by KJ Dahlen
Nikoli reached out and grabbed her wrists. “Get yourself together woman.” He seethed at her.
Then suddenly, the semi hysterical woman took a deep breath and settled herself.
He watched as she shuddered and then calmed down. He leaned toward her. “Now listen very carefully. What did this man look like? I need you to really think.”
Bella closed her eyes then thought for a moment. “I think he was as tall as you, maybe not as wide or as muscled but just as big. His hair is grey, cut very short but I think at one time his hair was dark. He has scars all over his face and arms. One very nasty scar, it starts by his left ear and it cuts across is face ending at his right jaw. I don’t know what happened to him but it must have been really bad.”
Nikoli’s heart sank. With each word, she spoke, he knew in his heart who the man was that had taken his daughter. “How did he know about Malina?”
Bella shook her head. “I don’t know. He never said anything but the more he stared at her the more enraged he became.”
“Why?” Kirill asked in the silence that followed her statement.
“She looks just like her father,” she whispered. Digging in her purse, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her photos. Then she tapped one and brought it up, she then turned the photo toward Nikoli.
Nikoli glanced at the photo and his heart stopped. The small girl did look just like him. She had his dark hair, silver eyes and his jaw and nose too. But she had her mother’s eyes. He reached for the phone and studied her likeness, then he handed the phone to Kirill.
Kirill looked at the photo and sent it to his own phone then handed the phone back to Bella.
Nikoli got to his feet and stalked over to the windows. Staring out over the city, he was quiet for a moment then he turned to Kirill. “His name could be Danton Valeril. The Bratva has been looking for him for thirty years. You need to call Felix and warn him to let Sergi know.”
“Let Sergi know what?” Kirill asked.
“Let Sergi know Misha’s attacker is here in the United States,” Nikoli told him quietly.
“This is man that dared to think he could kill Misha and get away with it?” Kirill growled.
Nikoli nodded. “It was a different time and place back then. Nobody knew much about Misha back then, who or what he was.” Shaking his head he went on, “Sergi didn’t want to put his son out there for his enemies to come after. Misha had to do things his own way as well. He was and is just as stubborn as his father is.” He began rubbing his forehead as if to rid himself of a headache. “The night he was attacked, I was barely a kid myself. I was all of seventeen. I heard the fight. Danton was looking for a way to get into the Bratva and he thought the fastest way was to tell people he overheard a plot against Sergi and to kill a man he would then claim was going to attack in hopes of killing the leader. What neither of us knew was the man Danton picked out to murder was Sergi’s own son.”
Chapter Two
“How do you all this?” Kirill asked.
“Danton and I were friends, we grew up together,” Nikoli admitted ruefully. “When he attacked Misha, Misha fought back but Danton was better with a blade. We both grew up on the streets and had to fight every day. Misha didn’t have our street sense but he did have the will to live, he fought well. I didn’t know who he was either but what Danton was doing was just wrong. I couldn’t allow him to kill an innocent man. I stepped between them and took Danton me on. In the end, we were both wounded but Danton was bleeding bad. He finally ran away from me and I got Misha help. Then Sergi heard about the attack and came to kill me. Misha told his father what I’d done to protect him and Sergi demanded the other man’s name.” Nikoli kept shaking his head. “If you know Sergi, you do not want to lie to him. I had no choice but to tell him the truth. He plastered Danton’s name all over the place. He had every man looking for him and he knew he had to leave his homeland.”
Kirill remained still as he took in the story. He never knew this. It explained many things however.
“Now he’s like a ghost from my past.” Nikoli turned back to the window and searched the streets below him. “I haven’t thought about Danton in years.”
Bella hung her head. “He’s thought about you and he’s hated you every day since that day you stopped him.”
“You seem to know a lot about it,” Kirill stated.
“When he showed up at my home, he held us hostage for hours. Malina and I were afraid but he didn’t hurt us then. He told us what he wanted me to do. When I asked why he hated you so much, he held out his arms and showed me his scars. He told me you betrayed him, you made him run for his life. He had to live for thirty years hiding who he was and now that he found you, he was going to take his life back.”
“Then what did he do?” Kirill asked.
“He told me where to go and what to do. If I got Nikoli at the café today at noon and if he was alone with no protection, I would get my daughter back, but he told me if I fucked up, my daughter would pay for my betrayal. Then while one of his men held me down he snatched my daughter out of my arms and dragged her away with him.”
“Did he mention how he found you?” Nikoli questioned.
Bella visibly trembled. “He told me he’d been watching the little girls in the schoolyard when he first saw Malina. I couldn’t understand what he was saying at first, I mean why would he be looking at little girls then I realized what he was saying. He admitted to me that he sold little girls and that mine would make a good amount of money for him, but he also said he had to kill you first. He instantly knew she was yours, Nikoli. He would kill you and then sell her to someone he knew would take care of her for maybe three days then she would join you in death. He also told me I would never be able to prove a thing against him. He said he would let me live knowing what I did.” Bella laid her head against the cushions of the couch. Staring at the ceiling she told them, “My baby girl is my life. I knew I couldn’t come to you when I found out I was carrying her. I didn’t know if you would care or not but I loved her enough for both of us.” Tears tracked down her face and dripped off her chin. Shaking her head, she admitted, “Even though I know I’ll never see her again, I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t set you up to be killed.”
Nikoli came over to where she was sitting and knelt in front of her. Grabbing her hands, he forced her to look at him. “Let me try to get her back. I can find Danton.”
Bella shook her head. “He said if I betrayed him, he would kill her himself. Rip her heart out of her chest while she was still breathing.” She leaned forward and buried her face in her hands. “Why couldn’t he just let her be? Why did he have to know who she was? I couldn’t protect her. I tried I really did.”
“Bella, listen to me.” Nikoli growled, as he got right up in her face. “I will find the bastard and I will get our daughter back, do you hear me?”
Bella gazed at him. Reaching out, she cupped his jaw. “I may have only had one night with you but I loved a lifetime in those few hours we had together. You never knew that did you? You might have just used my body for release but I loved you. I’d been watching you from afar for so long and then you chose me. I wouldn’t have changed a thing about that night.”
Nikoli closed his eyes. “Then I crushed your heart the next morning, didn’t I?”
Bella smiled faintly. “Yeah, you did. I cried for three days before I got up and dusted my ass off again. I never knew that kind of pain before. Then I found out I was carrying your child and suddenly my heart was full again. This hurts ten times more than what I felt that morning. This pain is overwhelming. I almost can’t bear it.”
“You hang in there.” Nikoli leaned forward and kissed her forehead.
“I don’t know if I can. If I lose her, my life is over.”
“We won’t stop looking until we do find her,” Kirill vowed. “We’ll put this dog down and find your little girl.”
Bella gave him a slight smile. “I hope you can. I hope it’s not all for n
othing and that I just didn’t get her killed.” She looked over at Nikoli. “I came here tonight to set up your death and I hope you can forgive me for that. As much as I love our daughter, I just couldn’t set you up to die. I’m weak! I am so dammed weak!”
Nikoli sighed. “Woman, you are so wrong. This is courage, strength. You aren’t a killer.”
She wept silently.
Nikoli looked over at Kirill. “Get the word out on the street. Call Felix and get him to let Sergi know about this. I want Danton found and I want my daughter brought home to me.” He hesitated then added, “Call in Kosta. I want the both of you on this. We need to get this done quickly and quietly.”
Kirill nodded, as he understood now. “We can try and find his buyer first, then track that fucker down.”
Bella shivered at his words and Nikoli glared at Kirill.
Kirill didn’t say a word instead, he left the penthouse leaving his other two men behind to protect Nikoli. On his way to the elevator, he made his first call to Kosta. Then he called his other brother, Felix in Moscow.
By the time he made it down to the security room, Kirill had men out on the streets hunting down information.
Just as dawn broke, Kosta was walking through the doors and Felix was on his way across the sea, along with Sergi and Misha and an entire Bratva army. If Nikoli didn’t find him first, Sergi would let loose his own men to hunt the man down. These were not nice men, these were hunters. They were the best of the best and Danton Valeril would not survive very long when they found him.
Danton looked over at the small girl handcuffed to the bed. He had to smile at her defiance. She was more her father’s daughter than she knew. Than even Nikoli knew. “If her father knew about her.” He chuckled to himself.
Danton leaned back and stared at the little girl. The moment he saw her on the playground, he knew who she was. He stopped and caught his breath when he spotted her. Memories he thought he’d forgotten flooded back into his mind. Memories he thought better of once he had them. Now all he wanted was revenge. Revenge against the one man who stood between him and what his goal had been back then.
He wanted an in into the Bratva. He thought he was set. All he had to do was kill a man and lie to get in, then the world would be his oyster. He could do what he wanted and still be protected. Then it all went away, thanks to Nikoli.
It was days later when he found out the man he was all set to kill and lie his way into the Bratva was Sergi’s only son. In a way, Nikoli had saved his life but he hadn’t seen it that way. All Danton could see was the fact his friend had betrayed him.
Danton barely made it out of Russia. With no money and everyone looking for him, he lied and cheated his way across Europe and then across the sea to America. He lived in filth and did unimaginable things to get by but he finally got the connections he needed to start making good money. His cuts healed but left scars that never healed.
Her knew the girl’s mother was worried about her kid. Danton had to smile. It had been so easy to find her. She even looked like Nikoli’s type. His true test would be at noon today. Another thirty minutes or so. Even if Nikoli showed up he knew he’d never give the girl back. While he didn’t want her himself, he knew she’d bring in a good price. He did have friends in very low places. He might have to run again and start over but that wouldn’t be the first time he’d done that. The girl would bring him startup money.
He already had his to go bag packed. He had a network and safe houses set up from New York to California. His crew would be left behind but that wouldn’t be his fault. The only member of his crew he even trusted even a little bit was Ramon. Ramon he trusted like a brother. Roman would watch his back. No one but him knew where his safe houses were. He knew if Nikoli got his hands on his crew, they wouldn’t live long and he wasn’t worried about that. He could always get another crew. At least, his crew wouldn’t be able to tell anyone where he was going.
He got up and went over to the window. Looking out, he saw the poor neighborhood this house was in. He was sick to death of living like this. He should be living in a nice house with a nice yard and maybe a pool. He should have a nice car, maybe even three by now. One of those nice cars should be a red 1967 Mustang. That had been his dream until the night Nikoli betrayed him.
Now, he had nothing. Whatever money he did get was out the door faster than it came in sometimes. He had dealers to pay, his crew to pay and this house to pay for. It wasn’t much but he felt safe here. Or he had until lately. He looked around the house. He had a feeling someone had been coming in here and stealing from him. He didn’t know who it was but he intended to find out, then he would beat the ever-loving shit out of him. He needed an example set.
He wasn’t worried about being sold out. He knew he wasn’t big enough for anyone to come after him. At least no one... until now. Danton wondered if he should just kill the girl and leave for a while. Then after a time, he could return and take out Nikoli at a later date.
No one here even knew his real name, he grinned. Here in the bowels of the biggest city in America, no one even cared about the name you were born with. But Danton did. He might not have mattered anywhere else but he always dreamed of being somebody. He knew he would join the Bratva and be somebody big within the organization.
He just couldn’t wait, he couldn’t put in the time he needed to, to rise within the brotherhood. His own ambition got him fired up to do the wrong thing, to trust the wrong person and that person betrayed him when he needed to back him up.
But hell, that was thirty years ago. He was still living like a rat on a sinking ship, while all the time Nikoli was living like a king. Nikoli was living the life he should have been living.
Then he looked out the window again and saw Ramon staring back at the house. He watched as Roman slowly approached the house and knocked on the door.
Danton opened it and stared at his man. “What?”
Ramon’s eyes flickered all over the apartment finally landing on the little girl sitting on the messy bed. “Just came to warn you man, there’s people moving in the neighborhood. Lot’s of people.”
Danton frowned, quickly glancing over his shoulder at the girl. Looking back to Ramon, he asked, “Oh yeah, what kind of people?”
Ramon didn’t say the words, instead he tapped Danton’s arm. Danton looked down at the place Ramon had tapped. He wore a tattoo right there. It was the star of Russia. The tat had been his one concession when he first arrived in this country. He thought it would be enough to deter the bums and hobos he’d read about. If they thought he was Russia, they wouldn’t bother him so much.
Now Danton sneered at the thought. “So Nikoli couldn’t face me on his own huh? Da, he had to call in the boys to find little ole me? That fucking coward.”
Ramon shook his head. “I don’t think you understand man. Since dawn broke, they’ve been hunting you down. In just a few hours they have raided every establishment you have a part in and systematically ripped it apart. They made it very clear man... that to do business with you would be their own deaths. They even took on a few of the people you do business with. They took down the Mendosa brothers in their own place of business. They left a blood bath. But it left a message they wanted. You have become a person non-gratis around this town.”
“Damn, how did they find me so fast?” Danton growled. “That stupid little bitch.” He turned and advanced on the girl. “Your mother just fucked you over girl.” He leaned in the girl’s face, “I guess she doesn’t love you after all. She knows I’ll kill you if I can’t kill your daddy.”
Malina shivered and her eyes were haunted as she stared back at the man who threatened her whole world. “I don’t have a daddy mister. I told you that already.”
Danton reached out and grabbed her face. The brute force of his fingers squeezing her cheeks made Malina scream in pain. He sneered at her. “Everyone has a daddy little girl, you might not like him or even know him but everyone has a daddy. Your daddy betrayed me a life time
ago in another country. He cheated me out of my rightful place and now I will kill you for what he did to me. He might now know of you but he will never get to meet you in person.”
Ramon leaned against the door frame and suggested, “Maybe you want to keep the little chica alive for now.”
Danton snapped his head over to view Ramon. “And just why would I want to do that? She means nothing to me and even less to her father.”
Ramon shook his head then shrugged, “All I’m saying man is that as long as you keep her with you, you have a bargaining chip. You spill her blood and you have nothing left.”
Danton eye’s narrowed. Looking over his right-hand man he asked, “How the hell did you escape injury?”
Roman lifted his shirt.
Danton saw a bloody bandage.
“What makes you think I did?”
Chapter Three
Kosta watched as the private plane made its way around the landing strip to the terminal and parked at the off-loading area of the airport. He’d been in New York since early this morning at Nikoli’s request. When he got the call from his brother late last night, he got the first plane out of Louisiana he could get. Yuri and the others wanted to join him but they would follow later in the day.
Kosta had been filled in with the situation as his brother drove him into the city from the airport. The fact that Nikoli had a daughter didn’t surprise him. Shaking his head, he didn’t say anything. The men he worked for were a randy bunch but they seemed to be happy with their women.
When he and his brother had been chosen to travel with the team to America he’d been proud. These were good men and he and Kirill were honored to be chosen. They left their older brother Felix behind to remain with Sergi as the Gennadi men were protectors.
Nikoli had kept Kirill but sent Kosta with the brothers and he couldn’t have been happier. Kosta had become more than just a guard on Yuri’s team, he had become a friend and that alone meant the world to Kosta.