"Don't even think about it," he growls in a deadly voice. The guy gasps as he tries to breathe around Alexey’s hand.
Vlad, who is still sitting as if nothing is happening, smiles at me. "Brat, let Sloan down. You are frightening Kapacota," he says calmly, as if the guy isn’t turning blue before our eyes. Alexey lets go, letting the guy crumple to the floor, gasping.
"Sorry about his rudeness." As his deep voice reaches me, I nearly laugh. He basically did the same as this new guy, but because it was someone else, he took offence. I feel myself shaking. I need to get away from them before I break down.
"Excuse me," I say in a shaky voice, and hurriedly make my way to the bathroom. When I finally close the door behind me, I slump against it, shaking uncontrollably. I don't do well with violence. It brings back too many bad memories of the abuse I had to endure while growing up. My hand goes towards the scar by my ribs, and I stroke it as if that will calm my nerves.
Today is not a good day. First, my mom phoned me early this morning to let me know that she’s leaving the hospital soon, and to ask if I will be able to help her, and even though I will do all I can to try to help her, I don’t know how I can. Then the mafia comes to visit, and Alexey jumps the other guy, bringing back all old memories. Breathing in deeply, I try to calm my racing heart. Soon I will have to go back out there and smile at them, even though I'm shaking like a leaf. Looking up, I see my reflection in the mirror. My eyes are huge and haunted, my face pale.
As I’m about to go outside, I hear a knock on the bathroom door. "Jade, are you okay?" Lara whispers. Taking another deep breath, I unlock the door. Opening it, I step out. Lara looks me over and then hugs me close.
"I'm fine. A bit shaky, but fine," I state as I hug her back. "Are they still here?" I’m hoping that maybe they would've left.
"Yeah, but I think they are about ready to leave. Would you like me to take their table?" Lara offers with a kind smile.
"No, it’s fine, Lara, but thank you. Besides, how often do we get hot guys like that in here?" I joke, trying to lighten her worry.
Walking towards the front area, I see the other guy making his way towards the entrance of the bakery. When his eyes land on me, he glares, a murderous look on his face. Great, that's all I need, someone holding a grudge against me. I keep looking at him as he hurriedly walks out of the bakery and across the street. Before he gets into his car, I see him look up at the building across the street and nod. Looking up, I see a guy at one of the windows with a gun pointed at the bakery. Glancing over at the two guys by the door, I see them talking to each other, completely oblivious of what's happening. Alexey and his brother are sitting, I see that Alexey is eating and his brother is talking, both unaware of what is about to happen.
"Gun!" I scream. "There is a guy with a gun in the building in front!" At my words, the two guys jump up and run towards Alexey, who has jumped over the table at Vlad, unbalancing his chair and throwing both on the floor as one of the coffee shop’s floor-to-ceiling windows shatters. I am standing there in shock as I see everything happening before my eyes.
"Get the fuck down!" Alexey roars from where he’s lying on the floor with the two guys crouched before him. He tries to rise, but his brother holds him down. At his command, I drop to the floor in shock. What the hell? I should never have gotten out of bed this morning. I see that Alexey, his brother, and the two guys have guns drawn and are now firing. I place my arms over my head, trying to quieten the loud noise.
After what feels like hours but can't be more than a few minutes, the shooting stops, and then there is movement. Looking from under my arm, I see the men hurriedly start making their way out of the coffee shop. I'm about to breathe in relief that this is nearly over when I feel strong arms around me. Tensing, I start to struggle before I hear Alexey's rough voice ordering me to be still.
"What are you doing?" I ask, worried as he starts to carry me outside.
"You need to come with us. I’ll explain later," he says forcefully. I can hear the anger in his voice, but his touch is gentle. If I wasn't in his arms, I would never believe it.
"But Lara and Joe are still inside," I state as he bundles me into a black Mustang.
"They will be fine. You won't. Sloan will want to get his hands on you now." His voice is gruff as he starts the car and shoots forward. "Put your seatbelt on," he commands as he looks at me. I put on the seatbelt, not because he commanded it but because he is driving like a madman. I look around to see the two guys who were sitting by the door in a similar car, driving before us. Looking back, his brother is right behind, following our every move.
"Where are you taking me?" I ask breathlessly, my heart still racing with fright.
"Where you will be safe," he grunts. His knuckles are white where he’s holding the steering wheel.
"How long do I have to be there?" Damn, I must work. I don't have the luxury of being off if I want, and Monday I have an assignment due.
"As long as I deem necessary." He must have heard my gasp of annoyance because he looks at me as he turns into an underground car park and smirks.
"You can’t do that. I’ve got work and college. I can’t just hide away," I state angrily. My voice is still breathless from everything that has happened in the last half hour. Instead of sounding angry, I sound frightened, but who can blame me? I'm in a car with the damn mafia boss, and he doesn’t seem to want to let me go.
"Your job will still be there if you want it, and I'm sure if you miss a few days of college, it won’t be a train smash, malysh." How does he know my work will still be there? And how presumptuous can a person be, telling me that missing a few days of college won’t be a problem?
"I don’t want to take the chance of not having a job when this is done, and no, I will not miss college. I have an assignment due on Monday. And what the hell does malysh mean? You keep calling me that," I grumble. I hear him chuckle softly as he reverses into a parking bay. He switches off the car and finally turns towards me.
"You’re funny. It’s like an ant trying to defeat an elephant," he states with a twinkle in his eye. "Now listen carefully. You will not be going to work until I say so because that is the first place they will look for you. You will also not be attending college." As I open my mouth to argue with him, he places a finger over my lips and continues. "I will arrange that your assignment be delivered, and you can attend your classes via Skype. You saved my life today. I will make sure to return the favour and not let anything happen to you."
"You can’t just take over my life. You're such a presumptuous asshole," I grumble angrily.
"Careful, malysh, I don’t take disrespect from anyone." All the humour has now left his face, and before me is the man who is the mafia boss. Now I understand why grown men like Joe fear him. "Let's go," he commands as he gets out of the car and comes around to help me out. He guides me towards a lift with two men stationed on each side of it. I can see that these men are carrying weapons. What have I gotten myself into?
Only then do I realise that he still hasn't told me what malysh means.
ALEXEY 3
Walking into my apartment, I hear her catch her breath. Looking down, I see her eyes are as big as saucers as she looks around at everything. I look around to see what she is seeing. This apartment is my sanctuary, where I can relax away from everyone and everything. The living room is before us, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the city. To my right is the kitchen with stainless steel equipment, including a huge fridge that Silvia, my housekeeper, stocks and Vlad makes sure to deplete. He usually eats here; already he’s making his way towards the kitchen.
"Would you like something to drink, kapacota?" he asks as he opens the fridge.
"No, thank you," she retorts.
"What's your name, anyway?" he asks as he fills a glass.
"Jade," she replies, standing as if frozen in the doorway. Jade. Her name suits her. Like the semi-precious stone, she is a beauty with untold depths. She intrigues me. There is a fire
within her that shines bright.
"Come on in. You’re going to be here for a while. Might as well make yourself comfortable," I say as I sit on a high chair by the kitchen counter. I see her descend the two stairs of the entrance and then make her way to the windows. Her eyes show her fascination as she looks out onto the city.
"The view is spectacular from here." Her hand is against the glass, her beautiful long curly hair flowing down her back, a look of wonder on her face. She has the perfect body, with luscious breasts that will fill my hands, but what holds my attention is her unawareness of her beauty, her innocence compared to me. The knowledge that she encountered violence because of me angers me.
"What you wanna do about Sloan?" Vlad asks me quietly as Jade continues to stare out the window. "You know they are going to come after her. All he has to do is tell them how you reacted to her."
"I want him gone. You get our men out there looking for him. I want him before the end of this week. Regarding Salazar, today, he declared war," I grunt angrily. "We will show them what we’re made of and why everyone respects us."
Vlad nods in agreement. "I can see you like her. She's not your normal taste," he says as he catches me looking at Jade again.
"She's so different. Do you know that she actually argued with me?" I can feel a slight smile pulling at my lips. "The only other idiot to try that is you." I see Vlad quirk a smile at my words.
"That's what you need me for, to keep you in line." I grunt in response just as there is a knock at the door. If I hadn't been looking at Jade, I wouldn’t have seen her tense. So, she likes to hide her fear. That’s good. One more thing I like about her. I know that no one would get up here to knock at the door without the men downstairs letting me know first. I own the whole building, and only those I want to see get in.
"Da," I call out. Andrei walks in. Looking around, he spots Vlad and I and approaches. I sent him a text before I sat down with Vlad. "You need something, Boss?" he asks. Andrei has been with me since I arrived here. My father sent him to keep an eye on me and Vlad. I know that he also reports to my father, but that is fine. I don’t have a problem with that.
"Jade," I call, and see her tense again, but then she looks over her shoulder at me. "Give Andrei your address and a list of whatever you need. I want him to go get your stuff as soon as possible."
Her eyes squint at me as her chin rises in anger. "I'm sure I won't be here long enough to need a list. Besides, why don’t I just go with him and get my own stuff? Or better yet, he can just leave me at home. I will sort myself out."
Vlad chuckles from next to me. I’m sure this is funny for him. he has never seen someone contradict me before. "Get her address and then go there and get all her stuff," I say in Russian, purposely leaving her in the dark about what he's doing. "Let's go to the office," I call to Vlad as I make my way across the living room and through a door into my office. Vlad enters behind me and closes the door.
"Tell me everything that happened," I say as I sit back in my chair, looking up at Vlad as he walks towards the floor-to-ceiling window. Vlad stands there quietly for a few minutes, looking out. I leave him, knowing that he is going through everything in his mind before he starts talking. There is a strong resemblance between the two of us, and not just in appearance. Vlad also wears his black hair longish like mine, but where I have it loose, he ties his back. His eyes are a lighter green to mine, and his jaw isn’t as defined as mine, but that isn’t the only resemblance between us. We are both fearless. If anyone crosses us, they pay. We have strong family responsibility. Anything for family.
Vlad turns to me as he talks. "We met Mark at the agreed time at the warehouse." Mark is our supplier, or rather, the representative for our supplier. "Everything went as normal until we left. We were a few minutes out when a truck came from nowhere and drove right into Boris, blocking the way." At the mention of Boris, his voice grows rougher with anger. "There were shooters on the roof of both buildings. We need to change our routes because it looks like they know where we’re travelling. Boris got out of the car; that’s how he got shot. I told the boys to take the weapons and get out of there."
His eyes are hard as he remembers the details of that morning. "What saved Boris is that I shot the tank of the truck and then raced to where he was hiding, and he got into the car. If they had blocked us with another truck from behind, we might not have been able to get away, but this route is great because it doesn’t allow for that."
"How did they know we were collecting today?" I ask. Vlad was the one who arranged everything directly with Mark. Unless one of our guys is talking, they shouldn’t have gotten the information.
"I don’t know. Only the boys and I knew about it, but I will speak to them once they’re back," he replies. Vlad deals with the transport of the armament, so I'm leaving this for him to deal with, but I will deal with Salazar and the shooting at the coffee place.
"I want to know where the leak is," I state. "Also, get me surveillance feeds for all those stores by Sweet Addictions. I want to know who the men were who shot at us." When someone takes a shot at me, they must be prepared for the consequences. Sloan is dead, and whoever shot at us is dead too. We continue to plan our move on Salazar before I look at my watch and realised that it’s nearly lunchtime. "Let’s go have lunch, Brat. I also want to make sure Jade is okay." I'm already making my way to the door, excited to see her again. I haven’t been this excited to see a woman since I was young. What the hell is she doing to me?
As we walk out, I see her sitting on the couch, her body relaxed in sleep. She looks so peaceful, so innocent, that my protective instinct overwhelms me. Walking towards her, I stroke her cheek, noticing how soft it feels under my fingers. Her eyes pop open at my touch, and she stiffens. "What are you doing?" she grunts, but doesn’t move away, her eyes still heavy from her nap.
"I was waking you up for lunch."
"Oh." She looks around as if she’s confused. "I’m sorry I fell asleep on your couch," she states, but by the lift of her chin, I doubt it very much. I nearly laugh, but I want her cooperation, so I don’t want to upset her unnecessarily.
"Are we going to eat or what? I’m hungry." I nearly forgot that Vlad was here. Grunting, I turn and scowl at him.
"Aren’t you always?" I retort.
"I’m still growing," he says in a shocked voice, which makes Jade laugh at his silliness.
I have never been jealous of Vlad, but at this moment, I could punch him for making her laugh. "Make yourself useful, go see what Silvia left for lunch," I order. Vlad just shrugs and walks to the kitchen to see what Silvia has prepared for us.
"Come, malysh, you need to eat something." I place my hand on her lower back and feel her tense, but I don’t pull my hand away. She will have to get used to it and soon, because I’m not a patient man and I’m planning on touching her often. I guide her towards the dining table. When it’s Vlad and myself, we simply eat in the kitchen, sitting opposite each other by the island, but I want Jade to be comfortable. Even though she dozed, she looks tired.
"I need my phone. I left it in my locker," she says as she sits down.
"I will get Andrei to pick it up for you. In the meantime, you can use the phone in my office if you like." I see her frown, but then she nods as Vlad places a tray of lasagne and a salad on the table. Picking up her plate, I dish a good portion of lasagne, place the plate before her, and hand her the salad. I notice she picks the cucumber out of the salad before she dishes for herself. I need to remember to tell Silvia to leave cucumbers out of the salads from now on. After dishing for myself, I hand the spoon to Vlad.
"Mmm, this is delicious," she murmurs after swallowing her first forkful. “Who cooked this?”
“My housekeeper, Silvia.”
"Your housekeeper is a great cook," she states.
"You must taste her chocolate brownies. They melt in your mouth they're so good," Vlad teases.
"Do they have nuts?" she asks with a frown. "I'm allergic to nuts,
but I love chocolate."
"What happens if you eat nuts?" I need to make sure Silvia doesn’t make anything more with nuts. I will tell her to throw all nuts away.
"I swell up like a chipmunk. My tongue, face, and throat close up," she reveals. "I do have an allergy injector that I usually carry around, but it’s in my bag, together with my phone." I instantly take my phone out and message Andrei. He needs to bring her bag. "Is there anything else you’re allergic to?" Vlad asks with a frown, but she shakes her head in reply as she takes another bite of lasagne.
"Who was shooting at you?" she suddenly asks as she looks directly at me.
"Don’t worry about that." I don’t want her more involved than she already is. I still don’t know if I can trust her to keep her mouth shut, but whatever happens, I will make sure she is safe. Huffing, she glares at me. I nearly laugh at her audacity but keep it in as not to encourage her rebellious nature.
"You say I'm in danger; of course, I’m going to worry about it. After all, that is why I’m here, isn’t it?" she reiterates.
"There is nothing to worry about. We will keep you safe. Nothing will happen to you while you’re with us," I promise.
She lowers her fork to her plate and then says, "My wellbeing isn’t your responsibility. Besides, I’m sure they’re not interested in a waitress. Otherwise, that means Lara is also in danger."
"Your colleague will be safe, but the guy with us saw the interest Alexey had in you. That means you’re in danger even if just to get one at Alexey." I see colour fill her cheeks in embarrassment at Vlad's comment.
"But I share the apartment with Lara. If they go looking for me, they will harm her, or can you assure me that she will be safe?" I can see a worried tenseness to her body as she talks about her colleague. It seems as if this Lara is more than just a colleague to her.
"Why don’t you phone her and make sure she’s fine?" I suggest. I’ve placed two of my guys to keep an eye on Lara and the chef, so I know they’re fine, and I know that if she phones, her friend will tell her this. Maybe like this, she will relax a little. Placing my phone before her, I nod towards it. "Go ahead, phone from my phone." I see her hesitate, but after a few seconds, she picks it up and dials. I can hear it ringing, and then it’s answered. "Lara," Jade says. At that, she gets up from the table and moves towards the windows in the lounge.
TORMENTED: Bratva Fury (book 1) Page 2