by K. J. Dahlen
“Speaking of royal bloods, we still have to search out the heir and turn the blades over to him or her,” Ana stated.
“I think I can help you with that.” Talli stepped up to the circle of men surrounding Ana. “I am Nikolas’s heir by rights of blood. It turns out that he was my great grandfather.”
Sergi stepped forward and took her elbow. “We found proof of her being the heir to the throne of old Russia. She is the last of his line, she is indeed Nikolas’s great granddaughter.”
Ana broke away from the group and went over to the table where the dagger case laid. She picked it up and brought it back with her. Handing the case out to Talli she said, “Then these belong to you. After all this time, please accept the daggers commissioned for a Tzar.”
Talli shook her head and refused to take the box. “I don’t want them. They belong to the past and the past should be left alone. These blades should never have been forged and the blood of a nation stains them.” Turning to Sergi, she asked, “Will you accept them and keep them safe? They seem to mean more to you than they do to me.”
Sergi seemed stunned by her request. “Of course, I will. I’m honored by your request. They are very fine blades crafted by a master. Blades truly worthy of a Tzar.”
Ana turned to him and handed him the box. Then she took a deep breath. A weight she wasn’t aware of was suddenly lifted from her shoulders. Looking over at her brother, she smiled. “Wow, I suddenly feel free.”
Drago nodded. “Me too. I never realized how heavy the burden of hiding those blades all this time was.” He took her hand and moved over to a quiet park of the penthouse. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“What?” Ana asked.
“Gretchen and I have been talking about something and now I need to ask you about it.” He began. “Ever since Pops died, I’ve hated living in the house he raised us in. His murder fills that house with sadness and the smell of blood. No matter how often it’s cleaned, the scent of his blood is still there. I don’t know how to explain it any other way. I know you love that house but we just cannot live there any longer. His ghost still haunts the house and I cannot live with a ghost anymore. It just hurts too much.”
Ana interrupted his statement by shaking her head. “I loved it because he raised us there. He taught us his craft within its walls and we lived there because of him. I don’t think I’ll be going back there anytime soon. Sazon lives here and he wants me to stay with him.”
“Is that what you want too?” Drago asked staring into her eyes.
Ana smiled. “Yes, I want that. Sazon wants to put a ring on my finger and he wants the whole world to know that I am his woman.”
“Then Gretchen and I will move here. We can still make the blades Pops taught us to make anywhere and we can still do the business we were meant to do. My son can grow up strong and our children will know each other as they grow.” He turned and glared at Sazon and his brothers. “Although I am not happy with your husband being Bratva, it could be worse.”
“Sazon and his brothers are good people,” Ana assured him. “They have honor and that is something that is sometimes hard to find in most men. They learned that from men like Sergi, Misha and Nikoli.”
“Do you think they will mind us moving here?”
“Why don’t you ask him and find out?”
Drago grabbed her wrist and hauled her back to the group. “I have a question.”
Sazon crossed his arms over his chest. “And what would that be?”
“Ana and I have never lived apart from one another. She is my sister and we were raised to stand beside each other always. I knew the day would come when she fell in love and got married but the murder of our grandfather has changed what would have been. If she is going to live here, I want to move my family here too. I can’t live in the same house as Pops died in anymore. There are too many memories there. I have a job that I love, forging blades and I can do that anywhere. I don’t need your permission to move here but I would like to know that you would have no objections to the move.”
Sazon glanced at his brothers and leaders then stepped forward with his hand held out. “I would be happy to welcome you to come here.”
Drago smiled slightly, turning his head to glance at his sister. “When we have the time I have stories I could tell you about how much of a brat she was growing up.”
Sazon and all of his brothers threw their heads back and the room rang with laughter. They all had run ins with her and knew she must have been a handful when younger as she was one now.
Ana charged her brother and wrapped her arms around him. “I have many stories too. About all the pranks you used to pull on me and how I got back at you each and every time.”
Drago hugged her close then unwrapped her arms and holding her hands he went over to Sazon. Putting her hands in the bigger man’s mans’ hand he told Sazon, “I am giving my sister over to you for safekeeping. Guard her life with your own because if you ever hurt her, I will come for you. You may be Russian but so am I and I know seventy different ways to kill a man, as I’m sure you have the same knowledge. When I get back home, I will forge a special blade and it will be on display in my home. This woman means the world to me and I would protect her from any harm including harm from you. The blade I make will be a reminder to everyone and I will use it to take you down. My vow will be as strong as the love I hold in my heart for her.”
Sazon nodded at the other man. “If I had a sister I would expect no less from the man I would give her to one day. You go ahead and forge the sword but know that you will never have to use it.” Turning to Ana, he spoke his own vow, “I will never bring her pain. I will never allow anyone to harm her and I will love her always.”
“And you will have to wait to make her your wife until I can be there to give her away,” Drago stated. “That is non-negotiable.”
“Then you’d better hurry up and get moved down here because I will not wait very long to claim her as my wife.” Sazon glared at him.
Jethro slapped Drago on the back. “Don’t you worry about that my man. We’ll get him packed up and on the road to his new home within a couple of weeks.”
“I will hold you to that,” Sazon stated as a hint of a smile showed on his face.
Ana’s heart grew full to overflowing. She no longer worried about the fact that the two most important men in her life wouldn’t be there for her. As much as she loved her brother, she also didn’t want Sazon to stand between them. Nor did she want Drago to stand between her and the man she loved and now she knew they would both stand beside her. A sudden beam of light shone through the window and she could feel her grandfather’s spirit standing next to her. It was over in a moment but she felt it. In her own mind, she finally said her goodbyes to the man who raised her and loved her as much as she loved him.
“Goodbye Pops, you loved me first, but they will love me now. You taught us well and we will teach our children the thing you taught us. I’ll always love you.”
The story continues in:
Roman
COMING MAY 2018
Bravta Blood Brother Series
BOOK FIVE
When a young boy witnesses a murder, he runs to the one person who he knows will help him, his sister Stevie. In their bid to get away Stevie is hurt before they can leave town.
When they get to New Orleans, they run into Roman Salizar, Btratva Blood brother with disastrous results. Roman takes them to his house and when he and the brothers find out what the pair is running from, they step into help.
Stevie and Benny are running from their own personal hell, one that threatens to spill over to encompass a whole city. Can they win against all odds? Will the nightmare find them? With nothing left to lose, can Roman keep Stevie and Benny safe?
Saving Her
A Murder Suspense Novel
K.J. Dahlen
Chapter One
‘To catch a killer you have to think like a killer.’ Sebastian thought as he stared at
the trees surrounding the cemetery. It was quiet here, almost peaceful and Sebastian knew that Carolyn would have liked it if she had seen it.
They’d been standing around his wife, Carolyn’s grave and his mother-in-law Janet touched his arm. The small service they had for Carolyn was over and it was time to go home.
Sebastian didn’t know if he could go back to the home he shared with Carolyn and Wyatt. Carolyn had turned a house into a home and that home into a safe haven and now that safe haven was gone. It wouldn’t be the same without her there and she would never be there again.
Without looking at her, Sebastian spoke, “Janet, I want you to keep Wyatt for a while.”
Janet was taken aback. “What on earth for?”
Sebastian gazed out over the graveyard. It was the time of year when all the lush greens they were so use to, were being burnt by the sun, and turning brown. And all the brilliant colors were fading just a little bit, sort of the way he felt right now. His heart felt shriveled up and burnt and all the color of his world was fading fast. He knew his six year old son needed him but Sebastian felt compelled to get the man who murdered his Carolyn. He turned to Janet. “I want my son to be loved right now. He just lost his Mom. I love him but right now, I have some things to do and it might take a while. I want to know that Wyatt is taken care of. You can give him what he needs better than I can right now.”
Janet looked worried. “What are you going to do?”
Sebastian’s face hardened and he growled, “I’m going after the bastard that killed Carolyn.”
Alec Hunter, Sebastian’s partner, joined them. “How are you going to do that? One minute he’s here and then he’s gone. We don’t know where until his next kill. Besides, it’s against the rules and you know it.”
“I’ll find him,” Sebastian vowed. The rage he felt inside burned his soul. He turned to his partner. “Don’t try and stop me. I have to do this. The rules be damned.”
Alec shook his head. “You’re a law enforcement officer in New Orleans. For all we know, he could be in Mississippi or Texas by now. How are you going to track him?”?”
“I’ll find him,” Sebastian vowed. “I’ll track him down to hell if I have to.”
“Daddy…” Wyatt touched his arm. “I don’t want you to go.”
Sebastian looked down at his six year old son. Wyatt’s eyes were full of unshed tears and so like his mother’s it almost broke Sebastian’s heart.
He squatted down to Wyatt’s level, searching for the right words to say. He didn’t know if Wyatt would understand but he had to try. “Hey buddy, I know how you feel. I know this will be hard for you to understand. I hate the fact that I have to leave you right now, but if I don’t, the man that took your Mom away from us he is going to hurt someone else. I have to try and stop him.” Sebastian paused to see if Wyatt understood. Tears were rolling down his small face. His son was hurting and Sebastian felt torn. He desperately wanted to stay but he knew if he did, the bastard that took Carolyn’s life would disappear.
Sebastian pulled Wyatt into his arms and hugged him. Wyatt’s arms came around his dad’s neck when Sebastian stood up. “You know don’t you, that you and your mom mean the world to me?”
When Wyatt nodded Sebastian told him, “And you know that I’m a cop and that I make sure everybody obeys the law, don’t you?”
When Wyatt nodded again, Sebastian leaned back and raised Wyatt’s chin to look into his face. “When that man took your mom away from us, he broke the law. If I don’t try to catch him, he’s going to hurt other people and he won’t stop until somebody like me stops him. Do you understand?”
Wyatt thought for a moment and then nodded.
Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief. What he was facing would be tough enough with or without his son’s cooperation. “Then you understand why I have to go?”
Wyatt looked down at his dad’s chest for a moment then looked up. “But what if this bad man hurts you the way he hurt Mom?”
Sebastian’s arms tightened around his son. “He won’t have the chance to hurt me. I’ll be very careful and I’ll even make you a promise. I promise that when the bad guy is in jail, I’ll come back to you.”
Wyatt looked at his dad. He knew Sebastian never promised anything he didn’t deliver. “Ok, I’ll stay with Grandma, but please hurry and come home again.”
Sebastian smiled. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Shortly after that, he went home to pack for his trip. He didn’t give himself time to think about what he was doing because if he did, he never would have been able to go. He knew Wyatt needed him but Sebastian needed to find the man that killed Carolyn even more. It was the only thing he could think about right now.
A few hours later, a jarring motion brought Sebastian out of a daze as his car hit the edge of the highway. He corrected his driving and pulled off the road. The near accident brought him back to his senses. His late start and the energy-draining last few days had left him too tired to get very far. He needed to get a room and some sleep. He needed to check his email anyway. He’d found the killer’s trail from the national police network and was on his way north to Baton Rouge to try and pick up on his whereabouts.
He got back on the road and the first town he came to, he found a motel. Once in his room, he got online and checked for messages. He had three.
One was from an FBI agent, Jesse Cooper. Sebastian opened the message and scanned the contents. The FBI was after the killer as well. Several killings in and around Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas had been linked to him and Jesse wanted to meet and compare notes.
Sebastian just snorted. The FBI wasn’t known to share anything, let alone information on a multi-state killer. More than likely, Jesse wanted to know what he knew and when Sebastian told him, Jesse would tell him to back off his investigation. Sebastian had already been through that with one of his cases and when he backed off, the suspect got away and murdered two more women before he was caught. He was caught by good old fashioned police work, not by the FBI. Sebastian wasn’t going to let that happen again, not with this case. They just didn’t want him to get to the killer first.
He opened the next message. It was from Alec. Sebastian frowned as he read the message from his partner. Alec told him that just after he left, an FBI agent named Jesse Cooper had paid him a visit. According to Alec, Jesse wasn’t happy about Sebastian being out there looking for his killer. Alec warned him to watch his back; there was something about Jesse that he didn’t trust. Alec was a good judge of character and if he had concerns, maybe Sebastian should check it out.
His third message was from Wyatt. Sebastian felt a moment of regret when he thought about his son. He’d hated leaving Wyatt, but he couldn’t do what he had to and stay with the boy. He smiled at the message his son had written. He quickly wrote a message back and signed off. After turning out the light, he laid back and let his mind clear.
* * * *
At that precise moment, about twenty miles down the road, a shadowy figure moved from the edge of the Mississippi river. He looked at the shimmering lights of Baton Rouge. He was hungry tonight and in the mood for blood. His hand rested on the knife at his hip. The ivory handle felt smooth against his hand and as he lifted the knife out of its sheath, the moonlight made the blade of the double edged dagger gleam.
He glanced back over his shoulder at his home away from home. The sleek houseboat had everything a man could want. The improvements he’d made had been necessary, but well worth the trouble.
He turned his dark eyes on the light of the city again and stepped into the shadows as he made his way over to it. He was hunting for just the right woman and he knew he would have to get her back to the houseboat before the sun came up in a few hours. Once on the boat, he’d have all the time he needed to do what he had to, but that was the fun part. What he was doing now was the necessary part.
He blended in with the night population of the city and as he made his way around the streets, he was sea
rching for his prey. Suddenly, he stopped and sniffed the air. A scent had caught his attention and looking around, he zeroed in on her.
She was slender and her flowing hair reached her waist. Her skin was beautiful and it gleamed as she danced in the street. Her smile was infectious and he was drawn to her laughter. As she swirled to the beat of the music, her dress flared and he could see the tops of her thighs. His blood raced as he stepped up to her.
Her eyes widened when he stepped close to her but the music had gotten under her skin and she smiled at him as they moved to the rhythm of the sounds that surrounded them. He was lost in the movement of their bodies, and it was hard to realize that the music had stopped. When he did, he felt the world crashing down. She just smiled and swirled away from him, rejoining her own friends.
He moved off the dance area but stayed close to her keeping her in sight until she showed signs of wrapping up the festivities. Her friends waved a weary goodnight and she was left alone to walk home.
From a safe distance, he followed until they were alone on the street. He swept down on her and before she could scream, his hands were around her throat. He put just enough pressure on her windpipe to close it off, but not enough to bruise the tender skin.
He let up when he felt her slump against him and sticking to the shadows, he carried her limp form back to his boat. Once aboard, he laid her on the sofa then maneuvered the boat out of the main channel and into a back water area.
He picked her up again and carried her to his special room. It was soundproof and he had specially fitted it with his own toys.
* * * *
A few hours later, the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. Sebastian came awake with a jerk. At first, he couldn’t remember where he was and when he did, he glanced at his watch and got out of bed. He checked his computer for additional messages while he got dressed. The only message he had was from Jesse Cooper. The FBI agent was insistent that Sebastian contact him as soon as possible. Sebastian was getting more than a little irritated by the demands of this agent. He closed the computer and turned on the television. The local news was just announcing the disappearance of a local woman, seen earlier dancing in the street. Sebastian was transfixed at the sight of the young woman dancing and swaying to the music.