Tank Talks
Ashley's POV-
"Can I call Misha?" I asked. I was almost giddy about talking to my friend. I hadn't spoken to him in ages.
Ranger took out his phone and handed it to me. I thanked him before dialing the number quickly. I always knew his number and I would never forget it. He was family. And I missed him so so much.
I couldn't keep the smile off my face when he answered the phone.
"How can I help you Manoso?" He asked and I giggled.
"No Misha, it's me." I told him.
He let out a gasp of surprise. "My Angel, how are you? Manoso told me you were attacked. Are you badly injured."
I shook my head even though he couldn't see me. "No Misha I'm fine. I promise." I told him. I didn't want him to worry about me. I was fine with only a few bruises and cuts. My biggest concern was Igor's cousin, Yuri. I was almost sure that Yuri was the one attacking me. He always liked using Old Spice which smelled of cinnamon and musk. He also enjoyed chewing cinnamon gum. And his eyes were the coldest blue. I shivered thinking of those evil eyes.
I didn't realized I was chewing on my bottom lip until Ranger's thumb plucked it from between my teeth. I raised my eyebrows meeting Ranger's dark gaze and he winked. I felt my face heat up and I lowered my head. I focused my attention back on Misha.
"Misha, I have a question for you." I told him.
"Anything for you, My Angel. You know this." He replied.
I took a deep breath. "Is Yuri there in Russia?" I asked; afraid of his answer.
He let out a sigh of what sounded like frustration. "He has been missing for almost two months. We have been searching Russia for him but we have come up with nothing. Igor is losing hope."
I felt a shudder of terror go through my body at his statement. "I think he's here and I think he's my attacker." I said slowly. I didn't want Misha upset with me for any reason. He was family and I didn't want to lose him.
Misha let out a string of Russian words in an angry rush. "He always did have a problem with you and we could never figure out why. But what makes you think he is your attacker?" He asked after a minute of cursing.
"My attacker smells of musk and cinnamon. And his eyes are the coldest blue, Misha. So cold and so evil." I stopped and took a deep breath. "And he looks almost identical to Igor." I finished.
Misha said a few more choice words in Russian before switching to English. "When I get my hands on the mother fucka I'm gonna rip his head off and shove it up his ass." He muttered.
I almost giggled at that. I shouldn't have wanted to but he was thinking along the same lines that Ranger was thinking of this morning. Both of them had such a violent streak coursing through them but I wasn't scared of either one of them. I found that oddly comforting.
"Igor and I will be on a plane to Trenton as soon as we can get one. He won't hurt you again, My Angel. I'll kill him first." He promised.
I swallowed. "There's one more thing, Misha."
"What?"
"He kept repeating the same thing over and over again, but I didn't understand it because he said it in Russian." Those Russian words haunted me. I didn't understand them but they were said with such evil.
"Could you try and repeat them?"
"I think so." I tried several times before I finally got it right. "Рапс вы любите шлюха вы." I struggled to say it correctly but when Misha went back to swearing in his native language, I knew I had said it right. I heard Misha calling for Igor then more angry Russian words were spoke. I didn't understand what he was saying and I was pretty sure he had completely forgot that I was even on the phone.
"Misha, what does that mean?" I asked a little louder than normal. I was trying to get his attention.
I heard his voice muffle as he spoke to someone in Russian. I heard a reply back and I was almost certain it was Igor himself. Then Misha said something else before speaking to me.
"My Angel, Yuri is an evil man and he is after you. We are coming there to protect you. And to look for Yuri. Igor doesn't want for me to kill him, but if I reach him first he will die." He replied. But that didn't answer my question.
"What do those words mean, Misha? Please tell me." I asked of him. I didn't know why I wanted to know but I did.
He let out a sigh. "Roughly translated it means, rape you like the whore you is."
I felt sick. I was going to be sick. My vision went blurry as I thrust the phone at Ranger and ran for the bathroom.
Ranger's POV-
I grabbed the phone just as Ashley thrust it into my hands. She then ran to the bathroom with her hand over her mouth. I put the phone to my ear and almost winced when I heard Misha spewing some of the worse language I had ever heard.
"Misha, what did you tell her?" I interrupted him. He said a few choice words before answering.
"Yuri has been missing from Russia for two months. We have been trying to locate him with no luck." He begin.
I didn't understand what that had to do with Ashley's attacker or why Ashley would think it was Igor's cousin.
"Why do you think Yuri is Ashley's attacker? Or why does Ashley think that?" I questioned.
I heard Misha sigh. "Yuri has always had a problem with Ashley. We believe it is because he has a crush on her and he didn't believe she should be parading her little body around in those leotards. Ashley said he smells of cinnamon and musk. He likes the cologne Old Spice which smells of those. He could also be Igor's twin brother." Misha explained.
FUCK! That is not what I wanted to hear. Then again maybe it was exactly what I wanted to hear. If we knew who Ashley's attacker was then we could find him a lot quicker. I wanted to punish him something fierce for hurting Ashley. I could make his death look like an accident or maybe even suicide.
"I'm not finished, Manoso." Misha's voice came back and I forced my attention back to him and away from my homicidal thoughts.
"I'm listening." I told him. And I was.
"Yuri is an evil man. The only one he is scared of is his cousin, Igor. Ashley told me some of Yuri was speaking to her in Russian. Those words are roughly translated to mean, rape you like the whore you is."
It was my turn to let out a string of hot curses and threats. He had almost succeeded in his task and I knew he would try again. Men like Yuri didn't give up.
"Igor and I will be on the next flight to Trenton. We will protect Ashley while we hunt for Yuri." He informed me.
"Like hell you will." I told him. Ashley wasn't leaving my sight. She would not be leaving my apartment or my building for any reason. Me and my men were the only ones that could protect her.
"I'm sorry?" Misha questioned with a voice lined with rage. I knew that voice. I had one just like it. He was holding on to his control by a thread.
"Ashley will not be leaving my building. We can keep her safe."
Misha snorted and my fingers clenched around my phone. "You haven't kept her safe so far."
I took a deep breath. "Ashley was staying in a hotel then. Now she is staying here at RangeMan with me. She will be safe and she will remain here. You will not even be able to get to her as long as she remains here." I told him.
"I have known her a lot longer than you have Manoso. She is family to me and she is danger." He stopped talking and I heard him muttering in Russian before he came back over the phone. "If you believe you can keep her safer with you then she can remain there, but I want to see that for myself. You will not keep her from me. I haven't seen her in a while and I want to see for myself that she is okay."
I was okay with that, but if he tried to leave with her, he would have a major war on his hands. "That is fine. We will send you the RangeMan jet. It will take less time to get here."
We talked for a few more minutes, going over the finalized plans of Misha and Igor coming to Trenton. I told him that I would inform the police of their arrival since one was already here. I hung up the phone and resisted the urge to grab Ashley and get the hell out of New Jersey.
Ranger's POV-
I ignored my phone as it vibrated for the third time against my hip. The first time it had been Tank and the second time it had been Santos. I didn't care who it was the first or second time and I didn't care who it was this time. They all wanted the same thing; to let me know that Misha and Igor had arrived. Forty-eight hours have came and went and the bruises that were covering Ashley's small frame have darken and looked worse than before.
I've kept my distance these last two days. Ashley was vulnerable and I didn't trust myself around her. Big of me to admit to myself but I would never admit it to anyone else. I was getting up early in the morning and taking my ass to the gym to work out every frustration I had on any machine that was available. I would stay away throughout the day and only return when I knew Ashley had fallen asleep.
Only then would I come upstairs. I would take a shower and relieve more frustrations that way then I would eat and watch Ashley sleep for a couple of hours before finally crashing on the couch. I then repeated the same routine the second day.
Which is where I am now. It's later on in the evening and Ashley is asleep in my bed. Santos had called an hour ago and said that he just picked up Misha and Igor from the airport. I hung up without a word. So as my phone vibrated now for the fourth time, I knew what they wanted. I didn't care. Going downstairs and coming in contact with these men, I would finally have to acknowledge that Ashley was really friends with the Russian Mob. Oh not that anyone would say they were but everyone knows that they are.
I had a group of men searching the Trenton and Newark area looking for any signs of Yuri. If anyone had seen anything, they were keeping quiet. Yuri was underground. But that didn't mean Ashley was safe.
I wanted her to remain with me, but I couldn't make her stay. She knew, respected, trusted, and liked Misha. I just had a secure building that one could only enter with a key. I just had a room full of any weapon imaginable with enough ammunition that seemed like it would never run out. I had men that would do anything to make sure that Ashley remained unharmed. Ashley had me and I would lay my life down to protect her. But I couldn't make her stay with me.
I didn't move as I heard my apartment door open then shut. I knew it was Tank as he was my second in command, but he never let his presence known. Not until he stopped at my bedroom door and spoke.
"Mr. Konstantin and Mr. Stanislav have arrived." He informed me; his voice soft. I was guessing he was trying not to wake Ashley.
"Yep." I already knew they were here. I just didn't care.
"You can't keep her from them."
I snorted before I could stop myself. "I'm Ranger fucking Manoso. I can do anything I want."
"So you gonna keep this one?" He asked but followed up quickly with another question. "What about Steph?"
And what about Steph. She had Morelli and she was happy with that. They did have that on and off relationship, but I was tired of it. She would continuously go back to him. She felt safe with him. I was tired of competing.
"What about her? She has Morelli."
"You know that will only last for a short time and then she'll be back."
"I'm tired of waiting. Maybe I want my own."
I heard him move before replying. "You're in love with Steph. You can't deny it. Everyone here can see that."
I hated that my men knew this. It meant I wasn't keeping a tight lid on my emotions as I thought I was. But I knew Steph didn't know that and that was all that mattered. What did matter was the feelings that I was developing towards this small imp in front of me who was in my bed. Where she looked right at home.
"Doesn't matter what I feel for Steph. Steph is in love with Morelli."
"Is it fair to Ashley to come in second?"
"She won't. Ever." I told him and she wouldn't. I would never neglect her.
"What happened to the whole your life doesn't lead itself to relationships?"
I took my time to answer as Ashley moved under the covers. I didn't want to wake her up. I wanted to talk to Misha and Igor first. I wanted to make sure they understood that Ashley wasn't leaving the premises of RangeMan.
"That doesn't matter either." I finally answered him.
"You can't pull the same shit with Ashley as you did with Steph. You can't pull Ashley in and then push her away. Ashley doesn't have a Morelli like Steph does."
I snorted again. "What about Erik?"
It was then that Tank snorted. "If she wanted Erik, they would have done been together."
I glanced over at him before turning my attention back to Ashley. "What in the hell do you mean by that?" I asked.
"You can't tell me that you didn't notice the way Erik looks at her. He would have already had her in bed if she felt anything for him. He wants her. She doesn't want him. She's not like Steph."
I didn't like that Erik wanted Ashley and I can't believe I missed that. I was going to have to talk to Erik and make sure he understood that was Ashley was off limits. I was relieved to hear that Ashley didn't care for Erik in that way. But Tank did have it right. Ashley was nothing like Steph.
"I agree. Ashley is nothing like Steph. The exact opposite in fact. The other night proved that." I commented.
Tank let out a sigh. "She was scared to death." He said and I gave a small nod. She was afraid. She was still afraid. She didn't like the smell of cinnamon either. I doubt she ever would again.
"She was. Thanks to that asshole she'll be scared for quite sometime. Not to mention she does not care for the smell of cinnamon."
"I can't say I blame her."
It was silent in the room as my phone went to buzzing once more. I again ignored it. They could wait. I knew it wasn't proper but at the moment I didn't want to leave Ashley's bed side.
"What are you going to do?" Tank asked; breaking the silence.
I stood up. "I'm going that kill the son of a bitch, Yuri. But first I'm going to make sure that Misha understands that Ashley belongs here with me and she's not leaving with him. He's also gonna have to understand that Ashley is mine." I told him before walking past him and out of the room.
I barely heard Tank mutter as I cleared the bedroom door. "Yeah, but for how long?"
