A/N: Well, since I know you all are dying to know what's going on and we are getting really close to the end, I decided to post this super early. I want to thank everyone who reviews this story. I really enjoy all the theories and cheering for our characters. Now there is some stuff in this chapter that may trigger people, violence and sexual content lies ahead, but it's not pretty. Trying not to spoil but don't want to upset anyone. Also, everything has been researched, so why it may seem fantastical, it's legit. Thanks always to BitterHarpy, Maplestyle, Agoodwitch,and LaMoMo for the prereading. You ladies keep me from falling off the edge a lot and I appreciate it so much. Thank also to Alice'sWhiteRabbit for betaing. Love you!
BPOV
"Where is my daughter?" Mikhail asked, eerily calm.
"I already told you. I helped her escape. Beyond that, I don't know," I said. I was on my knees, my arms being held by two guards. I had fallen when he had backhanded me.
Mikhail took a long drag of his cigar. "Bella, you test my patience. You took in this girl for almost a month and a half, protected her, you even have a pet name for her—khoroshen'kaya devochka—and you expect me to believe that you just sent her out there on her own?" He looked at me with raised eyebrows.
"She's smart, and anything was better than being here. Being held hostage by her own father, who she now realizes is a monster." I don't know why I kept insulting him; it did nothing except make him angrier and more aggressive.
I almost stopped breathing when he gave me an evil smile. I knew before he moved this was going to hurt. "I am a monster. You think being called that by a little American slut affects me? You need to remember your place." He took the strap of the tank top and bra I was wearing and yanked it down. The guards grabbed my arms tighter, and then he took the cigar he had been smoking and smashed the lit tip into my skin. I started to scream but then bit the inside of my cheek. I didn't want to give the asshole the satisfaction, but I couldn't hide the tears that fell. He wiped away the tears with his thumb and chuckled, sticking his thumb in his mouth. "Hmmm, you taste good, prekrasnyy."
He had called me that enough times that I knew it meant beautiful. Every time, it made me want to throw up. This time after he had just put a cigar out on me, it was too much. I sucked my cheeks in and spat right in his face. He looked shocked for a minute, and then stood up, getting a handkerchief out of his pocket. "Since you want to act like a child, then I will punish you like a child." He nodded to his guards, and they pushed me over a bench in the room. Mikhail came to stand behind me. I heard his belt buckle rattle and started to freak out, not knowing what his plan was. He grabbed the waist of my shorts and pulled them down. Two other guards had to come over to keep me from thrashing around. I felt the belt crack against my skin, and this time I couldn't hold back the scream.
EPOV
Shortly after Marcus called me, one of the sensor signals went dark again, but the other one was still on the move, and I worried what that might mean. We met up right outside Phoenix. He figured it was a long shot, but he had headed to the Mexican border to see if there had been anyone suspicious trying to cross into Mexico, while we were waiting. It was pointless because if the location lock we had was correct, they were in Montana, which didn't make sense, unless their bid to get out of the USA, then to Russia, was through Canada.
"How are we going to get to Montana? It's a 17-hour drive," I asked.
"That's why they invented airplanes," Emmett retorted.
"Really? You really think you and I can just hop on a plane. The FBI considers you MIA, and they know who I am," I shot back.
"Yeah, but I'm sure Mikhail thinks you and I are dead. No one will be looking for us," he deduced.
"Has it really been so long since either of you worked a high-profile case?" Marcus asked, smiling at me and Emmett arguing. "We have a private jet. I swear sometimes you two act like it's new working for the federal government."
"So then how long does it take to get to Montana?" I asked.
"About an hour and fifteen minutes," Marcus answered.
"Damn, why are we sitting around talking about it? Let's go," Emmett said, pushing past both of us. Even though he had a broken arm, it didn't slow him down or hinder him one bit. Marcus clapped me on the shoulder, making me wince—he had completely forgotten about my shoulder injury.
"I can't believe this is my crew. The man with the broken arm, and the guy who got shot in the shoulder and the leg," he joked as we loaded onto the jet.
"I can't believe you think that will stop us," Emmett grumbled.
Marcus and I both took our phones out and turned them off, knowing we could turn them back on after the plane took off. Marcus was having the location of the sensors sent to his phone, so he had been watching it like a hawk. We all settled in and waited for the plane to take off. Emmett was already on his way to passing out, as it was the middle of the night. I was forcing myself to focus and remember what this was all for.
I had no idea what condition we would find Katiya or Bella in, which meant that I would need to stay strong for both of them. I had failed in keeping them safe, so this was my chance to make it right and get my girls back. Mikhail may have thought he was getting his "property" back, but Katiya and Bella were my life, and he was going to pay for anything he did to them. Emmett was right in his assessment that our injuries wouldn't stop us. There was a special place in hell for Mikhail, and I was more than happy to make sure he was headed there before this was over.
When we were about 30 minutes into our flight, Marcus' phone started ringing, and we both looked at each other in concern. Anyone who would call that phone already knew where he was. He answered the phone, and I waited with bated breath.
He listened intently before his shoulders stiffened. "Katiya," he whispered. So quiet that I wasn't even sure he actually had said it until his next words. "Oh, dear. Where are you?"
He listened before questioning her. "Well, can you put Bella on? She may know better where you are."
I heard a wailing cry through the phone, and I knew that sound. That was Katiya, and her reaction made my heart jump in my throat. I took the phone from Marcus without thinking.
"Katiya, pretty girl. What happened?"
She gasped and told me that she and Bella thought I was dead. She rushed to tell me what she could, and I had to control my anger. I wanted to scream and crush the phone, but that would scare Katiya. She was telling me how she was so happy I was alive and that she missed me.
I now knew that the sensor we were able to see was her. I don't know how that was, but it was the least of my worries. I assured her that I had missed her too and that we were on our way to her. Marcus took the phone back and talked to her as long as he was able to. Once the plane landed, we rushed off the plane, and he got in the car waiting for him in the airfield. He had a rental already waiting for him. He barely waited for Emmett and me to get our doors closed before he was taking off and heading toward the location he had on his phone.
Once we got close and I laid eyes on Katiya, Emmett and I were the first ones out of the vehicle and Katiya was running toward me. I took her in my arms and hugged her to me. She started crying hysterically, and I had to do everything I could to keep my composure. She was telling me she was sorry, and we had to help Bella. I told her that we would, but we needed to get her taken care of first. Marcus had already made arrangements for a hotel, and that's where we went first. I had to let Katiya sit in my lap the entire ride, she wasn't willing to let me go, and I was feeling the same thing about her.
Waking up in the hospital and finding out that both of my girls were gone was devastating. I knew Bella was holding her own, but this guy was a special kind of fucked up, so I was terrified for Bella. I was glad that she did what she could to make sure Katiya got out, but I wanted her here with me now. If she and Katiya had thought that I was dead, and she had to send Katiya off without knowing if she got rescued, then I worried about her emotional state too.
Once Katiya had some food in her and took a shower, dressing in clean clothes, she was ready to tell us what she knew. We tried to get her to get some sleep, but it was nearing early morning, and she was too keyed up to fall asleep. She wanted us to help Bella; she seemed frantic about it. Once she started telling the story, I understood why. She said that she wasn't sure what had happened but that her dad was mean to Bella, pushing her around, and he had brought Bella back to their room bloody, and she would cry when she thought Katiya was sleeping.
"He called her prekrasnyy all the time. That means beautiful, but he said it in a mean way. I think he was hurting her. He once said that she had fire, and he was going to have fun ex—" She seemed to be thinking of the word. She had a large vocabulary for an eight-year-old, but sometimes on bigger words, she had trouble. I was impressed regardless because English wasn't her native language.
"Extinguish?" Emmett asked, trying to help her.
"Yes, he wanted to extinguish her fire. What does that mean?"
Emmett and I locked gazes. We were pretty sure that Mikhail had raped Katiya's mom when she got pregnant with her. The signs all led to it. She was married when it happened, she stayed married after it, and she wanted to keep her daughter away from her father. We also were pretty sure that he was involved with their house burning down with them trapped inside. Revenge for rejecting him and keeping his daughter away. He was just the kind of creep to do all those things. Tatiana looked a lot like Bella. Katiya's natural blonde hair and blue eyes were all from her dad. I was pretty sure that dying her hair dark was going to be a permanent thing now.
"We don't know what he meant, pretty girl, but we will make sure that we do what we can to rescue her. So, how did you escape?"
"Bella said it was her job to protect me, and she was going to come with me, but if she had to stay so I could go, then I needed to run if she told me. She gave me Mr. Marcus' number, and one of her earrings. Then she hit a few guards and got me outside. When we got close to the fence, they had figured out we were trying to escape, so she helped me get under the fence and told me to run and find somewhere crowded. So, I did what she said and found a phone to call Mr. Marcus."
When I had gotten back from that trip to Oregon, Katiya had told me that she liked Mr. Marcus and had refused to just call him Marcus no matter how many times we told her. Because Marcus was in his 50s, I think it was just a respect thing. "You did a really good job, pretty girl. I'm so glad we have you back."
"Edward, we need to get Bella back. Mikhail is mean. He hurts her and makes her cry."
My heart broke for her. I knew how she felt. I loved my dad—he was very loving and kind—but I hated seeing Esme cry anytime she was upset. I knew that as deep as the bond my father and I had, if he ever made Esme cry, I would be livid. Katiya had a strong bond with Bella and almost no loyalty to her dad, so I knew she was upset. To see her dad physically hurt Bella had to be really hard and to know you were related to such a monster was even worse. I hugged her tighter to me, hoping I could give her some sort of comfort.
Marcus pulled Katiya aside for a little, trying to get as much info as he could about where Bella was. We could just go to where the two signals had popped up together, but going in blind wasn't a smart move, even with more of a crew and none of us injured. Once he had Katiya's statement and more of a concrete idea, he was hopeful we would have more of a crew to back us up. Two invalids and an over the hill desk jockey wasn't going to cut it.
"What are you thinking, Edward?" Emmett asked. This was one of the main reasons we were best friends. He knew me—every facial expression, every nervous tick.
"I'm really fucking worried about what state we're going to find Bella in. Katiya seems to have come out of it fairly unscathed, but she's still gonna need some heavy counseling when this is all over, not only the emotional trauma of what has happened and who her biological family is … but the picture she painted of what is happening to Bella. She's so fucking strong, mentally, but there is only so much people can take before they break. I can barely stand thinking of him even touching her …" I said, not able to finish that thought without seeing red.
"Yeah, I don't want to even entertain the thought of us getting there too late, but I'm worried about what might be happening to her. Marcus needs to get a crew down here, and we need to storm that place. Enough of this waiting around shit."
I knew Marcus cared about Bella. The one time he had met her had made an impression. Bella was her usually charming and kind self, and she had felt the same. She told me that Marcus reminded her of her dad, calm and unflappable. He kind of had to be to deal with my crap. He was in a tough spot. He wanted Bella away from that monster, but to get more people here to make it happen, he had to jump through the hoops the gods in the marble halls asked him to jump through. I just hoped they didn't decide to move Bella, making this whole thing a lot harder. We would hopefully see if they decided to move her.
They could also do what they did with Emmett, leaving him there half-dead and bolting. My worry was if they did that, we may be screwed if they moved to Canada. We'd lose our jurisdiction if they crossed the Canadian border, and though they did cooperate with the USA, trying to arrest a Russian citizen was tricky enough on American soil, let alone the USA arresting him in a foreign country and taking him across the border back to America. We definitely had the means and evidence to do so, but the fucker was crafty and could possibly disappear in the wind before we got the "paperwork" in order.
This was a major point of Marcus' to try and get this mission off the ground. Once he was off the phone and waiting for the call back, he tried to tell me and Emmett that we were staying put for the final showdown. We both told him fuck that, and he assumed we would say that, but he had to pretend to try. Katiya came back out to where we were all sitting and waiting around. She came over and sat in my lap, hugging me around the waist. I held her close, taking in the comfort that she was safe, and she was here where I could see that she was okay myself. I refused to let myself continue to entertain that Bella may not be okay. Not only did I need her and want her, but Katiya would be devastated if Bella wasn't by our side at the end of this.
In that moment, holding this little girl in my arms, I knew, regardless of what my future with Bella was, this little girl would be a part of the rest of my life. I would be her dad in every way that her bio-father had failed her, and when she found a man who was worthy of sharing his life with her, I would be the one to give her away. I wasn't scared anymore of ruining her life; I only saw myself making it full and happy. I felt the need to share this revelation with her, but I wanted it to be private. I told Marcus we were talking a walk, and we'd be back. I took her outside, and when we got a little bit away from the hotel, I stopped and knelt down to her level.
"What's up, Edward?"
"I wanted to talk to you for a minute. I'm so sorry that I failed to protect you and Bella against Mikhail before, but I want you to know that I'm going to finish this, and I want to get Bella back with us."
"I know you'll get her back. You're my protector. That's what Bella said."
I nodded and chuckled. "Yeah, I bet she did. Um, I wanted to talk to you about after. Regardless of what happens with me and Bella, you know that I will be there for you the rest of my life. I don't want you to ever think that I don't love you or won't be there to protect you," I said, running my hands through my hair. "You may not be comfortable with calling me your dad yet, but I hope someday you would give me the honor of being called that. I want you to know that I would love to be your dad." I fisted my hair with my hands, finishing what I was saying, trying not to ramble.
Katiya gently grabbed my hands, pulling them from my hair. She gave me a sweet bright smile and had tears in her eyes. "You are my papa, Edward. You have been from almost the beginning. You saved me, and Bella told me that she loved you because you stepped in to help us when you didn't have to. I love you, too."
She threw herself at me to hug me, and I was ready for her. I wanted to lift her off the ground, but with my shoulder and leg, I would probably end up falling. I didn't want to injure myself more before trying to save Bella. We both started laughing, and we both had tears running down our faces. Marcus came around the corner and gestured for us to come inside. We walked hand in hand toward him. "It's been approved, Edward. It's 0900 right now; your crew will meet you close to the location at 1200. We've discussed the plan, and I expect it to go off without a hitch. They're to apprehend Mikhail and only use deadly force if necessary."
"Understood, Marcus." I really wanted to kill the fucker, but I knew that wasn't how things were done in the bureaucratic world. Starting an international incident and all that stuff. Accidents, however, did happen. Emmett and I both tried to get in a short nap and eat before we had to gear up. We both wore black cargo pants, combat boots, and our bulletproof vests under black T-shirts. Emmett put a black beanie on, and after I finished laughing at him, I put on my own. My hair was too noticeable without it, and I needed to blend in as much as I could. We were trying to keep our outfit as close to what the other guys would be wearing.
Marcus was going to stay at the hotel with Katiya. Before we left, Katiya crooked her finger at both of us. Emmett and I both laughed and crouched down in front of Katiya. She threw her arms around both of us. She kissed me on the cheek and gave Emmett a shy smile while playing with her hair. Yeah, I think Bella was right—she had a crush on the big guy. "Be safe," she said simply. I kissed her on the forehead, and Emmett kissed her on the cheek.
We headed out the hotel door, and I knew it was go time. Bella would be coming back to this hotel later today to hug Katiya, even if I had to break my promise to Marcus. Mikhail would pay, and it was now or never.
Translation
Prekrasnyy: Beautiful
A/N: So, how are we feeling. Still some questions to answer but this answered some. Let me know what you think and review. Thank you so much! This is completely written and it is almost over, so stay buckled in folks!
