by KJ Dahlen
“What else can you tell us?” Ivan asked.
“Begian wanted us to be totally self sufficient but that part of Mexico doesn’t have much of anything. We couldn’t grow enough to feed everyone, so he grew cannabis plants. He sold the pot to a dealer in Del Rio for money to survive.” She shrugged then she remembered an event. “Something happened when I was ten though. I don’t know what it was but he changed a lot. He was always a bastard but when I was ten, he went completely off the rails. He took a lot of his anger and rage out on me and I never knew why. I didn’t do anything to hurt him but there were times growing up when I think he hated me.” She looked at Ivan and said, “I was just a kid, but he hated me for some reason.”
Ivan thought for a moment then frowned. “That would have been twelve years ago right? I seem to remember something around that time. After my father was murdered and Begian got away before the police could pick him up, my father’s attorney alerted me that someone was depleting my father’s estate by taking out large amounts of money and selling off his items. When I looked into it, it was Katine, Begian’s mom. She and my father were married when Begian was almost a teenager. They had been together for about nine years when he died. Then my father’s attorney told me they were never legally married, as she never divorced Begian’s father. The lawyer had her arrested and charged with fraud and theft as the money, she took was never hers to begin with. She went to prison for her crimes. Anyway, she’d been in prison for nine years and her previous or should I say, her real husband came to see me to find out if I would allow her to get out on probation. I told him she could rot for all I cared and unless he was willing to pay back what she took from my father, he could go to hell.” He shook his head. “That man just couldn’t walk away, he kept pushing and pushing and then he threw the first punch. We fought and it didn’t end well for him. He impaled himself on a metal lawn ornament that was in the garden where we were fighting and the doctors couldn’t save him. There were enough witnesses on hand to tell the police what happened and that I didn’t kill him but the man was still dead. Then as I understand it, when Katine heard of her husband’s death because of a fight he started with me, she blamed me and went crazy. She then got into a fight with another woman in prison. She killed the other woman and a few days later, the other prisoners got her. She died behind bars.”
Rani shivered. “That would do it. No wonder, he hated me.”
Ivan shook his head. “But none of that was ever your fault.”
She shook her head. “I think he knew all along, I was never his child.” She looked down at the birthmark on her wrist. She rubbed it with her fingers. “I think he always knew I was your child. My mother might have been happy about that but he never was.”
Ivan sighed. “Da, he did know about the family birthmark. He would have known it as soon as you were born.” He shook his head and looked her over carefully. “You look a lot like your mother, do you know that?” he asked her softly.
“But I have your eyes and hair.”
“My friend,” Gregori urged Ivan. “We need more information about where we can find this animal and put him down for what he did to you and your family.”
“Da, we need to know more about this compound...” Ivan paused as the sounds of cycles came from outside.
Daniel turned his head and saw his family arrive. He turned back to Ivan and the others. “My family is here.”
Ivan glanced at his friends and nodded. “We will wait then.”
Rani looked up at him.
Daniel could read the fear in her eyes, she was still afraid to be alone with Ivan. He wanted to reassure her but as he opened his mouth to speak, the door opened and a number of huge men in biker cuts walked in.
Rani’s eyes widened and she shrank against Daniel.
Daniel looked down at her and whispered, “Hush now sweet girl, you are safe here.”
“Do you promise?” she whispered back as she watched the men settle in the room.
Tate came over and sat down next to Daniel and Rani. He studied her for a moment then turned to acknowledge the other men sitting there. “Gentlemen.” He held out his hand to Ivan and after he shook hands with all three, he looked at Daniel. “Well, did you figure things out here?”
Daniel nodded. “Rani is Ivan’s daughter.”
Tate smiled and looked over at Rani. “That’s your name? Rani? It’s a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” He held out his hand to her. “I’m Tate Young, Daniel’s father. It’s a pleasure to meet you, my dear.”
Rani shook his hand then looked around the room at the other men.
Tate chuckled and introduced them, “These are Daniel’s brothers. Creed, Harry, Jack along with his soon to be brother in law Bear, and his brother in the MC, Bullet. There are other brothers outside, watching over everything.”
“You in trouble here, little brother?” Creed asked as he looked around at the Russian men in the room.
Daniel shook his head. “No I’m not, but she might be.” He nodded at Rani. “I found her last night in a fight with someone from her quote Dad’s compound, unquote. Only problem is he was never her dad, Ivan here is her father and he never knew she existed. We were just about to uncover where this compound is and try to get her mother out of there. Her mother is Ivan’s legal wife and she was kidnapped away from his home in Russia over twenty years ago.”
His brothers all stared at him.
Chapter Seven
“Well damn brother, what a mess,” Creed swore.
“My daughter is not a mess.” Ivan growled.
Creed who might just be the largest man in the room, turned his head, and looked over Ivan, as his brows furrowed and he showed no fear at all. “I didn’t say she was. I said this situation is a mess. Please don’t put words in my mouth.” He turned back to Daniel. “What’s the plan then?”
“We were just discussing that when you guys arrived.”
Ivan glared angrily as he spoke, “I want to go in and crush Begian. I want to see him lying in the dirt with his blood on the ground.”
“I don’t blame you,” Tate admitted. “My woman was stolen from me for eight years. In fact, she had been pronounced dead. I grieved for her. Then we found her alive after all that time. So I know a little about what you’re going through.”
“Then you know what I’m feeling right now.” Ivan growled.
Tate nodded. “But I also know you have to set those feelings aside, if you hope to win this battle.”
“How can you expect him to ignore this?” Gregori asked.
Tate held up his hand. “I said no such thing.”
“What did you say then?” Pyotr asked inquisitively.
“If you want this to succeed, you have to set aside the emotions you are feeling. Look at this with cold eyes. Make your move but you need to view this like this man you seek to destroy means nothing to you. You can’t let your hatred of him sneak in or you will become worse than he ever was.”
Ivan seemed to ponder this and then he agreed, “Da, I see your point. It sounds smarter.” He paused then stared at him. “What do you suggest we do then?”
Tate leaned forward and spoke in a cold voice, “You get inside his head and use everything he’s ever done against him. You learn his habits and his routine to find a way to drive him crazy. You show the people he’s got on his side to turn their backs on him.”
“But at what cost?” Rani cried out. “My mother is at his mercy and he won’t hesitate to kill her!”
Tate turned his head and saw her anguish. “Honey, you have to believe in your mom. She’s so much stronger than you even know. She’s had to be to survive this long. She was strong enough to get you away from harm. So you have to believe she’s strong enough to have her own plan in place to keep her safe until help gets there.”
Rani studied him for a moment then nodded. “You’re right. She would have a plan in mind.” Tears rolled down her face. “All these years, she’s always known what to do and she step
ped in front of me on more than one occasion to stop him from hurting me.”
Ivan hung his head when he heard her words. As though it saddened him to hear of the plight, she’d endured. Taking a deep breath, he raised his head to stare at his daughter. “Tell us everything you can about the compound he kept you at.”
Rani stared at the man that was her true father. “Ok. Where do I begin? What do you want to know?”
Harry came over and sat down at the table. He gave Rani a warm smile. “I’m Harry, Daniel’s brother. If you tell me where to look, I might be able to find the place on satellite. That way, we can see the situation ourselves.”
Rani gazed up at Daniel and at his nod, she looked back at Harry. “The place is just over the border from Del Rio. The men go there once a week to get supplies.”
Everyone watched as Harry began typing in codes and such that would bring up the said area. The satellite pictures began to come in and slowly, they could see the compound appear on the screen in front of them.
Rani stared the screen came as it came into focus. Her eyes rounded as her breathing began to speed up and sweat popped out on her forehead.
“My dear, are you going to be able to do this?” Ivan asked her softly. He could see how upset she was getting from simply looking at the image.
Rani glanced over at him and nodded. “I think so. It’s just that place holds so many bad memories for me.”
“Then think of your mom.” Daniel wrapped his arms around her. “Think of it this way, you’re doing your part in breaking her free of that monster. She risked her life to get you away from him, now you have to do what you can to get her away from him.” He paused then added, “We all know that this is going to be hard for you, but it needs to be done. Begian has to be stopped once and for all. He needs to face justice for what he’s done.”
Rani hugged him and nodded. “That, I can do.” She turned to Ivan and lifting her chin, she told him, “I can do this...no, I will do this.”
Ivan nodded at her but he looked proud at her courage.
Harry hit the print key and printed off the photo of the compound. Then he put it in front of Rani and handed her a pen.
She bent over the photo and began marking all the buildings within the fence line that surrounded the compound. She pointed out the common hall where everyone ate their meals, the building they used for schooling and religious meetings.
Ivan snorted at that one. “Begian had never been one to attend church services with the family.”
Rani shook her head. “I’ve been to these church services and they do not have anything to do with the bible. They are more like a meeting to remind everyone that Begian brought us together for a reason and he offers us safety, so his word must be obeyed. More and more over the years, he was laying down rules that would make him and his whims their laws and anyone breaking those rules would be punished severely.”
“How would he punish someone?” Gregori asked.
Rani shook her head then looked down at the photo. Her eyes welled with tears, tears she fought from letting them fall. Then she found what she was looking for. She pointed it out. “This was our house. Behind each house is a building such as this. It is a small metal building with only one door and a small opening to allow air in. Anyone who is being punished is put into one of these huts. The days are very hot down there and often very cool at night. The longest a person can last in one of these huts is three days. He will not give you any food or water when you are being punished, so you feel the fullness of the wrath. Most people only get a day but there have been times when my mother got the three days.”
The room went silent for a long moment.
Ivan looked like he wanted to kill, as he got to his feet very stiffly, then turned and walked outside to the porch.
Rani laid her head against Daniel’s chest for a moment then she too, got up and joined Ivan on the porch.
At first, she didn’t know what to say to him.
Then she just said it, “You know the night my mother got me out of the compound, she finally told me something she’d held secret for my whole life,” she spoke softly. “She told me your name. She begged me to find you and to tell you she’d loved you for all her days. She knew then by her act that Begian would likely kill her finally and her last act on this earth was to tell me to tell you that she still loved you.”
Ivan stiffened his back but he couldn’t turn around and look at his daughter.
Rani wet her lips and continued, “She told me she overheard one of the men report to Begian that you were living here in Texas and that you were in Wichita Falls. She begged me to find you and give you her message, as she couldn’t. I don’t know if she’s dead or alive. My heart...” She pounded on her chest. “My heart tells me she could be alive somehow, some way. But my head tells me he would never let her live. I want to believe that she’s hanging onto to the hope she’ll see you again. She kept you in her heart all these years. Begian knew it but so did I. I knew she had a secret she could never tell me. Then she begged me to find you and to give you her message. I didn’t know how to react. I didn’t know who you were. When I left the compound that night, I thought I hated you for letting us live that way. A man she loved like that. Where were you? I thought my mother was a fool for believing in you all these years but then... I don’t know you did I? I don’t know the kind of man you really are even now. All I can hope is that you are the kind of man my mother would believe in.” With that, she turned and walked back into the house, leaving Ivan standing there.
Finally, he turned around and walked back into the kitchen. He looked his daughter in the eyes as he swiped at the tears that she could see there on his face. “I am the man your mother believed in all these years. I have never stopped looking for her, even after all this time. My heart still beats for her and her alone. If she’s still alive, I will find her and bring her back with me.” Then Ivan stared at the monitor, “Now, daughter of mine... show us the way in.”
Chapter Eight
Over the next few hours, Rani told them everything she could remember about the compound and the daily routine of the men and women who lived there. The one thing that stuck out was the fact that most of the men left the compound for a few hours one day a week to do business with the people in Del Rio.
“And the man who attacked you twice?’ Ivan growled. “Do you know who he is?”
Rani shook her head. “I’d seen him of course in the compound, but I never knew his name. Begian never let us know the others. All my mother would tell me about the man was that he liked to abuse women and that Begian was only doing this to get back at her.”
Ivan frowned. “Why would he want to get back at her?”
“Begian likes to lord over her, how much power he has within the compound. He likes to tell her he can have any of the women inside if he wanted to. He often told her she wasn’t his only choice there. My mother told him once that if he went to another woman she prayed he wouldn’t come back to her, that if he wanted another woman she would welcome that. She told him to find another woman and leave her alone. She hated his touch, always had and she always would. You see, he could never have her heart and it made him insane. This was his way of getting her back for her words. He knew it and so did she. I was the only way he could really hurt her and they both knew it.”
“YA khochu ubit' etogo ublyudki...I really will kill this bastard,” Ivan vowed.
Tate leaned back in his chair and told him, “Then you will become as bad as he is.”
“What do you mean?” Ivan growled.
Tate shrugged. “A man like Begian is easy to kill. I wouldn’t doubt he is waiting for you to finally catch him. He knows he is dead when you do. So why give him what he wants?”
“What are you suggesting?” Gregori asked.
“Don’t give him what he wants. Instead, show the world the kind of man he really is,” Tate went on. “Don’t let him become a martyr, instead show the world what an evil bastard he really i
s. Give him no place to hide the monster he has living inside him and then show the world what a desperate loser he really is. Humiliate the hell out of him and show the people he lives with just what a coward he really is.” Tate snorted. “That will cut him deeper than any bullet ever could. He thrives because he knows as soon as you get there, he’ll die by your hand. But you need to be smarter than that. You need to show the men who will fight his battles that he just isn’t worthy of them shedding their blood for him.”
Rani nodded. “He’s got a point. Begian thinks every man behind his walls will put his life on the line for him. If you show them what kind of man he really is, those men won’t do that. They will turn their backs on him and that will drive him crazy. He might even shoot them himself for betraying him. They’re the ones who take all he chances with selling the dope, never him. In fact, one of them did get caught and Begian told the others they had to be better than him. They couldn’t afford to get caught and bring the police to their front door. The man went to jail for five years and Begian let one of the others claim his wife. She didn’t want to be claimed by another man but that didn’t matter to them. Another man claimed her and then he slowly beat her to death. When the guy finally got out, Begian didn’t allow him back inside, so he wanted his wife to come out but was told she wasn’t his wife anymore and that she’d had an accident and had died two years earlier. The poor man never knew the truth.”
Ivan just stared at her for a moment. Then he looked at his friends. “We will wait until the men leave the compound on Friday morning, then we will strike.” He stared at the screen of the monitor and could see the shadows of the people walking around the compounds. He looked at Harry and asked, “Can you tell if there is anyone in the hut behind his house?”