BEAST: A Mafia Romance Read online

  "We meet again, Kiska," Vadim's vile voice comes from where he's standing next to a chair. A white-faced Olga has been tied to it; she's crying, and Vadim is holding a gun to her head.

  "I'm not your kitten," I splutter through gritted teeth as Vadim's boyevik pushes me toward him.

  "We'll see about that," Vadim sneers. "You'll come with me. Now. And your son. I have buyers interested in the two of you."

  My stomach heaves. Vomit spews up. Projective vomit. It sprays Vadim's feet. "Urgh," he groans.

  Suddenly, the thudding sound of running footsteps.

  "Get down, Eva," Gleb's baritone voice booms. "Your mama is safe. I told her to wait in the car."

  Oh, thank God.

  I curl myself into a ball and shut my eyes.

  Guns roar.

  Bullets fly.

  Olga starts screaming fit to wake the dead, and all the men are shouting at each other.

  I whimper, my entire body quivering.

  Oh God, oh God, oh God.

  Finally, there are no further shots. Just the groans of the wounded.

  "Gleb?" I look around, fucking terrified I'll see he's been killed.

  "I got him, my love. Vadim is dead." Gleb picks me up and holds me to him. "Where's Kir?"

  "Locked in his room," I breathe, relief flooding through me. "He's safe."

  My befuddled brain is struggling. There's something I should have remembered, but I can't figure out what.

  A shout from the doorway. "You didn't recognize me, Gleb."

  Crap, Natasha.

  Gleb spins me around and places himself in front of me.

  A shot, and he falls sideways.

  A second shot followed by a gurgling scream.

  What's happening?

  Shaking, I lower myself next to Gleb.

  Blood is everywhere; it covers my face, my arms and my chest. Oh, dear God, it's Gleb's blood.

  He's lying slumped to the side, eyes closed, face ashen.

  There’s a fucking bullet wound in his torso.

  Jesus, no...

  Hands trembling, I pull off my t-shirt and clasp it to the injury. Must stem the flow. My fingers are cold... so very cold.

  Yuri has crouched down; he's phoning someone. "Gleb has a severe gunshot wound," he says, "there are fatalities and what look to be minor injuries in a couple of his boyeviks."

  I gasp, tears running down my cheeks.

  "Dmitry didn't make it," Yuri glances at Olga who's kneeling next to her husband, sobbing and rocking his inert body. Someone must have untied her. "We got all Vadim's men," Yuri adds, "including Alik."

  I stare at Gleb's team, standing protectively in a circle around us. Two of them are bleeding from their shoulders.

  Yuri hands me his jacket. I'm only wearing my bra and I quickly cover myself.

  He doesn't say anything. Just indicates with his eyes.

  My own eyes snap to where his gaze has landed.

  Natasha is lying on the tiles, her lifeless eyes staring, the Glock I retrieved from Gleb's office in her hand.

  "Fuck knows why she shot Gleb," Yuri grunts. "It happened too quick for me to stop her, but I took her out before she could shoot anyone else." He shakes his head. "Dr. Hughes is on his way to the ER to meet us. We should go now. Gleb is losing a lot of blood."

  I bend to Gleb's ear and whisper, "We've got you, my love. Hang in there." Sobbing, I hold his hand. "I'm so sorry."

  His eyes blink open momentarily. "Kir?" he manages to moan before passing out again.

  Yuri lifts him as if he weighs nothing and starts making his way toward the front door.

  Oh, God, I'm so torn. I want desperately to go to the hospital with Gleb, except I also don't want to leave my son.

  "I heard the shots," Mama's voice is right behind me.

  I turn and hug her, quickly explain everything that just happened. "I'm so scared for Gleb."

  "Shush," she strokes my arm. "I'm here for Kir. Go to the ER with your man."

  I give her a weak smile. "Keep your cell switched on, Mama. I'll call you as soon as I have any news."

  Mama stares at me. "I lost my phone."

  I don't know what to reply, but Olga must have heard. "You can use mine," she sobs, and I join Mama in thanking her from the bottom of my heart.

  Again, I'm torn. I so want to check on my son. But, at the same time, I need to be with Gleb. "Go," Mama gives me a push. "There's no longer any threat to Kir. I'll stay with him when he wakes from his nap."

  Mama behaving calmly under pressure throws me momentarily. I wonder what went down at Vadim's to cause such a personality transplant. Something I'll ask her later, obviously. With stumbling feet, I follow Yuri carrying Gleb toward the car; my fingers are already pressing speed-dial on my cell to call Daniel.

  Twenty-Four

  Eva and Gleb

  Eva

  "Will there be trouble with the cops?" I ask Yuri. We're on our own in a private family room at the hospital, waiting for Gleb to come out of surgery. I'm so scared for him, but I'm also worried about the consequences of the shoot-out at his place.

  Yuri gives me a look like I've just asked a stupid question. "Haven't you heard of cement overcoats?"

  I shake my head.

  "The boyeviks will put the bodies in receptacles and cover them with cement." His eyes are cold and my insides shiver. "When the cement hardens, they'll dump them in the sea."

  "Surely they won't do that to Dmitry?" I blurt out.

  "Of course, not. He'll be buried with full Bratva honors." Yuri lowers the pitch of his voice. "Gleb will bribe the authorities not to investigate. He'll also pay off the families of those who died."

  I nod then lapse into silence, thinking about what Yuri has just told me. It's a harsh world I've entered.

  Hard and unforgiving.

  Do I really want Kir to grow up in a world like that?

  A quiver slips down my spine.

  "Has Gleb ever fought a turf-war before?" I stare at my hands.

  "Never had to." Yuri shrugs. "He only became a Vor when he moved to Fairwood ten years ago."

  I twist my fingers together; there's still a lot I don't know about the man I love. Oh, God, please let him be okay. Kir needs his papa, and I need him just as much. I swallow the sudden bile at the back of my mouth. If Gleb dies, what will happen to us? I'm sounding weak and whiny even to myself, but freaking hell. Are we still in danger? What did those words mean that Natasha called out before she shot him, when she'd said he hadn't recognized her? I pick at the loose skin around my thumbnail. Was she the woman Gleb and his friend had shared at Harvard? It wasn't beyond the realms of possibility Natasha was living a Fatal Attraction kind of scenario. But why had she been so eager to talk to me, claiming it would have averted disaster?

  Shit, I left the key to Kir's room in his door when she hit me, I suddenly remember. She could have gone in there and she was crazy enough to have harmed him.

  A bleep comes from my phone, and I pick up. The caller ID identifies Olga, but it's Mama on the line. "How's Kir?" my voice shakes.

  "He's awake and asking for you. I said you'll be home soon," she soothes. "Any news of Gleb?"

  I blow out a thankful breath Kir is okay, then explain Gleb is still in surgery. In hushed tones, Mama tells me about the clean-up operation going on in the kitchen, and how Olga has even been helping with it. "She's still in shock," Mama clarifies, "maybe this is her way of dealing with it..."

  I can't imagine how I'd be feeling if I had lost Gleb, and I tell Mama so. "He isn't out of danger yet," I add.

  The door to the family room opens, and Dr. Hughes appears. I quickly say 'bye to Mama, telling her I’ll be back asap.

  "Mr. Sokolov has come through the procedure." The doctor gives me a sympathetic look. "Fortunately, the bullet didn't pierce any vital organs. He's lost a lot of blood, however. The trauma surgeon has decided to keep him sedated so he can rest."

  Relief zings through me. "Can we see him?"

  "
Only for a short time," the doctor turns toward the door. "Come with me."

  We follow him down the corridor to Gleb's private room. My heart stutters. He's hooked up to machines and drips, his face almost as white as the hospital sheets. I bend and kiss his forehead. "I love you," I whisper. "I'd like to stay, but I've got to go home for the night." I kiss him again. "I'll be back in the morning."

  His eyes flutter open. "Kir?" he groans.

  I reach for Gleb's hand and squeeze his fingers. "I just spoke to Mama. He's good, but he's asking for me. And she needs to see to Papa." I chew my lower lip. "Daniel is on his way."

  Gleb's eyes close on a sigh.

  I kiss him once more before leaving the room with Yuri. I'm still wearing the jacket he loaned me, and my jeans are soaked with Gleb's blood. Suddenly, I'm shaking so much I can hardly walk. Yuri takes my arm. "Steady, Miss Petrenko."

  Gleb

  Everything is a blur. I don't know if I'm awake or dreaming. One second, I'm holding Elousha in my arms; the next a pain unlike anything I've felt before explodes in the middle of my ribs. I drift off again, in and out of consciousness. Eva's sweet voice is in my ear, and then she's gone. Slowly, I come to; there's a smell of antiseptic and I'm aware I'm lying in a hospital bed, machines beeping behind my head. A hazy figure is sitting close by.

  My mouth feels dry and I whisper, "Water."

  "I've got you, bro'," Daniel places a sponge between my lips, "suck on that."

  "Wh... wh... what happened?" I shut my eyes, trying to remember, and blink them open again. "How did you get here? Where're Eva and Kir?"

  Daniel shakes his head, "I came as soon as I could. They're safe at home. You need to rest now. Get over the effects of the anesthetic. I'll tell you everything when your mind is clearer."

  My head sinks back on the pillow; I'm so fucking tired I gratefully fall back into oblivion.

  Minutes or maybe hours later, I can't be sure, I wake up. Dr. Hughes is checking me over. "You've had a lucky escape, Mr. Sokolov. The bullet grazed a rib and lodged itself less than an inch from your heart. Your lung partially collapsed."

  "Jesus," I release a breath. Even breathing is too much effort; I let sleep overtake me again.

  The third time I waken, my gaze lands on Daniel sitting in an armchair, reading. I grunt that I'm thirsty and he pours some water into a plastic cup, then holds a straw to my mouth. "Just a couple of sips or you'll feel nauseous."

  I do as he says before asking him to explain what happened.

  The sorry tale he tells me brings everything back. Apparently, Yuri filled him in.

  Daniel leans toward me, his bearded face troubled. "I wish you'd give up this life. It's not a safe environment to bring up a child."

  He's right.

  He knows it.

  And I know it.

  "Not that simple," I groan.

  "Nothing worthwhile is ever simple." His dark eyes are filled with concern.

  "Don't push me, Alexei," I use his birth name. "I do what I have to do."

  He recoils as if I've sucker-punched him. "Yeah, sure." He scrubs a hand across his forehead. "I can guess how you've protected me these past twelve years. I couldn't have lived the life I've lived with my family otherwise."

  He has no fucking clue...

  Morning has come. The tubes have been removed from my arms, but the nurses left the one in my chest that's acting like a drain. They've given me painkillers and I even managed to eat a little breakfast before doing the breathing exercises they taught me.

  After his sleepless night in the hospital armchair, Daniel has already departed to return to Colorado. His words to me about this not being a suitable life for my son woke up my conscience, however. There's a tightening in my throat as I think about what I need to do.

  Eva phoned a short while ago; she told me she'll come visit as soon as her mother arrives at the house to look after our son. I hate lying here, in physical pain and feeling as helpless as a newborn baby. But I hate even more how much my soul is hurting. I don't like the person I've become; I've never liked him. I want to be someone different for Kir and Eva.

  She pushes open the door and walks toward my bed, looking so goddamn beautiful with her long, glossy dark hair loose over her shoulders. My kitten. My Elousha. My love. This girl is everything; I don't deserve her.

  She kisses me then asks, "How are you feeling?"

  My mouth twists. "Happy to be alive."

  She brushes the hair back from my forehead and plants a kiss there. "I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose you."

  "It would take more than a slug in the torso," I quip. "Is Kir okay?"

  "He's too young to worry, thank God." She pulls up a chair, sits and takes my hand. "You saved my life by standing in front of me and taking that bullet. It was all my stupid fault."

  Tears stream from her eyes; they're fucking killing me. "How can it have been your fault?"

  Her shoulders hunch and, between sobs, she gives a garbled account of how she'd gone to fetch my gun instead of calling me straight away.

  I squeeze her fingers, "Shush, Kiska. None of this is your fault. If anything, it's my fault for buying you from your father and involving you and Kir in the shitstorm of my life."

  She rubs at the tears on her cheeks. "So many dead bodies." She shakes her head. "People, Gleb. People who lived and loved and had families. Dispatched like they weren't even human."

  I groan. "I never wanted it to happen."

  "Well, it did happen," she says quietly. "And I don't know if I want our son to be exposed to the eventuality of something like that happening again. I’m not cut out to be a Vor’s woman, Gleb."

  I let out a strangled breath. "I don't want it either. I love you and my boy too much."

  She folds her arms and looks me in the eye. "What are you implying?"

  I stare back at her. "I no longer own you, Elousha. I'm setting you free to live your life as it should be lived."

  She lifts her chin. "Who'll take care of you?" Her golden irises flare. "And how can you suddenly decide it's over for us?"

  She opens her mouth to continue, but I interrupt her. "I want us to be together permanently, want us to be a family." A muscle clenches on my jawline. "Can you be patient and give me time?"

  "Time? I don't understand." She tilts her head slightly and knuckles another tear from her cheek. "God, Gleb, I thought you were breaking up with me."

  "I just need to attend to some business. Find out what Natasha was involved in." I search Eva's eyes.

  "Do you think she was the woman you met at Harvard?" she comes straight out with it.

  I make a hmmm noise in my throat. "She might be. Or she might be who she said she was."

  "I still don't understand why we can't live together in the interim."

  "I want to draw attention away from you and Kir while I search for the truth." My tone is placating. "I also want to wind up some of my businesses." I catch the startled look in her expression. "I don't know how long everything will take, but I swear to you I'll do all I can to go legit."

  "You'll do that for me?" A smile dances across her face.

  "I'd do anything for you, my love. And my boy." If my chest wasn't attached to a fucking drainage tube, I'd crush her to me.

  Her eyes narrow, as if in confusion. "Where will we live?"

  "I have a safe house, a place not linked to me. I want you and Kir to move there as soon as possible. I think you'll like it. I'll stay in my old place until I've gotten to the bottom of things and can absolutely guarantee one hundred percent that when I come back into yours and Kir's lives you won't be subjected to anything like what just happened."

  She frowns, pulling in and slowly releasing a deep breath. "Will you be okay? I mean, I'll worry about you."

  "Not half as much as I'd worry about you if you weren't living out of harm's way."

  "We'll miss you," she reaches for my hand, her tears splashing onto my fingers.

  "I'll miss you too, Elousha. You an
d Kir," I choke on a sigh. "I'll miss you so fucking much."

  Twenty-Five

  Eva

  "I like this house." Mama picks Kir up from the gleaming hardwood floor in the living room and gives him a big, smacking kiss on the cheek. "It's like a smaller version of Gleb's."

  "He chose well for us," I hear the sadness vibrating in my voice, "he must have found it after we'd gotten back from Colorado during that time when I hardly saw him."

  Mama shifts Kir to her hip and rubs my shoulder with her free hand. "I feel for you, my dear. I know how much you miss him."

  "I haven't seen him since Dmitry's funeral last week," I groan, "living without him is agony." And it's true. Waking up alone, going to bed alone, missing him every second. He'd looked thin when I saw him, his high cheekbones even more prominent; I'd wanted to hold him close and never let him go.

  "I'll come visit as soon as I can," he'd whispered, lowering his face by my ear as we'd said goodbye. "It will have to be under cover of darkness. I'll let you know beforehand."

  Kir and I moved into this place a month ago, twenty-four hours before Gleb left the hospital two weeks after he'd been shot. I'd visited him each morning when I was still living in Fairwood. My vision suddenly blurs; I so wish I could have still been there to welcome him home and take care of him while he recuperated. Olga is doing that; she's stayed on as his housekeeper. She said she didn't want to leave, even after a fire destroyed the kitchen and all evidence of the shoot-out. Gleb gave her free reign in choosing a new design, Mama told me after it had happened. I knew already, he'd asked for my input and I'd pleaded with him to let Olga decide. Dimitry had died trying to protect me, and I probably owe him Kir's and my life.

  I buckle Kir into his stroller while Mama fetches our coats. This house is in a peaceful town a bus ride from Fairwood. Mama comes most mornings to help with Kir while I clean and tidy up. Then either we go shopping or to the park.

  We exit the front door; I stare up at the house and my mouth droops. Set back on a quiet tree-lined street with a spacious full-fenced back yard, it's unassuming enough. The facade is painted white and there are three bedrooms upstairs together with the main bathroom. There's another bathroom in the basement next to the laundry room. The wood-burning fireplace in the living room, and the attached family room with all-around windows, would have enticed me to pick this place for myself and Kir if I'd had the choice. Except, it doesn't feel like home.