VLAD

U sing a towel to dry my hair, I head back to the main seating area of the plane.

With the impromptu attack on the house, I'm thankful that I'd kept the jet in New Orleans.

We hadn't lingered too long at the house, grabbing only a few necessities before taking the car to the airport.

I hadn't even had the time to wash the blood off, and I'd definitely run a risk driving around drenched in blood.

Still, better being pulled over by some puny cop than risk Sisi's safety even more. They had sent a unit to dispatch me, so there's no doubt that another one would follow when they realize they've lost connection to the first one.

Legs crossed, she's sitting by the window, staring into empty space. Not for the first time, I stop to admire her. Even tired, she's stunning, her beauty unique. She's still dressed in her work out gear, some blood spatters on her skin.

Her blonde hair is lightly stained around the tips. I'd suggested she use the shower first since the plane bathroom is too tiny to fit us both, but she'd insisted that I was in more dire need of it. Of course, she commands and I obey.

She's looking out the window, her expression serene. Too serene considering what she just went through, and that only makes me more in awe of her.

By the time I'd registered that shots were being fired in the house, my Sisi had been dealing with those bastards on her own.

I can barely forgive myself for letting her stand up to them by herself.

But even as I'm mad at myself for my own failure, I can't help but admire her.

She'd bravely faced them and even killed a few on her own.

A smile pulls at my lips.

She truly is one of a kind.

Although she'd handled herself better than I could have ever hoped, I won't ever let that happen again. Even if I have to cuff her to me, I will make sure she's never in danger again.

I don't think I could handle it if anything happened to her. Certainly, I don't think the world could handle me if anything happened to her. Because one thing is for sure. I exist if she does. That's my only requirement.

She notices me in the doorway, and she gives me a shy smile as she beckons me to her.

"There you are, handsome." Her hand reaches out to touch my face as I sit next to her.

Without even thinking, I tug her out of her seat and onto my lap, holding her tightly. I don't think the sight of those people aiming their guns at her will leave my mind anytime soon.

"I love you," I tell her, nuzzling my face in the crook of her neck. That she's here and mine is the only thing I need to know to feel at peace.

"I love you too," she says, her soft voice soothing the beast inside of me.

It scares me too to think what I'd be capable of if anything were to happen to Sisi. I don't think there are limits to the destruction I'd wreck before joining her.

"I promise I'll never put you in danger again," I tell her, my mind already working on annihilating any potential danger, starting with the people who want me dead. Because if they want to harm me, then they'll surely try to harm Sisi too. And that I can't have.

"You can't promise that, Vlad. Even you are not omniscient or omnipotent," she chides gently, leaning back to look at me.

"I'll be the very near damned thing if it means making sure you're safe, Sisi."

"Oh, Vlad," she sighs, her eyes clear and fuck, so damned beautiful. "No matter how much I'd like to argue that sometimes things simply happen, I can't. I know what you're feeling because I feel it too." She takes my hand and places it on her chest, right above her heart.

"The thought that those men could get to you while you were incapacitated, or unable to fight them off almost killed me. I would have done anything to keep you safe."

"Then you understand. There's this monstrous rage inside of me, ready to be unleashed at the mere suggestion that you'd be in danger. And it's not my berserker rage. No, this is something so much more potent, so much more violent that I fear no one would make it out alive."

"I trust you," she immediately says and the words warm my heart. Just a while ago I'd thought I would never be able to gain her trust back. "And I know I'm safe with you." The corner of her mouth pulls up.

"You're my protector," her smile widens, "my guardian devil," she cheekily adds and I find myself returning the smile. "As long as you're around I know that nothing and no one can harm me."

It humbles me to realize that she truly means those words. She actually trusts me to protect her, and in that moment I vow to never disappoint her.

"But maybe now you can tell me what that was all about." She looks at me questioningly, and I release a deep breath.

"I'm not entirely sure. Remember Meester from the club?" I ask, reminding her of the short encounter and that he's been the owner of the fighter who'd lost against Seth. "I don't know why he'd send people after me.

To my knowledge, the only time I offended him was years ago when I refused marriage to his daughter. But he would have had plenty of time to make attempts on my life before now," I add pensively.

Things aren't making much sense, and the more I think about it, the more I become suspicious of everyone.

"That's odd," she notes and I agree.

"I know I'm currently persona non grata on the East Coast, especially since I killed the leaders of most of the Russian syndicates in the area.

Honestly, I would have expected any of them to be behind the attack, but Meester?

" I shake my head, unable to find a logical connection.

"Maybe if he's acting in conjunction with them? "

"Do you think he might be connected to Miles too?" Sisi asks, biting her lip in consternation.

I'd already given her a rundown of the situation with Miles, or at least the new information I'd gathered recently, including the fact that the attack at the warehouse must have had something to do with Miles.

After I'd realized that he had gone to Giovanni Lastra for funding, I'd gotten the idea that he couldn't have been the only one he'd reached out to.

Following the attack, when Vanya had called me out for being too complacent, I'd done a little digging inside the other syndicates' financials. The results had been rather predictable and most of them had been investing with a ghost company for years .

The only way I'd managed to connect that to Miles had been by cross-referencing some of the older transactions with those of Lastra, since he'd ended up making some payments to Miles.

As it stands, it's clear that Miles's enterprise isn't just the absurd work of a mad scientist. It's a business. And he's managed to rope some of the most dangerous men from the East Coast into it.

I'm still unsure about what he promised them or what the terms of their agreement were. I have to wonder if he promised them a cut of the business when he succeeded in creating the perfect soldier, or if they'd simply been interested in obtaining those soldiers for their own organizations.

Still, it seems a bit ludicrous that so many people would blindly invest based on mere theories and conjectures. In my memories, and to my knowledge, Miles had never succeeded in creating a perfect soldier.

There must be something I'm missing.

"Possibly," I admit. "I have Seth working in Boston, gathering intel from one of the ruling Bratvas. From what he's been telling me, it's not only money that these people have been funneling into Miles' business, but also people."

Sisi frowns. "You mean they've been scouting potential test subjects?"

"I'm a little unclear on that. Seth's managed to compile a list of missing people, but so far none have had the mutation. There is a chance it wasn't in their records. But with how rare it is," I purse my lips, "I doubt all would have had it."

"Then why would Miles need them? More tests? Maybe he's trying something different?"

"That's what we need to find out," I add grimly.

While in New Orleans, I'd tried not to think too much about Miles and the people gunning for me. I wanted to enjoy my time alone with Sisi. Together, in our little bubble, everything had been nothing short of perfect. But it seems I can't neglect this forever.

"One thing is for sure, though. Miles knows I'm looking for him, and he's been trying to take me out for a while," I say, a bleak expression on my face. All my snooping had gotten his attention at last. "But now Meester? If he's also working with Miles, then it might make sense."

"What's the plan?" she asks, "Because you always have a plan." She raises an eyebrow at me, and I chuckle.

"You're right. I've been keeping in touch with Nero and he's been sending me information about his time with Miles and whatever he could remember.

Based on that, I put together a couple of places where Miles could have had his headquarters.

Of course, I doubt he'd still be there today, but it's a place to start. "

"If he's part of such a huge network, then I doubt he'd be so untraceable," Sisi comments.

"And yet he's been eluding me for years, " I reply absentmindedly before I still, my eyes widening. "Shit," I mutter.

"What?" Sisi frowns, stepping away from me.

"Let's do a quick recap." I stand up, pacing around the aisle of the plane.

"I found out about Project Humanitas from your brother, Valentino, right around the time I realized Vanya had died.

So that's about fifteen years ago," I start, feeling a small bubble of excitement build inside of me as I always do when I'm on the brink of a discovery.

"Then Misha's attempted coup happened around ten years ago, when Miles took Katya," I continue and my eyes widen as I remember the events.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" I curse out, suddenly everything dawning on me.

"What? What is it?" Sisi stands up, coming to my side.