Misha Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Misha 12

  CREDITS

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  CONCLUSION

  CREDITS

  Copyright © 2019 KJ Dahlen Books

  Editor: Leanore Elliott

  Book Design & Cover: Wicked Muse

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

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  Prologue

  Five miles from the New York City limits, a car slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road as close to the edge of the road as possible. The car was old and beaten up. The road was quiet and it was late, way past midnight. The passenger door was pushed open and a large bundle was tossed out into the dark.

  The bundle rolled off the edge of road and into the ditch with a thud and when the dust settled, no sound could be heard.

  The driver got out and peeked over the edge of the ditch. Then he smiled at what he saw. Lonnie saw her and a child laying in the tall grass almost at the base of the ditch. Neither her or the baby moved. The moonlight showed her face and he could clearly see the only bruise she had. He had to hit her once before he drugged her into unconsciousness with chloroform. She tried to fight him but he was stronger than she was and he’d had to strike her to control her. The baby had been much easier, although her mother fought hard to protect her. His eyes flashed hate as he stared down at her and the child they shared.

  He thought at one point in time that she would give him everything, but she hadn’t. After that, he didn’t care for her one way or the other and if she couldn’t or wouldn’t help him, then she was no use to him. He brought out his cell pone and took a quick picture of both her and the baby. They looked all too peaceful laying there in the tall grass. He needed proof of death. His employer demanded it and if he expected to get paid, he would have to prove he’d done the job.

  Lonnie quickly checked the highway in both directions then went back over to the car. Getting behind the wheel, he knew better than to tarry here. If her brother ever found her, he would become a hunted man and that was one thing he didn’t want. Her brother was bad news anyway you sliced it. As he drove away, he made a phone call. He pulled over when the call was answered.

  “It’s done,” he told the person on the other end.

  “You are sure she is dead,” the man with a thick Russian accent asked.

  “Yeah, that bitch is dead,” Lonnie assured him. “With any luck, the wolves will get her and there won’t even be any evidence she ever existed.”

  The other man chuckled. “Except in the heart of her brother.” He hesitated then spoke again, “Da, this will be a good thing. No evidence that I was involved at all. This will drive her brother crazy, trying to figure out where she is.”

  Lonnie listened then had to ask, “You hate her brother that much?”

  “Da, I hate him that much.”

  “What did he do to you?”

  “He didn’t show me any respect. I worked my way up the ranks of the Bratva and he didn’t show me any respect. I earned my position and he didn’t care. Now fifteen years later, he will learn to respect me.”

  “Fifteen years is a long time to hold a grudge, isn’t it?” Lonnie asked.

  The Russian chuckled. “Oh, I got my revenge for his slight. I threw him in prison for four years then forgot to let him out. It took him six more years to get out. The hard way I might add. Now because he took her away from me back then, I will take her away from him forever. I have gotten my revenge.”

  Lonnie frowned and looked at the phone in his hands. Fifteen years ago, she would have been nine years old. Just a kid. His face scrunched up in distaste. It was probably a good thing the other man couldn’t see his face. If what the other man just confessed too was true, he liked little girls and not real woman. “Whatever, I’m outta here. I don’t want them to find me. In case she told them I was coming around tonight.”

  “No I want you to stay in the area. Watch them and report to me what they do when they find she’s gone.”

  Lonnie’s hand tightened on the phone he was holding. “I’m not sticking around. I need to put some miles between them and me. I don’t want her brother to filet me to get answers.”

  “You stay right where you are, you fuckin’ coward!” the Russian screamed at him. “I need to know where they are in order to get a team in there to wipe them out. I want them all dead.”

  When the line when dead, Lonnie exhaled loudly. He threw his phone on the dashboard and shook his head. “That man is certifiable.” He growled. Not for the first time but possibly the last time he wished he’d never gotten involved with this mission.

  He put the car in gear and drove away.

  Chapter One

  Misha yawned as he settled into the back seat. His bodyguard/driver Barron got into the front seat and without saying a word began the drive back to New York City. Almost at the end of the forty-minute drive, Misha frowned as a certain sound broke the silence of the night.

  Barron slowed down as he saw his boss sit up and cock his head in the rearview mirror. “What is it?” Barron asked.

  “Stop the car,” Misha ordered.

  Barron pulled the vehicle over immediately. Shutting down the engine, he turned to look at Misha. “What is it?”

  “Do you hear that?” Misha whispered.

  “Hear what?” Barron frowned. “I don’t hear anything.”

  “I thought I heard a baby cry.”

  “You what?” Barron’s frown deepened.

  Misha looked around the deserted highway but didn’t seen anything out of place. “I don’t know, but I could have sworn I heard a baby crying.” He kept looking but saw nothing. Something told him to look for the sound again. Reaching for the door handle, he got out of the car. “Let’s look around for a moment. I know I heard something.”

  Barron got out of the vehicle and he took one side while Misha took the other side. They both walked down the highway a short distance and were on their way back when Misha called out, “Barron, get over here.”

  Barron rushed over to his side just as Misha started down into the ditch. He frowned as he watched Misha scramble down the to the base of the ditch and kneel beside something he couldn’t see. Just then, Misha moved and Barron scrambled down to join him. The moonlight had shown him what Misha had seen earlier. A woman’s face. When he reached Misha, he could also see a second body, that of a small girl. Both were out cold and they had no idea if they were dead or alive.

  Misha brushed the woman’s red hair out of her face and gasped softly. In the moonlight, he could see her features and they made him catch his breath. Her skin was pale and he shook her slightly hoping she would wake up. When she didn’t, he placed his fingers on her neck and held his breath until he felt her heartbeat. Then he closed his eyes, thanking the lord she was still alive.

  Looking down at her, he the bruise on her jaw and he gritted his teeth at the sight of the bruised skin. Misha turned his head to glared at Barron. “How is the baby?”

  “She’s dirty but doesn’t seemed hurt by the fall down the ditch,” Barron replied. “Makes me wonder how they ended up here though.”

  Misha looked over the woman. He searched her over
again and again. He didn’t know her but he wanted to. She was young enough to be his daughter but at that moment he didn’t care. He couldn’t help but wonder what her story was and how she ended up here in the ditch, thrown away like yesterday’s trash.

  He looked over at Barron and nodded at the baby. “Bring her with you. We’ll take them to my apartment for medical treatment. We can’t leave them here.”

  Barron sighed. “Do you really think we should? This might be more trouble than its worth.”

  Misha snapped his head around to glare at the other man. “I’m not leaving either of them here to die. We’ll take them back with us then find out how bad they’re hurt. Later, we’ll find out what the hell she did to get this done to her.” He lifted the woman into his arms and nodded at the baby. “You bring her along.”

  Misha struggled to get to the top but he finally did. He carried the woman over to his car and got inside with her still in his arms. Barron laid the baby on the seat beside them and got behind the wheel.

  He drove them into the city keeping his eyes on the road but checking on Misha in the rearview mirror too. When he pulled into the underground parking, he searched the area well. With Misha’s position in the Bratva, there was always a threat. It was his job to watch out for the threat and stop it if he could.

  When he didn’t see any kind of hazard, he motioned Misha toward the elevator. Barron picked up the baby and cradled her close to him while he escorted Misha and the woman to Misha’s apartment.

  When they arrived, Misha carried the woman into his bedroom.

  Barron was right behind him with the child.

  Misha laid her on his bed and took the child from him. “Call the doctor and get him here right away. Something happened to her or she’d be awake by now.

  When Barron left to call the doctor, Misha knelt down beside the bed and brushed a strand of the dark, red hair away from her face. “Who are you?” he whispered as he searched her face again. “And who threw you away like you didn’t mean shit to anyone?”

  Fifteen minutes later, the doctor came into the apartment and Barron led him to Misha’s room. “What do we have here Misha?”

  Misha got to his feet. “I’m not sure Doctor. We found them in a ditch along the road just outside of town, maybe twenty minutes ago.”

  The doctor stepped closer and began his exam. First, he checked the little girl. She seemed fine, breathing was ok, but her eyes remained closed. He leaned closer and began to sniff the air. He glanced over at Misha and Barron. “She’s been given a heavy dose of chloroform.”

  “Chloroform?” Misha frowned. “Why would someone dose a child her age with that?”

  The doctor shrugged. “Maybe he hoped to quiet her? Whoever did this didn’t care that he could have given her too much.”

  “Given her too much?” Misha asked. “What does that mean?”

  The doctor shook his head. “She’s too small to handle chloroform in the dose he gave her. She might not wake up.”

  “What about the woman?” Misha had to ask.

  The doctor shook his head. “I haven’t looked at her yet.” He turned back to the little girl and took note of her breathing and pulse. He looked up at Misha and nodded. “I don’t think she’s in distress, so maybe she’ll come out of it all right.” Then he moved over to her mother. He moved her head from side to side, taking note of the bruise on her jaw. He tightened his lips but didn’t say anything.

  After checking out her heartbeat and her breathing, he stood up and turned to Misha. “She should be fine as well. Whoever did this to them overdosed the chloroform but I can’t find either of them in distress. For now, they are just sleeping heavily.” He nodded at the woman. “She’s going to have a sore jaw when she wakes up but I think she’ll be ok. Her breathing and heart rate are fine.”

  “Any idea when she’ll wake up?” Misha asked.

  “That will depend on how much of the chloroform she inhaled. When she or the child begins to stir, call me and I can check them again.”

  Misha nodded. “I will do that.”

  Barron escorted the man out.

  Misha settled in the chair beside the bed. He didn’t want them to wake up without him being there.

  Barron came to the door and Misha told him to get some rest. Barron gritted his teeth but backed out. This could all be bad news. It could possibly endanger the son of the Bratva leader. Going to his own room, he called Felix and informed him of what they found. Felix could tell Sergi when he woke up. He knew better than to not make this call.

  “What’s going on?” Felix asked.

  “We picked up two females on our way back.” Barron informed him.

  “You did what?” Felix asked perplexed.

  “We were about five miles from the city when all of a sudden he told me to stop the car. When I did, he asked if I heard a baby crying. I didn’t but he did. We looked along the highway and found a woman and a baby. They had been drugged and thrown into a ditch. The doc just left here.”

  “Do you know who they are?”

  “Not a clue but Misha isn’t letting either of them out of his sight.”

  Felix was silent for a long moment then he asked, “If the baby was drugged how the hell did he hear her crying?”

  Barron shook his head even if the other man couldn’t see it. “I don’t know but he swears he heard her crying.” He hesitated then added, “The doctor said if we hadn’t found them, they could have died out there.”

  “That was the intention of whoever tossed them into a ditch. What is he going to with them when they wake up?”

  Barron sighed. “I have no clue, but I’m going to watch them carefully. She had no identification on her at all. Tomorrow, should be interesting.”

  “I’ll let Sergi know first thing in the morning,” Felix assured him.

  “That might be wise.” Barron hung up his call and went to his bedroom after making sure the doors were locked. He always slept light so if anything happened he’s be ready.

  Laying his gun on the nightstand, he laid down on the bed and closed his eyes. He didn’t bother getting undressed but instead fell into a light sleep.

  Dima pulled over to the spot on the highway that he’d just seen a Lincoln pull out of. He’d been searching for Lonnie Banks’s car most of the night. He hadn’t yet found it again, but he knew Maxim would want to know he saw his sister and niece get into the vehicle.

  Lonnie Banks had a lot to answer for in Dima’s mind. The man was little more than a predator and he had conned Maxim’s sister into a relationship with little more than lies. Maxim’s sister Zeta was a shy woman with a heart of gold, despite what happened to her several years ago.

  Shaking his head, Dima looked around and frowned. Something in the ditch caught his eye and he scrambled down the embankment o see what it was. There was an area all flattened down, as if a body had been there in the tall grass. Brushing the grass aside, he reached down to pick something up. Holding the item, he stared at it for a moment then crushed it in his hand. It was one of Anya’s little shoes. He couldn’t help but wonder what the hell happened here. Where were Anya and Zeta? Were they in danger?

  Dima glanced around the area but didn’t find anything else. Making his way back to the road, he looked toward the city. He went over to his bike and the engine roared as he turned the key. Taking off, he caught up with the car just as it turned into a hotel parking lot.

  At least he knew the where, and the when, now he only had to figure out the who and the why. He rolled through the parking lot slowly looking for the car he’d seen on the road. When he found it again, he took note of the fact it was in the parking spot closest to the elevator, almost as if the driver or passenger had been a VIP. He wrote down the license plate number in case Maxim wanted to run the plates and find out who had his sister and niece.

  Pulling away slowly, he kept his eyes open and when he left the parking lot, he roared down the street and when he exited the city, he made his way back to the clubh
ouse. Maxim was going to be pissed and every single one of his men would understand his rage.

  Chapter Two

  Misha watched his guests for a long time while they slept. He didn’t know who they were or why they were in that ditch but he knew he was supposed to be there to rescue them both. What he didn’t understand was why he had heard the baby crying when it was clear she’d been unable to make a sound.

  He knew Barron was uneasy about bringing them here, but he didn’t sense a threat from either of them. He couldn’t help but wonder who she was and who had thrown her into the ditch and why, but he knew he would get the answers when she woke.

  Gazing over her features, he figured she wasn’t much older than his daughter, Raven but he didn’t care. Anita was so much younger than his father was and their relationship was doing well. He hadn’t wanted to give Anita the benefit of the doubt but she had proven him wrong. When the truth of her story had come out, he’d felt bad for her but he also felt justified in protecting his father.

  In the last few months, he’d gotten to know her better and now, he had no doubts about her intentions. Not only that but he also found that he liked his brother as well. Levi was a stand up kind of guy and that went a long way to firm their friendship.

  For most of his life, it had been only him and Sergi. After his mother had been murdered, his father never let him out of his sight. His childhood had changed but who’s to say it was for the worst? He’d been trained from that day on to protect not only himself but also the innocent woman and children of the world as well. His training included several forms of martial arts and kick boxing which only honed his body into becoming a weapon. Even now his body was strong and ready at a moment’s notice to defend itself. He was approaching middle age now but he was stronger than most men his age.

  His father and his friends had taught him that not all woman were innocent and not everyone was in need of protection but for some reason, when he looked down at his guest, he couldn’t help himself. His father had taught him how to tell the difference and those lessons had served him well. He knew in his heart that this woman needed his protection.