Chapter11
I didn’t think I could trust the two Latino gangsters who had put Borya and me in the back of an Escalade and drove off. They’d thrown Borya in unceremoniously, as though he didn’t have any broken bones or punctured organs.
I wanted to scream at them to be careful, but the sirens in the distance were explanation enough for their rush. The entire shootout had been only a few moments, but it was long enough for even the police in this shitty neighborhood to respond.
We were in the back of the Escalade for only ten minutes before we pulled over to the side of the road. “What are we doing?” I asked when the car came to a halt.
“This is your stop.”
We were on the side of the fucking freeway with cars zooming by. What the hell was he talking about?
An unmarked ambulance pulled up in front of us and another car stopped to the side, effectively blocking the road as though they had every right to the highway.
“What’s happening?”
I wasn’t expecting an answer. These guys were cagy as hell when it came to explaining themselves.
Shockingly enough, I actually got one. “We were just backup because Rishka couldn’t get there fast enough. Now he owes Raphael one more favor. One more nail in his coffin.”
I couldn’t even comprehend what that meant. And then the door was being opened and outside was the man I’d seen on the monitors. Alek.
Borya’s brother was nearly a twin image of him. Both obscenely tall with muscles bulging from beneath their clothes. The main difference was the beard and the different tattoos.
Also, Borya’s anger was worn out in the open, so everyone knew to keep a wide berth. The man in front of me seemed to keep himself tightly contained, but when that anger exploded, everyone within the blast radius would be decimated beyond recognition.
And right now, I was just a few feet away from him and right next to his unconscious and badly wounded brother. Should I be protecting Borya from Alek or worrying about my own safety?
Well, one of us was unconscious, so he’d have to take priority.
I tensed even as I crouched further over Borya. “Don’t hurt him,” I warned.
Alek cocked his head but didn’t say anything. Instead, he motioned with his hand to someone I couldn’t see, and a stretcher rolled up to the door. Then some paramedics started to pull him out.
At this point, he’d been moved so much that if there was any danger in it, the damage must have already been done. At least that was what I told myself to feel better.
The paramedics seemed to know what they were doing as they laid him out flat on the stretcher and rolled him to the ambulance.
Before Alek could protest, I jumped out of the Escalade and started to follow.
Alek grabbed me before I got even two steps in. What was with this family and grabbing?
“You aren’t going that way,” he warned as he pulled me towards the car he had arrived in. “Someone very close to you is worried sick.”
“Daisy has you to look out for her. Right now, Black Thorn wants Borya dead. You might want him dead. To be frank, he’s kind of annoying, so probably a lot more other people want him dead. I need to be with him because I might be the only one on the face of the earth who doesn’t want him dead right now. So, release my arm and let me on the ambulance.”
His grip tightened as his eyes narrowed. “You like my brother?”
“I hate your brother,” I corrected quickly. “I also happen to like him. It’s very complicated. But I know Daisy is safe with you and Borya is injured, so I’d rather be with him right now. There’s no choice here.”
I waited for Alek to let me go, but he didn’t. Instead, he kept his firm grip as he walked me to the ambulance, guiding each and every step. Apparently, control issues ran in the family.
“I’ll let you go in the ambulance, but know that Daisy’s happiness is first and foremost to me. If you don’t return safely, there will be hell to pay. And I know Layla is your weakness.”
Fucking Daisy had been telling this jackass all of my secrets, hadn’t she? “Daisy deserves better than you,” I spat.
He bent in close. So close, I couldn’t see him, but could hear his breaths against my ear. “That’s the smartest thing you’ve said all day. But I’m never letting her go. Sooner you accept that, the better it is for your health. Got it?”
“Shove it up your ass, brother. You have two options: kill me now or be nice to me. You’re dating my best friend, so if you know what’s good for you, you’ll start things off on the right foot with me. I might not be as scary as you or Borya or whoever the hell was involved in the shootout back there, but I can be damn annoying when I want to be. And if spending a day with Borya has taught me anything, it’s that men like you aren’t used to being annoyed.”
He simply grunted before practically throwing me in the ambulance and slamming the door shut behind me.
Well, I had officially met Daisy’s new mystery man and he probably hated me.
But Borya was in an ambulance, and hopefully on the way to medical care, and I was with him. This was all a good sign. Yep. This was all going to be great, until the moment Borya woke up and realized I was still there.