I didn’t know what was going on around me that had everyone on edge, but I knew from the bomb that I needed a safe place for the boys, and now I had one.
I’d been so caught up in everything, that I’d forgotten I wasn’t on my own in the car, even though I wasn’t the one driving and the vehicle was moving. I hadn’t slept well last night. In fact, I hadn’t slept well for eight months, and life had drained me dry recently, so zoning out wasn’t an uncommon occurrence.
That’s why I jumped when one of the men in the car spoke to me. “Taras will keep you safe,” he muttered in a thick Russian accent. “You and the boys don’t need to worry.”
That was nice of him to say, but I wasn’t Taras’ to keep safe—something I needed to remember. It was easy to forget when we were around each other and he said things that made me feel special, but then the harsh reality of our situation would hit me all over again. The pain wasn’t worth it, so if I didn’t allow myself to believe his promises and pretty words, then I’d be okay.
So, I decided to change the subject.
“What’s your name? I feel rude not being able to call you by your first name.”
Wise eyes met mine in the mirror, crinkling slightly at the corners and telling me he knew what I was doing. “I’m Yakov, Taras’ first. And this is Simeon, his third.”
Simeon turned and lifted his chin at me, then faced forward again.
“His first and third what?”
“In command. He trusts us to keep you and the boys as safe as we keep him. Maybe even safer.”
Holy shit.
I sat back and mulled through this information. This meant he had his second in command with him, and I knew he’d have other men available, too, but why send his top ranking ones?
It wasn’t until we pulled up in front of the hospital that I managed to get my head around it and say something back to him.
As I watched Simeon walk around the car to open my door, I leaned forward. “I’m not Taras’ property to keep safe, so I’m confused why he’d think I was. I appreciate him arranging for you to guard me, but I’d appreciate it a lot more if that focus was on my sons instead.”
And with that, I got out of the vehicle, walking toward the elevators with Simeon beside me. I was itching to see the boys while I also locked the feelings the news had brought up deep inside me.
The next day…
“I think this one’s a genius,” Hunter mused as he gently tapped Walker’s hand on the palm of his own. “Look at the way he high fives.”
My brother had arrived ten minutes ago with some stuff for the boys, including smaller versions of the Harley Davidson onesies he’d already bought them.
Smiling at the sight of him sitting with the baby in the crook of his arm, and making Walker look even smaller than he was, I lay on the bed with Hendrix asleep on my chest.
“They’re coming home in two days. I’ve never wanted forty-eight hours to pass by so quickly in my life.”
Lifting his head, his forehead wrinkled as he frowned at me now. “I think you should move to the compound until we know things are safe, Nell. I don’t like you being on your own.”
“I’m not on my own. Apparently I have an army of Russians protecting me, including Taras’ first and third in command.”
His eyes widened at that news, but he wasn’t fooling me. He’d known Taras had organized security for me, he just didn’t know who.
“And my friend that I went to stay with in Florida is coming tomorrow. She’s a better shot than any of the Club, and I swear she’s probably grown wings so she can get here faster.”
That was true, seeing as how she’d text me three hours after I’d gotten here yesterday, and said she’d thrown her keys at the douchebag landlord and was now in the car on her way here.
“A girl ain’t gonna keep the bad guys away, Nell. This isn’t something you can hairspray or catfight your way out of.”
Seeing as how I didn’t know what precisely the this was, anyway, that was kind of an obsolete comment, but I didn’t ask him to explain it.
“She’s from Kentucky, Hunter. And when I explained it to her, she told me it was a southerner’s dream.”
Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “Nell, the last thing you need is some unhinged bitch coming into this and shooting at shit because she thinks it’s a ‘southerner’s dream.’”
“Tell you what, before we bring the boys home on Friday, put her up against Sniper and see who wins. If she does, you cut the derogatory bullshit and focus on making sure no one in the MC gets hurt by bombs or whatever’s going on.