Chapter 22 - Parker

I'd seen Lev frustrated. I'd seen him pretty damn pissed off and freaked out by the state of his men. I'd never seen him like this.

Lev was boiling with barely restrained fury, the vein in his temple throbbing and his hands endlessly balled into fists. And it was all because of my father.

Not a small amount of guilt permeated my blood. I wasn't responsible for any of this, and they were a bunch of organized crime families. I had absolutely zero reason to feel bad for them, and still…I felt bad because I didn't enjoy seeing Lev so upset.

And, of course, I didn't want to consider that too much.

Regardless of my understandable concern for my mental state, my chest still pinched at the thought of my father pulling one over on Lev and his family, using them and trying to start something for himself with money he most certainly didn't earn.

I also knew that a large portion of my own anger at Pavel was tied to the fact that the man had raised me and neglected to mention any of this. He'd found plenty of time to beat me for just looking at him wrong, but actually being a father was apparently too time-consuming. Or maybe he just hated me from the moment I was born?

My own rage was there, but it was it was a quieter type than Lev's.

"This fucker."

Lev's voice was tight, and he was just staring at the front door where the men he'd met with exited. They were terrifying, and while two of them hadn't spoken a word, their menacing stares still did plenty to put me on edge.

"I don't know if it will be helpful, but my father does like those massage parlors in Chinatown."

Snapping his attention to me, Lev furrowed his brow, frowning. "What?"

"He always had appointments there. Every weekend. Maybe he wasn't just getting a massage."

The tension screwing up Lev's features softened, and he chuckled, taking my chin and squeezing it lightly.

"It's not nothing. I'll pass it on to the Trinity."

I cocked a brow. "The what?"

He actually laughed at that. Lev's smile stretched, and my chest warmed at the thought of having pulled him from the darkness, even if just a tiny amount.

"The men we were just meeting with. They're called the Unholy Trinity."

My eyes flared, the name extremely appropriate and adding to the unsettling nature of their group. "That's…Christ, the Unholy Trinity, huh? Not subtle."

"Ha, no, they're not." He stole a bit of the food in front of him for the first time, which had to be cold by now. "But they are trustworthy, and they can get a job done. Any job."

"So," I took a sip of my tea, "is the trinity thing just because there's three of them, or…?"

Lev nodded. "That, and because they each play a role—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Ivan, aka Father Wraith, is the leader and gets his hands dirty to prove it. Abram, aka Sinful Son, is the second. He didn't speak today, but his reputation for infiltrating a family between the legs of their women is infamous. And Vladimir, aka Unholy Ghost, is the third. No one on this earth can disappear like he can, and he's more than willing to do it to anyone else, too."

My mouth had fallen open as Lev spoke. I was just in shock that people like them existed. They sounded like boogeymen out of fairytales or something.

"Well, I hope—"

Ring, ring, ring.

Lev's phone went off on the table, and he picked it up, standing with a look that asked me to wait there. I watched him head to the back, deeper into the kitchen. I couldn't hear any of the conversation, but I saw Lev's expression. And despite my work to improve his mood, Lev was furious again.

"Dammit!" He shouted loud enough for me to hear, gripping his phone so hard I thought he might crack it.

His head fell back with a sigh, and then he was on the phone again. It was a much shorter call, and like that, two men of his came in through the front door and met us at the table behind the curtain.

Standing up myself, I walked over, meeting Lev halfway to the table.

"What's going on?"

Gripping my shoulders, Lev looked over my head to his men. "Take her back to the house and get me another car."

I shook his hands off, glaring at him. "The house? Lev, what's happening?"

He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "Your beloved father has made another move. I'm needed at the Vadim family house."

"The Vadim house? Not yours?" My head spun.

"No. My cousin's. He's head of all operations. Striking against him…It wasn't fucking smart."

My eyes widened. "Strike. Did he hurt people? Is anyone there injured?"

The pulse in my neck was flickering, and I could feel that gnawing tension build in my muscles that accompanied a major emergency.

Lev stepped back slightly, his gaze roaming as a clear reaction to his frustration. "I'm sure there are. I need to leave. Go with them back to the house."

"No!" I shook my head, planting my feet. "I'm not leaving people who are hurt when I have the medical training to help."

"Absolutely not, Parker." Lev glared down at me. "There could very well still be some of his men there. I'm not risking your safety."

"What about the safety of your family?"

He groaned. "If you're that concerned I can send for you when the place is cleared. But right now, you need to go home."

The idea of being shot in an actively violent situation didn't sound all that appealing, so despite my intense need to help, I let Lev win this one.

"Fine. But call me. I can help."

"I will." He looked over my head again at his men. "Get her out of here."

With that, I was whisked away back to Lev's.

***

As we walked down the hall to Lev's room, his men flanking my steps so close I could smell their cheap perfume, I demanded more of the supplies I'd need to help once the Vadim house proper was cleared.

"If you're going to be up in my business like this, at least be useful." I glared between the two tall figures with my back to the door. "I'll need any spare bandages you have, alcohol. Hell, I'll take hydrogen peroxide if you have it. Any type of first aid kit, super glue, and lots of excess cloth that I can use to stop bleeding. Gloves, a sewing kit if you have one. Umm—"

When I looked up from listing things off, the two assholes were just standing there.

"Are you going to go? Or what?"

The one on the right shook his head, the corners of his mouth turning down. "We have strict orders to keep an eye on you."

Sighing, I swiped a hand down my face. "I'm at the house. I'm fine. You need to be concerned for the injured men."

They still stood there.

"I'm Lev's wife. Listen to me." My mind churned with a terrible string of ideas to get what I needed. "Or I'll tell him that you looked at me inappropriately."

Both their eyes flared, and I knew I'd struck a cord. Lev would probably seriously harm anyone who did as much, and I did my best to keep up a good poker face so that they wouldn't see that I would never do something like that to them.

"Don't leave the room," Righty said, and I nodded.

"Of course. Wouldn't dream of it."

At that, they finally left to get the medical-adjacent supplies that I'd need to do as much good as I could. As it was, I knew whatever I did was going to be a bandaid on a broken bone if they were seriously injured and not able to get to a hospital quickly.

But at least it was something.

I stepped inside Lev's room, realizing that he had the key still, so I pulled the chaise in front of the door again.

We make due.

Moving the thing was a bitch again, and when I was finished, I tossed the loose jacket I wore on the back, heading for the closet. Despite being flats, the pointy shoes I wore still hurt my toes, and I kicked them off beneath the hanging racks of clothes.

I also wanted to be in something that I could move in and make that wasn't so nice. I pulled off the blouse and wide-leg pants, opting for the pair of cotton shorts I'd been using as pajamas and a white tank. At least I could just shower if I got blood on myself.

Still, I didn't want to be barefoot in the event of an emergency, so I padded around Lev's drawers for a pair of socks and slipped on the low-heeled ankle boots he'd chosen. They weren't sneakers, which was what I really wanted, but they were better than heels.

I located the one hair tie I had with me, which was miraculously still on my wrist from when Lev grabbed me earlier. With a quick motion, I gathered my hair into a ponytail and secured it in place.My thoughts churred that anxiety of the stillness before a catastrophic event pulled all your focus.

It felt like the quiet when several incoming ambulances were announced at the hospital. You couldn't do anything until they got there. You just had to wait, and it was oddly one of the most excruciating, difficult parts of the job.

Waiting.

I stepped out of the closet, as ready as I could be, to sit on the end of the bed until Lev or his men came to get me.

But I didn't make it there.

From somewhere unseen, a set of hands grabbed me around the mouth, and I could feel cloth pressed up against my face. For whatever reason, my instincts flared to life, and I was able to keep myself from breathing. Instead, I pulled myself down through the man's arms and rolled away across the floor.

This is so not good.

When I turned around, I could see the person who'd snuck into Lev's room. He wore a black ski mask and black clothing that covered up every part of his body. Clearly, he was a professional because I was left with zero identifying details.

Call for help, moron!

Reason kicking in, I scream out for the guards, but there's no response. I sent them away to get supplies, unknowingly shooting myself in the foot.

I ran for the door, but before I could get there, the man's burly arms were around me again. I thrashed and kicked to get him away, fighting dirty and digging my nails into the flesh of his arms as best I could through the thick fabric.

It wasn't enough, and the cloth, no doubt soaked in chloroform, was pressed to my mouth again. I struggle harder, trying to hold my breath so I don't inhale the fumes. But there's little I could do against the natural urge to breathe. All this fucker needed to do was wait, hold onto me and just wait.

Several seconds passed, and sure enough, my involuntary need for air took over, and I sucked in a breath through my nose. My vision swam immediately, and at once, the world started spinning.

By sheer luck, my bawled fist connected with the man's jaw as I clung to the last of my consciousness. I scrambled up as he flung backward, heading straight for the door. My legs shook underneath me, however, and I was clumsy as I tried to climb over the chaise and get to the door,

My attacker appeared to be in no better shape, as he stumbled and fell over the object while pursuing me. Blood gushed from his nose, and I silently congratulated myself for breaking it.

I took off down the hall once I got the door open, stumbling along like a drunk as the chloroform flooded my veins.

I hadn't breathed too much of it in, but consciousness was still beginning to fail me.

Just make it to someone. Make it to anyone, dammit.

At once, the floor came up and greeted me with a hard slap as I tripped over my own damn feet and fell. The impact sent pain blooming through my cheek, and I knew I would have a wicked bruise.

Pound, pound, pound.

The intruder"s footsteps boomed down the hall toward me, and I tried to pull myself up off the beautiful carpet and run.

It wasn't working.

Between the drug and the impact to my face, the world was too blurry, my limbs too heavy, and my speed way too fucking slow.

He was on me in a flash, pressing that damned cloth to my nose again and holding it there with everything he had. My eyes watered, the sting making them burn, and the pressure on my cheekbone ached. I tried to hold out; I really did, but as more of the chemical entered my bloodstream, I passed out.

The last cohesive thought I had was praying to God that I'd left enough evidence behind to give Lev something to go of when he came to find me.

Because I knew he would.