“Enough, enough, I’m fine,” she said softly. Anya kept staring at Callahan, her eyes wide in a cross between disbelief and exhilaration. I could understand her reaction. Garrett Callahan definitely made a powerful first impression. He towered over Anya; big fists clenched in apparent anger at Anya’s injuries. He wasn’t classically handsome, his features were too brutish for that, but he carried an aura of danger and magnetism that made him attractive.
Callahan returned his focus back to Anya, his eyes intense and stormy as he stared at her. Her cheeks started to turn pink as she returned his heated gaze.
“We need to talk,” he said, a frown forming over his eyes.
Anya appeared to have become mute. She only nodded her head.
“Where’s your room?” he asked impatiently, wrapping a strong hand around her forearm and pulling her toward the hall.
“The door on the left,” Anya murmured. It was strange to see her act so compliant in the face of Callahan’s dominant personality. She normally became quite prickly when someone tried to boss her around unless it was Drago, who was literally her boss.
“Katya, would you like to explain what the fuck you’re doing up here without any protection?” Drago asked, his words threaded with quiet rage. I had my face buried in his hard chest, seeking to avoid this conversation for as long as possible. He thrust his hands in the back of my hair and pulled my head back. “Answer me,” he demanded harshly.
“I’m so sorry,” I rushed out. “Honestly, Drago, Anya texted and asked me to come here. She’d told me when I moved out that she’d miss me, and I knew she was upset about this whole business with Callahan and she said there was something going on with the phones,” I rambled. “I—I never thought…” I trailed off, another wave of emotion bearing down on me.
Drago grabbed my chin in his palm, gripping the sides of my jaw. “Katya, listen to me. If I have to tie you to a fucking bed and keep an armored guard outside our bedroom door until Yuri is dead, I’ll do it. You never go anywhere without someone with you, do you understand?”
I knew why he was angry, but that didn’t make it any easier to meet his irate silver gaze. My throat felt tight with remorse and shame, so I simply nodded. He gave me a hard look then pulled me back into a crushing embrace. I breathed in his clean scent, my muscles finally starting to relax.
Drago used the fist knotted in my hair to pull my head back again. “I’ve got to sort out the guys here, then take this fuck down to the warehouse to get information out of him,” Drago growled, his chin jerking the man that was being roughly yanked off the floor and dragged out the door by both Callahan’s and Drago’s men. Another group of men grabbed the dead body and removed that as well. I was getting a rough introduction into mob life.
I nodded my head, the conflicting emotions of revulsion and heat swirled through me as I remember the last time we were at the warehouse. I knew what was going to happen to that man, and I guarantee it was going to be a lot worse than what he did to the Italians.
He pinned me with his hard gaze. “You go home, and you stay the fuck there, Katya. When I get home, we’re going to have a long, overdue discussion about the importance of obedience and following orders.”
“When will you be home?” I asked because, though I’d be protected, I was still anxious to be alone after all this. However, hearing I was going to get a lecture, I was suddenly less keen on his company.
“I’m not sure you want me home with you tonight since I’m as likely to punish you right now as I am to fuck you.”
I gasped. “Punish me? How?”
His icy grey eyes flared with heat as he reached down and grabbed one rounded buttock, giving it a tight squeeze. “You’ll find out soon enough. Not telling you is part of the punishment, kotyonok.”
I was shocked to feel arousal warring with anxiety as I considered his type of punishment. I didn’t have long to ponder, as another swarm of Drago’s other men, including a very pissed off looking Boris and Will stormed into the room.
“What the fuck, Katya?” Will gritted out, his dark eyebrows lowered so heavily they almost obscured his glowering eyes.
“Watch it,” Drago growled.
Will blew out an annoyed breath. “Well?”
I stood in front of Will and Boris—Boris appearing significantly more aggravated than Will— genuine tears of regret filling my eyes. “I’m sorry, really. It was a total fluke. I didn’t send you guys off so I could sneak away. Anya randomly texted after you left, and I figured I’d be safe with her. I’m serious. I didn’t do this to try and trick you, I swear,” I blubbered.
I gave them an imploring look along with my heartfelt apology, begging them to understand. The three of us had a strange relationship, not exactly friends, but forced into each other’s company for long periods of time over the last couple of years. I didn’t want them thinking I’d manipulated them.
They both grunted in annoyance, but their expressions changed from glowering storm clouds to irritated resignation. Apparently, they had thought I had tricked them, but now that they knew I was just careless and impulsive, they were less angry.
However, Drago didn’t look any less angry. “Will, you know your first priority is Katya’s protection. Where the fuck were you guys?” Drago barked out.
Will rubbed the back of his neck, as his face flushed. “We were picking some shit up for the condo for Katya. We didn’t want her to leave because it wasn’t safe,” he said sharply, giving me a pointed look. Message received. “She assured us she wasn’t going anywhere. So, we figured we’d run out for an hour and pick up her orders.” Will shot me another hard look and said, “And even if she did leave, we figured she would just grab another guy to go with her.”
Shit, I hadn’t thought of that. I could have just brought someone else up here with me.
Drago’s expression didn’t change. “You were shopping?” His voice was so deadpan and devoid of inflection, I wasn’t sure how to interpret it. Before a very uncomfortable-looking Will and Boris could reply, he continued. “We’ll talk about his later,” he said dismissively, but they didn’t look particularly comforted. They were probably going to get chewed out, or worse.
The two men stalked off, and I turned to Drago. “Please don’t punish them. It wasn’t their fault. They had no way of knowing that I’d leave, that Orlov would text me pretending to be Anya, that I was walking into a trap,” I babbled, crushed by waves of guilt and remorse.
Drago turned his icy grey eyes to mine and cradled my face in his hands. “That is their fucking job, Katya—to assume. To assume that all those dangers could be happening around you and to protect you from them. They fucking failed.”
“But—”
Drago placed a finger over my mouth to silence me. I would have balked at such a high-handed action if Drago’s expression wasn’t so stark with anger and intensity. “Katya, you could have been taken from me. You could have been hurt in ways you cannot even imagine, ways you’d never recover from—I’d never recover from. I need everyone in this fucking organization to understand that that is not an option; it can’t be considered even a possibility. You are to be protected at all times, to the fullest extent possible, even if you’re the one sabotaging their efforts.” I winced at that reminder. “They will learn soon enough. If people need to bleed, I will make them bleed. If people need to die, I will make sure they’re dead. Nobody touches you. Nobody takes you. Nobody even fucking tries without learning the consequences.”
His finger was still on my lips, but it didn’t matter. I was speechless in the face of his passionate and somewhat terrifying monologue. I should probably mention that Yuri had been on his way here, but considering how irate Drago already was, I wasn’t looking to inflame him further.
“Will and Boris will learn. And that fuck out there is going to pay in blood and pain,” he said, nodding his head in the direction Orlov’s henchman had been dragged out.
Drago pinned me under his molten silver stare. “Now, in
stead of worrying about what I’m going to do to Will or Boris, you should be worried about what I’m going to do with you.”
Chapter 29
Drago
My breathing slowly returned to normal as I shepherded Katya into the passenger side of a waiting car. I was having one of my men drive her home and another two following. I wasn’t taking any fucking chances after what just happened.
Adrenaline was still pumping through my system at how close I’d come to losing her. I had a feeling Orlov’s man was about to take the brunt of it. Not that some of it wouldn’t be saved for Will and Boris.
What the fuck were they thinking leaving her alone? My hand clenched in a fist whenever I thought about Katya vulnerable and unprotected. I knew that she had convinced them that she would stay in the apartment, and I will admit, it was nearly impossible to refuse her anything, but they should have set up a back-up detail on her. They’re lucky I would have Orlov’s man to pound on before I got to them.
I was also going to have to have a serious conversation with Katya about her impulsiveness and the consequences of acting without thinking. She needed to understand that her recklessness made me fucking crazy, that it was utterly unacceptable. She’d learn. I felt heat skate to my groin as I thought of all the ways to teach her a lesson about patience. I had a feeling those handcuffs were going to come into regular play in our bedroom.
I opened the passenger door for Katya, but she paused. “Are you sure I shouldn’t wait to check on Anya?” she asked, darting a quick look back to the apartment.
From some of the sounds I heard coming from Anya’s bedroom, I knew Callahan would not appreciate Katya’s concern. “I think Anya is in good hands. If you want, I can have a guard drop her off later to hang out with you.”
Katya's beautiful green eyes brightened. “Oh, yes, thank you.”
Her grateful reaction reminded me of how frustrating it must be to feel confined to the apartment. A feeling that was probably only compounded by the fact that she was nearly abducted after setting foot outside of it for only thirty minutes. I had learned my lesson. I’d rather bring people to her than to worry about her leaving the condo. “No problem, kotyonok. I’ll contact Nikolai to see if he is willing to let Hannah come by and spend time with you as well.”
Katya raised a red-gold brow. “Drago, Nikolai isn’t Hannah’s keeper. She can come over if she wants. She doesn’t need his permission.”
Was she serious? I smirked at her naiveté. “I don’t have the time to tell you how wrong you are, kitty, but do you honestly think Nikolai would allow Hannah to come here if he thought she was in the slightest bit of danger, even if she wanted to come?”
Katya sighed and shook her head. “No, you’re right. He’s a caveman when it comes to her.”
I shook my head. “Do you think I am going to be any different with you? I guarantee I’ll be worse than Nikolai.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed me speculatively. “I can’t say that surprises me, given your line of work, but you know what? I think you like it. I think you like that our circumstances require you to exert so much control over me. I think you’d do that even if you weren’t in the Bratva.”
I gave her a half-smile and gripped her chin. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I like to have complete control over anything that belongs to me, and you are, by far, my most prized possession. If you think I’d take chances with your well-being, whether I was the leader of the Bratva or a cab driver, you’re deeply mistaken,” I said, landing a soft kiss on her mouth.
She was right—I needed to always know where she was, what she was doing, who she was with at all times. I couldn’t relax if I didn’t have that information. She probably had no idea just how closely I’d monitored her over the last couple of years. Well, she figured out about the cameras, so maybe she had some idea.
Heat flooding her cheeks and little pink tongue reached to swipe at her lips. “Oh, well, in that case, I guess I could stand to have you around me all the time,” she said in a somewhat teasing tone as she stepped closer, her hands rising to slide up my back under my jacket.
“You looking to work off the stress of your recent misadventure, Katya?” I asked in a husky voice, sliding my one hands down to her ass. I took my other hand and pulled aside the high neck of her turtleneck. I stared at the bite mark I gave her last night then rubbed my thumb against it roughly, reminding her of how we dealt with her excess adrenaline yesterday.
She sucked in a deep breath, her eyelids lowering as she pulled me closer to her. I slammed my mouth on hers, unable to resist. I pressed her against the side of the car, wanting to imprint myself on her. My hands slid down and lifted her, pinning her to the car as my tongue dominated her mouth.
“Drago, I got a guy to drive—sorry,” Maxim apologized.
I jerked my head to see him awkwardly standing at the top of the stairs of Anya’s porch, another one of our guys behind him. I quickly put Katya back on her feet, annoyed at the interruption and my own lack of caution, but taking great enjoyment from seeing Katya’s cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. I gave her a hard kiss.
“Come, Maxim. We have to get her home anyway.” I turned to Katya and opened the car door, ushering her inside.
As I strapped her in, I turned to her. “Katya, you are to go home and stay fucking put. I will have men outside the door. Do you understand?” I asked sternly.
She nodded. “I promise I won’t go anywhere. Thank you for saving me, Drago,” she whispered. She leaned up, giving me a soft kiss on the mouth, her lips still slightly swollen from mine. I slid my hand around the back of her neck, deepening the kiss, stamping my ownership on her mouth. I planned to stamp it on every inch of her skin when I got home tonight.
Fuck. My dick was pounding with need, but this was not the time to indulge myself. I had some motherfuckers to take care of. Instead, I simply stared at her beautiful face and rubbed her cheek with my thumb. “You’re welcome, kotyonok.”
Chapter 30
Katya
Drago’s man, Karl—a guy I’d never met before who didn’t say a word as he drove me home— and another guy dropped me off at the apartment. They walked me to the door where we were greeted by another one of Drago’s men. They were now standing outside the door like sentries.
I walked over and collapsed face down on the couch. It felt like I’d left here days ago, but it had probably only been a couple of hours. I turned my head and found a pile of purchases dropped haphazardly on the floor. Will and Boris had either figured out I wasn’t home and just dumped everything, or they had gotten a notification that I was trapped with Orlov and dumped everything.
I pulled myself off the couch and trudged over to the packages, eager for the distraction. I felt constant waves of remorse for getting Will and Boris in trouble, and sorting through the packages I had implored them to pick up for me did little to quell those feelings. I also felt jumpy and freaked out being alone, even though a whole troop of Drago’s men were stationed outside the door.
I reached for my phone to text Hannah, praying she could come over. I needed to talk to someone. Having her come over and help me decorate the apartment would be a welcome distraction from the alternating feelings of guilt and anxiety.
Katya: Can you come over? I’ve got a lot to share.
Hannah: I just heard! Omg, Katya! I’m talking to Nikolai right now. He is giving me some pushback, but I think I can convince him to bring me over ;)
I smirked, imagining what she promised him in order to get his cooperation. I leaned back on the couch and tilted my head back against the cushion, taking a deep breath. Sometimes I couldn’t believe this was my life.
My phone chimed in my hand after about fifteen minutes.
Hannah: I got him to agree! I’m bringing Emmy with me, too. I hope that’s okay?
Katya: Of course! I love Emmy. What did you have to promise Nikolai for him to let you come over?
Hannah: *blushing emoticon*
&
nbsp; Katya: Lol. See you all soon. Thank you for coming.
Hannah: Of course, Katya. We love you.
I stared at Hannah’s message, stunned to feel tears stinging my eyes. Such a simple sentiment, but so powerful. It was moments like this that made me grateful for the life I had been lamenting only moments before.
I pulled myself off the couch and ran to the kitchen to make sure I had snacks for everyone. I was relieved to find veggies and hummus and some cheese and crackers. I guess Drago had someone stock up. If we got really hungry, I suppose we could order something.
I took a quick shower, eager to rinse away all the misery of the day and threw on a pair of jeans and another turtleneck.
I picked up my phone to tell Drago that Hannah was coming over. I figured keeping him notified of anything that happened in this apartment, no matter how insignificant, was a wise course of action.
Katya: Nikolai is bringing Hannah and Emmy over.
I was shocked when I saw bubbles instantly pop up on my phone. I figured he’d be doing terrifying mob shit right now.
Drago: I know. He already notified me. I’m glad they’re coming over. Anya will probably be there later. Callahan is meeting us here, so she’ll be free.
I chuckled, imagining how Anya was handling Callahan’s re-emergence in her life.
Katya: Sounds good.
Drago: I couldn’t help but noticed you forgot to mention that Yuri had been on his way to Anya’s fucking apartment this afternoon.
Shit. I knew that I forgot something.
Katya: Oh, did I forget to mention that to you?
Drago: Playing innocent won’t do you any good, kotoyonok.
Katya: What if I am innocent?
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