Page 63 of Savage Pakhan

The burner phone that Nikolai gave me rings from upstairs by the bed. I drop the stapler, forgetting about the dead body in my basement.

I race up the steps, taking them three at a time, my hands aching every time I grab the railing. I have too much momentum and slam into the open door, my shoulder taking the brunt of the impact.

One the next ring, I answer it with a less than welcoming greeting.

“Where the fuck are you, Nikolai?” I snarl, wiping the sweat from my eyes.

“Half an hour out. I’m getting there as fast as I can. I have the contract too. I’ll be there soon. Don’t move the bodies.”

“I want them delivered to Ivan immediately. They were Russian. It had to be Ivan.”

“It was. He doesn’t plan on stopping either. He will get Mia. Even if it means killing you.”

“He can try. He won’t succeed.” I hang up the phone and toss it on the bed.

“Mia!” I shout her name, swinging the closet door open to get to her. I rip the pole down that has all the clothes hanging on it to get them out of my way. Pressing my hand against the wall, it finally slides open.

When the space is big enough for me to slip through, I do, not waiting one more second to get to Mia.

She’s sitting in the chair, staring at the dozen screens I have mounted on the wall.

Fuck.

She’s seen everything.

Is she going to hate me now?

15

MIA

I’m sitting in the chair, tears streaming down my face, wondering what I just saw. I’m in a trance. The man who has been so gentle with me, so considerate, just killed two men without an issue.

I clutch the sheets to my chest, staring at the screen where one man is lying in the dining room. Another screen shows the other in the basement.

“Mia, I know what you just saw is terrifying. I know that.” Alek’s voice shakes from behind me. “I had to. I had to do it. I had to protect you and I won’t apologize for that.”

This is who he is. The man he is with me is the man no one else gets to see or experience. He keeps the death and fear away from me the best he can, giving the real world the Bratva boss while I get the real him. The one he has to hide away because he’s soft, gentle, and caring.

“Alek.” I shoot from the chair, a fresh wave of tears dripping down my face.

He looks terrible.

With one hand clenching the sheets, I wrap the other around him, holding him close. He embraces, a long exhale escaping him.

“I thought seeing that would make me lose you.” He kisses the top of my head. “I never wanted you to see that side of me.”

“I don’t care. I don’t care what you have to do. I’m happy you can protect me. I only cared that you’re hurt.” I lean away, my cheeks still wet from the emotions. “You’re hurt. You’re bleeding!” I feather touch his bottom lip and he winces.

“This? This is nothing. I have been shot, stabbed, tortured, waterboarded, pretty much anything you can think of. It will take a lot to kill me, Lyubimaya. You don’t need to worry.” He pushes the hair out of my face, his thumbs drying my tears. “Do not cry for me.” He sucks his finger into his mouth, drinking my tears.

“I’ll always cry for you if it means I’m scared of losing you, Alek. I only just got you. I can’t have you taken away from me.”

His face hardens. The same man who I saw kill two men surfaces. His teeth clench. His jaw becomes more square. His brows come together in anger, not fear, and his grip on me tightens.

“There is nothing or no one that can keep me away from you,” his Russian accent more pronounced than usual. “Ever. I promised you and I always keep my promises.” His hands move to my face, his knuckles battered and bloody. He caresses me like I’m a delicate piece of fine art, afraid to drop me or I’ll shatter.

He looks at me the same way too like he admires me.