“Why do I need to get something out of it?” She ignored his first comment. “Taking the Oath is to help all in need.”
“Because people like us are not worth saving.” Sergei was right of course. We had done our share of fucked up things to get where we wanted to be, and have what we wanted to have. She inherited her wealth, we cheated, killed, and stole to obtain ours.
“We come from nothing; we are nobody. Some of us didn’t even have real last names. We’re sinners and have done some fucked up shit. You saw only a fraction of it yourself,” Sergei’s voice was low, but he might as well have shouted it. The car was quiet except for our own breathing.
I parked the car in front of our cabin. We had multiple ones all around Russia. The more powerful we got, and more money we accumulated, there were more people that wanted us dead. So we ensured we had backup places and backup plans.
Anastasia stared at Sergei, turned her head glancing at Nikolai and then her eyes came to me, locking our gazes.
“When the explosion happened, ” she spoke softly. “Why didn’t you just save yourselves and leave me behind?”
Because you are mine. And I’ll always protect you.My thoughts were so loud and clear, I might as well have spoken them. But those thoughts were wrong. She wasn’t mine. She deserved and needed better than me.
“We never leave anyone behind,” Nikolai answered. And Sergei echoed the same words.
“For a group of nobodies that came from nothing and some sinners that have done some fucked up shit, it is quite something to do. Some might even say a very honorable thing to do.” Her green eyes were bewitching me with every word that left her lips.
Shit, this woman will have me on my knees. Men in her life were stupid not to have snatched her. Too late now, because she is mine.
She looked back to Sergei. “It is you that counts, not your last name. Besides, there are quite a few people with last names that go back generations that would have left me behind.”
“Jesus, Anastasia,” Sergei muttered. “I just might be into you.”
Her laugh echoed in the car as she rolled her eyes. “Okay, lover boy. Your fever must have spiked but I feel flattered. Just remember what I said… you are not my type.” Sergei grimaced but a smile played around his lips. She motioned to Nikolai. “Just get him inside before he says anything else crazy.”
I opened the door for Anastasia while Nikolai helped Sergei.
“I’m all bloody,” she muttered, avoiding touching anything.
“Let me help you.” I took her by her arm and scooted her out of the car. When she stood up, we walked together in the dark. “You just gave Sergei hope.”
Her head turned to me. “I told him he wasn’t my type.”
“He thinks he’s not good enough,” I watched her pale face in the moonlight. She looked tired, which was no wonder since she was woken up in the middle of the night by an explosion. It had been a rough few weeks for her. “The woman he stayed for, she rejected him, told him he couldn’t offer her a real last name. That was twelve years ago.”
Her step faltered and her face turned to me. God, she was really beautiful, and if I was a decent man, I’d make sure I kept my distance from her. She didn’t need nor deserve a sinner like me. But the fact I kept buzzing around her proved the point that I wasn’t a decent man.
“She sounds like a douche,” she murmured, a small smile playing around her full lips.
“Yes, she does. Come, let’s get you cleaned up.”
For the next three hours, Nikolai and I worked with men to ensure we had double surveillance and coverage for every minute of the day, for miles around. Everyone’s life depended on it. There were five men who were wounded during the attack on Sergei’s palace and Anastasia took care of them while checking on Sergei in between.
The dawn was creeping in when Nikolai and I could finally go back into the cabin, both of us exhausted. I had slept very little in the last forty-eight hours and needed the rest.
Two of the men were stationed by the cabin, protecting both entrances. After what happened at Sergei’s house, we weren’t willing to take any chances. I wondered how Boris’ men found us there. There must have been another man with the guy we captured and tortured.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been an incredible coincidence for Boris’ men to figure out where we were. Either way, we ramped up the security and would be ready to fight and flee if we had to. In order to save Anastasia’s life, I was willing to move every day until she was safe from Boris and his men.
“The woman is with Sergei,” Misha told us. “She took good care of the wounded.”
I nodded at him. Anastasia didn’t even realize she just earned loyalty from these men. They might even pick her over us if the battle came to it.
“She’s something,” Nikolai muttered in Russian.
I didn’t comment. Nikolai knew this woman captured me, probably why he kept giving me a hard time, kicking my balls by dangling her in front of me.
“Sergei is not the only one that thinks he doesn’t deserve good things,” he continued.