Page 47 of Saving Helena

That did the trick because he gave a terse nod. “Ok, baby. Sergei is being held at the Open Road until he can have my proper attention.” The words were heavy with meaning. “Dimitri ensures he doesn’t get too lonely, but he will die there. The other four men died at the farmhouse.”

Relief swept through me first, and then I wondered if that made me a horrible person. Should I be horrified that those men died or that Sergei was likely to be tortured to death?

“Am I horrible that I’m glad?” I picked at a thread in the thin hospital blanket. “That I’m thankful.”

“Of course not,” he said fiercely. I would do anything for you, Helena. Anything.” His words were full of intent as he leaned forward and laid his lips to mine, hovering over me, his breath mingling against me until tears sprung to my eyes. There was no sense in the relief that I felt safe or the sadness in my heart. Would he want me to leave now that there was no excuse to stay at the club?

“Let me go get a nurse. You look like you’re in pain.” With another whisper kiss, he left my bedside. I couldn’t articulate how much I wanted him to stay, to curl next to me and not leave me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Maddox

It’d been satisfying to kill Sergei, more than that — cathartic. Dimitri had feet propped up on the desk, listening to his screams as if they were the sound of angels. Sometimes, I wondered if there was something seriously wrong with him.

We’d had his body dumped at Rio Salado landfill at night with a batch of trash ensuring it wouldn’t be found, not that there was any chance at identification. Dimitri had ensured that Sergei had lived for a good long time throughout his torture, prolonging each day even though he’d begged us to end it. We had kept the promise to pay back a hundred times over what that fucker had done to her. Each blow to her body I’d cataloged from the hospital charts, and for those two broken ribs and her broken finger — I’d broken all of his. That had only been my starting place. I’d made his body a map of my rage.

Helena had come home two days ago, recuperating slowly, her breaths drawn carefully and painfully, each one killing me. I wished there was a way that I could take the pain for her. Her bruises were in full color now, and I hesitated even to touch her skin in case I’d hurt her with my giant, heavy hands.

“Princess, what are you doing out of bed,” I asked her as I entered the Open Road. Just thirty minutes ago, I’d left her tucked in bed, mine — safe and sound. “You shouldn’t be up.”

“It’s boring there, and I can’t raise my arms, so Jillian said she’d do my hair.” Jillian carefully combed through the tangles and made a complicated braid with Helena’s long golden hair, letting it fall softly over her shoulder in pretty folds.

“Girls have to stick together.” Jillian was careful not to pull too hard. I knew nothing about braiding hair, but I wished suddenly I did. “Then, after this, I will do her nails too. Those bitches look raggedy, and we can’t have that.”

“Then a nap,” I grumbled, crossing my arms.

“Yes, then you can take me back upstairs,” Helena agreed.

“Alright, baby. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.” I pointed a finger at Jillian and moved over to the bar, where Dimitri lurked, speaking on the phone in rapid-fire Russian.

That was something else that needed to be handled. Since he had contacted his brother, the pressure on him to return to the fold had been non-stop. Dimitri had told me that he’d managed to keep his brother off his back for years, but now it’d be next to impossible for him to stay out of the Bratva and away from his responsibilities. His vacation had come to an end, apparently.

There was also the matter of the auctions and Makarovich. Maxim hadn’t been able to lock him down yet, and I didn’t want that threat hanging over our heads. Still, there were no easy options for Dimitri.

“Brother,” I said, sliding onto the bar stool beside him. He had just hung up the phone and rubbed a hand over his head in exasperation. “What’s the news from Maxim?”

“He’s such an asshole.”

I waited for him to elaborate. I didn’t know Maxim Volkov from a guy down the street. Maybe he was an asshole, but he did have a significant role in helping me save Helena, so in my eyes, he wasn’t so bad.

“The update is he could only track Makarovich to Columbia, and then the trail ran cold. Amateur.” He gave a disgusted huff and slammed his vodka, which I’d noticed that he’d taken to drinking more frequently. I wondered if he’d noticed. His drink had always been whiskey, but he’d changed it since he’d admitted to being a Volkov. Or maybe his drink had always been vodka, and he’d been hiding it — hiding who he was. That was a thought. What else had he hidden?

“Well, I suppose we need to pick the trail back up. There are some favors I could call in.” One of my buddies from my military stint worked in the private sector with contractors in foreign governments. This might be up his alley.

“Maxim says he’s on it—for now. I’ll need to go and meet with my brother. It was part of the deal,” he admitted the last with hesitation.

I reared back in surprise. “You’re leaving?” Somehow, I hadn’t anticipated that Dimitri would leave the Iron Brotherhood.

“It isn’t an option to ignore the pakhan anymore.” Dimitri’s jaw ticked, and he said, “I’ll handle this business with Makarovich, and then I’ll be back. You take care of yourself and Helena. Leave the rest for me.”

Pulling him into a hug, I clasped him tightly. “I can’t thank you enough, Dimitri. Call me if you need help. The Brotherhood is at your disposal, always. We are family.” Pulling back, I gripped the sides of his face hard and looked hard at him. “We are family,” I emphasized, trying to engrain in him that we loved him. He had a place here.

“Da, thank you, brother.”

Releasing him, I pushed him towards the booth where Jillian and Helena were watching us. “Say goodbye to Helena fucker.”

In silence, I watched him approach and give his goodbyes to Helena, leaning down and depositing a kiss on the top of her golden hair, trying to ignore the tears glistening in her blue eyes.

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