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Chapter Sixteen
Ruslan
Sunlight beaming in through the windows causes me to wake up. I blink a few times, and our bedroom is as bright as ever. Then I look over to my left, and Amelia’s naked body is curled in the sheets. Her brunette hair is sprawled across her pillow, and she has the comforter pulled flush against her chest.
I wrap my arm around Amelia and pull her against me, stirring her awake. She groggily flutters her eyelids, and the second she sees me, she smiles. “Morning, beautiful,” I whisper to her and kiss her on the nose before capturing her lips in a kiss.
She wraps her arms around my torso and holds on tight, smiling the longer my lips are on hers. This is what I want our life to be like for the next thirty years. Every day I want it to be like this, where I wake up to her smiling, loving her life with me.
Late last night, I received a text message from my brother, Lom, saying Nazyr and Eset were also in Boston. Apparently, they’ve been here for a few days to help locate their father. It unnerved me a bit to know Nazyr and Eset are in America, especially when they know the lengths I plan on going to. I’m very well aware Anzor is their father, and I will do something heinous to him whenever I see him face-to-face, but their being here won’t cause me to act any differently. Anzor will die at my hand, and nothing will change that.
“Do you want to have breakfast together? I have a busy day planned to deal with work obligations.” Amelia immediately raises her brows, and I’m under the impression she knows I must be close to having my stepfather within my grasp.
“Yeah, I’m going out with Emily today. She has the day off, and we thought we’d go shopping or do something fun.”
“That’s a great idea. Let me treat the two of you to whatever you want.”
“Ruslan, you don’t need to do that. I have my own money. I can pay for myself,” Amelia tells me as she runs her hand along my chest. She holds onto my gold chain at the bottom like she typically does.
“I know you do, but let me spoil you every once in a while. You are my girl, and I enjoy treating you and your cousin to a girl’s day out. Danill will be going with you, I take it?”
Amelia rolls her eyes, “Obviously. I haven’t jumped my security detail yet.”
“Yet is the key factor there. One day, you’ll get so angry at me that you think it’ll be a smart idea. Let me fill you in on this spoiler. It won’t be, so don’t act crass with anger and get yourself hurt in the process.”
“I’m not going to slip my detail. Danill is great at keeping me safe, and I honestly feel safer with him around, especially with Carter low-key stalking me. Danill’s become a good friend to me too.” Amelia smiles softly, and I wonder what in the hell Danill and Amelia could be talking about when I’m not around. Would it be better for me to have a woman guarding her?
“Ah, so make sure to include him when you go get manicures and pedicures. Tell him I ordered it, will you?”
Amelia giggles and throws her head back on the pillow. “Oh God, he’s going to love that.”
“I’m sure he will.” I chuckle and roll out of bed. Amelia’s right behind me, and we both proceed to get dressed. The two of us head into the bathroom attached to our suite and wash off our faces, comb our hair, and do anything else we need to get done.
We have breakfast in the small kitchen. It’s nothing special, but we both have brown sugar oatmeal with fresh raspberries and a cup of coffee each. When Lom texted me last night, he told me to call him, so I did that before I fell asleep. He was already in the process of transporting our stepfather to Georgia, so I could deal with him accordingly. Nazyr and Eset are already with him.
Before I leave the suite, I dig into my wallet and give Amelia one of my cards. I tell her not to go too crazy with it, and she tells me she won’t, but I somehow think if the mood strikes, she could do a lot of damage. She might not slip a security detail when she’s pissed, but I’d bet she’d rack up my credit card out of spite.
Nal comes with me while Danill stays with Amelia. I sent Lom an address to an old factory in the middle of nowhere. The Steele family owns it, and Jordan is allowing me to use the factory in the meantime. He actually invited me over to an early dinner with him and his family tonight, so I will have to do that. He said he wanted to work together to finalize our business agreement. I thought we were already settled, but there must be something else he needs from me.
Nal and I head for East Atlanta, where the Steeles’ old factory is. It’s nestled in the countryside and is located on eighty acres, which is perfect for wanting to stay out of the hustle and bustle of the city. It’ll give me the opportunity to do whatever I wish to my stepfather as well, without having to worry about prying ears or someone calling the police.
Nal and I finally arrive at the old factory, and there’s only one road leading back to it. You can tell it hasn’t been paved in years because there are bits of grass and weeds coming up from the blacktop. We continue forward and pass the woods that surround the factory, which add to the seclusion factor. I feel very grateful that Jordan is being so accommodating. It’s something I won’t forget, and it’s something very hard to find. It makes me feel as though our business arrangement is going to be a long-term effort for both of us. I’m hoping so, at least.
I pull the SUV up to an old, rusted building. It’s massive in length, probably a few football fields long, and there’s graffiti sprayed on the outside of it. Some of the windows are busted out, and the building is probably nine or ten stories high. In some places, it could be fifteen or twenty.
We pull up where a parking space could’ve been years ago, right by the door. There’s another blacked-out SUV here. It has to be Lom. The painted lines that I’m sure were here many years ago are gone. Over the years, the elements must’ve taken the paint off.
Nal and I exit the vehicle and head for the two rusted-out green doors. He tries to pull it open for me, but I’m more than capable of doing it myself. I hold the door open for Nal, and the two of us head inside.
This doorway leads into the center of the warehouse where the main bit of the factory work must’ve taken place. The ceilings are hundreds of feet high and mostly made up of glass. In the center are two rows of ceiling fans at the very top, and that’s the only part that isn’t glass.
In the center of the room are a series of construction lights pointing at someone who’s hanging by a chain. The chain is over a metal beam, and he’s thrashing a good four feet off the ground. It has to be my stepfather. Nal and I approach, and the people surrounding Anzor turn around.
Lom, Nazyr, and Eset are who I recognize first, and then I spot another body. One I didn’t know was here in the first place. It’s Lom’s right-hand man, Kirill.
“Brother! Now that you’re here, I can start the festivities.” Lom slaps his hands together, and it echoes throughout the vast space. I narrow my eyes because something feels off, and sure enough, Lom pulls out his gun and points it at Kirill.
Kirill seems taken aback by my brother’s movements. He looks at Lom and then looks at me. “Anyone care to tell me what the meaning of this is?”
