Page 76 of Scarred (Russian Sinners 2)

“Is this Vlad or is this Malcome Schmidt?” I growled into the phone. This was getting out of hand. She was supposed to be invisible here, yet it seemed the entire city was after her. I knew what Ilya was trying to insinuate. I needed to take her out of the city; take her somewhere safe. I hated to alarm her and cause her more worry. And I wanted to fight; I wanted to hunt down every one of those men and make them regret ever speaking her name.

“It seemed it should be Malcome Schmidt, but all evidence points to Vlad,” he replied, echoing my own thoughts.

There had to be a connection between those two men, although I couldn’t possibly fathom why or how. But I would unravel it, and Vlad would regret the day he turned against us. That fucking traitor! We knew he would do this to us one day. Since the moment he betrayed Boris, his childhood best friend, ten years ago and helped us put him behind bars, we knew he’d eventually do the same to us. And sure the fuck he did. Just when we were within the reach of putting it all behind us.

“Fine, I’ll take Olivia and Tasha out of town,” I retorted dryly to Ilya’s unasked question. “We’ll leave after dinner today. I’m taking them north.”

I didn’t need to say anything else. He knew where we were going. I had a large estate outside of Murmansk, in the far northwest part of Russia. The entire city was situated on an estuarine inlet of the Barents Sea. Ironically, Dimitry had a similar size estate on the other side of the shores, in Naryan-Mar.

I started to work out the logistics of leaving for Murmansk. I’d get my private plane to take us there. It was only a two-hour flight.

“Who are you taking with you?” he asked me.

“Andrey and five other men,” I told him. I really wanted to take Ilya but he was the best man to hunt these assholes down. “Report if you find anything today.”

“I will.”

I ended the call and dialed up Oliver.

“Anything on Malcome?” I went straight to business. Oliver wasn’t into wasting time and neither was I.

“He has a connection to someone in Russia that is covering for him,” Oliver answered. “I don’t have a name yet but I will soon.”

“Good, stay on that trail.” Could it be Vlad? He didn’t seem smart enough but I didn’t want to completely discount it. “There are men here lurking, asking questions about Olivia,” I told him. Fury rose within me just thinking about her being in danger. “I’m taking her and my niece out of the city.”

“How is my sister?” Oliver cared a great deal about his sister. “She must be freaking out knowing those men are after her. Although I’m surprised she hasn’t mentioned it.”

Seconds ticked in silence. “Nikolai, you did tell her, right?”

No, I fucking didn’t tell her. She had enough nightmares as it was. “No,” was all I said.

The sound her brother made was a clear indication he didn’t agree with it.

“She won’t appreciate that,” his brother’s warning made sense. But I wanted to spare Olivia of any unnecessary worries and fears. “You have to tell her. I can’t lie to her, Nik.”

“I’ll tell her,” I told him. Olivia wasn’t stupid, she already sensed my tension, and the moment I told her we were moving north, she’d guess anyhow.

“She is stronger than she appears.” Her brother had no idea how truly strong his sister was. Those images she drew were haunting, and her whimpers last night were like a knife in the heart. “How is she?”

“Good.” The answer was curt. I wasn’t accustomed to sharing anything about myself.

I also wondered how much the twins shared. I didn’t want to betray Olivia’s trust if she didn’t want to share our relationship with her brother. Was it a relationship? Would she want to have a relationship with someone like me? When Malcome Schmidt was eliminated out of her life, I was certain she could find a better man than I was. I should want a better man for her but I wasn’t willing to give her one. I’d be better for her; the best for her.

“She mentioned you two went out to dinner,” her brother’s voice came through the phone.

“Yes.” If he thought I would justify myself to him, he was out of his fucking mind. I respected him but as long as his sister was onboard for us being together, I’d fight everyone and everything for her.

“Nikolai, my sister is a big girl. And I won’t tell her what to do,” he started. He better fucking not keep her away from me. I knew where he was going with this. “It is obvious she likes you. I have not seen her like this in a long time. But if you hurt her, I don’t care how many men or how much money you have. I will make you pay.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that threat. No doubt he would try and I respected that.

“You have my word; I will not hurt her,” I promised him and meant it. If she decided I wasn’t the one for her after the threat was eliminated, she wouldn’t have to worry about me swarming her. Although just the thought of her walking away made my chest strangely hollow.

“Good.” It seemed we had an accord. Then he added, “Olivia doesn’t care about status, where you came from, or what your past is. She has a strange ability to see people for what they are. If the core of a person is good, she doesn’t care about anything else.”

I debated whether that meant she saw all the ruthlessness in me or if she saw some good in me. Either way, I was done discussing Olivia with her twin brother.

“Keep digging for Malcome’s connections in Russia,” I told him.

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