Chapter 15

Avgust~

F ury had me shaking in a way that I'd never felt before. When Maksim had called me, he'd only said that Samara had been hurt before he had put her on the phone. When she'd started speaking nonsense, begging for something that I couldn't identify, that's when the anger had begun to take hold. I had promised that no harm would come to her, but something had clearly happened to her.

As soon as Maksim stood up to make room for me, I carefully approached her, immediately noticing how she hadn't bothered using Maksim's jacket to cover herself up. The garment hung loosely around her frame, so her bra and injuries were on display for us all to see.

Kneeling next to her- something that I never fucking did -I asked, "Samara, can you stand up?"

Her blue eyes took on a wild glint as she ignored my question, falling back into her hysteria. "Don't kill her, Avgust," she begged. "Please…don't hurt my sister. I…I didn't know what I was here for…I was just…I was taken by surprise." Fury rolled down my spine, and it was everything that I could do to appear calm before her. "Tell them that I'm sorry…tell Rurik and Vlad that…that I'll be good." She winced as she tried to sit up straighter. "I'll be good for them…just…just don't kill Masha."

"Baby, your sister is safe," I told her through clenched teeth. "Masha is fine. I swear it on my word as Pakhan."

Samara started nodding nervously. "Okay…okay…" she whispered. "I can…" She stopped, then reached up to remove Maksim's jacket. "Tell them that I'm…that I'm ready for them."

I allowed her to remove the garment, then I grabbed it, handing it back to Maksim before I removed my own jacket to place on her shoulders. My hands were shaking, but Samara hadn't noticed, though I was certain that Maksim had. I had so much anger coursing through my veins that I wasn't even sure how I was functioning, but despite what I was feeling right now, Samara was the priority.

"Samara, you are not here for this," I finally informed her. "You were not to be harmed."

"You don't have to lie to me, Avgust," she said, her voice sounding alarmingly empty.

"I do not lie, vozlyublennaya," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "I do not need to lie."

"Then why am I here?" she asked. "Why am I in this cage, if not to service your men when they're in need after…after what they…they do here?"

I cursed under my breath.

Of course, this was my fault.

I hadn't made myself clear enough where she was concerned, and she had paid the price for that lack of oversight. Yes, Rurik and Vlad were going to pay dearly for their assumptions, but that wasn't going to help Samara through her trauma. I also didn't care that Vlad had been trying to talk Rurik down. All that mattered was that he hadn't stopped him, and he would have stood by while Rurik raped Samara, even knowing how I felt about rapists.

"I brought you here to make you suffer," I admitted. "However, no harm was supposed to come to you while under my protection."

She gave me a terse nod before saying, "It doesn't matter as long as Masha is safe. I'm…I'm okay, Avgust."

"Maksim."

With just that one word, Maksim was already working to remove the cuff from Samara's ankle, and as soon as the metal clattered on the floor, he said, "It needs to be cleaned and probably bandaged."

Still trying to keep my anger in check, I slid my arms underneath Samara's weakened frame, then stood up with her in my arms. When she buried her face into my neck, I'd never felt so fucking murderous in all my life, and that included when she'd left me all those years ago. I had given my word that nothing would happen to her, and Rurik and Vlad had made a liar out of me, tainting my honor as a man, turning my word as Pakhan into nothing, and the hell that I was going to make them experience was going to be unlike anything that had come before them.

Turning towards Maksim, I said, "No one touches them until I return. Understood?"

"Of course, Pakhan," he answered.

Samara didn't utter a word as I carried her out of the building, then to my car. As carefully as I could, I placed her in the passenger seat, thankful that she wasn't fighting me on this. Luckily, since I didn't live in town, the drive wouldn't be a long one, but I was pretty sure that Samara didn't care about the logistics of her situation. Honestly, once she snapped out of her shock, I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to kill me for what had almost happened to her.

As I pulled the car onto the road, she asked, "Do you swear that my sister is safe?"

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel. "I swear it on my word as Pakhan, Razh."

"Where are you taking me?"

"To my home."

"Why?"

"You'll need to shower, so that I may tend to your wounds," I explained, though not telling her the full truth. After tonight, she would be serving out her sentence at my house.

"Seems pointless," she remarked quietly.

Nothing more was said on the drive to my home, which I was thankful for. I'd never felt like this before, and I was struggling between taking care of Samara and making Rurik and Vlad pay for what they'd done. I wanted to hurry and put Samara to bed, then go take care of business, but I had no idea how she was going to feel about staying in my home. Knowing the woman the way that I did, I was probably going to have to chain her to my bed, and doing so didn't sound like the best idea, considering what she'd just been through.

Once we reached the gates to my home, I hit the button on the console to open the gates, and two guards appeared as if by magic to make sure that nothing or no one followed in behind me. The byki that were employed to protect my house were the best in the organization, as they should be.

Pulling into the garage, Samara waiting as I got out, walked around the back of the vehicle, then opened her door for her. Her blue eyes looked up at me as I reached down to unbuckle her seatbelt, then gather her up in my arms again.

Samara didn't say anything as I carried her through the house, and I noticed that she also hadn't bothered to look around to take in her surroundings. Instead, she had buried her face in my neck again, and I could admit that it felt good to have her curled up in my arms like this. Between my concern for her and my anger at my men, memories of another time were trying to make their way into my brain, but I didn't have time for that. Besides, Samara wasn't going anywhere, so I had plenty of time to indulge in those memories at a later time.

When we finally reached my bedroom, I placed her on her feet before saying, "Your purse is on the dresser. Would you like to call your sister?"

Samara's blue eyes flashed my way. "You kept my purse?"

"Why wouldn't have I?"

"The plan is to keep me locked in a cage at some factory," she replied, her voice still sounding a bit empty. "What benefit is there to keeping my purse? You don't need my wallet, phone, or even me to check up on my sister."

She was correct, of course. However, I did not want to discuss my decisions with her when they were personal ones. "Let's get you into the shower, Razh."

Samara looked like she wanted to argue with me, but deciding to choose her battles, she turned to make her way into the bathroom. While I didn't have any clothes here for her, she didn't need any for tonight. She could sleep naked or in my clothes; it didn't really matter. As for tomorrow, I planned on sending someone to retrieve some of her stuff from her condo.

When I followed her into the bathroom, she shot me a wary look. "I don't need help."

"I don't recall asking," I countered.

"What are you going to do? Get in the shower with me?" she clapped back.

"If necessary," I answered. "It depends on what you look like once you're naked."

"My ankle is the worst of it," she replied, her cheeks a little flushed.

"That is not for you to decide, Razh."

"Quit calling me that," she finally said.

"No, I don't think that I will," I informed her. "Now, do you need help undressing?"

Samara shook her head, and rather than keep up a fight that she couldn't win, she started undressing, and with each piece of clothing that she discarded, my rage flamed to dangerous levels. While most of it was scrapes, the bruising was already making an appearance, and Rurik hadn't spared her. If her ribs were cracked, I wouldn't be surprised.

When she was finally standing in front of me with only her bra and panties, I almost couldn't function with how infuriated I was. Everything in me screamed to go back to the research facility, but I knew that I couldn't. Samara was more important, and I needed to prove that to her.

I needed to prove that to everyone.