Claimed by Shadows (The Shadowmen #2)

Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

“ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM” BY ROWAN DRAKE

ROMAN

S everal days pass where we get to visit Iris every day and it’s fucking bliss. We spend a good part of the morning with her, or afternoon, depending on her schedule, then drive back and get on with Shadows’ business. It takes effort to run an empire like ours, and we’ve been neglecting it for too long, especially with the fucking hate campaign Sergi is running against us.

On Wednesday night, I’m roused from sleep by my phone buzzing on the bedside table next to me. Hunt’s rosemary and mint scent surrounds me as I crack my eyes open, reaching out to grab it off the table. Then my heart pounds, sending a drop of adrenaline through me as I immediately think something is wrong with Iris. I blink at the screen, seeing Lilly’s number flash up. We exchanged numbers on Monday, just in case they needed us again.

“Lilly?” I answer, my voice slightly croaky from being asleep until a few moments before. My pulse settles a little, knowing Iris is fine, that she’s not in trouble. “Everything okay?” The other end of the line is quiet, and I sit up, the sheets next to me rustling as Hunt sits up too, his eyes laser-focused on me and his brows deeply furrowed. “Lilly?”

“I need to get out, Roman,” she whispers, and the sadness in those four words has my chest tightening. “Know any clubs open or parties happening?”

I’m silent for a beat, looking into Hunt’s eyes as I think. Fuck . “Sure, you know Depravity? In Shoreditch?”

“Yep, I’ll grab a black taxicab. Gimme…say, twenty, and I’ll meet you there?” she replies, and I can hear the rustle of bags in the background.

“Alone?” I question, my tone guarded. I know the answer. She needs a break from everything. The Knights may kill us, but I know a cry of help when I hear one, and I’ll message them straight away, letting them know where she is.

“I’ll see you there, Roman,” she answers, and then the line goes dead.

“What’s going on?” Hunt asks as I rub my palm down my face, throwing my phone on the bed in front of me.

“Lilly is struggling, needs to run, so we’re going to meet her at Depravity,” I tell him, throwing back the covers and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. “She’s coming alone, so I’ll message the Knights and let them know where she is and that we’re watching her.”

“Fuck,” Hunt hisses, getting out of bed on the other side and grabbing his jeans from the chair where he left them last night.

“She’s been through a lot, Hunt. We all know that sometimes an escape for a little while is what you need,” I tell him, and he sighs, walking over to me in just his jeans and looking like a fucking wet dream.

He pulls me into a hug and I wrap my arms around him, our bare chests pressing together, helping to calm some of the roiling emotions inside of me. “I love you for your bleeding heart, Roman Kent.”

I freeze, his words making my pulse thud along my veins.

“You love me?” I ask, my voice quiet and a little scared. He’s never said those words to me, and I didn’t realise how much I’d longed to hear them until now. He pulls back, his large palm cupping my cheek and forcing me to look at him.

“I’ve always loved you, baby. I’m sorry I never told you, I should have told you,” he says, leaning down and pressing our foreheads together.

I have to swallow past the emotion that is clogging up my throat. “You’re telling me now, and I love you back. So fucking much.”

His lips meet mine in a soft kiss, moving so tenderly against mine that my eyes fill and threaten to spill over.

“I’d love nothing more than to show you how I feel, Baby Boy, but it seems we have a damsel to rescue. Again.” I chuckle, giving him a final peck on those plush lips of his.

“Who said Shadows can’t be white knights too?” I tease, and he laughs, pressing a light kiss to my forehead and stepping away to grab his T-shirt as I get dressed.

My heart is lighter than it was moments ago. There is still worry for Lilly, for Iris, and all the fucked up shit that is sure to come our way, but it all feels manageable now, like knowing that Hunt loves me has made me feel invincible.

I grab my phone off the bed, texting the Knights as we head out of Hunt’s room, finding my brother watching Iris sleeping on the screen in the office. He tears his gaze away to look up at us, one brow arched.

“We’re going to Depravity. Lilly needs some freedom from her demons for a while,” I tell him, and he nods, looking back at the screen. “She’s safe, brother. Joe is literally outside her door,” I assure him. He keeps watch over her every night, barely sleeping. I can’t really blame him if I’m being honest. We all want to make sure she’s safe with our own eyes. Even if we’re too far away to make any difference if something were to happen, which is unlikely as we also have men patrolling the grounds of Serene Haven, not leaving anything to chance.

“Okay, but I don’t want to be too long,” he replies, getting up from the seat but leaving the screen on. He glances at it one more time before huffing out a breath and we head out the flat into the summer night with Hunt and my brother by my side.

“FEARLESS” BY TOMMEE PROFITT, SAM TINNESZ, BEACON LIGHT

NIKOLAI

There’s an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach as I walk through Depravity, the bass of the song “Fearless” by Tommee Profitt thumping through me. It’s an appropriate song for what is happening, for this step I’m taking in the silent war against my father.

I’m tingling all over, anticipation lighting me up even as nervousness makes me feel nauseous, bile making my jaw ache. I’ve already made sure the Russian diplomatic plates are on my car, in full view of a CCTV camera that also captured my exit from the vehicle, my face hidden of course. I have paid a witness who will testify to seeing men speaking Russian fleeing the scene, and the explosives I’m using are Russian military-grade. The remnants of the detonator with Cyrillic markings also will be left at the scene.

The detectives will be paid to ‘find’ the evidence, and the press will be given anonymous tips from an unknown source, which not only documents Russian involvement in the bombing but also the relationship between my father and the Russian Ambassador, hinting at the ties between the Russian State and Bratva.

Then there’s the paper trail that suggests our longtime rivals, the Volkovs, are finally making a play for London and southeast England, something they’ve coveted for years. The Bratva is unusual in that there are many branches run by multiple families, and titles aren’t always inherited but fought over and earned. We Russians will not stay in our place. We rise and fight for every scrap we have.

The paper trail, both digital and evidential, will point to the Volkovs trying to undermine my father with the Russian State, to convince them that the Petrovs are unreliable and need replacing with their family. And the State will choose the best men for the job, the ones that do not overtly cause them issues with the West but are far more subtle in their workings. It’s a risk. I don’t want the Volkovs in power any more than my father does, not least of all because it would spell the death of me and those loyal to me, but I need to undermine Sergi so that the only outcome is for him to be taken out and for me to be the best option. Only then can I slide into his place, ensuring that a new dawn emerges with Iris safe as I will hold all the power.

Sure, she will still be at risk from my enemies, though I have plans to take the Bratva into the new age by working with the other families and eradicating this old-school rivalry between the families. I’ve already been working on my connections with the younger generation, men and women my age, who are also fed up with the old ways and crave a more modern Bratva. Many of us share the desire to enjoy life without having to watch our backs constantly and those of our loved ones.

My head throbs in time to the music, all these parts are like a game of chess where I have to be ten steps ahead all the time. I’m fucking exhausted, and may have quit if it hadn’t been for my beautiful Malyshka . Iris is the one who keeps me going, keeps me moving to create that future where we can finally be together.

Of course, I didn’t expect to have to share that future with three others, but I’m nothing if not adaptable. My time in the Russian prison system saw to that.

“It’s done.” Andrei’s voice comes through my comms, letting me know that he’s planted the explosives.

“Done,” Dima adds, telling me he’s also planted the detonator.

I pause in my walk through the club, taking a deep inhale and tasting the electricity that seems to run through the air here. It really is a shame to be blowing it up. It’s a good club and holds some sweet memories of Iris on her knees, Roman on his too.

Checking my watch, I see that it’s 11:45am.

Forty-five minutes to clear this place out, then another thirty before the bomb goes off. Reaching into my pocket, I take out the burner phone, opening a new message thread and smiling as I remember the last time I messaged Hunter Anderson. My dick twitches in my pants at the unexpected turn that it took.

Unknown: Everything’s set. Time to evacuate, Daddy.

I smirk as I look up to the VIP area, to Hunter, who’s leaning on the glass balcony and looking out over his club. Roman is by his side, both of them looking down when Hunter’s phone goes off.

It takes great effort not to bark a laugh at the way Hunter’s jaw clenches as he stares at the screen, though Roman doesn’t hide his mirth. My phone vibrates in my hand.

Hunter: I am not your Daddy, sweetheart.

A small huff of laughter slips past my lips even as the music cuts off, the lights almost blinding as they come on, and a voice over the speakers tells everyone that they need to make their way to the exits.

Unknown: It’s nice to see that you’re admitting that I would be the one on top, Daddy.

A thrill runs through my veins, making my now semi-hard dick twitch in my trousers. I think messing with Hunter like this is my new favourite hobby, not to mention how much the idea of fighting with him to see which one of us would end up on top turns me on more than I’d like to admit.

I’ve never fully indulged that side of myself, the side that likes a man’s touch as much as a woman’s. It was too risky. My father is a homophobic bastard and would have seen it as a weakness to push me for. Something to beat out of me, perhaps even a reason to finally eliminate me.

But having Roman’s hands on me in this very club, then my last interaction with Hunter, has me adding the exploration into my future dreams. Plus, it turned on my little Malyshka , and as I’ve discovered, I will do anything for her happiness. My phone vibrates again as I stand there, watching clubbers being ushered out of the club, confused but not panicked.

Hunter: If by on top you mean on your knees choking on my dick, then sure, sweetheart.

I can’t stop the bark of laughter that slips from my mouth at that, and I glance up to find Hunter’s fierce gaze on mine, a dark promise in his green eyes. A shiver travels through me, and for perhaps the first time in my life, I think maybe I wouldn’t mind getting on my knees for another man.

My lips tilt up in a half smirk, then I tear my gaze away and follow the rest of the patrons out of the club into the balmy night air. There’s a chill, but you can definitely tell we are heading into the warmer months. My men come up on either side of me, Andrei talking in Russian as we head back to the car.

“Everything in place, Nikolai?” he asks as we push our way through the crowd, earning glares and outraged cries. It’s all part of the plan. Our faces are hidden in hoods, but we want people to remember the Russians who were acting shifty.

“ Da ,” I confirm, my phone vibrating in my hand.

Hunter: Everyone’s out. I hope to fuck you know what you’re doing, sweetheart.

A warmth heats my chest at the nickname. The only other person to have given me one is Iris, and it speaks of an intimacy that I’ve craved my entire life. Another message comes through before I’ve replied.

Hunter: And stay safe. She’ll kill me if anything happens to you.

My stomach tightens, knowing he speaks the truth. I know how much me being hurt also pains her, but I can’t do this without some risk, and I will risk it all to keep her safe.

We make it to the car, once again hiding our faces as we get in. We’re far enough away for the blast not to affect us but still able to monitor it. Looking at my phone screen, I see that we have less than half an hour before the bomb goes off, so I settle into the passenger seat and wait, typing out my message.

Unknown: And how about you? Would you miss me, Daddy?

I hold my breath after I’ve hit send, watching the dots appear, then stop, then appear again.

Hunter: No one hurts what belongs to me, sweetheart. And if your actions lead to something happening to you, however small, I will punish you accordingly, so best make sure you stay safe for everyone’s sake.

My throat tightens at his words, a lump forming that is hard to swallow past. That I belong to him should raise my hackles. I’m heir to the London Bratva, for fuck’s sake. We are not owned like dogs. We are the owners, the masters.

But his claim soothes a wound inside me that has been festering since I watched the light fade from my mother’s eyes. They ease a tightness from my soul that I wasn’t even aware was there.

I think that belonging to someone like Hunter Anderson, belonging with him, Iris, and the twins might just be more than I could have ever dreamed of.

A loud rumble sounds as the night lights up ahead of us, our bomb going off and making my ears ring. Dima starts up the car and we drive away, the sounds of sirens filling the air along with the ringing that fades from my hearing.

It’s a sound that heralds the new dawn, that signals a new beginning.

I just pray it’s not the beginning of my death knell.