Chapter Twenty-Two

Nikk

“You let her get away? I give you a huge paycheck, and you fell for the trick?” I’m sitting across from a sheepish Turan, who let Elena get away. I don’t need to figure out where she might be going. If I know anything about Elena, it’s that she’s a firecracker, and since she knows what Matteo did to her, she’s enroute to kill.

She’s carrying our baby, and I care about her safety and well-being. These feelings I have locked inside, Elena has the key too. So much has changed in a short time, and it’s thrown me off.

“I didn’t let her get away. She complained about stomach pains and the baby, so I wanted to make sure she was okay,” he explains as I piece through the situation with him.

“Okay. She is carrying my child, and it was right of you to ask first.” A deep remorse sets in my bones as I think back to slamming Elena against the wall. Now, I hope I didn’t hurt her or the baby too badly. If I would have listened to her protests the first time, she wouldn’t have tried to escape. And now I have to catch her before she leaves for Italy, and it becomes one of the deepest regrets of my life.

It’s the only place she can be running to. She’s going to seek revenge on Matteo, but there’s no need for her to, because I’m going to pull out all his teeth one by one, and rip him from limb to limb, Bratva style. This is the punishment he deserves.

Turan rubs the base of his neck. “She is strong, Nikk. Very strong. She knocked me out, and by the time I came to, she’d already taken my car and driven off.”

A dry smirk tugs at my mouth. “Serves you right. I put you there for a reason. You saw what she did to Yegor.”

“I did. I’m sorry I let you down, Boss.”

“Too late for that,” I tell him in a clipped tone.

“Yegor’s already looking for her, and as soon as I came to, I called him.”

“Okay good. You’re dismissed.” I don’t look up, but Turan hangs around to confirm what I mean.

“Dismissed? Boss, are you firing me? I promise you, she is trained in martial arts. And she put me to shame. I could learn from your wife. Honestly, my specialty is guns,” he pleads, but he’s being truthful, and if I weren’t so fired up by Matteo, and Elena’s disappearance, I probably would have laughed with him. I’m not worried about him and don’t plan on firing him. I only want Elena found and brought back home to safety where she belongs.

“Dismissed for today,” I sigh wearily, distracted by figuring out Elena’s whereabouts. “It’s fine, but next time it won’t be. I will fire you,” I tell him, surprising myself as any other time I would have fired security for less. Elena’s changing me, but the truth is if Turan hurt her and left any visible marks, I would’ve snapped his neck like a number two pencil, so after all, he did the right thing. Better Elena put him to sleep, than anything else.

Ah, my L’vitsa in action—that’s something I would have wanted to see, but right now, I’m too enraged to think about it.

Turan doesn’t bother to ask me about his vehicle because I don’t care. He’s going to have to wait until Elena returns it. If I lose her now and she goes to Italy without help, I’m afraid of what’s going to happen to her, and I’m about to lose my mind. Unable to sit for any longer, I get up as Turan leaves and I call Yegor.

He arrives, an anxious expression clouding his face. “Yegor, what’s going on? You’re looking for her?” I spit out, raking a hand through my hair. I need to get to her as quickly as possible, and if Yegor doesn’t have a plan, I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.

“Yes. She hasn’t left New York yet, and I’ve tracked her to the heart of Manhattan. I don’t know what she’s doing, but Turan’s vehicle is there. There’s a trace on it.”

“Good, make sure she doesn’t leave. Find her.”

“We will. Don’t worry about that.”

“She’s going to leave for Italy, I’m sure of it. She’s going after Matteo.”

“I don’t blame her, but I think we’re better equipped to help her in this circumstance.”

“Exactly right. We are, and she’s carrying our child. I won’t forgive myself if anything happens to her. Yegor, find her.” I’ve said it out loud, but I don’t give a damn. This changes everything. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I get ready to call my contacts at NYPD to have them bring her in just as one of my men brings in Bogdan.

Flummoxed with all the moving parts, I gesture to the men. “Why? What’s he doing here?”

“It’s not what you think it is,” Bogdan grunts, wrestling with my two soldiers who have a solid grip on his arms on both sides.

“And what do I think it is? What the fuck is going on?” Bogdan’s face hangs down towards the floor as I push one of my men in the chest. “Speak up!” I command.

“We scanned Bogdan’s phone, and there’re multiple calls from him to Matteo Gallo over the past few days. He’s in bed with Matteo, and they were plotting together to kill Elena.”

Rage engulfs me as I roll up my sleeves, the icy cold part of me emerging. “Don’t, Nikk, we’re family.”

“Then you should act like it. Hold him.” I deliver a sharp gut punch, Bogdan doubling over as he attempts to wrestle free, but by the time he tries to breathe, I go in again, delivering blow after blow to his stomach. “You bitch! You had that son-of-a-bitch rape my wife. You deserve a fate worse than death. I’m going to end you,” I growl, saliva, dripping from my mouth as the carnal fight in me ascends.

“Nikk, she’s a Mancini,” he groans, sucking in air as I smash my fist into his face, busting his nose so it gushes blood all over the floor. By now, he’s hanging and barely able to stand, but my men, hoist him up as I draw back, swinging a weighty uppercut deep into his belly.

I can’t feel any pain in my hands. I’m fueled by pure rage, and with every pummel to his gut, I’m thinking of what Elena must have felt like with that pig Matteo heaving on top of her.

Bogdan is hanging on by a thread, and my chest is caving in with anger. “You let another man rape my wife! You prick! ” I yell out coarsely, Bogdan begging for his life as his head bobbles around.

“I didn’t think you cared. She’s not your wife!” Bogdan wails, his eye swelling up.

“She’s mine!” I pant, sweating profusely, hurting from the open wound of the betrayal. A tooth falls to the ground. He’s going to pay; besides I have to set the example for the rest of the Bratva to understand if you cross me, you’re likely to pay with your life.

A call interrupts and I pause, wheezing as I pull the cell phone from my pocket. It’s slippery from the blood on my hands, but I manage. “Yegor.”

“Boss, she’s on the move, and just like you said, she’s headed to JFK airport. We received word from NYPD. They’ve been tracking Turan’s license plate,” Yegor announces.

“Okay, get all the cars ready. We can’t let Elena leave New York. Once she’s gone to Italy, she’s going to be gone for good,” I remark, not wanting to even think what that would mean.