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Handing over the envelope of cash to Bea, I close the door behind her as she leaves. I don’t like that we had to use her for this, but there’s no way that my sweet Alena would have come if she’d thought it was an apartment full of guys.
Glancing down at her unconscious body laid out on the couch, I feel a moment of remorse for what I’m about to do, but it’s gone in the blink of an eye. This was destined to happen from the moment I first laid eyes on her, it’s just that circumstances in the last couple of weeks have pushed the timetable forward.
Lev hoped to be able to meet her, woo her, and convince her to come with us of her own accord, but I always knew it would come down to this. That, in the end, we’d simply take what was ours.
Someone knocks on the door and I take one last glance at her prone form, turning away and checking the peephole before opening the door.
“Everything go as planned?” Vik asks, bounding into the apartment and rushing over to her. Dropping to his knees at her side, he reaches out and brushes her hair off her face, his hands far too gentle for the stone cold killer he is.
“Of course it went as planned, we worked out every detail,” Lev scoffs, but his eyes are on Alena, not on me or Vik.
“How long will she be out for?” Vik asks.
“I gave her enough that she should be unconscious for at least twelve to fourteen hours, but if she starts to wake, I have a second dose I can give her,” I tell him.
“Won’t that be dangerous? She’s so fucking small,” Lev says, his eyes crinkling at the corners with concern.
“I had the doctor work out the dosage, he says as long as her breathing stays stable, there shouldn’t be any side effects from the sedation,” I assure him for the twentieth time.
My cell phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, I tap the screen and read the message.
12594: Transport ready.
“The cars are here,” I announce.
“Have you made sure all the cameras are off?” Lev asks Vik.
“Of course, this isn’t my first time.” Vik rolls his eyes, sliding his arms beneath Alena before he lifts her off the couch, cradling her into his body like she’s the most precious cargo he’s ever carried.
A jolt of unexpected jealousy that I wasn’t anticipating pounds me in the gut as I watch him with her. Vik and Lev are my brothers in every way except for blood. I have never had anything that I wasn’t willing to share with them, and to feel jealousy over Alena is as shocking as it as abhorrent.
“I’ve activated the locks on all the doors in the building except for our exit route. There are a few residents still home, but none that will be able to see us leave,” Vik states as he stares longingly down at the woman in his arms.
“Let’s go,” I order, gruffer than I intended. Closing and locking the apartment behind me, I remind myself to appoint a realtor to sell the condo. This has been our place for over a year, but we won’t come back, our stay in Georgia is over. It’s time to go home.
Lev leads the way, Vik is in the middle with Alena in his arms, and I follow behind as we traverse the short hallway to get to the freight elevator. Once we’re inside, I slide the shutter down, then reach up and remove the wireless camera we installed in here, so I could watch her arrival from upstairs.
When we hit the ground floor, instead of heading to the street, we enter the underground garage, pausing when we reach the row of three cars that are waiting for us. Vik hands the girl to Lev, who climbs into the back seat of the middle car. When the door is closed, Vik nods to me and quickly jumps into the back of the last car, while I slide into the first. A moment later the convoy moves, splitting in three different directions as we hit the street.
My muscles are tense as I click into the app on my cell and track the movements of the other cars, watching as they take circular routes in different directions, only to ultimately end up at the same destination.
All of this subterfuge is probably overkill, but I’d rather be overly prepared than have to scramble to make a plan at the last minute.
“We should be at the airport in forty-five minutes, Mr. Belov,” the driver says. He’s one of our men, but I can’t remember his name. He’s American, but he’s proved to be a good man, who’ll be coming home with us when we leave.
I don’t speak, just nod, my eyes focused on the tracking app and the progression of my brothers and the girl. My muscles ache by the time the car pulls into the small private airport, but I know that I won’t be able to relax until we’re on the plane and away from here.
We’re not at risk yet. In the year we’ve been watching Alena, no one else has come looking for her, but now that circumstances have changed, it’s only a matter of time before her existence is discovered.
The stairs to our jet lower the moment my car slows to a stop, but I don’t move until the other two identical vehicles to my own, file in behind me. Once all three cars have stopped, I climb out at the same time that Vik appears.
Catching my eye, he nods once and we move as one, striding to the third car in our convoy and opening the door. The moment I see Lev and the girl still in his arms, I exhale. Reaching in, I take her from him, cradling her to my chest as I mount the stairs and enter the luxurious cabin.
“Good evening, Mr. Belov,” the captain greets, eyeing the girl in my arms with careful blankness.
“I believe Lev provided you with all the paperwork for our departure. We’d like to leave as soon as possible, we have a deadline to keep,” I tell him, dismissing him the moment I finish speaking and heading for a seat.
“Of course, Mr. Belov,” he says, before I hear him order the cabin crew to close the doors the moment my brothers are on board.
