by K. J. Dahlen
Finally, after a moment of silence, she looked around the room. She met their eyes and received nods from each of them before she turned her head back to Sazon’s chest.
One by one the other men left the room, finally it was just the two of them.
Ana raised her head and stared into Sazon’s eyes. “I love you,” she whispered.
Sazon couldn’t even speak. He just covered her mouth with his and kissed her into oblivion. When he broke the kiss neither of them said a word. Then he patted her hip and said, “Come on let’s go home.”
Ana got to her feet but swayed with exhaustion.
Sazon lifted her up into his arms and carried her out to his car.
A short drive later, he pulled into a driveway and Ana raised her head to see where they were.
The house itself was a one story house with a wraparound porch. It was a southern style home made of brick and stone but it suited Sazon. When she got out of the car and went to the front door, it felt warm and inviting. When he opened the door and they walked inside, she could see the muted colors and the soft leather furniture.
The open floor plan let her see into the kitchen and the living room. Both rooms melded together seamlessly. She could appreciate the effort he put into making this house into a home.
Sazon took her hand and led her down a short hall and into a bedroom.
There, he carefully began stripping her, inspecting her body for any cuts or other injuries. When he found none, he couldn’t believe it. He gathered her naked body to his and just held her close to him for a moment. Then he carried her into the bathroom. Sitting her on the toilet, he turned to the shower and started the water. When he stepped back, he shed his own clothes, gathered her in his arms and they both stepped into the water.
Sazon grabbed a bar of soap and began rubbing it all over her body. He couldn’t help the tears that ran down his own cheeks and he felt the joy in his heart that she was still alive. Laying his forehead to hers, he finally whispered the words she needed to hear, “I love you.”
Ana felt her strength return and she whispered, “Show me.”
Sazon grabbed her and placed her against the shower wall. The cool tiles and running water soothed her as he fit his hips into her cradle. The bulbous head of his hard cock slid into place and he pushed himself into her gently.
“More,” she whispered. “I need more. Take me like you mean it. I want to feel all of you inside me.”
Sazon closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again, as he slammed into her with all he had. Three strokes later, she erupted in oblivion but he wasn’t done yet. Several more strokes and she came again and this time, he went with her over the edge.
Ana screamed out his name and held him tight as they came down from the natural high they just experienced. Sazon slid down to his knees carrying her with him as neither one had the strength to stand alone.
Hot water poured over the top of them but neither of them cared. They were together and that’s all that mattered. They sat there until the water cooled and Sazon reached over to turn off the shower.
Ana gathered what little strength she had left and got to her feet. She followed Sazon out of the shower and took the towel he offered. Drying herself off, she followed him into the bedroom and flopped down on the bed. He dropped down next to her and reached for the blanket on the foot of the bed to cover them. He brushed her temple with a kiss and told her to sleep.
Ana closed her eyes and felt him wrap his arms around her.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The sun was high in the sky before Ana opened her eyes the next morning. Her body hurt in places she didn’t know she had but at least she was alive. She heard a soft snore in her ear and she had to smile at the sound of it.
Turning her head slightly, she found herself looking at the man that changed her life. She didn’t come to this place to find love but that’s what she found. Her heart began to race at the thought of building a life with him here.
There were too many unknowns for her, could she really leave her brother and make a life here? He’d told her enough times since they met that she belonged with him but did he really mean it? Could she live with the fact that he was Bratva? Was this nightmare really truly over or would she be looking over her shoulder the rest of her life?
“Good morning.” Sazon interrupted her thoughts.
Ana smiled as she saw his eyes were open and he was smiling at her. “Good morning yourself big guy.”
He leaned in close and kissed her silly.
When he broke the kiss, she whispered breathlessly, “Now that’s a good way to start the day.”
“I know an even better way,” he murmured. He moved her to her back, nudged her legs apart, and slid into her. He made love to her gently while sucking on her nipples and kissing her neck until he couldn’t take it anymore then plunged into her wet heat with purpose. A few strokes later and they both flew off the edge.
Sazon groaned when she called out his name in a hoarse whisper as he collapsed on top of her for a long minute. When he went to pull away, she stopped him and he laid there for another moment before he moved to her side.
She moaned when he did and she told him, “You’re right that is a better way to say good morning. I’ll have to remember that.”
Sazon smiled as he nuzzled her neck. “I think we need to get up and join the others. We have to wrap this up, so we can get on with the rest of our lives.”
Ana watched as he sat up and reached for his pants. “Is this really over?”
Sazon turned and looked at her for a moment. “The threat to you and your brother is over. I’m sure by now, those men are at the bottom of the gulf. Roman would have taken them far enough out there, so no one would have seen the fire when the boat sank. Yuri’s men would have cleaned up any trace of them in town if that’s what’s worrying you.”
Ana sat up and shrugged. She looked down at her hands as they gripped the blanket. “What about us?” she whispered.
Sazon grasped her chin and raised her head to look at him. “What about us? I’m not letting you go if that’s what you’re asking. You belong with me now and that’s forever. I’ll put a ring on your finger if that’s what you want.”
“Is that what you want too? A ring on my finger?” She raised a brow at his wording.
“Yes, god yes. I’ve claimed you in front of my brothers the only step left is to get a ring on your hand and change your name to mine, so the whole world knows who you belong with me.” He stopped for a moment as if he realized what he’d just done. “I’m sorry Anna… Did you wish for me to ask? That all did not come out right. I am unused to asking for anything.”
Anna stared at him for a moment and then laughed. “No, it was perfect Sazon. It was very you.”
He shrugged then gave her his dazzling smile.
She then let out a sigh. “But I have to finish this first. I have to turn the daggers over to the Romanov heir. That was my grandfather’s last request. I only wish Drago could be here for that part. This involves both of us.”
“Well, get your clothes on woman and let’s go find out what’s what.” Sazon slapped her on the hips. “Your brother can be here in a few hours by plane, you know.”
“Only if Gretchen has had the baby,” Ana warned him as she reached or her clothing. “He won’t leave her alone right now, nor would I expect him to.”
“Is he going to mind you moving down here?” Sazon asked.
Ana shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve never been apart before. I don’t know how that’s going to affect the business either.”
“We’ll work it all out.”
“I hope so,” Ana murmured softly. “I hope so.”
Twenty minutes later, they entered the hotel and made their way to the elevators. When they got to Yuri’s floor, the doors opened up and they saw Kosta standing there. On a leash beside him was Dutcher and Ana smiled as she slid to her knees beside the dog.
Kosta was wearing a rare smile as he han
ded the leash to Ana and turned to lead them down the hall to Yuri’s door.
When they opened the door, they were surrounded by people. A lot of people. The men she knew from the past few days and some she didn’t know. Then there were the women. Yuri had his arms around a very small woman, as did two more of Sazon’s brothers that she hadn’t met yet.
Sazon shook hands with them and introduced them to her. “This is my brother Mikail and his wife Pepper and this is Barshan and his wife Talli.”
She greeted them with a shy smile and Sazon moved over to where Yuri was holding court. Seated next to him was another small woman with jet black hair. “This is Raven, Yuri’s wife and the mother of his child. She’s also Misha’s daughter and Sergi’s granddaughter.”
Ana smiled and was about to say something when her name was called. She recognized the voice and turned to see when she was grabbed up and swung around in a huge circle. “You little brat!” Drago called out to her. “I could spank you for what you did.”
Drago then suddenly found himself in a headlock by one angry Russian. Sazon’s arms were tight around his neck.
Ana begged him to let go.
Sazon glared at her and in a tight voice asked, “Do you know this man?”
She patted his arm. “He’s my brother Drago.”
Sazon let him go immediately.
Just then, Dutcher barked and went to jump up on Drago.
Sazon growled a command and the dog sat down immediately.
The whole room went quiet as Ana and Drago stared at Sazon.
Sazon frowned at their stunned expressions. “What?”
Drago turned to face him. “What the hell? How did you do that?”
“Do what?” Sazon asked.
“Command Dutcher,” Drago exclaimed. “He doesn’t obey anyone but Ana!”
Sazon shrugged. “I didn’t want him to knock Ana over, so I gave him a command. I also didn’t know you were her brother or that he knew you. I didn’t want to see the dog spill your blood on Yuri’s floor.”
Jethro laughed along with Sazon’s brothers.
Drago turned to Jethro and asked, “What the hell is going on here? I asked you to watch out for her.”
Jethro held up his hands in surrender. “I did. I watched over her the best I could but he found her before I got here and he hasn’t let her go since.”
Drago looked back at Sazon and then to his sister.
Ana smiled at him and leaned close to him gently kissing his cheek. “I love this man and he loves me,” she whispered.
Drago raised an eyebrow at her statement. She’d only been here a few days. Then he turned back to Sazon and glared at the man.
Before long, Ana tugged at his arm and brought his gaze back to her. “What happened? Why are you here? Are Gretchen and the baby ok?”
Drago smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. Wrapping his arms around his sister, he announced, “Gretchen had the baby yesterday and it was a boy. She told me to come and make sure you were ok. We named him Ivan after grandfather. I think he would have liked that. They are both doing well. I had to find out what was going on here though. Did you find the man that killed our grandfather?”
“He’s taken care of,” Sergi informed him. “But in researching this one man, we found so much more.”
“I don’t understand,” Drago stated while looking confused.
Ana took her brother’s hand and looked him in the eye. “He claimed his name was Michael Tabrone but that was a lie. Everything we thought we knew about him was false. The real Michael Tabrone was a victim of a serial killer. He died at this man’s hands several years ago in Kansas City. In fact, we uncovered a pact made by eight very spoiled young men who have been on a killing spree for the last fourteen years.”
Drago sat down hard in the chair behind him. “You’re shitting me?”
Ana shook her head. “No we were just as surprised as you are. The man who killed Pops changed his name after murdering the real Michael. His name was Caleb Stoner. He and seven other men formed an unholy pact in college a very long time ago. He went his own way, as did the rest of them and in the past fourteen years, they have murdered twenty three people. They have never been caught because they leave no clue to the why part of their crimes.”
Yuri took up the story, “These young men thought no one would ever catch them and because no one had until now that gave them a feeling that they couldn’t be stopped.” He glanced over at Pappy and his men. “We had an ace on our side though. Someone who could get the information we needed. I never met this woman but we owe her more than we could ever repay her. She’s the one who put everything together. She’s the reason we found out as much as we did about this pact. It was her help that allowed us to shut down this pack of godless men.”
Drago turned to Ana. “And Caleb?”
Ana sought out Sazon’s eyes briefly then faced her brother. “What can I say? His strength was not a factor in the fight at all.”
Drago surged to his feet and his eyes blazed with rage. His glare found Sazon then Jethro. “You allowed her to fight this bastard?”
“They did not have a choice,” Sergi added.
Drago looked enraged. “I called on a friend to protect my sister and you couldn’t even do that.”
Sazon stepped forward and stepped close to him face to face. “Do you think for one moment I wanted her in the ring? That I wouldn’t have fought this bastard to my last breath? That I wouldn’t have put my own life on the line to protect hers?” He poked his finger into Drago’s chest and focused his own rage on the other man. “She didn’t give us a choice. When Caleb escaped a steel cage to come after her, she challenged him to the fight. She didn’t want anyone else to bleed for her. She wouldn’t allow any one of us to go after him. She knew this was a fight to the death that he wouldn’t allow her to win so easily. They both knew going into this that only one would walk out alive.”
“You can be assured those eight men will never kill again,” Roman quietly swore to him.
“He would have hidden in the shadows and picked us off one by one, but your sister challenged him to meet her in the ring,” Sergi continued the tale they had to live through. “None of us wanted this but your sister left us no choice. We knew it and so did she.”
Drago turned to inspect his sister. He found no obvious wounds and there was no sign of pain in her eyes.
Sazon turned to stare at her with proud eyes. “She met him steel to steel. She never faulted, never swayed from her objective. The blade in her hand because her armor and Caleb never touched her with his own blade. She made the match look effortless. The only blood spilled in that ring was his.”
“You and your grandfather taught her very well,” Pappy told him. “She knew every move the bastard was going to make before he made it and countered.”
“I put my blade right through his heart, just like Pops taught me to do. When he fell to the floor and as death had not yet taken him, he thought to take me to hell with him. He thrust his sword one last time and I separated his head from his shoulders. He didn’t leave me a choice,” Ana whispered.
Drago grabbed her up and wrapped his arms around her holding her close. Tears ran down his face as he heard the pain in her voice. “I’m so sorry. I should have been here to face him. It should have been me in that ring, not you.”
“No young man, I don’t think so.” Sergi shook his head. “This played out just the way fate intended. Fate is often a fickle bitch but she will have her own way. Things happen for a reason. People are put into our lives at certain times for a purpose only fate knows about. This had to happen just the way it did. Ana had to face this monster. This was her quest to follow, not yours and not Sazon’s.”
Drago thought about his words for a moment then looked at each of the men in the room. He read the truth in their eyes. Turning to his sister, he smiled. “It seems I have no choice but to accept it as it played out. But don’t you ever put your life on the line like that again. I will
turn you over my knee and spank the living hell out of you.”
“If you were to do that, you’d have to go through me first to get to her,” Sazon warned him as he pulled Ana out of the arms of her brother.
One by one, Sazon’s brothers lined up beside him. They were all huge men. Dangerous to take on.
Drago lifted a brow but didn’t say a word.
Behind him, Sergi chuckled. “I think their meaning is very clear.” He nodded at Deago. “I believe your sister is in safe hands.”
Drago glared at Sazon as if not worried or in fear if him. “She’d better be in safe hands or he will answer to me.”
Ana watched as Sazon’s rage grew to match her brothers. Fearing an all-out war, she stepped between them and laid one hand on her brother’s chest and the other on Sazon’s chest. “Behave yourselves.” She bid them both.
Drago ran his fingers through his hair still glaring at the other men in the room. Turning his attention to his sister, he asked her, “Did you find the daggers or are they gone forever?”
Ana nodded. “We did find them. These men you see here were instrumental in that. And the sword Caleb used to kill Pops. But I have learned something about the daggers I never thought I would.”
“What was that?” Drago frowned at her comment.
“They are Corsican War blades. Great grandfather forged a set of Corsican War blades for his Tzarina.”
Drago’s frown deepened. “Why on earth would he do that?”
“No one is sure of that answer.” Sergi shook his head. “I made some calls last night to a man I know would have some answers. He told me some unpleasant news that I can’t be sure is right or wrong. As you all know, the Tzar and Tzarina were well aware of the unrest the country was in at the time. Several failed campaigns were working against Nikolas and his people were growing more and more discontented with his rule. It cannot be proven of course, as there is no one left alive that would know what was in her heart but my friend thinks she would have had the blades made to reinforce her husband’s position as a ruling Tzar. Both she and her husband never believed that what happened could ever happen. Not to them, they were royal bloods after all.”