CHAPTER 30
Naomi
I didn’t like anything that I was witnessing at this moment. I didn’t like the fact that my kidnapper was standing before me or how Gavril was giving me a look that seemed to sear my very soul. He looked so defeated, and I didn’t think I had ever seen him like that before. “What’s going on?” I asked, far too scared to say anything else. “Why is he here?”
Gavril finally snapped out of his thoughts and placed his hands on my shoulders, the heat of his skin burning through my thin shirt. I could feel a faint tremor in his touch, and it surprised me. Gavril was never rattled. “I need for you to go with Anatoly,” he said, his eyes meeting mine. “He will get you to a safe house.”
“And you are coming with me, right?” I countered, already knowing the answer.
His jaw tightened and I gripped his wrists with my hands, tightening my hold. “Your men can fight this war for you,” I rushed on. “You don’t need to fight alongside them.”
“There is no honor in running from a fight,” he said tightly, his pulse pounding against my touch. “But I cannot have you in the midst of it all, Naomi. You need to go with Anatoly.”
I hadn’t expected any different an answer from him, but it still struck me hard, worry building in my gut. “Please,” I begged. “Please don’t send me away.” It was more than just sending me away from this war. What if he sent me away and never came back to get me?
What if this was his chance to send me away for good?
Or even worse, what if he was sending me with Anatoly so he could kill me?
“Naomi,” he breathed, his eyes holding a hint of desperation now. “You have to go.”
“I don’t want to!” I cried out, falling against his chest. “Gavril, please. Please don’t do this! I will stay out of your way. I swear it.” I just knew the moment he separated us, it would be over between us, and that terrified me more than it should. Hadn’t I been hashing that out hours before, wanting to get away?
Now that reality had hit, I didn’t want to leave him at all. I didn’t want to leave Gavril by himself.
For a moment, I thought that Gavril wasn’t going to touch me, but his arms finally locked around me, and he pressed his face into my hair. “Fuck, Naomi,” he whispered so only I could hear him. “This is difficult for me too.”
I believed him. Gavril would never have shown any sort of weakness in front of his man, yet here he was, holding me tightly and burying his face in my hair like he really didn’t want me to go.
Like he needed me.
“Don’t send me away,” I whispered, breathing in his scent. I had tried to hold him where I knew he needed me the most, yet he had left me. The war was clearly something Gavril was going to fight, and no matter what I did, it wasn’t going to change that fact.
“You will be safe,” he said as he pulled back, his voice a bit hoarse. I felt his arms leave me, and I wanted to lean back into his touch but refrained from doing so. Gavril wasn’t likely to let down his walls again around his man or his staff.
“Where am I going?” I asked, wrapping my arms around my waist. “Where is he going to take me?”
Gavril clenched his jaw. “It’s better that you don’t know,” he answered, holding out his hand. “Let me walk you to the car.”
I debated on turning around and running back up the stairs, locking myself in my room and refusing to leave. It would be completely and utterly childish of me to do so, but at least it would buy some time for Gavril to give up the thought of making me leave.
It would also likely waste precious time he could be focusing on his war, and I felt torn between the two. Maybe he was sending me away because he needed to focus and not because he was never going to come get me. That I could almost live with.
“Naomi,” Gavril urged. “Take my hand.”
In the end I did as he asked, taking his hand and letting him lead me out into the morning air. It was a perfect LA morning, one when normally I would have been out on the balcony or in the pool by now, lounging without a care in the world.
Right now, I felt like I was being led to a place that I didn’t want to see, a place that could be my future if this war didn’t end up favoring Gavril’s Bratva.
Anatoly opened the back passenger door and Gavril stopped, his hand clenching mine as if he too was having second thoughts about his plan.
After everything, I didn’t want to leave him. I didn’t want him to face this alone, without someone to keep him grounded. I wanted to be his constant reminder that there was life outside of his Bratva.
I wanted to be the reason that he thought about a future that didn’t involve violence.
But Gavril moved me forward until I was standing beside the open car door. His hand didn’t leave mine as his other came up to cup my cheek, brushing over my skin. “You will need to listen to Anatoly,” he said with urgency to his voice. “He knows best. He will protect you.”
“You will be coming for me then?” I asked, needing to know if that was his plan.
Gavril blew out a breath, frustration building in his expression. “I will make my decisions when the time comes,” he finally said, brushing his lips over mine. “Please don’t run from Anatoly. That will only make me worry more.”
“And you need for me to be safe,” I added, pressing my forehead to his. “I don’t like this. I don’t like being separated from you.” If there was ever a time to admit how I really felt, now was the time.
This could be the last time I saw him.
The thought robbed me of my breath and I let out a sob, hating that I was turning into a blubbering mess before him. “I can’t do this,” I cried as Gavril’s hands reached out to steady me. “I can’t let you go.”
He forcibly but gently pulled away, his expression hard. “Get in the car, Naomi.”
Another sob escaped me, but he took a step toward me until I had no choice but to climb into the cool interior of the car. There was so much that I needed to say to him, so many words that I should take back, but it seemed like there was no time for any of it.
Gavril leaned into the car, and his lips brushed my temple. “Be safe,” he whispered. “You are carrying my child.”
I reached behind him and pulled him into a hungry kiss, desperately trying to hold onto him for as long as I could. He kissed me back with the same amount of intensity, but as I tried to deepen the kiss, Gavril pulled back. “Goodbye,” he said before shutting the door.
I reached for the handle but found the door locked from the inside and pressed my hand to the glass. “No!” I shouted, not wanting this to be the end. “Gavril, please!”
There was a moment I could have sworn a hand pressed back, but then Anatoly climbed in the driver’s seat and the car pulled away nearly a second later. “Turn around,” I begged. “Please.”
“Mrs. Kirilenko,” Anatoly stated in a kind voice. “He doesn’t want you to leave either, but it’s for the best. The Pakhan is needed by his Bratva now.”
I slumped on the seat, tears streaming down my cheeks. “You will take care of him, won’t you?” I needed to know that someone was going to watch out for my husband when I couldn’t.
“He will be well taken care of,” Anatoly replied a moment later. “His entire Bratva has sworn to protect him.”
“How bad is it?” I asked quietly, clenching my hands in my lap. “And don’t lie to me.”
Another chuckle. “I wouldn’t dream of lying to you. It’s bad, but we have been through worse, I assure you. Your husband is a strong Pakhan and has a strong following. He knows what he is doing.”
I turned my attention out of the window, watching as the scenery passed by. “It doesn’t mean that he’s not vulnerable.” He was still a man, after all, and a bullet could strike him down without a second thought. All the well-laid plans could be gone in an instant, and I would be raising a child alone.