The Soldier (Chicago Bratva 4)

Pavel takes the second gun and tucks it in the waistband of his pants then reaches for my hand. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Yeah. I mean, no—I’m okay.”

Pavel delivers a hard kick to the one who’d held me. His normally impassive face has hardened into something frightening. “You’re lucky you’ll be dealing with the cops and not me,” he growls. “Nobody touches my girl.”

The flag flying in my chest for Pavel whips and flaps at that, rocking me with simultaneous glee and horror. I’m dizzy at the idea he did all this for me. To protect me or to exact retribution. But for the first time, I am also scared. Because he looks positively murderous right now. He warned me all along—telling me he wasn’t a nice man. Asking if I was afraid. Promising to let me go.

What would he do to this man if the cops weren’t coming? Torture him? Kill him? I don’t think I want to know.

A crowd of frightened customers has started to gather at the perimeter of the scene now that Pavel has subdued the robbers.

“Did you call the police?” Pavel asks the clerk.

“I tripped the alarm right away,” he says. The wail of sirens reaches us, as if on cue.

“Are you a cop?” the awed clerk asks.

“Nah.” Pavel doesn’t illuminate the guy any further. Two cop cars screech up to the curb, the lights on their cars flashing blue and red into the store.

Pavel crouches to place both guns on the floor then stands, holding both hands in the air. Again, not his first rodeo.

The police run to the door, guns drawn. “Get down on your knees,” one of them shouts.

I’m not sure who he’s talking to, but Pavel understands perfectly. He kneels, hands still carefully held in the air.

“It’s not him!” the clerk protests loudly, maybe even more upset than I am. “It was them,” he points at the guys on the ground.

“Yes, it was them,” I raise my voice in indignation.

Pavel’s not upset, though. He’s been through this before. Knows what to do. His face still wears the hardened mask. He definitely looks like he’s been on the wrong side of the law more than a few times.

“Nobody move,” the cop advises.

Pavel

“So you’re the hero.” The police officer who finally uncuffs me says it with total sarcasm. He’s run my ID. Sees my tats. Knows what I am.

“No.” I turn to face him and adjust my sleeves.

I saw this shitstorm coming the moment I got involved, but I had no choice. Now our evening is ruined.

Possibly more than our evening. Maybe this was what needed to happen to slam some sense into Kayla. Make her see I’m not the guy she wants as her boyfriend.

I see the way she looks at me now... like I’m a monster.

I should embrace it. Instead, the need to soothe her has me itchy and raw. I’ve been on police lock-down for more than forty minutes now as they got everybody’s story and figured out what was what, and I’ve had to watch my little flower leaning against the counter like her legs won’t hold her up.

I still want to kill the mudak who grabbed her. It would be a long, slow, bloody death.

“Where’d you learn those skills?” the cop asks, even though he must already know. If not from my ID, then from the tattoos on my knuckles.

“Russian military,” I say gruffly. It’s partly true. They began my training.

“Uh huh.”

I beckon to Kayla, only half-certain she’ll come. Whether she’s still my slave. “Am I free to go?”

“Yes.” I barely hear his answer because the relief that rips through me when she practically flies across the floor and into my arms makes the room spin.

I kiss the top of her head and rub her back. “Let’s go, blossom. Did you get your eyedrops?”

“My eye drops!” she exclaims and whips her head around to look toward the counter.

The clerk holds the bag up for her. He has mistakenly decided I’m the hero in this scenario.

I’m not. I’m the avenger. Only for Kayla.

We don’t speak as we walk back to the Four Seasons. When we’re in the elevator, Kayla peers up at me.

This is it. I brace myself for a serious question or comment. How many men have I killed? What other crimes have I committed? Because she’s seen with her own eyes that I’m not the good guy.

“If that guy hadn’t grabbed me, would you have still disarmed them?”

I have to tell her the truth because she needs to hear it. She needs to know what I am. I shake my head. “No, malysh.”

She blinks those baby blues at me. Gospodi, those eyes!

I try to explain. “I knew what a cluster that would be. How long it would take—it ruined our night. If we could have just walked out of there without being a part of it, wouldn’t you have preferred that?”