Vengeance Unleashed (The Wanted Men Series Book 1)

by Nancy Haviland

  Her features tightened as he brought her to the sofa and gave her a nudge to sit—sue him if his hand lingered on the curve of her hip a little longer than was necessary—before going over to let the cock-blocker in.

  Alek stood with his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, his navy shirt untucked. Quan was in the middle of the corridor also dressed in jeans, but a gray hoodie covered his frame. Micha, dressed in clothes more appropriate for the office, was behind them. The boys-club interest on all their faces had Gabriel rolling his eyes.

  “About time.” Alek checked him out, his scrutiny becoming more focused when he reached his face. “No palm prints.”

  “Not even a scratch,” Quan observed.

  “What do you two want?”

  “How is she this morning?” Alek asked.

  Gabriel stepped back with a sigh. “Come see for yourselves.”

  They entered the suite and he closed the door on a smirking Micha before following to join his boys in their ogle of his beauty. But the minute he caught sight of her, Gabriel knew something wasn’t right. She’d moved to sit in the chair next to the fireplace. Her back was straight, her legs crossed, and her long foot was bobbing.

  “Good morning,” she said with a false brightness, her eyes hard, head tipped to the side. “Is it time to gawk at the hostage already? Sorry you wasted a trip. There won’t be any show today. It seems I got all that panic and terror out of my system last night. Oh, but wait.” She laughed without humor. “That’s right. You were here. Watching,” she stated flatly, the smile going south as she leveled them with a look that made even him uncomfortable. She pushed to her feet and looked at him. “Would you like me to leave the room so you can discuss the prisoner in private?”

  “You’re not a prisoner, smartass.” Gabriel gave his boys a clap on the shoulder. “And they already feel like shit about what happened.”

  “They should. Do either of you have girlfriends?”

  The boys shook their heads.

  “Surprise,” she murmured, then corrected herself. “Actually, that is surprising. Anyway, I’m assuming you have mothers.”

  More negatives.

  She puffed out a sigh. “Oh. Well, I’m sorry for your loss. But, listen, you’ve each had a woman in your life along the way. Or a man?”

  Gabriel grinned and shook his head when she looked inquiringly at him.

  “Okay. Women, then. Sister, maybe?”

  Quan raised his hand as if he were in school.

  “There’s one. You,” she said to Alek, “have had a woman. You’ve loved one along the way. Right?”

  Alek’s skin turned gray as he no doubt thought of Sacha. Quan would be thinking of Jia, his younger sister who lived in Vancouver.

  “Now picture someone holding her against her will. Imagine her screaming and crying, begging the others in the room to help her because she’s scared and confused about what’s going on. Then imagine those capable of aiding her turning their backs on her.”

  Sickened by Eva’s view of last night, Gabriel wanted to go to her but wasn’t sure he’d be welcomed. “Interfering wasn’t an option for them.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they won’t undermine me.”

  Her brows arched. “Why not? Aren’t you friends? Friends are allowed to disagree with each other.”

  “Aside from being my friends, Quan and Jak also work for me.”

  “Okay. I’d forgotten that. And Alek?”

  “I do feel like hell about what happened last night,” Alek offered before glancing over. “She know about us?”

  Gabriel shook his head. “I don’t think so.” If Eva had made the connection, she hadn’t mentioned it yet.

  “Mind if I do the honors?”

  Gabriel gave him a have-at-it wave.

  Eva had already adopted a defensive stance by crossing her arms over her middle and tipping her head down. “What now.”

  Alek was smiling as he sat on the arm of the sofa. “My father’s name was Evgeny. He passed away when I was a teenager, but his brother took over raising me like I was his own son. They had a sister, too, but she’s also gone. My uncle, your father, is all that’s left of that generation. And thank Christ for that because he’s an incredible man who you’re going to love as much as we all do. Welcome to the family, Eva.”

  SIXTEEN

  Around her surprise, a startling rush of emotion swept through Eva as she gaped at Gabriel’s business partner.

  Alek Tarasov. Of course.

  Once again, what she knew was realigning in her mind. And this time, the picture left behind was something beautiful. Something she’d never expected to have until she had children of her own.

  A family.

  Her arms fell from their tense cross and she clasped her hands together so she wouldn’t click her nails. She had a cousin. A handsome, successful male cousin. She disregarded the mob stuff because it had no place in this amazing moment of discovering she truly was no longer an orphan in this world.

  He stood when she approached, looking a bit wary as she searched his features for some sort of resemblance. She thought she saw something in the shape of his eyes that reminded her of her own reflection, but that could just be wishful thinking.

  “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” She heard the hope in her teary voice.

  He shook his head. “No. It’s just me. Our aunt had one son as well. You’ll meet him soon. His name is Sergei.”

  A sound of amazement came from her. Our aunt. He couldn’t have known what that meant to her, and rather than try to tell him, she chose to show him by wrapping him in a warm, grateful hug. When she felt his arms slowly circle her in a strong hug back, her breath snagged and she wanted to cry like a baby.

  After a moment, she forced herself to step back and give her wet cheeks a rub. “Sorry if that made you uncomfortable. It’s just that I thought I was alone, but now I have a father, and you. That’s…well, it’s really, really great.”

  She was touched to see his throat work as if he was also having some trouble with it. He cast a sidelong glance at Gabriel. “You take care of her or I’ll kill you,” he said in a low voice.

  “Amen,” Quan murmured as he pulled his cell out and walked off.

  Gabriel came over and exchanged a handclasp and backslap with Alek before her cousin gave her a nod and followed Quan out.

  “Be ready in ten,” Gabriel ordered in a rough voice without looking at her. “We’re going to your place to grab some of your things.” His jaw was tight as he, too, turned and slammed his way out of the suite.

  † † †

  As they drove to her house, Eva tried to make a mental list of what they would bring back to the hotel with them and what she would delegate Gabriel’s people to put into storage—a suggestion Gabriel had made a few minutes ago under the reasoning that her keepsakes and heirlooms would remain intact if Stefano decided to burn her house to the ground to send a message.

  As she looked out the window at the passing scenery, she tried to wrap her head around how these people operated. Burning someone’s home down. Holding someone against their will. Causing a car accident that left someone dead.

  How did they live like this? Reacting so absolutely when something didn’t go their way.

  She was still wondering when the Escalade turned onto her street and she spotted an unfamiliar car parked in front of her house.

  “Does that car belong to one of your guys?” she asked Gabriel, who was driving. She was riding shotgun and Quan and Alek were right now unbuckling their belts in the backseat.

  “No.” Gabriel’s arm came out to hold her in place as he swiftly pulled over. “It isn’t familiar. And with Nick gone, so are our eyes,” he said into the suddenly tense atmosphere.

  “You know my neighbor?” she asked in surprise.

  Gabriel’s focus stayed on the unknown vehicle, but something flashed across his expression too quickly for her to make it out. “He worked for my family for almost twenty
years before Vasily offered him this placement. Nick’s wife had died—she was the sister of one of Vasily’s guys—so he accepted and moved out here. Said keeping an eye on a pretty blonde and mowing a lawn beat making collections any day.”

  Had her mom known there was a connection between their neighbor and Eva’s father? “Where did he go? Could the car belong to the guys coming to pack?” she tagged on, hopeful.

  Gabriel’s lips twisted. “They’re still fifteen minutes out. They’re coming from Meadowbrook with a truck.”

  When he ignored her question about Nick, she wondered if the older man had been fired for some reason but didn’t ask because she was distracted by Gabriel leaning over to open the glove box. He withdrew a small handgun from underneath some papers.

  Having seen an assortment of Caleb’s guns throughout the years, the sight of this one shouldn’t have bothered her. But it did. Because it wasn’t going to be used for target practice at the shooting range, but in an effort to protect her.

  Gabriel checked the magazine and then the chamber. Then he slapped the small black weapon onto the dash and withdrew a larger one from the small of his back. He gave it the same treatment, check and snap. He tucked it back in, pulling his shirt over it so that it was once again hidden. Eva continued staring wide-eyed as he bent and lifted the left cuff of his pants to reveal a knife holstered on the inside of his ankle. He unsnapped the holder in preparation.

  “Is the cannon strapped to your thigh coming out next or are we saving that for when we’re alone?” She lifted her eyebrows and, of course, blushed when Alek and Quan laughed.

  “Cannon, huh?”

  Her gaze skipped from the gun to Gabriel’s amused face. “Like that’s news to you,” she said absently, thinking this kind of danger must have been exactly what had motivated her father to leave her and her mom. His attempt to allow them a peaceful, safe life, even if without him, hoping all the while they’d never feel what Eva was feeling right now. What her mom must have felt before she died.

  Eva’s heart softened that much more for the man who’d given up so much in order to protect them. “I want to meet my father, Gabriel,” she blurted. “Can you arrange that?”

  He seemed caught off guard by her request. “Where are you in there?” he mused, brushing his thumb across her forehead. “And, yeah, I’ll arrange it.”

  She sat back. “Okay. So what happens now?”

  “We find out who’s here.” He glanced toward her house, his demeanor shifting into that cold, controlled man who’d shared the story of her life yesterday. “Listen. The men who work for Stefano won’t hesitate to use whatever means they must do their job.”

  “I realized that when you were polishing all that steel,” she said dryly.

  “Have you ever used a gun?”

  “Yes, I have.” She wiped her damp palms down the front of her thighs and held out her hand.

  “What the fuck do you mean, ‘yes, I have,’” he mimicked with a sneer.

  She rolled her eyes. “Caleb used to take me and Nika to the shooting range with him back in high school.”

  “What the fuck for?”

  She smiled as she remembered Caleb trying to show them how to properly hold the weapon, shaking his head at their nervous laughter. “To entertain us at first, I think, and then later he said he wanted us to be able to defend ourselves.”

  A tic worked in Gabriel’s jaw as he pocketed the keys, but he didn’t say another word as they all got out of the SUV. He was at her side and wrapping a strong arm around her waist before she had time to close the door.

  Shit then got way too real when he shoved the smaller of his two weapons into her cold hand.

  † † †

  For chrissakes. Gabriel couldn’t believe he was giving Eva a fucking gun, much less that she knew how to use it.

  Paynne. That asshole. Despite the fact that what he’d done was smart, he was still an asshole.

  Closing Eva’s delicate fingers around the cold metal, he ground out, “Don’t be afraid to use it.” He turned to Alek and Quan. “The backyard leads to a large stretch of woodlands. About an acre, I think. We’ll head there.”

  Grasping Eva’s hand, he pulled her away from the Escalade so he could close the door, then moved down the empty driveway closest to them with the boys glued to their flank. When they reached the quiet forest, they cut across until they were inside the tree line directly behind Eva’s house. With a hand on her shoulder, Gabriel pressed a hard kiss to her mouth before pushing her down into a squat in the damp ferns.

  “You stay here until I come for you. Understand?” He looked beyond the fear and concern shining in her eyes and waited for her nod. “You’re with her,” he added, pointing at Quan.

  “Her cousin will hang back. I’m on you.”

  He ground his teeth. He didn’t need this shit now. “Quan—”

  “My detail is you.” The Asian’s gaze held his in a stare down. “My job is to be at your back, no matter what. And that’s where I’ll be. So either you put a bullet in my leg to keep me here or get this show going.”

  “We’re good,” Alek interjected with an appreciative squeeze to Quan’s shoulder. “Get this done. Eva and I can hang here and cut you up for a few minutes while you’re out of earshot.”

  Feeling outnumbered, and more than a little honored by Quan’s steadfast support, Gabriel pointed at his boy. “Anything happens to me, you come back and you both get her the fuck out of here.”

  Eva gasped. Alek nodded. Quan muttered, “Did you hear nothing I just said?”

  And then they were gone.

  Gabriel moved silently to the far side of the lawn, knees bent, gun pointing down next to his thigh, safety off. When he got to the side of the house, he flattened himself against the rough brick and listened. The deep rumble of a male voice reached his ears, coming from Eva’s kitchen. Without hesitating, he jumped onto the back deck, making sure to stay below the window as he edged toward the door. Quan motioned that he was going around to cut off any escape route out front.

  Clearing his mind of his remaining worry for the woman waiting in the trees, Gabriel stood and kicked in the back door, cracking the thing off its hinges. He was in the house, gun trained for the first asshole he saw…

  When a female’s high-pitched scream nearly burst his eardrums.

  “Nika! Get down!”

  Preparing to pull the trigger, the identity of the man, and the name he’d yelled, registered with Gabriel at the same time.

  Nika.

  Letting loose a stream of foul curses that would have had his mother running for the soap back in the day, he threw his arm out to the side. “Paynne, you stupid fuck! What the hell are you doing here?” He clicked the safety back on his gun.

  “Jesus Christ, Moretti! You sure know how to make a fuckin’ entrance,” the biker snapped back as he, too, lowered his weapon.

  Spinning away, so he wouldn’t pistol-whip the jerk-off right there, he saw Quan, who had quietly busted into the front entry when he heard Nika’s scream, lower his Glock. Gabriel shoved his gun into the waistband of his pants, trying to blow off the fact that he’d nearly popped a bullet in Paynne’s forehead with his fuckin’ sister watching from feet away.

  He pounded his way back out the busted door and headed across the dewy grass. Eva must have seen him coming because she bolted from the trees and nearly tackled him. Holding him in a death grip, she whispered a strangled, “Are you okay?”

  “That was quick, even for you,” Alek said as he walked up to them. “Quan take one in the junk? I thought I heard a soprano.”

  Gabriel shook his head.

  “Are you okay?” Eva repeated, her voice shaking.

  “Hey.” He cupped her nape and used the hold to force her to look into his eyes. “Hey. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” Well, not really, because they now had to go in the house. Where Paynne was.

  Following the overpowering instinct thundering through him, Gabriel kissed the woman in hi
s arms like he’d never get the chance again.

  “What was that for?” Eva panted when he finally pulled back.

  “Staking a claim,” Alek informed her as he walked toward Quan, who was standing on the deck.

  “Peace of mind,” Gabriel added under his breath before tucking her into his side and heading for the house. He didn’t miss her frown. “The car doesn’t belong to Stefano’s guys.”

  “Whose is it then?”

  “See for yourself.”

  They climbed the two steps to the deck and walked through what remained of the doorway, which Eva didn’t even blink at. Alek, Quan, Paynne, and Nika waited for them in the kitchen.

  Through a round of what-the-fucks, Eva tightly embraced Nika. Gabriel vaguely noted the redhead’s cringe as the hug was returned.

  “What are you doing here?” Eva’s eyes flashed back to Paynne who was leaning on the counter.

  “He flew in this morning,” Nika explained, slowly extracting herself from Eva’s hug with a fleeting grimace. “When I couldn’t get you on the phone, and when you didn’t call him back like you said you would, we came by to make sure you were okay.”

  “I’ve tried calling you a hundred times,” Eva said.

  The redhead pulled a face. “My phone’s fucking up. Sorry. Anyway, when you didn’t answer our knock, we let ourselves in. I thought for sure we were gonna find the two of you handcuffed to the headboard, fighting over who hid the key where. Nice lips, by the way. Looks fresh.” She held up a hand to receive a high five.

  From Gabriel.

  He gave it to her with a grin. Man, he liked her.

  “Nika!”

  Eva’s and Caleb’s voices mingled. Hers embarrassed. His amused.

  “You’re mental,” Eva chastised, kissing her friend’s high cheekbone before she turned to the brother.

  But Paynne was looking at Gabriel, and Gabriel couldn’t help but approve of the way the biker stared him down without apology. Not that it would do him any good, but still, it was nice to see a man with a strong core…

  Eva’s ringtone suddenly sounded off in Gabriel’s mind, snapping him out of his budding bromance. He narrowed his eyes in warning. This was his territory, and that territory included the woman…who was now moving away from him. Toward what could possibly be the competition.