Gabriel's Regret: Book 1 (The Medlov Men Series 2) (25 page)

“Run,” he said, grabbing Valeriya up.  His face was covered in sweat and his black hair clung to his neck.  “Run to Nadei. I’ll make sure you get there safe,” he said, eyes burning with anger. 

“No, no, no.  I’m not leaving you!” she screamed, hands shaking. 

“You have no choice.  Run, Valeriya,” Gabriel said, pushing her and shooting again toward the men coming from the South.  “Run fast.  I’ll catch up.” 

“Gabriel!” Nadei screamed. “You both need to move this way.”

“Run!” Gabriel said, turning from Valeriya and turning the weapon’s settings from semi-automatic to full auto fire.

But as accurate as the weapon was, there were too many men coming from too many sides.  On Gabriel’s flank, a group of men grabbed him and hit him in the back of the head with the butt of their weapons.  He fought for as long as he could and then with a hit to the temple, went limp.

Nadei couldn’t get a shot off without killing him.  “Shit! Fuck!” Nadei said, providing cover for Valeriya as she ran to him. 

Valeriya bolted toward Nadei as fast as she could. Her feet dug into the concrete and with everything that she had, she ran toward Nadei who grabbed her, pulled her to him and then threw out a concussion grenade. The loud bang was explosive and provided them the few seconds that they needed to run down the alleyway and get into the car waiting for him.

Nadei jumped in the back with Valeriya and ducked down. “Get us out of here,” he screamed as the man stepped on the gas and burned rubber down the road. 

Valeriya held her head down on the seat with tears running down her face.  “We can’t just leave him here.”

“You don’t think that I know that?” Nadei remarked, coughing and holding his bandaged side that was now leaking.  “It was either you or him.  He knew that.” 

Chapter Eighteen

The Tie that Binds…

Valeriya’s ears were still ringing from the concussion grenade as they drove silently back to the Donetsk Hotel.  Even though they were sure that they had managed to get out of harm’s way, her head was still down in Nadei’s lap as she cried, tears flowing onto his jeans along with a mix of saliva and utter agonizing pain. 

They had left him.  Even though he had come for her, saved her, sacrificed for her, they had left him.  There was nothing that would cure her ails.  She wanted to go back, find him, save him, keep him from the danger that he was surely in now because of her.

Gabriel’s words echoed in her mind.  “If I could trade my life for yours, I would.”

And he had traded everything for her to be free.

Feeling her sobs in her throat, she sucked in a breath and moaned.  Sniffles were followed by sobs and then confusion.

“We have to get him back, Nadei,” she whispered.  Looking at the back of the seat in front of her as they drove high speeds through the city.

“We will,” Nadei said, pulling his phone out.  He dreaded what he had to do.  He had failed miserably and now he had to call his boss and tell him the worse news that he could possibly report.

As the clouds started to subside from Valeriya’s mind, she sat up and sunk down in the seat.  “Faddei set us up,” she said, looking over at Nadei. 

Nadei put the phone down. “What?”

“Before Olek died, he said that Faddei had double crossed him.”  Her long lashes dropped a tear to her cheek.  Wiping her face, she kept her fingers over her mouth.  “Somehow he’s responsible for this.”

“Are you sure?” Nadei asked.

“Positive,” Valeriya said, running a hand into her curly, sweaty hair.  A flash of Gabriel’s face right before he made her run to Nadei came to her mind and she closed her eyes.  “He did this.”

That was all that Nadei needed to hear.  He picked up the phone and told the driver to pull into an empty garage about two miles from the hotel. 

The driver did as he said and pulled into the empty, dark parking pavilion, drove to the bottom and parked the car. 

***

A splash of cold water in his face woke Gabriel up.  Eyes flashing open, he tried to remove his hands, but felt them restrained to a chair, tied by black rope.  He looked down to find himself naked in the chair, bound by ankles and wrists.
What the fuck?

“So this is what a Medlov looks like?” Yuri asked, kneeling in front of Gabriel, mask still covering his face.

Gabriel locked eyes on the man, refusing to show fear. “What’s wrong, boy?  Never seen a real dick before?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

Yuri laughed and looked around at his men.  “This fucker is funny.”  Pulling a knife from the sheath attached to his leg, he ran it across Gabriel’s muscular chest and cut him wide open.  The blood dripped down his stomach into his genitals.  “I promise you won’t see a fucking thing funny about me, suka, by the time that we are done.”

Yuri nodded at one of his men wearing gloves who quickly delivered a blow to Gabriel’s side.  He doubled over and coughed.  Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. 

“This is definitely not my type of foreplay,” Gabriel mocked. 

“Pity,” Yuri said, enjoying watching the man in pain.  “I was hoping that this was just the type of thing to get you going.” 

Gabriel gritted his teeth at the pain and clenched his fists.  He eyed Yuri again, this time with an even more sinister gleam in his eyes.  “At the end of this, we’ll revisit this conversation, and I’ll give you my feedback then.”

Yuri didn’t like the man’s persistence.  He stood up and wiped his knife off.  Sticking it back in the sheath, he crossed his arms.  “You were not who I set out to get this morning. I was hoping for that bitch, Valeriya.  However, I had to come back with someone.  And honestly, you are a much bigger fish.”

“How so?” Gabriel asked, rolling his neck.

“You’re responsible for the bombings of my headquarters and burning down my extra housing for my men. Killing 45 good soldiers.” He watched Gabriel’s face for an answer. Would it be fear or regret that flashed over his face once he realized that he had been found out?

Gabriel’s brow rose, giving neither.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.  I’m here on vacation.”

“I don’t believe you.  See, I have contacts inside of the Donetsk Revolutionaries and they tell me that you are the man.”

“That I am,” Gabriel said, sucking his teeth.  “Which is why before this is all over you are going to regret fucking with me.”

“Really?” Yuri was intrigued.  “And what makes you think that anyone knows who has you.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Gabriel said. “I’ve found a preschooler half a continent over using a lot less than what you’ve given my men.  I think my family can find me.”

“You know, I really hate Russians,” Yuri said.  “You’re all scum.” 

Gabriel looked around the dark room at the yellow flags and Wolfsangel markings and put two and two together. “Yeah, well, I really hate Nazis.  Plus, I’m an American, you dumb son of bitch.”

The man hit Gabriel again with his balled up fist, this time harder.  Wheezing for breath, Gabriel tried to shake it off, but the man punched him in his face.  Spitting blood, he blew out a breath. 

Yuri wanted to see him suffer until he could not suffer anymore and then he would begin with the real torture.  “I hope you like your new accommodations.  You’ll be here until I get everything I want from you.”  Walking to the door, he and his men left him alone.  “Don’t get too worried.  We won’t leave you alone for too long.”

Gabriel winked at him.  “Tick tock, motherfucker.  Eventually, the old man is going to come looking for me.” 

“Oh, I don’t doubt that.  And I’ll be prepared to turn you over for a pretty price, but only if he’s willing to give me what I really want after I’m done with you.”

“What’s that?” Gabriel asked, spitting again.

“Valeriya,” Yuri said, slamming the door behind him. 

***

Anatoly liked the way that his daughter giggled when he tickled her fat tummy.  Bent over in the tub, giving her a bath, he made cooing noises as he cleaned her up before bedtime.  He had given Renee the night off and sent her out with Royal and Lilly to get dinner on the town.  Having worked so hard lately, he felt like it was the least that he could do.

“Daddy’s little girl is so sweet,” he said, using the sponge to clean her itty, bitty fingers.  He marveled at how perfect she was.  Kissing her hand, he moved to her arms and then her chest.  His dog sat in the corner watching them and the television propped up on the opposite wall played old Westerns on AMC. 

Hearing his phone vibrate in the back pocket of his jeans, he growled and raised a finger to his daughter. “One second. Promise.”  Seeing that it was Nadei, he released a breath and answered it.

“Please tell me you got him on a plane and he’s headed back here,” Anatoly said, phone stuck between his ear and his shoulder.

“Gabriel has been kidnapped,” Nadei said, stepping outside of the truck to have a private conversation. He closed the door behind him and walked a few feet away.

Anatoly picked his daughter up out of the water and wrapped a towel around her.  “Are you fucking with me?”

“No, Boss.  Valeriya left this morning with her lieutenant for a meeting.  Gabriel found out and thought it to be an ambush. So, we went after her.  He was right, and now someone has him. We think its Russians, but I’m not sure.  It all happened so fast.  I tried, Boss.  I couldn’t keep him covered when he ran for her.”

Anatoly could feel his blood begin to boil.  Carrying his daughter out of the bathroom, his eyes met the nanny.  She stood up and took the baby immediately.  “Call my wife.  Tell her to come home immediately,” he said, walking out of the bedroom door.

As he did, the bodyguard sitting outside of the door stood up.  Anatoly pointed for him to walk with him.  “Wake Vasily. Tell him to get here now.”

“Boss, are you there?” Nadei asked, unsure if he had lost his connection. 

“Was he still alive when you saw him last?” Anatoly asked, gritting his teeth. He knew this had been a bad idea from the start and now he hated himself for allowing Gabriel to go anyway. 

“Yes, they knocked him unconscious and threw him in the back of a Hummer.”

“Where the fuck were you when all of this was going on?” Anatoly screamed into the phone.  He was so angry until tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. “You had one responsibility, my fucking cousin.” His entire body trembled.

Nadei could feel the heat of Anatoly’s rage burning his ear, but he knew he deserved whatever his boss gave him, including death. “I did everything I could, Boss.  He wouldn’t…he wouldn’t leave without her,” he said, looking back at Valeriya in the truck.

“Where are you now?” Anatoly asked, hiking down the main stairs of the house towards his father’s office with more men following behind him. 

“I’m in a garage a few miles from the hotel.  We barely got out alive.”  Nadei looked around for possible cars that might be traveling toward the hotel to try to cut them off.

“Who did this? Who is responsible?” Anatoly snapped.

“A man named Faddei.  That’s all I know for now.”

“Is Faddei alive?”

“He should be,” Nadei said, gripping the phone.  “At least until I get to the hotel.”

“Good.  Don’t kill him just yet.  Bring him to me.”

Nadei was confused.  “Bring him to Memphis?”

“No, bring him to Prague.  We are on our way.  Put him out in the barn.  We’ll question him there.” 

“What about the girl?” Nadei asked. “Should I just let her go?”

“No, bring her, too. If Gabriel was willing to put his life on the line for her, I don’t want anything to happen to her while she’s under our protection.  Plus, she might be useful in getting him back.” 

Anatoly burst into his father’s office, pushing the doors open without knocking, and saw that Dmitry was holding a meeting with some Japanese Yakuza who had just arrived to the city.  Dmitry tilted his head back and looked at his son. Something was off, terrible in fact.  He could tell by the look on his face. 

“Gentlemen, I’m so sorry to have to do this, but it looks like our meeting must be cut short,” he said, standing up from behind his desk.

Both of the men who had been meeting with him stood up as well.  Dmitry walked around the desk and bowed.  “I’ll reach out soon.”

As the guard walked them out and closed the door, Dmitry turned to his son.  “This better be very important.”  He knew that it was, but downplayed his own worry. 

“Gabriel has been kidnapped in Ukraine.  We don’t know by whom, we only know who could possibly be responsible for it.”

Dmitry’s face turned to stone. This was much worse than he thought.  “Someone has my boy?” he asked as though he could not believe it.

“I told Nadei we would meet him in Prague. I’ve told him to bring this Faddei with him and the woman.”  Anatoly took a breath and stopped his rambling.  “Faddei is supposedly the man responsible for this.  Valeriya, the woman Gabriel was trying to save is with Nadei now.” 

Dmitry turned from him and shoved his fists down into his pockets.  “Is Gabriel?”

Anatoly answered quickly. “No, Nadei says he was still alive.”

“Call a council meeting.  We will have it on the plane.  Call every man that we have here and in Prague. Tell them as of tonight, they are all activated.  Get me some contacts with the Ukrainian government and the Russian army,” Dmitry said, walking absently over to his desk.  He tapped his knuckles on the wood and tried to stay focused.  “Get me everything on Faddei, call Alan Roman and send a four-man recon team from St. Petersburg to start getting me some fucking answers in Donetsk.  I want our top trained guys.  They are to strictly observe.  No theatrics.”

Anatoly nodded but did not move.  Dmitry looked over at him, curious of why he was still standing there instead of running to get things done.  “What is it?”

Anatoly’s voice trembled. “We go and get him ourselves, Papa, right?” he asked with a deadly snarl on his face.  His eye twitched as he shifted his weight from one foot to another.

Dmitry walked over to his son and looked down into his eyes. It was funny how in life you didn’t know what you had until it was gone.  In this case, Anatoly finally had a brother in Gabriel and suddenly felt the need to protect what was his.  “Gabriel Medlov is one of us.  When it’s one of us, we not only go and get him ourselves, we kill everyone in our path.”  He put his hand on his son’s shoulder to comfort him.  “Get your mind right, son.  We’re going to war.” 

TO BE CONTINUED