Baby Love (The American Soldier Collection 14)

Later on, when she headed to the back room, her boss’s men confronted her. They were pissed off and concerned because they saw Viktor talking to her, and they must have seen him take her picture.

Galvin grabbed her by her arm and pulled her into his office. “How the fuck you know them? You been snitchin’ on us? Bitch, I’ll fuckin’ slit your throat,” Galvin threatened her, and she shook her head. She didn’t believe that guy Viktor, and even if he had been telling the truth, her brother didn’t give a shit about her. He’d left her with their fucked-up mother and taken off for the service. Screw him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know that guy,” she told Galvin.

“He said he knows your brother, and your brother has been looking for you,” said the other guy she didn’t know, who had a scar on his cheek.

“I don’t have a brother.”

“Bullshit. The bitch is lying.” The guy with the scar grabbed her. Nina remembered the strike to her face and then being thrown up against the wall. The men started threatening to hurt her, and then to kill her, if she didn’t give up information. She screamed when one guy ripped her shirt open and threatened to sexually assault her.

Nina was angry, scared, and knew these men had money and power and were into heavy criminal activity. So when she had the opportunity to escape, she took it.

Just then, a call came into the office as they slugged her in the stomach. She fell to the floor as the door burst open and someone said, “They’re coming.”

She didn’t know who, and she didn’t care. She jumped up, shoved the chair at Galvin, and pushed past the man who’d warned them. As she ran down the hallway, she heard them saying she was dead, that they would find her and kill her. She was crying and running to the exit door when a body slammed into her, and they both tumbled down the stairs. She hit the concrete parking lot, and the man with the scar on his cheek had a knife out and raised it as he threatened to kill her.

The gunshot was almost silent. The man jerked back and off of her, and she scurried away, crab-walking on her palms.

“Nina?” She heard her name, looked up, and saw her brother, Zinc, along with Viktor.

Zinc hurried to her, pulled her into his arms, and told her he was never leaving her again. From there on out, her life changed.

* * * *

Nina had started to sob when she felt the hands on her shoulders and gasped awake. It took a moment to get her bearings when she locked onto Atlanta’s eyes, then she saw Freeman, Jessup, and finally Corona when she looked up.

“You’re okay,” Atlanta whispered.

She nodded. “I know. I’m fine. I’m sorry.”

She shrugged off Atlanta’s hands.

He released his hold on her shoulders and walked back to his seat. She swallowed hard and thought about how much her life had changed, and for the better. Viktor and the family had taken her and her brother in, helped Zinc with his issues, and helped her go to college and become a professional business manager. She ran two of Viktor and his team’s restaurants and clubs. She was making money hand over fist, earning a reputation as a great businesswoman, and never worried about living on the streets, eating out of garbage pails, or dealing firsthand with men like the ones who’d assaulted her years ago.

Suddenly, there was that old fear again. The one warning her that she could wind up right back where she started. Alone, living on the streets, fending for herself in every aspect of her life. Worse, she could wind up dead if Zinc had double-crossed the Russians. They’d cut their ties with her and leave her with nothing, or put her in her grave. She knew the deal. Nina swallowed hard and glanced at Corona then looked down at her lap. She had become reliant on the money she made, the security of the job she held, and the Russian mafia that protected her and gave her this false belief that nothing bad would happen. Reality hit her hard and fast. Her brother, Zinc, her only family, was dead.

Now what? How long would these men watch over her? How loyal would they be to a nobody like her, especially if Zinc had double-crossed them? Viktor had assigned these four men she’d never heard of, and she didn’t even know what exactly their positions were in the Merkovicz family. How long would they stay, and should she prepare herself to start all over, as a nobody, once again?

* * * *

Corona watched Nina as she fought falling asleep. When exhaustion finally won, she was restless, moaning in her sleep, calling to Zinc. It tugged at his heart and made him feel angry all over again. It wasn’t right. It never should have happened, and Corona would make it his mission to find the ones responsible and make them suffer. The fact that Viktor mentioned it was looking as though Zinc and Cobra had been dealing with the Cubans and had double-crossed the Russians, never mind their own military code of honor, didn’t sit well at all.

He and his team had known Cobra and Zinc for years. They’d done a few missions together in the service, as well as in their side professions. Although lately, Zinc had seemed different, on edge, and Corona couldn’t help but wonder if anything had been going on that could have put Zinc in trouble with someone. Either that or, like them, he was thinking of getting out of the side business. That thought didn’t sit right with Corona, either. Zinc was a lifer. He didn’t know much more than being a soldier and doing certain tasks for the Russian family. Unlike Corona and his team. They were friends with Viktor. They knew him from the service, and he hooked them up with jobs that entailed a little less danger and a hell of a lot better paycheck.

Corona and his brothers didn’t see themselves as made men, but because of the few jobs they did for Viktor or his uncle, they were always on guard and always suspicious. People in the underground world recognized them as being “on the payroll.” They gained a lot of respect, but they knew they weren’t the only soldiers doing side jobs for gangsters. At any moment they could meet their demise, whether on a mission for the government or on a mission for Viktor. Lately, especially after the last mission, they seemed more eager for a change.

Trust was definitely something that didn’t come easily. Hell, not at all, lately. There was too much turmoil going on in the families, in the country, and they were way too busy lately to even process their emotions. They were involved in fighting wars overseas and fighting a different kind of war here at home. They’d never been so busy. That crazy schedule had finally taken its toll on them when Jessup had been shot and nearly killed. He was still recovering, and that was what this trip was all about. A vacation, being home in Salvation, and thinking about what plans they had next. There were some other missions coming up, and time for Jessup to heal and go along, too—things they were required to complete before they could consider retiring from it all. The four of them had a lot to discuss this vacation.

Corona had gotten a file on Nina from Viktor. He asked for information because he liked to make his own judgment on who a person was instead of based on just what someone told him. He could read between the lines and determine a lot. He w

asn’t expecting the information he read, yet it wasn’t a complete surprise. Zinc never mentioned having a sister, and Corona supposed it was because he’d left her in a bad home environment and he had his own issues to deal with.

There was very little about Nina’s life before the family took her in. Just that she went to college, graduated at the top of her class, and was a savvy businesswoman. She operated the two hottest clubs Viktor and his team owned in Chicago. She was tough, and her only family was Zinc.

Corona read farther into the file and found that, when she’d been younger, she’d worked at a place known to be owned and operated by Cuban drug lords. He didn’t like the feeling he got. This woman showed no real ties to Viktor’s family except her brother’s friendship with all of them. He glanced at her, and she was once again sleeping. He looked at the address of the place. It was a club taken over by Viktor but run by the Mulicheck family. They were relatives of Nicolai. Since Nicolai was one of the top bosses, he knew instantly that this was important information. They apparently didn’t think Nina was a threat in any way. Where was she before working at that club? Where did she grow up? Who was she, really?

He rubbed his neck and wondered about Nina. Was she trustworthy? Did she deserve their kind of protection? Why would she be in danger as a manager of a restaurant and club? Zinc was a heavy and did crazy shit for the family, and right now, Viktor didn’t really know who else was after Nalia, but obviously Scarlapetti and Lapella were shaking things up big time.