*Note: Short Chapter

Chapter 21

I was in trouble. The men who had been shooting at us were pulling Vitaly and me out of the car. I could now see Vitaly’s guy who had gotten out of the car to give us privacy—he was lying on the ground. One of the shots had gotten to him. I looked at him in horror, the panic I had been feeling before increasing.

“Vitaly…” I whispered.

His arm went around my waist, pulling me to his side. I expected him to be as freaked out as I felt. Instead, Vitaly was looking down at the ground, at his fallen man, with pissed off eyes.

He was speaking. I was sure the words weren’t directed at me. He used his cool, low voice. One that I’d only heard him use before when he was upset. Vitaly was not the kind to yell. He was the kind who looked threatening with just one glare. He was speaking Russian.

We were surrounded. There were at least ten of them. One of them was standing ahead—replying to whatever Vitaly had said. They still had their guns drawn. People around the area, I noticed, were walking away. Everyone looked panicked, yet no one was trying to intervene in what was happening. They were not even attempting to help us.

“Vitaly…” I whispered again.

He looked down at me, his eyes apologetic. “Forgive me for this,” he said, squeezing my waist softly, and pulling me impossibly closer to him.

Vitaly continued to talk to the man in front of us—he was definitely upset. The man was loud and harsh with his words. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even know how to react. My mind felt numb even though a part of me realized that the situation was insane.

Vitaly and the man—they must’ve spoken for about ten minutes, which felt like a lot longer. I kept watching the group distrustfully. At no moment did they try to lower their weapons. It was just two of us, unarmed, against all of them.

I had a bad feeling.

The only reason I didn’t go into full-blown panic mode was because Vitaly stayed calm.

“Who is she?” the man asked.

“Leave her out of this. This is between you and me.”

“She’s a beauty. What’s her name?” he asked Vitaly. His arms tightened around me.

I knew he was trying to taunt Vitaly—to rile him up. So far, Vitaly had kept calm. That was until the man—he was young, probably around Vitaly’s age—asked about me.

It seemed to be what he wanted.

“I am warning you, Ronan. Do not play games with me.”

“I am not playing games. I want you out of my area. You do not do business here, and we don’t have a problem, Vitaly,” Ronan replied, but his eyes were still on me.

He was rough looking. He wasn’t necessarily unattractive, but there was something about him that really unnerved me. I could tell he had no problem with killing anyone that got in his way.

“You killed one of my men. I will remember this.”

“You are doing business in my city,” Ronan retorted, angrily.

His English was perfect. I had no idea why he had been speaking Russian to begin with. I wondered if he was Russian or American. He obviously knew Russian, but his English was better than both Vitaly and Yurik’s. He sounded American.

“It is only your city for as long as you can control it. Do not forget that, Ronan. I have more men and I have more money. Right now, I even have time. I will not forget this,” Vitaly threatened.

They didn’t switch back to Russian, but they did continue arguing about territory. Ronan was pissed. He thought Vitaly was trying to move in on him and he was making a statement.

That moment kept on going until Yurik showed up. I wasn’t the only one who noticed him. And Yurik—he was not alone. He was walking towards us, his own weapon drawn. A few of Vitaly’s men were right behind him. I recognized the cars following beside him on the road—Blaine.

He was there. I hadn’t seen him yet, but I recognized the cars.

The Russians must’ve seen Yurik as well. They were quick.

Ronan closed the distance between us and he leaned even closer. At first, I thought he was going to try something against us, against Vitaly specifically. It wasn’t until he was standing about a foot away from us that I realized he was actually looking at me. His dark eyes were focused on my face, and he finally quieted down.

He spoke some words—I didn’t understand them. I did not know what he had said, but the way Vitaly stiffened beside me and how his hand tightened on my waist; it did nothing to reassure me.

Ronan gave me one last look, before signaling to his men. They started walking away hurriedly. Not even a minute later, three black cars pulled up, they got on, and left.

By that point, Blaine and Yurik had already made it to us. Blaine was furious. Yurik, surprisingly, was just as mad.

Blaine came at me first. He pulled me away from Vitaly’s arms, and pushed me behind him. I easily noticed that he had come prepared. My guards, his guards, and a few extra guards that I had not seen before, were there with him. They tried surrounding me, but I wouldn’t let them.

Yurik, again surprising me, was the first to speak.

“Are you okay?” His words were directed at Vitaly.

Yurik looked worried. He looked both pissed off and worried. Once Vitaly nodded, Yurik focused on the man that was lying on the ground.

“You got shot at, while Madeline was with you?” Blaine ground out, his words almost a growl.

I was standing right beside him, and I could feel the angry waves emanating from him. That was how much I felt like I could read him. Although it didn’t really take a genius to figure out that Blaine was really pissed off.

“I had no idea this would happen,” Vitaly replied, his eyes landing me. “I will deal with it accordingly. I am sorry, Madeline.” He mostly ignored Blaine.

“You got shot at! She could have gotten hurt!” Blaine snapped angrily.

I was happy that Blaine was not focusing his anger on me. I was, however, not happy that he was shouting at Vitaly.

Blaine had every right to be mad. But a man was dead, from what it seemed. That man was part of Vitaly’s crew. Even though he was trying to keep his cool, I could tell he was affected by what had happened.

“This has never happened to me before,” Vitaly retorted, his voice still low, with that threatening ring to it. “This is your fault, Blaine.”

Vitaly’s dark eyes were now focused on Blaine. He looked just as upset.

“We should get going,” Yurik suggested, just as we heard the sirens blaring nearby.

There had been a shooting, in a street that was more or less populated, people had been around, and the cops were barely showing up. That alone was enough to tick me off even more.

“I am done. You—are done,” Blaine said, threatening Vitaly.

Vitaly shook his head at him

“I wish it were that simple. We need to talk,” Vitaly said, and I did not miss when his eyes landed on me.

“You are finished here,” Blaine continued. “I will make sure you pay for this. Your business almost got Madeline killed!”

“We need to talk,” Vitaly repeated. “Madeline…” he said, his voice sounding grave.

“We need to go!” Yurik snapped, getting both Blaine and Vitaly’s attention.

I was surprised when they both agreed with him. It didn’t seem like they wanted to, but the sirens were getting closer and we had a dead body.

We had a dead body.

I still couldn’t get past that. Vitaly’s guys were getting him in the backseat of one of the cars. He was young. I did not know about Vitaly’s businesses. He had once told me that the less I knew the better. However, he did the cleanest things out of a dirty business. Most of his guys were severe looking, but they weren’t cruel. The fallen guy, he didn’t deserve what had happened.

I drove with Blaine.

Reluctantly, we followed Vitaly to his place—where he was staying in the city. Blaine was not happy. Vitaly had whispered something to him in a low voice. I hadn’t been able to hear him. Whatever it was that he had told Blaine, it was enough to convince him that they needed to talk.

Paul, Blaine’s main guy for everything, was driving. Blaine and I were sitting in the backseat of the car. We were followed by the rest of Blaine’s guards.

Paul and Blaine were talking. Paul definitely did not want to follow Vitaly. He didn’t trust him. Paul thought that Vitaly was setting him up, and he had something else planned. His eyes landed on me. I knew what that look meant—he was probably blaming me for everything that was happening. I resented his look, but I knew where he was coming from.

Blaine was officially, and once again, not speaking with me. But despite that, his hand was on my thigh. Every time that Paul mentioned something about a trap or Vitaly wanting to take me away, Blaine would squeeze my thigh and I noticed the dark look that crossed his eyes.

He was pissed, but he wanted me close. The only words he had spoken to me were to ask if I was okay. Once I confirmed that I was, and he made sure I had not been hurt during the shooting, he froze me out. Of course, he froze me out in his usual Blaine way. He kept his hands on me, he kept looking at me, and he had me sitting on the middle seat, right next to him.

I was still freaked out. I couldn’t get past the fact that someone had died. Blaine’s closeness helped. I felt like Blaine needed that too, even though he was still angry with me.

We arrived at the house Vitaly was staying in about half an hour later. He wasn’t living in the city.

Paul and Blaine did not like that. I felt it as soon as we turned down a road that went on for almost a mile.

“Stop here. Let me speak with Madeline for a moment,” Blaine told Paul.

We stopped at the beginning of the road that led to Vitaly’s home. Paul left the car running, got out, and stood right next to his door.

“You lied to me,” Blaine stated. “You lied to go see him, again.”

“He wanted to talk.”

“Did you? Did you want to see him?” Blaine asked, his words spoken in accusation.

“Blaine…”

“I need to know. This is the second time you meet with him behind my back. Why?”

“I worry about him, Blaine. I don’t know. I care about him. I want to know that he is okay. He told me he needed to see me. I didn’t think this would happen.”

“You were going to keep it from me?” Blaine asked, indignantly.

“I was going to tell you once I got back. I knew you would have been against it.”

“Are you going to tell me that he’s now your friend?”

“Blaine…”

“No, I won’t hear it. I’m tired of this, Madeline.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling my heart pounding fast against my chest. I didn’t like where that question was headed.

“Do you love him?” It was the second time he had asked me the same thing, and I felt bad that I made him feel like that.  

“No, I don’t. I swear.”

“Because you tell me that you love me, but then you lie and meet him behind my back knowing how he feels about you. Put yourself in my position. You would not like it if I was secretly meeting with Justine.”

I hated that he had used her as an example. I knew that she wanted Blaine. I felt like that was the reason he had brought her up, because he knew it would bug me.

“I told him this would be the last time I would meet with him. I love you, Blaine.”

He looked at me through narrowed eyes. The look only lasted for a moment before he sighed, and shook his head.

“You say that, and I feel like you already know that it is enough to settle me down. It won’t work every time.”

“I don’t do it because of that. I love you, you know that I do.”

Blaine shook his head. “We’ll finish this conversation when we get home.”

The house, practically a mansion, was on the outskirts of the city. It was huge, it was beautiful, and it was extremely secluded.

Vitaly waited for us out in the front. Yurik was busy giving instructions. Vitaly had clearly traveled with a large entourage. The place was littered with his men, and they all had their weapons visible. That did nothing to ease Blaine and Paul.

I could tell that the rest of Blaine’s guards felt just as uneasy.

Before we went inside, Blaine stopped me. He stood right in front of me, encaging me against the car. His hands were placed on either side of my neck, and he was looking down at me.

“Once I get you back home…” Blaine said, his voice sounding dangerously close to a threat. “You lied to me,” he said, his grayish blue eyes piercing into mine. He was speaking low, but we had the attention of everyone around.

I was not expecting for him to lower his face and kiss me. The kiss was not gentle. It was desperate and hungry. His hands remained on my neck, soft, but in a way that made me feel extremely aware of him.

I was lost in the kiss. I knew that people were around. I knew they were watching us. I knew Vitaly was standing just a few feet away. I still responded to the kiss. I wanted to feel him. I wanted to think only about him. After what had just happened, I needed the closeness. I needed him to hold me.

When Blaine pulled away, I noticed that our kiss had the same effect on him that it had on me. He was breathing heavily, and he looked shaken up.

“You have no idea how angry I am, but the relief that I feel because you are alive is overpowering that at the moment,” Blaine said, before taking my hand in his, and walking us up to Vitaly.

I felt so guilty when my eyes landed on him. He was serious, his jaw was clenched, and he was looking at me with disbelieving eyes.

“This is your fault,” Vitaly stated as soon as we made it inside the room he was using as an office.

The place was bare for the most part. That room only had a desk, a closed laptop on top of it, and some papers scattered over it. There were a few chairs in the room—one behind the desk, and the rest were brought in by Vitaly’s men.

“My fault?” Blaine asked. “I am here. You wanted to talk. I will not stand here while you make these accusations!”

“Ronan and his men are angry because they think I want to take over business in your country. I have no interest,” Vitaly replied, flatly.

“Am I supposed to believe that you keep your dealings in Russia?” Blaine questioned.

“I do dealings in America, but everything is legal. You are trying to run me out of the country. You and I both attracted the attention of the wrong people when you started making all that noise.”

“That is not my problem,” Blaine retorted, not too kindly.

Vitaly shook his head. He looked annoyed. Something about the way his eyes kept going back to me—he looked worried.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I can handle this before it gets out of control-” he started to say, before Blaine interrupted him.

“You don’t think that getting shot at in the middle of the day means things have already gotten out of control?” Blaine asked, sounding annoyed as well.

“I want Madeline,” Vitaly stated.

His words made me blush. Hearing him say that out loud—it was not what I wanted to hear, especially with Blaine in the room.

“You have made that clear. Madeline is mine—she is my girlfriend. I warned you to stay away.” Blaine spoke through gritted teeth.

The fact that we were even having that conversation made me feel uncomfortable.

Blaine, Vitaly, Yurik, and I weren’t the only ones in the room. Paul, Trevor, and a few of Blaine’s guys were in there too.

“The moment you started making noise about running me off, you messed with a system.”

“We are leaving. I never should have brought Madeline here,” Blaine stated.

He wrapped his arm around my waist. He was about to take a step, when Vitaly’s words stopped him.

“They know I am here for her. Today, they saw her. He saw her, Ronan,” Vitaly said, his voice low but we still heard him. Everyone in the room heard him.

Blaine froze at my side.

“He threatened me, didn’t he?” I asked, remembering the way Ronan had spoken to me.

“What? When?” Blaine asked, and his entire posture changed. He looked alert, worried.

“What did he say…?” I asked Vitaly.

Vitaly looked away. He started pacing the room, not in desperation, but enough that it worried me.

“He threatened Madeline?” Blaine repeated my question.

Vitaly looked up.

“Ronan is American—you could say. His father was part of The Cause.”

“What is that? I have never heard of them,” Blaine asked, frowning.

“Trust me—that is a good thing,” Yurik added.

“You’re trying to scare me?” Blaine asked, sounding irritated.

“I am trying to keep peace. This problem has gotten out of hand.”

“We only have a problem because you are getting in the way. I do not want you near Madeline.”

“You need me,” Vitaly said, and even though his words seemed smug, he still looked worried.

Blaine scoffed. “I need you out of the country and away from us. I will make your life more difficult.”

“You already have,” Vitaly admitted.

“What did he say?” I asked, fearing Vitaly’s words. “Who was that guy? They didn’t even care that we were in the middle of a street filled with innocent people!”

“People who did nothing to stop what was happening,” Yurik added.

“Ronan and his guys had guns. What could anyone have done?”

“Ronan, his family and followers are demented. You do not want to know what they do, and the measures they go to support The Cause. Ronan’s father is Russian, his mother is American. I do not know where it was that Ronan got his ideas for punishment. He wants to send a message, and he thinks that I am trying to take over his turf. He is not happy with our dealings, and he knows who I want. Now, he knows who you and I both want,” he said, and I felt both Blaine and Vitaly’s eyes land on me.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about his words, but nothing about that statement was reassuring.

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