Nikolai

by Sandy Alvarez

  He laughs. "It's your wife or me. The choice is yours." The line goes dead, and I throw the phone against the wall.

  Rushing from the room, I say to my father, "Tell the men to search every container, and block all exits. Find Victor. He's the only man we have who knows explosives." Stepping outside, a dark figure steps away from a fifteen-foot container across the yard. Raising my arm, I look through the scope, trying to get a look to see if it's one of my men: the motherfucker himself, Novikoff. I put a bullet in his leg and watched him fall to his knees as I stride toward him. He reaches into his jacket, pulling a small pistol from his pocket, and aims it at me. I fire again. This time, I put a bullet through his forearm, causing him to drop the gun in his hand. My steps never falter.

  "You son of a bitch. You can kill me, but rest assured, my other son will avenge me." Novikoff spits at my feet.

  "You mean the one lying in a pool of his own blood after I drove a knife through his heart?" Fear strikes his face knowing his bloodline dies with him. I walk up behind him as he sits on his knees before me. Bending, I whisper in his ear, "You didn't think it would be that simple, did you?" I use his words against him before gripping his chin and the back of his head, snapping his neck.

  "Nikolai," I hear my name called out from the nearby container. Leah.

  Sprinting, I fumble with the hinges, before pulling the heavy metal doors open. On a chair inside sits my wife, her head rolling from side to side. I fall to my knees in front of her. Her face is swollen, and her lips split open. She's in bad shape. I suddenly remember the bomb. I have no time to assess her injuries. "I'm here," I press my lips to hers.

  "Nikolai?" she whimpers as I look beneath her chair, finding the device fixed to the seat with tape, and a small, red flashing light coming from it. Lifting my head, I make quick work of the restraints on her wrist then her ankles.

  "Wait," Victor's voice stops me from making another move. Kneeling, he looks beneath the seat. "It's not attached to any type of trigger device, so it's on a timer." He looks at me. "Get her out of here." He jerks his head.

  Lifting Leah in my arms, I cradle her against my chest and carry her away from danger. An SUV pulls up, and one of our men opens the back door. Not letting her go, I climb into the back seat with her in my arms. Looking over my shoulder, Victor closes the container doors and makes a run for it. The bomb detonates, rocking the container from side to side, but the thick steel keeps it contained.

  "Nikolai," Leah's palm finds my cheek, and I lean into her touch.

  "I've got you."

  Through the night, I watch Leah lay in my bed, sleeping. No bones were broken from the beating she endured, but bruises cover her face and most of her torso. The doctor gave her pain meds to help her rest and said within a few weeks, Leah would be able to resume normal activities and fly home. As for me, I suffered two fractured ribs during the ordeal.

  Leah whimpers, reaching to the empty spot beside her. "Nikolai?"

  Getting up from my chair beside the bed, I walk around, and slide in beside her, careful not to jostle her too much, as I ignore my own pain. "I'm right here, Malyshka." I take her hand.

  "Hold me," she mumbles, trying to tug me closer.

  "I don't want to hurt you."

  "I would feel better in your arms," she states, and I can't deny her what she wants. Leah slowly turns to her side, and I snuggle in behind her, resting my hand on her hip. I bury my face in the crook of her neck. Her body relaxes against me, and she begins to fall back to sleep. "Don't let go," she whispers.

  "Never."

  Epilogue

  Leah

  I knew Nikolai was worried about how I was going to take visiting my mother's grave for the first time, and if I'm honest, so was I. Knowing she is dead is one thing, but staring at the headstone with her name scrolled across it, is another. In a way, it makes it more real. I'm not sure why I waited so long to come here because it turns out, I don't feel anything but closure. The first couple of months after I was kidnapped, I felt nothing but anger. I was angry at her because had she put me first all those years ago, I would not have had to endure the years of abuse at the hands of that man, and she'd still be alive. I'm angry because she chose him over me. I was mad because she waited until it was too late to pick her daughter over the monster she'd married. I'll admit I felt guilty about it because that's what got her killed, but Nikolai quickly set me straight. He said she did what a parent was supposed to do. He's right. The guilt I was carrying around after I heard of her death, no longer eats me up inside. I spent my whole life longing for the kind of mother-daughter relationship the kids who grew up around me had. I longed for a real family until I met Alba and Sam, then later The Kings. First, Alba and Sam became my family, and soon after, The Kings adopted me as one of their own. It was they who showed me the true meaning of family. Then came Nikolai. My husband taught me the meaning of patience, true love, and loyalty. And one of the most important things he taught me was self-worth. He showed me I was somebody worth waiting for. After all, he waited a whole year before making me his. He now spends his days loving me and making sure I love myself. I've even become close to Demetri in recent months. Nikolai's father has shown me what it's like to have a dad. I genuinely feel like I'm a daughter to him and not just the woman who married his son. I no longer refer to James Winters as my father. Growing up, he was a monster, and now he is nothing more than an afterthought. He no longer controls my life or haunts my dreams.

  "You okay, Malyshka?" Nikolai keeps his arm planted firmly around my waist.

  I lean further in, drawing in his warmth. "Yeah, I'm good.

  He squeezes my hip. "You sure?"

  I nod. "I'm sure. I'm glad I came. It was time. I'm ready to leave the past where it belongs and move forward."

  I loved my mother. She wasn't perfect, and she, despite everything, loved me in her own way. I know this because, in the end, she proved it. In life, we must learn to accept and let go of the things we can't change. We also must learn when to let go of the anger caused by others. As long as you hold on to anger, the person who hurt you, keeps that hold, even in death. I spent months being angry, and today, I'm letting go. I have a beautiful future ahead of me—a future that has no room for the negative energy I've been battling. As I stand in front of my mom's grave, I can feel the last bit of it leaving my soul.

  "Are you ready to go?"

  I stare down at the headstone a second longer, silently saying my final goodbye, then turn to Nikolai. "Yeah. Let's go."

  As we make our way to the car, Nikolai asks, "What do you want to do today?"

  I smile. "Do you think the family would be up for a cookout?"

  Nikolai grins. "Hell, yes, since when are the boys not up for food and booze?"

  Two hours later, the sound of laughter fills mine and Nikolai's yard. After Nikolai put a call into Logan, the whole club and their women didn't waste time showing up.

  Sitting in Nikolai's lap on the back deck, I giggle at Quinn and Reid's banter. They are arguing over whose BBQ sauce is better. Logan shakes his head. "Some things never change."

  "Whose turn is it to win this time?" Bella asks.

  Alba once told me Quinn and Reid have the same argument over and over. Then everyone is forced to vote on whose BBQ is better. She says the guys take turns on picking a winner. She also says Quinn and Reid know the votes are done that way but still play along because it's standing tradition.

  "Quinn's," Gabriel answers, stepping up to our group with his daughter in his arms. Valentina is so adorable with her little princess swimsuit and floaties.

  I peer over his shoulder to see Alba wading in the swimming pool, watching her son splash around. Climbing off Nikolai's lap, I tell him, "I'm going to go change and get in the pool for a bit."

  Nikolai tugs on my hand, and I lean down, kissing him. "I'll be back."

  Once upstairs in the bedroom, I quickly change out of my dress into my swimsuit. A few weeks ago. I was shopping with the girls, and they
convinced me to buy a two-piece. It's red, with high-waisted bottoms, giving me that vintage fifties look. The way the top plunges, makes my breasts look fantastic. Nikolai stands in the doorway of our room, and with his heated gaze glued to my chest, I'd say he agrees.

  "Hey," I giggle, jarring his attention away from my breasts to my face. He steps away from where he was leaning against the doorframe and prowls toward me wearing a look I know all too well, causing a familiar tingle between my thighs.

  "Malyshka," Nikolai's endearment for me rolls off his tongue as he steps up behind me, placing his face in the crook of my neck. My skin prickles the moment his hands grip my hips, pulling me back into his erection. I hum my appreciation as I reach behind me and thread my fingers through his hair. "Nikolai."

  "Can you take fast?" he rasps into the shell of my ear as he pulls at my swimsuit's ties, letting the top fall to the floor at our feet. My breasts feel heavy with need. Knowing what my body craves, Nikolai palms them in the cups of his hands.

  "I can take any way my husband wants to give it."

  My words are all the encouragement he needs. Nikolai folds me over with a growl until my hands are planted firmly on the bed in front of me. My swimsuit bottoms are ripped down my legs, and in the next second, Nikolai is inside of me. I scream. "Oh, God!"

  My husband then proceeds to show me how fast it can be, and I show him I can indeed take it any way he gives it.

  When Nikolai and I return to the party, I get a knowing look from Alba and Bella. My face heats. "What?" I look back and forth between the sisters.

  Bella grins. "You forgot to close your bedroom window.

  Alba cackles at my mortified expression.

  "Oh my, God." I bury my face in my hands. "Please tell me no one else heard us."

  Alba bites her lip. "Umm, I'm pretty sure Gabriel heard. Because soon after, he cranked the music up."

  "Great. I'm never going to be able to look him in the face again."

  At my confession, Alba burst out laughing.

  "Shut up," I laugh as I sit at the edge of the pool and splash her with water. Soon our commotion draws the attention of Mila, Sofia, Emerson, Grace, and Glory.

  "What's so funny?" Mila asks, wading over toward us.

  "Nothing," I lie, turning redder.

  Glory who is on a monster size pink flamingo float, sipping on a Margarita, lowers her shades and eyes me up and down. And with a straight face, she says, "Our sweet Leah just got herself a good Volkov dicking. I'd know that look anywhere."

  My eyes nearly bug out of my head.

  "Jesus, Glory. Slap a filter on that mouth of yours every once in a while, will you," Grace chastises her best friend.

  "Where's the fun in that," she counters. "If you can't be real with your girls, who can you be real with?" Then she adds, "Besides, it's not like the men aren't over there doing the same shit. Scratching their balls and congratulating each other on getting some."

  Eight sets of eyes turn and look to where the men have assembled. As if they can sense that we are talking about them, the men turn their heads. We burst out in a fit of laughter.

  Hours later, as the sun begins to set, I stand by the lake and take a moment to reflect on how perfect today has been when a hand brushes my hair away from my neck and Nikolai's warm lips settle on the spot below my ear. "What are you doing over here by yourself, Malyshka?"

  I settle back into Nikolai's embrace and stare out at the sun setting over the water. "Just thinking."

  "About what?"

  "About how happy I am."

  "You know I'd give you anything, right? That I'd do everything in my power to give you what you deserve."

  "I know you will, and you have."

  "I don't want you ever to feel like you are missing out on anything."

  "I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. I know some women strive to finish college and for a career, but that's not my dream, Nikolai. My dream has always been to have a real family, and to love and be loved."

  Wrapping his arms around me, Nikolai cradles my growing bump in the palms of his hands. I smile as our daughter makes her presence known by doing summersaults, something she does whenever she hears Nikolai's voice. Still in the womb and already a daddy's girl.

  "Thank you," Nikolai says.

  Tilting my head back, I peer up at him. "For what?"

  "For loving me, becoming my wife, and giving me a child. You and the baby are my world. You've given me everything I've ever hoped to achieve in my life." Then he kisses me.

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