Page 21 of Kneel for Me
I didn’t even bother packing my things. I just shoved my shoes on and snatched my phone off my dresser, dialing Darren’s number as I left my room and headed for the stairs. He answered on the first ring. “Let me get somewhere quiet,” he told me, the sound of the hospital echoing in the background. “Jaxon, I’ll be back in a minute,” I heard him murmur. I jogged down the stairs and headed for the front door. “Alright, I’m here. Emmaline said you’re on your way home?”
“Yeah,” I grunted. “Waiting on Ivan now.” He wasn’t by the front door when I reached it, so I began pacing back and forth, unable to stand still. “Tell me what the fuck happened, Darren.”
Darren heaved a sigh. “Emmaline wasn’t feeling well, so James went downstairs to make her a cup of tea. When he didn’t come back after ten minutes, she went looking for him. Found him on the kitchen floor with two bullet holes in his chest. There was bloodeverywhere.” He drew in a deep breath, and even Darren, who I wasn’t ever sure was entirely human, sounded shaken. “Fuck, Adrian, her screams are going tohauntme.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Cameras?” I demanded.
“Nothing,” Darren growled. “This is definitely an inside job. I want to get the women and kids to a safe house, but Emmaline…”
“Yeah.” I inhaled deeply, dragging a hand down my face. “She’s not leaving until James can.” I blew out a harsh breath. “Fuck.”
“Jaxon and I aren’t allowing anyone around them,” he assured me. “We’ll wait for you to get home, and we’ll figure out a game plan from there. Just get here as soon as possible, Adrian.”
“I will,” I promised him. “Keep me updated.”
“Will do.”
I ended the call just as Ivan rounded the corner. He was dressed in a pair of black fitted slacks, a black button down, and his shiny Oxfords. He’d taken a few minutes to shower, and it agitated me. I opened my mouth to snap at him for wasting my time, but he held his hand up before I could. Obediently, I snapped my mouth shut, watching as he adjusted his sleeves then grabbed his coat from the coat hook by the door. He grabbed the other one hanging there and passed it to me. Without a word, I slid it on.
“I was making phone calls while I was showering,” he assured me. I relaxed at that. He hadn’t wasted precious time just so he could be clean. “We have a jet on standby. Mark and Igor will be meeting us at the airport. As of now, we trust no one else but immediate family. Got it?”
“Already ahead of you,” I said as we headed toward the garage. He pushed the door open, then stepped into the garage. Grabbing a set of keys off the wall, he pressed the unlock button. A shiny black Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut lit up. I whistled low, admittedly a bit impressed.
“This will get us to the airport faster than my other vehicles,” he said as he rounded the car to slide into the driver’s side. Once we were seated, he continued, “Igor is working on trying to track down who did this to James.”
“Cameras were wiped,” I ground out through clenched teeth.
Ivan nodded. “We know. But Igor is a fucking technology genius. If anyone can find the fucker who did this, it’s him. Trust me.” We hit the highway, and Ivan floored it. “Explain to me the plan Darren and Jaxon have.”
I sighed. “Until we get there, they’re sitting tight. No one is allowed near the wives or the kids except them. Darren would like to get them to a safe house, but the only way he’s getting Emmaline away is if she’s no longer breathing. She’snotgoing to leave James.”
Ivan nodded. “She’s a strong one.” He slowed down just enough to safely make a turn, then sped back up. “When we get on the plane, I need you to give me your safest safehouse location. As soon as James is stabilized, your family will need to be moved to a secure location.” He grabbed his phone and began dialing a number. A moment later, he cleared his throat, the phone held to his ear. “Dr. Lebedev, I need a favor, and I’ll compensate you well for it. I can’t give details over the phone, but I need you to meet me at the airport and prepare to fly to America with us.” He paused for a moment. “Thank you.”
He tossed his phone down. “Dr. Lebedev will be flying to America with us. Once James is stabilized, we’ll move him to a safehouse, and he’ll have his own personal doctor.”
“We have our own doctor,” I reminded him.
Ivan shrugged like he didn’t give two fucks, which he probably didn’t. “I trust mine more than I trust yours right now.” I didn’t say anything because to be real, I didn’t trust anyone apart from immediate family either. “James was shot in your home. He almostdiedin your home. Right now, no one that works for your family can be trusted.Someonehas been bought out by Boris and Ninel, and until we find out who, we treateveryoneas the fucking enemy.” He turned onto the road for the airport. “I will not play games with your safety,kotik.”
I scoffed. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
Ivan shrugged. “Fucking tough. You’re mine. And I take care of what is mine.”
18
Ivan
The jet ride to America was quiet apart from the roar of the engine filling the cabin. Adrian was tense the entire ride, not that I was fairing much better. I’d given explicit orders that no one on board was allowed to eat or drink anything, and we had a second pilot on stand-by just in case somethingdidhappen. And that pilot wasn’t allowed out of my fucking sight.
I wouldnottake another chance that someone might target us again. Granted, no one had time to actually find out where we were going or that we were leaving, but just in case therewereeyes on us, I wouldn’t take the chancesomeonegot here before we did and paid someone off.
When we landed, Mark hurried off to get our rental car. Adrian took the time while we waited to call his family and check-in with them. I stayed sitting beside him, ready to be his anchor if he needed me to. Adrian was strong as hell—one of the strongest men I knew—but I knew this was hitting hard. James was his brother in every sense of the word but blood, and they hadn’t parted on all that great of terms. Adrian had been furious when he left to come to Russia.
I knew that was all he could focus on right then.
“Darren? Hey. Any update?” Adrian’s features were pinched as he listened to Darren speak, and then, his shoulders slumped. He leaned forward, and with his elbow braced on his knee, he covered his face with his palm. “Fuck,” he breathed. “Okay. We’ve landed, and we’ll be there soon.”
He ended the call, then sat back in his seat. I arched a brow at him. “Well?”
