Page 16 of Bratva, Baby
Looking at Timofy, I tell him, “Go pull the car around. We will wait for you at the door.” I say as we head to the front of the warehouse.
Timofy makes it to the SUV and starts it. Seconds later, I hear a ticking sound come from beneath the car, and before I can react, the car explodes. The blast kills Timofy instantly and throws Ava and me backwards, knocking the breath out of me.
Ava lands on top of me, thank the Universe I didn’t lose my grip during the explosion, keeping her from slamming her head onto the concrete lot where we usually park.
As I gather my senses, I begin to process what the fuck just happened.
Someone planted a bomb in my car, most likely aiming to kill me, but they would have killed Ava, too.
Again, someone has almost taken my little bird from me, and though I would have followed her, I need to know if this is part of the Italians' plan.
Sirens wail in the distance; you can’t exactly hide a car bomb from people seeing and hearing the blast. I need to leave and call my contact at the fire department to get the investigator on our payroll. If he refuses our money, I will convince him in another way.
With the explosion, all my men ran from the building to check the chaos, Alek getting to us first as I still lay on the ground. “Andrei!” He yells as he sees me lying on the ground. Running toward us, he crouches on the ground to check and asks, “What the fuck happened? Are you ok, Boss?”
“Da, I am ok, but I want Ava checked by Dr. Drummond regardless. She passed out watching me kill Ivan, and now the blast, and she has yet to wake up.” I say, concern lacing my voice.
“Are you sure you shouldn’t be checked out as well?” He asks.
“I am sure, I just want to make sure that Ava is ok, she had a hard lesson to learn before this, where she passed out and hasn’t woken up yet,” I explain to my best friend. “Call for Drummond to come to my penthouse to check on her. We need to get out of here and start making calls. ”
“Da, we will get that done, but we need to get you there first.” Before I can start issuing commands, Alek takes over, standing up and announcing to the men to check the rest of the cars for signs of being tampered with. He is genuinely a good friend and a loyal person.
After receiving the all clear, we pile into the various vehicles and head back to my penthouse, where hopefully Drummond will already be waiting for us. It has been a long day, and it is still only noon. Ava has a lot to react to before we settle into the normal that will be her new life.
After fighting the noon-time traffic, we finally arrive at my penthouse to see that Dr Drummond is, in fact, waiting for us in my opulent kitchen.
“Thank you for coming,” I say, carrying Ava into my bedroom to lay her down. On the way down the hall, I explain to Drummond what happened right before Ava passed out and the car bomb since, and he takes over as I lay her on my bed.
He proceeds to pull out a blood pressure cuff and other home medical devices and checks her vitals. After checking over everything, he tells me she needs to sleep it off and to call him back when she wakes up.
She wakes up four hours later, confused and wondering how she got here .
“I remember waking up, only to hear an explosion, and everything went black again.” She says.
“I need to call Dr. Drummond to come back and check on you, now that you’re awake,” I say, not wanting to take a chance that she may have actually been hurt during the blast.
“I feel fine.” She says, her face hardening. “I remember everything up until I blacked out. I want to go home, Andrei.”
I’m sorry, little bird, but that is no longer an option. Not after the events of today.” I tell her. Not mentioning that it wasn't an option from the very beginning. Once I claimed her as mine, her choice was already made for her. I know she wants me too, she is just fighting herself.
“I can’t stay here, Andrei, not only are you my boss, but you’re dangerous.” She explains, as if I haven’t already anticipated her excuses. “I have to find a new job now, and I just can’t do the drama that comes attached to you. No matter how much my body wants you.”
“Little bird, your choice was made for you from the day I first saw you,” I tell her.
“You can either go back to working at LevCorp as though nothing has changed, other than you now know who I am, or you can stay here, and I will take care of you. Regardless, you won’t be going back to your house.
It’s too dangerous since so many people know who you are to me now. ”
“And whose fault is that, Andrei?” She snaps at me. It relieves some of my anxiety knowing that she has found her fire again; that she isn’t afraid of me. “Tell me what happened after I blacked out.”
“Ivan is dead.” She gasps at my bluntness.
“And Timofy, the guard that was behind you, is dead; there was a bomb in the SUV I regularly drive, and when he started the motor, it detonated, and he was inside,” I tell her, not wanting to lie to her about the seriousness of the situation.
I didn’t want her to know about the guards that will be tailing her, but I no longer believe that will be an option.
She needs to be protected from the impending war with the Italians.
“Why did you kill Ivan? He was only trying to help me!” She exclaims.
“He forfeited his life when he helped you leave me. Think about that the next time you want to involve one of my men in your plans.” I tell her, thank the Universe Ivan wasn’t part of my inner circle, or I might begin to believe the Irishman when he says I have an informant in my ranks.
“But it wasn’t his fault, I am the one who chose to leave, he only helped me.” She tries to explain.
“That may be so, but he knew you are mine. And then there is the compromising position I found you in. He deemed himself worthy of your touch, and only I will feel your touch from now on, and the only pleasure you feel from now on will be delivered from my own body. ”
“But-”
“Enough of the arguments, little bird, what’s done is done, and I have no regrets ending his life.”
Instead of trying to continue her argument, she remains silent. I need to shower the blood off my body and change my clothes. I am sure I am quite the sight right now since I haven't changed or anything since the entire fiasco that has been today, but I couldn’t make myself leave her side.
“Come, Ava, let’s go get cleaned up,” I say, reaching my hand out for her to grab.
“I am not going anywhere with you, much less to shower with you.” She replies, staring at my hand like she wants to bat it away.
“Ok, that’s fine too,” I say as I reach over to grab the handcuffs. “But you have already proven to be a flight risk, so it is either shower with me or I handcuff you to the bed until I am done, and then you can have the shower to yourself.”
She debates her decision before putting her hand in mine and gets off the bed unsteadily. I pick her up, carefully carrying her into the bathroom. Sitting her on the bathroom counter, I leave her there to prepare the shower. A bath, though relaxing, would only turn to filth with how dirty we are .
After I set the water temperature and get the towels out of the closet so we are prepared, I return to her side and lift her from the bathroom counter, placing her on her feet.
“Come on, little bird, let’s go get clean.”