CHAPTER FIVE

 

They drove in silence. Katya needed it. He must’ve known because he never said another word and gave her that grace. Like she thought before, he could read her like no one else she ever knew. Anger and hate mixed in her gut like a toxic stew. Her father was responsible for murdering the only person that ever loved her, and her sister put her through hell.

Yes, she was struggling with the decision she made, but she was going to stand by it. She didn’t have a family. She knew now, she never did. No one loved her, except maybe her mother, but it was so long ago she could barely remember her. Her sister! All the grief and betrayal twisted in her gut and it hurt. How could she do that to her? Terrorize her? Who would do that to family? She grieved for her! The sibling she’d thought she lost, but all along she was just like her father! Oh, she could really shoot someone right now!

Her attention went to Ryan. Despite everything he was the only person that was honest with her. Well, that she could tell so far. She didn’t know if she could trust him, but God, she cared about him so much! Right now, he was the only person that knew and understood what she was going through, and she needed him. In all honesty, he opened her eyes to the truth about everything.

She checked his wound a couple of more times while he concentrated on driving. It was still bleeding but not as bad. What man could take a bullet and barely grunt?

The rest of him looked pretty beat up too. She had some cuts and bruises from the accident, but nothing like he did. He was a big man and the impact was harder on him. It was on his side. Granted the car had side impact air bags, but still, it was flipped into the ditch. She had a suspicion that this wasn’t the first time his body experienced this hell. She was surprised he was still able to walk. Yet, he was acting as if there was no pain, and managed to stealth through a house that he’d never been in before, rescue her, and still function. He was a machine.

The whole time she watched him, he kept his eyes on the road. She was sure he knew she was looking at him because, she knew now, nothing escaped him. He was giving her that time to reflect on everything he’d told her. Despite how hurt and angry she was with him, he did save her life, twice. He kept his promise to protect her and he could have just left her back at the house with those horrible men that worked with her sister. Her sister! She would confront her about this. It wasn’t over.

They were never really close growing up. It wasn’t that she was mean towards her. She was just indifferent. Anna was six years older than her, and once she graduated, was hardly ever home. Katya felt like an only child most times. So that night she asked her to go clubbing with her, she accepted thinking that Anna wanted to get to know her. If only she’d known it was a setup. That’s the night they were kidnapped.

Ryan was right. They had to finish this or she’d never be free. It would have been so easy just to leave with him, but as he said, others would suffer.

He pulled into an expansive parking lot of a mall and drove the SUV around like he was looking for something. Suddenly he pulled into a parking spot with a quick crank of the wheel, cut the engine which was still smoking and opened his door. “Come.” He grabbed the weapons and got out.

“What are we doing?”

“Changing vehicles.”

“Seriously?” She was confused, but again, knew not to hesitate. She followed him out of shot up SUV, walked around and took his outstretched hand. He led her a few vehicles away to a silver jeep.

“Are we stealing this?”

“Not quite.” He bent down and felt under the front driver’s side fender, pulling out a set of keys.

“How—?”

“Get in.” He unlocked the doors with the fob, opened the rear door and took out what looked like fresh clothing.

She watched as he tossed the guns on the back seat and literally changed right there.

He then grabbed the guns, shut the rear door and got in the front. He was fast. Really fast. People were in the parking lot, either leaving or approaching their vehicles but no one even noticed.

He tucked the guns in the middle console, started the jeep and pulled out of the parking lot.

“Who’s jeep is this.”

“Mine now.”

“Ryan, I asked you a question back there and you never answered me. Who are you?”

His jaw clenched.

“No more secrets,” she reminded him. “If you care about me, you need to be honest.”

After a moment he nodded. “I’m nobody.” He glanced at her. “And everybody.”

“That makes no sense.”

“I work for the government.”

“You’re a cop?”

“No, I’m an agent, soldier or spy—however you want to look at it. I do things that need fixing.”

“FBI?”

“No.”

“CIA?”

He shook his head. “Something higher, more powerful. We don’t really follow rules. We get sent in to do things others can’t. Mostly anti-terrorist.”

“That’s really dangerous, isn’t it?”

“Always.”

“So that’s why the threats my father throws around doesn’t bother you and why you can kill without hesitation, and blow up an entire house without a second thought.”

He didn’t like where this was going. “I didn’t blow it up.”

“Oh please, it’s not like comparing apples to oranges. You initiated it, and that’s just the same. You act like a psychopath, Ryan; like my father.”

“I know.”

“You don’t even deny it.”

“I do it to protect my country Katya. Do you have any idea of how many terrorists a year try something?”

“No I don’t.”

“And that’s why I exist, so the public doesn’t find out. It’s why people like my brother was able to raise children and go to work each day without worrying about them. I do things like this to protect the innocents.”

Patriotism like this didn’t exist anymore. She stared at his handsome profile. He possessed righteousness the likes of which she’d never seen. He’d saved her even though he had another agenda. He was also willing to walk away from it all, for her. She was wrong, he was completely opposite of her father. That was a true psychopath. “Why would he do that with a family?”

“I asked myself that a thousand times. Georgy wanted to make a difference too. He worked undercover before he was married. Maybe it was all he knew. It runs in our blood.”

“You offered to walk away from this if I said the word.”

“I did.”

“I know you care about me or you wouldn’t offer to abandon something that means so much to you. You’re the first person to ever make that kind of sacrifice for me.”

He didn’t look at her or speak, but he did nod. She just kept surprising him. God they made a twisted couple though. The emotionally traumatized fucked up girlfriend, and psycho killer-patriot. Sounded like perfection to him. He suppressed a smile. To do so probably would have seemed a little disturbing in light of what had just happened.

“Thank you.” She couldn’t remember another time in her life that someone was willing to sacrifice so much for her.

He reached over and squeezed her hand.

It was nightfall when he pulled up to the gates of the estate and buzzed the intercom.

The camera focused on him and gates opened.

“What are you going to do?” Katya asked. She looked at her father’s mansion and shivered. She honestly didn’t want to go back in there after what she’d just learned.

“We’re going to carry on as normal until I find out who actually pulled the trigger on Georgy. I want you just to go to your room when we stop. I don’t want your father to know about Anna, and I don’t want you questioned by him, so keep hushed on that.”

“Why?”

“Because it will work to my advantage.” He pulled the jeep around to the front. Five armed men were waiting for them on the front steps.

Her father came out of the house at that exact moment.

His eyes flicked to the older man through the passenger side window. “Katya, you need to act tired and traumatized. I can’t have him dragging information out of you when you’re vulnerable. He will want to speak with you because he doesn’t trust me.”

First of all, she was tired and traumatized, so that wouldn’t be too hard. Secondly, she wouldn’t tell him a damn thing. As far as she was concerned, her whole family was dead to her. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little scared and nervous that he would do as Ryan said.

“Nod that you understand.”

She did.

“Thank God.” Peter approached Katya and embraced her when she got out of the vehicle. She did not return the hug.

“The police were here. They found my car overturned in the ditch smashed to shit. No one knew what happened. I feared the worst.”

“We were attacked and taken hostage.” Ryan came around the front of the jeep.

Peter assessed the condition of Ryan’s face. “What the fuck happened to you?”

“It’s been a rough twenty-four hours.” He gave Kat’s arm a squeeze. “Katya, go to your room, clean up and get some rest.”

“I want a debriefing,” Peter ordered.

“I’ll give you that.” Ryan stated as Katya walked through the men and into the house without a word to anyone. “She’s dealing with too much right now and really didn’t see anything. They had her locked in a cell.” Peter seemed to accept that and focus his attention back on Ryan.

“We all thought you were both dead when we saw the car. You saved her again.”

“Yes.”

“Who were they? Did you see them?”

He nodded. “A few won’t be bothering us anymore.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“They threatened my client, so I took care of them.”

Peter and Ivan exchanged a glance. “You killed them?”

Was he hard of hearing? “As many as I could. Others had left the house before I got free.” Peter looked quite pleased. Ivan was a different story.

“And just how many men did you kill?” Ivan asked not believing him.

Ryan shifted his gaze to Ivan and the corners of his mouth quirked upward saying a lot. The man’s jealousy was like a billboard and Ryan basically called him on it.

“You son of a—”

“Shut the fuck up Ivan. At least he did something none of you imbeciles could. My daughter is home unharmed. When you were supposed to be looking after them, Anna got murdered.”

Ivan did as he was told, but continued to glare at him.

“Where is this house?”

He told them. He didn’t say that they’d find nothing but ashes though. Let them go for a drive.

Peter looked over his shoulder, “Ivan, get a crew out there. Everyone.”

“Yes Mr. Nickolov.” With a final glare at Ryan, he turned and waved his arm. The men followed him.

“Your shoulder.” Peter noticed that blood started seeping through the shirt.

“Ah, yeah, I was shot. I need to go get mended. Do you have a first aid kit?”

“You are a machine!” Peter slapped him on the back, causing him to grunt. That shoulder. He laughed. “Sorry.”

***

“This is crazy. I can’t sew well with fabric.” Katya hovered beside him with a suture and thread. She’d had a shower while he was still speaking with her father, and only put on a robe. Then he showed up with a first aid kit telling her to sew him up after he washed up a little. He was covered in dirt and blood. She watched as he removed his shirt showing some difficulty for the first time as he walked into the bathroom.

When he came back out to his room, he had on draw string pajama bottoms, and sat in a chair for her to suture him. She felt awful. He was hurt because of her, yet didn’t complain. Not once. Her heart swelled. This was the first person to ever risk anything for her and he had no reason to do it, if even for the money. He could have left her at the house, but he didn’t. Was there such a thing as loyalty like this, or was he getting a lot of money? “Is it the money?”

He turned his head and looked at her trying to figure out what she meant.

“That my father pays you.”

“You think that has something to do with what I did—for you?”

“Forget it…it’s a stupid question.”

She was vulnerable and looking for reasons on why he would sacrifice so much for her. Well, if she only believed what she saw in the mirror, she would understand. And it wasn’t just what was on the outside, but it certainly didn’t hurt any. “Money has nothing to do with it. I told you what you mean to me. I would have done it, with my training, or even without because of how I feel.”

She was relieved. “I’m sorry. I’m doubting everything. I don’t even know where that came from. You did tell me, and I believed you. I don’t know why I’m revisiting it.”

“You had a nightmare happen twice. You’re vulnerable. It’s understandable. Besides, I don’t need money Kat. I have enough to last me comfortably for the rest of my life. Trust me. This isn’t even about my brother anymore.” He squeezed her hand. “Now before I bleed out, we should get started. Just loop it three times, front and back. It will be fine. I won’t feel it—much.” He chuckled.

“You are crazy.” She released a laugh. He certainly wasn’t boring. She felt brave after those words though, and with surprisingly steady hands, did as he asked. He didn’t even flinch. Then she covered the area with gauze and tape. “You have an incredible pain tolerance.”

“Oh, it hurts like hell. I have just learned not to react to it.” He stood up and went into the bathroom to look in the mirror and admire her work. She followed him in. “Not bad.” He bent and kissed her on the mouth. “Good job,” he said against her lips before he lifted his head and looked down at her.

“You’re still battered looking.” She moved her eyes over the marks on his face.

“What? This?” he traced his fingers down his jaw where he was punched. There was swelling and a telltale bruise. There was also a cut above his eye and more bruising on his torso from the accident. “I guess I’ll have to give up my modelling career.”

She looked sympathetic. “You joke about this? What did they do to you?”

“Nothing I can’t handle. It will disappear in a few days.”

“You have to be the bravest man I know.” Her fingers touched his brow and down the line of his jaw.

His eyes darkened. He bent, cupped her bottom, lifted her up against him and kissed her while walking out of the bathroom toward the bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips kissing him back.

He stopped at the foot of the bed and tossed her on it. She bit her lip to keep from squealing. Then he lowered his pants and stepped out of them before coming down on top of her. He untied her robe and pulled it apart. His mouth moved down her body to her abdomen. She arched toward him. His tongue circled her naval and she released a gasp of pleasure. Then he moved his arms under her thighs and pulled her up to meet him, his mouth covering her most intimate area. Her hands threaded in his hair and pulled, he groaned and moved his tongue against her.

“Oh God, Ryan!” she shuddered beneath him.

“Oh no you don’t. No orgasm yet.” He moved up over her. His mouth leaving a trail of kisses up her body until he met her mouth.

She moved her thighs over his hips. Despite his recent beating he was still able to enter her with a powerful thrust. He was relentless in his rhythm and she moved her hips to meet his. Then she exploded, and bit her lip again to keep from crying out.

He growled his own release and smothered her mouth with his. “Did I hurt you?”

“No way.”

He moved aside and propped his head up on his hand. One of his long legs stretched over hers. “Jesus, you’re just so sensitive to my touch.” His fingers traced the outside of one of her nipples and she gasped.

“I have a good teacher,” she whispered back. She was completely out of breath.

“It has nothing to do with teaching. You’re naturally responsive. Not a common trait despite what you think.”

“I can’t help it. You make me feel beautiful.”

“Make you? You are beautiful.”

She could feel her face heat up in a blush. She got her looks from her mother, as did Anna. Someone her father took away from her. Though, by the sounds of it, Anna did inherit something from him. “Ryan?”

“Umhmm.” His fingers were still tracing her upper body.

“Did you see the man with the birthmark?”

He stopped and met her eyes. He could see the fear there in recalling her experience with him. “I saw him. He left with your sister.” He lifted up further to stare down at her. “What did that bastard do to you?”

“Not what you’re thinking, Ryan, but it was still awful.”

She sighed and looked away. No, she wasn’t sexually assaulted by him but he touched her and did things to himself when he did. He hurt her, bruised her. Daily he would tell her he was going to kill her and do to her what he was doing to her sister next door. She could hear Anna’s screams. It sent her into a deep terror. Then there was the horror of what they were doing to Anna, now lies. She would stay angry. Fear was just not an option for her right now. She trusted Ryan. He wouldn’t let that man touch her again.

“Hey,” he said softly, placing two fingers under her jaw and turning her head to face him. “We’ll find him Katya.”

“Do you think that’s Anna’s accomplice?”

“He could be.” He bent over and kissed her. “No more talk of this. You need to relax and I still need a shower.”

She sighed. He was bossy, and abrupt. “Yes, we are making a mess here.”

He got up and walked naked to the bathroom.

She propped herself up on her elbows to watch him. He was definitely worth looking at. It was as if he was sculpted out of a block of fleshy stone, but the ink on him was sexier than hell. She took a deep breath of appreciation. It was hard to believe that moments ago, that man was part of her, making her lose her mind in him.

She must’ve drifted off because she heard his deep voice in her ear with what seemed like seconds later, but when she opened her eyes, it was dark in the room.

“Katya, move over, you’re a bed hog.”

A sleepy laugh escaped her and she moved aside. Soon a warm body was pressing against her back and a warm arm circled around her under her breasts.

“Eww, you’re still damp.” She wiggled.

“Shh, I’m tired.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “And if you keep moving against me like that, I’m going to fuck you again. Then neither one of us will get any rest.”

She smiled and drifted off to sleep. That would have been okay with her.