by Em Petrova
Maybe it’s time to say goodbye to him.
Never. I’ll free us both, even if it happens with the last breath I ever take.
A shout came from out front. Her head snapped up, and she ran around the bar before she even gave her body the command. Several of the girls seated in the restaurant doing various tasks jumped to their feet.
“Go upstairs, girls!” she ordered in Russian as she ran to the door. Through the glass, the big, bulky shapes of the special ops team made her blood run cold. But worse was the fight taking place outside.
Elias and Big Mike engaged in a fistfight. To her eyes, it seemed pretty damn fair odds too. Her stomach hit bottom, and she swallowed a cry as Big Mike landed a punch to Elias’s stomach that doubled him over.
“Stop!”
Elias looked up at her and straightened, fists raised for the man coming at him even as he tossed a warning for her to get inside.
She couldn’t move—her feet were rooted to the concrete. Elias threw a punch, his fist arcing toward Big Mike’s face. When it connected in a meaty thunk, blood spattered across the sidewalk. She stared down at it, thinking of washing away blood from the woman who’d cut her knee not long ago.
Her head swam. She forced herself to focus on the fight.
“C’mon, Jack!” one of Gasper’s teammates called out.
Shouts echoed in her ears. The men were shouting the name Jack. Were they calling Elias by that name?
“You can do better than that, Jack!”
Elias’s lips quirked in response.
So he did answer to Jack. There was a lot she didn’t know about the man. She certainly didn’t know him well enough to give her heart to him.
Yet she’d gone and made that mistake already, hadn’t she? She cursed herself and cursed him and damned Big Mike to hell.
Elias dodged a punch. Big Mike ducked to the side to avoid Elias’s fist. Why were they playing with each other this way? Either could just pull out a gun and shoot the other, but men would be men and show off.
She swallowed another cry, though she must have made some noise because Elias looked straight at her. His eyes burned. Her stomach flipped at the intensity of his gaze.
From the corner of her eye, she saw a flash. Again, her body moved without thought. She jumped in front of Big Mike.
Chapter Eleven
Ruby crumpled to the sidewalk. And Gasper’s heart stopped beating.
With all the strength in him, he shoved Big Mike, sending him flying across the cement. Then Gasper reached for the unconscious woman.
Her face was pale and wan, her eyes closed, but as he scooped her up and took off running with her, her eyelids fluttered.
Where the hell could he even go? The B&B was a crime scene, and the Bratva had eyes on the place. For that matter, they had eyes on Ruby’s—it was the only reason he hadn’t gone ahead and ended Big Mike’s life there and then. Getting in a brawl with a bouncer wouldn’t attract as much attention as breaking his neck for laying his hands on Ruby.
As he ran to the SUV still parked along the stark, empty street with her cradled against his chest, he felt an explosion building inside him.
They were fucking around too long on this mission. What happened to completing this mission in a short timeline? They could have lured out the mafia days ago and ended things. But Penn wanted to do every step extra thoroughly in the hope of truly stopping the Russian mafia’s foothold in Alaska once and for all.
So while they were biding their time, an innocent man was murdered in his kitchen for harboring one of the Russian girls the mafia considered their property. And they couldn’t take out Big Mike the way they had Max. Big Mike was allowed to freely come and go, terrorizing Ruby around every corner.
The chessboard was too big, and Gasper didn’t like how many pawns there were on each side. And in the middle stood Ruby, at the biggest risk. He’d just proved that taking his eyes off her for even a second could end in disaster.
He supported her in one arm and whipped open the door of the vehicle. Her head lolled. Carefully, he laid her on the seat, jumped in with her and locked the vehicle. He drew his weapon and placed it within grabbing distance, got behind the wheel and hit the gas.
His first instinct was to get her out of the damn town and away from the people who would hurt her. As he drove, he kept glancing over his shoulder to make sure she was okay. When he found a good place to stop the vehicle, he climbed into the rear with her again.
Perched on the seat next to her, he touched her hand. “Ruby. Can you hear me?”
She was white as bone and too still. His logical mind couldn’t think past the emotions roiling inside him. His knowledge of medical emergencies and dozens of traumas he’d witnessed told him that she wasn’t going to die. But damn if his heart could catch up. It beat erratically, and his breaths came out in fast gusts.
Leaning over her, he checked her vitals. Pulse rate a little high but steady. Breathing rate coming in target range.
He brushed the thick waves of hair off her face and felt her skull for blood. She’d smacked her head on the pavement when she fell. He hadn’t been able to reach her in time.
No sticky, wet blood met his fingertips, and he gently withdrew his hand. “Ruby, wake up. Can you hear me, Ruby?”
She didn’t respond. She’d been out for quite a while now, and he didn’t like it. In his ear, Penn questioned if everything was all right, and he responded at full volume hoping to jolt her out of it.
She still didn’t move.
He cast around for some way to jerk her to consciousness. Suddenly, his mind landed on a name.
“Elliana!”
Her eyelids fluttered. Seeing that the name was dragging her to the surface, and he still had some hold on her, he called her again. “Wake up now, Elliana!”
She moaned softly and her eyes fluttered open.
“Elliana…”
“Stop calling me that.”
Her disgruntled tone drew a laugh from him, and relief surged in his veins. He looked into her eyes and saw they were still a bit hazy from her fall, but recognition filled the depths.
He clamped his fingers around hers and lightly squeezed. “How do you feel?”
Her eyes cleared and she attempted to sit up. He held her in place. “Just lie there a second, okay?”
“Where am I?”
“Our SUV.”
“What? Why!” She sat up quick and grabbed at her head, which must be spinning.
She looked past him to the window. “Where am I?”
“Along the road south of town.”
“Are you kidding me? How did I get here?” Angry sparks shot from her gray-blue eyes.
“You don’t remember what happened in front of your restaurant?”
She reached for the opposite handle, and before he knew it, she’d jumped out. Dammit, didn’t the woman know what was good for her? She took off down the road at a fast clip that belied her state of unconsciousness just a few minutes before.
“Fuck!” He grabbed his gun, stuffed it into his waistband along his spine and took off after her.
“Ruby, stop!”
She didn’t turn around. “You took me from my restaurant and drove me all the way out here, miles away! Why?”
“To keep you safe. Big Mike knocked you out and—”
“Because you were showing off your big man skills by trying to beat him up!” She walked faster, hips swaying with each step.
He caught up and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop. She wrenched free.
“You don’t know what you’ve done. People like Big Mike realize we’ve slept together, but now he knows that you care for me too.”
He rocked on his heels.
“You’re putting a bullseye on my back, Elias! You have to back off.”
“I can’t! I won’t walk away. I care about you.”
She barked a laugh. “You don’t even know me.”
“I damn well do! You’re so determined to do what’
s right by everyone. You care for those girls who are a burden to you. You’re loyal to your father and so brave in dealing with the Bratva…”
Though she didn’t turn, he knew she was listening.
“I even know that you blow hot and cold with me out of sheer fear, but if things were different, you’d—”
“Shut up. Please stop talking.”
How could he? He had to convince her.
“Ruby, I love you.”
She whipped around, lips parted, eyes wide.
He spread his hands in a plea.
“No.” She shook her head hard. “You’re infatuated. Or you want to play hero. Probably both.”
“That’s not true.”
Her hair floated in an arc as she whirled around again. Over her shoulder, she called out, “If you give half a damn about me, you’ll leave me alone.”
Stunned, he watched her step off the road and into the forest. “Where are you going?”
“Back. I know the way.”
“Let me drive you.” He raised his voice to be heard as she disappeared in the thick trees.
“Too suspicious!”
Seconds later, he could no longer make out the bright red of her hair.
“Son of a bitch.” Fists clenched, he stalked to the SUV and jumped behind the wheel. Breathing hard, he battled a half-dozen emotions he didn’t have any idea how to handle.
She was out there in the wilderness between here and White Fog alone.
He could go after her. But he had no doubt she’d run from him. Besides, he had to admit she was right. He’d fucked up by taking her and running. Big Mike and anyone watching the restaurant had seen him.
By now, the Russian mafia knew his team wasn’t hanging around for the chili special.
When he took Ruby, they would realize she was tangled up with him. But if she returned alone, it would work in her favor. Any lies she told would be more believable.
Gah—he’d fucked up. He knew it. Could see it with crystal clear clarity now that he had a bit of distance.
Not only had he screwed things up with his team, but he’d thoroughly fucked up with Ruby. For a thrilling heartbeat, when he told her he loved her, he thought she might run to him.
Instead, she’d bolted into the woods.
What was Elias thinking? She couldn’t think what to even do with the man. The team was doing their job to shut down the Russian mafia, but that cut off her tie to them—and in turn, her father.
Then the special operative actually told her he loved her! As if she hadn’t heard that a few times in her life. She wasn’t born yesterday.
As she picked her way through the thick patch of trees that would spit her out close to the main street of White Fog, she mentally argued with him.
You’re wrecking all I’ve worked to create here. You’re going to take my business, the safety of my girls…my father’s life.
In her mind, he only stared at her, a pleading expression in his eyes.
You don’t understand. You only see your side of the situation.
Dammit, not even the imaginary Elias would argue with her. She might as well give up trying.
You don’t really love me, she got in the last word.
But her heart jerked in her chest at the memory of his face when he told her. Total joy and love glowed around him like the Northern Lights.
Her body ached from whatever had happened back there on the sidewalk. She only recalled rushing forward to stop Big Mike before he struck Elias, but next thing she knew, she was looking up into Elias’s concerned eyes, miles from where she was most needed.
How could she smooth over what he’d done? Big Mike reported everything to the mafia in live time, which meant they already knew she was with Elias.
For all they knew, she’d reneged on her promise to work off her father’s debt, and they’d already killed her dad.
Battling back a cry, she hurried faster through the trees. The ground in Alaska always held a bit of moisture, and her feet were soaked, along with the hems of her jeans. Her head pounded, and she was miserable inside and out.
I walked away from a man who told me he loves me…the only man I ever believed means it.
For her own good. For her girls and her father. She had to keep reminding herself what was at stake in loving a man like Elias.
But it was too late for that, wasn’t it? That ship had sailed with her heart days ago. She loved him, would run off with him in a blink if not for her responsibilities here.
Tears burned at her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. She continued on through the trees and thick underbrush, watchful for bears and anything else she may encounter. She might run a restaurant/bar/brothel and deal with the Russian mafia, but she was a born and bred Alaskan and knew this land.
She was miles from Ruby’s Place, and the long walk allowed her time to think up a story. Yes, she’d taken the visitor, Elias, to bed and that made him believe he had some hold over her. So after she stepped into a fight between him and Big Mike, he thought he could just take off with her.
She’d set him straight by running from him and making her way back where she belonged, under the Bratva’s thumb.
She’d leave off that last bit, but it sounded credible to her own way of thinking. With luck, they would buy it. She could always put on her dumb redhead act with Big Mike and whoever else tried to pressure her into confessing something more was going on. Wouldn’t be the first time.
As the forest lightened, she saw the trees were thinning. She leaped over a log and ran the rest of the way to the forest’s edge. She popped out into a small clearing she knew to be between the truck stop and town.
Her wet socks chafed in her boots, and she felt a blister rising on her heel. Pushing on as fast as she could, she kept the roof of Ruby’s Place in sight. She had a stitch in her side and her mouth was dry, though the constant pangs in her heart were what really weighed her steps.
She was walking away from the man she wanted. And that hurt.
Nobody stood out on the sidewalk. She angled to the rear of the building and slipped inside. She hadn’t even taken a step before big hands clasped around her upper arms. She cried out as her feet were separated from the floor and then her backside met with a hard chair.
“Would people stop picking me up without my permission?” she blasted the man standing before her.
A stranger and yet not entirely unrecognizable to her. She’d seen him walking in and out of the room where her father was kept.
“Where were you?” he asked in a harsh Russian accent.
She raised her jaw and met his stare despite her quivering stomach. “That idiot must have taken me away. I woke up in the middle of nowhere. That man must have used me as a human shield to get out.”
He didn’t shift his attention from her. He was waiting for her to give some sign that what she said was a lie. Yet she was used to lying—her poor grandmother would roll over in her grave to hear it—and she held her ground.
The silence stretched between them. Each second felt as though it ticked down her life—or her father’s. If the man who tormented her dad was here in this kitchen with her, what did that mean? Was her father even alive?
The big man made a sudden move, and she flinched, bracing for a blow. But he simply folded his arms and gave her a nod. “You don’t leave again. Understand?”
She nodded. Her stomach still fluttered, and she felt hot and cold, but relief settled in her veins. He bought her story.
One of her girls walked into the kitchen, holding a tray stacked with dirty dishes. She looked between Ruby and the dude and then started to back out.
But Ruby saw her as a savior. “Wait! Come in and put down your dishes.” She waved her in.
Thankfully, the man left them alone. Ruby watched him walk out. Breathing heavily, she dropped her face into her hands.
“Are you all right?” The girl touched her arm.
Needing a friend now, she lifted her face and then pulled the girl
into her arms. She immediately hugged her back. That human touch reminded her of why she was here, doing what she did.
The girl patted Ruby’s back. The comfort didn’t ease her pain at rejecting Elias, but it would have to do for now, wouldn’t it?
After they parted, Ruby offered her a smile. “Thank you for that.”
She gave a nod.
“I’m going to take a hot bath.” Until she spoke the words, she didn’t realize what a good idea it was. She was wet, chilled and devastated. Fear didn’t even register on her radar at this point. At least she could breathe easier knowing that the thug sent here to keep an eye on her believed her tale.
In the bathroom, she sat on the edge of the tub to adjust the water to a perfect steamy hot temperature. She reached into a jar and dropped a few flower petals in to scent the water, a luxury her grandmother always spoiled her with as a child.
Then she stripped off her damp clothes and sank into the fragrant depths. The heat relaxed her muscles, which in turn slowed her spinning mind.
She kept returning to Elias, though. How must he feel? After confessing his love, she practically ran into the woods to get away from him. He didn’t even know if she’d made it back to Ruby’s Place. Though he could easily ask one of the girls.
That line of thought led to her need to get the girls out of here—fast. Before they were sold into even more terrible lives.
She sat up straighter in the tub. When had she decided such a thing? With a jolt, she realized she was no longer just swimming along, pushed by the current of her life. She was swimming against it. She wanted to fight.
Elias put that fight into her. He made her see a future—at long last. He made her see her own worth, and in turn she wanted to fight for the worth of every girl under her care.
She was an informant for the United States. A pawn for the Russians. A daughter and a granddaughter.
She was Elias’s lover.
His love.
Pulling strength from all those things, it hit her. If she set her mind to it, what couldn’t she do?
She could be unstoppable.
Gasper’s fingers twitched into fists, and he shook them out. Again. But seconds later, they were back to forming fists.