Chapter 31

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.

Positioning myself in the booth after Dimitri left, I met her eyes.

"Are you okay, Maddox?"

"I'm okay, princess." Jillian had finished her hair and the nail polish on her left hand, painting with broad strokes of bright gold. "I like the new color. It suits you."

"Pretty nice, right?" She admired it carefully and then turned her gaze to me. "Will Dimitri come back?"

"Yeah, he'll be back. He has some things to take care of." I ran my fingers along the back of her hand, tracing her fingers and the delicate bones there except her pinky that Sergei had broken, careful not to touch the paint.

"All done, babe," Jillian announced and then said to me, "Be careful not to touch the nails."

"Got it." The women were serious about their nail polish. I'd learned this already, the hard way, and I loved how crazy Helena was about her color choices. I couldn't wait until she could do them herself again with her wacky earrings that matched.

"Come on, Helena, it's nap time, baby."

She nodded. "Help me up?"

We'd developed a system at this point, and I'd gotten her upstairs in no time. I'd prefer to carry her, but that would jar her ribs too much at this point. Anything, where she had to strain her muscles, hurt, so lifting herself from a sitting position was difficult. Even stepping up was hard on her, which was why I wondered why she'd come downstairs. Although, if I were in her position, I'd be going stir-crazy, too.

Lying back on the bed, she fanned her hands out, touching a nail to her lips. "I think they're dry," she declared with a smile. Then she frowned unhappily. "I'm sad Dimitri left. When do you think he'll be back?"

"I'm sad too, princess, and I'm not sure, but he has to go see his brother. He also is going to follow up on some leads about that scum bag Makarovich." Reclining onto the bed, I eased my body up so the bed didn't jostle her. "Then he'll be back," I said definitively.

"Ok, good." She eyed me speculatively. "I'm feeling better today. My nails are dry, too."

"Hmm," I said, reaching forward to kiss the edges of her ear, the part of her body that seemed uninjured. "I'm glad you're starting to feel better, but I can tell you still hurt."

"So, I was thinking … about what happens next," her words trailed off, and those cornflower blue eyes turned to me on the pillow.

"What happens next is that I tell you that you were made for me, princess, and I was made for you. What happens next is that we will fill our days with all good things from now on." I stared hard at her, wishing I could touch her how I wanted, but I turned on my side as I faced her. "What happens next is that I will love you how you were meant to be loved. I'm going to marry you and give you babies if that's what you want."

"So, Maddox Bishop loves me? Is that what I'm hearing right now?" Her voice held a hint of amusement.

"Oh, baby, you have no idea how long I've loved you. I love you so fucking much." Kissing the back of her eyelids with butterfly kisses, I traced the contours of her face. I wanted nothing more than to slide into her, to press myself into her pussy and feel how wet she could be for me, but all of that could wait. I was so thankful that she was safe and home with me.

She smiled up at me, sleepy. "I love you too, Maddox, and I'll be Mrs. Bishop if you give me those babies and that happy ever after." Her eyes closed as she let sleep carry her away; tucking my arm under my head, I settled in to watch over her. This woman would be my wife, finally.

Maybe Maddox Bishop, that kid without a home, had finally found his own.

THE END