Strong enough to take me down.
I need to deal with one of these problems. Denis will be easier. He’s Bratva, like me. I have contacts that can help take him down. And since he just got shot, he’ll be weaker right now. But he’ll have upped his guards because of it, making it harder to get in contact with Natalya’s family. It will be hard, but not impossible.
For my wife, I will find a way.
I have a few of my men scope out the area around Natalya’s family home. When I snuck into her house to take her to our wedding, there hadn’t been that many guards yet. It was easy. Now, there’s a team of guards surrounding the house. They move on patrol, taking shifts around the house and blocking every exit. My men tell me that Natalya’s sisters have been spotted looking out windows, which is the only sign that they’re not seriously hurt.
But I know that won’t be good enough for Natalya. She needs to talk to them. She needs to see them.
I have to get them out of the house, even for a moment.
It takes a few days of planning but I manage to get one of my men on as a guard at the house. Denis has never met this man of mine. His name is Jackson. He easily blends in with Denis’s other guards.
Jackson will help get the girls out.
I tell Natalya the plan.
She lets out a cry and throws her arms around me. I hug her back tightly. “Thank you. Thank you. We can save them this way. We can get them out.”
“We’ll try. Jackson told me he plans on getting them out of the house on Friday. Denis has a meeting with someone that day though Jackson isn’t sure who. He’ll be able to sneak them out that day. I don’t want Denis finding out where I live so we won’t bring them here right away. We’ll meet at one of the other buildings I own to make sure no one follows. But it will give you the chance to see your sisters.”
“Thank you. This means so much to me.”
Seeing Natalya smile up at me has made all of this worth it.
Natalya
Mikhail takes me to an office building. It’s abandoned.
“We’re remodeling it,” he explains as we wait inside the large lobby area. There’s no furniture and graffiti covers all the walls. “Within a few months, it will be a beautiful office space.”
“Is it secure enough?”
“We have to hope so. Jackson told me he’s on the way with your sisters. They should be here soon.”
“And my mom? Is she coming?”
Mikhail hesitates before shaking his head. “Apparently, Denis took your mom with him to his meeting. So Jackson wasn’t able to get her out. But we can try again.”
“My mom is strong. She’s tough. But I just wish I could be tough for her after how much she’s done for me.”
“You’ll be getting your sisters back. That’s what we need to focus on.”
He’s right. As long as my sisters are with me, Denis can’t use them to hurt me. He can’t force them into marriages to gain power.
I pace around the empty lobby for what feels like years before I hear the sound of footsteps coming from down a hallway.
I turn around and stop. My sisters are here. All three of them. A man stands in front of them. Jackson, I’m guessing. He steps out of the way as I run for my sisters and they do the same.
“Natalya?” Irina asks, hugging me. I hold onto her for the longest before I give Ana a hug. Then I turn to Sasha who slowly holds out her arms for me. We share a short hug but it means all the world to me.
“You’re really here,” Sasha says. “When he” – she nods at Jackson – “told us he was taking us to you, I didn’t fully believe him. I thought we were being led to our deaths.”
“We’re going to save you,” I say. “Mikhail got you out.”
“Mikhail?” Her eyes find my husband behind me. “Oh.”
“None of you have officially met him,” I say. “And I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry I just left without a word. But I thought I was protecting you. I knew Mikhail would have the kind of power to get you out. That’s why I married him. To save all of us.”
