Chapter 36

Samara~

E xhausted beyond belief, I'd slept the entire way back to Avgust's place, and I hadn't even put up a fight when he had carried me out of the car, waking me up to see where we'd arrived. If I'd had any energy, I would have insisted that he take me back to my condo, but when I had remembered that my home no longer provided the peace and privacy that it'd once had, what did it matter where I showered and slept?

Once we'd gotten inside, Avgust had carried me to the bathroom, had stayed with me as I'd done my best to shower while keeping my bandages dry, then had put me to bed after giving me a clean shirt to sleep in. I wasn't sure how long I'd slept for, but when I'd woken up, I'd felt the last few days everywhere on my body, and I'd never been so grateful for the pain pills that Lochlan Murphy had sent home with me. I was also starving, and if I was going to take pain medication, then I'd better put some food in my stomach before I made things worse on my body.

Getting out of bed, I made my way to the bathroom, then washed my face, brushed my teeth, then did what I could with my hair. I was a bit surprised that all my stuff was still here, but my curiosity wasn't enough to make me give it much thought. Food was the priority, and then the pain meds.

When I walked out of the bathroom, it was to see Avgust carrying a tray of food, and my stomach immediately started growling at the delicious scents. So, choosing to be practical over angry at this entire situation, I limped my way back towards the bed, eyeing the tray of food.

"I wasn't sure what you'd feel like, so I chose light dishes," Avgust remarked as he set the tray on the bed. "Of course, if you wish for something else, I can have it made for you."

I stared at the chicken soup, wheat toast, and grilled chicken sandwich, and it all looked good enough for me. "This is fine," I assured him.

I didn't say anything as I walked over to the bed, but once it was obvious that I wouldn't be able to place the tray on my thighs, Avgust quickly removed everything off one of the nightstands, then pulled it closer to me, placing the tray on top.

Once I started eating, Avgust grabbed the rocker in the corner, then pulled it towards the bed. Eating in peace didn't look like it was in the picture, but I still should have expected as much. While I'd told him what I'd learn from Louie, I hadn't told him everything, and he'd known it. While Nikel's motivations were important to the organization, I knew that Avgust wanted to know everything that had happened in that house."

"There's not much more to tell," I semi-lied. "This Nikel Ovchinnikov is a Barychev, and he's out for revenge for some supposed slight. If the math is right in my head, then he's around thirty-three, but that's all I know."

"Nikel Ovchinnikov has been in Port Townsend for some time," he replied, surprising me that he would discuss organization business with me. "Until recently, we'd known him by Klive Simpson, but we hadn't known what he was doing here. All that we'd known was that he'd had an entourage of some sort, but thanks to the Sartoris and O'Briens, his numbers had dwindled considerably."

In between eating, I said, "It makes no sense. Once he learned that Maksim and Akim were part of the bratva, why stay? He can't possibly believe that he can kill two high-ranking members of such an organization."

"He's a lot more cunning than we'd given him credit for in the beginning," Avgust stated. "We didn't even know what he looked like until the other day."

That had me blinking in confusion. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Over ten hours," he answered. "However, I suspect it was from whatever Lochlan Murphy had given you for your pain."

"No wonder my body feels so stiff."

"Samara, what else happened in that house?" he finally asked.

Knowing that there was no way out of this, I told him what I'd been holding back earlier. "Louie claimed that it was pure coincidence, but he saw you at my condo the night of…" I let out a deep breath. "Anyway, he saw me being escorted to the car, and according to him, he'd stuck around long enough to see Gosha report for his new duties."

"What else?" he bit out.

"Knowing that he couldn't get near you or Maksim, he stalked my condo building, and when he saw me return, that's when he came up with the plan to kidnap me," I went on. "He followed me that morning, and knowing that I was looking for a job, he ‘bumped' into me and played his part."

"All of it, vozlyublennaya," he insisted.

I let out another deep breath before continuing. "He was under the impression that you engaged in pillow talk, so he was convinced that I knew something that could help his cause. When I assured him that you weren't the type of man to pillow talk, he said that it didn't matter. I was still going to be used to send a message that would make its point."

"And what point would that be?"

"After…after carving Nikel's name on my body, he planned on dumping my dead corpse on your doorstep," I finally confessed. "He said that it didn't matter if I was just one of your many whores, the fact that you had just used me would be significant enough to prove to you and Maksim that he and Nikel were closer than you think."

"Did he rape you, Samara?" he asked, the question a burning one on his tongue.

"He tried," I admitted. "That's how I was able to get free. Once he cut my binds, so that he could get me in a more…accessible position, I attacked."

"Good girl," he praised proudly.

I snorted after eating a spoonful of the soup. "I left the gun with my prints behind, Avgust. That's hardly worth the recognition."

"The gun, body, and entire house is being taken care of," he informed me, surprising me once again. "Louie Manziel has become another missing person statistic as far as the world will be concerned."

"What about Nikel?"

"Now that we know what he looks like, where he's from, and what he's doing here, he'll be much easier to track," he answered, and I had no doubt that they would succeed in hunting Nikel Ovchinnikov down.

Neither of us said anything as I finished eating, and I knew that the pain pills were probably going to knock me out again, but I wasn't so stubborn that I couldn't recognize that my body needed the rest. I wasn't sure how much blood I'd lost, but it'd been enough. I was going to need food and rest if I had any hope of recuperating fast enough to get on with my life.

Done with the food, I pushed the tray back a bit, then looked over at Avgust. "Lochlan Murphy offered to take out my stitches when they were ready," I told him needlessly. "Though I'll have to go to him, it's better than racking up a medical bill that I can't afford to pay, and I don't need anyone asking questions about why there's a huge letter N carved into my leg."

Avgust's jaw ticked, and I knew that it was costing him to keep his temper in check. Granted, there could be a million reasons why he was pissed off this time, but his reasons always circled back to me, but I just couldn't find it in me to care right now. In fact, I found myself in that particular mental state constantly these days.

"We have doctors of our own that can remove the stitches, Samara," he finally replied. "There's no need to bother the O'Briens."

"It's not a bother when he offered to help me," I pointed out.

"Samara, you are not going back to the O'Briens, and that's final," he practically hissed.

"Fine," I sighed, too tired to argue right now.

Doing his best to remain civil, he said, "I will work on getting all your stuff packed and delivered in the next couple of days, so that you will have everything that you need here."

That had my back snapping straight.

"What?"

His hazel eyes glittered as he prepared himself for the fight that I'd thought I didn't have any energy for. "You heard me."

"You're not keeping me here, Avgust," I told him.

"Oh, but I am, Razh," he shot back.

"I'm not staying here," I repeated. "I mean…I'm staying until I feel functional again, but that's it."

"I am not letting you leave here, Samara," he stated like a man that was never challenged. "Viktor has been given his instructions."

"You can't keep me here," I practically shouted.

Avgust stood up, and when he walked over to stare down at me, it was hard not to whither a bit. He looked exactly like a Russian Pakhan, and if he wanted to snap my neck in half, then he could. We both knew it, but I still couldn't find myself to back down.

Backing down would ruin my life.