Page 9 of Collapsed

Thinking about what he has said for a moment, it sinks in how much he wants this. “Whatever you want to do, we will support you if you want to make it legal. We will help in any way we can to ensure you are in charge and our little family that we have created is safe and happy.” He smirks at me, and I know it's his way of saying thank you without actually admitting to me that he is grateful. “So, what is your plan? How can we help?” I ask him.

“Like I said, I need to get to New York as soon as possible. I know that we can get our girl back quickly once we are there, with the help of my contacts in the city.” He says ‘our’ to me with a wink, knowing it's been driving me crazy he keeps calling Nat his alone.

“While we are there, I will need to make sure my claim is known and that I have the majority support to fully take over. That is needed for when I kill that worthless piece of shit. Who one, thinks he is worthy of my Bratva, and two, thinks he is worthy of Natalia. I swear to God, he is going to be the most grisly kill I have ever taken pleasure in. It makes me hard just thinking of his death. It will take much self-control if he has laid his hands on her. I’ll have to tell myself,‘be patient, Alexie. Don’t kill him as soon as you see him’. But it will be so much sweeter to see the light slowly drain from his eyes and his traitorous body go limp.”

Jesus, he is such a fucking psycho, but at the same time, I feel what he wants to do to Ivan in the deepest parts of my soul. How dare he think he deserves our girl over us. We love her; we are her family. I just hope she can forgive us for fucking up, letting her be taken, and not protecting her the way we promised we would.

“Once I have all the loyal Bratva members confirmed to back me, all should be good to go when we kill Ivan. I just need to make sure all the loose ends are tied up before his death so I am sure to have an easy takeover with minimal fallout. I also want to make sure The Elite is not involved with any of that aspect of things; they must be kept separate for everyone's safety. I hope you understand that. I will take care of this on my own, Boss-man.” He looks at me, locking eyes, staring, and waiting for me to acknowledge him.

“I understand and agree things must be kept separate. Once found, we will keep Nat safe until you get your people in order. But, Alexie, if you need us, we will be there. I need you to know that.” I slap his thigh before remembering he is in his underwear and pull my hand back quicker than lighting, causing the tension in the car to lift. We both burst out laughing.

Reeling in my laughter, I tell him, “I almost forgot you are practically naked. Let's get home to fill the team in. I’m sure you will have a furious Russian woman at home to deal with, too. Katia is pissed that you left the hospital and slipped out the way you did.” I laugh again, knowing she is feisty as fuck. Plus, she’s basically his sister, so he will let her beat the shit out of him without fighting back, and I can’t wait to watch her do it.

Before pulling out of the empty lot we are in, I shoot the team a text, and they respond almost immediately.

Stryker: Secured the Russian, we are on our way back home. We have a lot to discuss.

Marcela: (thumbs up emoji)

BJ: Oh thank god, is my dark and dangerous one okay?

Conrad: News?

Stryker: You are ridiculous, BJ, of course, he is fine! The man in a certified killing machine and yes, lots of news, Conrad. We will discuss it at home.

King: Fuck yeah, a step closer. Let’s get our woman!

Alexie: Rainbow Sparkles, my love, thank you for worrying. The Boss-man has located me but has made me strip off all my clothes. Do I place a complaint with you for sexual harassment? (Devil emoji)

I snap my gaze over to him, not even realizing he had his phone on him until he responded in our text thread. He is already looking at me, waiting for my reaction, but just laughs at my flared nostrils. He is being very playful, which is unlike him. Must be all the killing he just did. He really must enjoy it as much as he says to make him act this way.

We ride for a while in silence but I should have known that would be short-lived with Alexie. “So tell me, Stryker, do you plan to tell our woman that you halted me in my search for her, while she was kidnapped and tortured?”

I cough in shock at what he just said.What?I want to find my Little Fox as badly as anyone else but I want to have a detailed plan. I don’t want to go in half-cocked, that doesn’t mean I halted the search, right?

“Your silence tells me you have something you need to think about Stryker. Just make sure what you decide doesn’t end up harmingMalyshkafurther or I will do far worse than hurt you,” he tells me and goes back to looking out the window like he didn’t just threaten my life.

Pulling into the driveway at the safe house, we both get out, and head to the door. Walking into the house, the whole team is there to greet us, so we can get to work as soon as possible. But when they see us, everyone doubles over with laughter. BJ speaks first, “ OMG! I thought he was joking. Why is he naked, Stryker?!” You can hardly understand her, she is still laughing so hard.

“Yeah, laugh it up, assholes. He stripped himself by choice. He was dripping in blood after the warehouse, and I yelled at him for getting the SUV dirty. So, he stripped down before he got in, to be a smartass.”

King chimes in with, “You sure you weren't having a bit of fun blowing off some steamtogether?” he says with a wink.

“Shut the fuck up and get in the dining room, all of you! Alexie, go put on some clothes first,” I bark out my orders, annoyed with them all now.

Alexie salutes me, before strutting up the stairs to get dressed. I watch them all disperse, and I make my way to the kitchen to get a beer, then to the dining room to meet everyone. A minute later, Alexie saunters into the dining room still shirtless but with gray sweatpants on. He slides down into the chair right next to BJ, clutches her hand, and kisses the top of it. She blushes, and Katia walks to the other side of the table, punches him in the arm a few times so hard she winces in pain, and mutters, “You fucking asshole, I hate you sometimes,” under her breath while she does it. I love how strong Katia still is after everything she survived being in Las Vegas. She is the epitome of a survivor and I can’t wait to watch her continue to blossom.

Alexie looks at her adoringly and bows to her in apology while still sitting in his chair. “Please, forgive me, my sweet girl. I was only trying to get closer to finding our Natalia.”

He gives her his best puppy dog eyes, and BJ tells her, “Come on, how can you be mad at that, girl?!”

I’ve had enough. Wanting to get this show on the road, I cut the nonsense off. “Enough. Let's get our plans started. Based on Alexie’s bloodbath today, we know Nat has been taken back to New York via private jet, most likely a private charter. He probably paid a pretty penny to make sure the flight plans stayed quiet. So, I’m guessing that's why Conrad couldn’t find them. Also, Ivan has already taken steps to take over the Bratva, now that he has killed Andrei. Alexie and I have spoken, and he is finalizing his plans to take back control and run the Volkov Bratva as he was raised to do. To be safe and keep us on the legal side of things, we will let him do that on his own, but be here if he needs us. Our first goal will be to get Nat back and then make sure Alexie can execute his plans smoothly. With all that said, Conrad, I need you to get us out of Chicago and set up in New York as soon as physically possible.”

Conrad whips his laptop open and starts typing. Without even looking up at me, he says “I’m on it, Stryker.”

“We will need all the usual things, please,” I request.

“Yep, I figured you would say that so while you were retrieving Alexie I started to make the necessary arrangements. I would like to have us leave first thing in the morning. I sent an email out requesting our private jet be prepped and ready for takeoff at six AM. I have rented us three black Suburbans already. They will be waiting at the airstrip when we land. Lastly, I booked us the penthouse suite at The Plaza,” he says, raising his eyebrows at me, waiting for my reaction to see if I will yell at him for the extravagant expenses. But, honestly, I don't care. I prefer the finer things in life. Plus, once we find our girl, I want her to be as comfortable as possible.

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