Darling Wildfire (Red Rabbit #2)

15

KAELIN

I drove the entire way home in silence.

This should have been one of the best nights of my life having accomplished something I’d never dared hope for until recently. But instead it was overshadowed by seeing him again.

Greg.

Remembering how Theron had shared me at the lounge that night, allowing Greg to have his way with me, made my face heat even now. And to find out Theron was friends with him!

I was pissed.

I pulled up to my house, bent on tearing off my dress and digging into some pity party ice cream, when I immediately knew something wasn’t right. Usually Viktor or Kon met me in the driveway but it was eerily empty. Even though I questioned why Viktor and Kon were still watching over me, I’d gotten attached to the twins when Theron had left them behind on the Red Rabbit op as my bodyguards. They’d been like my two identical shadows ever since and despite the annoyance of not having my home to myself, I’d gotten used to them being around.

I didn’t pull into the garage but parked in the driveway and grabbed my gun from the glove compartment. When I’d left this morning, Kon had been there so I knew it would be Viktor tonight. I unlocked my front door and stepped inside. There was a light on in the kitchen, but that was normal. I checked the room near the door and then advanced my way into the house.

I made it around to the kitchen where the french doors to the patio were wide open and Viktor was lying just outside bleeding from a gunshot wound to his shoulder and a nasty gash on his temple.

“Viktor!”

I rushed over to him and knelt by his side.

Before I could do anything, I heard the gate slam on my side yard and heavy footsteps. I pulled my gun and leveled it at the corner, only for Kon to sprint into view. He held up his hands at the sight of me but I’d already lowered the weapon.

“Hurry!”

I said as Kon rushed over. “I just got home and found him like this.”

“He was on the phone with me when it happened,”

Kon said. “I called Nyx already.”

He quickly cut Viktor’s shirt off, making sure that was the only gunshot wound and did a quick field dressing. By the time he was done, I heard my front door open and Nyx was there, his gun also drawn as he quickly took in the scene.

“Are you okay, baby girl?” He asked.

I nodded, holding Viktor’s hand as Kon dressed the cut on Viktor’s head. I was nauseous thinking about anything happening to Viktor. My thoughts strayed back to when I’d first met him and Kon and how over the month they were my bodyguards, I’d slowly broken down their tough outer walls.

“Tell me about yourself, Viktor,” I said.

I hated the silence as we drove to my therapy appointment. He never let me take my car and always made me sit in the back of the blacked out SUV.

“Not much to tell, ma’am,”

he said gruffly.

“I told you—it’s Kaelin,”

I said automatically.

Theron had been gone for two weeks, and I’d been trying to get through the wall of Russian muscle. All I knew was that he was a twin—something I discovered by accident I might add—and Russian. In two weeks, I’d only heard them speak a handful of words and two complete sentences. One sentence had been when he’d introduced said twin—Konstantine—and the other sentence was the one he’d just said.

“Were you born in Russia then?”

I pressed.

Silence. I couldn’t tell him apart from his brother unless I was staring at their faces and then I could see the different scars they had. Even some of their tattoos were identical although I could only see the ones on their hands and occasionally forearms.

“What brought you to the states?”

Silence. That was how all my questions were usually answered. Even if I asked him something as mundane as what he preferred on his pizza—silence. So naturally I’d made it my goal to get him to crack. It was something to keep my mind off the fact my men were about to go after Cooper and put themselves in danger.

“Do you have any other siblings?”

Silence.

I crossed my arms and sat back. I’d exhausted all my questions for the drive because a moment later we pulled into the office complex where my therapist practiced. The SUV pulled to a stop, and I didn’t bother opening my door as Viktor came around and did it for me. The first time he’d driven me, he’d made it very clear I was not to get out of the car until he came and opened the door for me.

“Thank you,”

I said, like I always did.

Not even a nod. Cool.

I dreaded therapy recently because with the appearance of Cooper came the resurgence of my nightmares. It was always the same dream—I was walking into my house after the gala and Cooper was there, standing over the bodies of Theron and Graham. The feeling of despair and agony in those dreams was so strong I would wake up not being able to breathe.

In those dreams there was no one coming to save me and even though I tried, I couldn’t save myself and Cooper would always drag me away and out of the house, presumably to go back to the Warren but I always woke up before I could find out where he was taking me. For that I was grateful.

I came out of therapy in a bad mood and feeling like I was on the verge of crying. I hadn’t had a hard session like that in a while and we’d spent most of the hour pulling back layers until my edges felt exposed and raw. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if it helped to talk about my trauma or just hurt more but today had drained me. Viktor was waiting for me and opened the door, then we were off.

The phone rang, and he answered it through the car speakers.

I could tell it was Konstantine by his voice but they spoke quickly in Russian. It didn’t sound like either man was happy but then again, it could be the language.

Nope, Viktor was definitely scowling more than usual as he barked something to Konstantine.

They hung up the call, and I watched us deviate from the usual path home. A short drive later, we pulled up in the back lot of a club called Elysium. I’d never been inside before but I’d heard it was a trendy speakeasy with gentlemen's club vibes.

“Do you own the club?”

I asked, looking at the building that was on a side street in bustling downtown. It was obviously popular as the parking lot was packed with cars on a Friday evening.

“Something like that,”

Viktor answered.

I looked at him in the rearview mirror.

“What does that even mean?”

I asked irritably.

He met my eyes, probably taken aback by my tone. I was usually polite and friendly but I wasn’t in the mood for riddles.

“It’s North’s establishment,”

he said, parking the SUV. “My family helps him run it.”

“North owns a nightclub?”

I mused, looking back out at the building.

Viktor got out and opened my door. I followed him through the back door of the club where the vibrations of the bass from the music slammed into us but instead of heading towards the main floor, he took a set of stairs up to another hallway and opened one of the doors. It was an empty office.

“Sit,”

he said, pointing to a couch. “Stay here.”

I scowled at him. “I’m not a dog.”

He ignored me and left.

The office overlooked the club so instead of sitting; I walked over to the floor to ceiling wall of windows. They were tinted on the other side so no one could see in, but I looked out over the sea of people. It was part nightclub, part lounge with different levels, floors and VIP areas. Several bars dotted the space with a massive circular one in the center. It was beautiful, modern and sleek with industrial touches while still maintaining a cozy and intimate atmosphere.

This early in the evening it was mostly people having a cocktail after work so while the music was intense, the crowd looked lively but not as much of a club atmosphere as I was expecting.

I figured North was involved with private military companies, not nightclubs, but then again, I knew next to nothing about him. I didn’t think I’d ever see him again after he left me in the Warren. I hoped I would—at one point, in the darkest times, I’d fantasized heavily about him coming to save me—but he never did. Instead, it had been Graham that’d come back from the dead to get me out. Theron said he’d tried, but that Cooper said I wasn’t there so he must have reached out once I’d already escaped.

I didn’t blame him for not coming sooner, but I was interested to know why. A man like him had money, power and influence but when he hadn’t immediately tried to get me out, I doubted what I meant to him. I was something he’d purchased for a set amount of time. I meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. What made me think I was anything special to warrant a rescue attempt? Especially since it would have had to be dramatic and dangerous with Cooper not wanting to let me go.

These were all questions running rampant in my head. The one where I thought I wasn’t worth being rescued by Theron was what was messing with me the most and I hoped once he came back, it wouldn’t be like that. I wasn’t a sex slave, and I didn’t want to be treated like one—no matter how mind blowing the sex actually was.

I lost interest in people watching and realized I had to pee. I bit my lip, debating on whether to leave the office or try to wait for Viktor to come back. Finally, I couldn’t wait any longer and poked my head out of the office door. There didn’t look to be any bathrooms along the hallway, so I headed back towards the stairs we’d used to come up here.

I reached the bottom and found the bathroom. When I came back out, two men were stumbling out of the men’s restroom. One of them fell heavily against me and I shoved him off as he mumbled an apology.

“Hey gorgeous, can I buy you a drink?”

The second one asked, leaning into my personal space.

“Nope, I’m good, thank you,”

I said, trying to go around him and head back up the stairs. His arm went around my waist and before I realized what I was doing, I turned and punched him squarely in the jaw.

We both cursed at the same time. He stumbled backwards, his lip cut, while I shook out my hand with a hiss. Punching someone hurt. I hadn’t meant to react that way but the Warren weighed heavily on my mind and I’d just reacted. The man I punched cursed at me angrily and he and his friend stepped towards me. I backed up a few steps, glaring at them.

“Fuck off,”

I snapped.

“Bitch,”

he hissed and tried to grab me.

I kneed him in the groin and he fell forward into me, sending me stumbling backwards into another door. Unfortunately, the door was being opened at the same time I hit it and I fell through the doorway with the two drunk men on my heels. By some miracle, I kept my feet under me but the one I’d kneed wasn’t so lucky and fell onto the ground in front of me. I punched the second guy, again, and his nose started running blood. He stumbled against the wall clutching his face and that’s when I heard the low rumble of a laugh from behind me. I turned to see ten pairs of eyes fixed on me.

“You are every bit as lovely as I imagined you’d be, Ms. Bennett.”

A tall, handsome man around Theron’s age stood up from where he was seated around a table. He had black hair with a gray streak but it was his eyes that were truly captivating. He had scars running through one of them turning it white and the other was the most beautiful shade of gold I’d ever seen. He had his sleeves rolled up revealing tattoos and with a flick of a heavily ringed hand, two of his men forcefully escorted the drunk men out.

“I’ve been eager to meet the woman who finally caught North’s attention,”

he continued, looking at me in amusement as he made his way around the table and stopped in front of me. “Your name precedes you of course but I must say you are much more captivating in person.”

His energy was similar to Theron’s, nearly oppressive with an aura of power and danger. But I didn’t feel unsafe and so when he reached for my hand, I let him take it. He raised it to his lips but stopped just short and instead pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and gently placed it over my knuckles that I realized were lightly bleeding. He carefully wrapped my hand in the cloth, his eyes never once leaving mine. He kissed my fingers and let my hand drop.

“My name is Demetrius Volkov,” he said.

“Pleasure,”

I murmured.

“I wish I had the time you deserve, my dear, but unfortunately you caught me in the middle of important business.”

“I apologize—”

He held up his hand with a smile. “The interruption was worth it.”

He winked at me and then his eyes shifted over my shoulder and I turned to see Viktor scowling near the door. I left the room feeling Demetrius’ eyes on me until the moment the door closed behind Viktor and I.

“I told you not to leave the room,”

he growled.

“I had to pee,”

I sniffed. “It wasn’t my fault two of your patrons were drunk out of their minds this early in the evening.”

The drive home was silent as usual and when we got back to the house, I waited patiently in the entryway while he swept the house and made sure everything was clear. I went into the kitchen and untied the cloth around my hand. It hurt—quite a bit. Punching someone was not glamorous even if it had been satisfying. I grimaced when I put my hand under the water to wash the cuts.

“Let me see,”

Viktor said, suddenly beside me with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some bandaids. The cuts weren’t bad and only one even needed a bandaid.

“Demetrius is my older brother,”

he said after a moment.

“Seems like a cool dude,”

I muttered dryly.

Something rumbled through Viktor that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

“You’re Bratva, aren’t you?”

I said. When he didn’t answer right away I scoffed. “Viktor, I stumbled into a room full of Russians who look like textbook mobsters. I don’t need to know what you were doing, but I know mob business when I see it.”

A ghost of a smile flickered across his face and he looked at me and nodded.

“Yeah—Demetrius is the Pakhan.”

It didn't surprise me that Theron would have powerful friends so the fact he was close with the leader of the Russian mafia just had me nodding in understanding.

I tilted my head, studying him. “How did you get in with Theron?”

“Kon and I owe him our lives,” he said.

He grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and handed it to me. I hoped he’d continue but after he watched to make sure I put the icepack on my knuckles, he left to do his usual rounds of the property. As I watched him cross the back patio, I wondered what I’d gotten myself into that Theron would have to leave someone behind to watch me. At first I thought it was just a precaution against Cooper, but now I was pretty sure it had nothing to do with that and everything to do with Theron’s own enemies.

Viktor’s eyes fluttered open and before he could freak out, he noticed my hand in his, then his eyes quickly looked around at his surroundings and he cursed in Russian before meeting my gaze.

“Are you okay, lisichka?”

he said, groaning as he sat up.

I nodded. Shortly after the scene at the club, the twins had started calling me by my name after I’d snapped at them for the hundredth time, then soon after Theron returned, they’d started calling me lisichka, or “little fox.”

When I’d asked about it, they said it was because I was tricky like a fox, escaping from Cooper, and a play on the company I worked for. I thought it was adorable.

Kon and Nyx pulled him to his feet and helped him through the house out to Kon’s waiting SUV, talking quietly about what happened.

I walked into the house behind them and went to close the french doors, only to see someone had spray painted something across the inside. I backed up to see the full picture and my body froze in shock. Blood roared in my ears making me lightheaded. I clutched the back of the couch as I fought to keep breathing.

Someone had spray painted a giant red crosshair across the doors leading to my back patio. Nyx came up behind me and grabbed my shoulders, making me startle so violently he had to catch me as I stumbled.

“Whoa, easy, pretty girl,”

he said. “Just breathe—Graham and North are on their way.”

I was getting lightheaded and my chest felt tight as I struggled to breathe. I sank to the ground of my living room and Nyx followed as I clutched at him, needing some sort of anchor in the storm that suddenly had me flailing in fear. He pulled me to him, murmuring words I hardly heard. When I finally calmed down, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the french doors leading out to my backyard. Nyx helped me to my feet but I couldn’t bring myself to let go of his hand.

“Who—who did that?” I asked.

Before Nyx could answer, I heard a door slam, startling me again.

“Where is she?”

I heard North demand loudly before he appeared and pulled me roughly into his arms, his eyes going over my head and turning absolutely murderous. Graham was right behind him, looking equally furious and my own anger surged. I pushed away from North, taking a step back to glare at him.

“Who did this?”

I demanded.

“We’ll take care of it—”

“That’s not what I fucking asked,”

I snapped. “Something is going on and I need to know right now.”

His eyes darkened, and he took a step towards me, only for me to take another step back and I shook my head viciously.

“No. No—you do not get to brush this off,”

I said, my voice rising as my panic crept up. “What the fuck is going on, Theron?”

“Kaelin—”

Graham stepped up beside Theron and my eyes jumped to him, glaring equally as hard.

“Do you know?” I fumed.

His mouth snapped shut and his face grew stoney. I felt slightly unhinged as my gaze flickered back and forth between the two men I trusted to keep me safe and for the first time doubt crept in because they’d failed. Someone had been in my house and shot Viktor. What if I had been home too?

“Is anyone going to tell me what’s going on?”

I said. “Who shot Viktor and what the fuck is that?”

I waved over my shoulder at the spray paint. When neither man spoke, I rounded on Nyx and he held up his hands and shook his head sadly.

“I’m sorry, Killer—”

he said. “This isn’t my call.”

“This is why you were so upset over the death threats,”

I said, my voice shaking with anger. “Because you knew something like this was going to happen.”

Theron didn’t even have the decency to look guilty. In fact, his face was so emotionless I couldn’t get a read on him at all, it was like he’d completely shut me out.

“You told me you didn’t want to think about these things,”

North said.

“This is different and you know it!”

He didn’t answer.

“Get out,” I hissed.

If they weren’t going to tell me anything, then I didn’t want to be around them. Their silence and lack of trust in me cut deep. When neither of them moved, I threw my finger towards the front door. “Get the fuck out of my house!”

I screamed.

“Kaelin—”

Graham tried to take a step forward and again I took a step back, my legs hitting the couch.

“I said get out! If you aren’t going to tell me what the fuck is going on—get the fuck out. I don’t want you here.”

Graham looked hurt, but he nodded and turned to Theron who was still looking at me with expressionless eyes. They flickered beyond me to the doors and I saw his fists clench at his sides, the only tell that he was internally churning with emotions I couldn’t gauge. Graham came up even with Theron and I heard him say something low in his ear.

Theron’s mouth twitched as though he wanted to snarl something back but he refrained and without a word, he turned and left with Graham close behind. Something slammed into my heart so hard I was momentarily breathless. He left instead of telling me what was going on. He just…left…and that hurt more than I realized it would.

Tears choked me as they pooled and threatened to fall. Nyx was still standing nearby, guilt written all over his face. He reached out to me but I held up a hand to stop him just as a rogue tear escaped down my cheek. Before I could have a full on meltdown, I stormed off into my bathroom and locked the door, barely holding back a sob as I slid down the wall and broke apart.

I was right.

Theron wasn’t trying to protect me from my enemies—he was trying to protect me from his.