Nicky Page 8

  Nicky just glared at his father and gave him a single nod of acknowledgement. Lifting his glass, he made a silent toast to him. He watched Nikoli’s lips and eyes tighten just a bit. Then his eyes went blank and he turned away.

  “Do not make the mistake of dismissing your father like that,” Yuri hissed in anger. “And never disrespect him in my presence.”

  Nicky closed his eyes briefly. Then he turned to look at Yuri. “I know, I’m acting like an ungrateful brat but I am a grown man and he refuses to see that. I know what I want and what I want is Serenity. If he can’t accept this, then that’s on him isn’t it?”

  “He missed so much of your childhood, just as you missed having him as a father for most of your life. He is a good man, maybe a harsh man in your eyes but he is a good man. You got one of his worst traits, his stubbornness.”

  Nicky smiled at the other man. “You forget who raised me, brother.”

  Now, it was Yuri’s turn to close his eyes, as he knew he referred to Raven. “Da, I did.” When he opened his eyes, he grinned. “Either way, you were doomed from the start weren’t you?”

  Nicky laughed loudly. “Yes I was, wasn’t I? I have yet to determine which one is worse Nikoli or Raven.”

  “Well, the one thing they both have in common is the Russian blood in their veins,” Yuri agreed.

  Just then, the silence was shattered when a spray of bullets hit and shattered the windows. They were up on the seventh floor and the windows faced the south. Everyone dove under the table as the bullets came again and again. Nikoli’s security team fired back from the roof.

  There were screams and chaos from the lower floors but that didn’t matter to Nicky. He began crawling toward the door. He had to find Serenity. Suddenly, the room was plunged into darkness and he heard a woman’s scream from the room next to the one he was in. He knew instinctively the scream belonged to his woman. Someone grabbed him to keep him down and keep him from getting hit by the bullets.

  Nicky fought the unknown hands keeping him down. “Let me go!” He cried out. “I have to protect my woman.”

  “We all have women out there, kid.” Yuri growled as he held Nicky tight. “Keep your head down. We’ll get to them.”

  Chapter Nine

  Serenity was laughing at something on the TV when Malina got up to get another drink. She glanced over at the young girl and barely caught the red beam that flashed from the roof of the building across the way. She acted instinctively and got to her feet. Tackling the girl to the floor, the first shot ripped through the window and she turned her back to the glass just in time to take the hit. The bullet tore through her shoulder as she fell to the floor, shielding the younger girl with her own body.

  As the windows around them shattered, the women hit the floor. Serenity wrapped her arms around Malina and held the girl within her arms. Two more bullets ripped into her, one tore through her upper arm and the other hit her thigh.

  They all heard more shooting hit the room next to their own. When the second bullet hit her thigh, Serenity screamed but she kept her body over Malina’s.

  When they heard someone shooting back, Raven crawled to the front door and shut the lights off.

  With chaos all around them none of the women moved. Bella called out to her daughter, “Malina, are you hurt?”

  “No Mom, I’m ok... but I don’t think Serenity is. I can feel her bleeding all over me.” Malina cried out.

  “Serenity...” Raven called out her name. “Did you get hit?”

  “Yeah, I’m hit but I’m ok.” She gritted between clenched teeth. She looked down at the girl underneath her. “Are you sure you’re not hit?”

  Malina shook her head. “I’m fine, thanks to you.” She frowned and asked, “Are you ok?”

  Serenity nodded. “I will be just fine. The bullets didn’t hit anything vital. It hurts like the devil but I’ll be fine.”

  When the shooting stopped the silence began to overwhelm everyone. Then someone burst into the room and they all screamed. All at once, there were male voices shouting all their names. The lights were snapped back on and the men all rushed in.

  Serenity tried to move but found she couldn’t. Nicky reached her and pulled her off Malina. She cried out as new waves of pain caught her unawares.

  “Oh Christ baby, are you all right?” Nicky called out as he turned her gently in his arms. There was so much blood covering her he didn’t know where to look first.

  Malina scrambled up to her knees and looked at Serenity as well. She was sobbing now, “She saved my live Nicky! She threw herself on top of me and took bullets to save my life.”

  Nicky looked fierce and growled. “You took a bullet?”

  “Actually I think it was three,” she told him quietly.

  “Three?” Nicky was astounded. “Are you ok?”

  Bella and Nikoli came over to them.

  Bella gasped in horror at the sight of her blood.

  Nikoli looked confused.

  They both grabbed ahold of Malina and checked her for injures but she was fine.

  Serenity noted Nikoli’s gazing at the blood that covered her. “My skin may be whiter than yours but as you can see— my blood is still the same color.”

  “She needs a doctor.” Nicky growled.

  Nikoli broke his gaze and nodded. “Of course. I’ll call the house doctor.”

  Before he could move away, Malina threw her arms around Serenity. “Thank you for keeping me safe.”

  Serenity groaned and Nicky gently nudged Malina, “Sweetie, I want to get her to a better place, so we can see how bad she’s hurt, ok?”

  Malina backed up.

  Nicky got to his feet. Turning to his bedroom, he carried her over to the bed. Laying her down, he began stripping off her clothing.

  Then Bella and Raven joined them.

  Bella pushed him out of the way. “Go get us some towels or something. We’ll get her cleaned up until the doctor shows up.”

  Nicky ran off to the bathroom and got them some towels then went to the kitchen to get some warm water to bathe the blood from her skin.

  Nicky stood at the end of the bed and watched helplessly as Bella and Raven took care of his woman. The bleeding had almost stopped by this time but it broke his heart to see the pain she was in. Her injuries didn’t look all that bad once she was cleaned up.

  The doctor finally arrived and Nicky went to the other side of the bed. Serenity held out her hand to him and he grabbed it and held on tight. The doctor was thorough and quick to patch her up as most of his work had been done by Bella and Raven.

  After he examined her wounds, he looked over at Nicky. “Two of the wounds are through and throughs, but the bullet is still in her shoulder. I’ll have to remove it.”

  Nicky paled at the thought of the doctor cutting into her but he nodded. He looked down into her eyes and saw she was gazing back at him sweat was beading on her forehead and pain shone in her eyes.

  When the doctor brought out a vial and stuck a needle into it the top of it, she turned her head and asked, “What is that?”

  “It’s a numbing agent so I can dig the bullet out,” he replied.

  Serenity shook her head. “You can’t give me that.”

  “It’s just a numbing agent so you won’t feel so much pain.”

  “You don’t understand.” She gritted between her teeth. “I had to get stitches once and they used that on me and I went into anaphylactic shock because of the injection. I almost died. There’s something in it that I’m allergic too.”

  The doctor put the syringe down immediately. “That’s a good thing to know young lady, but I’m afraid that without it, this is going to hurt like hell.”

  “I can take the pain,” she assured him.

  “Just do this quickly.” Nicky growled looking upset. “Get that fucking bullet out of her.”

  The doctor laid out his tools and began. Serenity tangled her fingers in Nicky’s hand and held tight. More sweat poured out of her as she cl
osed her eyes and gritted her teeth while the doctor cut into her shoulder. She groaned but didn’t cry out as the doctor opened her wound and used a small thong like instrument to pull a small metal projectile from her shoulder. He had to dig deep and had a hard time removing the bullet as the piece of steel had embedded itself into her bone.

  The doctor finally pulled it free and Serenity collapsed against Nicky. The doctor worked quickly to check and close the wound while Serenity wept on her husband’s shoulder.

  Nicky just sat there beside her looking pale and worried as he held her tightly.

  When the doctor was wrapping her last wound he mentioned, “You are a lucky woman, young lady.”

  “What do you mean?” Nicky asked.

  “I was told she shielded a young child during the battle.” The doctor nodded. “That first bullet would have killed the girl at the angle it came in at. That’s how the bullet entered her shoulder instead of her abdomen. This bullet should have entered the little girl’s head, instead it entered her shoulder when she was pushed down to the floor. After that, the bullets were aimed lower.”

  “That little girl is my sister,” Nicky whispered in shock.

  “Well, she’s still your little sister because of her.” He nodded at Serenity.

  “Thank you doctor for coming,” Serenity said. “I’m sorry I disrupted your evening.”

  The man paused at her apology, looking rather stunned by it in fact. “Nonsense young lady, I’m glad I was here to help you.”

  She peered up at him. “You said the little girl is all right? She wasn’t hurt when the bullets sprayed the room or when I fell on her?”

  “No my dear, she’s fine but she is worried about you though. She was crying in her father’s arms moments ago.”

  She glanced over at Nicky and asked the doctor, “Can she come and see that I’m okay?”

  The doctor smiled. “Of course she can. I’ll let her know before I leave.”

  When the doctor left the room, Nicky and Serenity had a moment of peace.

  He stared at her in concern and had to ask again, “Are you really ok?”

  She nodded. “I will be. The pain will be around for a day or so and then I’ll be good. I’ve been told I have a high tolerance for pain but right now, my shoulder is on fire. I’m just glad Malina is ok.”

  “Can you take anything for pain?”

  Serenity shook her head. “I’m afraid to try but it never lasts very long.”

  There was a slight knock on the door and Malina poked her head in. “Can I come in?”

  Serenity nodded.

  Malina threw the door open and rushed over to the bed. She climbed up next to Serenity and sat back on her heels. She looked over the other woman and took note of the bruises, both fading and new. The sheet had been drawn up to her armpits and held in place by Serenity’s arms. “Wow, my dad really hurt you didn’t he?” she whispered.

  “No, sweetie, these aren’t from your dad.” Serenity shook her head. “These are from the man who shot at us tonight.” She looked over at Nicky and said, “At least I’m assuming it was Z who was shooting at us?”

  Nicky shrugged. “Could have been, I’m not sure we know yet, just who was behind the trigger.”

  Malina looked over at Nicky. “I think you guys are switching rooms. The windows will have to be replaced and cleaned up and our father doesn’t think its safe to be here right now. He’s making me and Mom move too.”

  Serenity reached out and ran her hand over the little girl’s arm. “He only wants to protect you. You can’t blame him for that sweetie.”

  Malina nodded. “I wanted a father all my life. I’d see my friends play with their dads and I wanted what they had. Then we came here and I was so happy. Then I saw what he did to you and I’m not so sure I want him as my father anymore. You didn’t even do anything wrong and he hurt you.”

  Serenity gathered the little girl in her arms the best she could and held her while she cried. “Oh sweetie, life isn’t easy is it? You are a lucky little girl you know that right? You have a father who wants you in his life. He does love you, you know that. Remember we talked about this.”

  “He still doesn’t like you though does he?” Malina asked.

  “He doesn’t have to like me.” She shrugged. “Not everyone likes me but that’s ok. I don’t like everyone I meet either.”

  “My mom said you and Nicky were married now, is that true?” Malina looked up at her.

  Serenity nodded warily.

  “That’s wonderful, that means you’re my sister now too.” Malina hugged her.

  Serenity winced but didn’t cry out when Malina hugged her.

  Bella knocked on the doorframe and came into the room. She looked at Nicky. “Your father needs a word with you and I’m here to help Serenity get dressed. We’re moving rooms until they can get the windows replaced.” She laid the bundle of clothing she carried on the bed. “I know you don’t have much for clothes, so I brought some of mine along with me. These are easy on and off and girl, right now you need easy, not high fashion.”

  Serenity snorted. “Yeah, not into high fashion at all.”

  Nicky brushed the top of her head with a kiss and walked to the door, turning back he motioned at Malina, “Come on kiddo, let’s let the ladies do whatever ladies do whenever they get dressed. That process is still a mystery to most men and we like it that way.”

  “But I’m not a man and I have to learn this for when I grow up, don’t I?” Malina complained.

  “Yes, you do but not today. I’m sure Serenity would like some privacy.” He closed the door behind them and that left only Serenity and Bella in the room.

  Bella sat down on the bed and reached for Serenity hand. “Thank you.”

  Serenity was startled. “For what?”

  “For what you’ve told Malina about Nikoli.” She sighed hard. “You are a good woman and so good with her. I didn’t tell either one of them about the other because when I first met Nikoli, he wasn’t in a good place. In fact, he was a bastard to me the one night we were together. But I fell in love with him anyway. When I knew about Malina, I should have told him but I didn’t. I kept her to myself and that was wrong. He deserved to know she was alive. You could have turned her so easily against him, but you didn’t. Thank you for that. He is a good man and I think he’ll be a good father to her. At least I hope he will. And maybe because of your words, he’ll get that chance.”

  “At least, he wants to know her,” Serenity whispered softly. “My dad took one look at me and walked away. I’ve only ever seen him one time in my life and it wasn’t pleasant.”

  Bella patted her hand. “Well, you got Raven’s approval and that counts for something.”

  “All I want is a life with Nicky, and to be left alone in peace.” Serenity let her tears fall finally. “Is that too much to ask?”

  Chapter Ten

  “Sweetheart, those men out there...” She nodded toward the door. “They were either born into it, or they joined as very young men. The Bratva is and always will take first place in their lives. There is no escape and you can’t just walk away from it. Only death is an acceptable way to leave the organization. Once you’re in, you’re in for life. But its not all bad, they have a code of honor and that code separates them from the beasts of this world.”

  “So what’s with you and Nikoli?” Serenity asked after a moment of thought.

  “Nikoli thinks we should get married and give Malina a home. He wants to give her his name.” She paused for a moment then shrugged. “I’m a little on the fence. I love Nikoli but she has to be my first concern.” She motioned toward the other girl. “What he did to you has her questioning his every move, and with him being uncomfortable around you, she sees that and is slowly backing away from him.”

  “Nikoli may never accept me as part of his life and that’s ok.” Serenity shrugged. “I told Nicky I would never make him chose between his father and me. I couldn’t do that to someone I love.” She tur
ned to face Bella. “And I do love him, with all my heart. I know we just met in person but I’ve been looking for him all my life.”

  Bella wrapped her arm around Serenity’s shoulder. “Those two aren’t easy men to love but once you do, it’s forever isn’t it?”

  “Yup, it sure is. But actually, Nicky was easy to love right from the first.”

  “I can see that. Well, we better get you dressed before they come to get you. Those men don’t have patience enough to fill a tea cup.” She shook her head. Reaching for the robe, she went to wrap it around her shoulders but gasped when she saw the other woman’s back. She tightened her lips and assisted Serenity to get some clothes on. Then she helped her to the door.

  When the door opened, Nicky broke away from his father and came over to her. He swept her into his arms and carried her over to the sofa then set her down. Serenity looked around the devastation of the room.

  There were men working on the windows and more people sweeping the broken glass into piles. Nicky had packed a few things together and the suitcases and boxes were sitting by the door.

  One of the men, Sergi came over to her and knelt down in front of her. “Hello little one.”

  Serenity nodded her greeting. “Is everyone else ok? I mean no one else got hurt, did they?”

  Sergi smiled. “No child, everyone else is fine. You were the only one that got hurt but I understand from the doctor that you will be all right.”

  She nodded. She gazed around the room for a moment. “Did Z do this?”

  “Da, Zhora did this and we caught him. When Nikoli’s men shot back they wounded him, our security men were able to get to him and he is in custody now.” Sergi reached out to pat her hand. “You won’t have to worry about that man ever again.”

  Serenity closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

  “You never did tell us how the two of you met did you?” Sergi asked. “You told us about what happened after he found you, but you never told us exactly how he found you.”

  She opened her eyes and told him. “And I never will.” Her words were whispered. “It isn’t a pleasant story and I’d rather not think about ever again.”