by K. J. Dahlen
He had Raven to keep him safe but it sounded like Serenity didn’t have anyone in her corner. But she would have someone now. She had him.
Three hours later, Nicky was ready to go. The Casino was shut down for the night. He’d tapped into the security cameras and had seen how his father had interrogated Serenity and his rage grew. Nikoli had done the deed himself and he heard her answers. She told him everything he asked of her. She had cooperated one hundred per cent and it still wasn’t enough for Nikoli.
He’d left her bruised and broken and that was something Nicky would never forgive him for. He had shaken her, yelled at her and even pushed her around. It was three a.m. and now he was ready to go. He’d done some background work on the man known as Z. He found three men with that moniker and he only had one question to ask Serenity before they left New York. Which of the three men was her boogey man.
Nicky had taken his things down to his car already.
Kirill had come back and taken her laptop away to the security offices. But he knew that wouldn’t be a problem to get it back for her. Nikoli might be his father but Nicky had warned him that if he hurt her, they were finished.
He had seen her eyes when Nikoli finished his interrogation. His father had broken her, then left her alone in a fucking cage.
Nicky walked down the hall and went to a special elevator. He couldn’t even look at the door to his father’s apartments. Nicky got in and as the elevator doors closed, he knew he might be closing this part of his life forever and that made him sad for a brief moment. He had wanted a dad his entire life and for a brief time he had one. He’d felt complete and now again, there was a hole in his heart. He didn’t know where he would go or what he would do but he could no longer stay here. Nor would he ever forgive Nikoli for what he’d done.
When the doors opened, he found one of Nikoli’s security team standing there. It was a man named Dima and he didn’t know him all that well. Nicky came forward and asked to see the woman Serenity.
Dima silently opened the door and moved aside while Nicky went in. There was no one else in the offices. Nicky turned and before Dima was aware of it, Nicky knocked him out with a move Raven taught him. A blow to the side of his neck. The man crumbled to the floor. Nicky went forward to view the cells and Serenity was laying in the corner all curled up in the fetal position.
He quickly found the keys and opened the doors. Rushing over to her side, he brushed her hair away from her face. “Oh my god, what did he do to you?” Nicky whispered.
Serenity opened her eyes and looked at him. Tears rolled down her bruised cheeks. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to get you. We’re leaving,” Nicky told her.
“You came back for me?” Serenity asked in wonder. “Why? You don’t even know me.”
Nicky smiled. “I may not know you yet but I have a feeling we have a lot in common.” He gazed at her, noting new bruises on her arms and he winced. “My father had no right to do this to you.”
“I told him everything I knew,” she whispered. “I even gave him the account numbers he needed to get the money back.”
“I know baby, I know.” Nicky shook his head. Taking a deep breath, he bought the paperwork out of his back pocket. He spread it out on the floor. “Are any of these men your monster Z?”
Serenity looked over the papers. Her boogey man was the third photo he had. She pointed him out then closed her eyes.
Nicky went out and put the photo and the info he’d gathered on the desk. Then he went back into the cell, ripped the blanket off the bed and threw it over her shoulders before gathering her gently in his arms.
Serenity groaned as he lifted her in his arms. He settled her against his chest and his lip brushed her forehead. “Take it easy sweetness. We’re almost out of here.”
“Will we be safe if we leave your father’s protection?” she whispered.
“We’re leaving the city, your boogey man won’t be able to find us. I promise,” Nicky assured her as he carried her out of the cell and out of the security offices altogether. He stepped over Dima and continued out to the underground parking lot.
When they reached the last door Nicky turned and found his sister standing there watching him. “Where are you going?” Malina asked. She was in jeans and a t shirt and she had sneakers on her feet.
“What the hell are you doing out of bed?” Nicky growled. She might be Nikoli’s daughter but he didn’t know her that well and she was only like ten years old.
“I heard what Nikoli said tonight.” Malina looked at the girl in Nicky’s arms. Tears ran down her cheeks when she saw how bad the other girl was hurt. “Is this the kind of man our father is? I know we don’t know each other very well but I can’t live with him if he could do this. Take me with you.”
Nicky shook his head. “I won’t do that. You have your mother to protect you. I can’t take you away from her. You need her as much as she needs you. I have her.” He glanced down at Serenity. “She needs me and right now I need her. I’m taking her away from this city, away from my father and away from her nightmares.”
“But you’re my brother!” Malina cried out. “I need you too.”
“I’m not sure my father would allow that, not after this. He will look on my act as turning my back on him and what he stands for. I promise that’s not what I’m doing. I was proud of what he’d accomplished in coming here, and proud of what he believed in. His anger should have been turned against the one who pulled the strings, not her. She was an innocent and he couldn’t see that. He forgot the first rule of being Bratva, never hurt an innocent.”
He shifted Serenity in his arms and motioned for Malina to step aside. Malina did but the tears ran down her face. She grabbed him around the waist and hugged him. “You guys be safe out there. There’s more than one boogey man out there.”
Serenity reached out and Malina took her hand. “Thank you.” Then she turned her head into Nicky’s chest and closed her eyes.
Malina shook her head then looked at Nicky. “Take care of her. Take care of you too. Please call me when you get to where you’re going. I need to know you’re ok.”
“Ok. But now we have to go before someone figures out we’re leaving.” Nicky urged her.
“Be safe and may the angels watch over you,” Malina whispered as she stepped back. She watched as he pushed open the door and disappeared. With tears in her eyes she made her way back to the elevators that would take her back up to her mom’s apartment.
Stepping back in to the dark apartment, she closed the door quietly behind her only to jump when she heard her mother’s voice from behind her, “Where have you been?”
Malina turned and saw her mother standing there with her hands on her hips. Malina knew she was in trouble for being out of bed but she had to see Nicky before he left. She’d known he was going to leave tonight. Especially after she heard Nikoli and her mom talking.
“Mom, we need to talk...” Malina told her.
A few hours later, Nikoli knocked on her door and Bella opened it with dry eyes. She’d been awake since she discovered Malina wasn’t in their apartment in the middle of the night. She knew Malina was a smart kid, smarter than she was when she was ten anyway.
But what she had told her in the middle of the night stunned her. She knew Nikoli was a hard man but what she heard from her own daughter had surprised her. But before she made up her mind, she needed to hear the truth from his mouth.
Stepping out of the way, she allowed him into the apartment.
Nikoli gave her a puzzled look but came in. He looked around for Malina and was surprised to not find her. “Where is Malina?”
“She’s in her room.” Bella began wringing her hands and hesitated to ask but she had to find out the truth. “I think we need to talk.”
Nikoli raised an eyebrow at her statement and stared at her for a moment. “What is this all about?”
“Nicky and Serenity left last night,” she told him.
“Wha
t? What did you say?” Nikoli demanded. He grabbed his phone and called his security offices. He spoke in Russian and when he finished the call, he glared at Bella. “Just how do you know this?”
When Bella didn’t answer him right away, Nikoli grabbed her by the arms and demanded again, “How did you know this? My team only just found the man he knocked out.”
Bella tried to get away from his grasp but found she couldn’t. “Let me go.”
Nikoli growled and tightened his grasp. “How did you know my son and the girl were gone?”
“Malina told me when she got back three hours ago.” Bella gasped.
“Three hours? He’s been gone for three hours?” Nikoli gritted his teeth. “What the hell is he thinking?”
“Nikoli what did you do to that poor girl last night?” Bella asked.
Nikoli growled and stared at her. “Never ask me about business. You won’t like the answers I give you.” Then he got a look in his eye. “How the hell did she know he left?” Nikoli let Bella go and turned to march down the hall. When he got to Malina’s room, he went to throw the door open but it was locked. He pounded on the wooden portal.
Malina called out, “You can’t come in here. I don’t want to see you or have anything to do with you. You’re a monster!”
Nikoli was shocked at his daughter’s words. “Open the door,” he shouted. “I need to talk to you.”
“No. I won’t even look at you. I just can’t after what you did to that poor girl. I don’t want to be your daughter anymore. Go away!” she screamed from the other side of the door.
Nikoli hit the wooden door one last time before he turned and saw Bella weeping in the hallway. “Do not even think about leaving here, not before we get this settled between us.” He grabbed his phone again and called Kirill. He spoke in Russian to his bodyguard and before he could get to the door, Kirill was there. Nikoli gave him a command and Kirill looked at Bella then turned to stand at the door. When Nikoli went out Kirill was still there. He reached in and slowly pulled the door closed.
Bella knew then she and Malina were now prisoners in the gilded cage of this apartment.
Nikoli steamed all the way to his security floor. When he arrived, he walked into the offices and saw the doctor checking over Dima. He glanced at the empty cell and growled under his breath. “What the hell happened here?” He asked his team. Looking over at Dima, he could see the pain on his face.
“I thought he was coming to check on the prisoner, but he surprised me. He hit me before I could protect myself. “ Dima titled his head to show him the bruise Nicky left. “I just woke up and when I came in here, I found the prisoner was gone.” He turned toward the table and handed Nikoli a file. “I found this just before you came down here.”
Nikoli took the file and opened it. His blood froze when he saw the photo inside the file. He remembered those eyes. He snapped his head over to Dima. “What the hell is this?”
Dima handed him a piece of paper. “Your son left a note.”
Nikoli took the note and read it.
I asked you not to. I gave her my word that she would be safe here...You hurt her and I am done with you.
With a growl, Nikoli crumpled it in his hands. He handed the file to his main security man, Hedeon. “You find this bastard. Find out everything you can about this man, and you turn over every rock in this city until you find this fucker. And I want it now, not in two hours but now.”
Nikoli walked out of the room, motioning for one of the men to come with him, then went to the elevators. He hit the button to the upper floors with a hard bang. He steamed all the way up ten floors. When the elevator arrived, he motioned for the man to take Kirill’s place and dragged the other man along with him.
He opened the doors to Nicky’s apartment and together, they went inside. Everything was neat with no personal items around the living area. He walked into the bedroom and noted several items were missing. He went to the closet and found it empty.
Nikoli growled as he slammed the doors shut. He walked down the hall to Nicky’s office and discovered the tape of his interrogation still on the desk top. It had been paused as Nikoli raised his hand to strike Serenity.
Nikoli remembered his questioning and knew he exact moment that was frozen on the monitor. He hadn’t hit her but the threat was there. He’d never hit a woman directly not even an enemy. Though he could see how his son would think of his tactics as being cruel. “Fucking hell,” Nikoli swore.
He looked over at the closet and found it ajar. He walked over and opened it. There he found the safe open and empty. Nikoli didn’t know how much money his son had before he left but it was clear Nicky had no intention of coming back.
Nikoli felt numb. For a moment, he couldn’t even think. He was only just getting to know his son and now he was gone again. He sat down on the chair behind the desk hard. He looked up at Kirill and asked softly, “What the hell have I done?”
Kirill didn’t answer his question. He didn’t have to. Instead, he looked at the computer screen and shook his head slightly. Then he turned and left the office and went out to the living room area.
Nikoli stared at the computer screen for a long moment. He’d been so angry last night. The girl Serenity had cooperated, she had told him all she knew which wasn’t much. He had given the information he had gained to his security men and they had almost recovered everything she’d taken. But that wasn’t the whole point.
She hadn’t told him the name of the man behind her thievery. She claimed she didn’t know him or his name other than the letter Z. He hadn’t believed her. Not then, but now... now he didn’t things were quite as black and white as he wanted them to be.
He picked up his phone and called Sergi’s number. He knew the man was in New Orleans visiting Raven and he needed the other man’s council right now.
The phone rang twice before Sergi picked up the call. “Nikoli, my friend, how are you?”
“Not so good at the moment. I find myself in need of your wise council.”
“Oh,” Sergi commented. “What’s wrong?”
“I have been dealing with a seriously good hacker. I lost more than a million dollars and most of my personal information. Nicky has been searching for the hacker and she contacted him last night. When he found her, he brought her back with him.”
Sergi sighed deeply. He was well aware of Nikoli’s temper. “What did you do?”
“He told me she would cooperate and I didn’t listen. Damn it, I should have listened.” Nikoli groaned.
“Nikoli, what did you do?” Sergi asked again.
“I dragged her away and he told me if I did this, we were through,” Nikoli whispered. “I didn’t listen.”
“What did this girl tell you?” Sergi frowned.
“That there was a monster out there who hated me. He wanted to destroy me that he had talked about tearing down my empire, one brick at a time. He is out to destroy me and he doesn’t care who gets caught in the fallout.”
Sergi exhaled deeply. “Did she give you his name?”
“Da, she called him Z,” Nikoli whispered. “Nicky dug a little deeper and found out who this monster was.”
After a moment’s pause, Sergi asked, “Who?”
“Do you remember a man named Zhora Sayanovick?” Nikoli heard Sergi catch his breath.
“But this is impossible, he’s still in prison.”
“Apparently, he’s been out of prison for over seven years now. This girl saw him commit murder seven years ago, in a small town called Norwich. That’s where she grew up.”
Sergi took a moment to respond, “What aren’t you telling me about this girl?”
“I don’t know. She’s very good at what she does. My computer team couldn’t find her at all. She even had Nicky running around in circles and that wasn’t an easy thing to do.” Nikoli sighed hard. “But this girl is some sort of freak.”
“Excuse me?” Sergi asked.
“Her skin has no color, none. Her hair is
pure white and she’s a young woman, cannot be older than twenty. And her eyes, they are so light in color there isn’t much there at all, plus she has a sensitivity to light.”
After a few moments of silence Sergi came back, “Sounds like she could be albino.”
“Albino?” Nikoli scoffed. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s a medical condition. She was probably born with it,” Sergi explained. “She can’t help it anymore than you can help being stupid sometimes.”
Nikoli growled.
“So what are you going to do about this situation?”
“I need to find my son and bring him home again before Zhora can find him and use him against me.”
“Good luck with that my friend,” Sergi told him.
“I might need to speak to Raven about where he might go.”
“Like I said, good luck with that.” The older man snorted. “If she finds out you hurt her brother, she will go postal on you.”
“I know,” Nikoli admitted. “Given a choice between her and Zhora, I think I would rather face Zhora.”
Sergi let out a laugh though it didn’t sound humorous. “Get your family in order Silvanic. Make mistakes yes, we all do, but you my friend, have a lot to atone for.”
With a sigh, Nikoli hung up.
Chapter Four
Nicky turned into the parking lot and pulled up to a stop. He had parked in a hidden corner of the parking area. It was only noon and he was beat. He looked over at his passenger and saw she was sleeping finally. When they left New York, he didn’t know where he was going. All he knew was that he had to get away from not only his father but this man Zhora.
All of this had scarred Serenity badly. It was him and him alone who would protect her now. He knew he couldn’t go to Raven, she was married to the Bratva now and he knew she would never break that vow. He couldn’t ask her to do that. He was a grown man now. She’d done what she could to safeguard him growing up, but now—he was on his own.
So instead of heading south, he was heading west. He’d taken the rather long way around, proposedly backtracking and going around in circle to lose anyone trying to follow them.