken away from me and I had to face living without her. How could Vito even think to forbid me my revenge? It was my right to avenge the beautiful woman in my arms.

  Rosa

  I never wanted him to stop. He lowered the zipper of my coat and exposed my shirt, and I felt my nipples become harder from the cold, sensitive from the desire he evoked in me. He looked down then leaned forward and put his mouth on one and sucked on it through my shirt and bra. The pleasure was unbelievable. He was leaving wet marks on my shirt, but I didn't care. I started rubbing on him, right before my eyes landed on the clock behind him, and I stilled, and he with me.

  “What’s wrong?” He lifted me so I sat up on the table, while I ran my fingers through my hair, hoping to make it presentable.

  “I need to pick up Ciara from the airport.” I lifted my hand in a stop sign. “Before you protest, Vlad and Ivan will be with us, and we are just going to visit the ice-skating rink in the center of Moscow. Please?” He scanned my body, frowned, and I rubbed his chest, hoping he would listen to me. “Dominic, please, I want to have a relationship with her. You can’t be present during this first time. It might get awkward with you in the way.” He caressed my cheek softly, but his eyes stayed cold as ice. “Fine. I will allow it this one last time.” With a squeak of joy, I squeezed him, but he grumbled, “Ivan and Vlad are with you all the fucking time.”

  “Yes!” Then I hopped down and sauntered out of his reach before he could catch me.

  “I’m late.” Blowing him a kiss before the door shut in his face, I quickly grabbed my purse hanging on the bar stool and noticed Jake sitting with his hands in his lap as Radmir argued loudly with Vivian. The boy rushed to me, wrapping his hand around my leg, and asked, “Can I go with you?” Slightly taken aback by this trust, considering we’d never met previously, I tried to think of a polite way to refuse, when Radmir addressed me.

  “Could you please do it? I don’t want him to hear all this.” What kind of parents were they, seriously? Radmir shouldn't have brought the kid here to begin with, if he didn't have an appropriate plan. And something about Vivian was off; she seemed dizzy, as if drugged. Dominic would hear about this. I’d be damned if this mafia house didn’t have the same rules as my dad’s. Radmir had no right to abuse her or kidnap her child, even if she gave testimony against him. She had a baby. She loved and raised her kid. What did he expect?

  Fuming, I gave him a glare, which he just ignored, and then I smiled softly at Jake. I urged him outside, where Vlad had the car ready for us. We agreed with Radmir on one thing. The child didn't need to witness his parents like this, especially when he had just met his dad. Plus, ice-skating could be fun, and we’d stop by a candy shop to cheer him up.

  Sitting inside, I put the seatbelt over him while he grinned. “Road trip.” Then his eyes stayed glued to the tinted window as we made it to the airport in record time. The kid sure didn’t act nervous over the fact he was going somewhere with a stranger.

  The plane had already landed, and as Vlad parked the car and Ivan drummed his fingers on the dashboard to the beat of the music, the door opened and Ciara came out. The guys whistled while I frowned.

  She wore black pants, shirt, and boots, and her hair was pulled into a bun on top of her head, while a backpack hung from her arm. She casually walked down the stairs and waved goodbye to the crew. She never wore anything but shiny dresses and lots of makeup, so this change of style surprised me, and unsettling goose bumps ran over my skin, like a gut feeling that warned me something was off about this situation. Shaking off the stupid thoughts that were due to anxiety attacks, which the doctors predicted would happen from time to time, I got out while she swayed her hips, lifting her arms in the process and doing a happy dance. “Girl, I’m here!” We hugged, and I rocked her from side to side, enjoying her smell and voice.

  “Sure you are!” She let go of me then looked inside the car, and an odd expression flashed across her face when she noticed Jake.

  “Who is the kid?” Her voice sounded weird.

  “Radmir’s son. I thought he’d enjoy skating.” She adjusted the bag better on her arm and then shrugged. “Cool.” Motioning for me to sit first, I patted Jake’s leg while Ciara joined me, closing the door.

  “Ice-skating rink in Arbat, Vlad,” I said, but Ciara pitched in.

  “Could we stop by my friend’s house first?”

  “Your friend?” She flipped her phone, showing me the picture of a blonde girl while they stood with medals.

  “Yep, Olga. I just want to say hi, because I won't have any other time,” she pleaded, but I didn't know what to do. Dominic’s instructions were clear. I was not to go anywhere without informing him first, but surely one trip to some house with two of his men didn't count as dangerous. “It’s right outside Moscow in Himkis. They have a brick tw
o-level house.”

  “Rosa?” Vlad asked, meeting my gaze in the rearview mirror, and I didn't miss how he wasn't thrilled about the idea. After all, his ass was on the line. I imagined Ivan shared his sentiments.

  “Sure,” I heard myself say, while she clasped her palms, giving me a peck. She kept on chatting about Italy, new gossips and rumors, or how Oliver fled from the country to God knows where, and oddly enough, no emotions colored her voice, like magically she didn't give a crap about him anymore.

  The road to the house was bumpy, but indeed, it was right on the outskirts of Moscow. As Vlad navigated the vehicle closer to the old brick house, which stood quite far away from any living soul, with acres of land unattended as the grass grew higher than normal, the whole vibe reminded me all those movies with creepy houses no one wanted to visit. “Are you sure it’s here?”

  Ciara laughed loudly, and for the first time, her laughter chilled me to the bone as something dug into my side, like the bite of a mosquito. My head got dizzy, vision blurred, and in a matter of seconds, I was out.

  Conductor-Ciara

  The minute her body sagged against me, I pressed the needle into one of the byk, and since he had his eyes closed, sleeping while music blasted from headphones, he just jerked and then was out.

  “It’s scary,” the little boy said, while gazing out the window, and I barely restrained myself from screaming in frustration at the change in my plans. Why did she have to bring the kid with her? I wasn't going to go around killing innocent kids didn't deserve it. I had a moral code, even if no one could understand it.

  Rosa Giovanni didn't deserve to live, but the boy did nothing wrong. But how could I save him in this situation?

  Ivan stopped the engine, and I used my last injection on him. Even with my training and weapons, my strength wouldn't have allowed me to take down two muscular men. Even villains became creative under stress and in less than ideal circumstances.

  Jake nudged Rosa in the arm, but when she stayed silent, he spoke. “Rosa?” Shaking my head at having yet another problem to deal with, I got out of the car and ignored the crying kid. Digging out my keys, I opened the shitty house Ercole used to bring me to, and shivers ran down my body from all the assaulting memories, which threatened my sanity and resolve.

  Little darling, nothing in this world is free. Even the food you are eating. Either earn your keep or go on the streets.

  Tugging on my hair with a frustrated cry, I got away from the voice in my mind. “It all ends today.”

  Once Rosa Giovanni meets her maker, my suffering will be over.

  Dominic

  “You have reached the voicemail—”

  Throwing my phone on the desk, I walked back and forth in the bar of headquarters, wondering where the fuck my woman and men were. The last time they were seen was at the airport, picking up Ciara three hours ago. Even with heavy traffic, it shouldn't have taken them this long to reach their destination.

  Something was wrong.

  Vitya rushed inside with his phone close to his ear as I sent my byki to search for them and called up the entire Bratva so they could locate my woman. No way in fuck did I think it was too much under these circumstances. “Anything?”

  “Nothing beside the fact they never made it to Moscow. No camera showed the car. They went missing somewhere between the airport and the bridge.”

  “Fuck!” Hitting the bar stand, the glass shattered around me in tiny little pieces as the worst-cases scenarios played in my mind. Why the fuck didn't she listen to me? I told her it was dangerous, and she must have changed the route; nothing else explained it. I dialed Vito’s number, and he picked up on the second ring. “Dominic, this is—”

  “Fucking shut up!” I growled. “Is Lucas in Italy?”

  A long pause then. “Of course, in the basement.”

  “Are you a hundred percent sure?”

  “Fuck you, Pakhan. I’m the best at my job. One little rat doesn't define my mafia house.”

  Running my fingers through my hair, I decided to share my worries. “Rosa and Ciara went missing.”

  His reaction was real quick. “What?”

  “So how certain are you they are safe?” I growled.

  “Dom, it couldn't have been anyone else.”

  Except the gut feeling that nudged my mind kept telling me I missed something.

  The doors to the headquarters burst open as Melissa rushed inside, with Connor and Damian hot on her heels. Yuri got up quickly, but she ignored his ass. Guess she had no sentiments toward him either. “Dominic.” The way she said my name, I understood something went terribly wrong.

  So I focused my attention on the one person who would not lie to me and would give it to me straight.

  Damian, my twin.

  Anguished amber eyes clashed with mine, as he said, “We have a problem, brother. And I don’t know how to fix it.”

  Swallowing the bile in my throat, I reined in the beast inside me, keeping a cool head, and asked, “Plan?”

  “We have one,” Connor replied, and I chuckled, even though it lacked any humor.

  I barely held onto my tentative control, because it wouldn't do any good for Rosa. “Like the last time?” Their plans never worked out, and everyone involved became collateral damage.

  “Last time, you didn't have me.” The voice from the doorway surprised me, as Oliver walked in as if he owned the place—wearing black cargo pants and a sweater with a bulletproof vest, holding a gun. “I suggest you listen to us and do exactly as we say. You did good eliminating everyone else in the past. Trust us this time.” The man resembled nothing of the lovesick dreamer I’d met in Italy, and I had no fucking time to dwell on his undercover work.

  “She was a job?”

  He nodded. “Angelica was.”

  “To get Vito?”

  “No.”

  “Then who?” Who possibly went undercover but not to target a mafia boss?

  “Ercole. He ran a child prostitution ring in France, took after his brother.” As in Ciara and Angelica’s father? “He specialized in little girls with dark hair and olive skin. Remind you of anyone?”

  Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  How could I have missed this?

  “How long were you undercover?”

  Oliver shrugged, leaning on the bar. “For about two years. The best way was to approach Angelica, as it was easy enough to make her fall in love with me. However, it didn’t bring me much-needed information. Instead, I had to focus on Ciara, and then all this shit with the accident happened. Let’s just say things started to get interesting.” His voice sounded matter-of-fact, as if we were discussing the weather on a Sunday morning. I rushed to him, grabbed his vest, and pushed him against the wall with all my strength while holding his indifferent stare.

  “All this time you knew she was alive and kept it to yourself?” Pushing him again, I glanced over my shoulder to Melissa, who guiltily cast her eyes down. “FBI fucking worked on Ercole all this time, right? So you knew where she was.” Letting go of Oliver, who surprisingly hadn’t even fought my hold on him, I turned my attention to Melissa while Yuri stood up between us, essentially blocking my way.

  “That’s the mother of my child, Pakhan. You can’t hurt her.”

  My hollow laughter echoed in the room. “Shut your mouth, Kaznachei. She was no one when you declared her pregnancy.” His lips tightened while his hands fisted, and Melissa gasped, but not before lowering her eyes again, which were full of hurt.

  She then met my anguished gaze, and replied hurriedly, “Oliver works for a different group, Dominic. I had no idea about this. Please believe me. We have no time. We need to save her.”

  The only thing we both could agree on.

  I’d get my woman back and ensure her safety, but fuck the FBI and their fucking rules. They knew shit about saving people.

  Rosa

  Groaning, due to the pain in my scalp, my heavy lids opened, and disoriented, I studied the place around me. The cold house h
ad old rusty furniture with piles of dust, and cracked wooden floors, which had some kind of stains on them, reminding me of blood. But it couldn't be it, right? The curtains, which were probably white once, had turned grey, and along with the metal bars on the windows, created an atmosphere of despair and hopelessness.

  Heavy footsteps startled me as Ciara walked in holding a gun in her hand. “Oh, you are awake.” She seemed calm, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened here.

  “What’s going on?” I stood up, swayed a little, and grabbed onto the couch to balance myself. “Where is Jake?” The little boy was nowhere in sight, and if we were under attack, he needed to be protected first and foremost.

  “Upstairs.” Nodding, I darted up and opened the first door, and sure enough, he was sitting in a corner against the cold concrete; the room didn't even have wallpaper it was so bare. “Honey.” He stepped toward me, but then someone fisted my hair and tugged on it painfully, and his eyes widened in fear. Then a knife entered my stomach and unbearable pain assaulted my senses, as it twisted even deeper.

  “Rosa, your stupidity has to be seen to be believed.” With that, she locked Jake inside, dragging me outside as I struggled against her hold. She spun around, and the downstairs was the only thing I saw before she kicked me in the back and I fell, rolling down the steps and hitting my legs, hips, and head. In a second, I landed on my stomach and face, as the droplets of blood fell from my nose and split lip. The wound on my stomach coated my T-shirt in blood as my shock turned to anguish.

  My body ached, and I barely could move my leg, so I had no choice but to crawl. “How pathetic, you can’t even defend yourself.” She hopped down and then kicked me on my already-bruised ribs, and I howled in pain as she just laughed.

  What made her so evil? “How does it feel to suffer without anyone giving a damn?” Life sure liked to deliver blow after blow to me, while those sick and insane people questioned me every time they inflicted their torture. “While you are at someone else’s mercy?”