Sorry I'm late guys. I've been sick with the flu and words don't come easy when you have a head full of fog! Thanks for being patient, and 'Achilles' will be a little behind too because of me being sick. I will try to have it up ASAP!
Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews, I couldn't get to reply but I did read them all, so thank you. They mean a lot.
Let's get on with it then... ;-)
Dimitri – Lightning Won't Strike Twice
My mind was reeling. As I sat beside Rose, I tried to ensure my face didn't show any of the confusion that I was feeling right now. I'd never liked Dashkov, but it was my duty to ensure his safety whilst in my care. The whole time though, I'd had a bad feeling about him and his 'business' dealings.
When Rose mentioned that thing about Viktor 'making something happen'... the memory just popped into my head. I'd learned over the years to store any odd thing I heard away. Sometimes remembering those things gave me crucial information that had on occasion saved not only my life but that of whomever I'd been guarding at the time. And over the years, I'd learned who I had to pay closer attention to who I could trust and who I couldn't; Viktor was one person I knew never to turn my back on.
I was more than a little shocked to find out the relationship between Roza and the guy Viktor had business dealings with last week, but then thinking back to what he looked like, I could now see how much she resembled Ibrahim Mazur. When Rose asked Mr Dragomir if he knew about Viktor doing business with her father, I saw a look that I haven't seen in many years... and it was a look that I hoped never to see again. Fear, guilt and the look of being busted all passed over his features in a split second. He definitely had something to hide; maybe he wasn't as innocent in all of this as I'd originally thought.
Rose tried to question him but he did what all guilty men do, he evaded like a pro... His ignorance towards how dangerous Viktor is was disturbing; could he really be that blind? Rose was mere seconds from losing it and after what had happened at the cottage when Lissa rang saying that she was in trouble, I was damned sure that I wouldn't let her stress any more than she had to. Before anything more could be said though, the front door opened suddenly and Tasha, Mia and Christian walked with determination into the room.
"Has anyone heard anything yet?" He asked.
"No!" Rose yelled, "And no-one here seems to believe that Viktor and his lapdog son are behind this and that she's really in trouble here."
"Roza, calm down love." I said as I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder. She looked at me with eyes that shone with fire and fear and it broke my heart to think of even more of life's tribulations being dumped upon her shoulders.
"What's going on Dimitri?" Tasha asked me as Mia came and wrapped her arms around Rose.
"As far as we can tell, Lissa hasn't been seen since going out yesterday afternoon."
"Mia said that she'd got a text from her but there's confusion about what's really going on."
"Everyone here knows that Lissa would never send messages like those, that's not her style. If she wanted to go see Christian, she would have just told everyone where she was going; she would never be all cloak and dagger." Rose said, her voice slowly increasing as she spoke. "Why isn't anyone trying to find out where she is?"
"We are Miss Hathaway." Detective Morris said. "We need to know as many facts as we can before we go off half cocked. Following unsubstantiated theories will only result in the possibility of looking in the wrong direction."
"Unsubstantiated? Are you kidding me? After everything I told you before and you still don't believe me?"
"What things Rose?" Christian asked.
"Um..." I could see the look in her eyes; she was trying to work out what to say without letting him know about the kiss. "I've just heard Nat and his father speaking about what I can only describe as less than above board business and with Liss going missing, some of the things they spoke about have different meanings now."
"Like what? I have no idea what all that meant; what you just said." I could see Christian was reaching the end of his rope.
"Okay, okay... First, I'm assuming that Mia told you about the text she got yesterday?" she asked looking to Mia for conformation. "It was about spending the night with you and you got one saying she was spending the night with Mia; she wouldn't do that. Then Viktor kept talking about making sure the plan would 'happen' and making sure that Nat lived up to his part, I heard him say that he didn't think he could do what his father had asked..." I pulled Rose into my body, seeing how worked up she was getting, but it was like she wasn't even aware of me once she started listing all of her theories. "I know he likes someone, but I'm not sure who... He's been manipulating Lissa, telling her things on the sly and he's convinced that she has feelings for him..."
"Hang on..." Christian interrupted as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Why on earth would he be convinced that she has feelings for him?"
"Because he does..." she almost yelled. I could see Christian's mouth open ready to argue but Rose didn't give him a chance before continuing. "I got a phone call from her a few hours ago saying that she's in trouble and that I was right all along... I didn't know what she meant at first, but now... I kept telling her that they were up to no good and couldn't be trusted, now neither of them are here and we can't get any of them on their cells... Liss, Nat or Viktor; something is going on and I am positive they have her, or they at least know where she is. And if we just keep sitting here on our asses talking instead of trying to find her then..."
"Roza..." She was shaking now and her breathing was starting to escalate. If she didn't calm down, she was going to pass out again.
"Okay Miss Hathaway, say that we take your word for it and the Dashkov's have Lissa. Why... what motive could they possibly have to take her when they're so close to this family?" Detective Ivanson asked.
"I honestly don't know." Rose said. "I'm not the detective..."
At the detectives question, I thought about all the times and places I'd been with Dashkov. If Rose was right and they had Lissa, what could their motive be? I know men like Viktor, I'd grown up around people like him and in my line of work, I guarded them too. Men like him never said or did anything that didn't have a reason.
He wanted his son to do something; something that Nat seemed to be a less than enthusiastic participant in. Nat and Liss kissed and then Nat seemed to be pushing her to leave Christian for him. Viktor on the other hand seemed to be overly interested in whether or not Rose would be joining her father's business.
I'd heard Abe say after he signed those contracts that the 'funds' would be transferred in 24 hours, so it wasn't a stretch of the imagination to say that he was providing funding for something. Then there was the weapons manufacturer and Eric's involvement in what I thought was the future development of weapons with some sort of 'medical' component. All of these facts were taking my mind quickly to many suspicious areas.
I hadn't actually been looking at anyone or anything while my mind roamed but when I looked up I found myself looking directly into the eyes of Detective Morris. I could see she'd been watching me for some time and when her eyebrow lifted slightly in question, I wondered if I should voice my thoughts out loud. I looked to my left and saw that Mia was still beside Rose so I thought of an excuse to leave the house for a minute.
"Rose, do you mind staying with Mia for a minute, I really need to make a phone call."
"Yeah, I'm fine." She mumbled. I quickly looked back to Morris before walking out the front door. It was less than a minute later that I heard the front door open behind me.
"Is there something I should be aware of Mr Belikov?" Morris asked me.
"I'm not really sure." I said truthfully. "Today's events have made me... remember and question some of the things I've seen and heard. In my line of work we're trained to look out for things that everyone else may overlook."
"And have you seen things that concern you?"
"Yes. Mr Dashkov is my client and as such I'm to keep what I'm privy to, private. But if he or his son has Lissa, and I'm inclined to believe they do, then I think that you need to be aware of a few things."
"Okay, let me hear it."
"Well, first of all, I share Rose's 'distrust' of the Dashkov men, especially Viktor. I've had to guard him on many of his business deals over the last few weeks. Are you aware of whom Rose's father is, what line of business he's in?"
"Yes, what does that have to do with anything?"
"Just over a week ago, Viktor had a meeting with him. Documents were signed and Mr Mazur said that the 'funds' would be transferred within 24 hours. Mr Dashkov asked after Mazur's daughter, whom I now know is Rose and wanted to know if she would be joining the business in the near future; even then I thought he seemed overly interested in such a seemingly irrelevant line of conversation. Mazur then wanted to know when everything would be finalised to which Viktor said that most would be complete by the next day but another part of the puzzle would be finalised within two weeks."
"I'm not following..."
"I know. After that we picked up Mr Dragomir and we went to Morgoi Industries where even though no actual words were said, I was made completely aware that what went on in that room was to remain in that room. As I've said, I've dealt with people like Mr Dashkov before, I know his type. They were making deals that concerned weapons with medical applications."
"Medical...? As in... biological?"
"I could be wrong but yes, that is what I believe. Now, as I've said, Viktor went to Mazur for some sort of financial backing and he got it, but Mr Dragomir was not present. Then after picking him up from Dragon Medical, they both went to Morgoi where Dashkov's son just happens to have a summer internship. Rose told me a little while ago that Viktor wanted him to put in a good word at Morgoi for a business deal he wanted in on, but to keep their relationship out of it. Apparently Natoli is going by his mother's maiden name there."
"Okay, I agree that something with Viktor Dashkov isn't sitting well with me, but what does that have to do with Lissa? What possible reason could they have for taking her?"
"I'm not sure; the timing is just way too coincidental though. Viktor's insistence that 'one part of the puzzle' would be complete in a couple of weeks, only for Liss to go missing in a couple of weeks..." I reasoned with a shrug of my shoulder. "And from what Rose has told me, Natoli sounded as if he was being force into doing something that he really didn't want to do, then he kissed her and then seized on her confusion and tried to make her leave Christian for him... I'm with Rose on this one; I think she's with them. I don't know why, but I think it has something to do with all of Dashkov's business dealings."
"Hmm, I wonder if Mr Mazur knows anything? If he's provided financial backing for something, he may know more than we think."
Just then a memory sparked in my mind... Mikhail... He was so quiet and – reserved after that meeting with Rose's father. I'd meant to ask him what went on when I wasn't in there with them but forgot after everything else happened that day.
"What's wrong... did you remember something else?" Morris asked seeing my demeanour change.
"Not really, I just need to make a call."
"Okay, I'll leave you to it."
"No, no, stay... it may have some relevance." I said as I pulled my cell phone out of my jeans pocket. I scrolled through my contacts list and found Mikhail's number. He answered on the third ring.
"Tanner..."
"Mikhail, it's Dimitri."
"Dimitri... what can I do for you?"
"Well, I'm not quite sure just yet. Are you working right now?"
"Not anymore, I just finished, why?"
"Good, good, I'll get to that in a minute... listen, last week when we took Viktor Dashkov to those meetings..."
"Yeah?" He said hesitantly.
"When we went to Lammergeyer Imports, you went in alone at first. I noticed that you seemed disturbed by something afterwards. I meant to ask if everything was alright but I forgot. Did something happen that made you uneasy?"
"Ah... not at first but as I got to thinking about it, things just didn't sit right with me."
"About what?" I asked. I had a sense that something had happened and that maybe it would steer us in the right direction.
"Dashkov and Mazur were just making small talk at first, you know how it goes. Then Mazur asked Dashkov how his son was. He didn't say anything at first, just smiled and then said that his internship had given him 'wonderful opportunities' but that it was in his private life where he'd grown so much. Apparently his son has been seeing someone for a while and it's become very serious in a very short period of time."
The hairs started standing up on the back of my neck. "Nat's seeing someone?"I knew Rose had said that he liked someone but I hadn't actually seen him with anyone other than Rose and Lissa. If he had, Rose would know about it and if not her, then one of the guys definitely would have.
"Yeah, Dashkov said he wouldn't be surprised if his son came home one day and said that he'd asked her to marry him. Mazur went to congratulate him but when he asked who the lucky lady was, Dashkov said he didn't know; that Nat had been keeping her to himself and would introduce them when the time was right."
Weird... "But why did that make you uneasy?"
"Well, as I said, it didn't at first... But then he said that he wouldn't have a problem with his son getting serious so fast as long as the girl came from a family with money, because aside from the 'gold digging' thing, a woman should only enhance her husband in all aspects of his life, privately and financially."
A strange felling of clarity washed over me as things started coming together in my mind. Images of a jewellery store and best wishes to the 'happy couple' came back to me with a vengeance. "Were you assigned to him on Monday when I wasn't working at all Mikhail?"
"Yeah, I was partnered with Arthur Schoenberg for the day."
"Where did you go?"
"Ah, we picked up Mr Dragomir and then went back to Morgoi but Arthur and I had to wait at the car this time. When Viktor and Mr Dragomir came back outside, they had another guy with them, a young guy in his early twenties I suppose, tall and lanky with black hair. I'd seen him in the boardroom the first time we went there. I don't know his name, we weren't introduced." Nat...
"Then where?"
"Ah, we dropped Dragomir back at his laboratory and then Dashkov had us drive him and the young guy out to some cabin in the middle of nowhere. Apparently they were meeting people out there to celebrate the finalisation of a huge deal."
"Was anyone there when you dropped them off?"
"No, we took a look around before he let us go for the day. I was going to argue because there were no other vehicles around but he said that they'd get a ride home with friends... so we left. What's all this about Dimitri?"
I took a deep breath trying to reign in my growing panic... "It may be nothing. But would you know how to get back to this cabin?"
"Certainly."
"Hang on for minute." I said putting my hand over the mouthpiece. I tried as best I could to relay what I'd just been told but when I told her that Viktor had been to the jewellers and the owner had said to congratulate the happy couple; her mind went to the same place as mine.
"You don't think...?" She asked hesitantly.
"Unfortunately yes... Whatever he bought at the jewellers, he did so before Nat kissed Lissa; if he bought what we're both thinking, then it was definitely part of a plan... a 'part of the puzzle' as he put it..." She instantly got my meaning and was putting everything I'd said together in her mind.
"Okay, so... say that they do have her and are trying to force her into a marriage, how do they think they're going to make everyone here believe it's something that Lissa wanted, you heard Dragomir, he's sure that Viktor would never do anything against the family. And if they could accomplish that, then how would they convince her to go along with it if it wasn't something she wanted?"
I looked around as I thought about her question... "As far as everyone here, Rose did say that Liss told of her confusion; that she'd felt something for Nat because of the kiss... As far as Lissa not saying anything – Dashkov is definitely the sort of person who wouldn't even flinch at delivering threats of bodily harm; either to her or her family if it meant he'd get what he wanted. Mikhail knows where the cabin is that he dropped the Dashkov's at." I raised my eyebrows in question; she knew what I was asking.
"I can't go in without a search warrant."
"No, but we can." I said with a slight grin. My mind quickly came up with an excuse and I got back to Mikhail, making arrangements to have him meet me here in an hour's time. The cops couldn't go check things out but we could.
Morris and I made our way back inside and we quickly started telling everyone what we'd been talking about outside.
"NO! That's a load of bullshit... Viktor would never do that to us... to Lissa." Eric yelled.
"I agree, Nat would never hurt Lissa like that, he grew up with her for shit sake." Andre said from where he was sitting.
I found Rose looking at Christian. Unfortunately, everything had to be laid on the table for my theory to be explained; including the kiss. I could see by his expression that he'd been crushed by what he'd heard. He was standing at the French doors that led out into the garden with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, just staring; his mind elsewhere.
Rose got up from where she was sitting in between Mia and Lissa's mother, while everyone yelled and screamed and walked over to Christian. She stood a few feet away from him for a few before speaking to him. I don't know what she said, I couldn't hear her but Christian's head shook slowly side to side before he dropped his chin to his chest. I turned back to everyone else to see where the conversation was going, only to see Tasha standing beside me.
"Do you really think this is what's going on?" she asked.
"Yeah, I do, and I also think that if we don't hurry up, then we may be too late."
As the words left my mouth, I heard a knock at the front door. Leaving everyone to their bickering, I turned around and answered it.
"Thanks for coming Mikhail." I said as I shook his hand. I ushered him inside and introduced him, Eric being the only person here who knew him. Because he'd been with me at the meetings and because of the conversation we'd had on the phone an hour ago, there were only a few things that I had to make him aware of to bring him up to speed. The two detectives told us what we could and could not do once we got to the cabin so that we couldn't be charged with anything. We quickly went over a 'plan of attack' so to speak.
"I'm coming with you." Rose said firmly. I could see by her eyes she was determined but after everything she'd been through, I didn't think it would be a good idea.
"You can't Rose, we're going in under the guise of business, and if you came with us then we wouldn't be able to pull it off."
"Then I'll go with the cops, they have to hang back until you give the word and once everything is clear, then there's no problem if I'm there, is there?"
I let out a soft growl of frustration at her stubbornness. "Yes there is. Rose you have been through..."
"Don't give me that bullshit Dimitri, this is Lissa we're talking about... if she's in trouble then I'm going." Her chin lifted up, challenging me to say no again. When I let out a sigh, the corners of her mouth lifted and I couldn't help but smile back at her.
"You can come on one condition." Before she could say anything, I continued. "You are to stay away from the cabin until I come and get you, alright? No matter how long it takes or what you see or hear."
"But..."
"No Rose, I mean it. I know men like Viktor; they surround themselves with men who are capable of anything so they can keep their hands clean." I reached up and stroked my thumb over her cheek as I looked deeply into her eyes; I needed her to understand, to remember. "I can't lose you..." When I saw the light of understanding come into her eyes, I bent forward and kissed her lips softly. "Please..."
"Okay." She said simply. I wasn't completely sure if I believed her; in the time I've known her, she's never been one to think before she acts, I just hope this time she would. I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head. I would do anything if it meant keeping her safe.
Adrian and Andre both wanted to come as well but I made sure to explain how they would simply react out of worry and fear for Lissa and that would only cause harm to either her, themselves or those who were trying to save her. They nodded to me that they would stay behind but I could see by Andre's eyes that he had no plans on staying home any longer than it took for him to sneak away. When Morris came over to where I was standing with Rose, I told her of my suspicions.
"Rose, before we get moving on this, I was wondering if I could have that talk with you real quick?" she asked.
"Ah, yeah, of course." She said nervously. I followed her as she turned and started to walk towards the kitchen; Morris a few steps behind me.
"I know this probably isn't a good time, but I need to talk about Mr Zeklos."
Rose's face glazed over and her body stiffened slightly at the mention of his name. I stood beside her were she'd sat upon one of the kitchen stools and reached around to put my hand against the base of her neck.
"What about him?"
"Well, he was released from hospital about thirty-six hours after we took him from your mother's house and then taken into custody. He has a broken nose, two broken ribs, a fracture to his left cheekbone and a blowout fracture to the orbit of his left eye. He's found himself a few teeth less than when he woke up on Monday morning too."
I couldn't help but be more than a little bit proud of my girl. I felt my eyebrow rise as she looked up at me. I tried not to look too happy about the state of his injuries but I couldn't help it; he deserved everything he got... more actually. I know that if I'd got a hold of him, he'd be in a lot worse condition than he was, in fact I'm pretty sure he'd no longer be breathing if I had.
"His arraignment has been scheduled for the 25th of this month, along with Ralf Sarcozy and Aaron Voda. Additional charges were laid against Mr Zeklos at the hospital on Monday evening stemming from his attack during the day." Morris informed us. "I will need to speak to you in the next day or two so we can go over a few things, but that can wait for the time being, just let me know when you're ready."
"I will; thank you Detective Morris."
"Okay, we should get going. I'll see you outside."
With that Morris went back into the lounge room and I turned to the quiet woman beside me. When she looked up at me, her eyes narrowed as she took in my expression.
"What's that look for?" she asked.
"I always knew you'd be a badass." The smile on my face widened before a snort of laughter made its way out of me.
"Don't you forget it Comrade." She said as she punched me softly in the arm. "You know, my mother used to say something that I never fully understood until now."
"And what's that?"
"That some people are only alive because it's against the law to kill them. I missed my chance..."
"No Roza," I said as I moved to stand in front of where she sat, "...he may deserve death for what he's done not only to you, but to all the other girls, but that is one thing you don't ever want hanging over your head. He's scum but that is something that you can never change and over time... you'll wish you could, no matter who it was."
I could see that she wanted to ask me if that meant that I'd taken a life but we didn't have time to get into all of that... time was short, we needed to go.
"Come on, we need to go find Lissa and bring her home." I moved out of her way as she pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth as she stood up beside me but she didn't go to move.
"Promise me you'll find her." She said softly. "...and you won't let them get away with what they've done."
I turned her around by her shoulders and put my fingers under her chin to raise her face up to mine. "If she is in fact with them at this cabin, I will bring her straight out to you and I will do everything in my power to ensure they don't get away with what they've done." That was the best promise I could give under the circumstances and I could see by her expression that she picked up on my 'half-promise'. She nodded and stepped into my arms; her grip around my waist told of her anxiety. I bent down and placed another kiss atop her head before bending down and lifting her off the ground. I had only meant to bring her up so that I could bury my face into her hair and let the scent of her skin flood my senses but she wrapped her legs around my waist and my body reacted to having her so close.
She pulled her head back and stared into my eyes for a few seconds before bringing her mouth to mine. "Ungh..." I moaned. Her taste, the silky touch of her tongue against mine instantly made everything around us disappear, yet brought her into clear focus. One of my hands snaked up her back and into her hair as the kiss deepened, my other hand made its way downward where I kneaded her beautiful backside. Thankfully she moaned and pushed her chest into mine; effectively bringing me out of the fog of lust that she had quickly enveloped me in and this was neither the time nor the place to go any further, but God help me I wanted to... I turned around and placed her on top of the kitchen bench that was behind us.
"If there wasn't a house full of people less than twenty feet from us right at the moment, you'd be..." My statement stopped abruptly as her hand came into contact with the evidence of my desire. I hissed through my teeth and closed my eyes as she slid her hand up and down against my now rock solid erection.
"I'm gonna hold you to that lover... literally." She literally purred.
Holding her wicked hands to my chest, I spoke as seductively as she just did. "You should know me by now Roza; I never say anything I don't mean." I gave a quick sweep of her face and body and could see that she was far more relaxed than she's been since Lissa's phone call, but I knew that was about to change. I only wished I could give her more of a respite from her worries. I held my hand out to her and she closed her eyes briefly before trying to smile at me... it came off a little more like a grimace, but I knew she was trying.
After helping her down, I led her out to where everyone else was waiting. I noticed that Ivanson was no longer in the room and Morris told me that she was outside checking on a few things.
Two minutes later... we were on the road. I had to go home first and change into my work clothes, this had to look authentic.
"Promise me Roza." I said as I held her face in my hands outside my mother's house. I'd changed and we were about to leave, but I had to make sure she would be safe if something went horribly wrong with the plan.
"I'll stay with the detectives; you won't have to worry about me I promise." Somehow, that didn't sound like the promise I'd meant for her to give me...
"Belikov, we have to go." Mikhail yelled out, pulling my attention away. I gave a quick nod in reply and then bent down and softly pressed my lips against hers, loving how she bends her body into me.
"Be safe." She whispered against my lips.
"Always love..."
She pulled away from me and I watched as she walked over to the detective's car and climbed into the back seat. I smiled at her before climbing into the car beside Mikhail.
"Hathaway?" Tanner grumbled. "As in... boss... Hathaway?" I'd been waiting for this since the moment Detective Ivanson called out to Rose at the Dragomir's driveway as we were leaving. I saw Mikhail initial confusion and then his eyes roll as he connected the dots but because Rose drove with us to my house, this was the first chance he had to actually ask me for conformation.
"Yup... Rose is Janine's daughter."
I turned to watch his face as he mulled over this latest bit of information and was almost thankful for the silence... until he burst out laughing.
"Oh shit..." he guffawed and wiped at his eyes. "Does she know?"
"Yes, she does. She... caught us... kissing... on Monday."
"You're kidding..." He turned to stare at me open mouthed before starting to chuckle again. "I bet that went down like a lead balloon... How are you still walking?"
"I'm walking fine, as you can very well see for yourself and no, she wasn't too pleased at first, but we're both adults and plus, there's nothing she can do about it now... we're together." I couldn't help but think of the moment when we finally came together.
"... I love your innocence. I'll go slow, just let me know if you want me to stop, alright." The love I felt for this woman right at this moment as I looked into her eyes almost overwhelmed me.
"Okay." She said without hesitation.
I wanted nothing more than to instantly bury myself into her body but I knew I had to take things slow. Her body had yet to experience this and would naturally tense at the feeling of being invaded. As I positioned myself at her entrance, I couldn't help but look down at her body beneath mine; I wanted to remember this moment forever. I smiled as I saw her skin prickle in response to my nearness.
Slowly I pushed my hips forward, easing my way inside of her slick heat. I had to think of something else but the feeling of her surrounding me; otherwise I'd end up pushing too hard, too fast. Three more pushes, progressing further in each time, I felt resistance; I knew what that meant. I stopped knowing that I was about to cause her pain, I just hoped that it would be too bad.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
I'd dreamt of being here, inside of her for so long... Instinct took over as I looked into her deep brown eyes; I took her mouth and her tongue as I pushed forward and took her innocence. I knew the moment she felt it. Her body tightened as she felt the sting of her delicate flesh tearing.
I pulled back slightly but I couldn't make myself stop kissing her. I opened my eyes just before she opened hers and I saw them change as she started to relax around me.
"Okay...?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"You didn't!" My friend's voice pulled me out of my near perfect recall.
"What?" I said as I cleared my throat and shift in my seat so that I could readjust myself.
"You did... Oh man...I know that look, that's the 'I just laid' look... Is she a wild one?"
"Don't go there Mikhail." I warned. He knew he'd overstepped, he nodded and turned his attention back to the road. I on the other hand, went back to my previous thoughts.
Nearly forty minutes later, we pulled off the highway, onto a dirt side-road. It was extremely remote out here, if Lissa was here and tried to scream; no-one would've heard her. I also doubt she would've gotten help in a timely manner if she'd happened to run and get away from them either. Mikhail picked up his phone and pressed a few buttons before bringing it up to his ear.
"I'll be turning off in about ten minutes; the cabin is only about 150 feet down the road after that." Obviously he was talking to Ivanson in the car behind us but then hung up before anything more could be said.
"Okay... you're confident with what we have to do?" I asked as he kept driving.
"Yup. I still don't know if it was the right thing or not by not bringing the boss in on this."
"She wouldn't have gone along with it and you know it."
"And if they call?" I knew he was talking about the Dashkov's.
"Then you'll get to see how quick I think on my feet."
He gave a snort of amusement before his face became serious. "Do you really think she's here, with them?"
"Yes. Now we just have to make sure we get her out without getting hurt."
He nodded as he turned to the left and up ahead, I saw the cabin. It wasn't what I was expecting really, it was a lot smaller and more rundown than I thought acceptable for someone like Viktor. As Mikhail turned into the gravel driveway, we saw the number of cars parked around one side of the cabin. I gave a quick glance to my partner before opening my door.
Without reservation I walked to the front door of the cabin, Mikhail on my left, three steps behind me. Glancing to the windows on my right, I notice the room seemed empty, so before knocking, I walked softly towards it to get a better look inside.
Bending down, I confirmed that the front room was in fact empty. Bottles of wine in various states of fullness littered the room either in or out of small silver buckets, a few lay empty on the floor. I made my way back to the door and looked to Mikhail, silently asking if he'd seen anything through the other window to the left of the door. Shaking his head to the negative, I raised my hand to knock.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK
I stood with my hands behind my back as I waited for a reply. When none seemed forthcoming, I motioned with my right hand for Mikhail to look into the window that I'd just looked in, to see if anyone was coming. I wasn't expecting anyone to be and when he shook his head 'no', I realised that we were going to have to go around the back. I brought my hand up to my waist were my two-way radio hung at my hip and pressed the button three times. This was something that we'd discussed when working out our plan of attack with Morris and Ivanson; they now knew that we were going around the back of the cabin.
I went first, Mikhail picking up his previous position behind me. Because the cabin was so isolated, there was no fencing on the property so explaining our presence would be a lot easier. As we made our way closer to the rear of the building, I could hear that people were in fact out here. I indicated to Mikhail what was going on and he pulled his jacket around behind his weapon holster.
No-one really noticed me as I stepped around the corner of the cabin for quite a while, but I could definitely see everyone else, including Lissa. I took a few steps forward and gained the attention of a few people. One touched Viktor's shoulder before speaking to him and then his eyes were on me. His eyes darted to where his son stood beside Lissa and I knew that he could see me taking in what was happening.
As he stood up and started to walk towards me, Lissa turned her head. The instant her eyes locked onto me, they went from dull and lifeless to wide and fearful; darting between Nat, Viktor and me. Sensing Lissa's nervousness, Nat looked at her and then turned to see what had her so frightened... even at this distance I could see the color drain from his face when his eyes met mine.
"What in the hell are you doing here?" Dashkov senior growled as he got closer to me.
"We came here to check up on you sir." I informed him. "After telling our boss where you asked us to leave you, she wanted us to come out and make sure that you were alright." My eyes darted back over to Lissa and I could see her crying as she and Nat argued silently.
"We're fine, go away. NOW!"
"What's going on here?" I asked nodding towards Lissa and ignoring his demands.
"None of your business, now leave..."
"I can't do that Mr Dashkov." Again my eyes darting over to Lissa, Nat was now trying to pull her back towards the back door of the house. "Miss Dragomir," I yelled out. "...can I have a word please?"
The twenty or so people gathered all started to stand up and face me and I reached up to scratch my ear, indicating to Mikhail that he needed to call for the detectives.
"She's busy." Dashkov said. "You were not called here Belikov, you're not invited... leave."
"I can't see her father, where is he?" I asked after skimming my eyes through the small crowd.
"Inside, he's busy too."
"Well, it won't take long to make sure that everything here is okay and then I'll be on my way. Miss Dragomir...?"
"Natoli, take her inside." Viktor said without taking his eyes from me.
"I wouldn't do that." I said loud enough so that Nat could hear me too. "Lissa, walk to me please." She looked petrified and unsure as to what to do. I gave a small nod as I held her eyes with mine. Without turning to look at Nat, she pulled her arm away from him and walked towards me.
"Lissa..." he hissed behind her. I could tell by his face that he was almost as fearful as she was. "...please."
She didn't stop walking. Her bottom lip quivered as tears fell down her cheeks.
"Lissa." I greeted as she walked in front of me. "Does your family know what's going on here today?"
"Of course they do, they're inside." Viktor said once more.
"Then why aren't they out here with everyone else?" I asked him. "Lissa?"
"Um..."
"Walk behind me please, Lissa." I held my hand out toward her while not taking my eyes off the man in front of me. I saw her start to reach out to my hand when I saw his shoulder move, indicating that he was about to make a sudden move.
"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" I shouted as I drew my weapon, pointing it towards Dashkov.
Then all hell broke loose... Dashkov didn't stop his movement, he grabbed Lissa round the waist as the group men and women behind him either started running for their lives or pulling their own weapons. Lissa screamed as Dashkov pulled her hard against him and drew his own weapon, pointing it towards me.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!" Mikhail yelled behind me.
"You had your chance to leave Belikov and you blew it." Dashkov said eerily. "You should have just turned around and minded your own bloody business."
"Put the weapon down Dashkov." Mikhail ordered behind me. "Let the girl go."
"I don't think so..." He started to take a step backwards as we heard the siren. I could see out of the peripheral of my vision that most of the people here were now gone, only the few loyalist stuck around.
"You don't think you're going to get away do you Dashkov?" I asked him.
"I won't need to; the police have no reason to come here."
"Oh, I think there's plenty of reason." Tanner said behind me.
"Ah... but you're the only two here that have a problem with today's festivities, isn't that right daughter." I heard the veiled threat in his words; he planned to kill us before the police arrived... But having Lissa in front of him meant that I couldn't shoot at him.
"I'm not... your... daughter." Lissa growled through clenched teeth. Then before any of us realised what she was going to do, Lissa grabbed Viktor's arm that was holding the gun and twisted it sharply upwards. Next thing, his gun went off... Instinct had me somehow holster my weapon as I leapt forward then I grabbed for Dashkov's raised arm while trying to pull Lissa out of his grip.
"SHOTS FIRED, SHOTS FIRED..." We heard Morris yell behind us.
"Mikhail!" I yelled as I finally yanked her away from Viktor and behind me.
"Police... Drop your weapons... NOW!" Even though I wasn't looking at her directly, I could see Ivanson on the other side of the yard; her weapon drawn on the others whose weapons were trained on Tanner and I. "I won't tell you again! Drop them!"
Dashkov and I fought and his free hand struck the side of my face in a vain attempt to distract me from taking his weapon; it didn't work. I brought my fist up into the top of his gut at the same time I twisted his hand into a position that hands were not designed to go into; it didn't do the bones a lot of good. He screamed out as the bones snapped and he dropped to the ground.
"Stay down..." I growled at him as I clutched at the collar of his shirt, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet. He tried to kick out but he was in the wrong position to do so. I was sick of this shit; I had to make sure that Lissa was alright and that Nat didn't get away... My arm pulled back and I planted a quick succession of two jabs to the side of his head. I was about to give him another one, but I didn't need to. His body went slack in my hand and his eyes rolled backwards as he fell slack-jawed to the ground.
Still in the same position, I turned my head to look at where I could hear Lissa screaming obscenities at the prone form in front of me.
"... fuckin' prick! I'll kill you... I hope you fucking rot in hell!" She screamed in rage. Her whole body was shaking as she fought against the restraining arms of my partner. I nodded to him to let her go and then grabbed her as she sprang forward.
"Lissa stop! You're safe..." I said to her.
"Let me go, I'm going to kill the bastard!"
"Lissa stop..."
BANG!
Lissa's verbal rage stopped as I jumped. A shot rang out behind me from what I assumed was inside the house.
Belikov! Morris' voice called out through the two-way. I need you out the front, now.
"Lissa, stay here with Mikhail, do you understand? Lissa...?"
"She'll be fine... go!" Mikhail said as he reached out for Lissa's arm while still holding his gun towards where Viktor laid. I gave a quick nod and took off towards the front of the house.
"Christian!"
I know that voice... Rose...
I turned the corner in the next second, only to see Christian on the ground, a good twenty feet from the front of the house; Rose at his side... My eyes instinctively flicking up Rose's body and I saw that she was bleeding on her arm... To my left, Morris was kneeling on the back of none other than Natoli Dashkov, his arms cuffed as she called for backup; a 9 mm lay on the ground a few feet away from him.
"Don't you fuckin' close your eyes, Christian!" I turned back at the sound of Rose's voice. "CHRISTIAN!"
A/N: I thought everyone would get a little kick out of knowing why I chose that name for Abe's company... Well one of the birds of prey in Turkey is the Lammergeyer or 'Bearded Vulture'... I thought it was a little appropriate! hehehe
